welcome to bbc news — i'mjames reynolds — our top stories: so we followed the president's orders. a key witness in the impeachment inquiry says donald trump wanted him to press ukraine to investigate a political rival. queen elizabeth's son, prince andrew, steps back from public duties after controversy over his links to a convicted sex offender. anger in malta as protesters demand the prime minister's resignation, accusing him of protecting the killers of an outspoken journalist. and female artists dominate the grammy nominations. among the front—runners —

lizzo and billie eilish. it was a day of explosive testimony in the impeachment inquiry, as the us ambassador to the eu gordon sondland gave evidence. the ambassador said he was acting at the express direction of the president on ukraine. the democratic—led house of representatives is investigating whether or not the president improperly put pressure on ukraine to investigate his political rival — the former vice presidentjoe biden. the bbc‘s north america editorjon sopel reports. the day a simmering pot boiler became a blockbuster drama, with this unlikely character as the leading man. gordon sondland, a wealthy hotelier, was made ambassador to the european union on the strength of $1 million donation to donald trump's inauguration committee.

now he'd come under oath to eviscerate the president's account of his dealings with ukraine. i was acting in good faith. as a presidential appointee, i followed the directions of the president. we worked with mr giuliani because the president directed us to do so. we had no desire to set any conditions. we had no desire to set any conditions on the ukrainians. the president has denied repeatedly there was a quid pro quo, or as democrats now call it, bribery. in other words, unless the ukrainians delivered what donald trump demanded, vital military aid and a white house meeting would be withheld. was there a quid pro quo? as i testified previously with regard to the requested white house call and the white house meeting, the answer is yes.

and according to sondland, everyone was in on the plan — the president, the vice president, secretary of state, chief of staff. they all knew what was going on. everyone was in the loop. it was no secret. everyone was informed via e—mail on july 19th, days before the presidential call. but one important source of comfort for the white house — sondland said he never heard directly from the president conditioning aid on an enquiry into the bidens, and that's been seized on by the president, who had his script lines carefully prepared. ready? you have the cameras rolling? i want nothing! that's what i want from ukraine. that's what i said. i want nothing! i said it twice. gordon sondland was faced with a binary choice in his evidence today. tie himself to donald trump, be vague about the decisions made and hope forfuture protection. or he could throw the president and his personal emissary,

rudy giuliani, under the bus and take the vice president and secretary of state with them. he chose option two. it's hard to believe he will be eu ambassador for much longer. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. sincejon sent this report, the deputy assistant secretary of defence, laura cooper, gave her testimony to the panel, in which she blew holes into president trump's defence that the ukrainians weren't aware about the withheld aid until this was made public. i have, however, since learned some additional information about this subject from my staff. prior to my deposition testimony, i avoided discussing my testimony with members of my staff or anyone other than the attorney. it's based only on my personal knowledge. my deposition testimony was publicly was leased on november 11, 2019. members of my staff read the testimony and have come to me since then and have

provided additional information. specifically on the issue of ukraine's knowledge on the hold or of ukraine asking questions about the possible issues with the flow of assistance, my staff showed me to unclassified emails that they received from the state department. one was received onjuly 25 at 2:31pm. that email said that the ukrainian embassy and house foreign affairs committee are asking about security assistance. the second email was received onjuly 25 at az25pm. that email said that the hill knows about the fmf situation to an extent and so does the ukrainian embassy. from new york we can now speak to max kutner who is a jounalist following and covering the impeachment proceedings closely. let's talk about laura cooper's testimony. what stood out to you from what she said? well, the line that you played that there was indication that ukraine knew that the us was withholding the security

assistance as early as july 25, that is the big line coming out of that hearing, and that as democrats pointed out blows a hole in the republican timeline and was even one of the republican talking points, at the time of the trump phone call. ukrainians didn't know about the security assistance holding service changes everything, it changes the timeline and the talking point. the republicans are going to have to come up with some other defences as these hearings move forward. as president trump or his supporters suggested what the defence might be? they haven't. it only happen if you times ago. it got up to a late start. what the president and his allies have been talking about is the earlier hearing and what ambassador gordon sondland said, and i should mention there was some pushback to what ms cooper said. i

believe it was congressman ratcliffe who is on the committee, he's a republican and one of resident from's allies on the committee, he pushed back and said, well, you said the ukrainians wanted to know about security assistance but they didn't talk about the whole, did they and she said, no, she couldn't confirm they wanted to know about the hold. so they are trying to see what a possible defence could be but it does seem like they are still going strong with their defence from the early hearing today about the quid pro quo. have democrats had their perfect witness, someone might point towards the potential smoking gun?” don't think there has been that perfect star witness. just as we have seen coming out of other political hearings this year in the us, it's almost as if the democrats and republicans are watching two different hearings. today you had asked —— ambassador gordon sondland

saying, if you asked me this was a quid pro quo, i would say yes but also, as you played on the audio, he did also say that the president had said, ido did also say that the president had said, i do not wanta did also say that the president had said, i do not want a quid pro quo. and that is the line that republicans are running with. there are two different hearings. democratic observers were saying it's as if ambassador sondland was having hisjohn it's as if ambassador sondland was having his john dean it's as if ambassador sondland was having hisjohn dean moment, referring to the white house council during the watergate hearings when the council implicated richard nixon in the watergate scandal and so democrats were saying, this was that big moment but later in the hearing, he did have this mind about president trump that it may from this being any star witness. thank you very much forjoining us. prince andrew has announced he will not undertake any royal duties for the foreseeable future. the prince acknowledged that his links with the late, disgracied financierjeffrey epsteen

had become a ‘major disruption‘ to the royal family. this follows the prince's widely—criticised interview with bbc newsnight last week. in a statement, andrew said he deeply sympathised with epsteen‘s victims. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell has the story. driving himself into buckingham palace yesterday, the only sighting of prince andrew since the newsnight interview was broadcast. hostility towards him has shown no sign of lessening. "poison prince" and "pariah prince" were just two of the newspaper headlines this morning. at the same time, sponsors of his various initiatives and charities have continued to distance themselves from him. all this in response to a notably misjudged interview in which he failed to find either the right tone or the right words to respond to his association with jeffrey epstein. tonight, he and buckingham palace accepted that his position had become unsustainable.

in a statement, prince andrew said: "i have asked her majesty if i may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future and she has given her permission". he went on: "i continue to unequivocally regret my ill—judged association with jeffrey epstein. i deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected. i can only hope that in time they will be able to rebuild their lives". and finally and significantly: "of course, i am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations if required". the tone was notably contrite, something of a contrast to saturday night's broadcast. any sense now of guilt, regret or shame about any of your behaviour in your friendship with epstein? as far as mr epstein is concerned, it was

the wrong decision to go and see him in 2010. do i regret the fact that, that he has quite obviously conducted himself in a manner unbecoming? yes. unbecoming? he was a sex offender. yeah, i'm sorry, i'm being polite. for the queen, fulfilling royal duties tonight on this, her 72nd wedding anniversary, it must be both upsetting and unwelcome. andrew has always enjoyed her particular support but by this morning, it will have become evident that his position was untenable. thus, for the first time, one of her own immediate family has been forced by public opinion to step back. i've never seen such a reaction to a royal interview. i mean, there have not been that many royal interviews but the reaction was just so condemnatory and he came across so badly. not once expressing regret for those, or sympathy, for the victims of epstein‘s behaviour.

buckingham palace will be hoping that andrew's statement and his withdrawal from public duties will stem the criticism. they will be hoping, too, that the epstein allegations have now run their full course. tonight's decision has been taken after discussions between andrew, the queen, the prince of wales who's in new zealand and senior officials. in practical terms, he is not resigning any of his patronages but i am told if charities want to find a new patron that will be fully understood. nicholas witchell, bbc news, at buckingham palace. let's get some of the day's other news. some of the last protesters in congo hong kong have tried to escape through sewers. dozens of protesters are barricaded inside the campus. the 5— a stand—off as rippled overseas with the un's human rights office urging a new resolution. these are live pictures we are getting showing you the exterior of the university. we'll keep an eye on

these pictures and speak to the student representative. hejoins these pictures and speak to the student representative. he joins us live by webcam. i went contact with those inside? i am not yet inside anymore because luckily i can escape from campus before the police force block or the entry and exits however i also keep in touch with the people who are still inside the campus closely and they tell me their frustration, desperation or anger because of the police brutality and they have only limited resources to maintain their life. and they don't wa nt to maintain their life. and they don't want to surrender, is that correct? they just don't want to surrender however the government officer and police officer claimed they should

surrender, otherwise they should escape peaceful, even escape peacefully, they will be considered as rioters and they will be sent to jailfor as rioters and they will be sent to jail for ten as rioters and they will be sent to jailfor ten years as rioters and they will be sent to jail for ten years because the ride is such a serious accusation in hong kong. would you or some of the protest movement accept that what happened here by the protesters was simply in the end a tactical mistake? i won't say they have a very serious mistakes but i will say it is imperfect, which is acceptable. they are not rioters and only the pro student protesters, they only defend for the university campus because university campus have the unique social status which is not allowed police brutality or even police force, not allowed on the campus. someone hong kong would

have looked at scenes of protesters and thought, this is not the protest movement that want briefly.” and thought, this is not the protest movement that want briefly. i would say the police brutality started first, also defending the university campus. we should appreciate their courage instead of putting blame on the victim. in hong kong, they should bear the legal consequence. thank you very much. still to come, billy eilish and lizzo lead the charge of the nominations announced for next yea r‘s grammy awards. 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. 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: a top us diplomat has told the trump impeachment inquiry

he was acting under presidential orders, when pressuring ukraine to launch investigations against a rival. queen elizabeth's son prince andrew has announced he's stepping back from public duties, amid renewed controversy over his links with a convicted sex offender. angry protesters in malta have demanded the resignation of prime ministerjoseph muscat after police arrested a prominent businessman in connection with the murder of a journalist, daphne ca ruana galitzia. demonstrators, who accuse the prime minister of protecting those responsible for the murder, gathered outside parliament in valletta, shouting "mafia" and "get out". gareth barlow reports. protesters gathered outside the maltese parliament, swarming around the justice minister's car, chanting "assassin", "mafia", "get out". they must shoulder political responsibility. there is so much going on. how can they let this happen?

angry at the investigation into ms ca ruana galitzia's murder, they accuse politicians of protecting those responsible. they are all in it together. they must shoulder political responsibility and resign instantly. we cannot go on like this. earlier on wednesday, armed police arrested a prominent businessman, yorgen fenech, aboard his yacht. the prime minister, joseph muscat, has promised to leave no stone unturned in the investigation. daphne caruana galitzia's son welcomed to the arrest. the arrest of yorgen fenech is obviously a welcome development in the investigation into my mother's assassination. it's overdue and it's very important. the 2017 car bombing that killed the prominent investigative journalist and anti—corruption blogger rocked the small mediterranean state. three men have been charged with detonating the bomb. the suspected middleman

has also been arrested. but the prime minister said he could be pardoned if information is provided to prosecute the mastermind. two years on from daphne ca ruana galitzia's murder, the desire to uncover the truth of her death and the cases she worked to expose continues. gareth barlow, bbc news. google says it's putting stricter controls over political advertising on its platforms. the new policy will begin in britain within a week ahead of next months general election — and will be introduced globally the following month. patience haggin is the digital advertising reporter for the wall streetjournal. shejoins me now. why has dougal ta ken why has dougal taken this decision now? because they are under tremendous pressure to provide greater transparency around political advertising. they took this particular course of action because a few weeks ago america's

top election regulator recommended it. the chairwoman of the federal election commission called for a band on micro targeting. will it work? time will tell. we will see. google is attempting to crack down on two different things there, one is the ability for a political actor to find audiences who are particularly susceptible to misinformation and secondly, the ability to be two faced. to say two different things to two different audiences. is there any way for people to dodge the band or final —— dodge the band? there may be ways. postal code can still be targeted and advertisers can be skilled at using these codes as a proxy for other demographics such as race, income or education. will this tactic force other companies to do the same? it very well could. there

is so much pressure on social media companies and the largest companies in digital advertising right now. they are under pressure to provide greater transparency around digital political ads. they have taken different approaches. this is google's way of saying the ball is in your court, facebook.” google's way of saying the ball is in your court, facebook. i was going to ask about facebook. will they respond to this move?” to ask about facebook. will they respond to this move? i would say that it respond to this move? i would say thatitis respond to this move? i would say that it is likely. they have dropped hints that they are reconsidering changes along these lines as well full is some of this too late to fix? well... yes in some ways there isa fix? well... yes in some ways there is a lot of data point to the use of in the 2016 election. thank you very much for that insight. two years after the head

of the grammys said women need to "step up" if they wanted to be recognised, female artists are dominating the 2020 nominations. five of the eight album of the year nominees are women, ariana grande and lana del rey among the front—runners. meanwhile, lizzo and billie eilish are shortlisted in all of the ceremony‘s "big four" categories: best new artist, best song, best record and best album. the grammys were mired in controversy in 2018 after only one woman won an award during the televised ceremony. claudia rosenbaum — is a senior correspondent for the american music and entertainment magazine billboard in los angeles — she gave me her view about the number of women nominated. it has been a huge year for the grammys for women. there has been many changes since that happened, that president stepped down and we have a new female president of the grammys and, actually, after the former president stepped down in 2018, the grammys started this diversity and inclusion task force where they invited 900

new people to become voters and this was, you know, people under the age of 35, women, people of colour, people of all backgrounds and that clearly has had an effect on what we are seeing today. are these nominations the sign of a lasting power shift in the industry? i think these women, lizzo, ariana grande, they put together amazing music but they also have a cultural movement behind them. lizzo for her body inclusivity and billie eilish isjust embracing... i mean, she is 17 and one of the youngest nominees in the whole group. so hopefully it will have a lasting impact. a question i thought i would never ask about the grammys, but what about the men? there are many men still nominated. so...

many of the categories such as hip—hop are a lot of male nominees. and what about behind—the—scenes, production, produces. do you see a rise in female producers reflected in the nominations? another thing that the grammys did was when they started their diversity and inclusion task force they also started making headway and including more producers and engineers and doing what they could to encourage more women to be involved in that aspect. so it has resulted in more nominees for women in this category as well. an international aid charity is hosting a lottery to win a picasso painting. it's the "nature morte" painting by pablo picasso, valued at1 million euros. tickets priced at 100 euros each, in the hope of raising millions for its aid work in africa. the funds raised by this sale will be used to finance a project of the ngo care, in africa.

the first million will be used to recompense the current owner. all the rest, up to 19 million euros, will be invested in the project. a reminder of the top story. the white house has claimed that extraordinary testimony by a diplomat at the impeachment hearing com pletely diplomat at the impeachment hearing completely exonerates the president. gordon sondland said he believed he was carrying out mr trump's orders to put pressure on the ukraine to investigate a business link to the democratic presidential hopeful, former vice presidentjoe biden. the president has denied strongly any wrongdoing. ten democratic party candidates hoping to fight donald trump on the 2020 election have now begun their fifth live tv debate. several of them condemned the president's actions over the ukraine including joe biden who mr trump allegedly wanted to investigate. the early pa rt allegedly wanted to investigate. the early part of the debate has been dominated by on how to make american society fair. if you want to find

out what is going on there, bbc news .com. you can reach out what is going on there, bbc news .com. you can reach me on out what is going on there, bbc news .com. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @jamesbbcnews. earlier this week we saw the coldest weather of the autumn so far but since then things have been turning a little bit milder. most places yesterday had a dry day with a little bit of sunshine coming through. we will see the temperatures continuing to rise a little bit day and night but it is turning milder because the warmer weather is more unsettled with more rain in the forecast. most of the rain today will be near the area of low pressure that has been with us for a while, sitting to the south—west. that is we will see most of the rain. few showers coming in off the north sea threatening towards the north—east of scotland and we have a few showers to come across northern ireland. they should fade away, getting blown away by brisk south—easterly winds.

a grey day for the midlands, towards the south—east of england, feeling chilly in the breeze, sunshine further north but the rain will be in the south—west and south wales and this is where we will find the highest temperatures, perhaps double figures. the rain can be heavy and will push its way overnight towards the south—east of england, further north across wales into the midlands and a few showers in the northern areas as well. a lot of cloud around, ray never far away so not too cold as temperatures 3—6 degrees. showers to come on friday. a massive sort of day. things could develop wetter towards the south—west with those showers heavy for a while merging into longer spells of rain through the south—west of england. the west midlands, into the west country and wales through the day. that is an area to watch as things get wetter with temperatures typically nine, 10 degrees. heading into the weekend and the weekend is dominated by low pressure.

we have one slow—moving area of low pressure over the uk which is why we see that rain develop. how far north it gets, uncertain. could see most of the rain across england and wales perhaps heading towards northern ireland as far north as the central belt, allowing something a bit drier and brighter to arrive across southern parts of england and wales with temperatures again typically 9—11 degrees. some rain around on saturday. and while that rain will peter out, as the low pressure tends to fill, we have another one coming in from the atlantic and this one looks a little deeper and it means the wind will be stronger. again, the position could change but at the moment it looks as if while we have residual rain to clear away from scotland, the wet and windy weather should be towards the south—west of england, spoiling the afternoon in wales and into the midlands but temperatures again better than they have been, typically 9—11.

this is bbc news, the headlines: a top us diplomat has told the trump impeachment inquiry that he was following presidential orders when the us put pressure on ukraine to open investigations against a political rival. democrats have described the testimony as troubling. queen elizabeth's son, prince andrew, says he's stepping back from public duties over his links with a convicted us sex offender. a recent attempt to clear the air in a bbc interview was widely deemed to be a public relations disaster. he said he unequivocally regretted knowing jeffrey epstein, who killed himself injail. protesters in malta have demanded the resignation of the prime minister after police arrested a prominent businessman in connection with the murder of a journalist, daphne ca ruana galizia. demonstrators accusejoseph muscat of protecting those responsible for her death in 2017.