welcome to bbc news — i'm mike embley. our top stories: the bbc has evidence that women in china's so—called re—education camps have been systematically raped and tortured. translation: they did whatever evil their mind could think of. - and they didn't spare any part of my body. the russian opposition leader, alexei navalny, is jailed for two—and—a—half years. he says it's to remove his challenge to president putin. research suggests that a single dose of the astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine may lower the rate of transmission. and captain sir tom moore, the war veteran who raised tens of millions for charity during the first lockdown, has died at the age of 100.

hello. women in china's so—called re—education camps have been systematically raped and tortured, according to first hand accounts obtained by the bbc. it's estimated at least a million men and women have been detained in the camps. china claims they are simply centres to de—radicalise uighurs and other muslim minorities. our correspondent matthew hill has spoken to several former workers from the camps and detainees. you may find some of what they have to say distressing. tursanay ziyawudun is reliving a story she can barely bring herself to tell. she was held one of xinjiang's so—called re—education camps. these satellite images show the site were she says she was held, sharing

a cell with 13 other women with a bucket for a toilet. and she's haunted by one image — masked men coming down a camp corridor, like this one, after midnight. translation: they were three men. not one, but three. they did whatever evil their mind could think of and they didn't spare any part of my body, biting it to the extent that it was disgusting to look at. they didn't just rape. they were barbaric. they had bitten all over my body. the us have granted her safe refuge after investigating her claims. she's waived her right to anonymity and now feels free to speak about the full extent of the abuse she says she suffered.

translation: they had an electric baton. - i didn't know what it was. it was pushed into my private parts and i was tormented with electric shocks. it's estimated over1 million uighurs and other muslims are held in the camps. these never—before—broadcast pictures were filmed secretly in a camp under construction and published by a magazine on religious liberty. police documents. he is the first ever to come forward and the risk of him speaking to the bbc is so great we have reconstructed the interview with an actor. those who were taken inside were locked in a cell which held 8—16 inmates. there were cameras watching them all the time, and there were books about xi jinping. they had to study the book and memorise them in chinese.

if they failed, the punishment was severe. many former camp inmates flee to istanbul. some talk of having to choose between punishment or being complicit in its crimes. translation: | worked six| months as a cleaning worker for the women. han chinese men would pay money to have their pick of the pretty, young inmates. this was the first time ghulzira has told anyone the full extent of what she says she was forced to do. myjob is to remove their clothes completely and then handcuff them on their beds so they cannot move. we can't say if the rape is approved by the camp commanders or even by those more senior. but the accounts of the many women i've spoken to include gang rape in public

and are similar in brutality. the uighur rights group that helped tursanay get to america say theirfull stories don't emerge until later. survivors of the camps have told of horrific tortures. very often sexual abuse, however, is told in less detail. it's traumatic to remember and women are often afraid of bringing shame to their own family members. the chinese government said in a statement that the xinjiang camps "offered vocational and educational training to tackle extremism and terrorism". it did not address directly the accusations of rape and torture, but it added, "the chinese government attaches great importance to women's rights. lies and absurd accusations, including mass detention, do not hold water." translation: it is very obvious their goal is to destroy - everyone, and everyone knows it.

these women are done. much of the testimony of the women i've spoken to like tursanay is too disturbing to broadcast. but it's important, they say, the world knows what's happened to them. matthew hill, bbc news. more than a thousand demonstrators have been arrested as they protested the jailing of the leading russian opposition activist alexei navalny. he's expected to spend at least two and a half years in prison, discounting the time he spent under house arrest. he says the case against him is just a way to frighten millions of people away from opposing president putin. steve rosenberg reports from moscow. for years, the russian authorities claimed alexei navalny was no threat to them, that he was a nobody. but outside court, they were taking no chances. inside, mr navalny was locked in a glass cage. he'd been accused of a parole

violation in a case he insists is politically—motivated. a heart sign to his wife, yulia, who was there with him in court. when the verdict came he put on a brave face, but the kremlin�*s most vocal critic had been sent to prison for 2.5 years. up until today, the russian authorities avoided sending alexei navalny to prison, forfear of making him a political martyr. but the calculation has changed. to the kremlin, mr navalny is now seen as a bigger threat at liberty than behind bars. shouting. that's because in russia he has become the face of protest, a catalyst for political change. shouting. mr navalny�*s arrest had brought people onto the streets across the country. shouting. now his prison sentence has

sparked international condemnation. we reiterate our call for the russian government to immediately, unconditionally release mr navalny as well as the hundreds of other russian citizens wrongfully detained in recent weeks for exercising their rights. message not received. this is moscow tonight, police are out in force and determined to stop any sign of protest in support of mr navalny. shouting. "alexei, we're with you," he just has time to say. the authorities will be hoping that with alexei navalny in prison, the protests will lose steam. and if they don't, well, those in power here are in no mood for compromise. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow.

jeff bezos is to stand down from his role as chief executive of the internet giant amazon, the internet giant he created about 30 years ago in his garage. he's not severing his ties with amazon — it's said he'll work on other projects. the news came after the company reported huge profits for the last three months of 2020. a new study from oxford university suggests the coronavirus vaccine it developed with astrazeneca not only protects from severe disease, but also reduces transmission of the virus significantly. researchers found the jab provided good protection even when there was a gap of 12 weeks between the first and second doses. the study backs up the british government's controversial decision to leave a bigger gap, delaying second jabs so more people can be given their first, so more people have at least some level of protection, sooner. live now to los angeles and to dr anne rimoin, who is professor of epidemiology at the ucla fielding school of public health.

thank you very much for your time, good to talk to you again. this is significant, isn't it? , , again. this is significant, isn't it?— again. this is significant, isn'tit? ,, ., isn't it? this is really great news. there _ isn't it? this is really great news. there are _ isn't it? this is really great news. there are several. isn't it? this is really great - news. there are several pieces of good news here, but the idea that this vaccine, first of all has good efficacy, only after one dose is terrific. but this is all still preliminary data, and we still need to really understand in a randomised controlled trial where you have groups evenly distributed, to truly get a sense of what is happening here, but all in all, fantastic news, some really good news here.— good news here. cutting transmission, _ good news here. cutting transmission, if - good news here. cutting transmission, if i - good news here. cutting - transmission, ifi understand transmission, if i understand it right, reduces the time the vaccine has to develop mutations or variants? absolutely. announcement of the things we are very concerned about right now. of course if you get more vaccines in arms right now, you're going to prevent this virus from having more opportunity to spread the. if it doesn't have as much

opportunity to spread, it will not be able to replicate, and if it is not replicating, we're not going to see that could result in variants like we are seeing now in the uk, and everywhere. i seeing now in the uk, and everywhere-— seeing now in the uk, and everywhere. i 'ust had a call to no everywhere. i 'ust had a call to go and _ everywhere. i 'ust had a call to go and had — everywhere. ijust had a call to go and had the _ everywhere. ijust had a call i to go and had the astrazeneca vaccine much earlier than i expected, i am vaccine much earlier than i expected, iam in vaccine much earlier than i expected, i am in my mid— 60s. would you say this is a vindication of the government here's decision to delay that second jab so more people can get there first, to get more people some protection, at least sooner? i people some protection, at least sooner?— people some protection, at least sooner? i think there is ureat least sooner? i think there is great science _ least sooner? i think there is great science to _ least sooner? i think there is great science to support - least sooner? i think there is great science to support the | great science to support the idea to be able to stretch out the use of vaccine so that more people can get it, so we can have more immunity in place, i think it's really important to be able to consider all options, and you have to get creative here. the problem is of course that we don't have an enough data to really understand how long you need to space this out but these

preliminary results are really fantastic, they really do support it, and i'm really looking forward to seeing more jabs in more arms, to get transmission down as fast as possible. transmission down as fast as ossible. , ., transmission down as fast as possible-— possible. there seem to be several senior _ possible. there seem to be several senior medics - possible. there seem to be i several senior medics backing up several senior medics backing up and that. what motivated you need to see?— need to see? one of the things about this _ need to see? one of the things about this particular _ need to see? one of the things about this particular study, - about this particular study, it's still in review, we have not seen all the data yet, it's all in preprint, but i believe that there is some question about the, about how they did theirs dosing study, and if the groups were evenly distributed, if there were potentially more young people in the single dose versus the two dose, so i think there is still some work to be done to work it out but these preliminary data are very promising, they do support it, and immunologically it does make sense that you could stretch out the timing between doses, this is not the first

virus that this particular stretching out of doses would work. we have seen this with influenza, ebola, stretching out two doses does actually confer even better immunity than closer together. professor, thank you very much. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: tributes for captain sir tom moore, who has died at the age 100. he'll be remembered for raising tens of millions of pounds for the uk's national health service. this is the moment that 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.

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, l slashing the cost of a launch, l 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: the bbc has evidence that women in china's so—called re—education camps have been systematically raped and tortured.

a russian court has sentenced alexei navalny, the kremlin's most high—profile opponent, to 2.5 years injail. democrats have laid out their case for impeaching donald trump for a second time, ahead of his trial in the senate next week. their pre—trial brief says the former president: it calls this a "profound violation of the oath he swore" and demands he's disqualified from ever running for office again. mr trump's lawyers have responded. they say the senate has no authority to try him as a private citizen on an impeachment charge, adding: well, earlier i spoke to frank bowman, who's a professor of constitutional law at the university of missouri and author of the book �*high crimes and misdemeanors: a history of impeachment for the age of trump'. i asked him to explain how the constitution does allow for the an impeachment trial

for a former president to proceed. as a practical matter, if the senate wants to proceed with the trial and convict mr trump and vote for his future disqualification, it can do so. and as a practical matter, it is unlikely in any degree that any court would presume to intervene in thejudgement. frankly, what is going on here is that mr trump's lawyers are raising a faintly colourable argument to give the republican members of the senate, who would much rather not deal with the substance of mr trump's offences, an excuse to vote against the conviction without confronting substance. but the truth is, the argument for a lack of constitutionality is very, very thin on its merits. the idea is simply that because the constitution requires that an officeholder be removed upon conviction, that somehow or another it means that if you can't remove him because he has already left, then you have

lost jurisdiction. but, of course, that is not logical and i don't think it is true. the constitution also provides another remedy which is plainly aimed not at the officeholder�*s current circumstances or even his former ones, but his future danger to the constitution order, the remedy of disqualification. certainly a danger for the remedy of this disqualification is aimed is just as great in the case of somebody who has recently left office after committing great offences, as it is in the case of someone where you manage to get the trial done just before he left. as the house manages brief says, there is no january exception to the impeachment clause. that means you can't commit all of your vast great offences at the end of your term and then somehow or other escape liability. your suggested in there that mr trump's is the founding father's worst nightmare.

how do you think this is likely to play out in terms of practical politics? if you mean by practical politics in terms of the result of the trial, the result is, i think, something remarkable were to happen, the impeachment managers, the prosecution, if you will, will be unable to secure the two—thirds vote that is required, that is to say 67 senators which would mean 17 republicans. i think it is unlikely you would get 17 senators. how will plays out any larger picture in the united states yet remains to be seen. certainly trump's insistence as part of his answer so far, continued insistence, that somehow or other there is doubt about the outcome of the election, is not something that is going to promote harmony and healing in the american political scene. the police officer killed

when supporters of the former president donald trump stomed the u.s. capitol has arrived at the building's historic rotunda. police officer brian sicknick will lie in honour at the rotunda. a congressional tribute will take place on wednesday followed by his funeral at arlington national cemetery. sicknick, who had served in the newjersey air national guard, joined the capitol police in 2008. there are many ways to measure economic success but almost all of them entail showing some form of growth, in businesses or how much is produced, but what if that growth comes at the expense of the natural world? a landmark report that's just been published, the dasgupta review, calls for a new way of calculating economic success, taking the value of nature into account. and, it warns, if we don't, there is what it calls an extreme risk of catastrophic breakdown. here's our chief environment correspondent, justin rowlatt. here is the problem, and is on the company is worth about $1.6 trillion. but the amazon rainforest, the greatest ecosystem on earth is worth

virtually nothing. until, that is, you cut it down, sylvie ward and farming the land. the dasgupta review is an attempt to address this fundamental contradiction and, says britain's greatest naturalist... ,, ., , britain's greatest naturalist... ,, ., ., naturalist... should help avoid the disasters _ naturalist... should help avoid the disasters that _ naturalist... should help avoid the disasters that currently - the disasters that currently threaten the future of life on this planet. we threaten the future of life on this planet-— threaten the future of life on this planet. we depend on the natural word _ this planet. we depend on the natural word for— this planet. we depend on the natural word for food, - this planet. we depend on the| natural word for food, shelter, clean air and water — world, but how do we incorporate its value into the economic system? current economics does not enter into our reasoning. 0ur enter into our reasoning. our review is arguing that nature needs to be embedded in our economic thinking.— needs to be embedded in our economic thinking. places like kew gardens _ economic thinking. places like kew gardens can _ economic thinking. places like kew gardens can preserve - economic thinking. places like | kew gardens can preserve rare plants _ kew gardens can preserve rare plants but — kew gardens can preserve rare plants but we need to protect whole — plants but we need to protect whole ecosystems. is

plants but we need to protect whole ecosystems.— whole ecosystems. is very weiah whole ecosystems. is very weighty report _ whole ecosystems. is very weighty report argues - whole ecosystems. is veryj weighty report argues that whole ecosystems. is very - weighty report argues that we need to redefine the idea of prosperity itself. how can a society regard itself as prosperous if it destroys all of this? the wonderful diversity of the natural world? the report recommends ditching gdp for a measure that reflects the true value of nature, meanwhile, taxes and subsidies should, it says, be directed to protect ecosystems and today, politicians from all parties welcomed it.— politicians from all parties welcomed it. ~ ., , welcomed it. what the report is sa in: welcomed it. what the report is saying essentially _ welcomed it. what the report is saying essentially that - welcomed it. what the report is saying essentially that we - welcomed it. what the report is saying essentially that we keep | saying essentially that we keep treating nature as if it was some sort of limitless resource that we can plunder, without destroying both nature and in turn destroying ourselves. make no mistake, what _ turn destroying ourselves. make no mistake, what is— turn destroying ourselves. make no mistake, what is being - no mistake, what is being proposed represents a fundamental attempt to transform the way our economies work. change will not happen immediately. the hope is the review will prompt a global discussion about what really is

precious, at a time when where encroaching on the natural world as never before —— — when we are encroaching on the natural as never before. justin rowlatt, bbc news. captain sir tom moore, the british world war two veteran who raised almost $50 million for health service workers during the first lockdown, has died at the age of 100, after testing positive for covid—19. the queen, who knighted him injuly, has offered her condolences to the family, and the prime minister, borisjohnson, called him a national inspiration. david sillito reports. he's a 99—year—old war vet. he's a one—man fundraising machine. thanks, captain tom! captain sir tom moore. the word �*inspirational�* is rather an understatement. that's the way i think i've always looked at it, tomorrow will be a good day. what began as a little family challenge, to do 100 laps of his garden, became a fundraising juggernaut. on new year's eve, the face

of 2020 was captain tom. he was born in keigthley in 1920, and served in burma during the war. after that, he'd run a business and the closest he had ever come to fame... and appearing this christmas on... ..was an appearance on blankety blank. tom, have you got family or anyone who'd you'd rather not be watching this? yes, two girls, coming up 16 and coming up 1a. but everything changed when his family set up a fundraising page for captain tom. the hope was to raise £1,000 for nhs charities to support the nurses and doctors during the pandemic, butjust over a week later the total had passed £1 million. and by the time he celebrated his 100th birthday, the total had topped £30 million. # walk on through the wind...# he also had a number one single. # walk on through the rain...# captain tom had become known the world over. he received 140,000

birthday cards. he was made an honorary colonel. he received a knighthood. and the raf staged a birthday fly—past. i'm absolutely delighted with all the people like you who have come to wish me a many happy birthday. it has been an extraordinary 10 months. the final entry on his wish list was an end of year trip to barbados. and then, earlier this week, it was announced that he had pneumonia and had tested positive for the coronavirus. leading the tributes today, a statement from buckingham palace. the queen said: in downing street, the union flags were at half—mast. captain sir tom moore was a hero in the truest sense of the word. in the dark days of

the second world war, he fought forfreedom and in the face of this country's deepest post—war crisis, he united us all. captain tom described it as a fairy tale, but during some dark months, it was his good cheer that became a little source ofjoy for millions. i never ever anticipated ever in my life anything like this. it really is amazing. i must say to everyone, thank you very much to everyone wherever you are. # you'll never walk alone.# david sillito on captain sir tom moore, who's died at age 100.

much more for you anytime the bbc website and on the twitter feed. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @bbc mike embley. hello there. tuesday brought us some very heavy snow across parts of scotland, but more especially in northern england. and that caused significant transport disruption — at one stage, the a62 was completely shut, along with the snake pass. and that's the main road link between manchester and sheffield. the boundary between the mild air we have in the south and the cold air in the north is heading into scotland. and it's here where the risk of snow will stay really through the rest of this week. heavy snow across the high ground with significant accumulations. there is still the scope of transport disruption — but the risk of disruption will increase towards the end of the week. why do i say that? because at lower elevations over the next few days,

temperatures will be dropping by a couple of degrees celsius, tipping the balance from rain more to snowfall at lower levels — hence the risk of disruption is more likely to increase later in the week. right now across the central lowlands, we've got rain, a bit of sleet coming through as well. the snow mainly confined to the high ground here, also across the very high ground and across the far north of england, too. delving into this zone, as we go through wednesday, we will continue to see that rain, a bit of sleet at times across the central belt, so probably nothing in the way of snow settling. if you go into the hills, yes, above 100 metres elevation, you're more likely to see snow, settling snow above 200 metres elevation, 10—20 cm over the next 48 hours. elsewhere, we've got some bright skies in the west, but heavy rain across southern england — very heavy at times in the london area, and it'll turn wet as well throughout much of east anglia. mild in the south, but obviously where we've got the snow falling, particularly in the hills, temperatures struggling to get much above freezing at all in scotland. through wednesday night, we'll continue to see that mucky mixture, really, in scotland. there might be a bit more

in the way of snow starting to come down to some slightly lower levels across the north of the country, as those temperatures just start to edge downwards just a little bit — might be enough to tip the balance, perhaps a little bit of snow across the high ground of northern england, as well. for thursday, again, as the air gets colder, we've got a tendency to see a bit more snow getting down to some of those lower levels. in the south, we've got some rain, a few brighter spells for wales and the midlands, still mild in the south, still cold into scotland. and then beyond that, as we look at the forecast through friday and into the weekend beyond, there is a tendency for the weather to turn colder, and we may see it some snowfall more widely into next week. that's your latest weather.

this is bbc news, the headlines: women in china's so—called re—education camps have been systematically raped and tortured, according to first hand accounts obtained by the bbc. it's estimated at least a million men and women have been detained in the camps. china claims they are simply centres to de—radicalise uighurs and other muslim minorities. the leading russian opposition activist, alexei navalny, has been jailed for more than two—and—a—half years. he returned to moscow from germany last month, after treatment for a near—fatal nerve agent attack in siberia. his supporters have called for more protests. russian authorities detained another 1,200 on tuesday. amazon founderjeff bezos is to step down as chief executive of the e—commerce giant he started in his garage nearly 30 years ago. he'll become executive chairman, a move he says will give him time and energy to focus on his space project and the paper he owns, the washington post.