welcome to bbc news — i'm maryam moshiri. our top stories: the uk has left the european union, with a countdown clock in downing street marking the moment. bell tolls outside parliament, brexit supporters celebrated — elsewhere the mood was more subdued. the fact is that the war is over. we have won! cheering. as remain as are disappointed and sad today. ——remainers. us senators vote against calling witnesses at donald trump's impeachment trial, making the acquittal of the president all but certain. 1300 new cases of the coronavirus are confirmed

in the chinese province of hubei, and 45 more people have died. britain has now officially left the european union after 47 years. there have been celebrations and commiserations across the uk, with many people gathering in the streets to mark the moment of history. prime minister boris johnson says it's not an end, but a beginning — but many questions remain over what the future holds. freya cole reports. bell tolls it is done. at the strike of 11 gmt, britain left the european union. this moment will go

down in history. a cause worthy of great jubilation for some... we are very happy, very happy. this face is happy. it's freedom! i'm extremely pleased at last after 3.5 years of procrastination. we've actually got what we wanted — what the majority voted for. of course, a great disappointment for others. as remainers, obviously very disappointed and sad today. we've spent the last 3.5 years trying to stop brexit from happening. and, actually, the room today was actually reconciled to the fact it is happening, and that makes us very sad. it's been a long, drawn—out process. at times it felt like it would never happen, but it has. and there's no going back — not any time soon. prime minister boris johnson issued a statement saying:

it is time to unleash the full potential of this billions country. —— williams. —— brilliant. brexit party leader nigel farage said he's fought for this moment for 27 years. let us celebrate tonight as we've never done before. you — and all of us — have made history. and this is the greatest moment in the modern history of our great nation. thank you! cheering but for scotland, who voted to remain, it's a profound moment of sadness, according to its leader nicola sturgeon. tonight in edinburgh, a sea of european and scottish flags side—by—side. they say now they'll ramp up the fight for their own exit from the uk. the fact of the matter is, that the only way back into the european union for scotland is if we regain our statehood and regain

our independence. across the channel in brussels, the union flag was lowered and neatly put away. a symbolic moment of the start of the end of ties known for almost half a century. # god save the queen... but it's no great loss, according to a crowd of brexiteers in parliament square. it's a short reprieve before a bumperyearahead. talks over trade and the future relationship will be tough. uncertainty isn't over. the transition period is only just begun. freya cole, bbc news. one of the most difficult challenges faced by uk and eu brexit negotiators throughout the last few years was the status of northern ireland. emma vardy was at the irish border in the minutes after it became the uk's only land border with the eu. well, all of a sudden this invisible geographical line

takes on a great new significance. this, where i am standing, is now the new land border between the uk and the eu. there was no great fanfare, no singing, a small band of protesters gathered here to mark the moment. to the eye, of course, nothing will change, but it will have implications for thousands of businesses across the island. now, keeping is border open was always such a difficult part of those brexit negotiations. in the end, a resolution was found through a controversial compromise which effectively moves this border to the irish sea. it leaves northern ireland in a bit of a halfway house in future, abiding by eu single market rules, but staying part of the new uk's global trading arrangements. and of course, don't forget, was always so important to be able to keep the sport open because having an open irish ——able to keep the border open because having an open irish border has been a fundamental part of the peace process in northern ireland after decades of conflict.

it has been achieved, but people are still farfrom happy. a majority of people in northern ireland voted to remain — they're still upset they're being taken out of the eu against their will. whereas others are angry that northern ireland will have to remain in different arrangements to the rest of the uk. but after all those rows, those battles over british and irish identity, really, now, negotiations over the next 11 months will determine how it's all going to work in practice. brexit has made little impact in the us — politics there has dominated by the impeachment trial and the upcoming presidential election. but there's some sympathy with the upheaval caused by four years of uncertainty, as jane o'brien reports from new hampshire. the silver phantom tea party in dover — that is dover, new hampshire — is a popular spot for ladies who lunch. here in new england, they feel close to the old country. and not only because of the familiar names and tradition of tea. the political upheaval

of brexit is something they can also relate to. i understand how they might be kind of sick of being part of all the other european nations. but that is their strength. i think brexit is a very sad situation and will be tragic for england. why? i feel england will be ostracising themself from the rest of the world at a time when is more important for us to be global and i think this isjust a really backward move. similar to the us. new england's relationship with the uk has had its ups and downs over the last four centuries. but britain is america's fifth largest trading partner. international business expert peter lane says the us is vital to the british economy. but brexit has created uncertainty. as we look forward over the next year, as these

trade relationships evolve, we need to keep in mind that it is all really a rubik's cube. the uk and the us on one side. but then each group has other relationships that will be impacted by it. so it is notjust straightening out one side. it is going to take several years before this settles out and we know what the world will look like. tourism is another important link. british visitors spent $141 million in new england every year. brexit should not affect that. but despite the uncertainty, some things never change. a nice cup of tea, for instance, on either side of the atlantic, can always be counted on to soothe the nerves. jane o'brien, bbc news, new hampshire. let's get some of the day's other news. a one—time aspiring actor says harvey weinstein subjected her to "degrading" abuse, in some of the most graphic testimony shared in his trial so far. jessica mann detailed a catalogue of abuse by the hollywood producer. his lawyers say emails

prove his and ms mann's relationship was consensual. he denies the charges and all allegations of wrongdoing. the us has announced it is expanding its curbs on immigration to include six more countries, including nigeria. their citizens will now be blocked from obtaining certain types of visas, but they will be able to visit as tourists. the european plane maker airbus is to pay $4 billion to settle corruption allegations in the united states, britain and france. the settlement has been approved by the courts in all three countries after four years of investigations. airbus was suspected of corrupt payments linked to aircraft sales dating back more than a decade. there have been more protests in chile, with violent clashes in the capital and at a football match in the coastal city of coquimbo. in santiago, police and demonstrators clashed

in the city's iconic plaza italia. fans invaded the pitch and destroyed tv cameras, forcing the match to be abandoned. since october, chile has been rocked by protests that started over a hike in public transport fares. us senators have voted against calling witnesses at donald trump's impeachment trial, a move which brings the end of the process much closer. the democrats failed to persuade enough republicans that witness testimony was necessary. the final vote will take place on wednesday. i spoke to the bbc‘s chris buckler, who explained why, unusally, there were no new witnesses at this stage in the trial. of course, an impeachment trial itself is really pretty unusual for the united states. certainly what republicans did not want to do was to extend this trial any longer than it would go as it is. and ultimately, they have been pushing for no witnesses and they have succeeded by the narrowest of margins. the final vote was 51—19.

two republicans did vote with the democrats, but that was half the number they needed. and ultimately now, it will mean that president trump's impeachment trial will come to an end at some stage next week. probably wednesday, and that will probably be of great relief to the president himself but the democrats will push this argument that can you really have a fair trial when you haven't heard from witnesses? and they had hoped to hear from the likes ofjohn bolton who is president trump's former national security adviser and a man who apparently has details of the president's plan to put pressure on the uk to launch investigations into his political opponents. that is denied by the white house but there was the chance of mr bolton coming to the senate and giving some very damaging testimony. and yet, even without that testimony, even if the impeachment trial ends very quickly as we expected to now in favour of the president, do you think there has been

a huge amount of damage done to him in what is an election year? do you know, i don't really know, because i think truthfully, people went to this impeachment trial on one side or the other, and i'm not sure really it has changed that much during that time. the american public are either with president trump or against him, and there is a small number in the middle who during the next nine or ten months are going to push very hard to persuade them to fall into either the democrats or the republicans before that vote in november 2020. a matter of miles away. but here is what is very clear from this whole impeachment trial — it has made the whole feeling in america much more bitter. they push divisions that exist in this country even further. but ultimately, it is coming to an end and the focus will shift to an election. to give you an idea what will

happen in the coming days. on monday, both sides will give their closing arguments and then on wednesday, it will be the final vote. as we say though, they will need two—thirds of the senate to vote in favour of removing the president for donald trump to be removed from office. there's absolutely no chance of that happening. even president trump's opponents acknowledge that. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: increasing unease across asia as the number of coronavirus infections rise in china. this is the moment that millions in iran had been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid. and the anc leader, nelson mandela, is to be set free unconditionally. ..four, three, two, one... a countdown to a critical moment. the world's most powerful rocket ignited all 27 of its engines at once.

and apart from its power, it's this recycling of the rocket, slashing the cost of a launch, that makes this a breakthrough in the business of space travel. two americans have become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to their spaceship. one of them called it "a piece of cake." thousands of people have given the yachtswoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming in the cornish port of falmouth after she smashed the world record for sailing solo around the world non—stop. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: britain has officially left the european union, bringing to an end nearly half a century of membership. us senators have voted against calling witnesses at donald trump's impeachment trial, making the acquittal of the president all but certain. the united states has announced foreign citizens who've been in china in the past

14 days will be barred from entering the us to control the spread of the coronavirus. the authorities in hubei, where the outbreak originated, have declared 1,300 new cases of the virus and confirmed at least 45 more deaths. the bbc‘s mariko oi is in hong kong. this is why beijing didn't want a who to declare this as a global emergency. that has been the speculation of critics of the speculation of critics of the who that there might have been some pressure on the united nations organisation not to declare it as such because countries can then restrict not just travel, but also trade with china. but as you said, since the declaration of global emergency, we heard from a number of countries restrict ding travel, some countries are now seeing all mainland chinese passport holders being barred from entering their countries, and this comes as the death

toll continues to rise, as you mentioned. as of this morning according to chinese authorities, 259 people have died and just under 12,000 confirmed cases just in china, and the virus continues to spread outside. now there are confirmed cases of infection in more than 20 countries. where you are in hong kong, fiercely, a place very badly hit by the sars virus. very careful that you make sure the same doesn't happen again. what are the hong kong authorities doing? the hong kong government has closed some of the borders with mainland china. critics of the hong kong government say that they should close all the borders in order to prevent the virus from spreading. as you said, memories of the sars outbreak are still very fresh here. nearly 300 people lost their lives, including some medical professionals, so they

are even threatening to go on strike unless the hong kong government closes all the borders. we will find out more later as the union members meet later as the union members meet later today. but there have been a lot of pressure on the hong kong government to do more. at the same time, all the schools are closed until the beginning of much and a lot of pressure really on carrie lam, the city by the chief executive, who was already in a lot of trouble with the ongoing protests, the pro—democracy protests, the pro—democracy protests that continued for months. now that this outbreak of coronavirus happened, we not seeing any of those protests. but in terms of the of those protesters, none of that has been resolved. more now on britain leaving the eu. our europe correspondent damian grammaticas is in benidorm and has been speaking to one british expat about, now that britain has left the eu, what this is going to mean for

her and her business. this is what they call the english strip here at benidorm, this is the rover‘s return bar, and all the way along here we have the bars that attract english visitors, british visitors from the uk, yorkshire pride bar, and running the bar, paige dawson. the uk has left the eu. it is out. it has officially happened! your emotions, you are a breach, you have been here for 25 years. that is right. —— brit. it is a sad to leave and a lot of uncertainty comes because we don't know exactly what is going to happen, how it will work and how the transition process is going to work. it is just literally take it step step, see what information we are given and how we need to go about things now and go from there, really. i mean, you have permanent residency here in spain, butare permanent residency here in spain, but are you clear about how things go forward now, how

are you going to secure your status in spain? no, we have no idea yet what documentation we are going to need, how we go about getting it. the brits that are here that have not got residency yet, how they go about getting work, what paperwork they need for that, if they can apply for the residency now. we just don't know. it is the uncertainty thatis know. it is the uncertainty that is going to scare people more than the actual brexit it sells, it is not knowing and being in limbo. this is something we have heard from british citizens up and down the coast here who simply are not clear in their mind about how things will work now. it is something that is also impacting your business here? yes, like, we haven't noticed any great impact yet, but the worry is how it might affect it. so all the british products that we sell, i was still going to be able to get them? are we going to get them but there is a tax on them? is it going to make them super expensive? one of the products that we do use

regularly and use a lot of and we know we already cannot get that because of the fears. that that because of the fears. that that we get from the uk that are imported, they are already worrying about that so they have what is not that before we had even got to brexit. so things like that, we won't be able to carry on if we haven't got all the british produce that the brits want to come and have when they are on holiday. you have now lost, as of the uk editing, your rights to vote here, you will be here as a british citizen but you have no voice in spain. no, we have no voice in spain. no, we have no voice in spain because we are not spanish nationals that we can't vote here, and now because we are living here and not in an uk, we also can't vote in the uk, so basically we are completely silenced out and there will be hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people that are in the same situation with have literally got no vote

anywhere now. a quick question, some british systems are open —— opting to take a spanish citizenship. you have. would you? no, iwouldn't, simply because i am proud to be british. and i have got no need to stop being british. as long asi to stop being british. as long as i can carry on living, working, earning a living here, travelling, which i will be able to, i am still british. thank you very much for talking to us. as paige was saying, that uncertainty is going to last quite a long time, in particular the people with affected a re particular the people with affected are those back page who live and work across the eu and there are more than a million of those uk citizens. back to you. many questions about the uk's future relationship with the eu bloc remain. our correspondent gareth barlow is on a ferry in the north sea. it's carrying passengers and goods from the netherlands to britain. it will be among the first arrivals here from the continent. he's been speaking to

some of its passengers. we are on the largest ferry operating in europe crossing between the uk and the eu on a daily basis. beneath my feet, hundreds of vehicles and lorries filled with people and produce for the one of those people on board with a truck himself is bert. what have you got in your lorry? i have flowers that we bought this morning at a flow option from six o'clock. we set it up for the ferry tonight to cross over. we leave the ferry tomorrow morning and then i should be at my firstjob tomorrow morning and then i should be at my first job at nine o'clock. change is coming. how are you changing your business, if at all? we have been informed very well by the uk government and the british government. we put things in place, we need to have documents that we need to get ready as well. we invest in software, we have the right equipment. you transport and

sell cut flowers and plants. what impact or disruption would have had to your business? a lot, because we have perishable goods so we need to get into the customer quickly as can. of course, the customer quickly as can. of course , we the customer quickly as can. of course, we work with florists who supply for funerals and weddings. bert is just who supply for funerals and weddings. bert isjust one of the people that crosses and the eu 483 the people that crosses and the eu a83 million tons of cargo entering british ports and it is messages like that that if there is any delay, it will have an impact negatively on trade both sides of the water. that is gareth barlow reporting there. more now on brexit. ever since the uk joined what was then called the european economic community in 1973, the relationship has been subject to intense scrutiny. now the uk has left. let's look back at some of the key moments from the last a7 years.

music plays a new and a greater united europe. officially, we became members at midnight local time. what do you think of the common market? i don't think much of it, why? it's a waste of money. i think it's absolutely vital that everyone should turn out in this referendum and vote yes. # let's stay in the common market... yes or no? you're holding up no. it's beginning to look as if we may not have a single no counting area. now we make way gracefully for playschool. we'll be back with more results at a:25. only a frenchman could have done that. it's absolutely unbelievable! no! don't bind my hands when i am negotiating on behalf of the british nation. mr cameron may not know it,

but we are now on course. britain is going to make the great escape. it will be an in—out referendum. is it not time we take... take back control. independence! stronger... jobs for the future. better off. the british people have spoken and the answer is we're out. brexit means brexit and we're going to make a success of it. you should be in brussels, negotiating. yes, we have been. get brexit done. the only way out of that mess is to stop brexit. so the ayes have it, the ayes have it. now is the moment to come together and write a new and exciting chapter in our national story. # for auld lang syne... we're going to wave you goodbye. # for auld lang syne...

# we'll take a cup of kindness, dear, for auld lang syne! hello there. it was another windy day on friday. as we head on into the weekend, low pressure will always be nearby. so it will stay rather unsettled. mild for most, and there will be some rain at times, but also some sunshine too. so here it is — low pressure to the north of the uk on saturday. this will bring some rain to northern areas. quite a few isobars on the chart there, hence the windy weather. and then this area of low pressure will arrive during saturday night into sunday. the very mild air will be pushed off into the near continent on saturday, and something a little less mild will move in. but it's still going to be pretty mild across the south. so, a blustery day for most.

that weather front i showed you, affecting scotland, northern ireland and northern england with showery bursts of rain. we could see a little bit of rain across the south—east but that will clear away and then for many it will be sunshine and showers into the afternoon. most of those showers across western areas. the winds dig down from the north across scotland, so blustery here, but also blustery across england and wales. here, the winds coming in from the south—west, so it will be much milder across the south and further north. in fact, turning quite chilly, a few wintry showers here. 10 or 11 degrees in the south, not quite as mild as it was on friday. now, as we head through saturday night, one or two showers around, wintry on the hills in scotland. a quieter spell before that next area of low pressure comes hurtling in, to bring outbreaks of rain into northern ireland, england and wales. some of it will be mild and heavy through saturday night, turning mild again in the south as the rain arrives, quite a chilly night to come across the north and north—east. so, here it is, a bit of a complicated picture through sunday morning. that weather slowly sliding north, tending to clear away

from eastern england as the morning wears on, but it could be quite a damp start for northern, eastern england, northern ireland, central and southern scotland, as that rain bumps into the cold air across scotland we might see some snow over the mountains there. into the afternoon, it improves for many, sunny spells around, one or two showers across western areas. you will notice the milder air will be back, 11 to 1a degrees here, much chillier in the north. as we head into monday, this area of low pressure, deep low, will bring a swathe of severe gales to the north of the country, certainly to scotland. they could see some snow on the high ground. the windy weather then clears away into tuesday and then we see a big area of high pressure building around the middle parts, that will settle things down, but it will be a bit colder. a milder day on monday with some rain around. mid week, high pressure builds and it will settle down to brighter, with overnight frost and gradually milder by the end of the week.

this is bbc news, the headlines: britain has officially left the european union, bringing an end to nearly half a century of membership. the moment of departure triggered celebrations by brexit supporters around the country, with many people waving union flags. for others though it was a sad moment. there have been muted counter—rallies by people who wanted to remain in the eu, saying they feel disenfranchised by the move. us senators have voted against calling witnesses at donald trump's impeachment trial, a move which brings the end of the process much closer. the democrats failed to persuade enough republicans that witness testimony was necessary. the authorities in the chinese province of hubei have declared 1300 new cases of the coronavirus, and confirmed at least a5 more deaths.