this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. i'm maryam moshiri. our top stories: the uk formally leaves the eu — a countdown clock marking the moment in downing street. bell tolls. brexit supporters celebrated at westminster — elsewhere the mood was more subdued. the fact is that the war is over. we have won! cheering. remain as are obviously sad and disappointed today. us senators vote against calling witnesses at

donald trump's impeachment trial, making the acquittal of the president all but certain. and 1300 new cases of the coronavirus confirmed in china — the death toll rises to almost 260. hello and welcome. britain has now officially left the european union after 47 years. there have been celebrations and commiserations across the united kingdom 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. bell tolls. 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 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: 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 bumpy year ahead. talks over trade and the future relationship will be tough. uncertainty isn't over. the transition period has 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 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. here is our website, as you can see there is plenty of analysis on what is happening, what has happened this evening and what will happen over the coming year. the website as always is bbc .com/ news, do go there to see what exactly changes from today onwards. you can get most

of the news on a website, but now some of the day's other news. 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 please 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 votes against witnesses, 49 for. 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 ukraine 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 ——expect it 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 months away. but here is what is very clear from this whole impeachment trial — it has made the whole feeling in

america much more bitter. it has helped 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. 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 have declared 1300 new cases of the virus, and confirmed at least 45 more deaths. there's now rising unease across the region, with calls for more to be done.

rupert wingfield—hayes sent this report from hong kong. in hong kong, they were lining up for hours again today for the handful of face masks on sale. from bangkok to yangon, to manila. everyone is now wearing them. across asia, as the coronavirus spreads, so does the fear. "i have a three—year—old nephew", this woman says. "it's scary. they said in the news you may die from this virus." today, singapore became the first country to block virtually all travel from china. in hong kong, many want the government to do the same. professor ho pak—leung is one of them. he says we are notjust dealing with another winter flu. influenza doesn't kill healthy people. it won't cause a doctor like me to come down with severe pneumonia and then need to be

admitted to intensive care. so we are facing an enemy that is different. professor ho says something also needs to be done about china's wildlife markets — the suspected source of this latest virus. hong kong's wet markets used to be very like the one in wuhan. there used to be bats and foxes and snakes all mixed together in the same area as chickens and ducks and geese and that just doesn't happen any more. the only live animal you'll find here are chickens and they are tightly regulated. i think it's time for china to think about this seriously. i think it's time for china be heavy—handed with this culture — it's time to change. in wuhan today, an old man collapsed on a street corner. passers—by were too scared to help him. by the time the paramedics arrived, he was dead. let's get an update

on the situation — the bbc‘s mariko 0i has the latest from hing kong. the bbc‘s mariko 0i has the latest from hong kong. this is why beijing didn't exactly want the who to declare this as a global emergency. that's been 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 notjust travel, but also trade with china. but as you said, since the declaration of global emergency, we heard from a number of countries restricting 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 the chinese authorities, 259 people have died and just under 12,000 confirmed cases just in china, and of course the virus continues to spread outside. now there are confirmed cases

of infection in more than 20 countries. mariko, where you are in hong kong, obviously, a place very badly hit by the sars virus. so, very careful there to make sure the same doesn't happen again. what have the hong kong authorities been 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're even threatening to go on strike unless the hong kong government closes all the borders. we'll find out more later as the union members meet later today. but there has 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 march and a lot of pressure really on carrie lam, the city's chief executive, who was already in a lot of trouble with the ongoing protests, the pro—democracy protests that continued for months. of course, now that this outbreak of coronavirus happened, we're not seeing any of those protests. but in terms of the demand of those protesters, none of that has been resolved. mariko 0i in hong kong. we will have more on the story in a few minutes. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the customs might look familiar, but people in new england tell us a trade deal between the uk and the us won't be that straight forward. 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. the ban on the african national congress is lifted immediately, 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

this is bbc world 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. more on the outbreak of coronavirus. since news of the spread of infections has increased, so have reports of countries closing their borders to travellers who have recently been in china. there have also been reports in social media of racism against chinese people. this isjust one example — a chinese doctor reporting in australia about a patient saying he wouldn't shake her hand. for more on the social media storm following the virus

outbreak, i'm joined by dr rhea liang in brisbane, whose tweet we have just seen. doctor, thank you forjoining us. doctor, thank you forjoining us. first of all, tell me what happened with this patient who came to visit you in hospital. isa came to visit you in hospital. is a very busy clinic. it's a teaching clinic, so my team is around me today the consultant. he had shaken hands of other members of the team and before he came to me he withdrew his hand and made a joke about how he shouldn't shake my hand because of coronavirus. we carried on with the consultation. my primary concern was to deliver very good medical care to him. but as soon as he was gone my team we re very as soon as he was gone my team were very supportive and we had a little debrief about what had occurred. and, of course, you have not even been to china recently, have you, so there is no reason for him to say this other than your ethnicity? that set. i'm a new zealander. i live and work in australia. and

i've been to china twice in my life as a tourist, but not for over a decade. how worried are you about what is becoming clear is a problem on social media about misinformation which is leading to, you know, racism, quite frankly, against people of chinese origin?m worries me a great deal. and i'm more concerned about people more vulnerable than me. my example is quite mild compared to some of the examples on social media. there are kids being chased across playgrounds. people being ejected from elevators. so really someone choosing not to shake my hand is quite mild. but also a worry because they and the consultant, i have quite a lot of authority, it worries me about people who don't have that sort of authority are being treated. what are the nurses experiencing? what is the average chinese person in any otherjob experiencing? average chinese person in any other job experiencing? and certainly on social media we are seeing increasing reports of those day—to—day encounters.

and the misinformation many people are talking about on social media, about how this disease spreads, about how we can spread so quickly, that is adding claims to the fire, isn't it? i mean feel to the fire, excuse me. it is. there isa fire, excuse me. it is. there is a great deal of misinformation. the racial characterisation of it is incorrect. you know, to a virus, all humans look the same, they look like a potential host. and so although the virus originated in china, you know, we have had ourfirst cases confirmed in australia, but everyone is susceptible to catching the virus, notjust chinese people. so if we are going to have public health precautions that should be for everyone, not just precautions that should be for everyone, notjust chinese people. and also, on a different note, coronavirus has been diagnosed at the facility work, has it not? how worried are you about the coronavirus thatis are you about the coronavirus that is obvious by now to australia? it is. we are all

extremely worried. i think he medical personnel are, you know, worried universally. the characteristics of this virus are quite worrisome, particularly the latent period where it may not be symptomatic but can still spread. there's a lot of parameters about this virus that are still not entirely clear. until we know more about i think it is wise for us all to be more cautious, not less. and of course you see many people on the news and around wearing these facemasks and yet there are only a few specific types of masks that work. am i correct in believing that you should only wear a mask for one hour at a time because if it gets down it becomes useless with yellow correct. in the droplet spread is essential to control. and anyone who has worn a mask knows that they get saturated with your breath vapour very quickly become in effect if at controlling the droplets. thank

you so much, dr liang, thank you so much, dr liang, thank you for your time. my pleasure. more now on brexit. it has made little impact on the us. politics has been dominated by the impeachment trial and the upcoming presidential election. but there is still some sympathy with the upheaval being caused by four years of uncertainty, as we report from new hampshire. they understand how they may be kind of sick of being part of all the other european nations. but that's their strength. i think brexit isa their strength. i think brexit is a very sad situation and it

will be tragic for england. why? | will be tragic for england. why? i think england is going to be ostracising themselves from the rest of the world at a time it is more important for us time it is more important for us to be global. and i think this is a backward move similar to the us. new england's relationship with the uk has had its ups and downs of 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. there is the eu and how you can negotiate with them, and that is one side. then there is the uk and the us on the other 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 0'brien, bbc news, new hampshire. always time for a nice cup of tea. the uk, ourtop always time for a nice cup of tea. the uk, our top story, the uk has left the european union. we leave you with a key moment that happened a few hours ago in downing street. big ben bongs.

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 mainly across western areas. you will notice the milder air will be back, 11 to 14 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 it will turn milder by the end of the week.