this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: palace talks conclude over the future of harry and meghan — they'll lose their royal titles and public funding when they step back from official duties president trump's lawyers give their first formal response to his impeachment — they say it's a brazen attempt by his rivals to interfere in the upcoming election. in other news: lebanon's president calls in the army — as anti—government protesters clash with police in beirut. from fires to floods, parts of australia's east coast are battered by heavy rain and thunderstorms.

hello and welcome to bbc news. buckingham palace has announced the new arrangements for prince harry and his wife meghan, saying they'll no longer be working members of the royalfamily. in a statement it was revealed that the couple will no longer use their titles of ‘royal highness‘. harry and meghan will step back from royal duties, but will continue to be patrons of charities they've chosen to support. the palace also said the couple will no longer receive public funds. they wish to repay the estimated 2.4 million spent on the refurbishment of frogmore cottage in windsor, although it will remain their uk family home. in a further personal statement the queen said she supports the couple's wish for a more independent life. our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, has our first report, it contains

some flashing images. the deal has been done. they are walking away from the british monarchy. they will earn their own living and they will spend most of their time in north america. a man who was born to be royal will no longer style himself as his royal highness. she will not call herself her royal highness. that hrh styling applies to full—time, working members of the british royal family which, come the spring, harry and meghan will no longer be. they are going with the best wishes of the queen. in a statement from buckingham palace, she said:. she went on:. she added:.

the details of how their new life will work are comparatively sparse. it is clear many of them have still to be worked out. but here are the essentials. under the new arrangement, they are required to step back from royal duties, including official military appointments. so harry will have to give up his role as captain general of the royal marines, a role he took over from his grandfather. they will no longer receive public funds for royal duties. they will still receive some funds from harry's father, the prince of wales, but they will be free to earn their own livings and there are no restrictions set out in the statement other than the need to continue to uphold the values of her majesty. they will keep frogmore cottage in windsor and they have shared their wish to repay sovereign grant expenditure for its refurbishment. they will pay a commercial rent when they use it.

on security, there are no details of who will provide it or who will pay for it. so will these arrangements work? the fact that they are not going to be doing any of their, any royal work... is probably the best solution because then it makes a very clean break and everyone is clear about what they will be doing and there will be no blurred lines. i think this is a good solution. the royalfamily is putting a brave face on it. but a brave face on it. one must suppose there is greai sadness but one must suppose there is great sadness and disappointment that it has come to this. one of the family's most popular members has had enough and has negotiated a clean breakfor a new life with his family. this evening's decision is a momentous one for the royal family. our royal correspondent daniela relph looks back now at the duke and duchess‘ story so far. they metjust over a year earlier but these were the first pictures

in september 2017, which showed the relationship was serious. meghan lived and worked in toronto, the host city for prince harry‘s invictus games. two months later, their engagement was announced and the couple were interviewed in kensington palace by the bbc‘s mishal husain. how much of a sense did you have, meghan, of the enormity of what you are getting into, of what it might mean for your life? i can very safely say, as naive as it sounds now, having gone through this learning curve in the past year, i did not have any understanding of just what it would be like. i don‘t think either of us did, though. we both said that, even though we knew that it would be... no, i tried to warn you as much as possible. four days later, the couple carried out their first engagement together. just like harry, she was tactile, informal and confident. this seemed a different kind of royal walkabout. when meghan joined harry, prince william and kate on stage as the soon—to—be

patron of the royal foundation, it seemed like the future of the royal family was safe in the hands of the so—called fab four. their wedding, watched by millions around the world, seemed the perfect end to a fairytale romance. by january 2019, meghan was pregnant and had begun work with her first patronages, but behind—the—scenes there were several unexpected moves. rather than live in kensington palace, next to the cambridges, they chose frogmore cottage in windsor. they moved their staff from kensington palace to buckingham palace. injune, it was revealed the sussexes would leave the royal foundation, setting up their own instead. the split led to rumours of a rift between harry and william. towards the end of their high—profile tour of southern africa, it was clear the couple were struggling with the glare of the royal spotlight. despite outward appearances, this was a couple

deeply unhappy with their royal role, and determined to make a change. after the intense discussions of recent days, this new way of working will be something quite different for harry and meghan and for the wider royal family. making a success of it will be a test for all those involved. daniela relph, bbc news, at buckingham palace. president trump‘s legal team has set out its response to the impeachment charges against him, saying they violate the constitution and fail to show that any law was broken. a six—page document issued by his lawyers argues that next week‘s trial in the senate amounts to a dangerous attack on the american people, and an attempt to interfere in this year‘s presidential election. joining me now for more on this is our washington correspondent, ben wright. let‘s pick through this it is good to see you. they have released a summary to see you. they have released a summary of what they will be arguing and what do you make of it? they had

to do this. it was a demand of the senate in these early days before the trial kicks off on tuesday, they had to sketch out their legal argument and four months president trump has railed on social media and elsewhere about what he sees as an unjust and elsewhere about what he sees as an unjustand unfair elsewhere about what he sees as an unjust and unfair impeachment process , unjust and unfair impeachment process, one that has been under way on capitol hill and he now has to put down his defence in writing. they are essentially arguing that they think the two impeachment articles, one alleging an abuse of power in the second obstruct thing congress are constitutionally and legally invalid. theyjust do not stand up to scrutiny and his lawyers are arguing there is nothing in these impeachment articles that says he has done anything wrong or illegal. the do not dispute some of the basic facts of this, that he made a telephone call with the president of the ukraine back in july in which they spoke about launching an investigation intojoe biden and his son hunter and military aid was with held. but they

say there was no quit pro quo, it was not a deal there was no threat made and that is precisely what house democrats who are prosecuting this case do say which is why they think this clearly crosses the bar when it comes to impeachment and they hope to remove donald trump from office. and what happens next week? talkers through the timeline. well, on tuesday the senate will gather and on the weekend some of the furniture has been arranged in the furniture has been arranged in the chamber to turn it into more of a court room. the 100 senators will sit as thejury a court room. the 100 senators will sit as the jury in this trial and the early stages of this trial will see, first of all, the prosecution make their case and they will be followed then by donald trump ‘s defence team. each side is given 2a hours spread over a number of days to make those initial arguments. that is what i think will kick off on tuesday, wednesday, possibly before we get to the meat of it. after that we can expect a fierce skirmish around the question of

whether or not new documents and witnesses should be called the part of this trial. accredited desperate for that to be the case. they say they have much more new evidence that substantiates their allegations and shows what president trump was up and shows what president trump was up to. the republicans and donald trump ‘s team are resisting that at the moment although they said today that if there are new witnesses called and they very much want to see some of their own people give testimony as well. but that is an argument that will only be resolved after we have heard the opening arguments. remember, democrats think they have a watertight case here and they have a watertight case here and they feel that president trump should be kicked out but they know that at the end of this process there will be a vote in the senate which is currently controlled by the republicans, a two—thirds majority is needed to convict a president and remove him from office. it has never happened before and almost nobody in dc thinks that this senate will end up dc thinks that this senate will end up doing that. for both sides, however, the key audience for the next few weeks will be the american voter, trying to persuade them of

their case. a big week in washington next week. thank you, ben. in other news. lebanon‘s president michel aoun has called on the army and security commanders to restore calm in central beirut. for much of the day, security forces have been clashing with protesters. dozens of people are reported to have been injured as protesters threw stones and other projectiles at the security forces, who fired water cannon and teargas. lina sinjab reports from beirut. it is getting violent in beirut. four days, angry protesters have taken to the streets, blocking roads and attacking banks and central beirut. with political deadlock and no government in place, the banks continue to limit cash withdrawals for clients, allowing them in some cases just $50 a week, a reality that has left many furious on the street. and now, this is the scene. stones versus tear gas and water

cannon. people are angry about the government‘s perceived incompetence and their political elite. despite brief lower limb protests over the holiday period, it seems things have gotten worse. security forces have been detaining many protesters which, in turn, has pushed more people onto the street. and the politicians are not moving. hassan has been appointed as a prime minister from has been appointed as a prime ministerfrom the former has been appointed as a prime minister from the former government but many see him as incapable of forming a technocrat element that would appease the demands of the people. with the economic situation deteriorating, protesters anger is likely to get worse. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we will have more on the significance of the announcement from buckingham palace on what it means for harry and meghan. donald trump is now the 45th

president of the united states. he was sworn in before several hundred thousand people on the steps of capitol hill in washington. it's going to be only america first. america first. demonstrators waiting for mike gatting and his rebel cricket team were attacked with tear gas and set up on by police dogs. anti—apartheid campaigners say they will carry on the protests throughout the tour. they called him ‘the butcher of lyon‘. klaus altmann is being held on a fraud charge in bolivia. the west germans wants to extradite him for crimes committed in wartime france. there, he was the gestapo chief klaus barbie. millions came to bathe as close as possible to this spot. a tide of humanity. it is believed by officials to have broken all records.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines: the queen says prince harry and meghan will lose their royal highness titles and public funding and will also pay back taxpayers money used to renovate their home. president trump ‘s lawyers give their first formal response to his impeachment. they say it is a brazen attempt by his rivals to interfere in the upcoming election. let‘s get some more now on the royal news. earlier i spoke to royal historian dr anna whitelock about what this annoucement tells us about the future of the royals. well, i think this is another extraordinary personal statement from the queen. again, speaking as a grandmother, like a statement earlier in the week, talking about her grandson, talking about the fact

that they have come to a constructive and supportive way forward. clearly this is what she wanted, in terms of a decision to be made, that this matter doesn‘t drag on. but again, the statement, like the last one, is tinged with sadness and regret. she talks about yes, of course they are still members of her family, she talks about the scrutiny they have been under, which has clearly been a factor in their decision. and i think in a way, it is notable for the fact perhaps that underpinning it is a sense of now two members of the firm having basicallyjumped two members of the firm having basically jumped ship. i two members of the firm having basicallyjumped ship. i mean, discussion in recent days has been hellfire and megan could be part of royal and part is not. —— how far harry and meghan. statement answers that quite definitively. they are not to be royals anymore. they are not to be royals anymore. they are not to be royals anymore. they are not to have the titles, hrh. they are to pay back the money that the taxpayer paid for frogmore cottage.

and they are not going to represent the queen anymore. so this is pretty much an abdication of royal responsibility, as far as harry and meghan are concerned. at least for the next year, because it will be reviewed after 12 months. it looks like they can have the life they want, away in north america with, i think, not very much time spent here in the uk. i am pleased you picked up in the uk. i am pleased you picked up on that, because that has been the question, over the last few days, how is this half in and heartfelt royal kind of role actually going to work? there was lots of speculation of people not being sure about that. you seem to being sure about that. you seem to be pretty clear, they are not going to try to make it work like that, they are just to try to make it work like that, they arejust going. to try to make it work like that, they are just going. what kind of precedent is there for that? the most dramatic president, of course, is when edward viii abdicated, and he under wallis simpson, his wife, the duke and duchess of winds are, as they came, went into exile. but

of course they went into exile with edward viii having abdicated the throne. the circumstances are very different. there is a parallel, sense of abandonment, in a way, but perhaps prince charles and prince william are feeling. perhaps likely queen‘s father, the then king george felt, when his brother abdicated the throne. charles and william have too much been left in its now. you know, charles has long been prince of wales, in waiting for the throne. but prince william and prince harry we re but prince william and prince harry were always very close. prince charles has talked in the future of a slimmed down monarchy, and i think there was a planet would be very much centred on him and his wife camilla and dan his two sons, and theirfamilies. well, camilla and dan his two sons, and their families. well, now camilla and dan his two sons, and theirfamilies. well, now harry camilla and dan his two sons, and their families. well, now harry has checked out about. he has checked out of the firm. he remains a member of the family, of course he does, as the queen made clear in that statement. but he isn‘t going to be a working royal, he isn‘t going to be supporting charles and william in that way. beneath all the warm words

unsupportive statements, that is a pretty shocking split, in a way, the firm. no doubt it is going to take some getting used to for all members of the royal family, some getting used to for all members of the royalfamily, as some getting used to for all members of the royal family, as well of course as harry and meghan, as they embark in this new life in north america. it is interesting, of course, we don‘t really know what this new life in north america is going to look like, and it is very difficult to kind of addict at the moment. but do you feel there is a sense, given your knowledge, but actually, if any member of the royal family of the royal family was likely to step away like this, we have had clues and harry‘s passed he might be the one? absolutely. harry has been loved in many quarters by the press and the public for being this kind of playboy prince, seemingly the kind of guy you would wa nt to seemingly the kind of guy you would want to go down the pub with, not quite fitting in with the rest of the royals, you know, very much one of us, or apparently one of us. he had always been a bit of a maverick.

i think it is right that you ask and place that in this longer context, because for some people, it is all about meghan. the very term, megxit, some of the media are reporting it, are blaming meghan am suggesting it is her sort of malign influence. i think we have to understand harry has never been comfortable in the royal family. after weeks of bushfires and one of the most severe droughts on record, parts of australia‘s east coast have now been hit with heavy rain and thunderstorms. there have been heavy downpours in queensland, new south wales and victoria. some places have had more than three times the average monthly rainfall in one night. courtney bembridge reports. heavy rainjust to heavy rain just to the flames in some parts of the country but brought fresh danger to others. storms described as a once in 100 yea rs events have storms described as a once in 100 years events have swept through the north—east state of queensland,

causing flash flooding. the water has also washed ash and debris into waterways, with fisheries experts worried thousands of fish may have been killed in new south wales. an estimated 1 billion animals have died since australia‘s bushfire crisis began and many more are now at risk of starvation. the australian veterinary association says food desperately needs to be air dropped to inaccessible bushfire affected areas to save staff —— starting wildlife. in south australia, one of the country‘s most important wildlife sanctuaries, renowned for its biodiversity, is taking stock of the damage. this is what the island used to look like. this is that same road now. it is feared half of the island, more than 200,000 hectares, has been scorched. it is an ecological disaster so big the army has been called in. soldiers have helped to dig trenches to bury thousands of sheep and cattle. i have seen the level of

destruction, still surprisingly now. there are lots of farmers who are in distress, lots of community members suffering. some families have lost everything. further south, hazardous smoke has been blanketing the victorian capital melbourne, and people have been advised to stay indoors. but the city is due to host the australian open tennis tournament starting monday. 0ver the australian open tennis tournament starting monday. over the past week, several players have complained of reading —— breathing difficulties during qualifying matches. roger federer has won australian open titles and says he is confident the conditions are ok to play in. with the haze and everything it doesn‘t look good, but i think we‘re going to get through and should be fine. there are still more than a dozen fires burning in victoria. firefighters are battling to contain a large fire interstate‘s mountain region 15 times the size of manhattan. a news agency in iran says the black box flight recorders of the ukrainian airliner which was accidentally shot down by iranian forces will be sent to ukraine.

the tasnim agency quoted the head of iran‘s civil aviation disaster body as saying the black boxes had not been read in iran and would be transferred to ukraine, as requested by ukrainian authorities. you may think that lakes and rivers are environmentally friendly, but they release greenhouse gases into the air. scientists are warning that climate change could increase the amount of carbon dioxide and methane they emit. richard westcott has more. it‘s obvious where some greenhouse gases come from. but there‘s another vast source of carbon dioxide and methane that might surprise you — freshwater lakes and rivers. so we‘re going to put this very sophisticated—looking bucket onto the river here... i love it. ..and what it will do is trap carbon dioxide and methane as it comes off the river,

trying to escape to the atmosphere. as leaves and plant litter fall into the water, they‘re eaten by tiny microbes, bacteria and fungi, and they give off methane and carbon dioxide. the bucket might be basic, but it is connected to a sophisticated laser which measures the gases. looking through your cracked screen, but these are spikes... this is why we need more funding, richard! so that one is methane, that one is c02, and you can see them jump when the bucket is placed on the water. jump up. exactly. i think it would surprise people that fresh water is a source of greenhouse gases. i mean, how much is in them? exactly, and it will. in terms of global land cover, fresh water only covers about 4% of the planet. but if we look at methane, for example, up to 16% of all natural methane emissions can come from fresh waters, so we can say those fresh waters are disproportionately important in the global carbon cycle. a little experiment to illustrate the point.

take a stick and swish it around in the mud and a lot of those bubbles coming up are likely to be methane. fresh water is responsible for around one quarter of the net carbon dioxide and methane going from the earth‘s surface into the atmosphere — although that could be about to change. we push it through the filter, water goes through the other side and all the microbes stay on the paper, and then we take that back to the lab and we look at what is there. we know that some microbes are just producing methane and some don‘t. so as the climate is changing, it may change with microbes that are there and it can produce different outcomes. we just need to stop filming while this family comes through. did you get a picture? i think i did. what eleanor has in her hands is like a giant flashlight. based on the type of light that bounces back, we can tell what types of algae are growing. so algae, like trees, takes the c02 out? exactly. andrew‘s latest research in canada suggests climate change could double

the greenhouse gases coming from fresh water. forests, for example, with — under a warmer climate, forests may produce more leaves and more dead plant material to fall in the water to feed microbes, bacteria and fungi that produce these gases. they can now use that knowledge to find natural solutions — maybe different trees or algae which can trap some of the greenhouse gases. as for our cam readings, methane levels are low, and carbon dioxide was average. that means 750 metres of the river emits about the same amount of c02 a day as getting into your car and driving the 60—odd miles to london. richard westcott, bbc news, by the river cam. don‘t forget, you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter. i‘m @lvaughanjones.

hello. it‘s bitterly cold out and about. it looks like it will be the cold est about. it looks like it will be the coldest night of the winter so far. and frost, ice and increasingly patchy fog will feature in the forecast for the next few days. in fa ct, forecast for the next few days. in fact, with some sunshine and a lot of dry weather as well, though the sunshine will tend to fade as these week weather fronts come around our area of high pressure and bring more cloud with them. —— weak. but for the most part it is dry, some showers lingering in the far north and west of scotland and some rain and west of scotland and some rain and sleet show is coming into eastern parts of england, especially east anglia. so with a widespread frost, —50 —6 in the countryside,

obviously ice will be a concern, especially where we have had the showers, but it has been so damp. freezing fog, especially in the likes of the seven belly up through the welsh marches, the cheshire plains, not exclusively here, parts of northern ireland and scotland as well, it will struggle to lift. the most of us it is dry, plenty of sunshine, mostly hazy in the north with the approach of this weather front. temperatures should get to about coverage where we clear the fog. some bright and crisp sunshine. however, we do pull in more cloud and a stronger breeze and a little bit of rain for the far north of scotland, the northern isles, and that cloud will tend to hang around as we go through sunday night and into monday, which means if we run the temperature profile through the night, the drop in temperature, it will not get quite as cold through tonight, sunday night into monday, as it does again, harsh frost for many of us further south. again, freezing fog stop that is going to bea freezing fog stop that is going to be a concern for the morning rush hour on monday. 0nce patches around, being patchy makes it more dangerous

if you are travelling. watch out for that in the coming mornings, including this morning. monday looks like another day, once that clears, bright weather but to cold. more cloud will thicken up across scotla nd cloud will thicken up across scotland and northern ireland, with the approach of this weather front, which will bring a little bit of a drizzly rain in through tuesday. nothing significant because that high back and again for the rest of the week. so monday, yes, it looks like another to come monday into tuesday across many southern and central areas but we do get some rainfor central areas but we do get some rain for the central areas but we do get some rainforthe far central areas but we do get some rain for the far north of scotland, but look how it peters out as it sinks out. introducing more cloud for the day on tuesday to central areas. brighter skies following, brighter but cold with patchy fog towards the south as well. basically, with high pressure on top of us, apart from that weather front and the odd shower around through this morning, it does look like a largely dry picture until the end of next weekend. goodbye.

of us really this is bbc news, the headlines: buckingham palace announces details of prince harry and meghan‘s new status — as they step back from being senior royals. the couple will stop using their royal highness titles and will receive no public funds for royal duties. lawyers for president trump issue their first formal response to his impeachment saying it is an attack on the american people. a 6—page letter describes the charges as unconstitutional and a brazen attempt by his rivals to interfere in the upcoming presidential election. lebanon‘s president michel aoun has called on the army to restore order after anti—government demonstrators clashed with police near the lebanese parliament in beirut. rain and thunderstorms have hit parts of australia‘s east coast, putting out some long—burning bushfires, but bringing a new threat