welcome to bbc news. i'm mike embley. our top stories: president trump's impeachment inquiry goes public. after weeks of testimony behind closed doors, hearings are set to be broadcast live. tear gas and rubber bullets take their toll in chile. nearly 200 people are treated for severe eye injuries following three weeks of protests. the uk's election campaign gets formally under way, but prime minister borisjohnson‘s big speech is overshadowed by resignations from both main parties. and levelling the playing field — australia's female football team strike a landmark deal for pay parity with their male counterparts.

as the impeachment inquiry around president trump intensifies, with congressional hearings due to go public next week, more revelations have emerged from testimony already given behind closed doors. this time from bill taylor, the top american diplomat in ukraine. he told the hearing he was astonished that the president appeared to have made military aid to ukraine — a us ally, under threat from russia — dependent on ukraine investigating joe biden, one of his rivals for the white house. ambassador taylor responded: "that was my clear understanding, security assistance money would not come until the president (of ukraine) committed to pursue the investigation." then from the lawmaker questioning him: "so if they don't do this, they are not going to get, that was your understanding 7 " ambassador taylor says: "yes, sir. "

the follow—up: "are you aware that quid pro quo literally means ‘this for that'?" the response: "i am." let's go to our north america correspondence. peter bowes, what is the significance of all of this? one of the significant factors here is bill taylor is a respected character in washington. what he says carries weight and the fact that he is saying he was astonished by what he discovered, in other words, the holding back of aid seemingly in return for an anti—corruption from ukraine that specifically mentioned donald trump's potential political rival, joe biden. and his son, who worked for a gas company in ukraine. he seemed totally taken aback by

that and that is significant. what is more interesting is when the impeachment enquiry goes public next week with the first hearings which will be televised, americans will get a chance to sit in their homes and watch these individuals being questioned, that mr taylor will be one of the first witnesses. and if he is going to repeat what he has already said, that will be extremely strong evidence. peter, it's not at all clear, is it, how the whole impeachment process is impacting on the public and how it will impact on the public and how it will impact on the voters of the presidential election next year. it does seem possible, at least, doesn't it? the whole row about impeachment may impact on some quite welcome results for the democrats in kentucky and virginia? yes, certainly in can psyche with the governorship being lost by the republicans with a democrat taking over, and in virginia ata democrat taking over, and in virginia at a local level. the democrats are doing well in the state legislature, taking control. as you suggested, it is difficult at this stage to gauge to what extent

impeachment is affecting the way people think. certainly anecdotally people think. certainly anecdotally people don't seem to be that engaged or even that interested in some cases just yet. so to say definitively that these election results are the result of what is happening with impeachment, i think thatis happening with impeachment, i think that is a stretch. certainly if you look at the opinion polls, more people have been saying the impeachment enquiry is justified. but i think things could change a light next week when people get to see with their own eyes these individuals being questioned. the expressions on people's phases. and the democrats asking questions, other democrats justified in pursuing things this far? is impeachment the right way forward? they are tough questions facing them as much as the president has. peter, thank you very much for that. doctors in chile say nearly 200 people have been treated for severe eye injuries caused by police action against anti—government protesters in recent weeks.

the unrest has also seen more than 20 people die, prompting an investigation by the un into allegations of human rights abuses against demonstrators. andy beatt reports. it's been three weeks of sirens. tear gas and water cannons on the streets of santiago. and the mass anti—government movement shows no sign of slowing down. clashes between protestors and police have grown so violent, the united nations has deployed a team to investigate alleged human rights abuses. already, chile's medical college has recorded more than 180 eye injuries. it says that number is the highest its doctors have seen anywhere in the world. translation: the issue of eye loss surpasses any other period in the history of the country and even internationally. no other country has ever reported this number of cases.

even comparing long conflicts like palestine or paris and hong kong. this 15—year—old boy was caught in a crossfire while passing through a protest. he was hit six times by rubber bullets — and is now blind in one eye. he blames police brutality — something the president denies. translation: the president's lying - there are people marching peacefully but the police are the bad ones — because ofjust a few people, they‘ re implicating everyone. chile's human rights institute says there have been nearly 150 complaints against the police for torture. president sebastian pinera has promised to prosecute police accused of violations with the same force as rioters and looters detained during the protests. but so far he has refused to resign from his post, which will only exacerbate outrage among protestors demanding change from the political elite. andy beatt, bbc news.

our political editor laura kuenssberg has the details on the upcoming general election. he has been one of the best—known politicians in the country for a decade, but fame and having faith are not the same thing. he may be the tory party's darling, but he wants you to trust him, and to stay in number 10. i didn't want an election. and no prime minister, frankly — i love myjob, and no prime minister wants an election, particularly when i'm enjoying it — there's so much that we want to get on and do. but, my friends, we have no choice. the whole brexit delay is holding us all back. it's like a bendy bus — i banned them in london — a bendy bus jackknifed on a yellow box junction. laughter and adoration in this room, but if clearing a crop of mps

is the answer, why should the new ones be from his side? we get this deal through parliament and get on with the fantastic projects in which this government is engaged. uniting and levelling up our country, giving people opportunity across our country, with better education, better infrastructure and new technology. that is what this government is all about. cheering. it's about giving hope and a chance. get used to hearing this. this country is aching to move on. so let's make next year the year of prosperity and growth. let's get brexit done, my friends, and get on with our project of sensible, moderate — sensible, moderate but tax—cutting one—nation conservatism, spreading hope and opportunity across the whole of the uk. hang on — a loud, cheering crowd doesn't drown out tory woes. like a small clutch of protesters here tonight, there will be many people who just don't buy it.

and a minister had to quit this morning. yesterday, the welsh secretary was nervously scratching his head in cabinet. at lunchtime today, he resigned, after claims he knew about a former member of staff's role in collapsing a rape trial. one of your colleagues had to quit this morning. i think that boris has showed today why he's the right person to be prime minister. he's got out there, fantastic speech just now, great reception, and i think we're all ready. a glossy rally is one thing, but he is risking his all. win, and he will get his brexit, and maybe five years in at numberio. fail, and jeremy corbyn will be right behind instead. i welcomejeremy corbyn. for four years, his ranks of supporters have dreamt of him walking through downing street's door. like his rival, he wants to move on from the mess. westminster hasn't exactly covered itself in glory recently. you're right to feel frustrated with the political system, because it's not working for you.

politics should be about your life, your community, your job. but on what to do instead, their solutions are different — very different. if the british people elect a labour government on 12 december, i'll be proud to be a labour prime minister. but i have to warn you, it will be very different, because i was not born to rule. none of us in this room were born to rule. the politics that i stand for is about sharing power and wealth with people who don't have a lot of money, don't have friends in high places, so they can take control of their own lives. the two contenders for the top job can both pack a room. both prompt cheers and chants on their own side. but they both divide, too. which one will govern? laura kuenssberg, bbc news, birmingham. let's quickly round—up some more of the day's news for you.

police injordan say several people have been stabbed in the northern city ofjerash, a popular tourist site famed for its roman ruins. officials say four tourists from mexico and one from switzerland are among the wounded. fourjordanians were also attacked, including a police officer. one man has been arrested. us prosecutors have charged two former twitter employees and a third man with spying for saudi arabia. they are accused of accessing personal information of some twitter users who criticised the saudi government and royal family. as we see more protests in major cities across the world, this week on bbc news we're asking why. is there a common thread? why are so many young people taking to the streets? and how are governments responding? events in hong kong have been gripping the headlines sincejune. opposition to a plan for extradition to mainland chinese courts controlled by the communist party triggered mass demonstrations which have now become a call for widespread reform, including universal suffrage. one person, one vote. most observers didn't expect the crisis there to last this long.

our china correspondent stephen mcdonell who's been covering the protests from the beginning, has been speaking to some of the demonstrators. they didn't want to be identified. you can't be in hong kong these days and not be exposed to political conflict. this clash of ideologies is everywhere. it's plastered on the walls. it's seen in the graffiti. freedom versus stability. upheaval versus the way things were. the authorities have tried to crush the movement, but 3,300 arrests later, it hasn't gone away. five months into this campaign, why do you still come out every week and protest? ithink... tear gas, tear gas. i think it's a bit of — we need the justice to be fulfilled. we met an activist who works in the finance industry. when he is not in the office,

he is involved in the campaign. of course, on the weekend, like today, most of the youngsters and even some old people, we all march together to fight. and what you think of the impact on your city? does it worry you? about the impact on your city? i think it's a 50—50 question. i'm worried about the city future, but i'm still optimistic. because i can see the youngsters, they are the energy. he knows this mess defiance is hurting hong kong. but come monday morning, heading to work, he hopes short—term pain will eventually deliver a freer, more sustainable economy. he says he has many friends prepared for a long struggle. i believe most of the hong kong people, we already embed the rebel into our life. the longer the crisis goes on, the more people are being pressured into choosing a side. activists colour—code businesses like shops and restaurants in terms of their political allegiances, and if an establishment is deemed to be pro—beijing, well, it is seen as a legitimate target for attack.

translation: yes, we have been attacked. but the colour, how they categorise us, we can't control this. our boss is actually neutral. this small chain of hong kong cafes has already to shut one of its outlets. apart from a protest and boycott, there has been a 50% drop in tourist numbers, and an economy in technical recession. translation: there are going to be long—term effects. this isn't a short—term thing. special outer—layer walls are going up all across hong kong, to protect certain businesses from vandalism. mainland chinese banks look like bunkers. yet life goes on in the protest city, which appears to have changed forever. and we'll have more on this protest

and many others taking place across the world — you can find more on the key issues on our website — simply head to bbc.com/news. still to come: australia's women's football team, the matildas, strike a landmark deal which will see them earn, equal pay to their male counterparts. the israeli prime minister, yitzhak rabin, the architect of the middle east peace process, has been assassinated. a 27—year—old jewish man has been arrested, and an extremistjewish organisation has claimed responsibility for the killing. at polling booths throughout the country, they voted on a historic day for australia. as the results came in, it was clear. the monarchy would survive. of the american hostages, there was no sign. they are being held somewhere inside the compound, and student leaders have threatened that should the americans attempt

rescue, they will all die. this mission has surpassed all expectations. voyageri is now the most distant man—made object anywhere in the universe, and itjust seems to keep on going. tonight, we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms, or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: us congressional democrats announce they'll begin public hearings on impeaching president trump next wednesday. doctors in chile say nearly two hundred people have been treated for severe eye injuries caused by police action against protesters. it's possible police in london may now face hundreds of legal claims forfalse imprisonment, from activists of the climate crisis protest group extinction rebellion.

the group has won a legal challenge against the metropolitan police over the decision to ban its demonstrations across the british capital. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford explains. for seven days, extinction rebellion protestors brought parts of london to a standstill, stretching police resources to the limit. on the eighth day, organisers adopted a tactic from the hong kong pro—democracy movement, in which protestors are told to be like water — to flood a site, and then when police arrive, quickly move on to another location, causing as much disruption as possible. at that point, the superintendent in charge banned all extinction rebellion protests in london, a decision the high court today ruled unlawful. we're delighted with today's result. it vindicates our belief that the police's blanket ban was an unprecedented,

and now unlawful, infringement on our right to protest. it also opens the way for those who were detained for breaching the ban to sue the police for unlawful arrest. we're disappointed by the ruling, but clearly we absolutely respect the court's decision. and what we need to do now, i think, is, in slow time, carefully consider what it means for us, and review our tactics in light of it. so, the police now have a challenge — how do they deal with the "be water" tactic of protestors, when lots of mini—protests keep popping up all over the place? the judges were clear that a city—wide ban won't wash. it's unlawful. so police will have to revert to dealing with each mini—protest one by one, with all the implications for resources that that involves. police said today they spent more than £24 million policing extinction rebellion‘s autumn uprising, and said it had caused unacceptable and prolonged disruption.

daniel sandford, bbc news, at new scotland yard. more than 1,000 people were forced to evacuate a london theatre on wednesday evening after part of the ceiling collapsed during a show. emergency services were called to the piccadilly theatre in the west end, which was packed for a performance of arthur miller's play death of a salesman. five people were treated in hospitalfor minor injuries. wendell pierce, who stars as willy loman, spoke to the crowd outside. i did not mean for it to go like this. laughter. i would like to thank you all for, one, safely evacuating. we apologise and we are glad that no—one is hurt and i ask you all to come back and see our production. we are so honoured that you came tonight. one audience member who saw the roof come down told us, beforehand, the crowd could hear water coming through the ceiling for several minutes.

i think it's the normal thing, you are sitting in a theatre, you're watching the show and very stoically, you just sit there and let things happen and then you suddenly realise something is happening that shouldn't be and clearly things weren't right. a few people started to panic but i wouldn't say it was a mass panic but there was a very, very quick evacuation. foreign ministers from ethiopia, egypt and sudan are holding talks in washington on a controversial mega dam along the river nile. ethiopia is about half way through building the $4 billion project, but egypt is worried about the impact on its water supplies and how much water sudan will use. from our correspondents in the region, let's hear more of what each country is saying. as they began building the dam, they insisted that as well as it being an integrated development, it will bring benefits. countries in the region including egypt and sudan could buy electricity that the dam

is expected to generate cheaply, it is expected to generate cheaply, it is said. officials have repeatedly argued that if you pay only —— accuse egypt of trying to maintain a colonial era treaty that they say upholds unfairness. in light of that, nobel peace winning prime minister recently said that ethiopian has no desire to put harm on any interest of egypt or saddam. sudan has traditionally cited with egypt when it came to these treaties about the use of the waters of the river nile but since 2011 when ethiopian began the construction of the grand ethiopian resident —— rennison 's dam, —— renaissance dam, we see infrastructure has been put in place because this dam is being constructed just near the border with sudan. it will solve a perennial problem, a problem of flooding of the farmlands in sudan.

the egyptian ministry of irrigation says if egypt's share of the nile water is to be reduced by only 2%, nearly 200,000 acres of land could be destroyed. the prime minister also says the country is already suffering from water poverty. egyptians warned the ethiopians to fill the dam reservoir quite —— quite slowly, over nearly ten years or so, so that egypt's share of the water won't be affected. we will let you know how that goes. the actor emma watson has re—ignited a conversation about what it means to be single. or to use the phrase she used: ‘self—partnered'. the harry potter star is about to turn 30, a time when, as she noted wearily, women start getting a lot more questions about when they might ‘settle down‘. in an interview with british vogue, she said she'd long resisted any pressure or expectations about marriage and babies but then, suddenly, at 29, became stressed and anxious. lisa bonos has written for the washington post about these issues. we asked her about "self—partnered."

the world single sometimes doesn't convey the richness and fullness that can happen in a single person's life. it doesn't acknowledge the fa ct life. it doesn't acknowledge the fact that a single person might have really healthy friendships and relationships with their family and here at the washington post a couple of years ago, we coined the term soloish to indicate a person's life is their own but also full of other fulfilling relationships younger partner. it is hard to know why emma chose the term. it is resonating with people on twitter and stuff, sometimes in a joking way, people saying that they will tell their relatives when they acquire about their —— enquire about their dating lives that they are self partnered. for her, she is saying she is happy single and sometimes the word single can sound like something is lacking 01’ can sound like something is lacking or that a person is looking for a

partner and that is not always the case. so plenty of single people are happy that way and self partnered might bea happy that way and self partnered might be a good way to describe that. australia's women's football team, the matildas, have struck an historic pay deal. the top male and female players will be on the same pay scale, and all players get the same perks — such as flying business class. freya cole has the story. the matildas work hard on the field and for the last four years, they have worked hard off the field. they have worked hard off the field. they have scored a landmark deal which closes the gender pay gap with the men's socceroos. forfemale closes the gender pay gap with the men's socceroos. for female athletes around the world, it is something to cheer about. it is enormous. in my playing career, i never thought i would see the moment where equality was reached in the way that it has been. i think it is an enormous sign of respect from the federation and the caltex socceroos, to agree to wa nt to the caltex socceroos, to agree to want to move in this direction together. the top players will be

played —— together. the top players will be played —— paid on the same scale, regardless of gender, and will get identical training conditions and entitlements. but the deal doesn't ta ke entitlements. but the deal doesn't take into account prize money means the socceroos will still take home a bigger pay packet, even still, it is a huge step forward for equality in sport. it will give the next generation of female players further opportunities to become professional footballers. the gender pay gap has been a hot topic of the back of a hugely popular women's world cup in july. the reigning champions, the united states, have launched a lawsuit against the us soccer federation overpaying conditions. they are hoping for the same outcome as the australian matildas and their fa ns as the australian matildas and their fans hope so too. footballers around the world keeping a close eye on that one. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter —

i'm @bbcmikeembley. much more on the bbc website. hello there. parts of england and wales look extremely wet on thursday with the risk of localised flooding in places and the risk of some travel disruption, all courtesy of this new area of low pressure which is going to park itself across the uk and this very slow—moving front will bring some very wet conditions through central portions of the uk. early on thursday, that rain band will be slowly spreading its way northwards so some places quite wet. blustery showers across the southwest and some showers across scotland which will be wintry over the high ground. a little bit of sunshine around and not quite as cold a start as what we have seen the last few nights because we have cloud around. but through thursday morning, that rain band will almost grind to a halt across parts of north wales, the north midlands, northern england and the rain will be heavy and persistent at times.

like i said, producing some localised flooding and travel disruption in places and we'll also have quite a keen east—north—east wind, making it feel pretty raw so not very pleasant conditions throughout the day on thursday here. to the north of it, bright, probably the best sunshine for western scotland. a few showers which will be wintry on the hill but quite blustery here and some heavy, maybe thundery showers across southern and south—western parts of england and it will be quite blustery here, too. but into the midlands and the south—east we should see some sunshine, slightly lighter winds. it will be a chilly day wherever you are, just about 10 degrees across the south and single figure values further north. and like i mentioned, feeling really chilly underneath that cloud and rain. through thursday night, a slow improvement. that weather front with the band of rain continues to ease down and push towards the south and east so it will be a dry and chilly night across many northern and southern areas but where you have the cloud, not quite as cold, ranging from 2—6 degrees there. the pressure chart, as we head into friday, shows this area of low pressure slipping off into the near continent. a bit of a hand back

across the eastern side of the country with this weather front which will continue to bring a fair amount of cloud and one or two showers, but a ridge of high pressure builds in across the north and west, so here, after a chilly start, it should be a fine day with plenty of sunshine around. much of the country should see a bit of sunshine apart from the eastern side of england where it's going to be another chilly day. as we had through friday night, eventually we'll see the cloud and the rain in the south—east clear away, it's going to be a cold night under clear skies with a widespread frost. the next weather front will arrive across the west, so not quite as cold for northern ireland as it will be across much of britain. into saturday, a cold, frosty start for many but that rain will spill in from the west to many areas and then on sunday, it's a gradual improvement with some sunshine developing.

this is bbc news. the headlines: democrats in the us have announced they'll begin public hearings on impeaching donald trump next wednesday. so far lawmakers have heard from witnesses behind closed doors. the impeachment inquiry centres on claims that the president pressured ukraine to publicly announce an investigation into political rival, joe biden. doctors in chile say nearly 200 people have been treated for severe eye injuries caused by police action against anti—government protesters in recent weeks. the unrest has also seen more than 20 people die, prompting an investigation by the un into allegations of human rights abuses. the election campaign in the uk is formally under way. the prime minister, borisjohnson, has called on voters to get him the majority to be able to deliver brexit. the day was overshadowed by two resignations by welsh secretary