welcome to bbc news, i'm freya cole. man yelling into megaphone: e were invited by the president of the united states! tying the rioters to trump. democrat impeachment managers wrap up their case saying the former president played a key role in orchestrating the capitol siege. even after the attack, the insurrectionists made clear to law enforcement that they were just following president trump's orders. meghan markle launches a scathing attack on a british tabloid newspaper after winning her high court privacy battle. china bans broadcasts by bbc world news. britain's foreign secretary says it is an unacceptable curtailing of

press freedom. and one of the stars of the mandalorian has been sacked over controversial social media posts. hello and welcome. we begin in the us were prosecutors in the impeachment trial of donald trump has initial putting forward their case to the us senate, alleging the former president incited his supporters to attack the capitol last month. relying again on emotionally charged video evidence, house democrats accused mr trump of showing a pattern of condoning violence. here is a little of what the senate heard. onjanuary six, we know

who lit the fuse. president trump's lack of remorse and refusal to take accountability after the attack poses its own unique and continuing danger. this attack on our elections on the peaceful transfer- of power from one i president to the next didn't even happen. during the civil war, but it did just happen, because of the cold, l calculated and can - conspiratorial acts of our former president donald j... trump declared his conduct totally appropriate. so if he gets back into office and it happens again, we'll have no—one to blame but ourselves. we have washington correspondent at time magazine. vera, you have been closely watching the proceedings. do you think that democrats have

done enough to convince the republican numbers that they need? it republican numbers that they need? ., , �* , republican numbers that they need? ., n , ~' , need? it doesn't seem likely the will need? it doesn't seem likely they will ever _ need? it doesn't seem likely they will ever really - need? it doesn't seem likely they will ever really get the l they will ever really get the numbers that they need but what they have done is trulyjust lay out the most comprehensive public record that we could. and make it a little difficult, especially today, including in evidence a lot of republican's own words and using them against them. they had a lot of republicans expressing their outrage afterjanuary six, saying trump's rhetoric were to blame and those people because they told them to be there. so they put them in their faces and made them listen to quite a lengthy montage of them saying this. to lengthy montage of them saying this. ., , ., ~' lengthy montage of them saying this. ., , ., ~ ., this. to you think then that this. to you think then that this could _ this. to you think then that this could have _ this. to you think then that this could have a _ this. to you think then that this could have a political. this could have a political backlash for the democrats? it's unclear exactly what's going to happen, it is a little early to see the actual public opinion about it. but it does seem like they did exactly what they set out to do and doing nothing for them was not an

option. it was impossible for them not to do an impeachment trial, not to do something after the intensity of the event that they all experienced. and i think overall, their efforts, given the short time on everything, were fairly comprehensive and people did seem to respond. a lot of people did seem to respond to the emotional testimony. it does seem that, i don't there is going to be a political backlash but they also aren't really going to achieve the goal they set out to do. , to do. so it is the republicans' - to do. so it is the republicans' turni to do. so it is the _ republicans' turn tomorrow. republica ns' turn tomorrow. what republicans' turn tomorrow. what do you think they will go in hardest with?— in hardest with? they have actually. — in hardest with? they have actually. it _ in hardest with? they have actually, it looks _ in hardest with? they have actually, it looks like - in hardest with? they have actually, it looks like they| actually, it looks like they will actually have three hours which is obviously must —— much thought —— much shorter than what wejust thought —— much shorter than what we just saw. the president seems to just want to go back to the constitutionality question, saying there shouldn't be a trial at all, and more importantly, they really are going to go hard on the fact that they say the president didn't tell these people to be there. he didn't

tell them to attack the capital, he didn't tell them to be violent. and that he did not intend for them to happen. those other two things that he will focus on. —— they will focus on. will focus on. -- they will focus om— will focus on. -- they will focus on. ~ ., ., ~ . ~ will focus on. -- they will focus on. ~ ., focus on. when we look back at the footage _ focus on. when we look back at the footage from _ focus on. when we look back at the footage from january - focus on. when we look back at the footage from january six, . the footage from january six, we are reminded of the heroic actions of police officers. talk us through a little bit of the role of eugene goodman and the role of eugene goodman and the congressional medal he is being awarded. he the congressional medal he is being awarded.— the congressional medal he is being awarded. he is a former army inventory _ being awarded. he is a former army inventory man _ being awarded. he is a former army inventory man who - being awarded. he is a former. army inventory man who served in a raack and was the well—known face of the capitol. ash raack. —— you —— iraq. instead of having politicians orjournalists or others there, he represented that, he obviously put himself in danger, it is a well—known video they have shown several

times, then leading them on, and angry white mob, some of them carrying the confederate flags, away from the senate chamber, and putting himself at risk as a black man. and then when he ran into senator mick crombie mitt romney, telling him to turn around. he didn't ask for any of this, they would just do —— they're doing their job. this is a visually the highest honour in congress and i think the least they can do. argued very much forjoining us. here in the uk, the duchess of sussex has won a lawsuit against the mail on sunday newspaper which published a private letter she wrote to her estranged father. meghan markle welcomed the ruling that said the damage continued to run deep. the associated newspaper

said it was surprised and disappointed. this report from nicholas witchell contains flash photography. this is a significant victory for the duchess of sussex. meghan, strongly supported by her husband, prince harry, has shown herself to be absolutely determined robustly to defend her right to privacy. this case began after the mail on sunday published lengthy extracts from a letter she'd written in late 2018 to her estranged father, thomas. meghan's lawyers had told the high court that the letter was a heartfelt plea from an anguished daughter. they applied for something called a summaryjudgement, a judgement without a full trial, on the basis, they said, that the mail on sunday had no real prospect of success. and thejudge agreed. mrjustice warby examined the evidence and found...

..he said. meghan has also won on the separate issue of copyright infringement, but privacy is the one that really counts. in a statement, she spoke about what she said were the tactics of the mail group's newspapers. "for these outlets, it's a game", she said... the mail on sunday's publishers said they were very surprised by thejudgement. they said they would decide in due course whether to lodge an appeal. and, first reaction from media lawyers... this is a significant victory because of who she is. the mail had published a series of articles around meghan and her life and her private life and i think this was the tipping point for her. i suspect it should have quite a sobering impact on sections of the media who think that celebrities and members of the royalfamily are fair game.

for the queen and other senior royals, there will be great relief. the prospect of a full trial on the privacy issue — in which meghan markle and herfather, thomas markle, would have been pitted against each other as the star witnesses — has been averted. nicholas witchell, bbc news. lepers might get some of the day's other news now. —— let's. us president, joe biden, has cancelled the national emergency order used to fund donald trump's border wall, labelling it "unwarra nted". the president said no further $tax would be spent on the project which had totalled around $25 billion by the time mr trump left office. at least six people have been killed in a horror crash on an icy interstate highway in fort worth, texas. more than 130 vehicles were involved in the carnage, with emergency crews still on scene more than 12 hours after the incident unfolded. supporters of italy's biggest party, five star, have given it the go—ahead

to join a coalition of national unity to see the country through the coronavirus pandemic. 59% of voters on its online platform rousseau gave their backing to plans for the former european central bank governor mario draghi to lead the temporary administration. one of the microsoft corporation's top executives has expressed support for a landmark proposal by the australian government, calling for the biggest online platforms to pay publishers for news. these book and google have threatened to pull out of australia if their free have threatened to pull out of australia if theirfree news distribution restrict did. —— facebook.

china has banned bbc world news from broadcasting inside the country for what beijing claims to be unfair and untruthful journalism. the move has been condemned by both the british and american governments. we will have more on that story later in the bulletin. and next hour, mark lobel says china's decision was not a surprise. china has systematically blocked or expelled the foreign media in the past couple of years. in 2020, three journalists were expelled. already the bbc website and bbc news app is banned in china. and it could also be retaliatory because earlier this month, the british media regulator ofcom actually revoked the license of the chinese state broadcaster's wing here, cctv, because what they said is the company that they'd given the license to, they didn't believe was in full editorial control, in other words, that the chinese state might have some control over what went out on air.

so this ban came into place. and we, this is a ban of you and i talking, which people can watch all around the world, but perhaps not now in hotel rooms in china. and we learned about it through the state affiliated global times newspaper, and if we can show the tweet they sent out. the reason they gave was because a slew of falsified reporting on bbc world news, they said, on issues including xinjiang and china's handling of covid—i9. this move, the tweet said, sends a clear signal that fake news is not tolerated in china. essentially, china's broadcasting regulations were broken, is what they're saying, and those regulations say that news should be truthful and fair and not harm china's national interests. and later the global times tweeted saying if the bbc didn't correct its behaviour, then bbcjournalists might be expelled. now, as you'd expect, the bbc is disappointed by this and if we can show you a statement from the bbc, the bbc says, "the bbc is the world's most trusted international news broadcaster and reports on stories from around the world fairly, impartially and without fear and favour".

and in fact, last week there was that striking report of muslim women alleging systematic gang— they were systematically gang raped in so—called re—education camps in xinjiang. those were reports of the time that the chinese government says were false. and mark, we've heard from the british government who have strongly condemned it, and america as well. what's been said and has there been any other international reaction to this? as you say, the british government have said it is an unacceptable curtailing of media freedom. of course, there's been a disintegration of relations between the british and the chinese over a security law that came into effect the uk retaliating by inviting 5.4 million hongkongers to come and live in the uk because they felt that the territory's rights and freedoms had been curtailed. that had angered china. america's state department says that while you're tightening laws in china, beijing's leaders can come and enjoy an open and free media environment elsewhere, and they find that troubling. and they also recently said

that china's repression of uighurs and other mainly muslim groups was, in theirwords, genocide, and that was something else that china refuted. mark lobel, thank you. stay with us on bbc news, still to come:. looking for love in lockdown. how more and more people are searching for soulmates online. 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 havej 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, shergar was 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. this is bbc news. our main story. prosecutors in the impeachment trial of donald trump have finished putting forward their case to the us senate, saying the former president incited his supporters to attack the capitol building last month. well, staying with that story.

the former president is accused of inciting an insurrection, but how well did the prosecution go? kimberly whaley joins me now, she is a law professor at the university of baltimore. you so much, kimberly, for your time. you are not entirely convinced by the democrats' arguments. what you think they could have done better? i you think they could have done better? , ., ., , better? i should say i am very much convinced _ better? i should say i am very much convinced by _ better? i should say i am very much convinced by the - much convinced by the democrats' arguments and that they clearly proved donald trump incited the insurrection. what i am not so sure about is whether they carried the ball completely across the finish line. i think that would have required witnesses and an actual trial. required witnesses and an actualtrial. people required witnesses and an actual trial. people who were around the time that he was tweeting on january six, around the time that he was tweeting onjanuary six, at around the time that he was tweeting on january six, at the time he was tweeting onjanuary six, at the time he was doing tweeting on january six, at the time he was doing nothing tweeting onjanuary six, at the time he was doing nothing in terms of bringing reinforcements to the law enforcement officials and the united states congress, whose lives were at risk. it is

unfortunate that they, for whatever reasons, political, i guess, decided not to. it is almost certain _ guess, decided not to. it is almost certain that - guess, decided not to. it is almost certain that republican senators won't vote to convicted donald trump, so it does beg the question, do you think this trial will have been worth it in the end?- think this trial will have been worth it in the end? well, you know, worth it in the end? well, you know. as _ worth it in the end? well, you know. as far— worth it in the end? well, you know, as far as _ worth it in the end? well, you know, as far as the _ worth it in the end? well, you know, as far as the first - know, as far as the first point, mitch mcconnell, former senate majority leader, who has a strong hold on his caucus and on the party, even in the wake of the trump era, has not shown his cards. people are putting a very small chance on the possibility on the notion that perhaps there could be some defectors, i am perhaps there could be some defectors, iam not perhaps there could be some defectors, i am not sure we would get to 17, but we might see some surprises this weekend be freya cole, i am very concerned with the future of american democracy, as house impeachment managerjamie ruskin, said in his very eloquent closing remarks.

american democracy is an experiment, it is a gift to the globe in a lot of ways, and we have to maintain it and hang onto it. if the senate republicans decide to basically give a pass to what happened on january six, there is a strong chance we could see it again, particularly if donald trump runs in 2024, which for financial reasons he has an incentive to do, because he raises a lot of money from his caucus. . , , raises a lot of money from his caucus. ., , , ., , caucus. that brings me to my next point. — caucus. that brings me to my next point, kimberly, - caucus. that brings me to my i next point, kimberly, president joe biden has that it is very clear there is a need for unity in the country study how is that going to be possible when this trial appears to be polarising opinion even further. —— need for unity in this country. i further. -- need for unity in this country.— further. -- need for unity in this country. i don't know how it can be _ this country. i don't know how it can be possible _ this country. i don't know how it can be possible to _ this country. i don't know how it can be possible to throw- it can be possible to throw that needle butjoe biden is the person for the moment if thatis the person for the moment if that is doable. i think the united states congress also needs to do something about the vicious spread of misinformation on media, the big lie that donald trump

paddled, that members of the republican congress continue to peddle. so congress needs to step in and regulate that and manage the garbage information thatis manage the garbage information that is going into people's mines and making them believe things that are simply not true, making it very hard for well—meaning policymakers to do the right thing. well-meaning policymakers to do the right thing.— the right thing. kimberly wehle, the right thing. kimberly l wehle, thank you for your the right thing. kimberly - wehle, thank you for your time. thank you for having me. and actor in the mandalorian, disney's kit star was tv series has been fired for suggesting us republicans were being treated like jewish us republicans were being treated likejewish people during the holocaust. the maker of the series, lucasfilm, said social media posts by gina carano, who played the character cara dune, were abhorrent and unacceptable. we can speak now to an entertainment reporter at the daily beast. this isn't the

first time this actress has made controversial comments. what can you tell us about her? yeah, actually, yes, this was not the first time she has gotten in trouble for her social media behaviour. she had to apologise recently because of the posts she has been making. there were talks to have her own spin—off series, thatis have her own spin—off series, that is off the table now. of the posts she had been posting work you are non— conspiracy posts, posts that questioned the coronavirus pandemic, and also being accused of being transphobic —— also being accused of being transphobic -- qanon conspiracy posts, and also mocking transgender people. what have eo - le transgender people. what have people said? — transgender people. what have people said? some _ transgender people. what have people said? some have - transgender people. what have people said? some have rallied in her defence, _ people said? some have rallied in her defence, calling - people said? some have rallied in her defence, calling for- in her defence, calling for disney+ to be cancelled. they

found tweets from the show�*s other star pedro pascal, and in 2018 he compared usa children, migrant children being held in ace detention facilities to nancy dent —— to nazi concentration camps, those children being held in ice detention facilities.- children being held in ice detention facilities. what you think will detention facilities. what you thinkwill be— detention facilities. what you think will be the _ detention facilities. what you think will be the result? - detention facilities. what you think will be the result? it. think will be the result? it seems that they will cut ties immediately. it seems that they will cut ties immediately.— immediately. it is damaging when someone _ immediately. it is damaging when someone high-profile| immediately. it is damaging - when someone high-profile makes when someone high—profile makes these posts on social media and quickly deletes it. what would your comment the two young people, looking up to people like this style?— like this style? well, i first thing she _ like this style? well, i first thing she needs _ like this style? well, i first thing she needs to - like this style? well, i first thing she needs to come . like this style? well, i first i thing she needs to come out like this style? well, i first - thing she needs to come out and apologise for it. and learn, you know, when someone accused of doing something wrong says

they are wrong. she should learn from this.— they are wrong. she should learn from this. words have consequences. _ learn from this. words have consequences. take - learn from this. words have consequences. take you - learn from this. words have consequences. take you so| learn from this. words have - consequences. take you so much forjoining us will be following story throughout the bulletin. . ., following story throughout the bulletin. ., ~ , ., the americanjazz the american jazz composer and electric keyboard player check career has died, aged 79. he composed jazz standards including spain 500 miles high and others. you don't from a rare form of cancer, but in a statement before his death, he wanted to thank all those along his journey who have helped keep the music fires burning bright. well, life has changed in so many ways in this pandemic from the way people work and communicate, to the way people are looking for love. and is not easy to meet new people when we are in lockdown. our

correspondent, daniela relph, has been speaking to people who have been virtual dating. waiting for your online blind date to show up. meetjohn. it may now be virtual, but it's just as tense. clears throat and this is pippa. hi, how are you doing? you all right? i'm good, thanks. how are you? matched up via a dating app, the chat is of lockdown. are you doing lots of interesting cooking in lockdown? i do cook, but i wouldn't say i'm mr gordon ramsay. as withjohn and pippa, video dating has become the norm in lockdown, traffic on dating apps has been up throughout the past year, with many businesses adapting on focus on hosting these virtual meet—ups. the ultimate chemistry test is in—person. but you can pick up on some of those vibes before, and it will save you a lot of time if you try a video date

first. simon and shanna are a lockdown love story. they managed three in—person dates and then came lockdown in march. forced apart, they bonded over weeks of video dating and walks in the park. in december, they got engaged. it's a really intense time to fall in love with somebody. do you think there is strength in that? i think you have strength through adversity, and getting through that together, and being each other�*s support system has really cemented, like, not just how we feel, but how we'll get to the future struggles. if you can see someone at their worst, during lockdown, yeah, and you know you can survive it. and back tojohn and pippa — was very happy ending? how did it go withjohn? will there be a second date? i think it went very well withjohn, i personally don't think there's going to be a second date, but he was an absolutely lovely guy. i just don't think we have very much in common. she seems like a nice girl, she was easy to get along with, and, yeah, kind of speakto.

but if the attraction is not there, you have to be honest with yourself. love in lockdown can be hard to find. daniela relph, bbc news. world health organisation has one countries against easing coronavirus restrictions to soon. the director also issued theissue soon. the director also issued the issue of variance and their ability to spread quickly in populations. ability to spread quickly in populations-— ability to spread quickly in populations. what does the emergence _ populations. what does the emergence of _ emergence of these variants mean? it means that we must do everything in our power to reduce transmission and delay mutations that may influence a vaccine efficacy. unless we hold transmission now, the expected benefits from vaccinations in controlling this pandemic may not be evident. this means that manufacturers will have two adjust to the virus's evolution. you can reach me

you can reach me on you can reach me on twitter, stay with us on bbc news. i am freya cole. hello there. after another very cold night, although not quite as cold as wednesday night, it's going to start frosty again through this morning with some ice to watch out for on untreated surfaces. plenty of sunshine through today, but there will be some snow showers — these continuing to affect the north—east of scotland and the north—east of england. a bit more cloud as well in towards the northern isles. and cloud further west will tend to break away as this drier air moves in from the south—east, so, many places should see the sunshine. now, another very cold day when you factor in the wind, which will be a feature throughout friday. it's going to feel much colder than these temperatures suggest, sub—zero for all areas. now, as we head through friday night, skies will be clear, so those temperatures will fall away again. we'll continue to see some snow showers grazing past eastern scotland and

north—east england. the cloud and snow showers and strong winds push on into the northern isles, and then over to the west, a band of sleet and snow will start to make inroads into northern ireland, the very far south—west of england. so, here, less cold than it will be elsewhere. another widespread hard frost for many of us. now, as we move through the weekend, you'll notice the orange colours, the milder air will start to very slowly creep its way eastwards. and by sunday, many areas will be less cold, certainly away from the east and south—east. so, through saturday, it's a cold, frosty start, plenty of sunshine. but further west, this band of sleet and snow will very slowly make progress. but still some uncertainty on how far east it will get. but we've got early yellow warnings in force for parts of wales, northern ireland, western scotland, north—west england for some snowfall accumulations there. it'll be quite wintry, in fact, with the risk of ice too. further east, we'll have the sunshine, but it's going to be a very cold day. when you factor in the strong south—easterly wind, it's going to feel bitterly cold. in fact, it may feel as low as —10 celsius when you factor in the wind.

now, as we move out of saturday into sunday, you can see plenty of isobars on the charts coming in from the south, almost reaching gale force across northern and western areas. and the weather fronts as well will start to make better progress eastwards, so we should see more in the way of rain. and it will be of rain because milder air will be pushing in by this point, although the very far southeast may stay bright and quite chilly on the east coast. it's further west where we'll see that milder air, eight or nine degrees. and it turns milder still into next week, double figure values for many. could be quite wet, though, for the first half of the week, and then signs of it turning a little bit drier for the second half of the week.

this is bbc news, the headlines. democrats have concluded their case against donald trump in the former president's second impeachment trial. video has been shown of rioters saying they were acting under clear instructions from mr trump. his lawyers will open their case for the defence on friday. the duchess of sussex has won her lawsuit against a british tabloid which published a private letter she wrote to her estranged father. meghan markle said the damage from the publication continued to run deep. the newspaper group said it was disappointed by thejudgement. china has banned bbc world news from broadcasting inside the country. beijing has been critical of the bbc�*s coverage of the coronavirus outbreak.