hello, i'm ben thompson. you're watching the context on bbc news. good news for the king, it is good news about the king's health, it is good news for those that want to see the king out and about. but a fair few qualifications, the most important of which, of course, is that his treatment has not finished. his treatment continues. this has been a really tough time for the royal family, with both the king and the princess of wales being diagnosed with cancer. and, like with any family, that has come as a huge blow. they have also had to deal with intense media scrutiny. a very, very positive sign in terms of his recovery, | in terms of his response to the treatment. - of course we don't know what type of cancer, - we don't know what type of treatment he's been having _ a return to public duties for king charles, after receiving

treatment for cancer. doctors say they are pleased with the king's progress and remain positive about his recovery. also tonight: a warning from washington. us secretary of state antony blinken says the us will act if china doesn't cease weapons supplies to russia, aiding its war on ukraine. trump on trial. as the first week of testimony draws to a close, we'll assess what we've learned from the historic trial of the former president. and is the uk's bid to stem illegal migration, by deporting people to rwanda, now fuelling a rise in migration to ireland? all that to come, but we begin tonight with news that king charles is to return to some public facing duties. they will be his first engagements since being diagnosed with cancer. buckingham palace says the king's treatment isn't over, but doctors are encouraged by his progress.

and this is the new photo of the king and queen camilla, released tonight, taken the day after their 19th wedding anniversary. next week, they will make a joint visit to a cancer treatment centre. charlotte gallagher has the latest. the king and queen together in the gardens of buckingham palace. a positive sign about the king's health. the photo was taken earlier this month but has just been released. the palace say the king is making encouraging progress and will shortly return to public facing duties after a period of treatment and recuperation following his recent cancer diagnosis. as the first anniversary of the coronation approaches, their majesties remain deeply grateful for the many kindnesses and good wishes they have received from around the world throughout the joys and challenges of the past year. the king's last public event was in windsor on easter sunday,

and he surprised the crowds by stopping to chat, thanking them for their good wishes. stay strong, never give in. his next visit will be more symbolic, a trip to a cancer treatment centre. this has been a really tough time for the royalfamily, with both the king and the princess of wales being diagnosed with cancer and like with any family, that has come as a huge blow. they've also had to deal with intense media scrutiny. so the announcement that the king feels well enough to resume some public duties will be welcome news. the prime minister, your majesty. the king has been working throughout his treatment, though, including meeting with the prime minister. well, yeah, bit, but wonderful. wonderful to see you looking so well. but it still remains uncertain if he will be attending some of the big events coming up in the calendar, such as trooping the colour, royal ascot and overseas trips in the autumn.

the king and catherine are two of the most senior and popular members of the royal family. their absence has been felt by many. i wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you personally... there is no news about when the princess of wales will return to public duties. she announced her cancer diagnosis in march and has asked for time, space and privacy for herself and herfamily. charlotte gallagher, bbc news. joining me now is pandora forsyth, a journalist and royal expert. pandora, good to have you with us. not a full return to official engagements, but the signs are positive that he feels able, and a doctor certainly feel able that he is now ready to pick up some public engagements. is now ready to pick up some public engagements-_ is now ready to pick up some public engagements. absolutely. this is the messa . e engagements. absolutely. this is the message that — engagements. absolutely. this is the message that he _ engagements. absolutely. this is the message that he wants _ engagements. absolutely. this is the message that he wants to _ engagements. absolutely. this is the message that he wants to get - engagements. absolutely. this is the message that he wants to get out - message that he wants to get out there, that he is ready to get back

to work, and now he has got to the doctor's sign. this is such a positive sign, but of course, as it has already been mentioned at the start of the programme, his cancer treatment is still ongoing. and the palace will have a plan a and plan b moving forward with future engagements.— moving forward with future enaaaements. . .,, ., ., engagements. and those alternative -lans, engagements. and those alternative lans, the engagements. and those alternative plans. the palace — engagements. and those alternative plans, the palace very _ engagements. and those alternative plans, the palace very keen - engagements. and those alternative plans, the palace very keen to - engagements. and those alternative plans, the palace very keen to say . plans, the palace very keen to say the king's programme will be carefully calibrated has his recovery continues. they said it will remain in close consultation with his medical team. we know there are that the summer and the automatically very busy times for the royalfamily, they say automatically very busy times for the royal family, they say nothing will be confirmed or guaranteed. so it really is on doctor's orders. it is, absolutely. and lots of photo ops this summer, and summer previous as, when you think of arroyo ascot, trooping the colour, and of course the coronation�*s anniversary is coming up to. of course he would love to be at every single one of them, but lots of people are

affected by cancer in the uk and thatis affected by cancer in the uk and that is why he is going to the cancer treatment centre first. so that he can perhaps sympathise and empathise with those people now that he is now receiving cancer treatment himself. , ., _ . , himself. yes, a symbolic visit, as ou sa . himself. yes, a symbolic visit, as you say- in _ himself. yes, a symbolic visit, as you say- in late — himself. yes, a symbolic visit, as you say. in late june _ himself. yes, a symbolic visit, as you say. in late june we - himself. yes, a symbolic visit, as you say. in late june we expect . himself. yes, a symbolic visit, as i you say. in late june we expect the you say. in latejune we expect the king will receive the emperor and empress ofjapan, he, in his role as head of state. that is important because it is the first official state visit by japan since 1998. yes, this is huge. and of course this will be a priority for him representing her majesty's government as head of state. he really does need to be there and i am sure that you will be working towards that date and making sure that he is resting and recouping along the way i do not completely overdoing it now that he has got public duties green light again. really working towards it and working with the palisades to make sure that he can welcome them to the

uk. �* ., , ., ~ sure that he can welcome them to the uk. and a message that ali said the kin: and uk. and a message that ali said the king and queen _ uk. and a message that ali said the king and queen remain _ uk. and a message that ali said the king and queen remain deeply - king and queen remain deeply gratefulfor king and queen remain deeply grateful for the king and queen remain deeply gratefulfor the many king and queen remain deeply grateful for the many kindnesses and good wishes from all over the world. this is something that will be watched really closely because we should not forget of course the king's diagnosis soon followed by the princess of wales saying she was having treatment, preventative treatment, for cancer. coming is a huge shock for many around the world and taking two very senior royals out of public life for a significant period of time.— period of time. yes, it certainly ut the period of time. yes, it certainly put the pressure _ period of time. yes, it certainly put the pressure on _ period of time. yes, it certainly put the pressure on the - period of time. yes, it certainly i put the pressure on the shoulders period of time. yes, it certainly - put the pressure on the shoulders of camilla, our queen, and of course the prince of wales two. his son. he did give honours only a few days ago now to william, catherine and camilla, a sign of respect for how much they had taken on in his absence. but of course moving forward he knows that he is the monarch and he has waited a long

time to be in this position, and he understands the pressure that that brings for him and for his entire family. so the fact that he is back for public duties not only will he be feeling happy for himself but of course the rest of the family, because that eases off the pressure for their duties as well.— for their duties as well. pandora, alwa s for their duties as well. pandora, always good _ for their duties as well. pandora, always good to — for their duties as well. pandora, always good to talk _ for their duties as well. pandora, always good to talk to _ for their duties as well. pandora, always good to talk to you. - for their duties as well. pandora, | always good to talk to you. thank you, pandora forsyth there, the rail expert with the latest on king charles returning to some public duties. good to see you. america's top diplomat, antony blinken, has told the bbc that he is prepared to take steps against china if beijing continues to send key supplies to russia which are used to aid its invasion of ukraine. mr blinken has been holding talks in beijing with the chinese leader, xijinping, in which he also raised concerns about taiwan, and industrial espionage. president xi — meanwhile — called for greater co—operation between the two countries. well, after those talks, mr blinken sat down with our china

correspondent, laura bicker. it's helping russia perpetuate its aggression against ukraine. but it's also creating a growing threat to europe because of russia's aggression. and what i'm hearing from europeans is deep concern about this. so for china, he wants to have better relations, not only with us but with countries in europe, it can't do that while at the same time helping to fuel the biggest threat to european security since the end of the cold war. relations between washington and beijing have been strained by china's claims over taiwan and the south china sea, as well as us export bans on advanced tech. they were further damaged by a row over a spy balloon in february last year. and in recent days, the us passed a law that would force chinese—owned tiktok to sell the hugely popular video app orface being banned in america. mr xi said the earth was �*big enough' for both

countries to achieve development and prosperity. translation: the two countries should be partners, not rivals. i they should achieve mutual success, not harm each other. they should seek common ground while reserving differences instead of vicious competition for that they should honour their words rather than say one thing and doing another. on their words rather than doing one thing and doing the other. let's speak to danny russel, vice president at the asia society policy institute. he's also the former assistant secretary of state for asia under the obama administration. danny, good to have you on the programme tonight. what did you make of that meeting, strong words on both sides? are we any clearer on what that relationship between the us and china will look like going forward? ~ , .,. us and china will look like going forward? ~ , .. ., forward? well, we see it in each of the two governments _ forward? well, we see it in each of the two governments wants - forward? well, we see it in each of the two governments wants to - the two governments wants to stabilise the relationship and maintain channels of communication, at least for the time being. and

they are both acknowledging that they are both acknowledging that they have obligation to manage the relationship responsibly and deal with differences, but neither side is prepared to budge on the fundamental points of disagreement, the big issues that you have mentioned relating to russia, to technology, semiconductors, trade, taiwan, and because there is not a mechanism to really find the possible compromise or at least to better manage these relations, these issues for the long term, i think we are going to continue to see strain and struggle in the us — china relationship. it and struggle in the us - china relationship.— and struggle in the us - china relationshi. , , _, , relationship. it is the second visit b mr relationship. it is the second visit by mr lincoln _ relationship. it is the second visit by mr lincoln in _ relationship. it is the second visit by mr lincoln in just _ relationship. it is the second visit by mr lincoln in just ten - relationship. it is the second visit by mr lincoln in just ten months. relationship. it is the second visit | by mr lincoln in just ten months to china, all part of this huge diplomatic effort to try and stabilise relations between the two world powers. but it strikes me every time he visits, every all we every time he visits, every all we ever hear about are their differences rather than areas in

which they can cooperate and progress on. is that a fair assessment? where are the areas of cooperation? we often hear about the areas of conflict.— areas of conflict. there is very little cooperation _ areas of conflict. there is very little cooperation under- areas of conflict. there is very little cooperation under way, l areas of conflict. there is very i little cooperation under way, and frankly there is very little communication. forthe frankly there is very little communication. for the secretary of state to visit china only two times in the course of the year is a radical drop—off from the tempo of a us — china engagement ten years ago. and yet the scope of the challenges, the problem that face both countries, that face planet earth, that xi jinping just referred to are growing in intensity, as have the areas of difference. now, there are some dialogues under way, economic and financial dialogues, occasional consultations between military officers, a working group on narcotics, and most recently in

beijing antony blinken and xi jinping agreed to accelerate a dialogue on artificial intelligence. these are all important and desperately needed, they are better than nothing but they are woefully inadequate given the scale of the issues that the two countries are contending with. hand issues that the two countries are contending with.— issues that the two countries are contending with. and i wonder to whether it is _ contending with. and i wonder to whether it is possible _ contending with. and i wonder to whether it is possible to - contending with. and i wonder to whether it is possible to have - whether it is possible to have constructive talks about some of these really big issues, whether the same time the us is saying we will take action if you don't stop supporting rush in its war in ukraine, facing a ban on tiktok, one of its ug popular video social media apps, and also a ban on chinese made techin apps, and also a ban on chinese made tech in the united states. so the us is clear on what it does not want and yet it is also then asking china to try and comply. it does not seem at a very balanced relationship. it is not for the united states to ask or to implore china to fulfil its global responsibilities in dealing

with global pandemics, public health, climate change, those sorts of issues, those are things that china should be doing without being asked. moreover, the fact that the chinese companies are permitted to continue to send or expand their exports of these dual use items that are critical components for the weapons that russia is using against ukraine, and as a secretary blink and just said that potentially threaten europe as well, that is guaranteed to elicit a response, a negative response, pressure from the united states. so i think that we can't expect them to simply change the subject from the significant areas of friction and concentrate only on fulfilling their global responsibilities, much though we want them to do that. they have got

to tackle their fundamental differences on the way that china treats taiwan, the way that china treats taiwan, the way that china treats the philippines, and the way that we deal with each other around the world. ., ., ., , the world. one of the areas where there do seem _ the world. one of the areas where there do seem to _ the world. one of the areas where there do seem to have _ the world. one of the areas where there do seem to have been - the world. one of the areas where there do seem to have been some progress, and antony blinken keen to praise beijing's efforts on clamping down on the trade in fentanyl, china is the principal source of fentanyl, the drug in the united states, and that has been a real issue of contention between the two nations, so there is some progress on that front, is that right?— front, is that right? yes, that is true. front, is that right? yes, that is true- these _ front, is that right? yes, that is true. these are _ front, is that right? yes, that is true. these are precursor- front, is that right? yes, that is - true. these are precursor chemicals that have multiple uses but that have been, for years now, sold by chinese companies to drug cartels and used to create fentanyl that is killing so many americans. there are also areas in bilateral trade where the us and china are flourishing in their relations, there is quite a bit going on, it is not all bad. but

evenin bit going on, it is not all bad. but even in the trade area that blinking raised with the chinese, the fact that they have so heavily subsidised their industries, particularly emerging technology based industries like electric vehicles and solar panels, and they are starting to sell them, export them, dump them, frankly, at below market prices. this is a problem that is growing and china thus far has deflected or turned a blind eye to the concerns and the complaints of the united states and of europe.— and the complaints of the united states and of europe. danny, always aood to net states and of europe. danny, always good to get your _ states and of europe. danny, always good to get your insight _ states and of europe. danny, always good to get your insight into - states and of europe. danny, always good to get your insight into this. i good to get your insight into this. thank you, danny russell, vice president at the asia society policy institute. gratefulfor president at the asia society policy institute. grateful for your time. around the world and across the uk, you are watching bbc news.

joe biden has said he will debate donald trump ahead of this year's presidential election. it's the clearest declaration yet of his willingness to debate face—to—face with his republican rival before voters cast ballots in november. it's worth noting that when previously asked, mr biden said a debate depended on how his rival behaved. mr trump hasn't yet responded — he's been spending the day in court in new york, as his hush money trial continues. the prosecution is continuing to outline its case that mr trump falsified business records to cover up a payment to the adult film star, stormy daniels, in the run up to the 2016 election. here's mr trump arriving at the court today. i think yesterday went very well in this courthouse, it should be over. the case is over. if you heard what was said, the case should be over. but you will have to make that determination and i think we have a judge who will never allow this case to be over

in a positive way. he is highly conflicted, the most highly conflicted judge i have ever seen, and yesterday i think in the supreme court, it had to do with immunity. i heard the argument, it was brilliant. i listened to it last night and i thought it was really brilliant. i thought that the judge's questions were great, and all presidents have to have immunity. this has nothing to do with me. our north america correspondent, nada tawfik, was in court and filed this update. today we had the defense cross—examination of the first witness, the former publisher of the national enquirer, david pecker. and look, david pecker is someone who has come off on the stand as reliable, as truthful. he said he doesn't harbour any ill will towards donald trump — even now. he had a decades long relationship with him. they had a mutually beneficial relationship. and obviously, he then decided to cooperate with prosecutors. and while the defence understood

that and didn't come out attacking him in the same way, they have michael cohen, donald trump's former lawyer, they did try to kind of poke holes in the prosecution's narrative. they tried to cast this whole catch and kill alleged scheme as a business decision, as david pecker, as someone who was cooperating with prosecutors at the time because he was worried that a deal with his tabloid and another big media company to be acquired would fall through. but look, in every kind of instance, the prosecution came back on redirect and had mr pecker reiterate that this was all done to help donald trump's campaign. and so looking at the morning session, the defence didn't do really enough, i think, to damage the prosecution's narrative. but of course, we're only on the first witness so far. i'm joined by formalfederal

prosecutor, joe moreno. jo, jo, good to have your analysis on the programme tonight. give us a sense of what we learned this week because there was a lot of noise, we heard a lot from donald trump outside of court, a lot from the prosecution laying out their case. how we any clearer on it which way this could head?— how we any clearer on it which way this could head? well, ben, i would not ut this could head? well, ben, i would not put too — this could head? well, ben, i would not put too much _ this could head? well, ben, i would not put too much stock _ this could head? well, ben, i would not put too much stock in _ this could head? well, ben, i would not put too much stock in what - not put too much stock in what donald trump says, i think he tends to use a lot of hyperbole and then hope that the reality follows. as far as what we know about the case itself, as was pointed out, the prosecution made a real point of going back to david packer and said these actions to protect donald trump were not done in a vacuum, they were done leading up to the 2016 election with the purpose of helping him get elected. and that is a critical bridge that the prosecution has to connect, they have to say these words just routine books and record entries designed to cover up some kind of a sleazy hush money payment, which looks bad but

is not illegal, what makes it illegal, according to the prosecution, is the fact that it was done to evade campaign finance laws, which when those payments should have been declared and were not. so the prosecution is not there yet but thatis the prosecution is not there yet but that is the foundation that they are laying right now. that that is the foundation that they are laying right now-— laying right now. that is a really im ortant laying right now. that is a really important point. _ laying right now. that is a really important point. paying - laying right now. that is a really important point. paying hush i laying right now. that is a really i important point. paying hush money is not illegal. the problem here is that the prosecution says that it is how that prosecution was recorded on the books which is the problem. that amounts to election fraud, they say. in some respects he is being held on a technicality, albeit an important one, it is not the actual payment but how it was recorded in the books. ., . ., ., books. correct. your word, technicality. _ books. correct. your word, technicality, is _ books. correct. your word, technicality, is a _ books. correct. your word, technicality, is a good i books. correct. your word,j technicality, is a good one. books. correct. your word, i technicality, is a good one. that books. correct. your word, - technicality, is a good one. that is what the defence is going to say. look, the prosecution is using a very, very stretched interpretation of notjust very, very stretched interpretation of not just state very, very stretched interpretation of notjust state law but federal law, and the da is trying to get

trump on a technicality. and so the prosecution will come back and say, look, that is the way the law is structured, so you can call it whatever you want but the fact is that the law is designed such that if you use accounting records for the purpose of conducting some other crime in this case avoidance of campaignfinance crime in this case avoidance of campaign finance laws, well, then it is notjust campaign finance laws, well, then it is not just a campaign finance laws, well, then it is notjust a technicality, it is a serious crime.— is notjust a technicality, it is a serious crime. yes, 34 counts of fraud under _ serious crime. yes, 34 counts of fraud under those _ serious crime. yes, 34 counts of fraud under those campaign i serious crime. yes, 34 counts of. fraud under those campaign finance laws. he of course pleading not guilty to all of them. you said we should not read too much into what donald trump says outside court but it is interesting, because he says this is all politically motivated. it means he is not on the campaign trail ahead of elections in november. that puts him at a disadvantage to presidentjoe biden. and all the while we see that whenever he appears in a court or a setting like this, actually his fundraising goes up and his support gets louder. i

fundraising goes up and his support nets louder. ~ fundraising goes up and his support gets louder-— gets louder. i think what is going to drive a lot _ gets louder. i think what is going to drive a lot of _ gets louder. i think what is going to drive a lot of this, _ gets louder. i think what is going to drive a lot of this, of- gets louder. i think what is going to drive a lot of this, of course, l to drive a lot of this, of course, is the outcome of this trial. donald trump is convicted, he may have to be stuck in new york pending sentencing, even pending appeal, so his restriction to campaign may still continue after the trial ends. on the other hand, if he is acquitted or even if he is found that it acquitted or even if he is found thatitis acquitted or even if he is found that it is a mistrial due to a hung jury, meaning that someone held out and they could not get a unanimous verdict, i think that is a big victory for donald trump. he will say i told you so. this case never had a lot of merit and it was designed to politically hurt me. so i think the outcome will have a great amount of impact on the rest of this campaign, as well as the election itself. that of this campaign, as well as the election itself.— of this campaign, as well as the election itself. at the same time and separately. _ election itself. at the same time and separately, the _ election itself. at the same time and separately, the supreme i election itself. at the same time i and separately, the supreme court been asked to rule about whether the president's claim of immunity would stand. he is claiming immunity from prosecution for trying to undo the 2020 election result. where are we on that and what impact could that

have on this case?— have on this case? well, it will have on this case? well, it will have no impact _ have on this case? well, it will have no impact on _ have on this case? well, it will have no impact on this - have on this case? well, it will have no impact on this current| have on this case? well, it will- have no impact on this current new york state case because that is state law, so chances are that if there is any immunity granted it would really only impact the federal cases that are pending. but it is a big deal. this is a major constitutional question because there is no clarity in the constitution or in a more about immunity. what he is trying to do is to build on an earlier supreme court decision from 40 years ago saying there is limited immunity in civil cases, he wants to extend criminal cases, he wants to extend criminal cases, for at least an official act to say that if a president does something in his official capacity, meaning, let's say, confiscation of personal property, he would say that is official. cheating on your taxes, thatis is official. cheating on your taxes, that is personal and would not be covered by immunity. jo. that is personal and would not be covered by immunity.— that is personal and would not be covered by immunity. jo, always good to net our covered by immunity. jo, always good to get your insight. _ covered by immunity. jo, always good to get your insight. thank _ covered by immunity. jo, always good to get your insight. thank you - covered by immunity. jo, always good to get your insight. thank you very i to get your insight. thank you very much. stay with us, headlines up

next. hello there. one thing that's been in quite short supply this month is sunshine. so i'm sure these sunny skies that we have through friday morning would have been welcomed. but it was a cold start for some. cumbria had temperatures down as low as minus six degrees celsius. and through the afternoon, we did see quite a few showers develop, as you can see here on the afternoon radar picture. some of those showers worked into cornwall. you can see quite big thunderclouds here on the horizon of helston. now, during this evening and overnight, we got outbreaks of rain moving into southern england, perhaps reaching the far south of wales. a few showers for northern scotland, but otherwise the day showers will melt away. clear skies for scotland, northern ireland and northern england will allow another widespread and sharp frost. in the south, it's frost free because we've got that cloud and rain moving in. and this weekend we are going to see this area of low pressure move up from spain, bringing with it some quite heavy rain for a time. now, on saturday, we'll get some rain pushing into southern england early in the morning, reaching across parts of wales into the midlands and east anglia.

as that moves in, there'll be a chilly northeasterly wind, perhaps a few heavy showers into southern england into the afternoon. for northern ireland, northern england and scotland, after a cold and frosty start, there'll be some sunshine, but showers will be around into the afternoon and it's going to be another chilly day — temperatures 10—13 degrees. for sunday, our area of low pressure moves in from spain, bringing rain across quite large areas of england, working into east and scotland. west is best. that's where we'll see the driest weather. not completely dry, though. it will be a day of sunshine and showers out west — temperatures 10—13 degrees. so it's another chilly day. but this is the last of the chilly days. as we head into next week, we're going to see temperatures rise as much milder air gets pulled in from europe. but with low pressures around about the uk, it's not exactly going to be a dry forecast. on monday, we start to see some of that milder air arrive on these southerly winds. outbreaks of rain, though, pretty extensive, probably the wettest weather for northern ireland, probably south western parts of england and wales seeing rain,

eastern areas this time seeing the driest weather. but these temperatures are rising and climbing back to average for this time of the year, and that warming trend continues into next week. in the warmest spots, we could see temperatures reach the high teens or even low 20s, but there will be some showers or outbreaks of rain around as well. bye for now.

hello, i'm ben thompson. you're watching the context on bbc news. ireland's deputy leader warns the threat of deportation to rwanda is causing migrants to head for ireland instead of the uk. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's gavin. premier league chief executive richard masters says the football calendar is "getting to a tipping point" with the amount of matches that teams are being asked to play. as of next season, european competitions and the club world cup, could lead to a hefty increase in games some clubs have to play. if you pour more liquid into the carpet is already forward it will overflow. and that is what is happening at the moment, notjust in terms of this but the players

ability to be able to perform