i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. the headlines: public impeachment hearings into donald trump's presidency get underway in washington. mr trump — who's hosting turkey's leader — says he's too busy to watch. i hear it is a joke. i have not watched, i have not watched for one minute because i have been with the president which is much more important as far as i am concerned. earlier president erdogan received a warm welcome to the white house — despite tensions over the war in syria. i'm maryam moshiri in london. also in the programme: a breakthrough in the treatment of ebola — the world health organization approves the first vaccine. and venice underwater. the highest tide in 50 years causes

severe flooding in the italian tourist city. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news. it's newsday. good morning. it's 8am in singapore, midnight in london and 7pm in washington where president trump has again denounced the impeachment inquiry into him as the first public hearings got under. it started with testimony from the acting us ambassador to ukraine. bill taylor said it was clear to him the white house was making both military aid and a visit to washington by the ukrainian president conditional on ukraine launching an investigation into mr trump's democratic rival joe biden and his son. our north america editor jon sopel has been watching.

history in the house... this is like the super bowl for politics, the day the impeachment hearings go public. and coast—to—coast, all the us tv networks are gearing up for the unfolding drama that could be the decisive moment of the trump presidency. and early this morning, in the white house residence, the light is on and the tweets are angry. in the committee room, it's a scrum, an hour before the hearing gets under way. first up was this man, george kent. he is a senior state department official, overseeing ukraine affairs. i do not believe the united states should ask other countries to engage in selective, politically associated investigations or prosecutions against opponents of those in power, because such selective actions undermine the rule of law. in other words, the president ordered a halt to military aid

to ukraine until it agreed to dig dirt on a gas company, burisma, that hunter biden, son of former vice president joe biden and donald trump's potential 2020 rival, was a director of. next up, bill taylor, acting ambassador to ukraine. he says the president was trying to strong—arm kiev. by mid—july, it was becoming clear to me that the meeting that president zelensky wanted was conditioned on the investigation of burisma, and alleged ukrainian interference in the 2016 us elections. the republican strategy seems to be to cast doubt on everyone and everything involved in this impeachment inquiry, including the undermining of these lifelong public servants. ambassador taylor and mr kent, i'd like to welcome you here. i'd like to congratulate you for passing the democrats‘ star chamber auditions, held for the last weeks in the basement of the capital. it seems you agreed, wittingly or unwittingly, to participate in a drama.

republicans have dismissed much of the evidence as hearsay, and complained that the whistle—blower hadn't been called. now, there is one witness that they won't bring in front of us, they won't bring it in front of the american people, and that is the guy who started it all, the whistle—blower. i'd be glad to have the person who started it all come in and testify. president trump is welcome to take a seat right here. laughter a rare moment of humour, in a sour, partisan hearing. impeachment is the mechanism by which a sitting president can be removed from office for high crimes and misdemeanours. the first stage is a vote in the house of representatives, which has to be carried by a simple majority. if that is passed, then the articles of impeachment go to the upper house, and here the president is put on trial, with the 100 senators acting as the jury. for donald trump to be removed from office, two thirds of senators would have to find him guilty, a threshold that has never been reached before. on this blockbuster wednesday,

donald trump is meeting president erdogan of turkey at the white house. i'm too busy to watch it. it's a witch—hunt, it's a hoax. i'm too busy to watch it, so i'm sure i'll get a report. donald trump has railed against the unfairness of the process, and has insisted repeatedly he has done nothing wrong. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. jon sopel reporting. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. the white house said president trump was not even watching the impeachment proceedings. he spent the day meeting the visiting turkish president recep tayyip erdogan. mr trump told him that they understand each other‘s countries, despite tensions over the war in syria and russian missiles. at an initial meeting in the oval office in washington, mr trump said they would discuss mr erdogan‘s decision to buy s—400 missile batteries from russia. i look forward to continuing to find

a common ground and common purpose and to advance the interests of our people and the abiding friendship between our nations. we have a great relationship both personally and with the great country of turkey and we look forward to moving that forward and making it an even bigger and better relationship. translation: we all believe that we need to further cement our relationship and that it should be erected upon a strong and healthy relation. we should remain resolved in order to open a new chapter in our relations, in full compliance with our deeply rooted alliance. also making news today: more palestinians have been killed by israeli air strikes in gaza as a flare—up of tension between the two sides continued through a second day. at least 23 people are reported to have died in the palestinian territory — including three children. the violence began after the israelis targeted an islamichhad commander,

ba ha abu al—ata. australian authorities have warned that massive bushfires raging in queensland and new south wales will continue to pose a threat. in some areas the danger has been downgraded from catastrophic — the highest level, but officials have urged residents to remain vigilant. they warned that no significant rain was expected, putting continuing strain on firefighters. the netherlands is to cut the daytime speed limit for cars to reduce its nitrogen emissions. the maximum daytime speed will be 100 kilometres an hour — the equvialent of around 62 miles per hour. the prime minister mark rutte said this is necessary to combat climate change. and the urban climber alain robert, also known as the french spiderman, has struck again, this time climbing a tower in the business district of paris. this guy uses no safety equipment

and is well known for scaling famous buildings all over the world. after an hour of climbing, the 57—year—old had to enter the tower through a window because of wet walls. the outgoing european council president donald tusk has urged british voters not to "give up" on stopping brexit. as campaigning ramps up ahead of next month's general election, he warned that leaving the eu would leave the uk a "second—rate player". in a speech, he also said brexit would likely mark the "real end of the british empire". the uk election takes place in one month. can things still be turned around? had the higher end thought things become irreversible only when people started to think so? so the only words that come to my mind today are simply don't give up.

in this match we had added time, now we are in extra time, perhaps it will even go to penalties. the world health organization has approved the world's first ever vaccine against ebola. the vaccine is already being used in the ongoing outbreak in the democratic republic of congo, which has so far claimed more than 2,100 lives. it comes as health authorities in the country get ready to roll out a second experimental vaccine as part of a major clinical trial. our global health correspondent tulip mazumdar reports. for more than a0 years, ebola has been one of the world's most deadly and terrifying diseases. medics have relied on very basic tools like quarantining victims and keeping them well hydrated to help save lives. but today, for the first time, there is an internationally approved vaccine that provides almost 100% protection against

ebola. developed by the american pharmaceutical company it has already been given to around a quarter of a million people in the drc. now it can be stockpiled by governments and rolled out to countries most at risk of outbreak. it is wonderful news. finally after a0 yea rs it is wonderful news. finally after a0 years we have some tools that can prevent people from becoming infected. professor is part of the tea m infected. professor is part of the team that discovered ebola and investigated the first out rake back in 1976. it is a happy moment for eve ryo ne in 1976. it is a happy moment for everyone involved in ebola from the beginning because we finally have something to offer. and now we have to think of how we're to use these vaccines, making sure that people have access to them. every healthcare worker, every nurse and doctor in countries like congo or sierra leone should benefit from vaccination against ebola. another

major milestone in the fight against ebola is taking place in the drc this week. a large—scale trial of a second that scene manufactured by johnson &johnson. second that scene manufactured by johnson & johnson. 50,000 second that scene manufactured by johnson &johnson. 50,000 people from one—year—old will be offered the jab from one—year—old will be offered thejab in from one—year—old will be offered the jab in two areas. they will need two doses two months apart. this outbreak has been fuelled by conflict and by distrust of health workers. the medical charity msf has spent weeks carrying out education campaigns ahead of the rollout. certainly when you introduce a new drug or vaccine, and especially when you talk about something being experimental or new there is a lot of questions and there can be a lot of questions and there can be a lot of confusion or mistrust. that is normal. and one of the things that we have been clear on from the beginning is that we need to work closely with the communities that we vaccinate. as well as the two

vaccines, to experimental treatments are also being used in the drc when new cases of ebola have dropped significantly in recent weeks. the world has never had so many tools with which to fight this virus and it is hoped it will help and the outbreak and prevent future ones. many people get around venice by water but at the moment they haven't got much choice. the italian city has been hit by severe flooding after the highest tide in more than 50 years. water levels in the canals rose by around two metres. the city's mayor said the city was on its knees and the cost of repairing the damage would run into hundreds of millions of euros. here's our rome correpsondent mark lowen. italy's city of water has succumbed to it. venice, submerged by its highest tide in over 50 years. six feet, the second—highest since records began. st mark's square,

with its byzantine basilica, drowning in water, its 12th century crypt flooded, no word yet on the priceless frescoes and mosaics inside. a city blessed with canals now cursed by them as fierce winds whipped the torrential rain. even the gondolas that glide beneath the rialto couldn't cope. hotels and shops have been hit, the damage will cost hundreds of millions. a floodgate project under way could have saved them but has been plagued by corruption and overspend. translation: they've done nothing. in italy, that's how it is. our politicians are all thieves. they should be injail. translation: everything is damaged. look at what we are living through. there's really something to cry about. some reaped the benefit. a swim with a view. with rising seas and over—tourism, venice is fighting to survive, a city of art and love no match for our changing climate. mark lowen, bbc news.

you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: sri lankans prepare for a tight race as the highest ever number of candidates contest the presidential election. also on the programme, the risks of rebuilding notre—dame. seven months after the fire, architects say there's still a risk of collapse. the bombastic establishment outsider, donald trump, has defied the pollsters to take the keys to the oval office. i feel great about the election result. i voted for him because i genuinely believe that he cares about the country. it's keeping the candidate's name always in the public eye that counts. success or failure depends not

only on public display, but on the local campaign headquarters and the heavy routine work of their women volunteers. berliners from both east and west linked hands and danced around their liberated territory. and with nobody to stop them, it wasn't long before the first attempts were made to destroy the structure itself. yasser arafat, who dominated the palestinian cause for so long, has died. palestinian authority has declared a state of mourning. after 17 years of discussion, the result was greeted with an outburst ofjoy. women ministers who'd long felt only grudgingly accepted in the ranks of clergy suddenly felt welcomed. public impeachment hearings into donald trump's presidency have started in washington. he's denounced the inquiry

as another witch hunt. meanwhile, mr trump's also been hosting talks with turkey's president erdogan about the war in syria, and turkey's decision to buy russian missiles. let's get more on events in washington now — professor cass sunstein — is a legal expert and author of impeachment: a citizen's guide — he also worked in the white house under president obama and he joins us from new york. thank you so much for coming onto newsday price. i'm sure you been watching a little bit of what's happening today. what do you make of what's happened so far? it's been dignified in general, it's been consistent with our constitutional system, it's abated the rules, there has been an effort to find out what the fact are. of course, there has been a partisan element which is not what we would like to see for something of this degree of gravity

but it is living up to the ideals in general of our constitutional system. how big a problem is the pa rt system. how big a problem is the part of the nature of things, especially at the beginning like this? serious. the whole idea of impeachment was supposed to be that we are looking not at whether we think the president is a good person or not or whether we agree with his policies but whether he has committed a high crime or misdemeanour and that's not supposed to bea misdemeanour and that's not supposed to be a part as a matter but to have it right at the initial stages be inflamed in this way is not surprising and right now, not unexpected. there were some jokes made today about who could be called asa made today about who could be called as a potential with this and what have you. how much power does the committee have to call witnesses, to see evidence in a way that perhaps the wider public wouldn't be able to see? well, they can call any witnesses they want when it's related to the legitimate purposes of impeachment enquiry. so if they

called you or they called someone who had no connection with what they are investigating, that would not be are investigating, that would not be a legitimate purpose and if they called people who are claiming to have had conversations with the president personally, those people might be able to resist on those grounds. there is a difference between a mere call, meaning please come, and the subpoena, because a dinner invitation can be responded to with no thank you, and the subpoena is a legal instrument and you need a good reason to say no to that one. we talked on this programme about the whole process of impeachment. you've written a book about it so you know better than anyone. how likely is it that all of this is going to end up in the process , this is going to end up in the process, in the senate with impeachment? a lot of people are saying today, what's the point? well, the likelihood of impeachment right now, meaning that the president will be effectively indicted by the house of representatives is over 50%. that

is, the democrats control the house and the grounds for impeachment in their apparent preliminary review are real. it's profoundly to be hoped that they are keeping an open mind and they will listen to counterarguments as it is to be hoped that the republicans will have an open mind and sometimes hopes are that not everyone is going to be playing it straight. in the senate, which looks likely, likely look —— likelihood the senate will convicted, that is the legal term, but donald trump is over 50%, because the republicans controlled the senate but probabilities tend to shift rapidly so it's probably a mistake to be too confident about what tomorrow will bring. thank you very much. presidential elections are being held in sri lanka on saturday, with the highest ever number of candidates taking part. it's expected to be a tight race between the two frontrunners — gotabaya rajapaksa, a controversial former defence chief,

who's seen as the favourite to win — and sajith premadasa, from the current ruling party. from sri lanka, here's the bbc‘s yogita limaye. under the tropical sun, they waited for hours at a rural bus station. finding anyplace they could to see their leader. gotabaya finding anyplace they could to see their leader. gota baya rajapa ksa, finding anyplace they could to see their leader. gotabaya rajapaksa, a wartime defence chief with a deadly reputation. he has now emerged from the shadow of his brother, the former president. the rajapaksas are credited with ending sri lanka's civil war, and in a nation where people have suffered deadly attacks this year, they promised security. "from this point on, our country

will never experience acts of terrorism like this, " he says. translation: to save the country from where it's fallen to, we need a leader like gotabaya. he announced he was running for president soon after these bombings on easter sunday. what happened inside this church in many ways changed the course of the election. the idea that peaceful families sitting together in mass could be brutally killed should this nation and broad national security into the centre stage. in an environment of fear, an opportunity for a leader like gota baya raja pa ksa, opportunity for a leader like gota baya rajapa ksa, who opportunity for a leader like gotabaya rajapaksa, who is seen as a strong man. but there is a part of sri lanka where his name evokes fear. when he was defence secretary, a fierce military crackdown ended the civil war waged by tamil rebels in the north. gotabaya rajapaksa is

accused of human rights abuses and ordering the rounding up of thousands of tamils, many of whom never returned home. theirfamilies hold daily vigils. ratna singham says his son was abducted when he was coming home from university. says his son was abducted when he was coming home from universitylj have was coming home from university.” have no doubt this abduction was done by gotabaya rajapaksa and he won't come back. but we want to expose the atrocities of gotabaya raja pa ksa to expose the atrocities of gotabaya rajapa ksa to the expose the atrocities of gotabaya rajapaksa to the world. gotabaya raja pa ksa always rajapaksa to the world. gotabaya rajapa ksa always denied rajapaksa to the world. gotabaya rajapaksa always denied he was behind the disappearance of their loved ones. his main

rival is sajith premadasa, from the ruling party. a lovely campaign has boosted sajith premadasa's chances. an unlikely contender at first, he has made this a 2— man race. it's expected to be a close one. yogita limaye, bbc news, in sri lanka. the first television pictures have been broadcast tonight showing the extent of the damage inside notre dame cathedral in paris after the devastating fire in april. the images broadcast, by france3, show the huge task ahead to rebuild it. our paris correspondent lucy williamson reports. behind its familiar towers, the shape of notre—dame has changed, its soaring spire now a gaping hole, lead melting into new sculptures on its grizzled face. walking into notre—dame was always humbling. philippe villeneuve is one of very few to have seen how the cathedral looks today. this it's silent, floodlit by sunlight,

the charred remains of the collapsing spire still piled on the floor. translation: the wood continued to burn on the ground, and burned the bases of these two columns. if they weren't reinforced like this to stop them shattering, they could have collapsed, and taken the walls and vault with them. it would have been a catastrophe. firefighters say they came close to losing notre—dame that night, but the reconstruction could risk its survival again. architects here say there is still a major risk of the vaults collapsing because of the effect of intense heat and water on the stones. teams are working to stabilise the structure over the next few months, so reconstruction can begin. it took an evening to burn through this building.

it'll take much more than a single night to really save it. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. harry and meghan along with their son archie will spend christmas with her mother in the united states, said have the blessing of the queen. it follows the duke and duchess of cambridge's plans to spend business with kate's parents. quite normal to alternate holidays between one side of the family and the other. always a difficult decision, isn't it? it is. where are you spending christmas? with the in—laws this year. excellent, somei. let me bring you some pictures of these dogs, sorry. that was my cue. these dogs have been brought to capitol hill. tails wagging on capitol hill.

therapy dogs have brought smiles to the faces of strained staffers on the first day of the public impeachment hearings. pet partners and the pet industry joint advisory council introduced dogs of different shapes and sizes to office workers. we need some of those dogs here with all those exit shenanigans going on. i totally agree with you. thank you so much for watching newsday. hello. wednesday started decently enough across the south—west of england and south wales and then camea mix england and south wales and then came a mix of rain or snow, just depending on elevation. to keep decent weather, you had to be of further dealer way towards the eastern was a dryer and find a day and we've seen of late but there was no escaping the fact the system that is brought that combination of wet and at times wintry fair into that south—western quarter is going to be a player more widely across the southern half of britain during the course of thursday. really quite wet for the commute across the southern counties of england, come the afternoon, just pushing the eastern portion of the front with some significant rain all up towards those flood affected areas and if

you don't happen to see during daylight hours, given the fact that this system is going to move a little bit further north, we might get it during the evening on what would have been another single figure temperature day right across the piste. there is more sunshine to be had across scotland and northern ireland with a few showers but it won't make an awful lot of difference. here we are into the wee small hours of friday, the frontal system tending to fracture a little bit each individual pulse of rain i'm showing there could be quite heavy and unwelcome rain at that into the flood affected areas, another fairly cool night and a cool start to friday. still dominated by the big area of low pressure sitting across us and indeed much of central and western europe and the onshore flow from the north sea, moisture laden airand flow from the north sea, moisture laden air and still bits of pieces of rain to be had quite widely across england and wales but not with the same sort of intensity we might have seen on thursday. scotland, northern ireland seeing the rest of the sunshine, the north of scotla nd the rest of the sunshine, the north of scotland with one of shoe —— wa nted of scotland with one of shoe ——

wanted to showers each in their own right being wintry across higher ground. what news of the weekend, not a great deal changes. not much intensity about the rain i speak of but that set up on saturday is very similaron but that set up on saturday is very similar on friday, still the big area of low pressure, still the moisture laden air on its northern length, beating cloud and bits of pieces of rain, particularly in eastern parts of scotland and england. separate weather front closes on the western isles. in between, bits and pieces of sunshine perhaps to the western side of wales, up towards the solway, could be favoured and we mayjust about find a degree on the temperatures. i've changed the day, the stories same. we are going to bring the front of scotland with snow on the high ground but further south, sunshine and really short supply. i'm afraid it is going to be one of those weekends.

this is bbc world news.

our top story. president trump has dismissed the impeachment inquiry against him after the first public hearings. he said the proceedings are a sham and a joke. in his testimony, bill taylor — america's top diplomat in kyiv, said he'd been told mr trump cared more about investigations into his political rivaljoe biden — than about ukraine. meanwhile, the us president's also been holding talks with his turkish counterpart — recep tayyip erdogan — in washington. they discussed the war in syria and turkey's decision to buy missiles from russia. and this video is trending on bbc.com: the highest tides for 50 years have caused severe flooding in venice. the italian city's mayor has blamed climate change. that's all. stay with bbc world news.