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: the white house refuses, officially, to co—operate in the trump impeachment inquiry, claiming it is unconstitutional. as the eu accuses the uk of a brexit blame—game, ireland's prime minister warns that finding any agreement won't be easy. i think it's going to be very difficult to secure an agreement by next week, quite frankly. we very much want there to be a deal and i'll certainly work until the very last moment to secure that. but not at any cost. clashes between security forces and protesters force ecuador‘s government out of the capital. we'll meet a very special penguin who found itself on an unexpected

and very long adventure. the speaker of the house of representatives has told president trump he is not above the law. but the white house has confirmed it will not co—operate with the impeachment inquiry. an official letter to democratic party leaders claims the process is "constitutionally illegitimate", and accuses them of seeking to rewrite the 2016 election. mr trump has blocked one key witness, the us ambassador to the european union, from giving evidence to congress, and democrats have now issued a subpoena to try to force him. more legal wrangles are likely. this from our reporter peter bowes. a clash at the heart of american government. the white house flexing its muscle and refusing to have anything to do with the democrats‘ impeachment enquiry in the house of

representatives. in an 8—page letter, the president's lawyer says the enquiry "violates fundamental fairness", and "lacks any legitimate constitutional foundation". it accuses the democrats of seeking to overturn the results of the 2016 election, and deprive the american people of the president they've freely chosen. the white house believes the enquiry is flawed because it's moving forward without a vote on the floor of the house of representatives. the first sign the administration was putting up a roadblock to the enquiry came when this man, gordon sondland, the us ambassador to the european union, failed to appear before the house intelligence committee. the democrats want to question him about his role in discussions with ukrainian officials, which have led to claims president trump asked a foreign power to investigate a political rival. at the last minute, the state department stopped mr sondland from appearing. president trump tweeted:

the democrats were quick to object. the failure to produce this witness, the failure to produce these documents, we consider yet additional strong evidence of obstruction of the constitutional functions of congress, a coequal branch of government. the white house says the impeachment process should be abandoned so the president can focus on leading the country and fulfilling his promises to the american people. but with the country on the verge of a constitutional crisis, this is a tug—of—war that donald trump won't be able to ignore. peter bowes, bbc news. so what legal obligations does the president have to co—operate with the impeachment inquiry? i spoke to eleanor clift, political journalist and columnist for the daily beast. well, there are three coequal branches of government

and the president refuses really to acknowledge that he has to co—operate with the congress. it is not unusual for some negotiating to go on for a president to resist the oversight by a congress and to resist an impeachment enquiry. but in the end, this is going to go to the courts. it will eat up time, which is part of the president's strategy, to just drag this out, and he's waging this in political arena, calling this illegitimate, partisan and all of that. his supporters will believe that, but we're seeing a shift in the polls among sort of ‘softer republicans‘, i guess is the term they would use, and independents, and the support for an impeachment enquiry,

is now better than 50%, it's huge among democrats, of course, but you have to bring along the rest of the country as well. i think the president is really struggling to maintain his position and not to turn over any materials that obviously he might think are incriminating, and the congress is saying a refusal to turn it over is going to be taken as an indication of guilt. they can write an impeachment article based on obstruction of congress. so it's a lot of constitutional gobbledygook, you might say, but at the heart of it is the president seeking aid from foreign countries to aid him in his re—election bid and to find dirt on his political opponent. people understand that. it's a simple proposition, it's not nearly as confusing as the two—year—old mueller investigation into russia collusion, which didn't exonerate the president, but failed to move ahead with any kind of indictment of him since he is a sitting

president. a big question, but in a nutshell, if you can, what is your instinct, your expectation about how all of this might play out eventually? i think it's virtually certain that the house will, there will be a vote to bring impeachment. and, as of now, i don't see 20 republicans defecting and joining the democrats to form a super majority in the senate to remove him from office. and i think the democrats are taking a big gamble here. this president knows how to fight, he's a survivor, and if he's not removed from office, he will claim that he's the winner. so i don't know how this comes out in the end, whether it damages him for re—election, or whether it damages the democrats. eleanor clift of the daily beast.

prospects for agreement on how the uk withdraws on a european agreement are fading. after anonymous sources in the government in london briefed that the talks were all but doomed, the eu's most senior official publicly accused prime minister borisjohnson of playing a "stupid blame game." mrjohnson is due to have face to face talks later this week with the irish leader. and leo varadker, speaking to the broadcaster rte, and stressed he had not given up hope. we very much want there to be a deal. and i'll certainly work until the very last moment to secure that. but not at any cost. and there are some fundamental objectives that haven't changed for the past three years and we need them guaranteed. and what's your sense of it now? i think it's going to be very difficult to secure an agreement by next week, quite frankly. essentially what the united kingdom has done is repudiated the deal that we negotiated in good faith with prime minister may's government over two years. and have sort of put half of that now back on the table and are saying that's a concession. and of course it isn't,

it isn't really. that was irish prime minister leo varadkar. in a newspaper interview, the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, was forthright. he said he does not accept what he called the blame game that is being played, which aims to pin the eventual failure of the negotiations on the european union. nobody, he said, would come out a winner in this scenario. here's our europe editor, katya adler. this isn't the end of the road for the eu because they are looking more long—term. they think a new brexit extension is the most likely outcome here, giving more time for talks. but no—one here is starry—eyed — that i'd talked to — about the idea of more time. of course you still need to find an accord between the eu and the uk acceptable to the european parliament and the uk parliament as well. and of course, no—one knows exactly what that accord will look like. neither now, nor in two or three months‘ time. katya adler. a spokesman for turkey‘s president has said turkish forces will "shortly" cross the border into kurdish—held areas in syria.

dozens of military vehicles have been sent there since donald trump ordered the withdrawal of american troops. the turks want to establish a "safe zone" there to send back some of the millions of refugees from syria‘s civil war. but it‘s feared this could also mean a turkish attack on the kurds, long—time american allies who the turks consider terrorists. our international correspondent orla guerin is at akcakale, on the border. a noisy reception for turkish forces on the move. ambulances and armoured personnel carriers close to the syrian border. we filmed this convoy tonight heading to a military base, the first evidence, perhaps, of the build—up to a turkish invasion of syria. and earlier, being bussed to the border, syrian rebel fighters backed by turkey. they could be extra manpower for the planned offensive, which is causing havoc internationally, even before it begins.

in washington, president trump has been meeting his top brass and trying some damage control. he has denied abandoning kurdish forces, america‘s key allies in syria. but after their epic battles against is, they now feel mighty alone. and what now for that battle? there‘s growing concern internationally about what an offensive across this border might do to the global fight against islamic state. small wonder. there are thousands of is fighters being held in kurdish—run detention centres. the kurds have said if the turks attack, they‘ll have to focus on that fight. so defeated is fighters like these may have fewer guards, raising fears some could escape.

president trump says if turkey invades, they are ankara‘s problem. and there may be less security at kurdish camps, holding huge numbers of is supporters and family members. but at the border today, a little gathering of turks who back the offensive, who believe kurdish forces are a security threat. an invasion appeals to president erdogan‘s base. he‘s been losing support and critics say a war is a great distraction. tonight, more movement by turkish allies. rebel fighters from the free syrian army. they say they‘ll "rain fire" on kurdish forces. a powerful nato army now appears to be on the road to battle, and there are real concerns about the possible cost for hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians. orla guerin, bbc news, at the turkish syria border.

protesters have clashed with security forces inside ecuador‘s heavily guarded parliament. after days of unrest, the president has moved the government out of the capital, but demonstrators briefly burst through a police cordon and were driven back with tear gas. the protestors — led by indigenous groups — are demanding an end to austerity and the return of fuel subsidies. our latin america correspondent will grant reports. ecuador is descending into anarchy. a state of emergency has been declared, riot police and the military are out in full force and furious protesters are clashing with them outside the parliament. a handful of demonstrators briefly stormed the building before being hauled out by the police. the reason for the chaos — a fuel price hike imposed by the government and president lenin moreno.

a hugely unpopular move with millions of people, many of them from indigenous groups who were already struggling to make ends meet. translation: we've come because they‘ve taken our fuel. that‘s no good for us. translation: the bankers, the rich, the millionaires, they're fine. for us, it'sjust no good. hundreds have been arrested amid the violence and there‘s little sign of things slowing down in the short term. on wednesday, a national strike has been called and the tensions and confrontation on the streets is only likely to increase. although some protesters made their way into the parliament, they‘d have found it empty. instead, president moreno has moved his cabinet and his government to ecuador‘s second city of guayaquil for their own safety. he can still count on the military‘s support, at least for the time being. translation: the democratic system cannot be violated. the constitution cannot be violated.

you cannot damage the assets of ecuadorians and the ecuadorian people in general and, of course, nor damage the physical integrity of people. that‘s why we are here. one of the biggest difficulties he faces is that oil output, the lifeblood of the ecuadorian economy, has been cut by almost a third since the crisis began with indigenous groups blocking key oil installations. the longer that goes on, the more the economic situation deteriorates, making a reversal of the unpopular fuel hike unlikely. in the meantime, the streets of quito resemble a war zone with a national strike still to come. will grant, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we get in—depth with one of the world‘s most renowned cave divers.

this was a celebration by people who were relishing their freedom. they believe everything‘s going to be different from now on. they think their country will be respected in the world once more as it used to be before slobodan milosevic took power. the dalai lama, the exiled spiritual leader of tibet, has won this year's nobel peace prize. as the parade was reaching its climax, two grenades exploded and a group of soldiersjumped from a military truck taking part in the parade, and ran towards the president, firing from kalashnikov automatic rifles. after 437 years, the skeleton ribs of henry viii‘s tragic warship emerged. but, even as divers worked to buoy her up, the mary rose went through another heart—stopping drama. i want to be the people's governor. i want to represent everybody. i believe in the people of california.

welcome back. glad to have you with us on welcome back. glad to have you with us on bbc news. the latest headlines: the white house says it won‘t cooperate with the impeachment inquiry launched by democrats, calling it partisan and unconstitutional. earlier, the trump administration blocked a witness from giving evidence. as the eu accuses britain of a blame game over brexit, ireland‘s prime minister says he‘ll work until the very last moment to try to secure a deal, but not at any cost. the us government has imposed new visa restrictions on chinese officials thought to be involved in abuses against ethnic uighur muslims. on monday the us also blacklisted 28 chinese organisations, saying they were involved in the systematic repression and surveillance of muslim minority groups.

the chinese embassy in washington has denounced the latest sanctions. a statement on twitter says, "xinjiang affairs are purely china‘s internal affairs that allow no foreign interference. we urge the us to correct its mistakes at once and stop its interference in china‘s internal affairs." live now to washington, dc, and to the journalist bethany allen—ebrahimian. bethany, i know you write about developments in china. do you think that this is really about the oppression of muslim minority groups in china or is it, in fact, just another way to exert pressure in the american trade dispute with china? this is most certainly out of a desire to push back on the human rights violations that are occurring. in fact, the trump administration has been extremely reluctant to take any actions. last year there were inside —— people inside the government pushing the trump administration to

pushing the trump administration to push global sanctions on chinese communist party officials, who are complicit in these human rights violations in the concentration camps. in the trump administration did not. so that the state department has finally taken some action to restrict travel and visas for these officials. it is in vicki —— indicative of a human rights interest. why do you think the administration has been less keen to move forward on this? they were quite happy to put the sanctions on turkey. that is exactly right. they did that very quickly. it is because of the trade war. the trump administration and very particularly the treasury secretary and commerce secretary have wanted to preserve all of the pressure that the us government can levy on china for the trade war and not spend the strips,

as it were, on a humanise issue. there has been a very strong emphasis on the trade war. this would be an exception to that. do you think there is anything meaningful that can be done internationally to help the people that the chinese government is treating so harshly? yes, there are things the international community can do and indeed has done. so the pressure we have seen that has been building over the past couple of yea rs building over the past couple of years from jealousy reports, from other kinds of reports, they have had ‘s main effects. the chinese government has been moving somewhat wea k government has been moving somewhat weak and ethnic minorities out of these camps. there has been a high degree of scrutiny. the chinese government does respond to that. it is limited, right, but by putting the sanctions, you know, if they we re the sanctions, you know, if they were to put sanctions by doing these visa restrictions does send a clear signal that the us government is still committed to human rights. thank you very much for that. you're

welcome. let‘s get some of the day‘s other news. italy‘s parliament has voted to cut the number of members by more thana third. the populist five star movement, the main party in the governing coalition, claims the move will save one billion euros over a decade. there are also claims that the change will weaken italian democracy. three scientists have been awarded the nobel prize in physics for their "groundbreaking" discoveries about the universe. james peebles was honoured for his work on how the universe evolved. michael mayor and didier queloz won for their discovery of a planet around a sun—like star. doctors in the uk have been told to stop prescribing four types of a heartburn medication called zantac — also known as ranitidine — as a "precautionary measure". it follows concern in several countries that products may contain an impurity that has been linked to cancer. the four being recalled were prescription—only zantac medicines — a syrup, an injection and tablets. regulators have been recalling some blood pressure and heart failure

medicines since last year. nowjust imagine if yourjob was to explore the earth‘s final frontier. that‘s the case forjill heinerth — one of the world‘s most famous cave divers. she‘s the first person in history to dive deep into an antarctic iceberg — and lead a team that discovered the waterway remains of mayan civilizations. jill‘s now written about her adventures, and recently she spoke with us. a lot of people think i‘m some sort of a fearless adrenaline junkie, but i‘m not fearless! i‘m scared all the time! i led the team to be the first people to go cave diving inside an iceberg, and we did that in antarctica, so far away from help that there‘s certainly no—one around to rescue you if something goes wrong.

and during those dives inside this unbelievably dangerous and shifting environment, we got pinned down by a ripping current that was like trying to walk against a hurricane—force wind, except there we were, underwater, underneath an iceberg trying to swim against a current that was too strong to make any headway to get out of this ice cave. i‘ve learned to deal with fear, terrifying mind—numbing fear, so it‘s really important for me to just stop, take a very deep, slow breath. we all know what the next positive thing is that we can do to solve any problem, and so ijust try and focus on those tiny steps one at a time, keep the emotions at bay, breathe slow and focus. there‘s a lot of preparation for a big dive. i may have been training

and preparing equipment for a couple of years! slide into a dry suit that fills everything up right down to my wrists and it‘s a rubber seal on my neck. these caves that i get to swim in are like museums of natural history. they hold evidence of global climate change, they contain the remains of civilisations that are no longer here on earth, and even the bones of paleo animals that are now extinct. so these environments are beautiful, they‘re wondrous and they have so much to teach us about science. i don‘t know what a retirement would look like for me because i‘m already doing the things that i love to do every day. i know it‘s a dangerous endeavour that i‘m involved in, but i don‘t see any nearer,

you know, end to what i‘m doing. now, how‘s this for a tale of endurance and overcoming adversity? a penguin that swam more than 2,500 kilometres — that‘s about 1,500 miles — all the way from new zealand to australia. the bold explorer was eventually rescued by a local zoo and has now been released for a returnjourney. the bbc‘s tim allman has the story. there are swimmers... ..and then there are swimmers. this is a fiordland penguin, albeit no ordinary fiordland penguin. this little bird is made of sterner stuff after going on a very long journey. the fiordland penguin is unique to new zealand and tends to breed along the south—west coast of the country‘s south island. for reasons known only to itself, the penguin struck out alone, swimming across the tasman sea until it was discovered at kennett river, rescued

by the marine response unit at melbourne zoo. when it was found, the bird was struggling and underweight and had to be slowly nursed back to health. experts are uncertain as to why it travelled so far, but this type of penguin is known to forage for food over long distances. once it was back on its feet and in full health, the penguin was taken to a nearby beach and returned to the wild. the hope is it will find its way back home and then be able to breed. it is a tough life out there in the ocean said the zoo‘s head of veterinary services. but this is one tough penguin. tim allman, bbc news. for sure. a single ticket holder has become the uk‘s biggest ever euromillions jackpot winner tonight. no details of the winner, who‘ll take home £170 million, have

been released. we can alldream. we can all dream. thank you for watching. hello there. it was a fairly unsettled day on tuesday. we saw plenty of showers across northern and western areas. and a few got across into the east that were pretty heavy and thundering in one or two spots. but there was plenty of sunshine too. the next few days, similar story, staying rather unsettled with low pressure nearby, and it‘s going to be windy for most. on wednesday, low pressure again to the north of the uk. fairly strong winds, plenty of showers blowing from west to east. and then for thursday and friday, looks like we could see more organised weather fronts pushing in to bring more persistent rain for some areas. if you were watching yesterday, like i mentioned, it‘s not going to be particularly cold the next few days as our air source will be coming in off the atlantic from the west or the south—west. the night shouldn‘t be too cold either. for wednesday then, it starts off bright, some sunshine across eastern areas. we‘ll have a scattering of heavy, perhaps thundery showers affecting

south wales, southern counties of england through the day, and lots of showers will be piling into western scotland. and the winds strong, particularly across the west and when the showers come along, gusting 30, maybe 40mph in exposed spots. temperature wise, a few degrees down on what we had on tuesday. that is the low teens across scotland, northern ireland, maybe 11! or 15 across the south and the east. now, through wednesday night, it stays blustery. lots of showers again across northern and western areas. some of them merging together to produce longer spells of rain here. but we could see some drier interludes or long clear spells across central and eastern part of the country. those temperatures dipping down from 7 to 10 degrees. so, on into thursday then, we‘ve got low pressure to the north—east of the uk. next system pushing in with more active weather fronts could bring more persistent rain to parts of the country, like i mentioned. so i think we‘ll start off fairly cool, bright, plenty of sunshine around. to the west, thicker cloud and this front will bring more persistent rain to northern ireland and into scotland through the day but again, further south will be sunshine and showers, mainly across wales and the south—west of england. but a few spots will see

some hazy sunshine. those temperatures back up again. 17 degrees will be the high. lots of weather fronts on the chart. you‘ll see on friday some uncertainty to where these fronts will actually be. it could be that warmer parts of the north—west of scotland to bring outbreaks of rain here. another one may move south—east across england and wales to bring a spell of persistent rain. some sunshine in between. those temperatures up a notch again, 17 or 18 degrees across the south and the east of the country. and it remains unsettled with low pressure always nearby into the weekend. showers or longer spells of rain, also a little bit of sunshine, but it will stay on the breezy side.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the white house has officially refused to co—operate with the impeachment inquiry against president donald trump. in a letter sent to democratic party leaders, it rejected the inquiry as "baseless" and "constitutionally invalid". it‘s already refused to allow a key figure to appear. three democratic—led house committees are investigating the president. as the eu accuses britain of playing a "blame game" over brexit, ireland‘s prime minister leo varadkar says he‘ll "work until the very last moment to try to secure a deal" by next week, but "not at any cost". turkey has boosted its military positions on the border with syria after saying it‘s ready for a long—threatened operation that could target kurdish forces, long—time allies to the us. it comes after the us began withdrawing troops from the region. president trump has defended his decision again,