welcome to bbc news, i'm freya cole. our top stories. 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 to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. we begin in the us, where prosecutors in the impeachment trial of donald trump have finished putting forward their arguments to the us senate, alleging the former president incited his supporters to attack the capitol last month. here's a little of what the senate heard. onjanuary 6, 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. kimberly whaley 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's almost certain that republican senators — they 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, lead impeachment manager, 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 in the uk, the duchess of sussex has one a lawsuit

against the mail on sunday newspaper. —— 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 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, that's 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. let's get some of the day's other news now. 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 the decision is not a surprise. china has systematically blocked or expelled the foreign media in the past couple of years. in 2020, three journalists

were expelled. and 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. and so this ban came into place, and we, this of you and i talking, which people can watch all around the world, but perhaps not now in hotel rooms in china. and we learnt 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 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 theirwords, genocide, and that was something else that china refuted. mark lobel, thank you. the australian state of victoria will re—enter lockdown in an effort to contain a small out rake of the uk coronavirus strain believed to have entered the community from a quarantine hotel. the five—day lockdown will begin at midnight on friday and prevent crowds from attending the australian open from saturday. organisers have

said sessions under way will continue as planned with covid—safe protocols in place. it is following a controversial start to the grand slam, with players travelling to australia while citizens remain very much stranded overseas. at least six people have been killed in a 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. tanya dendrinos reports. a scene of carnage, this resembling more a wrecking yard stopping the community left grieving with at least six lives lost and more than 60 people injured. irate lives lost and more than 60 people injured.— lives lost and more than 60 people injured. people in'ured. we all come to ou with

people injured. we all come to you with heavy hearts today, l you with heavy hearts today, the scene we saw is one unlike any of us have probably ever seen or will be, pray to god, we never see again is in my heart is broken for this community, who deals with the tragic loss of so many lives in so many injuries and a scene like none of us have ever seen before. 50 like none of us have ever seen before. . , like none of us have ever seen before. ., , , .,, like none of us have ever seen before. ., , , ., before. so many people have lost loved — before. so many people have lost loved ones _ before. so many people have lost loved ones or— before. so many people have lost loved ones or being - lost loved ones or being injured _ lost loved ones or being injured. and that pain isjust incredible. this community will feel that — incredible. this community will feel that pain. they need your love _ feel that pain. they need your love and — feel that pain. they need your love and they media repairs to through— love and they media repairs to through this.— through this. this is a snapshot _ through this. this is a snapshot of _ through this. this is a snapshot of the - through this. this is a | snapshot of the horror unfolding. vehicle after vehicle, unable to avoid impact. the scene eventually spanning around one kilometre. emergency crews worked for hours on end, systematically making their way through the tragic rack. making their way through the tragic rack-— tragic rack. after the initial scene stabilisation, - tragic rack. after the initial scene stabilisation, after i tragic rack. after the initial| scene stabilisation, after all of the victims that were able to be found, cars able to be

searched were searched, the scene was turned over to the fort worth police department and work began for them to begin conducting the investigation.- investigation. that investigation - investigation. that investigation likely investigation. that i investigation likely to investigation. that - investigation likely to be as complex as the recovery effort. police believe ice was a factor, but they they are only in the preliminary stages. tanya dendrinos bbc news. 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. the latest headlines. 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. the duchess of sussex, meghan markle, has won her high court privacy claim against british newspaper the mail on sunday, after it published a letter to her father. new research suggests an arthritis drug could save the lives of some of the sickest covid—i9 patients. it says combined with a steroid it could reduce the risk by half. searching among existing medicines for any that can treat covid has been a huge task. first, there was dexamethasone. now, there's tocilizumab. together, they can dramatically improve survival for patients on oxygen. compared with a year ago, when we really did not know how to treat this disease, we now have two treatments —

they both act on the immune system. dexamethasone and tocilizumab, put them together and we've reduced the risk of death by a third or even as much as a half in the sickest patients. that's great news. dexamethasone, a steroid, costs just £5, whereas the arthritis drug, tocilizumab, at least £500 per patient. but that's still far less than the £2,000 a day cost of being in icu. this therapy looks like it keeps people out of the intensive care unit, so they never need to meet people like me, which can only be a good thing. so, as well as improving survival, it actually will decrease the number of people who need to come to intensive care, which is fabulous. there's understandably a huge focus on preventing coronavirus and vaccines, but for those with covid, it is treatments like dexamethasone and tocilizumab which will save lives now. they need the research,

so ijust signed up for them. lawrence spent several days in intensive care at addenbrooke's hospital in cambridge, but now has his bags packed, ready to go home. he's one of tens of thousands of covid patients taking part in nhs trials. if nobody�*s willing to try, you're back to square one again, aren't you? if nobody�*s going to do anything. last month, nhs hospitals treated more than 100,000 covid patients. that's around one in three of all those admitted since the pandemic began. covid remains a brutal disease, but the chances of surviving it are improving. fergus walsh, bbc news. an actor in the disney hit star wars series the mandarolian has been fired after saying that

republicans were being treated like jewish people republicans were being treated likejewish people during the holocaust. the company said that social media posts by gina carano were abhorrent and unacceptable. i spoke to an expert earlier to give us some background into her social media behaviour. 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, that is off the table now. of the posts she had been posting, qanon conspiracy posts, posts that questioned the coronavirus pandemic, and also being accused of being transphobic and also mocking transgender people by putting beep bop boop

in her profile. what have people said? some have rallied 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 ice detention facilities to nazi concentration camps. they are saying that that is a double standard and that disney+ should be cancelled. [30 disney+ should be cancelled. do ou disney+ should be cancelled. do you think this will have an impact on disney's reputation. i think it's too soon to tell. they acted really swiftly when people asked to comment on it and they cut ties of them immediately. the irish prime minister has called on the uk in the eu to cool it in their post—brexit dealings. 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 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. 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 just 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. but more than that. i have first cousins in the uk. we are very close, whether we like it or not. in dublin, the determination is to try to de—escalate the tensions that have, with brexit — and quickly. fergal keane, bbc news, dublin. life has changed in so many ways during this pandemic, not least for those looking for love. our correspondence, daniela ralph, have 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 through 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 there a 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. you can reach me on twitter, stay with us on bbc news. i am freya cole. thank you for your company. the headlines are coming right up.

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 believing 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. 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 uighur muslims.

those are the headlines on bbc news.