hello and welcome to bbc news. i'm maryam moshiri. 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 — and 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. this report from nicholas witchell 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's 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. it's as vague as that. 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 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. nicholas witchell, bbc news. for more on that and all the rest of the news, just log well a little earlier i spoke to patricia treble who's a long time royal watcher, journalist and commentator. i asked her what difference prince harry and meghan‘s new arrangement will make if they continue to reside in canada. well, i think it clears up some of the questions raised because there is no doubt now they are coming as private citizens, they are not doing any royal duties,

it is on behalf of the queen who is the queen of canada and they are simply going to be private. whether it's to simply do as they've been doing in vancouver or they start working, it makes it clear because right now, harry has no official status in canada as a royal. he has no constitutional status, that really only belongs to the queen here so there was a lot of confusion and questions being raised as to what he could potentially do and this has cleared some of them away. one thing that has come out today in the papers, they are going need immigration tax lawyers quite quickly, especially if they spend any amount of time here because the longer they spend here and they've been here for a number of weeks, they are going to start triggering some alarm bells amongst their own staff as to how they are going to stay here, how their staff is going to stay here legally and whether they are going to incur some tax bills because

certainly under this new arrangement, it is clear that prince charles is going to be funding at least part of their lifestyle and depending on who you talk to, that would count as income here in canada. what do canadians make of this? canadians are following it. a big poll came out saying 70% of canadians were following it quite closely. there are a lot of other stories making news here. it isn't the top story but at the same time, when you ask people, do you care about them coming to canada, there is a half and half mix. about half are really interested and about half really aren't interested and that in a way is why they are here because canadians really do value privacy. celebrities, actors, they always know if they come to canada, they can walk around and basically get on with their lives and certainly by being on vancouver island, they picked the perfect location because there isn't a large media

infrastructure there so everyone, if you want to cover them, you've got to spend a lot of money staying on vancouver island where there is really nothing else to do but follow harry and meghan. in other news: 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. the bbc‘s washington correspondent ben wright says president trump's lawyers will argue it's an attempt to interfere in this year's presidential election. 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 for months president trump has railed on social media and elsewhere about what he sees as an 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 and the second, obstructing 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 injuly in which they spoke about launching an investigation intojoe biden and his son hunter and military aid was withheld. but they say there was no quid 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. an investigation by the police watchdog has concluded that senior officers ignored sexual abuse of girls in rotherham by asian men, for fear of causing racial tensions. the iopc upheld a number of complaints from an abuse survivor. her name has been changed in this report from alasdair gill. elizabeth was one of hundreds of girls abused in the rotherham child abuse scandal. she has always said the police failed to take action and now a police watchdog report has upheld most of her complaints. this report upholds six complaints from elizabeth and her family including the police were aware from as early as the mid—90s of suspects committing child abuse in rotherham but did not properly deal with it. they were leaving us. i still say to this day that i am lucky to be alive and the blame should be put on them, the way that they are described

in the report the ‘sex scene‘ of rotherham. imean... we were children. did it feel like they were blaming you? we have always been blamed. they normalised abuse in rotherham, they normalised what was happening and gave power to the perpetrators but also they tried to justify it as well. the independent office for police complaints found that a police officer had told elizabeth‘s father that the issue of child abuse in rotherham had been going on for 30 years but police could do nothing because of racial tension. south yorkshire police say it accepts the iopc‘s findings and lessons have been learned. they said the types of behaviour listed in the report would not be tolerated in today‘s force. the five mps competing to replace jeremy corbyn as labour leader have

been taking questions from party members in liverpool. it‘s the first of a series of public events around the country, which will culminate in a new leader being elected at the start of april. here‘s our political correspondent chris mason. applause. you can hear clapping and see smiles but make no mistake, labour is a party wounded and hurting, crushed at last month‘s election — its fourth defeat in a row. little wonder one of the candidates to replacejeremy corbyn said... being leader of the labour party when you‘re in opposition is quite frankly the worstjob in the world, that‘s what we‘re all applying for. nevertheless, emily thornberry wants the job because... i‘m the only one who has gone toe to toe with borisjohnson over two years at the dispatch box when he was foreign secretary. i got under his skin and i got to expose him for what he was, which is a reckless, lying charlatan. a claim that downing street would dispute. all the candidates underlined the importance of stamping out anti—semitism in the party and another recurring theme was trying to stop falling out

with each other in public. i think the whole of the party wants to be united, they want to come together, so we have to end factionalism. stop asking the question which bit of the party are you from, and start saying, what are you saying? sir keir starmer is seen as one of the favourites to win over labour members but plenty of those who signed up to labour in the last few years did because they loved jeremy corbyn. and it looks like sir keir‘s big rival in this race is the candidate whose politics is closest to mr corbyn‘s. how do we show people that everything we believe in in this room is sensible, credible, and will transform our economy? because what we‘re talking about is being done in other european countries and they‘re not calling it far left or crazy. jess phillips is a long—standing critic ofjeremy corbyn, by contrast. her team reckon she‘s the best communicator in the party. here she is on borisjohnson... it‘s notjust in my childhood that this man and his government has

affected my life — my son literally cannot go to school five days a week. my brother is on universal credit. this is... we need someone who can stand opposite borisjohnson and wear his government in his face. labour has never had a female leader, a point not lost on lisa nandy. for 15 years we‘ve been doing the same thing. we‘ve changed the man on the top and hoped it will change our problems — it won‘t. defeated in scotland, beaten back in the north, the south, wales, the midlands, we have to go out, make waves, emotionally reconnect and show we have as much riding on this as the people we once represented. there were plenty more questions and plenty more answers before today‘s hustings wrapped up, and there‘s plenty more to come. this contest will rumble on until april. chris mason, bbc news. the liberal democrats will choose their next leader by the middle ofjuly.

this comes after their former leaderjo swinson lost her seat in december‘s general election. more than 100,000 members will be eligible to vote in the leadership contest. acting co—leader, ed davey and the party‘s education spokeswoman, layla moran are both expected to run for the leadership. the lebanese capital beirut has seen its worst violence since anti—establishment street protests began three months ago. the red cross says 220 people were injured as riot police fought running battles with demonstrators for several hours. banks were vandalised and at least one protest camp was set on fire. the lebanese president michel aoun has called on the army to restore calm. lina sinjab reports from beirut. it is getting violent in beirut. for days, angry protesters have taken to the streets, blocking roads and attacking banks in 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 cannons. people are angry about the government‘s perceived incompetence and their political elite. despite brief smaller 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 diab has been appointed as a prime minister from the former government but many see him as incapable of forming a technocrat government that would appease the demands of the people. with the economic situation deteriorating, protesters anger is likely to get worse.

it isa it is a quarter past two. this is bbc news. the headlines: the queen says prince harry and meghan will lose their royal titles and public funding. they‘ll 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‘s a brazen attempt by his rivals to interfere in the upcoming election. thousands of women gathered in several cities in the us in what has become an annual national women‘s march. the demonstrations brought together long—time marchers and new demonstrators, including student activists who said the upcoming election inspired them to participate. gail maclellan reports. women! all: rising! women! rising! it was cold, it was wet and it even snowed in new york. justice! but for the fourth year running, women marched through american cities.

on the agenda, climate change, reproductive rights, immigration reform and, of course, donald trump. hey, hey! ho, ho! donald trump has got to go! the numbers have declined since the first march, which was held a day after president trump was inaugurated in 2017. that was the largest single—day protest in american history. but organisers say their focus is on quality, not quantity. a sea of placards and a wave of issues, many in support of democratic presidential candidates. cheering and applause. thank you, susan! evelyn yang, the wife of candidate andrew yang, urged protesters to rise and roar, citing her own experience as a survivor of sexual assault. we need to do better. for our mothers, for our daughters, for our sisters and for everyone who loves them. we need to roar against sexual violence.

cheering and applause. well organised, but not a seamless operation. internal divisions have dogged the leadership of the marches but the protesters are loyal, energetic and committed. it is an important issue and if you do not participate and you do not let people know what this is about, if you don‘t tell people what you are thinking, nothing‘s gonna happen, no change is gonna come if you don‘t tell the people what‘s on your mind. tell me what democracy looks like! all: this is what democracy looks like! gail maclellan, bbc news. the paris opera staged an open—air concert in front of the city‘s historic opera house in protest against changes to their pension. the protest is part of a general strike — one of the longest running in french history — in opposition to president macron‘s planned overhaul of the french pensions system. joe robinson reports.

protest has never sounded so delightful. today, paris‘s opera employees made their contribution to a symphony of dissent. made up of workers and professionals affect by president macron‘s planned pension reforms. —— affected by. the plans would see france‘s 42 different pension schemes reorganised into a single points based model, which the french government says is more fair and more financially sustainable by the unions have argued it results in people working for longer with a reduced payoff when they retire. together, together, general strike. the sound of opposition heard outside one parisien theatre last night was less tuneful but somewhat more direct in its messaging. all thing the marseillaise. —— thing. present macron and his wife were in

attendance at the theatre but we rushed from the main factor word venue rushed from the main factor word venue when protesters rushed through and interrupted the performance. scenes of violence and arrest have become a regular feature of parisien life, the lms numbers have diminished considerably, since the movement began, today they were bolstered by those bucking the general strike. the strike has already seen considerable disruption to french society, from the metro to the louvre. the french national bank has estimated that one in ten businesses have been affected by the industrial action. hopes that were stepped down from the government on the age of retirement earlier this month would lead to a final deal yet to materialise. joe robinson, bbc news. in yemen, as the internal conflict continues between the internationally recognised government and houthi rebels, a new level of economic warfare has been announced by the houthis. they‘re encouraging their supporters to stop using banknotes produced by the government and only

deal in older banknotes, effectively creating a two—currency system in the country. rich preston has this report. one country, two sets of banknotes — the old ones and the new ones. the ones you use depends on which side of the civil war you sit. on saturday, the houthi rebels outlawed the crisp new currency in the areas they control, which includes the capital sanaa. only the old currency can be used. for in government—controlled areas, like the southern port of aden, only the new currency is valid. the houthis, who are backed by iran, say this move is to tackle escalating inflation and rampant money—printing by the government. the government, backed by its regional ally saudi arabia, calls it "economic vandalism". translation: the decision taken by the houthis is 100% correct and we support it and call

for its full implementation. translation: the houthis took this decision and did not consider the economic cost to society. it has affected people's trading and was done forcefully. yemen‘s civil war has lasted more than five years and is thought to have killed more than 10,000 people, and pushed millions to the brink of starvation. whilst the warring factions have found ammunition in banknotes instead of bombs, many say ordinary yemenis will be the hardest hit by this new tactic, unable to buy basic supplies or simply be paid in a currency they can use. rich preston, bbc news. 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 rain doused the flames in some parts of the country, but brought fresh danger to others. storms described as a one—in—100—year event 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 one 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 starving 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 kangaroo 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 — it still surprises me 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. over the past week, several players have complained of breathing difficulties during qualifying matches. roger federer has won four 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 in the state‘s mountain region 15 times the size of manhattan. courtney bembridge, bbc news. the devastating bushfires in australia have once again highlighted the potential dangers of climate change. a little less dramatic is the future of the wine—growing industry. grapes are very sensitive to their environment and now, a team of french and new zealand scientists are trying to work out how vineyards should be managed in an age of climate change. the bbc‘s tim allman explains. just north of christchurch is the waipara valley. they have been growing wine here for decades. but it is an industry, like so many others, facing a serious long—term challenge — our planet‘s changing climate.

these scientists are trying to work out exactly how the grapes in these vineyards will be affected, and what will they do with that information? advice on how to manage a canopy, manage pruning, to adjust the developmental time of the vine and long—term strategies — when might you need to consider changing your varieties or changing your root stocks or changing where you plant your vines? when it comes to growing wine, the climate is a key factor. different temperatures can lead to different tastes. too much heat, for instance, may impair the flavour. analysing potential weather patterns can have a practical impact on how the grapes are grown. we would hope that over time, we understand the variation between seasons and within seasons. we would hope that that will enable us to then set the vineyard up in the best possible way to achieve our optimum yield and good quality wine.

the scientists aim to model weather simulations through to the end of the century — tot a bad idea when you think this is a multimillion—dollar industry. they want to taste success, whether sweet or dry. tim allman, bbc news. the weather now with helen willetts. hello. it‘s bitterly cold out and 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 fact, with some sunshine and a lot of dry weather as well — although the sunshine will tend to fade as these weak weather fronts come around our area of high pressure and bring more cloud with them. but for the most part, it‘s dry. we do have a few showers lingering in the north and west of scotland, particularly in the northern isles, and a few rain and sleet showers coming into eastern parts of england — particularly east anglia. so with a widespread frost, —5, —6 in the countryside.

ice obviously is going to be a concern, particularly where we have had the showers, but it has obviously been so damp. and freezing fog, particularly in the likes of the severn valley, up through the welsh marches, the cheshire plains, but not exclusively here — some for northern ireland, parts of scotland as well, which will struggle to lift. but, again, for most of us, it is dry, there‘ll be plenty of sunshine, which may be a bit hazy in the north with the approach of this next weather front, but temperatures should get to about average where we clear the fog. so some bright and crisp sunshine. however, we do pull in more cloud and a stronger breeze and even 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 doesn‘t not get quite as cold through tonight, the coming night, sunday night into monday, across northern areas as it does again, a harsh frost for many of us further south. and again, some freezing fog.

that is going to be a concern for the morning rush hour on monday. some dense patches around. being patchy makes it more dangerous, as well, if you are travelling, so do watch out for that in the coming mornings, including this morning. otherwise, monday looks like another day, once that clears, of bright weather but pretty cold weather. more cloud, though, will thicken up across scotland and northern ireland with the approach of this weather front, which will then bring actually we think a little bit of drizzly rain in through tuesday. but nothing significant because that high builds back in once again for the rest of the week. so monday, yes, it looks like another cold night come monday into tuesday across many southern and central areas, but we do get some rain for the far north of scotland, but look how it peters out as it just sinks southwards, 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. but 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. bye— bye.

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 six page letter describes the charges as unconstitutional and a brazen attempt by his rivals to interfere in the upcoming presidential election. the lebanese capital beirut has seen its worst violence since anti—government protests began three months ago. the red cross says more than 200 people have been injured. rain and thunderstorms have hit parts of australia‘s east coast, putting out some long—burning bushfires, but bringing a new threat