welcome to bbc news — my name's mike embley. our top stories: the a's are 230, the nazar 197. present is one. the a's are 230, the nazar197. present is one. article 1 the a's are 230, the nazar197. present is one. article1 is adopted. donald trump is impeached. the house votes for him to be removed from office. he'll now face trial in the senate. he's only the third president to be impeached in the history of the united states — but he is expected to be acquitted. after australia's hottest day on record authorities in new south wales declare a seven—day state of emergency. when politics meets football — protests take place in spain ahead of barcelona's match

with real madrid. donald trump has just become only the third president in the history of the united states to be impeached at the house of representatives, setting up a trial in the senate would have to decide if he should removed from office. houses controlled by his opponents, the democrats and his own party dominate the senate. the strong expectation is that he will be acquitted in the senate. this is how it was formally announced in the house. the ayes are 230, the nays are 197. present is one. article1 is adopted. that was nancy pelosi there. the president is speaking right now at a

rally in michigan. this was his response a short time ago. so yesterday i sent her a letter. her party have nothing. they should be impeached, every one of them. the president in michigan and our correspondent is on capitol hill for us right now. gary, ina capitol hill for us right now. gary, in a sense this is as expected. the result was expected in the house and widely expected he will be weeded in the senate. he is running on party lines. how significant is this? —— he will be acquitted. it is an utterly predictable vote but a truly historic moment. president trump now joins the club ofjust three other presidents in this country's 230 odd political history to be impeached and face this sanction and he will

110w and face this sanction and he will now go forward to a trial in the united states senate. a hundred senators there will decide his fateful top it is a political trial, don't forget, and because the republicans have a good majority there and a two—thirds vote is required to remove him, he is safe in office. but, and this is a huge bite, he will not want to be part of this exclusive club of three and he has described it tonight as a suicide note for the democratic party ahead of next year's elections. have there been any surprises in the procedures in the house of representatives? any movement or any uncertainty for the republicans in the senate? we are still unclear about what will happen in the senate in terms of rules. there is opposition and went nurses. a question of

whether or not the secretary of state may give evidence there. but the key thing is that the senate decides its own rules for the trial. it only has two stipulations that it must follow, one is that the chief justice of the supreme court presides over the trial and the second stipulation is that a two—thirds majority is needed to remove a president. after that they can make up the rules as they please. but after christmas, after the holidays we will see that trial u nfold the holidays we will see that trial unfold in january. the holidays we will see that trial unfold injanuary. again, another moment in american history. still on these life pictures of the president had his rally in michigan. you make the point that this could play badly for the democrats. everybody always says at some point in the discussion of this the bill clinton came out of impeachment with his rating is much improved. that is right. bill clinton did come out of impeachment with improved ratings but the republicans won the presidency two yea rs republicans won the presidency two years later, didn't they? that is

the alkylation that democrats are making. they have seen the polls move a little in their direction in the eight weeks or so since impeachment was announced and it is 110w impeachment was announced and it is now a political battle to decide the legacy of this impeachment in the run—up to election day in november next year. thank you very much for that, gary. i'm joined now by casey burgat, expert on the house of representatives with the free market thinktank, r street. he's based in washington, dc. thank you very much. what did you make of what you just saw there in the house? we got exactly what we we re the house? we got exactly what we were expecting. the only thing that many of us were watching tonight is just how many democratic effect as there would be. there ended up being two, which was expected. and then to see if any chance of any republican member of the house who left their party and ended up voting yes, giving democrats a voice of bipartisanship. they ended up with

two democratic defectors and republicans kept their party in line which was about what we expected and 110w which was about what we expected and now we move on to the senate were a whole new process will unfold in january. and to be clear, the defect as you mention, the tensions and the expectations here are people who feel they may be at risk dependent on how they vote. everyone has their eyes towards next november. we have never been disclosed, in fact we never been disclosed, in fact we never had a sitting president in his first term facing and we have never had an impeachment this close to the next election with a president is on the ballot. everyone has their eyes to next november and this will be the defining vote for many of these members when they go back to their districts and asked to be re—elected. 0n the democratic side, saying they held the president of countable as they said they would end on the republican side saying that this is a sham and a witch—hunt in the president's words and it is theirjob and duty to protect him and they say they have. in terms of procedure, what will we see in the

senate? anything we should watch out for, things that may not go how they are expected to? this is the question on everybody‘s mind now that we're to the senate. as the lead mentioned, the senate can make its own rules on impeachment. there are very few details within our constitution and even within senate procedures. so majority vote within the senate can decide their own procedures. right now the two party leaders, mitch mcconnell and his counterpart chuck schumer are having negotiations behind—the—scenes to see if they can't come to an agreement on this. mitch mcconnell and the republicans have the vote so if they want to put in procedures that will make this a quick process and one that does not introduce any new witnesses or new information, they can do that as long as they do not lose four republican senator

votes. but we wait to see how those procedures will be finalised. thank you so much. we will have much more on this and just a moment. this quite dramatic development that donald trump has just become only the third president in american history to be impeached by the house of representatives. he now faces trial in the senate which is dominated by his party, the republicans. more on that to come. authorities in new south wales have declared a seven—day state of emergency as firefighters battle around 100 bushfires. tuesday was australia's hottest day on record. average temperatures nationwide reached 40.9 celsius. but thursday may be even hotter, with winds expected up to 100 kilometres an hour. emergency services are preparing for the worst. 0ur correspondent phil mercer is in penrith, west of sydney. temperatures in parts of new south wales are expected to reach 45 degrees celsius today. the authorities here in australia's most

populous state have issued a state of emergency because of the heat and its likely impact on the bushfire danger that is spreading across much of eastern australia. we are in the suburb of penrith, about 50 kilometres from the centre of sydney. it is roasting hot out here today. people are trying to escape the heat as best they can. many children and their parents have come to this waterpark in penrith to try and seek some relief across the road there is a shopping centre and it is standing room only in the air—conditioned spaces people are looking to escape this heat that has affected so much of australia in the past few days. a very hot mass of air has been moving from the west to the east and with it, of course, is the east and with it, of course, is the danger of heat —related illnesses, heat waves in australia

other nation's silent killer, killing more people than bushfires, floods and storms have put together. the advice for people is to stay indoors, if they can. 0ther the advice for people is to stay indoors, if they can. other people doing what they can to keep cool. as far as the bushfire danger is concerned it is very extreme hearing new south wales. the danger extends to the north, to queensland and also to the north, to queensland and also to the north, to queensland and also to the south in victoria full of it promises to be another brutal day here in australia. let's get some of the day's other news. all mcdonald's restaurants in peru have closed for two days of mourning after the deaths of two teenagers on sunday. the young man and woman were electrocuted during their overnight cleaning shift at a branch in the capital, lima. peru's ministry of labour is to investigate the company's safety procedures. there are already outbreaks of measles in samoa,

fiji, and tonga, and now authorities in kiribati in the central pacific are trying to contain their own outbreak — a case has been confirmed there for the first time. an 11—month—old boy is receiving treatment. kiribati is several thousand kilometres from samoa, where measles has killed 76 people — most of them children — in recent weeks. it's emerged that the highest—earning youtuber is an eight—year—old boy, and for the second year in a row. ryan — of ryan's world — reviews toys, and according to an annual top—10 ranking by forbes, that earned him $26 million this year — up from 22 million, in 2018. there have been mass protests outside the stadium in barcelona ahead of a game with real madrid, which was postponed back in october because of widespread demonstrations then over the jailing of nine catalan separatist leaders. the barcelona fans and the other protesters want a legal referendum on independence for the north—eastern region of spain. gavin dallow lee reports from barcelona. in the shadow of barcelona's football stadium tonight,

the crowds outside are making a political point. catalan independence demonstrators are outside every corner of the stadium, while record numbers of police stand guard as one of the biggest spectacles in world football, real madrid and barcelona, takes place inside. well, the demonstrations tonight have been largely peaceful, but small groups of catalan separatist protesters have been burning the dustbins all around the stadium and throwing projectiles at police. and they've responded cat—and—mouse style, getting out and pressing then back. this game had already been postponed two months ago, given the tensions here in spain's north—east region in the aftermath of the jailing of catalan separatist leaders for attempting independence in 2017. the gathering started hours before the match, and it was no coincidence that spain's biggest football game was targeted. the clasico is seen by millions of people around the world. every country where i've lived, for example, people can watch the clasico, right? so the opportunity that you have

to send a message to the world is clear, and it's, like, free. 0rganisers behind tonight's actions say they will continue to target public events and places. the flames of the catalan protest movement shows little sign of dying out. gavin lee, bbc news, barcelona. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: meet the six million dollar dad — the man who hopes his new bionic arm will make him a better father. saddam hussein is finished because he killed our people, our women, our children. the signatures took only a few minutes, but they brought a formal end to 3.5 years of conflict, a conflict that has claimed more than 200,000 lives. before an audience of world leaders, the presidents of bosnia, serbia and croatia put their names

to the peace agreement. the romanian border was sealed and silent today. romania has cut itself off from the outside world in order to prevent the details of the presumed massacre in timisoara from leaking out. from sex at the white house to a trial for his political life, the lewinsky affair tonight guaranteed bill clinton his place in history as only the second president ever to be impeached. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: donald trump has become only the third president in the history of the united states to be impeached by the house of representatives. the focus will now turn to the republican—controlled senate. it's widely believed

mr trump will be acquitted and remain in office. more now on our top story: anita kumar is white house correspondent for politico. thank you very much for your time. what do you make of what we have just seen? it's very dramatic today. inaudible. we knew the democrats had enough votes to impeach and that the senators... do so. still, a very dramatic day here in washington. anita, we are having some trouble with the connection. let's stay with it. i hope you can hear me 0k. with the connection. let's stay with it. i hope you can hear me ok. in a sense this has all gone on party lines as expected. it sounds very legal, but it is all in fact political. that's right. he did come down to democrats versus republicans doesn't act it did, they guarantee that the president will not be removed from office and the president knows that. the

senate, nobody in washington things that —— thinks the president will be removed from office. so how significant is it? years only the third president to be impeached by the house. democrats and a lot of the house. democrats and a lot of the country think the president... anita, you will have two forgive me. anita, you will have two forgive me. anita kumar, white house correspondents' dinnerfor anita kumar, white house correspondents' dinner for politico. the connection is so bad we're not sure if we can stay with it —— white house correspondent for politico. there is more information on the bbc news website. we will go back to anita if we can. there have been mass demonstrations across poland in protest against plans to punish judges if they question the government's

planned changes to the judicial system. lawmakers are due to vote on the proposals on thursday morning. rich preston has this report. thousands gathered in some 200 towns and cities across the country. here in warsaw, huge crowds outside parliament. the governing law and justice party wants to introduce sweeping changes to the judicial system, and it wants to be able to find or sacked judges who question the reforms. the government says the changes are needed to tackle corruption and to modernise the system. it wants to be able to punishjudges who system. it wants to be able to punish judges who game the system. 0thers punish judges who game the system. others say... they try to put us in jail, and if this law comes into force, they will succeed. translation: this law introduces sanctions against judges peoples decisions. —— judges' decisions.

sanctions against judges peoples decisions. —— judges' decisionsm does not allow them to work autonomously. translation: the adoption of this law means the separation of powers will be almost complete, the dish area will be subject to executive and legislative powers. -- the judiciary. but it could cause wider problems. pollen is a member of the european union and eu members agreed to eu law. boland says the privacy laws could force it to leave the union. they also say it is a form of control from the government over the judiciary. richard preston, bbc news. let's bring you back to the top story, nancy pelosi is giving a press c0 nfe re nce . story, nancy pelosi is giving a press conference. i would like to thank our chapman, all six of them -- chair thank our chapman, all six of them —— chaira man ——

thank our chapman, all six of them —— chair a man —— chairmen was that i think you will be inspired by the moral courage of our caucus, especially our freshman members who reviewed the facts, understood the constitution, made their decision again to honour their oath of office. i'm very proud of them. speaker of the house of representatives, nancy pelosi there on capitol hill. we will have more to come in and next few hours. that move on for the moment to west africa. in west africa's sahel region — big questions about security and stability have led to the head of the french military issuing a stark warning about its future. there's been a french military presence in the region since 2014. the chief of staff of the french military says the future of west africa's sahel region rests on what happens in the coming

year and the threat of the so—called islamic state group filling a power a power vacuum. 0ur west africa correspondent louise dewast sent this special report from central burkina faso, where families have been forced from their homes. aside from the shed of eatery, there is little comfort here for these little and children. it's been a month since they their village, leaving everything behind. transition mark we didn't want to leave our homes, but we were so afraid. we heard gunshots. so we had to leave and come here. —— translation:. to leave and come here. —— translation: . they to leave and come here. —— translation:. they couldn't say who attacked their village, but islamist militants have been operating in the area. while they feel safe here, they are desperate for more support and they are not the only ones in urgent need. we've just arrived on the top of a hill where two tents have been set up. about a dozen children are living here. told they

left their village about three months ago and they've been living here under these tents, the girls on one side and the boys on the other side, and mostly living without any pa rents. side, and mostly living without any parents. there is one mother present, and an aunt who helps out. for the most part, the children seem to be fending for themselves. the old est to be fending for themselves. the oldest is 13. despite the conditions, she says she feels safer here. translation: i am here. translation: iam happier here. translation: i am happier here, here. translation: iam happier here, we get help here and they give us food and other things we need as well. the un says it is working to scale up the un says it is working to scale up its response to the crisis, but only a third of required funding has been received among the nearly half a million people displaced, 49% of them are children. more than 200,000 are out of school. translation: to say we have a lot of

support is not true. we are doing what we can with what we have. it's the support of the population, the support of the civil service who are here, the just bought —— the support of the state, but really we don't have enough resources. everyday we have enough resources. everyday we have many dispersed people, every day they come and ask for food, they come and ask for their children to be enrolled in school, they come and ask the letter written to be seen by ask the letter written to be seen by a doctor. the emerging conflict is weighing on a country already strained in resources. hundreds of thousands are severely malnourished, and with little hope that security will improve soon, the need for attention and support is urgent. louise dewast, bbc news, burkina faso. a young man who suffered life—changing injuries as a child has been given what's described as a revolutionary new bionic arm. danny florence lost a hand, most of his remaining fingers and both legs when he got meningitis at the age of five. he hopes his new limb will help him bond with his young son. the bbc‘s tim allman has more. here you go. thank you. danny

florence has waited a long time for this, more than 20 years in fact. the chance to do something as simple as picking up a set of keys. the chance to do something as simple as picking up a set of keyslj should be able to may may fingers down to make a fist, sort of thing. and when i raise it up, i can then bring this from here and do the same to make a little bit between the fingers. it's called the hero arm, made using a 3d printer and responding to different muscle movements it could transform danny's lie. most importantly, he wants to be there for his one year son, joshua. his bionic limb helping him become a $6 million dad. when he gets older and he needs to fasten the zip on his coat, i should be able to do it and he can't do it now. if he needs to step in his

seatbelt, i should now. if he needs to step in his seatbelt, ishould be now. if he needs to step in his seatbelt, i should be able to. danny says he has ambitions to be an artist as well as being the best possible father he can. ready to be there with a helping hand. tim allman, bbc news. let's ta ke let's take you quickly back to the trump impeachment story. we were hearing just earlier from nancy pelosi, the speaker of the house of representatives. let's hear of more of what she had to say. representatives. let's hear of more of what she had to saylj representatives. let's hear of more of what she had to say. i could not be powder or more inspired than by the moral courage of the house democrats who singled us we never asked one of them how they were going to vote. we never whipped this vote, we saw the public statements some of them made, we saw the result. the statements on the floor about patriotism and about being very true to the vision of our

founders. so i view this day, this vote, as something that we did to honour the vision of our founders, to establish a new republic, the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform to defend our democracy and that republic, and the aspirations of our children that they will a lwa ys of our children that they will always live in a democracy and that we have tried to do everything we can to make sure that that is their reality. senior democrat nancy pelosi there was notjust a reminder of the menus, donald trump has become the third president in american history to be impeached by the house of representatives. this has set up a child in the senate controlled by his own party, the republicans. the strong expectation is he will be acquitted from the senate and will not be removed from office. there is much more news on that on the bbc news website. thank

you for watching. hello there. after a windy and at times rather wet night, thursday promises to be a blustery and at times rather wet day. some outbreaks of rain at times, but not all the time. it is going to be windy, but with that, it's going to be mild. low pressure in charge at the moment. 0ut here to the west, various clumps of wet weather spiralling around the low. it's quite a complex weather chart, but the winds are coming up from the south, so the air is turning increasingly mild. as we start off the day, we'll have temperatures around nine, ten or 11 degrees. but there will be some outbreaks of rain left behind from the overnight, particularly across parts of england and wales. this first area of rain should clear away northwards.

then it's a mixture of sunshine and showers, before more heavy rain pushes in towards the south—west of england, wales and the south midlands as we get into the middle of the afternoon. so at 3:00pm, this is how we're expecting things to look. some late—day sunshine for many parts of scotland. nine degrees in aberdeen, ten for glasgow. that will feel mild. it's going to stay quite blustery, but not as windy as it has been. for northern ireland, one or two showers as well. a similar story for northern england, but some fine weather, some spells of sunshine. however, for the southern half of wales, the south of the midlands, towards the london area, we'll have these heavy and persistent outbreaks of rain, and to the south of that, some heavy and possibly thundery showers. but mild still, 12 degrees there in plymouth. but across the south of england, the south of wales and the midlands, that afternoon rain will be falling on very wet ground. so there is the potential for some localised flooding and some poor travelling conditions as well. but, as we go through thursday night, this rain band drives its way northwards. behind it, some blustery showers, and then another batch of rain developing across central and eastern parts of england,

particularly as we get into friday morning. feeling a little bit fresher by this stage. we will have lost very a mild southerly wind. in fact, the air starting to come in from more of a westerly direction, so not quite as mild as we go through friday. we will see some outbreaks of rain, especially across the eastern half of england. elsewhere, it's essentially a day of sunny spells and showers, but i think there will be a fair amount of dry weather, particularly the further west you are. temperatures, though, a little bit lower, generally between 7—11 degrees. now, as we head into the weekend, low pressure still in charge of the scene, but notice there are some fairly big gaps between the areas of wet weather, so there will be some dry conditions at least at times. this area of rain might affect southern parts during saturday night, but generally speaking, it's a mixture of sunny spells and showers. top temperatures of 7—11 degrees.

this is bbc news — the headlines:

lawmakers in the us house of representatives have voted to impeach president trump on two charges. he's only the third president in history to be impeached. he'll now be put on trial in the senate — which is dominated by his republican supporters. he's expected to be acquitted. president trump has been addressing a campaign rally in the state of michigan. he said to supporters cheering him that the democrats were trying to nullify his election win. he repeated that he had done nothing wrong. the crowd chanted back : "four more years, four more years". the years, four more years". australian state of new s wales the australian state of new south wales has declared a seven—day state of emergency is bushfires burn out of emergency is bushfires burn out of control around sydney. firefighters face to reach 44 celsius. —— firefighters face over a hundred lasers and the