this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world, my name's mike embley. the huge storm sweeping texas has killed at least 21 people and left millions without power. programmers of conspiring to steal more than a billion dollars in a global hacking spree. buckingham palace says the duke of edinburgh, 99 years old, is in hospital, as a precaution, afterfeeling unwell. the world's first human trials, deliberately infecting people with covid—19, get the go—ahead in the uk. and, the massively influential right—wing radio host, rush limbaugh has died, at the age of 70.

hello. the brutal winter storms across the south and east of the united states have left millions without power, and more snow is on the way. nowhere is harder hit than texas, nearly 3 million texans are facing their third day without light or heat. a blanket of snow has fallen across northern parts of mexico, and southern states from texas to north carolina. at least 21 people are reported killed. barbara plett—usher has this report. 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. american authorities have charged three north korean hackers, accusing them of a scheme to steal $1.3 billion from banks and businesses around the world. joining me to discuss is former

cia analyst sue mi terry, who also served on the national security council under presidents george w bush and obama. thank bush and obama. you very much for your time. thank you very much for your time. what do you make of this? there is no way that north korea is going to write it citizens to face justice in the united states, what is the point really of these charges? it's still important to point out and highlight for the world that north korea has become one of the most... (audio gapo). i of the most... (audio gapo). i don't know if you can hear me, but we may need to re—establish comms with you. tell me about more, if you would stop you know, i'm very sorry stopping at the moment we have lost your sound. we willaim at the moment we have lost your sound. we will aim to get it back and come back to you. back to that story and just a moment, we hope. let's get some of the day's other news. huge anti—military protests have been taking place in myanmar, in one of the largest shows of defiance since the coup which deposed

aung san suu kyi's government two weeks ago. tens of thousands of people joined rallies in the biggest city, yangon, the capital, naypyitaw, and in mandalay. 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. protests have been taking place in the catalonia region of spain ifor a second night running in support of a catalan communist rapper. pablo hasel has been jailed for lyrics and online posts deemed slanderous and pro—terrorist. supporters of chile's most popular football club, colo—colo, have been celebrating victory in a play—off match that stopped them from being relegated. hundreds of security forces were deployed after the club's biggest supporters�* group threatened to kill the players if they failed to save the team from relegation. no pressure, then.

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 on tuesday. prince philip is 99 and has been isolating with the queen at windsor castle during the coronavirus lockdown, he received his covid—i9 vaccine in january. our 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 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 afterfour nights tojoin 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 now just four months short of his 100th birthday. let's just take you back to that story that the us department ofjustice has charged north korean hackers over a scheme to steal $1.3 billion from banks and businesses around the world. the us assistant attorney—general has described north korea as "a criminal syndicate with a flag". try one more time to speak to

the former cia analyst. basically, we know that north korea is not going to extradite anyone, what would you say is the point of these charges? it is very important to expose north courier, their capability and what they have been doing. north korea has become one of the most sophisticated cyber actors out there. it has really become adept at hacking international financial institutions and networks and using it to generate where the new —— revenue, and obtain hard currency. cybercrime isjust one of the extensions of their longtime reliance on various illicit activities to fund the regime. the us government and intelligence community is obviously very concerned, that this could inflict greater damage in the future and it is important to highlight this. you have said it has been going on for some time, thejustice

department has been trying to link these people to an attack which crippled the country's health service, affected more than 150 countries and that attack on sony entertainment. from north korea's point of view, does it work with or doesn't advance their interests and bring them hard currency? it absolutely brings them hard currency and more and more, they are really focusing on this because there cybercrime operations does not include attempts just to get $1 billion from financial institutions all over the world, they have done multiple cyber attacks attempts against south korean companies, international companies, us companies, and theirfive companies, and their five activities companies, and theirfive activities will continue. they will get more increasingly sophisticated, including the use of rent somewhere to raise funds for the state and again i've mentioned earlier, there is other criminal activities beyond cyber too, but they will rely on these illicit

activities to make money, basically, because of all of the us — basically, because of all of the us - un basically, because of all of the us — un sanctions and they have to go around the sanctions to generate funds for their weapons programme. the relationship _ weapons programme. the relationship between mr trump and the north korean leader didn't exactly bring huge achievements but there was an easing of tensions. how do you expect the biden administration to handle this?— to handle this? well, the biden administration _ to handle this? well, the biden administration is _ to handle this? well, the biden administration is in _ to handle this? well, the biden administration is in a _ to handle this? well, the biden administration is in a tough - administration is in a tough spot, and i would even argue that they have less leverage than even the trump administration had, not only because of cyber but because north korea has been working on the nuclear and metal programme, they have advanced both programmes in the last several years, since the summit, and they are at an impasse. we have not made a single step towards denuclearisation efforts, so it is going to be tough, and a cyber attack like this is just one component of many problems we are facing with north korea. they have a nuclear missile threat that we are facing, that

has not gone away, in fact it is worth today than even several years ago, so i think the biden administration is going to be in a tough spot to figure out what to do in the coming months.— figure out what to do in the coming months. thank you very much for talking _ coming months. thank you very much for talking to _ coming months. thank you very much for talking to us. - coming months. thank you very much for talking to us. thank. much for talking to us. thank ou. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: why facebook has blocked users in australia from sharing or viewing news content. 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 affect on the morale of the people. i'm terrified of the repercussions on the streets, one wonders who is next. gunfire.

as the airlift got under way, there was no letup . in the eruption itself. lava streams from . a vent low the crater flowed down to the sea the east of the island, i away from the town for the time being. | it could start flowing again at any time. i the russians heralded their new generation space station with a spectacular night launch, they called it �*mir�* — the russian for peace. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: the huge storm sweeping texas has killed at least 21 people and left millions without power. the united states has charged three north korean computer programmers of conspiring to steal more than $1 billion in a global hacking spree. facebook has blocked australian users from sharing or viewing news content in a dispute over a proposed law.

australia wants social media giants to pay for the content re—posted from news outlets. facebook said the proposed law "fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers". the media entertainment and arts alliance is the largest and most established union and industry advocate for australia's creative professionals. joining me now is the president of meaa media, marcus strom. facebook says this is about defending a free internet. i guess you can also see it as defending monopoly power? the idea that defending monopoly power? tue idea that you defending monopoly power? tte idea that you have defending monopoly power? ttj: idea that you have free internet and monopoly power is an interesting one to hold at the same time. this global tech giant is flexing is monopoly power and trying to avoid abiding laws in australia. the laws are pretty simple that are coming in which media that

distribute from technology company should pay a little bit back from the advertising revenue they have been hoovering up for the past 10—15 years. hoovering up for the past 10-15 ears, .,. ,., ., " hoovering up for the past 10-15 ears. ., hoovering up for the past 10-15 ears. , years. facebook has been particularly _ years. facebook has been particularly bullish - years. facebook has been particularly bullish aboutl years. facebook has been i particularly bullish about this because it is likely to be fighting the same battle all over the world? absolutely, this is not — over the world? absolutely, this is not just _ over the world? absolutely, this is notjust about - this is notjust about australia this is a precedent globally. in the us, facebook is facing investigation by the us trade commission, it is looking at busting open facebook and its monopoly power so it is really protecting its global power, notjust about australia. google, on the other hand has been coming to deals with australian media companies which could come into effect tomorrow, the law. it has bipartisan support in australia and google has been making deals and agreeing to pay

billions of dollars to media companies in australia in order to share linked and other contents made by our members, journalists. contents made by our members, journalists-_ journalists. what impact is this having _ journalists. what impact is this having on _ journalists. what impact is this having on users - journalists. what impact is this having on users and i journalists. what impact is l this having on users and how are people reacting? t this having on users and how are people reacting?- are people reacting? i think --eole are people reacting? i think peeple are _ are people reacting? i think people are dealing - are people reacting? i think people are dealing with - are people reacting? i think people are dealing with this are people reacting? i think. people are dealing with this in a fairly typical australian way, with a good dose of humour. there might be a biphasic revival, people are saying. looking in a monopoly company flexing power in a dangerous time. australia is about to roll out the covid vaccine now and viewers will know that facebook has been criticised for being a conduit for fake criticised for being a conduit forfake information, conspiracy theories, qanon, anti— vaccine theories and so this were continued to flourish on facebook and they will not be the fact checking

counterweight that genuine news would be able to provide that platform so it is a very irresponsible act for facebook to do this right at a time when we need a credible news about the vaccine on as many platforms as possible. marcus, very good _ platforms as possible. marcus, very good to — platforms as possible. marcus, very good to talk _ platforms as possible. marcus, very good to talk to _ platforms as possible. marcus, very good to talk to you, - platforms as possible. marcus, very good to talk to you, thankj very good to talk to you, thank you very much. very good to talk to you, thank you very much-— healthy, young volunteers are to be infected with coronavirus in the world's first human covid trial, which will begin in the uk within a month. it aims to provide a greater understanding of the virus. 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 £11,500, 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. 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. what did rush limbaugh tell you after the election of november three? , three? rush limbaugh said we won, and three? rush limbaugh said we won. and so — three? rush limbaugh said we won, and so did _ three? rush limbaugh said we won, and so did i. _ three? rush limbaugh said we won, and so did i. we - three? rush limbaugh said we won, and so did i. we won - won, and so did i. we won by a substantial margin. rush limbaugh said we won. they thought— limbaugh said we won. they thought it was over by ten oflock— thought it was over by ten o'clock and a lot of other peoriie _ o'clock and a lot of other people feel that way also. mr trum people feel that way also. trump did people feel that way also. tj�*t trump did not win, people feel that way also. m trump did not win, just in case that needs saying again. paul farhi is the media reporter at the washington post. he's in washington. whatever you thought of rush limbaugh and a lot of people

despised him, he was massively influential.— influential. that is a good way of putting _ influential. that is a good way of putting it- _ influential. that is a good way of putting it. there _ influential. that is a good way of putting it. there was - influential. that is a good way of putting it. there was not i of putting it. there was not that happening conservative politics in america in the last 30 years that rush limbaugh wasn't behind. whether it was a contract with america, the major candidates, his stamp of approval was honoured.- approval was honoured. there are not many _ approval was honoured. there are not many people - approval was honoured. there are not many people who - approval was honoured. there are not many people who you | are not many people who you could call a racist, sexist misogynist bully without fear of controversy but he revelled in that persona. he was a deliberate entrepreneur. was it he or an act? t deliberate entrepreneur. was it he or an act?— he or an act? i think it was artl he or an act? i think it was partly an — he or an act? i think it was partly an act- _ he or an act? i think it was partly an act. he _ he or an act? i think it was l partly an act. he considered himself an entertainer in so far as it is in entertaining to insult people. his career as an insult people. his career as an insult and entertainer goes back before he became a political commentator. he was a dj on a top 40 music station in

various places in america. people would colleen, he would insult them and then he would play a record. —— called in. he loved to get a rise out of people. he got lots of rises out of people and made a lot of people mad at him.— out of people and made a lot of people mad at him. reading out the names _ people mad at him. reading out the names of— people mad at him. reading out the names of people _ people mad at him. reading out the names of people who - people mad at him. reading out the names of people who died i the names of people who died with aids with sound effects are people clapping and cheering. it is hard to compute that. . , ., , that. he did a number of things that. he did a number of things that made _ that. he did a number of things that made people _ that. he did a number of things. that made people very angry. he is waterloo was when he insulted a coloured graduate student who had advocated for insurance coverage of women's birth—control and cold at this young woman a prostitute and that brought the roof in. there was an advertiser boycott which lasted for some months. he had to apologise for that, which was round for rush limbaugh. he

limited down not before some damage was done.— damage was done. despite all that, he damage was done. despite all that. he was _ damage was done. despite all that, he was a _ damage was done. despite all that, he was a kingmaker, - damage was done. despite allj that, he was a kingmaker, not least for mr trump. george hw bush was so frightened of his influence, the story goes that he carried his bag up the white house? , . , ., , house? yes, he did. that story is interesting _ house? yes, he did. that story is interesting because - house? yes, he did. that story| is interesting because george w is interesting because george w bush was an elder patrician, moderate republican. trump was more in rush limbaugh's later years when he advocated for people like that. eventually he became soulmate with donald trump. the peak was in october, right before the election where rush limbaugh had donald trump

on his radio programme for two hours, praising him, letting him say whatever he wanted. complete nonsense. t5 it him say whatever he wanted. complete nonsense.- complete nonsense. is it fair to say he _ complete nonsense. is it fair to say he has _ complete nonsense. is it fair to say he has had _ complete nonsense. is it fair to say he has had a - complete nonsense. is it fair to say he has had a lasting . to say he has had a lasting impact on the national mood into the united states? and talk of such a thing?- into the united states? and talk of such a thing? yes, and i think it goes _ talk of such a thing? yes, and i think it goes further - talk of such a thing? yes, and i think it goes further than - i think it goes further than that. when people sit around and argue now, they are doing something that rush limbaugh in something that rush limbaugh in some ways painted. this interface, confrontive, provocative, take no prisoner kind of way. he trained over the deck as a whole lot of people on how to argue like that. when you sat down the dinner with your uncle, it became a copy of the rush limbaugh programme.

mount etna has erupted again. this beautiful timelapse was taken from late tuesday afternoon. you can see images showing a spectacular rise coloured blue. the cloud had largely dissipated by nightfall. italian authorities say this latest eruption is officially not wiring. they are calling this the end of an era in atlantic city. the implosion of the trump plaza. it used to be 32 casino, costing 30 to hilliard dollars to build. —— $32 million. it took about 30 seconds for it to come down. much more of the news on our

webpage and twitter feed. thank you for watching. 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 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. they're 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 inland, too. the best of the weather, i think, on friday, will be towards the east, say, hull, 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 across the southeast.

this is bbc news, the headlines: nearly three million people in texas are without power in sub zero temperatures, as a huge storm sweeps across the south and east of the united states. more than 20 people have died and thousands of homes have been left with no water because of frozen or burst pipes. authorities in the united states have charged three north koreans with conspiring to steal more than $1 billion in cash and crypto—currency from banks, and businesses, worldwide. the state department said pyongyang's cyber activities posed a significant threat to the us, and its allies around the world. the queen's husband, the duke of edinburgh has been admitted to hospital after feeling unwell for a few days. buckingham palace says it's just a precaution, and it's not covid related. the 99—year—old is expected to remain under medical care for a few days.