welcome to bbc news. i'm mike embley. our top stories: donald trump hits out at the democrats leading the impeachment inquiry — and has angry words for reporters at the white house. it is a whole hoax and you know who is playing into the hoax? people like you and the fake news media that we have in this country and i say, in many cases, the corrupt media. the british government publishes its new brexit plan. borisjohnson claims a deal could be done in days, but the early unofficial response from eu negotiators is not positive. at least seven people die as a vintage world war ii bomber crashes in connecticut. and, as the royal tour of southern africa ends, a row over media intrusion escalates. the duke and duchess of sussex sue a british newspaper.

this is bbc news, the headlines: a dramatic escalation in the war of words between president trump president trump has stepped up his furious attacks and his opponents in on the democrats running the democratic party, the impeachment inquiry. on the question of impeachment. he lashed out at adam schiff — the president has given a series chairman of the house intelligence of irate news conferences. without offering any evidence, committee — calling him a low—life who should be he accused adam schiff, investigated for treason. the leading democrat who chairs the house intelligence committee, of being a "low life" who'd committed treason. he also revisited discredited mr schiff said the trump administration was trying allegations againstjoe biden, to frustrate the investigation. the leading presidential there's been a cautious hopeful for the democrats, response from the eu, after the british government and claimed mr biden and his son delivered its new brexit proposals. were "stone cold crooked". prime minister boris johnson from washington, laura trevelyan. insisted they were the only alternative to no deal. the european commission president, jean—claude juncker, it should have been a routine visit said there were positive elements, by the president of finland but also problematic ones. to the white house but, at least seven people have been with president trump at the centre killed after a vintage world war ii of an unfolding impeachment drama, bomber crashed in the us state of connecticut. there was nothing the boeing b17, dubbed routine about today. the "flying fortress", he's got to be a very important man was trying to make an emergency

to have so much press. landing at bradley international the president is furious with the democrats for investigating airport, between his phone call with ukraine's leader boston and new york. and their suggested that he may have abused his power by asking for dirt on a political rival. and in the oval office, he let rip. i think a whistleblower should be protected, if the whistleblower is legitimate. he either got it totally wrong, made it up, or the person giving the information to the whistleblower was dishonest and this country has to find out who that person was because that person is a spy. events are unfolding at whiplash speed. with democrats threatening to subpoena the white house unless they get the documents they have demanded on ukraine. chair of the house intelligence committee, adam schiff, had this warning for the white house... the president wants to make this all about the whistleblower and suggests people that come forward with evidence of his wrongdoing are somehow treasonous and should be treated as traitors and spies. this is a blatant effort to intimidate witnesses.

it is an incitement to violence. it has been reported tonight that the whistleblower first of his concerns about mr trump abusing his power to a house intelligence community aid, much of the disgust of the president, who is now trying to turn the tables on mr schiff. it shows that schiff is a fraud. that's a big story. he knew long before and he helped write it too. that's not true says hte whistleblower‘s lawyer but the president is reverting to his tried and tested playbook — lashing out at his accusers. laura trevelyan, bbc news, washington. steve herman is white house bureau chief of voice of america news. he joins me now from our washington studio. steve, what do you make of all this? how is it playing? well mike, it is just an escalation of this very high—stakes just an escalation of this very high—sta kes political poker just an escalation of this very high—stakes political poker game thatis high—stakes political poker game that is going on here in washington. the head of the house intelligence

committee wanting today that were not messing around in the president also is giving out similar warnings going around words like treason, and this is a coup, against those he sees that are trying to take down his presidency. so a very high—stakes game. and we in the media all corrupt, apparently, of course. when you talk to republicans, they said this is a serious political misstep by the democrats, it's not going to, it's going to govern as president trump's support, you do wonder if but of the strategy, the democratic strategy is to unsettle the president so much that he starts to unravel even more in public. well, no matter what the president seems to say or do, it maintains support for the base. so we can only speculate on what it would take to really shake a support and there are democrats who acknowledge that this impeachment enquiry is a double—edged sword. it makes the election next year all

about the impeachment and a referendum on that. and that could indeed galvanise president trump's base, perhaps at getting some people that would stay at home in key swing states on election day to come out and vote for him, just because they feel that he has been unfairly persecuted. what difference does it make you think that there was a lower took his concerns or their concerns, to house committee? well, i have been speaking with people at his law firm about that, and what they are saying is that it really doesn't matter and there are some republicans of course, the president himself, trying to make a lot out of that, whether that will be something that, whether that will be something that will damage his credibility among neutral observers remains to be seen but one thing is certain, as we saw today, the president himself, any perceived misstep by the

democrats, no matter how minor it may be, will be blown up into something big by him when he speaks to reporters. and of course, on to do. just briefly, steve, is it possible for the investigator committees to lay hands on all the documents, all the possible evidence? in all the subpoenas, will they be successful? welcome over going to that out on friday. another president today was asked if he would comply with the request that i going to come in and he said, i was co—operate. but will they turnover everything in time to the satisfaction of the heads of these committees which are controlled by the democrats, obviously? and what will be on those documents? and how much of it will be used for articles of impeachment against the president? we'll be finding out within days. steve helen, thank you very much. —— steve herman. if you would like to know more,

have a look online bbc.com/news with all the details about the impeachment inquiry and president trump's angry reaction. european negotiators are already pushing back, unofficially, against the british government's new brexit proposals, presented by prime minister boris johnson on wednesday. briefings from diplomats in brussels are focusing on concerns that the british proposal does not resolve the issue of the irish border, which could threaten both the peace process and the eu's single market. officials complain the plan lacks detail about how the uk would enable customs checks, and there's concern that northern ireland's democratic unionists are effectively given a veto over any final deal. this first report from our political editor laura kuenssberg. 70 days into office, a man in a hurry. a matter of hours, perhaps, before he'll know, and we'll know if he has a chance of getting a different deal with the eu. if he ought to be nervous, it didn't show. applause. the darling of this hall for years,

now their prime minister. leader here, but with no control of parliament, no way of predicting what will come next. his first target, with humour, less hostility, politics itself. if parliament were a reality tv show, then the whole lot of us, i'm afraid, would've been voted out of the jungle by now. applause. but at least we would have had the consolation of watching the speaker being forced to eat a kangaroo testicle. laughter. with friends and family laughing along, labour's position of holding another referendum on the eu was next. a second referendum on the eu! i mean, can you imagine another three years of this? but that is the corbyn agenda, stay in the eu, beyond october the 31st, pay £1 billion a month for the privilege. he's determined to get us out of the eu, but how, when there's so much hostility?

this is not an anti—european country. we are european! we love europe, i love europe, anyway. today in brussels, we are tabling, what i believe, are constructive and reasonable proposals, which provide a compromise for both sides. we will, under no circumstances, have checks at or near the border in northern ireland. we will allow the uk, whole and entire, to withdraw from the eu with control over our own trade policy from the start. applause. yes, this is a compromise by the uk, and i hope very much that our friends understand that, and compromise in their turn. in a letter to jean—claude juncker, the prime minister's laid out what he describes as a fair and reasonable compromise. spelling out a replacement for the controversial backstop, the guarantee against a hard border in ireland, promising solutions compatible

with the good friday agreement, to protect the peace process. the plan would create an all ireland regulatory zone, where goods and agriculture in northern ireland would follow eu rules, but the northern ireland assembly would have to vote to approve that plan, and every four years afterwards. there would have to be some new customs checks, but carried out electronically or on business premises. no new customs posts, and there's a commitment never to introduce checks at the border. but the vital response from ireland? waitand see... but will all of that be lost in translation? a guarded response from the eu, angela merkel said, "we'll examine the proposals closely, but it's important that eu stick together." and even if they say yes, would mps vote it through? it's worse than theresa may's deal. i can't see it getting the support that he thinks it will get. and it will take us into a regime

in britain of deregulation. although, crucially, the tories and northern irish allies seem to be on board. we believe this is a serious and sensible way forward, to have engagement with the european union in a way that allows us all in the united kingdom to leave the european union, and therefore, we will be supporting this plan. but if those talks can't get going, if the proposals have no chance with the eu, then borisjohnson would have no hesitation taking us out of the european union without a deal. even though parliament has changed the law to try to stop him, this crowd would push him to do it, somehow. then let us be in no doubt, conference, of what the alternative is — the alternative is no—deal. and that is not an outcome we want, it is not an outcome we seek at all, but let me tell you, my friends, it is an outcome for which we are ready.

boris johnson has, after years, found his coveted place on a platform leading his party, but how long he may be able to stay there depends not on a show of faith from this crowd, but a leap of faith perhaps in brussels. and more detail now on how the eu may be looking at this, from our europe editor katya adler. well, firstly, eu leaders really want to digest this proposal and many of them feared before they saw it that it would show that the prime minister is focussed on a domestic audience, on an upcoming general election, and not on engaging with the eu. but i have spoken to a number of eu diplomats tonight who say that some of those proposals were a lot better, they said, than expected, although they said, they emphasised that very big differences remain between the two sides. the eu has a number of concerns when it comes to the prime minister's offer

and the european commission says, before it can think of compromise, it has a number of detailed questions for the government when it has probably digested the paper. another main concern for the eu, the big flashing red light, comes down to customs. it fears that the prime minister's offer could pose a threat to the northern ireland peace process and also leave the single market exposed after brexit. two big no—nos for the eu. they want to have very clear answers from the prime minister on that. but looking forward, they have to come to agreement and unanimity amongst themselves, any idea in the uk that eu leaders will now turn to ireland and say, you need to compromise here because we want to deal with the uk, is not one that we are hearing another behind—the—scenes not in public. angler merkel said that eu leaders will decide on this proposal together and that eu unanimous she is extremely important going

forward. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: giving the bard a bad name. the royal shakespeare company cuts ties with bp, after pressure from environmentalists. in all russia's turmoil, it has never quite come to this. president yeltsin said the day would decide the nation's destiny. the nightmare that so many people have feared for so long is playing out its final act here. russians are killing russians in front of a grandstand audience. it was his humility which produced affection from catholics throughout the world. but his departure is a tragedy for the catholic church. this man, israel's right—winger ariel sharon, visited the religious compound and that started the trouble. he wants israel alone to have sovereignty over the holy sites, an idea that's unthinkable to palestinians.

after 45 years of division, germany is one. in berlin, a million germans celebrate the rebirth of europe's biggest and richest nation. welcome back. good to have you with us on welcome back. good to have you with us on bbc news. the latest headlines: president trump has hit out at the democrats leading the impeachment inquiry, calling them crooked and the whole process a hoax. the european union is considering the uk's latest brexit proposals. a spokesman said there is progress, but still a lot of work to be done. an historic aircraft has crashed at an airport in connecticut, killing several people. the boeing b—i7, which was deployed by the us air force in world war ii, crashed at bradley international airport as it tried an emergency landing. gareth barlow reports.

covered with firefighting foam, the mangled wreckage of the vintage aircraft. the boeing b—i7 flying fortress reported difficulty is just five minutes after takeoff. the tower was advised that there was an issue with the aircraft. we don't know exactly how that was related. whether it was relayed as a mechanical issue. emergency services rushed to the aid of the three crew and ten passengers. the aircraft is and ten passengers. the aircraft is a second world war icon, around 13,000 were produced. just a handful are still playing. we did observe that the aircraft was not gaining altitude. the aircraft attempted to return to the runway, it circled around the airport, but, u nfortu nately, around the airport, but, unfortunately, ipod touch down the aircraft obviously lost control. eyewitnesses said the crash caused

houses to shake and to erupt into the sky. an investigation is under way. gareth barlow, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. north korea has admitted the weapon it test—fired on wednesday was a new type of a submarine—launched ballistic missile. it was test—launched only hours after pyongyang announced that nuclear talks with american officials will resume later this week. in texas, a former policewoman has been sentenced to ten years in jail for killing her neighbour in 2018. amber guyger had argued that she mistook botham jean's apartment for her own and shot him because she believed he was an intruder. she was fired from the police after the killing. the spanish opera singer, placido domingo, has resigned as general director of the los angeles opera. it follows multiple allegations of sexual harassment. the metropolitan opera and other companies have also ended their relationship with the singer — famous for being one of the renowned three tenors. domingo said he would focus on clearing his name and denies the allegations.

the duke and duchess of sussex are flying home from their tour of southern africa, as the mail on sunday newspaper promises to "vigorously" defend itself against legal action taken by the royal couple. the duchess is claiming breach of privacy after the paper published excerpts from a handwritten letter she wrote to her father shortly after her wedding last year. from johannesburg, our royal correspondent nicholas witchell has more — and his report contains flashing images. it has often been a fraught relationship between the media and the royals. stories about them, photographs of them, sell papers. so as the sussexes, harry and meghan, visited a township nearjohannesburg on the final day of their tour, the cameramen and reporters were there in force. he is particularly sensitive about intrusion, especially exercised about protecting his and his family's privacy. we all know the reason. there were so many moments in harry's childhood when he came

to resent the media for their treatment of his mother, diana. little surprise, perhaps, when moments such as this are recalled, that in last night's statement about the tabloid media, he referred to their obsessive pursuit of her. at no point during the day was there any public reference to the court action begun in the past couple of days against the mail on sunday, or to harry's broadside against the tabloids in general. there was, though, this observation. we will firmly stand up for what we believe, and we will do everything that we can to play our part in building a better world. in her remarks, meghan indicated how much the visit had meant to them both. thank you for giving us the opportunity to meet

with all of you, to be able to feel inspired, and for welcoming us. they headed for home after a meeting with south africa's president ramaphosa. back in london, they will face the prospect of a very public battle with the mail on sunday. if the case does go to court, it will be a defining moment for them, the wider royal family, and the british popular press. nicholas witchell, bbc news, johannesburg. the royal shakespeare company is ending its partnership with bp due to criticism from environmentalists. the oil firm has subsidised a £5 ticket scheme for 16—25—year—olds since 2013. the rsc said it couldn't ignore the "strength of feeling" about the sponsorship, which it said had stopped young people engaging with the theatre company. our arts editor will gompertz has the story. voiceover: if you're aged 16 to 25, then you can explore a world of theatre with bp's £5 tickets. this is the video the royal shakespeare company made to promote its bp sponsored subsidised tickets for 16 to 25—year—olds, who appeared happy

with the deal at the time. it opens up a whole new world for you. such a variety of things, it's brilliant. it's the rsc and it's £5. you can't really say no to an offer like that. though not so much now, according to the rsc, which said in a statement... and so, today, it abruptly ended its relationship with the oil and gas giant. i don't believe that it's going to affect the number of people who can access the arts. i think the money is available. it'sjust this campaign has been about drawing an ethical red line around companies who are directly benefiting from climate crisis. bp said it was dismayed by the decision. i'm disappointed. i think the issue of climate change is probably the defining issue of ourera. we believe very strongly that the way the world is going to find a solution to this issue is by collaboration, talking to each other across generations, across countries. we don't think the way to find

a solution to this issue is by standing at opposite ends of the room and shouting at each other through megaphones. but i suppose it is the young people sending a message to you, big oil, bp, whatever you want to call it, that it's not good enough. we know it's not good enough, will. we have said very clearly that the world is on an unsustainable path. now, it's great that young people are so active on this issue because, you know, it is their issue as much as anybody else's, arguably slightly more. but we know what has to be done, and we have already set in action a whole set of activities, a whole set of new plans and activities, that we will show are consistent with getting to this net—zero world by the middle of the century. there is no doubt that arts institutions are under greater scrutiny. the tate recently backed out of a sponsorship deal with stagecoach after facing criticism, and the national portrait gallery ended up not receiving a major donation from the sackler trust, whose wealth can be traced back

to a controversial american pharmaceutical company. myself am moved to woo thee for my husband... the rsc's name is now added to that growing list, deciding a commercial relationship is more trouble than it's worth. the problem the arts sector now faces is how to replace that lost funding, and finding a partner about whom almost nobody has a bad word to say. will gompertz, bbc news. a priceless 18th century crown from ethiopia will be returned to the country, years after a former refugee found it in the netherlands. sirak asfaw who fled oppression in ethiopia during the 1970s, discovered the crown back in 1998 — and knew it had been stolen. he's been looking after it since. the bbc‘s victoria uwonkunda has more. locked away for safety, this priceless 18th—century crown will $0011

priceless 18th—century crown will soon be sent back home to ethiopia. found thousands of miles away in the netherlands, the story of its discovery reads like a mystery book. an ethiopian refugee says he stumbled upon the crown in a suitcase left by a visitor. he held onto it for another two decades because, he says, it was not the right time to send it back. it was not easy to wait for such a long period of time. and, eventually, we are there. and so i'm glad that we have a new administration and the crowd is going back home. this gilded copper crown features images ofjesus christ gilded copper crown features images of jesus christ and gilded copper crown features images ofjesus christ and the 12 apostles. an ornament like this was usually donated by high—ranking officials to churches. the last time the crown was seen in public was in 1993, when it was worn by a priest before it

disappeared. an investigation was launched at the time, but no—one was ever found responsible for the disappearance. victoria uwonkunda, bbc news. and before we go, we'd like to show you these pictures. this is an orphaned baby elephant, who's being hand—reared by the staff at a camp in myanmar. the four—month—old elephant was found with a severely injured leg, after being caught in a hunter's snare last month. it's thought his parents were killed by poachers. there are only about 2,000 elephants left in the wild in myanmar — another 5,000 live in camps and shelters. this little one will probably have to spend the rest of his life in a shelter. just briefly, that menus again, president trump has hit out at the democrats leading the impeachment enquiry, calling them crooked in the whole process a hoax. he has also attacked the press — not for the first time. there is more news anytime on the bbc website.

and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter — i'm @bbcmikeembley. thanks for watching. hello there. what a changeable week of weather it's been so far. if we look back to tuesday, a typical weather watcher looked somewhat like this — threatening—looking cloud, lots of heavy rain, a disappointing day. by wednesday, it was all change. gin—clear skies across much of the country, but a noticeable chill in the air. now, if we take a look at the satellite picture from wednesday, you can see how widespread the dry, sunny weather was. but you can also see the threatening—looking cloud behind me, a sign of what's to come into thursday. but clear skies by day at this time of year, well, they lead to chilly nights. so we're going to start off thursday morning with, yes, a chilly story. low single figures in a few places, and there could be a light frost. maybe some early morning mist and fog patches, as well. so we're in this cold air with this northerly flow, but not for long, because this deep

area of low pressure sitting out in the atlantic drags up southerly winds and milder air as it moves across the country. so storm lorenzo is going to continue to drift its way north, sitting to the west of the uk. it's still going to primarily interact with ireland, and yes, it is going to bring a spell of very heavy rain. orange warnings remain in force, with gusts of winds expected in excess of 80 mph here, and we're looking at huge storm surge too. but for northern ireland, western fringes of england and wales, we're looking at gale—force gusts of winds, 50—60 mph, and there will be some rain through northern ireland, wales and south—west england as we go through the day. elsewhere, the cloud thickening up. a little more in the way of hazy sunshine, highs of 11—17 degrees. now, that area of low pressure will continue to move its way steadily south and east across the country during friday, still bringing gale—force gusts of winds in excess of 50 mph, and it will bring with it a spell of wet weather for a time, before it gradually eases. top temperatures on friday of 10—17 celsius. now, as we move out of friday and into the weekend, things will stay relatively mild, but there's still further rain to come. not too bad a start, however, to saturday morning. we've got this brief, transient ridge of high pressure continuing to build from the west,

but it won't be long before this low starts to move in from the atlantic. again, plenty of isobars circulating around that area of low pressure. the strongest of the winds up into the north—west of the uk. so there will be a spell of wet weather around during saturday. heavy rain clearing its way east to showers on sunday. 00:28:15,286 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 take care.