this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm kasia madera. nearly three million people in texas are without heat or light — 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. are the taliban and willing to please? if not, the taliban should know that the international immunity will remain. ——commmunity will remain. facebook blocks users in australia from sharing or viewing news content — in a dispute over planned social media laws. the world's first — human trials — with people deliberately infected with covid—19 — are given the go—ahead in the uk. and — buckingham palace says

the duke of edinburgh is admitted to hospital as a precaution after feeling unwell. 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. 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. ourwind and oursolar 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 engulfed 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. i asked him why things were so bad. so, believe it or not, this actually started back in earlyjanuary with a disrupion to the polar vortex. think about your coffee in the morning, you're stirring the little coffe, you get this dip in the middle with the vortex. but just like your cup of coffee, if you interrupt the vortex, all that fluid starts to come back up and push towards the edges. that's exactly what happened over the north pole back in mid—january. it filled in, it pushed cold air all the way down the mid—latitudes, and then you have big loads of cold going all the way down in south central us. it's 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 the plains in parts of. i think people really want to know how long will this last, matthew?

well, the good news is there is an end in sight right now. it looks like the cold will receding back north in 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 very cold dark nights with hazardous temperatures that will be extremely dangerous for the vulnerable and the elderly. 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, which was 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. 0ur correspondent phil mercer explains the reasoning behind facebook�*s decision. 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 from sharing or viewing news content on its site.

the reason for that is a law that passed in the lower house of the australian parliament late on wednesday that will compel— or seeks to compel — tech companies to pay for news content that it re—posts on its platforms. the australian government says it is still in talks with facebook, but we have heard from the australian communications 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 think with a lot of confusion. people logging on to their

facebook accounts in australia, it's just after ten o'clock in the morning here in sydney 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�*s approach with 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 on the one hand, you have facebook taking this extraordinary measure of blocking users 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. this is shaping up to be a real arm wrestle between one 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 where hasel had barricaded himself and arrested him. russia has rejected a call from the european court of human rights — to free the jailed kremlin critic, alexei navalny. thejustice minister said, the court in strasbourg had reached an "unlawful decision", which amounted to wanton interference

in russia's affairs. judges at the european court of human rights had called for mr navalny�*s immediate release, because of a risk to his life in prison. 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. she also said that you was focusing on scams on the black market. 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. 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, the latest headlines nearly three million people in texas are without heat or light — in sub zero temperatures. the power grid has been crippled in america's number one energy—producing state. nato leaders debate whether to

stick to a may deadline — to pull thousands of troops out of afghanistan — after nearly 20 years of bitter conflict. 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 $1.3 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. the bbc�*s north america correspondent peter bowes told me more. according to prosecutors, they have likened these alleged hackers from north korea 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 kimjong—un, the leader of the country. very controversial at the time it was seen around the world. allegedly, may well been the impetus for a reltalitory attack on sony pictures entertainment some three years later. indeed, other entertainment related companies were attacked, cinemas and theatres. there was british film company was making a drama series about north korea, allegedly, its computer systems

were attacked as well. my goodness. we recall that from it was huge at the time, wasn't it? when it comes to these three, do we know where there whereabouts are? well, 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. 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. 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 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, "i want to die, - "i want to disappear. "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 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 hospital 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 injanuary. 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. nicholas witchell, bbc news. i'm sure we all wish the duke of edinburgh a speedy recovery. lots more on our website. i'm

on social media. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @bbckasiamadera. for the time being. thanks for watching. bye—bye. 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 in 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 the us state of texas are without power in sub zero temperatures — as a spell of unusually cold weather continues. more than 20 people have died and many homes have been left with no water because of frozen or burst pipes. the afghan taliban have called on the united states and its nato allies to withdraw all foreign forces from afghanistan by the first of may — in line with last year's us taliban deal. the statement, was released before a nato meeting to debate the future of troops in the islamic republic. facebook has blocked users in australia from sharing or viewing news content — in a dispute over planned social media laws. all local and global news sites — as well as some key government sites have been blocked. the australian government says it intends to proceed with the ruling.

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