welcome to bbc news. i'm mike embley. our top stories: four more witnesses testify in washington as the impeachment inquiry ramps up pressure on president trump. it is improperfor the president of the united states to demand a foreign government investigate a us citizen and a political opponent. amnesty international says at least 100 people have been killed across iran in days of demonstrations. security forces are accused of firing directly on protesters. twitter condemns britain's conservative party, saying it misled the public by rebranding one of its accounts, ‘factcheckuk', during a live tv debate. and is hong kong's university stand—off in its final hours? only a few protesters remain, surrounded by police.

hello to you. more senior officials have appeared before the impeachment hearings, investigating whether donald trump has abused his presidential power, and the white house has attacked its own most senior ukraine official, even as he was giving public testimony. as lieutenant colonel alexander vindman told congress that a phone call made by the president was improper and left him in shock, the official white house twitter account was questioning hisjudgement. in his evidence, the iraq veteran, who serves on the us national security council, said mr trump did make inappropriate demands of the ukrainian leader to help him politically in next year's us presidential election. aleem maqbool was there for us. many are taking huge risks

to testify against their president. for lieutenant colonel alexander vindman, a military hero and national security aid still working for the white house, those risks felt acute. dad... hands shaking as he gave his opening statement, he addressed his father who'd fled soviet ukraine for a better life in the us. ..do not worry, i will be fine for telling the truth. he was one of those who was on the crucial call between donald trump and his ukrainian counterpart and felt the need to report what he'd heard. i was concerned by the call. what i heard was inappropriate and i have forwarded my concerns to mr eisenberg. it is improper for the president of the united states to demand a foreign government investigate a us citizen and a political opponent. these hearings are about the accusation donald trump tied military aid to ukraine to the country opening investigations into the activities of hunter biden, son ofjoe biden. i just got to watch

and the republicans are absolutely killing it, they are doing so well, because it's a scam, it's a big scam. they're doing something that the founders never thought possible and the founders didn't want, and they‘ re using this impeachment hoax for their own political gain. if you will you both please rise? but in today's hearings, we also heard from one of the key figures who steered donald trump's ukraine policy. at no time was i aware of or knowingly took part in an effort to urge ukraine to investigate former vice—president biden. as you know from the extensive real—time documentation i have provided, vice—president biden was not a topic of our discussions. i was not on thejuly 25 phone call between president trump and president zelensky. i was not made aware of any reference to vice—president biden or his son by president trump until the transcript of that call was released on september 25, 2019. we're now into the second week of these public hearings

with much more testimony to come over the next couple of days. but if social media is anything to go by, then supporters and opponents of donald trump are only becoming more entrenched in their views with very few americans changing their mind. aleem maqbool, bbc news, washington. we will have more analysis on those hearings just a little later in the programme. according to amnesty international, 106 people are confirmed dead in iran in five days of protests. but the human rights group believes the real number is much higher. the unrest is a reaction to friday's sharp rise in petrol prices. banks and other buildings have been set ablaze and security personnel killed. video appears to show security forces shooting at demonstrators. gareth barlow reports. the unrest following the government public announcement on friday that petrol prices would rise by 50% continues. days of widespread

protests responded to with widespread force. we especially learn the use of ammunition has caused a significant number of deaths across the country. we urge the iranians authorities and the security forces to avoid the use of force to disperse peaceful assemblies. amid a government imposed internet blackout, the bbc has managed to obtain this footage, which appears to show security forces firing directly from behind a wall and from behind a tree. demonstrations have taken place nationwide with security personnel using lethal force. nationwide with security personnel using lethalforce. some iranians have told the bbc the authorities have told the bbc the authorities have refused to release victim bodies. what began as a protest against a rise in fuel prices has developed into a far more serious and deadly situation. iran's supreme leader has blamed enemies and declared the very over the protesters. —— declared vic three.

the government does have support. demonstrators chanting death to the us have taken to the streets —— victory. the economy is blighted by american sanctions. washington now says it is working with ordinary iranians to get around the government's internet blackout. we have been able to get into the hands of the iranian people, circumvention tools that allow them to communicate with each other when the regime tries to censor them. and so this work has been going on for well over 1.5 years. with reports of the authorities using snipers against protesters, the unrest is the most serious in years. the country's economy is severely strained. inflation is soaring and unemployment is around 15%. what began as an economic crisis has escalated in to a deadly suppression of public anger. gareth barlow, bbc

news. robert mogielnicki is a middle east analyst at the arab gulf states institute in washington. he joins us live via webcam. thank you for your time. these protests seem to be directed at a specific government policy rather than the regime, the system as a whole. how serious would you say they are? how representative would you say they are? i think they are very serious, these protests. ultimately, i believe they will likely be contained and die out. as you said, ultimately, these protests are linked to fuel price increases or subsidy reductions. protests to this effect have happened before and they will likely happen again. i think it would be inaccurate to link these protests in iran to other protests that are going on in neighbouring middle east countries, like iraq and lebanon. and i believe thatis like iraq and lebanon. and i believe that is because in iraq and lebanon on, the protests are ultimately

targeting systemic issues, unemployment, corruption, ineptitude of the government, much more difficult issues to address. in iran, it is a much more narrow focus to these protests and ultimately something i believe the government will be able to contain. do you think these protests are linked to the state of iran's economy under the state of iran's economy under the sanctions on iran? well, there is no doubt that the us maximum pressure campaign against iran in the us sanctions has exacerbated the economic issues in the run. the unemployment is about 1a%, youth unemployment is about 1a%, youth unemployment is about 1a%, youth unemployment is closer to 27%. if you look at graduate unemployment, it is closer to a0%. inflation is close to a0%. and the currency is evaluating, there are serious fluctuations in the currency, but the general trend is that it is evaluating. 0f the general trend is that it is evaluating. of course, you can link some of the economic grievances to

the us maximum pressure campaign and the us maximum pressure campaign and the us maximum pressure campaign and the us sanctions, but ultimately, i think to draw a direct link between the two would be jumping to conclusions. there are a lots of economic mismanagement to be blamed, and longer term historical issues that are contributing to these protests. roberts, thank you very much indeed. thank you. -- robert. twitter has issued a warning to britain's conservative party after it rebranded one of its twitter accounts to look like an election fact—checking agency during the first tv debate of the election campaign. the account was renamed ‘factcheckuk' with no clear mention of its party connections. we'll have more on the debate in a minute, but first, dave lee is our technology correspondent and he's in san francisco for us. what are you making of this?” what are you making of this? i can tell you what twitter is making of this. they are not happy to say the

least. they put out a statement about what the tory party has done without account, saying it was misleading and that it wouldn't be tolerated in future. they said they would take decisive corrective action if the tory party or indeed any other account tries to pull a stu nt any other account tries to pull a stunt like this in future. twitter is pretty clear about this kind of thing. it has a policy about pretending or implying that you are something that you are not on the platform, and i have to say this is a company that has had to battle this type of technique of changing the identity of an account as something that foreign governments would do to interfere in elections, so to see it coming from a british political party has really angered twitter, at least that is the sense iam twitter, at least that is the sense i am getting from the company today. the conservatives say it was clear who was behind the account, the logo and pictures around it said cc hq which stands for conservative campaign headquarters. the question

is most people on twitter realise that that is what cch q is most people on twitter realise that that is what cch 0 stands for, ordid that that is what cch 0 stands for, or did indeed come across as looking like a legitimate fact checking agency, a genuine agency did say they thought that it was misleading and inappropriate. although twitter has never done what mr trump gets up to on twitter, what do you expect twitter to do about this, can actually do very much about it the next time? well, bluntly, it could a lwa ys next time? well, bluntly, it could always suspend the account. it is something within its power of course, but this is something the company has been struggling with ever since, as you mentioned, donald trump has risen to extreme prominence on the platform. there issue as they see it is it should be up issue as they see it is it should be up to twitter necessarily to make these decisions about political discourse in democracies. they are taking something of a hands off approach at least as they see it. they recently announced that they we re

they recently announced that they were going to ban political advertising altogether on the platform because i didn't want to get into precisely this kind of debate about whether something should be removed or not. i think what has happened here is something ofa what has happened here is something of a loophole that twitter hasn't previously considered when it comes to a ccou nts previously considered when it comes to accounts being run by political parties, and so what i think we will see in the short term at least is some clarification of exactly what you are allowed to do on the platform and what could instead get you kicked off. dave, thank you very much for that. more now on the tv debate itself between the leaders of britain's two main political parties have clashed in the first televised debate just three weeks before the election. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg reports. tonight, the conservative prime minister, borisjohnson, and the leader of the labour party, jeremy corbyn, debate. first, their chance at an opening pitch. labour is offering real change and real hope. people want to get brexit done, and to unleash the potential

of this entire country. i think it is time that we actually recognise we have to maintain a firm and good trading relationship with europe, otherwise morejobs will be lost all over the country, as they have already been lost because of the uncertainty. we have a deal that, as i say, is oven—ready. it's ready to go. and it's approved, as i say, notjust by our partners in the eu, but by every one of the 635 conservative candidates, and it delivers everything that we wanted from brexit. remember, the prime minister wants to leave injanuary with his deal. jeremy corbyn's offering you another referendum or leave with a different deal, or remain. are you going to campaign for leave or remain? i want to bring people together. applause therefore, there will be a referendum in which that decision will be made by the british people, and our government will abide by that decision. when you say you'll get it done, really, mrjohnson, you are going to embark on probably seven years of negotiations

with the united states on a trade deal. be aware, this election could be a majorjunction for the uk. the tories rule out another referendum on scottish independence. labour... of course, jeremy corbyn and the labour party are going to do a deal, and they probably have already done a deal, with nicola sturgeon and the snp to form a corbyn—sturgeon coalition. and the price of that deal, the price of nicola sturgeon's support, let's be in no doubt, she has made it absolutely clear, would be a second referendum on the union. i think i ought to be able to reply to this nonsense. will you be able to rely... applause this nonsense of a coalition between labour and the snp. there's not going to be a coalition between labour and anybody else. there are no deals that have been done, and there will be no deal that will be done. does the truth matter in this election? i think it does, and i think it's very important. i think it's very important to hear from... i've been very clear about the deal i have done.

then, in the immediate aftermath of that interview, they were asked to step onto the minefield of the monarchy. is prince andrew fit for purpose? before we discuss prince andrew, i think we should discuss the victims that are there because of what epstein was doing. applause i think all of our sympathies should be obviously with the victims ofjeffrey epstein, and the law must certainly take its course. the first duel over, weeks still to go in this campaign. but initial impressions of the two rivals for number ten may well last. here are the leaders of the liberal democrats and snp reacting to the debate. what we had was bluster and diversion from both of them. that needed to be challenged. and whether that was them trying to excuse their record on anti—semitism or, in the case of boris johnson,

record on anti—semitism or, in the case of borisjohnson, trying to divert the question about racism onto brexit which i thought was strange, they have just proven tonight that they are not up to the job. whatever future scotland wants, should be decided here in scotland by the people of scotland, it's not for borisjohnson or jeremy corbyn to dictate — and that's the issue at this election — are we going to let these westminster politicians and that failed system to determine what our country can become or are we going to take that decision into our own hands? stay with us on bbc news. still to come, paving the way: the who claims the first stone on london's new music walk of fame. benazir bhutto has claimed victory in pakistan's general election and she's asked pakistan's president to name her as prime minister. jackson's been released on bail of $3 million after turning himself in to police in santa barbara. it was the biggest demonstration so far

of the fast—growing european anti—nuclear movement. the south african government has announced that it's opening the country's remaining whites—only beaches to people of all races. this will lead to a black majority government in this country and the destruction of the white civilisation. part of the centuries—old windsor castle, one of the queen's residences, has been consumed by fire for much of the day. 150 firemen have been battling the blaze, which has caused millions of pounds worth of damage. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: four more witnesses have testified in washington — as the impeachment inquiry ramped up pressure on president trump.

let's get the latest now from our north america correspondent, david willis. this was the first time i think we have heard in public from officials who are actually listening in on the call. what are the headlines? we heard today from alexander vin men, the white house national security council ‘s top ukraine expert. it was listening in on the call. he was born in the ukraine and is an iraqi war vetera n born in the ukraine and is an iraqi war veteran and appeared today in full military uniform to tell the impeachment enquiry that at times he could not quite believe what he was hearing on that call. he said that president donald's trump called for his ukrainian counterpart to open investigation into the political rival, joe biden, was inappropriate and improper and my worst fear of how our ukrainian policy could play out was playing out. that is what he

said. perhaps surprising, the amount of tax that he came under today, both at the hearing itself from republicans and from people on social media. indeed, in the afternoon session, tim morrison, the lieutenant colonel's boss said that he had doubts about lieutenant colonel's linking —— leaking information and about his overall judgement. and the president envoy to the ukraine changed his testimony. 0n to the ukraine changed his testimony. on wednesday there was another big witness and some nervousness about amongst republicans about wednesday's testimony. i would think so. this is going to be a pivotal witness. gordon sunderland, the us ambassador to the eu was the man who reached out on behalf of president trump to the government of the ukraine. he

did so, initially, he said, in order to press the fight against corruption that but subsequently he amended his testimony and basically seemed to agree with the fact that there was a pretty —— quid pro quo, that aid money was withheld in turn for the investigation intojoe biden being launched. remembering that he was the direct point person between the president and the ukrainian government it will be very interesting to see what he has to say about those phone calls with president trump. the us senate has passed a bill to limit munitions sales to the hong kong police, as the stand off between police and protestors at hong kong's polytechnic university entered its fourth day. only a few protestors are still inside. they face an increasingly desperate situation with supplies of water and food running out. at the height of the campus occupation there were hundreds of pro—democracy actvists — but their number has dwindled. rupert wingfield hayes

reports from the campus. they came out looking more like prisoners of war — hands on each other‘s shoulders, forlorn, humiliated and exhausted. family members looked on anxiously, hoping to catch a glimpse of a missing child. this man saw his brother, a man he says was only in the hong kong polytechnic to help negotiate, but he too is now in a police cell. how does that make you feel? angry. very. and... he wanted justice to come out in hong kong. it's one country, two systems. it's not china. it's the rule of law in hong kong. but now it's being like china. tonight, we managed to get inside the university, and this is the sight that greeted us.

the detritus of sunday's battle and the ammunition, ready for a battle yet to come. what's this? petrol ether. and another one. ethyl acetate. so, this has all come from the university's chemistry labs, it looks like, and has been used to make what was clearly being... look at this, this is a bottle with a gas canister attached to it. i'm not sure whether it would have actually worked, but the students here, the protesters here were preparing, you can see, for another full—scale battle with the police. tonight, maybe 50 protesters are still holding out here. they are portrayed in the media as the hardest of the hardcore, but this young man seemed more scared and lonely. he told me even his family has now turned against him. "they blame the protesters and say they deserve this," he tells me. "they even say it's right for the police to shoot at protesters.

when i hear this, it's very tough, i feel very sad". it's clear none of the remaining protesters wants to stay. the steady trickle of surrenders has continued all evening, many too exhausted to go on. then suddenly, as we watched, a group of about ten tried to make a run for it. within seconds, the police were on them from all directions. they never really stood a chance. it appears this, or surrender, are now the only choices facing the few who remain inside. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in hong kong. emergency services in the another lens confirmed that at least 25 people have found in a refrigerated container on board a ferry bound for the uk. the ferry returned to port when the suspected stowaways were discovered. stanley chartered bank

will not renew its sponsorship of prints andrew's charity. it says it has taken the decision for commercial decisions. the duke of york has faced a wave of criticism since his bbc interview about his links with a conflict could —— convicted sex offenders. people in bolivia have been killed in a clash. 30 others were hurt. witnesses describe police firing at supporters of the ousted president. shinzo abe has becomejapan's longest—serving prime minister, breaking a record which had stood for more than a hundred years. he first came to power in 2006 at the age of 52, becoming the country's youngest leader since the second world war. he is credited with strengthening japan's economy and bringing political stability, but has failed to achieve his goal of amending the country's pacifist constitution. mr abe, who's now 65, has said he will not seek a fresh term as the leader of his ldp party when it ends in two years.

the first stone on london's music walk of fame has been unveiled. the new attraction is in camden in north london. rock band the who are the first to be honoured and its stars roger daltrey and pete townshend were at the unveiling along with other musicians and djs including jazzie b and madness. may this avenue of stars grow and grow and grow because we have got the best music industry, real music industry, in the world. and a reminder of our main news again. a senior security advisor in the united states has accused president trump of acting improperly by pressing the uk that make ukraine to investigate is political rivaljoe biden. he said he raised his concern with us intelligence officials. president trump once again dismissed the hearings as a kangaroo court and a hoax. the official white house

twitter account attacked the lieutenant colonel as he was giving public testimony. thank you for watching. hello there. it was a very cold start to tuesday — widespread frost up and down the country, particularly across scotland, the far north of england. now, for this morning, it's not going to be quite as cold to start. that's because we've had more of a breeze, and variable amounts of cloud too. there's still a few chilly spots across the north—east of the country, where a few clear spells linger. but further west, we'll have more of a breeze, and these weather fronts bringing thicker cloud, outbreaks of rain affecting parts of south—west england through the day, maybe western wales, along some irish sea coasts, northern ireland, and affecting western scotland at times. there could just be the odd shower, as well, running into the eastern coast of england, perhaps into north—east scotland,

but most places will be dry. variable cloud, some spells of sunshine. again, another chilly day to come, maybe not quite as cold across western areas. more cloud here, ten or 11 degrees. now, as we head to wednesday night, it says mainly dry again for much of the country. variable cloud, quite a breeze blowing, so it's not going to be quite as cold again, with lows down to 1—3 degrees. but generally, for many, fours and fives, and certainly a little bit milder than that further west, where we have the cloud and the rain. thursday, a similar picture. we'll continue with this weather front across western areas, bringing outbreaks of rain. the odd heavier burst towards the south—west, but generally light and patchy elsewhere. variable cloud, some sunny spells, and a bit more of that around on thursday. temperature—wise, again, single figures for most, but nines, maybe tens across the south. some subtle change as we head on into friday. looks like this weather front may push a little bit further northwards and eastwards across the country, so it could be a cloudier day still, with outbreaks of rain moving across northern england into parts of scotland. further south, we may see some sunshine developing, but a rush of heavier showers following on into friday afternoon and into the evening, particularly in the south—west. temperatures coming up on the south, as well. this tens and 11 degrees quite widely. still a cooler feel

across the north, but even here, eight and nines. then, as we head on into the weekend, looks like this area of low pressure will skirt southern parts of the uk. the weather front may spread northwards, introducing a band of rain. and then we look to the west, this next area of low pressure, which could bring more widespread wetter and windier weather as we head through the latter part of the weekend into the start of next week. but you will notice the orange colour is really taking over, so it really will be quite mild as we end the week, although it will be turning more and more unsettled, with rain spreading to many areas. it will be quite windy as well. those temperatures reaching the low teens celsius, particularly across england and wales.

the headlines: more senior officials have appeared before the impeachment hearings, investigating whether donald trump has abused his presidential power, and the white house has attacked its own most senior ukraine official, as he was giving public testimony. lieutenant colonel alexander vindman told congress that a phone call made by the president was improper and left him in shock, the official white house twitter account was questioning his judgement. amnesty international has confirmed reports that more than 100 people have died in iran during five days of protests sparked by a fuel price rise. the group believes the figure is higher. security forces are accused of firing directly on protesters. iran's supreme leader, ayatollah khamenei, blamed foreign enemies for the unrest. twitter has issued a warning to britain's conservative party after it rebranded one of its twitter accounts to look like an election fact—checking agency during the first tv debate of the election campaign.