this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. nearly three million people in texas are without power or heat — in sub zero temperatures. the power grid has been crippled in america's number one energy—producing state. nato debates the future of troops in afghanistan, after nearly 20 years of bitter conflict. facebook blocks users in australia from sharing or viewing news content, in a dispute over planned social media laws. and — buckingham palace says the duke of edinburgh is admitted to hospital as a precaution after feeling unwell.

hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world — and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. the brutal winter storms across the south and east of the us have left millions without power — and more snow is on the way. nowhere has been hit harder than texas, where nearly three million people are facing their third day without light or heat. the state has its own electrical grid, and it's been unable to meet the increased demand for power. (map a blanket of snow has fallen the increased demand for power. a blanket of snow has fallen across northern parts of mexico, and southern states in the us, stretching from texas to north carolina. at least 21 people are reported to have been killed. barbara plett usher reports. another day of winter misery for texas. millions of people are still without power. this historic storm has generated an epic energy crisis in america's energy state.

it's freezing cold and people are seeking warmth wherever they can find it, even in this furniture store. getting food has also become a mission, rationed out in places as supplies have started to run low. and the catastrophe has triggered the politics of climate change. the republican governor blamed clean energy for the scale of the power failure. our wind and our solar got shut down, and they were collectively more than 10% of our power grid. that thrust texas into a situation where it was lacking power in a state—wide basis. it just shows that fossil fuel is necessary. in fact, the state's grid operator reports that every source of energy got crushed by the cold. the power plant simply didn't prepare for such a winter. the democratic author of a sweeping policy on global warning challenged the governor. she said the texas crisis showed the urgency of addressing climate change.

scientists say global warming is partly to blame. it's let arctic weather patterns escape further and further southward and stay longer. the storms have involved large swathes of the midwest and southern states. power grids have buckled elsewhere under the extreme demand, but overwhelmingly in texas. free markets and deregulation are partly to blame. now, rolling blackouts are preventing the state from going totally dark. i think the fundamental decisions that our operators made very likely could have prevented a catastrophic blackout. the outcome of preventing that catastrophic blackout unfortunately turned out to be a long period of outages like we had not seen before. there may be some relief by the weekend, but right now, the forecast is bleak and texans are facing another long, cold night. barbara plett usher, bbc news, washington. matthew cappucci is an atmospheric scientist and meteorologist

for the washington post. texans texa ns a re texans are bracing themselves for another long, cold night. why, in your understanding, is the situation so bad? , ., ., , so bad? so, believe it or not, this actually started _ so bad? so, believe it or not, this actually started back _ so bad? so, believe it or not, this actually started back in _ so bad? so, believe it or not, this actually started back in early - actually started back in early january that disrupted the polar vortex. think about your coffee in the morning commute restrain it's coming yet, this dip in the middle with the vortex. butjust like your cup of coffee if you interrupted, all that fluid starts to come back up all that fluid starts to come back up and push towards the edges. that's exactly what happened over the north pole back injanuary. it filled in, it pushed cold air all the way down the latitudes and then you have big loads of coal going all the way down in south and out of been very difficult so far, 7 million people without power right now. 38 cm of snow in parts of texas, and temperatures down to —34 degrees. i texas, and temperatures down to -34 de . rees. ~ texas, and temperatures down to -34 decrees. ~ , .,, ., , .,

degrees. i think people really want to know how _ degrees. i think people really want to know how long _ degrees. i think people really want to know how long will _ degrees. i think people really want to know how long will this - degrees. i think people really want to know how long will this last, - to know how long will this last, matthew? ~ u, to know how long will this last, matthew? ~ _, , , matthew? welcome the good news is there is an end _ matthew? welcome the good news is there is an end in _ matthew? welcome the good news is there is an end in sight _ matthew? welcome the good news is there is an end in sight right - matthew? welcome the good news is there is an end in sight right now. - there is an end in sight right now. it looks like the cold will receding the next few days, temperatures around 10—15 above in houston by the time we get into saturday and sunday. so a light at the end of the tunnel, but for the time being, a few more cold dark nights with hazardous temperatures that will be extremely dangerous for the vulnerable and the elderly. matthew, from the washington post. thank you so much for talking us through that. thank you. thank you. it is going to be a critical decision — with profound implications. nato defence ministers are meeting, to discuss the future of the alliance's, 10,000 troops in afghanistan. hanging over them — a deadline of may the first — agreed between the taliban and the us — for troops to leave the country. that move by donald trump has been described as "premature" by critics and is now under review by president biden. lyse doucet reports from kabul. a stark snapshot of a gathering storm — the national police hospital.

doctors tell us they've never seen so many patients. there's fighting in so many provinces now. this policeman took a bullet. translation: the taliban blew up a vehicle outside school, _ so i went there to help get the children out. the taliban started shooting and we fired back. i was shot. the bullet hit me here and come out the other side. gunfire. and they're braced for more. this was a training exercise, but it's all too real. afghan police on the hunt for suicide bombers... ..and civilians trapped inside. the government gave us access to film this, as taliban warn if the us deal breaks down, there will be more of this.

the interior minister thanks his men and a few women, what's his advice to washington? i would say let's review what the taliban agreed to. did the taliban cut their relationship with terrorists? did the taliban respect that? are taliban are willing to please? if not, then the taliban should know that the international community will remain. a taliban call to arms. they insist they've kept their commitments, that foreign forces must be out by may. if not, they'll be attacked. 0n the streets, there's already a wave of targeted killings. every day, a blast or more. no one claims them, many blame the taliban. 18—year—old ramin survived a horrific taliban suicide bombing. translation: now when i leave home, i say goodbye to my family. _ you don't know if you're

going to make it home alive or dead each day. 20 years after us forces came in, there's no easy way out. violence may surge whether they stay or go. there is still talk of peace and plans for war. lyse doucet, bbc news, kabul. facebook is to block australian users from sharing or viewing news content amid a dispute over a proposed law. australia wants tech giants like facebook and google to pay for the content re—posted from news outlets. the social media giant said the proposed law "fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers". australia previously called facebook�*s threats of such let's go live to sydney and speak to our correspondent phil mercer. explained to us what happened today and the reasoning behind it. this is

shaina u- and the reasoning behind it. this is shaping up to _ and the reasoning behind it. this is shaping up to be — and the reasoning behind it. this is shaping up to be a _ and the reasoning behind it. this is shaping up to be a real— and the reasoning behind it. this is shaping up to be a real arm - and the reasoning behind it. this is| shaping up to be a real arm wrestle between one of the world's most powerful tech companies and the australian government from today, facebook says it will be blocking australian news it from sharing or viewing news content on its site. the reason for that is a law that passed in the house of the australian parliament late on wednesday that will compile or seeks to compel tech companies to pay for news content that it read posts on its platforms. the australian government says it is still in talks with facebook, but we have heard from the australian commune occasions minister, a man called paul fletcher in the last couple of hours here in australia, and he has taken a swipe at facebook, saying that its decision really raises the issue of facebook�*s credibility when it comes to news. so this is a dispute that has been brewing for

quite a long time, and facebook�*s decision has been reported here as a bombshell and a stunning measure. and how have people been reacting to it? i and how have people been reacting to it? 4' and how have people been reacting to it? ~ g, and how have people been reacting to it? 4' ., ., ., _, , ., it? i think with a lot of confusion. peo - le it? i think with a lot of confusion. peeple logging _ it? i think with a lot of confusion. peeple logging on _ it? i think with a lot of confusion. people logging on to _ it? i think with a lot of confusion. people logging on to their - it? i think with a lot of confusion. i people logging on to their facebook accounts in australia, it'sjust after ten o'clock in sidney would have been confused with what they saw. so, what happens next is the government says that it is still talking with facebook. that law, as we say, has passed the lower house of the australian parliament last night, it's due to go to the upper chamber, the senate, next week, it's expected to be passed. contrast, facebook approach to that of google, the other major tech company covered by this australian media bargaining code. this week, it's signed deals with several broadcasters and publishers worth many millions of dollars, and that is an apparent softening of google's hard—line opposition to the law. so i'm the

one hand, you have facebook taking this extraordinary measure of blocking news from reposting australian news, and you have google reaching deals to pay for news content shared on its services. so, this is a dispute between australia and facebook that is likely to get pretty testy. and facebook that is likely to get pretty testy-— pretty testy. fail, thank you for monitoring _ pretty testy. fail, thank you for monitoring it _ pretty testy. fail, thank you for monitoring it for _ pretty testy. fail, thank you for monitoring it for us. _ pretty testy. fail, thank you for monitoring it for us. fail - pretty testy. fail, thank you for monitoring it for us. fail live i pretty testy. fail, thank you for i monitoring it for us. fail live from sydney. thank you. let's get some of the day's other news... the security forces in myanmar have fired shots after some of the biggest demonstrations since the military seized power at the start of the month. the shooting was heard after dark at mandalay train station — it's not clear if anyone was targeted, or injured. police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protests in madrid and barcelona, the day after pablo hasel, a rapper, was arrested on charges of glorifying terrorism and insulting royalty in his songs. on tuesday, police had stormed a university building wherehasel had barricaded himself and arrested him. the european union has

reached a deal to buy up to 300 million more coronavirus vaccines, following criticism over the slow start to its campaign. the european commission president said she wanted the contracts with vaccine makers, to give the eu access to vaccines adapted to cope with new variants of the virus. british scientists, have been given the green light, to run the world's first covid—i9 trial, in which people will be deliberately infected. 90 healthy volunteers — will be exposed to the virus to understand its effects. the study will be carried out in a safe and controlled environment, with medics monitoring the health of the participants. our medical editor, fergus walsh, reports. this is where trial volunteers will spend just over two weeks, in en suite rooms at the top of the royal free hospital in north london. there's quite a view and all meals provided,

but the stay includes being deliberately infected with coronavirus. the aim is to find the smallest possible dose that will trigger an infection. we believe the risk on this trial is incredibly small because they are young, healthy adults. most of them will even be asymptomatic, but we're doing every thing we can to make sure we're monitoring it and mitigating it. future trials will be used for head—to—head comparisons between different vaccines and how well they work, but this initial study should also yield important information about covid. in no other kind of study can you understand what's happening right at the beginning of the infection, how much virus comes out of people's noses, and most importantly amongst asymptomatic people, who we think are an important contributor to transmission in the community. the volunteers who do spend 17 days here at the royal free hospital and attend their follow—up blood tests over the course

of a year will be compensated to the tune of £a,500, but it's altruism rather than money that seems to be the main motivation. alastair is 18 and has already signed up. he's been campaigning for the trials to take place as a means of speeding up research into vaccines and the virus. i think challenge trials are really going to shorten the pandemic. i anything we can do to shorten the pandemic is certainly- really worth doing. so, i guess it's that- which is really driving me. challenge trials have a long history. in this study in oxford, volunteers drank a solution laced with typhoid bacteria to test whether a vaccine they'd had protected them. it's an approach that should help find new covid vaccines and treatments in years to come.

fergus walsh, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: japan has been relatively successful in controlling the pandemic, so what's behind a jump in the suicide rate, particularly among young women? nine years and 15,000 deaths after going into afghanistan, the last soviet troops were finally coming home. the withdrawal completed in good order, but the army defeated in the task it had been sent to perform. malcolm has been murdered. that has a terrible effect for the morale of the people. i'm terrified of the repercussions in the streets. one wonders who is next? as the airlift got under way,

there was no let up in the erruption itself. lava streams from a vent low in the crater flow down to the sea on the east of the islands, away from the town for the time being. it could start flowing again at any time. the russians heralded _ their new generation space station with a spectacular night launch. they've called it mir, i the russian for peace. this is bbc news. rush limbaugh, the highly influential american talk show host, has died. he was 70 — and had been suffering from cancer. a combative conservative, rush limbaugh delighted in provoking his opponents with colourful, often deliberately offensive, verbal onslaughts. critics frequently accused him of racism, sexism and homophobia. he was a staunch supporter of donald trump, who awarded him the presidential medal of freedom.

the us justice department has charged three north korean nationals with being behind a series of online cyber attacks — which are thought to have stolen more than one point three billion dollars in cash and crypto—currencies. the offences date back several years, and include the wannacry ransomware attack of 2017 — which crippled uk health service computer systems on a national scale. another attack targeted sony entertainment but many of the thefts hit banks. 0ur correspondent peter bowes joins me now from los angeles. peter, talk us through the kind of history of these attacks. what more do we know about these alleged crimes? ~ ., . . ., ., crimes? well, according to prosecutors. _ crimes? well, according to prosecutors, they - crimes? well, according to prosecutors, they have - crimes? well, according to - prosecutors, they have likened crimes? well, according to _ prosecutors, they have likened these alleged hackers from north korea out as the bank robbers of the 21st

century using their keyboards and instead of guns. and the allegations really amount to a global operation to break into the computer systems of financial institutions allegedly planting malicious programmes into the computers of banks from asia to africa to north america. and it seems like the initial impetus might have been the release of a hollywood film, you might remember the interview back in 2014. now, that was a film from sony pictures that essentially poked fun at north korea. it had a storyline about an attempt to assassinate kim jong—un, the leader of the country. very controversial at the time. it was seen around the world. allegedly mae has well been the impetus for rotella tory attack on sony pictures entertainment some three years later. indeed, other entertainment related companies were attacked, cinemas and theatres, a british film

company was making a drama series about north korea allegedly, its computer systems were attacked as well. irate computer systems were attacked as well. ~ .., computer systems were attacked as well. ~ .. ., ., computer systems were attacked as well. ~ . ., ., ., ., , well. we recall that from it was hu . e well. we recall that from it was hue at well. we recall that from it was huge at the _ well. we recall that from it was huge at the time, _ well. we recall that from it was huge at the time, wasn't - well. we recall that from it was huge at the time, wasn't a? - well. we recall that from it was i huge at the time, wasn't a? when well. we recall that from it was - huge at the time, wasn't a? when it comes to these three, do we know where there where parts are? weill. where there where parts are? well, we understand _ where there where parts are? well, we understand that _ where there where parts are? well, we understand that they _ where there where parts are? well, we understand that they are - where there where parts are? -ii we understand that they are in north korea right now, apparently, they have travelled outside the country to places like china and to russia, but if it is the case that they are still in north korea, that might well mean that because that country doesn't extradite its citizens if they are facing charges overseas, so it may well mean that those individuals, indeed the charges that they are facing may not see the light of day in american court. peter, as always, thank you very much for bringing us up to date. japan's suicide rate jumped in 2020, rising for the first time in more than a decade. the number of cases involving women and young people showed a marked increase.

specialists studying the problem say the increase is almost certainly the result of the covid pandemic. a warning — you may find parts of this report from our correspondent in tokyo, rupert wingfield hayes, upsetting. the streets of tokyo are still crowded with shoppers and commuters. apart from the masks, there are few signs here of the pandemic. there has been no lockdown. don't be fooled, amid the glittering neon and jostling traffic, for some, life amid the pandemic is becoming unbearable. since the pandemic began, this woman has tried to kill herself multiple times. translation: from about this time . last year, i have been in and out i of hospital many times. every month or so. i tried many times, but i couldn't succeed. so now i guess i have given up trying to die.

the young woman is now undergoing intensive counselling at this suicide prevention charity. its founder tells me since mid—2020, they have seen a dramatic increase in harrowing calls. translation: people calling saying, l "i want to die, i want to disappear. l "i have no place to go." a girl i talked to the other day said she's getting sexually harassed by her father, but because of covid, her father is not working so much and he is at home a lot. so there's no escape for her. in previous financial crises, such as the 2008 banking collapse it's always been men and particularly middle men whose whose suicide rates have gone up dramatically. but covid seems to be complete different. it is affecting young people and young women are being hit the hardest. in central tokyo, darkened and shuttered restaurants and bars tell part of the story.

experts say the rise in young female suicides is being driven by economics. this pattern of female suicides is very, very unusual. i have never seen this much of an increase in my past career as a researcher on this topic. the number ofjob losses among female prominentjobs are just so large over the last six to eight months. japan has been quite successful at controlling the covid pandemic. but in the year since the virus arrived here, more women have died from suicide than have died from the virus itself. rupert wingfield hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. the duke of edinburgh is spending his second night in hospital after feeling unwell and being admitted to the private kind edward vii as a precaution yesterday. prince philip is 99 and has been isolating with the queen at windsor castle during the coronavirus

lockdown — he received his covid—19 vaccine in january. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell�*s report contains flashing images. fanfare plays he's been retired for more than three years now, and he's remained largely out of public sight during the lockdown. this was an exception. july last year, when he took his leave from the rifles, one of the regiments of which he'd been honorary colonel in chief for many years. the most recent image of him is this, at windsor castle with the queen, a photograph released by the palace last november to mark their 73rd wedding anniversary. prior to that, there was a photograph of the couple together lastjune, on the occasion of the duke's 99th birthday. and, for the royal doctors, it will no doubt have been his age as much as anything which will have persuaded them to err on the side of caution. the duke has apparently been feeling unwell for several days so,

last night, at windsor castle, his doctors decided to admit him to hospital. at 2pm this afternoon, the palace issued a statement... "the duke's admission is a precautionary measure," it the duke is in the private king edward vii hospital in london. it's understood he was driven there by car. it was not an emergency admission. it is not covid—related, says the palace, and the duke is said to be in good spirits. he's a no—nonsense sort of man. i think he would be embarrassed by the fuss, and would not want it. i'm sure he's in good spirits. he's always in good spirits. the duke was admitted to the same hospitaljust before christmas 2019 for treatment of an undisclosed condition. he left after four nights to join the queen at sandringham. anxiety, on top of everything else.

today, the royal family has been continuing with business as usual. this was prince charles and the duchess of cornwall this morning at a hospital in birmingham. fanfare the queen has remained at windsor castle. she, too, is carrying on with her duties but, inevitably, in everyone's mind will be the fact that the duke is nowjust four months short of his 100th birthday. we wish him the very best indeed. just time to bring you some live pictures from dallas in texas. this is the image of extreme weather thatis this is the image of extreme weather that is currently taking place there. it's important to say that 21 people have been killed as a result of the winter storm in this part of the us. icy conditions they are threatening the area, but this just

gives you an idea of how difficult the conditions are. these are live images in dallas, texas as people are once again bracing themselves for freezing conditions. hello. quite a lot of wind and rain in the forecast, but some sunshine too. at least it is very mild out there. thursday is going to be quite a mixed bag, so we might have a spell of very heavy rain, but there's also some sunshine on the way. you can see the weather fronts gathering out towards the southwest. they are going to be moving across the uk. there's another one deep out in the atlantic. that's on the way for friday, and that will bring more heavy rain and strong winds. so here is the first bout of wet and windy weather through the early hours. the weather front crossing england and wales, also some heavy rain there wrapping around the centre of the low—pressure close or to northern ireland and scotland. obviously, very mild between 5—9 celsius across the uk overnight. that weather front will be moving into western parts of the uk through thursday morning.

it will be accompanied by some very gusty winds across cornwall, devon, parts of wales as well. this is where it will be around eight o'clock in the morning just about moving through bristol, parts of the midlands, the northwest of england as well into parts of western scotland. this is where the centre of the low is. winds actually not too strong in scotland, slightly stronger towards the south here. and then the rain will reach the east coast by the time we get to around lunchtime, and then after that, actually, the skies clear and it's going to be a bright day, but a blustery one. gusts of wind in excess of 40, maybe approaching 50 mph in places, and also plenty of showers out towards the west. so suffice to say it is going to be a mixed bag on thursday. 9—10 celsius, it's going to feel chilly in the gusts of wind. here's thursday night into friday. that next area of low pressure heading our way. more weather fronts, a lot of isobars here, so that means some strong winds. in fact, a prolonged spell of strong winds out towards the west. gales around these coasts

here, 50 mph at least, maybe even 60 and places. breezy in land, too, the best of the weather, i think, on friday, will be towards the east, say, hall, norwich, london as well. but once the rain sets in and out towards the west, it could last well into the weekend. now, we were promising some milder weather. it is heading our way. saturday and through sunday, milder air streaming straight out of the canaries. so that does mean that temperatures come sunday could get up to around 16 or 17 celsius across the southeast.

this is bbc news, the headlines. nearly 3 million people in texas are without power or heat in sub zero temperatures. the power grid has been crippled by deadly winter storms in america's top energy—producing state. a deadline of may the 1st for all international troops to be pulled out of afghanistan is set to be extended due to a surge in violence. nato defence ministers are discussing the future of its military mission in the country. facebook is to block australian users from sharing or viewing news content, in a dispute over planned social media laws. australia wants the tech giants to pay for content re—posted from news outlets. the queen's husband, the duke of edinburgh has been admitted to hospital after feeling unwell. buckingham palace says it's just a precaution and is not covid related. he's expected to remain there for a few days.