this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. 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. a dramatic escalation in the war of words between president trump and his opponents in the democratic party, on the question of impeachment. the president has given a series of irate news conferences. without offering any evidence, he accused adam schiff, the leading democrat who chairs the house intelligence committee, of being a "low life" who'd committed treason. he also revisited discredited allegations againstjoe biden, the leading presidential hopeful for the democrats, and claimed mr biden and his son were "stone cold crooked". from washington, laura trevelyan. it should have been a routine visit by the president of finland to the white house but, with president trump at the centre of an unfolding impeachment drama, there was nothing routine about today.

he's got to be a very important man to have so much press. the president is furious with the democrats for investigating his phone call with ukraine's leader 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 the whistleblower‘s lawyer but the president is reverting to his tried and tested playbook — lashing out at his accusers. laura trevelyan, bbc news, washington. let's speak to the bbc‘s chris buckler in washington. the present is looking increasingly u nsettled. the present is looking increasingly unsettled. we saw a range of emotions today, i don't think you'd be wrong to say that he was angry,

u nsettled. be wrong to say that he was angry, unsettled. i suspect some of his opponents would say he was rattled but it is clear that he is frustrated and at times furious, about the constant conversation about the constant conversation about impeachment enquiries in washington and also about the many questions he is facing about exactly what he said to the ukrainian president about investigating joe biden who of course, is a front runner in the democratic party ‘s campaign during —— when trying to find a presidential candid. at one stage president trump completely shut down a reporter who was speaking to him trying to get a nswe i’s , speaking to him trying to get answers, trying to get details of exactly what he wanted from the ukrainian president. he simply would not answer. and in washington will become used to this pretty pudgy politics, it does feel like the two sides, democrats on the one hand and the trump administration on the other, are lining up for a fight. it is very clear that democrats want to push ahead with this impeachment enquiries, they want to investigate and find out as much as they can, and find out as much as they can, and certainly you gotta president today he was becoming angry and frustrated about the idea that

they're going to issue more subpoenas, demand more information and of course coming up in a matter of hours, we will have at congress, one of those individuals who might have information been questioned because kurt volker who resigned as a special envoy to the ukraine after he was mentioned in the complaint, his you to give deposition at congress and there will be listing very, very carefully, democrats, to exactly what he has disabled stop and chris, when you speak to many republicans they said this is all a huge political misstep, by the democrats who were simply galvanised president trump's core supporters and in any case impeachment will never pass in a proper ——of republican—controlled senate. never pass in a proper ——of republican-controlled senate. a key thing is the voters. especially next yearfor thing is the voters. especially next year for the election. there thing is the voters. especially next yearfor the election. there is thing is the voters. especially next year for the election. there is some sense, isn't it, at the poles are shifting? i think what you're seeing from the democrat a real decision when they had to decide whether or

not to go for this impeachment enquiries or not, that was a big, big issue for them. you might a member of the house, nancy policy, leading democrat was essentially trying to hold back the push for impeachment enquiries as others were saying it was time. gradually they have moved in that direction and this phone call to the ukrainian president has really marked a huge moment of difference. and that's because democrats believe they can gather evidence. they believe there is something there to look at and it's potentially bad for the president. now, ithink it's potentially bad for the president. now, i think the fact that they have gone this far means they are all the way into this but you're quite right, mike, when you talk about this is the fact that this is the republican—controlled senate because the way impeachment vote essentially, it is the case of the house of representatives, gather evidence, they push it forward for trial essentially, by the senate. now, with republicans holding the senate, it is highly unlikely that

impeachment proceedings would be successful. but at the same time, democrats will argue it could ultimately put a lot of information out there that could be damaging to the president. but it will certainly play into the 2020 presidential election. at the same time, everybody is aware of what the impeachment investigations, back in the time of bill clinton did, it didn't for the help republicans and there are some democrats concerned it could backfire, it could blow up in theirfaces but it could backfire, it could blow up in their faces but at the same time, i think at the moment what we've got is two sides who are determined to push ahead into a fight with each other and certainly at the moment, it looks to get ugly and it could get even uglier going into 2020. chris, thank you very much for that. 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? wait and 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. applause. 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. 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 b—i7 flying fortress reported difficultiess 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 relayed, whether it was relayed as a mechanical issue. but that there was an issue with the aircraft in an attempted to circle around. emergency services rushed to the aid of the three crew and ten passengers. the aircraft is a second world war icon, around 13,000 were produced. just a handful are still flying. we did observe that the aircraft was not gaining altitude. the aircraft attempted

to return to the runway, it circled around the airport, but, unfortunately, upon touchdown the aircraft obviously lost control. eyewitnesses said the crash caused houses to shake and a fireball to erupt into the sky. an investigation is under way. gareth barlow, bbc news. 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. this is bbc world 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. let's have more on that: getting his own party and northern ireland's democratic unionists onside is probably the easy bit for borisjohnson. to turn his proposals into a deal, if he wants a deal, he needs europe to agree to them — including the irish republic, whose prime minister leo varadkar has said the plan is "not promising and does not appear to form the basis of an agreement." mark urban reports from brussels. if the institutions in brussels operate under legal and procedural frameworks as rigid as the laws of physics. seen from here, thejohnson government proposal violates principles worked out carefully during the brexit negotiations and agreed to by the uk and that causes them to doubt the prime minister's motives and even tabling such ideas. if we negotiate in good faith on

both sides, even if we fail, there is room for a strong future relationship stop if there is a feeling that good faith is lacking oi’ feeling that good faith is lacking or trust is lacking, it might have consequences. this evening we bumped into chief negotiator michel barnier. it is another feature of the brussels feature that it does not want to stifle diplomacy. there is progress but, to be frank, a lot of work still needs to be done, which fulfils the three objectives of the backstop, no photo, economy and protecting the single market and protecting the consumer, citizens and businesses inside that single

market of 27 member states. he laid out his candid view to this audience but it was only a partial picture, short of what they would have liked. even so, any talk of positivity was knocked later. i think the last point was not so bad. so what had gone on in the room to alter the mood? polish meps and former commissioner knows well enough how this place works and what was lacking in the british offer. every aspect, there are doubts and that is why those fast comments that you get from us should probably wait a little bit more to allow us to read carefully the proposal and see if there is any value added. given the

doubts you're expressing, is there any chances can be done by the 31st of october. we do not even know if it isa of october. we do not even know if it is a serious proposal because on the uk side they say this is just for the prime minister to make the first page because of the elections. so we do not know if it is a proposal to discuss and reflect on. diplomatically, the eu sticks to rigid positions. it has to keep agreement between 27 or 28 countries about the basics of negotiations so cannot take quickly to a new position and during the brexit negotiations, one of the key fundamentals has been that it is against creating any new border on the island of ireland so for now there is no tunnel, eu speakfor the two sides been close enough to push

for agreement in the coming summit. each would have to make concessions in order to emerge from such a tunnel with success. the duke and duchess of sussex are flying home from their tour of southern africa, as the newspaper, the mail on sunday, insists it will "vigorously" defend itself against legal action by the royal couple. the duchess is claiming breach of privacy. the paper published excerpts from a letter she wrote, by hand, to herfather, shortly after her wedding last year. from johannesburg, our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. 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, under pressure from environmental campaigners. the energy firm has subsidised a £5 ticket scheme for 16— to 25—year olds since 2013. rsc officials say they can't ignore the strength of feeling about the sponsorship, which they say has stopped young people engaging with the 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. more on that and all the news on the bbc website. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter — i'm @bbc mike embley. thank you 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. take care.

this is bbc news, the headlines: president trump has stepped up his criticism of the democrats running the impeachment inquiry. he lashed out at adam schiff, chairman of the house intelligence committee, calling him a "low—life" who should be investigated for treason. mr schiff said the trump administration was trying to frustrate the investigation. there's been a cautious response from the eu, after the british government delivered its new brexit proposals. briefly some diplomats in brussels focus on briefly some diplomats in brussels focus on concerns briefly some diplomats in brussels focus 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. at least seven people have been killed after a vintage world war ii bomber crashed in the us state of connecticut. the boeing b—i7, dubbed the "flying fortress", was trying to make an emergency landing at bradley international airport, between boston and new york.