welcome to bbc news — my name's mike embley — our top stories: a huge storm sweeping across the us state of texas has killed at least 21 people and left millions without power. the united states charges three north korean computer programmers with conspiring to steal more than a billion dollars in a global hacking spree. buckingham palace says the duke of edinburgh — who's 99 — 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.

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 — nearly three million texans are facing a third day without light or heat. a blanket of snow has fallen across northern parts of mexico, and southern us states from texas to north carolina. at least 21 people are reported 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, are facing another long, cold night. barbara plett usher, bbc news, washington. 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 for 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. the justice department in the us has charged three north korean hackers with conspiring to steal $1.3 billion. officials also link them to some of the biggest recent cyber attacks, including the wannacry hack that crippled

the uk�*s national health service and affected more than 150 countries, a former cia analyst told me that charging the hackers sends an important message to south korea. north korea. it is very important to expose north korea, their cyber 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 program and obtain hard currency. cybercrime is just one of the extensions of their longtime reliance on various illicit activities to fund the regime. the us government, obviously, and intelligence community is very concerned, that north korea�*s cyber attack capabilities 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 the so—called wannacry attack which crippled the uk�*s national health service for a while, affected more than 150 countries and that attack on sony entertainment. from north korea�*s point of view, does it work? does it 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 their 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 their cyber activities will continue. they will get more increasingly sophisticated, including the use of ransomware 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—un sanctions and they have to go around the sanctions to generate funds for their weapons programme. the duke of edinburgh is spending his second night in hospital. he�*s been feeling unwell and was admitted to the private king edward vii hospital on tuesday, as a precaution. 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. this report from our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, does contain 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. 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 said, "on the advice of his royal highness�*s doctor, "after feeling unwell. "the duke is expected to remain in hospital for a few days "of observation and rest." 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. 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. 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". australian treasurer, josh frydenberg hasjust addressed the media. facebook was wrong. facebook sanctions were unnecessary. they were heavy—handed and they will damage its reputation here in australia. their decision to block australians�* access to government sites, be they about support through the pandemic, mental health, emergency services, the bureau of meteorology, were completely unrelated to the media code which is yet to pass through the senate. but what today�*s events do confirm for all australians is the immense market power of these media digital giants.

the media entertainment and arts alliance is the largest union and industry advocate for australia�*s creative professionals. president of meaa media, marcus strom says facebook is trying to flex its monopoly power. the idea that you have free internet and monopoly power is quite an interesting one to hold at the same time. this is a global tech giant flexing its monopoly power and trying to avoid abiding by the laws of australia. the laws are pretty simple that are coming in, which will be that media companies that distribute content from a media organization — a technology company should just pay a little bit back from the advertising revenue they have been hoovering up for the last 10—15 years. facebook is being particularly bullish about this, isn�*t it? i guess because it thinks it is likely to be fighting this same same battle all over the world? absolutely, this is not

just about australia, this is a precedent globally. in the united states, facebook is facing investigation by the us trade commission. the federal trade commission there is looking at busting open facebook and its monopoly power, so it is really protecting its global power, not just about australia. google, on the other hand, has been coming to deals with australian media companies ahead of the law which could come into effect as soon as tomorrow, if it passes at the senate. it has bipartisan support here in australia. and google has been making deals and agreeing to pay millions of dollars to media companies in australia in order to share linked and other contents made by our members, journalists. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: right—wing radio host rush limbaugh who�*s died — at the age of 70.

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 below 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 with conspiring to steal more than a billion dollars in a global hacking spree. nato defence ministers are meeting to discuss the future of the alliance�*s 10,000 troops in afghanistan, in what will be a critical decision with profound implications. 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 peace? 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, j 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. 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, 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. reporter: what did rush limbaugh tell you - after the election of november 3rd? what were those conversations like? rush thought we won, and so do i, by the way. i think we won by — substantially. and rush thought we won. they thought it was over at ten o�*clock — 10:30 it was over, and a lot of other people feel that way too, but rush felt that way strongly. mrtrump making mr trump making that unfounded claim, again. i spoke to paul farhi, media reporter with the washington post about how rush limbaugh was massively influential. massively influential — that is a good way to put it.

there was not anything that happened in conservative politics in america over the last 30 years that rush limbaugh wasn�*t behind. whether it was the contract with america, whether it was any of the major candidates, his stamp of approval was on it so he was very, very influential. there are not many people, are there, that you can call a racist, sexist misogynist bully without fear of lawsuit or contradiction but, actually, he revelled in that persona. he was deliberately a provocateur. was it in any way an act, a persona or was that him? i think it was partly an act. i mean, he considered himself an entertainer in so far as it is in entertaining to insult people. his career as an insult entertainer goes back before he became a political commentator, to when he was a dj on a top a0 music station, in various places in america. and he sort of honed that act where people would call in, and he would insult them and then he would play a record. he adapted that to political

speech but the shtick seemed to be the same all along. 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. that shtick went as far as reading out the names of people who�*d died with aids to sound effects of people clapping and cheering. it is hard to compute that. yeah, he did a number of things that made people very angry. i think that his waterloo was when he insulted a coloured graduate student who had advocated before congress for insurance coverage of women�*s birth—control. he called this young woman a slut, he called her 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 rare for rush. and he limited down but not before some damage was done. despite all that, perhaps

because of all that, he was a kingmaker, not least for mr trump, who we heard just now, talking about him. there�*s a story i think that george hw bush was so frightened of his influence, that he invited him to sleep in the lincoln bedroom, carried his bag up the stairs of the white house? yes, he did. that story is interesting because george hw bush was not rush limbaugh�*s kind of guy, he was an elder patrician, moderate republican. draw the line all the way to trump — extreme right — that was more in rush�*s later years where he would advocated for people like donald trump. rush got behind the whole birtherism movement too, and so eventually he really became soulmate with trump. the peak of that i think was in october, right before the election, where limbaugh had trump on his radio programme for two hours, extolling him, praising him, letting him say whatever he wanted. complete nonsense but rush was completely in the tank for trump at the end there.

is it fair to say that he has had a lasting impact on the national mood in the united states — if you can talk of such a thing? yes, and i think actually it goes further than that. i think when people sit around and argue now, they are doing something that rush limbaugh in some ways pioneered. this kind of in—you—face, confrontive, provocative, take—no—prisoners kind of argumentation was the way rush limbaugh approached it. i think he trained over the decades a whole lot of people on how to argue like that. so when you sat down the dinner with your uncle, or your grandfather, he started in, it became a variation of the rush limbaugh programme. paul farhi, from the washington post. mount etna, one of the world�*s most active volcanoes that sits on the italian island of sicily, has erupted again. this beautiful timelapse was taken from the moment etna started billowing smoke and

ashes late tuesday afternoon. you can see images here showing a spectacular rose—coloured plume of ash, above the snow—capped summit. while the cloud had largely dissipated by nightfall, lava flows continued to glow. italian authorities say this latest eruption is not worrying. they�*re calling at the end of an era in atlantic city and for some its the ultimate metaphor, the implosion of the former president donald trump�*s trump plaza. it was a 32—storey casino which cost $214 million to build in the city�*s heyday in 1984. it was over $500 million in debt in the early 1990�*s when it filed for bankruptcy protection and shut its doors in 2014. took about 30 seconds to bring it down. a reminder of our top story. millions of people in the us state of texas are without power for a third day as a spell of unusually cold weather continues. as well as being without electricity, many homes have no water because of frozen

or burst pipes. the us national weather service have warned that texas and some other southern states should expect freezing temperatures for several more days. at least 20 people have died. that�*s it for now, thank you so much 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. 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 could get up to around 16 or 17 celsius 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 through the south and east of the united states. at least 20 people have died and thousands of homes have been left without water because of frozen or burst pipes. authorities in the united states have charged three north koreans with conspiring to steal more than a billion and businesses, worldwide. justice department officials say pyongyang�*s cyberactivities pose a significant threat to the us, and its allies. the duke of edinburgh has been admitted to hospital after feeling unwell for a few days. buckingham palace says it�*sjust a precaution — and it�*s not covid—related. prince philip — who will be 100 in four months time — is expected to remain under medical care for "a few days." he is said to be in good spirits.

now on bbc news, click.