the us house of representatives has decided to make future hearings of its impeachment investigation into president trump televised. leading republicans have denounced the proceedings, which are inquiring into allegations that mr trump tried to get the government in ukraine to investigate his political opponents. an investigation by bbc news has discovered domestic workers being sold on the black market in kuwait, using apps available on google and apple online stores. the investigation found hundreds of women, including a 16—year—old, being traded by their employers without their knowledge or consent. the world organisation for animal health is warning that around a quarter of the world's pigs are expected to die from a global outbreak of african swine fever. it says the result could be food shortages and higherfood prices. now on bbc news —

thursday in parliament. hello and welcome to thursday in parliament. on this programme: tempers fray in the commons as mps approve a six month suspension of labour mp, keith vaz. if he wants to launch a further ad hominem attack on the right honourable gentlemen, this is not the time or place to do so. a peer says politicians have a duty to those bereaved by the grenfell tower fire. to lay bare the most uncomfortable truths, not just around the day, but around broader contributed elements, including poverty and powerlessness. also on this programme: calls for the government not to drop a law on animal sentencing. and one peer reckons there's

an obvious answer to why the planet is under strain. this problem arises primarily because there are so many human beings on this planet. but first... mps have approved a motion to suspend the labour mp, keith vaz from the house of commons for six months. it follows newspaper revelations in 2016. a report into the allegation by the commons standards committee said the labour mp had "disregarded" the law by "expressing a willingness" to help buy cocaine for male prostitutes and there was "compelling evidence" he offered to pay for a class a drug and had paid for sex. it recommended keith vaz‘s suspension after he was "evasive and unhelpful" during the investigation. keith vaz himself hasn't commented but said he was receiving treatment for a serious mental health condition. labour said it accepted the findings. we accept the report, accept the findings, and accept the

recommendations in full. the chair of the standards committee said its verdict had been unanimous and had a recommendation if keith vaz was reelected. should the right honourable member be returned to the house at the forthcoming election, we would urge that the incoming parliament and the new leader of that parliament passes a resolution as quickly as possible to ensure that the full period of the sanction that we propose is served. the conservative andrew bridgen lodged the original complaint about mr vaz in 2016. he quoted from comments mr vaz had put on his website after the report on him was published. the events of the 27th of august 2016 where purely personal and private and occurred in circumstances where neither his public nor parliamentary role were engaged. mr vaz has never bought, possessed, dealt or used illegal drugs. he has a cardiovascular condition

which would mean that were he to consume any non—prescribed drugs he would in all likelihood die. the commissioner has confirmed that mr vaz has not committed any criminal acts. the referrals made including by the mp were a waste of police resources. but he said there'd been no hint of apology or regret, only a denial of the conclusions of the standards committee. now relations between andrew bridgen and the speaker, john bercow, have been strained for many years, as was about to become apparent. there have been many tributes to you today and i would wish to add my own, in that... if you'd acted on the letter i wrote to you in september 2015, a year before the incident of the then chairman of the home affairs select committee where i raise my concerns with you that the actions of and activities of the their chairman of the home affairs select committee, if they came to light would risk seriously damaging...

order, order. the honourable gentleman will resume his seat. the speaker stepped in to explain that it wasn't his job to investigate complaints. it was not for the speaker to perform a second job as a night—time colombo looking into matters that one member wants to raise about another. mr speaker, i thank you for your advice. as always for the last ten years you advise me on many occasions but had you waited for my conclusion you would have seen that i was going to extol your decision not to get involved in this matter. laughter. because had you done so, we may well have protected the reputation of this house

but i doubt we ever would have got to see the full report that is now before us. the speaker was soon on his feet again. the honourable gentlemen tries to demonstrate how fair he is being by belatedly saying he agrees with me, which he never previously gave any indication of at all, and if he is now saying that, i am glad he has come to recognise the error of his past ways and the folly of making repeated representations to the chair to intercede in a matter in which the chair of course should not intercede. but he told mr bridgen he was now straying from the report in front of mps. i give him a final warning, and it is a warning, i am not going to have the house abused by the way in which the honourable gentlemen chooses to behave. if he has a sentence or two that he wants to utter as to why he thinks it is a decent report

and he agrees with it, that is fine. if he wants to launch a further ad hominem attack on the right honourable gentlemen, this is not the time or place to do so. and i do, in all sincerity and kindness, say to the honourable gentlemen, show some antennae, man, for the will of the house and show some sensitivity. thank you once again for more help and advice, mr speaker. order, the honourable gentleman will resume his seat. it is not help and advice, i'm telling the honourable gentlemen what the position is, do not mix it with the chair. if you have a couple more sentences to utter you will do so, but if you want to dilate at length, you will not. mr speaker, i will bring my remarks to a conclusion but it is clear to me and it will be clear to the public that to the end of your tenure in that chair, you are defending the indefensible and your close relationship with the member in question, the house can come to its own conclusions, and the standards committee has come to its own

conclusions, and mr speaker, the public will come to theirs. thank you very much. at the end of that debate mps approved the standards committee recommendation to suspend keith vaz from parliament for six months. down the corridor in the lords it was the turn of peers to debate the first report into the grenfell tower fire. the fire injune 2017 was one of the uk's worst modern disasters. it broke out in the kitchen of a fourth floor flat in the 23 storey tower block in north kensington, west london. within minutes, it had run up the exterior of the building and then spread to all four sides. 72 people died. as with the commons the session started with a minutes silence for those who died.

lord bourne said one of the most moving parts of the report was the tributes that were paid by loved ones to those who lost their lives. it demonstrates what the country has lost, what the community has lost, and what the families of g re nfell lost. it shows a diverse community of different races with a wondrous, breathing, living, loving community. one peer turned to what had happened. the key questions in this report and in the next stage must be why were so much ignored? why the owners and the managers of the building had not provided the fire brigade with sufficient information on the building? why concerns of tenants had been utterly ignored for several years. a lib dem said she was on the all party group for fire safety. we now have five years of compelling evidence from real fires in the uk that automatic fire sprinkler protections controlled or extinguish fires where they are operated

on 100% of occasions in flats. a single fire death in a working sprinkler building designed for the intended purpose in the uk is an extremely rare occurrence, multiple deaths are unheard of. the perception of neglect is very strongly felt on the ground, yet there is also hope found in local groups and communities which provide a vision of possibilities for society in and around grenfell tower. nevertheless, the neglect felt by many before this tragedy has not gone away. a new peer made his maiden speech. we owe to those who have lost their lives, to the survivors, to the family and friends still grieving to lay bare the most uncomfortable truths, not just around the day but around broader contributing elements, including poverty and powerlessness. this is not a pretty political point.

i'm just imploring in our privilege to give voice to those families. how do we challenge the systemic structural failings? lord woolley with his first speech and the house of lords. you're watching thursday in parliament, with me, alicia mccarthy. don't forget you can follow me on twitter @bbcalicia. they used to be known as e—cigarettes but now most people call it vaping. evidence of its rising popularity is easy to find and usually takes the form of a large cloud of vapour rising from someone standing outside a pub. but its reputation as a safer alternative to cigarettes has been hampered recently by a spate of cases of lung damage in the us. the chair of the commons science and technology committee said the news should be treated with caution.

we have put these concerns to public health england, and to summarise, first of the claim, deaths in the us have been linked to the use of e—cigarettes and vaping products. but they operate in a totally different regulatory context and illicit products were implicated in this outbreak. including vaping cannabis derivatives. this is from public health england. public health england has also explained the suddenness of the outbreak across many usa states in just a few months suggests that this is not a gradual effect of long—term use, but because of a specific agent coming into use in the affected population. a labour mp agreed that compared to the uk, the us was a regulatory wild west. some of the evidence we have had about vaping in america, some of this stuff is class a drugs

they're putting into these things, this is why we have deaths. it's true to say and i know from going to america from time to time, i've got to step grandchildren out there. one of the companies who sell be nameless for this debate have been promoting vaping to young children, flavours and everything else like that, not necessarily nicotine addiction, providing it to young children. you talk to the schools about the outcome of is and they're up in arms about the nuisance and the litter of these things take. we should not be too scared of this. a conservative mp and former firefighter wished e cigarettes had been around when he'd quit smoking. if i may take this opportunity

to speak directly to conventional smokers and despite being a fire officer for 31 years, sadly i was a 50 a day smoker for many years. i have long since stopped but believe me being a smoker was a costly, smelly and unhealthy mistake in my life. i only realised this afterwards, and yes i enjoyed them then as you do now. and even in my time in the fire service when you left the fire with her breathing apparatus on a face mask on some kind of the colic would have a pre—lit cigarette for you. if that was not just that it's madness now. anything that's as good as not always easy. it can be done, so to those who do smoke you can stop if you put your mind to it. and it is absolutely worthwhile. the public health minster told mps that while she welcomed the evidence, she was concerned that some vaping products being sold in britain seemed designed to appeal to children. firstly, the use by the young. this currently remains low at 2% and we have not seen the rise that has occurred in the united states of america, however we will closely monitor the data to ensure regular

use does not increase and it is not seen as that gateway to tobacco use. somewhat linked to the second, we will also keep a close eye on any new evidence on the long—term harms caused by flavourings. if the evidence shows that we need to address either, or both of these issues we will consider taking action including where necessary for the regulatory action. i would like to see stronger leadership from the industry on areas of e—cigarette product naming and design in particular. to ensure that they don't appeal to young people, some of the naming does appear to be leaning on the side of appealing to youngsters. if the government gets its way the uk will be entirely smoke free by 2030. with the dissolution of parliament fast approaching, there were cross party calls

in the commons for legislation to increase prison sentences for animal cruelty to become law before the election takes place. the environment secretary, theresa villiers, said if the conservatives returned to power, the animal welfare sentencing bill would return to the commons. the bill passed its first parliamentary hurdle known as its second reading in the commons earlier this month. there is cross—party support for increasing prison sentences for those who hurt and truly kill animals but ministers did that and delay over the animal sentencing built. even in this divided parliament at this late stage there is still a chance to get it on the statute book before the election. labour backs the bill, her own backbenchers back in the public does so will the minister give the commitment that she will use every effort she can to get it on the statute books before the election is called? i can give them the assurance that when a conservative government is returned to serve in this house,

the sentencing built will be back on the agenda and we will get it on the statute book. now back injune, a new law named after a police dog came into effect in england and wales. a german shepherd, finn, was stabbed and seriously hurt as he protected a police officer from an attacker in 2016. nicknamed "finn's law", the new legislation made it harder for those who harm service animals to claim they were acting in self defence. theresa villiers paid tribute to the tory mp, sir oliver heald, who led the parliamentary campaign for the animal welfare act. i congratulate my friend on steering finn's law through parliament. this government remains absolutely committed to tougher sentences for animal cruelty offences and we intend to bring back the bill to the house as soon as possible. she will know the supporters of the animal welfare service

animals act were very keen to have this improvement of maximum sentences going up. can she confirm this is a top priority for any incoming conservative government? yes, ican. the environment secretary, once again trying to reassure mps about the future of the animal sentencing bill. the climate protest group extinction rebellion have been labelled an extremist organisation in the house of lords. the controversial group has launched a series of demonstrations across london and other cities. recently they caused uproar after climbing onto trains at stratford, canning town and shadwell in east london during rush hour. the criticism came during question time in the lords, where a labour peer asked why the government couldn't hit a target for net—zero carbon emissions sooner, one of extinction rebellion‘s key demands. many organisations are saying that a target date of 2050 is far too far away and we should be treating this as a major emergency and at least

2030 should be the target date. my lords, there will be a catastrophe. we cannot leave it to the next generation to deal with the mess we have left them. surely we have to be dealing with this more urgently put that we are sleepwalking into a terrible crisis. we are the only economy now to have legislated for net zero by 2050 and have done so on the basis of science from a committee which is independent of thought put of the important thing to recognise is as a nation we are responsible for 1.2% of global emissions and china alone is 30%. we have doubled our climate funds to address whether serious problem lies which is indeed beyond our shores. does my noble friend agree with the recent report from plus exchange co—authored by richard walton, former head of the metropolitan police's counterterrorism unit which said that extremism, extinction rebellion is an extremist organisation whose methods need to be confronted and challenged rather than supported and condoned.

will he condemn along with responsible climate scientists extinction rebellion's falsehoods and exaggerations which have a necessarily frightened young people will he stand with the good people at canning town in their determination to get to work rather than indulgence campaigns for permanent austerity? as i said a moment ago, china is responsible for one third of global emissions but i think if confucius were to comment on this he would say to address climate change do not glue yourself to an electric train. i do not believe the work of extinction rebellion in this regard i done credit to them at the cause of climate emission reduction. i stand beside those of canning town who have been frustrated in trying to use public transport. with the minister agree with me that investment in fossil fuel subsidies for fracking and massive road—building projects, would he agree that all of these things will make the climate emergency worse? i think it is very important to examine the words of president obama when it came to the issue in north america about unconventional hydrocarbon recovery. have they not moved in that direction, their carbon footprint

would be considerably higher. we need to look at all solution to take us forward and that is one of them. would my noble friend not agree that this problem arises primarily because there are so many human beings on this planet? we are making the problem, not the other creatures that live on the planet. what conclusions therefore does he draw from that? i'm not quite sure which conclusion i can move toward! what i would note is, as a geologist, we are entering into a new geological period and i will influence on the world is much more significant than we could have imagined. it was a day of tributes and fond farewells. there are nearly 60 mps standing down and for many, this was their last day in the chamber before december‘s election.

it was also time to say goodbye to rose hudson wilkin, who's been the speaker's chaplain for nine years. she's been appointed to the post of bishop of dover. the shadow leader of the commons made a tearful tribute. we know you will go on to greater things and are proud to have crossed paths with you. a true pilgrim's progress, from jamaica to canterbury, as aretha franklin would say, respect. we thank you. you were there for us when we needed you most. i must thank the shadow leader and i think i speak for the house in doing so or the sheer warmth and magnificence of that tribute. rose has notjust done the job, she has excelled beyond anything that we could reasonably have imagined or contemplated. john bercow.

it was alsojohn bercow‘s last day in westminster and tributes to him went on several hours. without exception, the speeches were favourable, but the speaker's ten years in office have been controversial. he's given unprecedented powers to backbenchers to hold ministers to account and made controversial procedural decisions at key stages of the brexit process. he was accused of bullying members of his staff, something he has always strongly denied. but mps were keen to praise him. i cannot thank you enough for the help you gave to me to ensure that we could get a drug for a constituent of mine when, within a you called it all the questions, granted me an adjournment debate and then gave me an urgent question, all of which helped build up pressure on the government to act to the great advantage of very ill and very young constituent of mine. this is my view of what parliament is about, mr speaker,

and i think you facilitated that for me in a way that other speakers may well not have done in my personal gratitude and, more importantly, the gratitude of the family who have benefited from that is i think a real tribute to how you have operated. john bercow has been known for sitting in the speaker's chair for hours on end without a break. being in the chamber is what you have loved most and i don't know, maybe they will pay to your bladder! the site of ian and peter checking your vital signs as you leave after a long session is quite interesting! in fact the speaker's physiology was quite a theme. i didn't seek to fill your shoes because those shoes would pinch. i do not have your control of the bladder! and i certainly do not have the photographic memory that you have. when i became selected as a candidate, my neighbour, john prescott, seem to have a problem with my name

and kept calling me melanie! when i got to the house of commons, the spigot seem to have a problem with my name as well because he referred to as jackie! i was delighted, mr speaker, you have never had a problem with my name and you have always called me diana which i'm very grateful for! the longest serving woman mp said john bercow had opened up the house to young people. everybody agrees with that now and everybody recognise that is a thoroughly good thing but you had to fight for that because there were those who resisted change and said we cannot have all these children in the house of commons, we have got work to be done. and you relentlessly and in a principled way pushed for it and i thank you for that. a veteran tory had an anecdote. i would at a primary school and you always get the difficult questions and i was asked, what is the rudest things anyone has said to you in politics?

i thought for it and said, it was when someone came up to me in the street and said, good morning, mr bercow! after nearly three hours, john bercow got to his feet. i do want to thank colleagues this is quite an embarrassing experience and people are watching might think it bizarre or surreal that it is a procedure that very often takes place. john bercow. and that's it from me for now, but dojoin me on bbc parliament on friday night at 11:00pm for our round up of the week when mps decided to press ahead with a december election. i'll be talking to one expert about what happens next. but for now from me, alicia mccarthy goodbye.

hello. the first few days of november look set to bring some wet and blustery and potentially some stormy weather across some parts of the uk. certainly an unsettled outlook, thanks to an area of low pressure. this is friday's weather chart. you can see the low drifting in from the west. bands of rain, these frontal systems, spiralling around the low. but with that low, we're going to develop a south—westerly flow across the uk, so at least for a time, it is going to feel milder. a milder start to the day on friday, but with that, we will have outbreaks of rain drifting into eastern england, starting to push northwards across scotland. then a slice of drier and potentially brighter weather before another band of rain pushes into northern ireland, wales and the south—west through the afternoon. it will be breezy, but not especially windy just yet. top temperatures of 9—16 degrees.

now, during friday evening, the bands of rain will continue to drift north—eastwards. some dry interludes, but the winds will become an increasing feature across the north and also down towards the south and the south—west. those winds turning really strong and gusty as we get into the first part of saturday morning. now, our area of low pressure as we get into saturday will be deepening. uncertainty about its exact shape and exact position, but it looks like there'll be a swathe of really strong winds potentially on the southern flank of the low, where you see those white lines, all of those isobars squashing together. so it looks most likely that we'll see strong wind blowing across the southern half of england and parts of wales, also a slice of windy weather across northern scotland, and we'll see bands of wet weather spiralling around. there will equally be some drier and brighter interludes, and in the centre of our area of low pressure, some light wind.

but around the edges, if you like, to the north and particularly the south, gusty conditions and we could see wind gusts reaching 70 mph or more close to the south coast of england. so some very stormy conditions are possible. worth bearing in mind if you do have plans for saturday. temperatures between 10—12 degrees. now, as we move out of saturday into sunday, low pressure still with us. but not quite as many white lines, not as many isobars by this stage, so the winds will be a little lighter. it will still be breezy and there'll still be some outbreaks of rain. but i think for the second half of the weekend, at least a better chance of seeing drier weather and some spells of sunshine, and those highs of 11—13 degrees.

this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america, or around the globe. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: a new phase for the impeachment investigation into president trump — the next hearings will be televised. it's about the truth. and what is at stake? what is at stake in all of this is nothing less than our democracy. investigators in pakistan say a passenger's cooking stove was responsible for a train fire that killed at least 70 people. a special bbc investigation into the domestic workers being sold in kuwait via an online slave market on platforms provided by google, apple, and facebook. for the first time in nearly

a century, the us capital