a very warm welcome to bbc news. my name is mike embley. our top stories: democrats present terrifying moments of the january the sixth riots on capitol hill through never—before—seen footage as they make their case for impeaching former president donald trump. impeachment managers describe mr trump as "inciter—in—chief" as they try establish his responisbility for the siege. the insurrectionist mob overwhelmed security and made it inside the halls of congress, because the truth is this attack never would have happened but for donald trump. freed after more than 1000 days behind bars — the activist who has been campaigning to improve rights for saudi women.

and a vote of confidence for the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine as the world health organization recommends its use for the over—65s and new coronavirus variants. the 0scar show must go on: this year's 93rd academy awards will happen from multiple global locations.

the prosecution argued this was the direct consequence of donald trump's words and actions that day, and in weeks leading up to it. donald trump surrendered his role as commander—in—chief and became the insight and told the story of an african—american

policeman on duty who fought with the protesters for hours. he was subjected to racial abuse. the trump legal team were given a kicking for their poor performance yesterday, donald trump reportedly furious, and this republican senator changed his vote he was so appalled. the senator changed his vote he was so appalled-— so appalled. the issue at hand is is it constitutional _ so appalled. the issue at hand is is it constitutional to - is is it constitutional to impeach a president who has left office, and the house managers made a compelling, cogent, case and the president's team did not. it president's team did not. it looks like the former president has the votes to avoid being convicted and banned from ever holding public office again. but even if donald trump's impeachment problems go away, his legal difficulties don't. they are piling up, and in georgia, it's been confirmed that a criminal investigation has been launched after the president tried to persuade that state's secretary of state to find him extra votes so that

he would win, and notjoe biden. what makes this deeply problematic for donald trump, who was campaigning in georgia after the election, is that him asking for those votes is not a question of rival accounts, it's on tape. election interference, one of the charges being looked at, is a felony offence. in other words, a crime that carries a prison sentence of more than a year. the mayhem at the capitol grew out of donald trump's repeated claims that the presidency had been stolen from him. it would indeed be ironic if he were the one man charged with interfering in the 2020 election. jon sopel, bbc news, washington.

earlier i asked a republican strategist in georgia whether he was responsible. the question is whether he incited that, you know, whether his words or the hyperbole that he used and the course language that he used actually incited these people to go and kill a police officer and raid the capitol — that's a fair argument to have but as far as it goes, it is not clear to necessarily clear to every american that is actually what happened. what do you feel about it? for weeks, even months beforehand, he was kind of preparing the ground. that quote — "the only way we can lose is if this election is rigged." and then, onjanuary 6th, people are there reading out the president's tweets through a bullhorn, saying "we fight for trump." then they are roaming through the corridors, erecting a gallows, looking to hang the vice president because of a tweet mr trump has put out about him. i mean, look, if these tweets were so clear that he was going to overtake the capitol, they should have been prepared more, but at the end of the day

you have a good argument the democratic managers have made that this violence occurred because of him. i think there's some people that do not necessarily agree with that. if you look at the polls of voters, it is not much that much different from the people that voted for biden, the people that voted for trump. at the end of the day what this really is is a lot of political theatre because there is no way that donald trump is going to get convicted by these senators and so it is a way for democrats to just promote this issue about donald trump and they are hoping it will help them later on with elections but what they probably are not realising is that every time they have done something like this, whether it was brett kavanaugh or the first impeachment, it actually rallies up republicans to go out and vote. they have to be very careful, now they are in charge of the house, the senate, and the presidency, in two years when they have elections they have constantly riled up these republicans for a president who is frankly out of office and no longer has power.

it is very political in that other way, too — we have to assume that these senators will not convict because they know how popular donald trump still is in the party and they are worried about losing their seats, not necessarily to a democrat, but to a more extreme republican. do you still expect him one way or another to be a candidate or a kind of kingmaker in 202a? i definitely can see that. i think it is going to be very difficult for him because he has kind of been muted on a lot of social media which has really been his bullhorn and his voice. he's probably going to do rallies and that kind of thing — he can not be stopped from doing that. i definitely think he's going to be a kingmaker. my guess is that he probably will not run, but making predictions about donald trump is like predicting the weather — you are almost always wrong. you come from georgia. it is entirely possible mr trump could end up being criminally convicted for what he did in georgia. what are the chances of that, and how will that look? in georgia, the local

prosecutor or the da in this case typically has not gotten involved in election speech outside of some local issues. it will be interesting to see what she does — she is obviously a democrat doing this. i do not see a lot coming from it, mostly because you can make the argument whether she wants to try this after this impeachment thing that he was saying this stuff to defraud people with all these people on the phone call. i do not see it probably having legs if she's a good prosecutor. she's probably not going to be able to make the case. at the end of the day, she's going to have to have a jury and probably thatjury is going to have a lot of — at least some trump supporters on it, and they are not going to convict him. the united states, the united nations and human rights groups have welcomed the release of a saudi human rights act a vest. she was a leading figure in a campaign to allow saudi women to drive. there's been no comment so far

from saudi authorities. her sister's joy as the saudi human rights activist, loujain al—hathloul, is back home after over 1,000 days behind bars. she was reprimanded for her public campaigning to get saudi women in the driving seat four years before the ban was lifted, and later calling for an end to male guardianship, and speaking to foreign diplomats and the media about women's rights. president biden has replaced what his aides called donald trump's "blank cheque for saudi arabia" with demands it cleans up its human rights record. he says loujain�*s move from prison is welcome news. she is a powerful advocate for women's rights and releasing her is the right thing to do. saudi officials insist they are not bowing to us pressure but aware of the negative effect of human rights stories on the country's global image, they point to a recent, dramatic drop in executions. however, many other activists like loujain remain behind bars.

herfamily says she was subjected to electric shocks, waterboarding and sexual assaults — allegations a saudi court has dismissed. the 31—year—old's family warns she is still not free, subject to a travel ban and other restrictions while on probation. but for now, they're just happy to have their loved one back home. mark lobel, bbc news. let's get more on this now. bethany al—hadari is part of the freedom initiative in the united states. can you describe loujain al—hathloul and her impact on you? absolutely. i was lucky enough to get to meet loujain when i was living in saudi arabia in 2016, conducting human rights

research, and immediately from meeting her you can tell that she is at her core motivated by justice, freedom and human rights for all — notjust women's rights, but she really looked beyond her own group to be able to see people who are struggling and every day women and even migrant workers. she was aware of all these issues. she is a very inspiring and very strong woman. she she is a very inspiring and very strong woman. she and her famil so very strong woman. she and her family so she — very strong woman. she and her family so she was _ very strong woman. she and her family so she was tortured - very strong woman. she and her family so she was tortured in - family so she was tortured in prison. the saudi court has rejected those allegations. do you have any doubt about them? i think that torture and other inhumane and degrading treatment within saudi jails is very common. i don't think any judiciary that is under an absolute monarchy is independent or impartial. we know that several of the human rights activists that have

stood before these courts have been charged with outrageous claims, and the pattern of what has been reported to us outside from what is happening in prison is too common for this tojust be one random prison is too common for this to just be one random story. this is a theme that is happening at a really alarming rate. it happening at a really alarming rate. ., , , . , rate. it does seem incredible, doesnt rate. it does seem incredible, doesn't it. _ rate. it does seem incredible, doesn't it, that _ rate. it does seem incredible, doesn't it, that in _ rate. it does seem incredible, doesn't it, that in this - rate. it does seem incredible, doesn't it, that in this day - doesn't it, that in this day and age this suffering should be for the right to drive for four running yoga classes. how real is the process of change that we hear so much about in saudi arabia? i that we hear so much about in saudi arabia?— saudi arabia? i think that's an excellent question. _ saudi arabia? i think that's an excellent question. there - saudi arabia? i think that's an excellent question. there is l saudi arabia? i think that's an excellent question. there is a | excellent question. there is a need for change, and the saudi authorities have been forced into this corner where it's 2021 and they are the last remaining absolute theocratic monarchy in the world, and you cannot be a stable economy if

that's what you are, and you cannot have an impartial judiciary if that's what you are. so saudi arabia is really facing this difficult time where they have to be welcomed into the global community and global society. we speak in international legal norms now. we speak in economic norms that are almost regulated on a global scale. are almost regulated on a globalscale. saudi are almost regulated on a global scale. saudi arabia's has been permitted to get a green pass on human rights abuses in different standards, and that's just not sustainable any longer. and that'sjust not sustainable any longer-— any longer. bethany, 'ust briefl any longer. bethany, 'ust briefly «i any longer. bethany, 'ust briefly if you i any longer. bethany, 'ust briefly if you could, h any longer. bethany, just briefly if you could, howl any longer. bethany, just. briefly if you could, how real is loujain�*s release? she is on probation, i think, for a suspended sentence. that could be as much of a problem for saudi authorities out of prison as her case was in prison, but she may also be very, very frightened of going back to jail. frightened of going back to “ail. ~ , ,., y frightened of going back to “ail. ~ , cc, jail. absolutely. i appreciate ou jail. absolutely. i appreciate you using —

jail. absolutely. i appreciate you using the _ jail. absolutely. i appreciate you using the term - jail. absolutely. i appreciate i you using the term "released", because she is not free. she was tortured, sexually assaulted, and saudi authorities declined to do an investigation into that. she's been tried as a terrorist imports were doing things like applying for a job with the united nations was speaking to human rights officers from diplomatic missions. she is still on a travel ban. she is unable to see the rest of her family. she was defamed, degraded and called a spy by the saudi government, which touts its own antidefamation law but wholeheartedly breaks the law. and she deserves compensation and the freedom to be able to go where she feels safe at this point. so to answer that question, it's not real, and yes, she is a threat to saudi, because all strong women are a threat to the saudi regime, which is hyper— patriarchal. regime, which is hyper- patriarchal.— regime, which is hyper- atriarchal. �* . ., ., patriarchal. bethany al-hadari, thank ou patriarchal. bethany al-hadari, thank you for— patriarchal. bethany al-hadari, thank you for talking _ patriarchal. bethany al-hadari, thank you for talking to - patriarchal. bethany al-hadari, thank you for talking to us. - thank you for talking to us. thanks for having me.- thank you for talking to us. thanks for having me. stay with us. thanks for having me. stay with us- there _ thanks for having me. stay with us- there is _ thanks for having me. stay with us. there is much _ thanks for having me. stay with us. there is much more - thanks for having me. stay with us. there is much more to -

thanks for having me. stay with | us. there is much more to come, including this — this year's 93rd academy awards will happen, but the oscars will be handed out from multiple global locations. music. there's mr mandela, mr nelson mandela, a free man taking his first steps into a new south africa. iran's spiritual leader, ayatollah khomeini, has said he's passed a death sentence on salman rushdie, the british author of a book which many muslims say is blasphemous. the people of haiti have flocked to church to give thanks for the ousting of their former president, ba by doc duvalier. because of his considerable value as a stallion, - shergarwas kept in| a special secure box in the stud farm's central block. - shergar was driven away in a horse box the thieves had brought with them. . there stepped down from

the plane a figure in mourning, elizabeth ii, queen of this realm and of all her other realms and territories, head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith. welcome back, very glad to have you with us. the latest headlines for you. senators in the us have been shown previously unseen footage of the storming of the capital, democrats set out the case at the impeachment trial of donald trump. the saudi activist has been campaigning to improve his civil rights for saudi women has been released after more than 1000 days behind bars. the world health organization has recommended the astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine, even in countries such as south africa, where variants have developed to make the jab less effective. world health organization experts say that the vaccine can be used for all adults,

including the elderly. issues have been — including the elderly. issues have been raised _ including the elderly. issues have been raised about - including the elderly. issues have been raised about the | have been raised about the oxford astrazeneca vaccine, 0xford astrazeneca vaccine, first of all, is it less effective in the over 65 �*s and some countries are not recommending it for use in that age group by the world health organization has said today 0rganization has said today that it should be used for all aduu that it should be used for all adult age groups. secondly, the question of the second dose, and the fact that in the uk, both vaccines, 0xford astrazeneca and pfizer have been moved out to 12 weeks for the second dose, despite suggestions early on it should be after four weeks, suggestions early on it should be afterfour weeks, and suggestions early on it should be after four weeks, and there was some criticism around that by the world health organization has said actually 0rganization has said actually the best window for the second doseis the best window for the second dose is between eight and 12 weeks, and in fact the delay creates better immunity. thirdly, the question of is it less effective against the south african variant after a small—scale trial suggested that in those cases it wasn't quite so good at the mild forms

of the disease. by the world health organization says it should be used for all variants in all countries, including the canned variant which may become dominant in many parts of the world, and in fact it's perfectly plausible that it is effective in cases of serious disease. the prime minister has said today it's good to see the world health organization confirm support for the oxford astrazeneca vaccine.— astrazeneca vaccine. larry flint, the _ astrazeneca vaccine. larry flint, the american - astrazeneca vaccine. larry - flint, the american pornography publisher and self—styled champion of free speech has died from heart failure. was 78. he published the first issue of hustler magazine almost 50 years ago, and in the early 70s circulation reads 2 million. in 1978 he was paralysed by a shot from a white supremacist, and his libel case was featured in the people versus larry flint. larry flynt, he once said

he wanted to offend everyone on an equal—opportunity basis. and there was a point where he got pretty close to that. he parlayed this rather rinky—dink 0hio business into a multimillion—dollar global enterprise. magazines, casinos, and also clubs and the hustler magazine at the centre of that, of course, once selling about 3 million copies a month. it was more explicit, it was more hardcore than rival publications at the time, playboy and penthouse, but larry flynt said he saw a gap in the market for the more pornographic. i interviewed him myself back in 2003, and the building still bears his name. he was running for governor of california, under the slogan the �*smut peddler who cares', he didn't win, but he became an unlikely folk hero for

freedom of speech advocates. he was unapologetic about the way he made his living, and of course he became a rather unlikely folk hero for freedom of speech advocates, whether that was sincere business based, i could never quite work out. even if you hated what he did, and a lot of people of course do and did, it was the most extraordinary life and in those three decades, his business ventures, a movie about him, the assassination attempt, and then this victory for free speech? and there was that obscenity case brought by the televangelist jerry fawlell, who was incensed over a depiction that he saw in an hustler that he didn't believe was particularly favourable to him. he sued larry flynt for $115 million, the case went on for years, it eventually wound up in the us supreme court, which decided in larry flynt�*s favour. ironically, the two men later became friends in real life outside of the courtroom, and it was the sort of thing

that defined the strange nature of much of larry flynt�*s life. he certainly fought very hard for the right to publish certain materials, and to push the envelope of the time. he was in some ways the archetypal british american entrepreneur, love him or loathe him. she would definitely have a place in history. and as you say, david, you met him and interviewed him. a lot of people say despite what you did, he had an enormous charm? he had considerable charm, actually, mike, and of course he was there in that gold—plated wheelchair in the penthouse suite of what was then the hustler building, it is now a building that belongs to somebody else.

larry flynt rather shrewdly sold it and continue to rent the premises there. yes, he was a man five times married who clearly loved what he did, it worked very hard at it. he said he loved his work, what his efforts into it and of course he survived that assassination attempt outside a courthouse, near atlanta, he was fighting and obscenity charges. that of course paralysed him from the waist down, he never walked again after that. it's been announced that this year �*s 0scars ceremony, which has been delayed because of covid—19 will be an in—person event. the academy and motion picture arts and sciences says it's determined to present an 0scars like another and it will prioritise the public health and safety of all those participating and broadcast live from multiple locations worldwide, including the traditional venue, hollywood's dobbie theatre. i spoke to the

film industry commentator to ask what she makes of this revamped. it's an interesting choice, but this is such an unprecedented year, you know, we haven't been able to see movies on the big screen in the way they are meant to be seen in theatrical releases. it makes complete sense that the academy now has to adapt to a very strange year. but i think it is going to be an exciting kind of way for them to kind of the more creative, and i like this idea of them being able to kind of go to different locations. you know, the academy itself has so many different locations within la, they have their own museum they want to show off, but there are also so many great theatres around the world, and i wonder if they will really pay homage to the theatrical experience by perhaps going to some incredible theatres around the world and have people present from them. it sounds like a massive logistical, technical, and health and safety exercise. but i suppose these

are people who are used to organising massive things? i have been at the oscars for quite a few years running, in the past, and let me tell you that is a feat unto itself, and there are thousands and thousands of people at that location, all being vetted from every sort of factor from journalists to the people who go on stage. there is many people involved. so i think the academy knows how to run big events, and i think being able to break it up between different locations could actually be interesting, because i think we will get to see a show that sort of perhaps speaks to the growing globality of film. how do you think it is going to work in practice and do we know yet any of the names involved as hosts? no, the last couple of years, the oscars have gone host—less and drawn on star power, many different presenters. and i think they could go that way again. it seems to have worked for them. although, one of the biggest issue is the academy is dealing with 0scars

is following ratings. they hit a low last year. 22.6 million tuned in. so i think they are struggling to be relevant. that has a ready been an ongoing struggle for them in the last few years. this year, because of the situation they are in, i think they will try really hard to be creative. and one of the biggest things that has happened this year is because movie theatres have been shut down, consumers have been going to digital platforms and streaming. the rise of streaming has been something that has already been a big source of contention within the academy itself, because they like to honour the members in theatrical so i think this year we are going to see a fusion of everything coming together now, they have to acknowledge streaming is dominant, especially in the past year. piya sinha—roy there.

much more for you on that and all the news, any time on the bbc website, also on our twitter feeds, bbc website, also on our twitterfeeds, thanks bbc website, also on our twitter feeds, thanks for watching. hello. it is bitterly cold out there at the moment, not only the coldest night of the winter so far but the coldest night in the uk in over a decade. so, needless to say, thursday morning starts with a very hard frost wherever you are and some icy stretches as well. temperatures first thing widely well below freezing, about —3 to —8 degrees for many of us, but in the coldest spots, we are likely to see temperatures even across the southeast of england and east anglia down to around —10, possibly —20 across the highlands of scotland. so, very cold start, icy stretches around, some dangerous travelling conditions where you have got that ice, particularly in the east.

through the day, we'll see more cloud working in from the south—west of england, wales and northern ireland. a few flurries of snow across the higher ground of the south—west of england. it's going to turn windy here, too, with gusts up to about 45 mph. elsewhere, the winds not as strong, a lot of dry weather, a lot of sunshine around on thursday, but not lifting those temperatures in a hurry, up to about 4 degrees in the warmest spots. and as we move through thursday night and on into friday, we've got a bit more cloud across western parts of the uk, a few snow flurries around here as well, temperatures not falling quite as low, but again, bitterly cold where you've got those clear skies. for much of england and wales, temperatures well below freezing once again. we've got this really cold air mass with us, and into friday, we're going to see the winds coming in for more of a south—easterly direction, so certainly fewer showers than we have seen recently. still some snow showers holding on across eastern parts of scotland on friday. much of england, wales and northern ireland looking dry. just the odd shower in the far south—west. once again, temperatures between about freezing and 4 degrees celsius. now, moving through into the weekend, and you'll start to notice the yellow colours pushing in from the west, so that means, gradually, it looks

like that milder air is going to move in through the course of the weekend. but saturday once again, bitterly cold start to the day. then as that milder air moves in, we could see some significant snow for parts of northern ireland, scotland, parts of northwest england, wales as well. further east, you're more likely to stay dry through the day on saturday and, again, bitterly cold, with temperatures really struggling to get above freezing once again. but then that milder air looks to be sweeping across the uk, so all of us not quite as cold. some rain in the north and west by the time we get to sunday. bye— bye.

the latest headlines from bbc news: dramatic video evidence of last month's storming of the us congress by supporters of donald trump has been played to senators, some of it not seen publicly before, as democrats make their case for convicting the former president. they also played panicked recordings of panicked radio messages from police being overwhelmed by protesters. a saudi women's rights campaigner, loujain al—hathloul, has been freed from prison on probation. her family say she is back home after more than 1,000 days behind bars. she was a prominent figure in the campaign for saudi women to be allowed to drive. several more women activists are injail. the world health organization has backed the use of the astrazeneca vaccine for all adults, including people over 65. there have been concerns about the jab's effectiveness for older people. experts also say it should be used in countries where coronavirus variants are present.