welcome to bbc news, i'm freya cole. the headlines: 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's 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 where prosecutors in the impeachment trial of donald trump have finished putting forward their case to the us senate, alleging the former president incited his supporters to attack the capitol last month. and he could incite further violence unless he is convicted. relying again on emotionally charged video evidence, house democrats accused mr trump of showing a pattern of condoning violence. here's 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 _ 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. mr trump's lawyers will set out their defence on friday. vera bergengruen is washington correspondent at time magazine. i asked her if she thought the case presented to the prosecution could ever persuade enough senators to impeach president trump.

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 timeframe and everything, were fairly comprehensive and people did seem to respond. a lot of people did seem to respond to the emotional testimony. so it does seem that, i don't there's going to be a political backlash for them, but they also aren't going to really going achieve the goal they set out to do. so it's the republicans�* turn tomorrow. what areas do you think they'll go in hardest with? they have actually, before i came on, it looks like it will actuallyjust be three hours which is obviously much shorter than what we just saw. and the former president's defence seems to just want to go back to the constitutionality question, saying that 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 those people to be there.

he didn't tell them to attack the capitol, he didn't tell them to be violent. and that he did not intend for this to happen. so those are the two things i think they're going to focus on. and vera, when we watch back those videos from january 6, we're reminded of the heroic actions of police officers. talk us through a little bit about the role of eugene goodman and the congressional gold medal he is being awarded. he's a former army infantryman, he served in iraq, and he was a well known face at the capitol, and i think what the democrats also wanted to do, given his heroic acts, but also because it makes sense in that sense, was to really have him be the face of the people who work there and risked their lives at the capitol. instead of having politicians orjournalists or others there, he really represented that. he obviously put himself in danger, it's a well—known video they've shown several times of him leading the mob, as an african american man, leading a very angry white mob, some of whom were carrying confederate flags, away

from the senate chamber, and putting himself at risk. and then the new video that we just saw yesterday where he ran into senator mitt romney and told him to turn around, and very likely saved his life, so, you know, he's kind of become the face of those people who didn't ask for any of this, who were just there doing theirjob, many of whom got hurt, some of whom were killed, and this is obviously the highest honour in congress and i bet they think that's the least they can do. vera bergengruen from time magazine. 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 mail's owner, associated newspapers, says it's surprised and disappointed. this report from our royal correspondent 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. 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 royal family 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. 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. 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 american 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 0fcom 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 of 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,

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 in hong kong recently. 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 their words, genocide, and that was something else that china refuted. mark lobel there. 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. staying with that story, the former president is accused of inciting that insurrection but how well did the prosecution do. kimberly whaleyjoins me now, she is a law professor at the university of baltimore. she gave me her assessment of the case. i should say i am very 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. people who were around the time that he was tweeting onjanuary 6, 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 in danger. it is unfortunate that they, for whatever reasons, political, i guess,

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

managerjamie raskin, constitutional law professor, 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 onjanuary 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. you an actor in the mandalorian, disney's hit star wars tv star wars tv series has been fired for suggesting 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. earlier, we spoke about this.

she started as a mixed martial arts fighter. her career began as that, and she was a really good one. when she was hired, she transitioned into acting. herfirst big break was in a steven soderbergh movie called haywire. she was in a fast & furious movie, the next really big breakfor her was and the mandalorian. she has been making controversial statements on social media for the last few months. people started really noticing it around the black lives matter movement, and then at one point she changed her twitter handle to include the pronouns "beep, bop, boop", seeming to mock the use of pronouns by trans people. she has deleted some of her offensive tweets, but the damage has already been done, hasn't it?

absolutely. it is the real sort of double—edged sword of social media. it gives you direct access to your audience in a way you never had before, but that also makes what you say that much more open to scrutiny and accountability. so, you know, free speech is notjust a responsibility, and i think in that case, it came to buy gina carano. he saw at the beginning of what could be described as a huge career, so what does it mean for her now? well, you know, i think in some ways the ball is in her court. about how she talks about what she was saying on social media, and, you know, for her statements, or defend them and stand by them. and people who make these

decisions in hollywood will may, you know, will decide accordingly. i should note her agency, uta, dropped her yesterday, which does not bode well for the future of her career either. what do the fans say? a lot of her fans are coming to her defence. this is part of the polarisation in the united states and across the country and world, really as far as politics and political speech on social media. you see people in right—wing areas of social media coming to her defence, senator ted cruz defended her today on twitter, but then you have a lot of people celebrating that she was fired, that there was real accountability for her comments which some people find to be abhorrent. let's talk about disney. what does this do for disney's reputation? disney has a lot at stake in star wars and lucasfilm, expanding the star wars world on their streaming service, disney+, which has really kept the company afloat during the pandemic.

in december, they announced a huge expansion of the star wars universe on disney+, something like 10—11 new tv series on disney+ in development. a few of those will be premiering this year and next year. so, when you have a major star like gina carano saying things like this, you know, is me is one of the very few entertainment companies that has a very clear, identifiable brand. people trust disney. people believe in disney. and i think the company believed they could not have somebody seeing these beings and be representative of one of their shows. adam vary, thank you very much. adam vary, senior writer at variety magazine. thank you.

the irish prime minister has called on the uk in the eu to called on the uk in the eu to call it. it comes after coronavirus faxing supply issues and the northern ireland protocol, part of the brexit agreement designed to protect the hard border between ireland and northern ireland. they're remembering the centenary of ireland's guerrilla war for independence here, but the age of martyrs is long gone in the republic. taoiseach, how are you? still, the taoiseach knows this could be a critical moment in the story of the peace process. and that's what's prompted this message to british and eu leaders. i just worry a bit about the post—brexit noise from eu member states towards britain and vice—versa. what would you say to your european...? i want to tell them they need to dial it down. this isn't an ongoing battle between the uk and some of the bigger beasts of europe. they need to cool it. we'd be collateral damage in all of that.

britain wants a two—year extension to the grace period for the northern ireland protocol, but mr martin told me it had to be limited. does that mean weeks, months, years? it is modest. it can be a year, for example... so there would definitely be a timeframe that it has to happen within a year? in my view, yeah. this intervention comes amid heightened tension over the northern ireland protocol. you staff implementing checks at the ports of larne and belfast were temporarily withdrawn after worries about their safety. there are growing unionist fears that eu customs checks have created a border between northern ireland and britain. the atmosphere is potentially volatile. you can see how it can tip over very quickly, and therefore we have to be very vigilant that it doesn't. because one of the big fears is that the loyalist paramilitaries are given a new lease of life and that we could see

violence, sectarian violence, coming back. is that something that worries you? if we handled this the wrong way, if things are handled wrongly, you could provoke that response, but i don't think loyalism wants that. modern irish politics emerged from civil war, division, a partitioned island. but 100 years and many thousands of lost lives later... ..some opinion polls suggest going support in northern ireland for a referendum on reuniting ireland — anathema to many protestants. and so here are these two great portraits. absolutely... in his office, micheal martin has portraits of two revolutionary comrades who ended up as bitter enemies. his sense of history says holding a border poll anytime soon would be a mistake. if we see this as a simple, numerical, majoritarian issue, we're going backwards, not forward. i don't believe the future of the island of ireland is about majoritarianism, in the crudest sense.

i think it's about consensual relationships and trust. micheal martin is a product of ireland's complex history. his grandfather rebelled against the british, but an uncle fought for britain in world war ii. he wants a reinvigorated anglo—irish relationship. it's a very important relationship and it's a strong relationship, notwithstanding the difficulties of brexit and the challenges it presents. i'm very passionate about it. you know, i have witnessed the transformation of the british—irish relationship and the degree to which it underpinned the progress in ireland and the peace process. i have first cousins in the uk. in dublin, the determination is to try to de—escalate the tensions that have, with brexit — and quickly. 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. 0ur 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. 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. 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. and she welcomed the ruling. 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. and on the treatment of the country's we go muslims. the british government said beijing's latest decision would only damaged its reputation