A second whistleblower has come forward in the impeachment inquiry into president trumps conversations with the ukrainian president. A lawyer involved has told American Television the second whistleblower is another Us Intelligence official. Donald trump has been accused of using military aid to ukraine as quid pro quo if ukrainians agreed to dig up dirt on his rival joe biden. National security lawyer mark zayd confirmed the reports on twitter, saying the whistleblowers have also made a protected disclosure under the law and cannot be retaliated against. Our washington correspondent Chris Buckler gave us more details on the latest whistleblower. This second whistle blower has been described as a Us Intelligence official and they apparently have first hand knowledge of this conversation that took place between donald trump and the ukrainian president. You might remember, in that phone call back in the summer, mr trump asked president zelensky to launch an investigation into his potential president ial rival, joe biden and that was extremely controversial and caused a great deal of anger among democrats and there are now growing questions about whether there was any attempt to put pressure on ukraine, perhaps by offering some kind of incentive like a visit to the white house or potentially by threatening to suspend Security Assistance to the country. Now, that is very firmly denied by president trump. He insists he had every right to ask that question. He says he wanted corruption investigated. But while he has made unsubstantiated allegations againstjoe biden and his son, hunter, he has not produced evidence and this weekend, he has put out more unsubstantiated allegations. Meanwhile, amid all of this noise of politics taking place in washington, there are three congressional committees that are quietly working away on impeachment enquiries. At the moment, democrats are trying their very best to get information from the white house. They want documents about anything connected with that call between ukraine and the United States. And they will also, i suspect, want to hear exactly what this whistleblower has had to say. It is understood they have already spoken to the inspector general. Thats the person who acts as the watchdog for the Us Intelligence community. Earlier, i spoke to republican strategist rina shah. I started by about the significance of a second whistleblower coming forward. I think those things can be mutually exclusive because there is a reality here. There are democrats who did not call for this president s impeachment from day one. If you look at the background. Speaker pelosi, i think, she waited some time, she kept her caucus acquired. I think, like many of us, i say this i would not vote for him for re election. I supported him after he was elected. Those of us who said, lets give him a chance, lets let him govern. Three years in now. When we see the ukrainian transcript. That to me was the final straw. Nancy pelosi has given him enough time to defend himself. When its in black and white. The president asking for a favour, to potentially eliminate the challenger, a fellow american. That right there tells you everything you need to know. He does not grasp the severity or the constitution. Its interesting to hear. Impeachment is a political process. America or the democrats should let the public decide at the election whether they have a problem. I believe there was never a good time to talk about this president s many flaws. Look, none of us are perfect. This president is so unique in that is sort of abuse of the power, he is using the oval office to enrich his family, the emoluments clause, the favours from foreign leaders, the way he cozies up and uses pages out of the dictators playbook on the regular, that is what we are not used to. Those of us whove been in washington for a very long time, it not only offends our sensibilities it is very clear to us that this president is undermining democracy and doesnt understand that he is leading us and actually has led us to a Banana Republic already. Donald trump denies much of that. Two people have appeared in court in hong kong after a series of arrests under a new law to try and end months of civil unrest. The new law forbids people from Wearing Masks to conceal their identity at demonstrations. In the latest protests on sunday there were violent clashes with riot police. Our asia correspondent Rupert Wingfield hayes reports from hong kong. Loud bangs. At what point does a protest movement become a rebellion . Today in hong kong, it felt close to that edge. It is now illegal here to cover yourface in public. But look at these people. Young and old, parents with children, nervous but defiant, determined they will not be stopped from protesting or Wearing Masks. Chanting. If carrie lam and her government were hoping that the new regulation banning the wearing of masks was going to stop people coming out on the streets, well, theyve been proved wrong. Even in this pouring rain, tens of thousands have come out again today, many, many of them Wearing Masks. It is a sign ofjust how little credibility and authority carrie lam and her government now have here. Many protesters are now scared. Actually, we are afraid but we still go, come out, because we. We know that this is the last chance for hong kong people. Look at the kids. Honestly, look at them. They are very young, and you know, they are fighting for us, you know, it is really for the entire hong kong. I think really we should really stand up and help, honestly. Even though i know that maybe its useless. After two hours, the police decided this illegal show of defiance had gone on long enough. The police are now behind this wall here inside the Police Station and they have started firing volleys of tear gas over the wall, through these trees and down into the street. The protesters are responding by pouring water onto the tear gas canisters or throwing them back. These are the black clad radicals, the hardcore activists who the facemask ban is aimed at. The government says they are hiding their identities so they can create chaos. The tear gas barrage intensifies and the protesters now fall back in a chaotic retreat. The race is now on to get into the back streets before the police can catch them. But many are too slow and the police overrun them. Among those arrested are two young women. They look like teenagers. The atmosphere is tense, the angerfeverish. As the police finally withdraw, the crowd cheers in victory. Cheering. For now, at least, the streets again belong to the people. Rupert wingfield hayes, bbc news, in hong kong. People have been standing outside the eastern magistrates court, many people there with umbrellas. They are waiting where two people have already appeared in the court. As some of the first to be arrested under that new law which bans protesters from wearing face masks so we protesters from wearing face masks so we will keep across those events for you here on bbc news. Lets get some of the days other news. A report in the Financial Times says the Banking Group hsbc is planning to cut up to 10,000 jobs. The cuts would come on top of more than 4,000 redundancies that were announced in august. The latest cuts are said to be part of interim ceo noel quinns Ambitious Campaign to reduce costs across the company. Hsbc is making no comment on the story. Portugals governing socialist party has won the most seats in the countrys general election but not enough to control parliament. The Prime Minister said he would continue to cut the budget deficit and the countrys debt. Since taking office four years ago, mr costa has presided over an economic upswing, and reversed cuts to Public Sector wages and pensions. The centre right social Democratic Party came second. The British Foreign secretary, dominic raab, has urged the United States to reconsider its decision to let a diplomats wife leave the uk after she was involved in a fatal car crash. British police say the American Woman who has been named as Anne Sacoolas is being treated as a suspect in their investigation into the death of a nineteen year old motorcyclist harry dunn in august. They say theyd been prepared to arrest and formally interview her. The woman claimed diplomatic immunity and left the country. Harrys mother, charlotte, appealed to the American Woman to return to the uk so the accident can be investigated. Were not out to get her put behind bars, if thats what the justice insta nt ends up doing, then we cant stop that but were not out to do that, we are out to try and some peace for ourselves. Our reporter simonjones told us that the release of the amercian womans name is significant. There has been a bit of a mystery. We know the name of the motorcyclist, harry dunn, we heard emotional appeals from the parents but we did not know the name of the diplomats wife the bbc understands her name is Anne Sacoolas and she is a2. Not many more details than that. The British Foreign secretary has called for her right to anonymity to be waived and it has been echoed by the chief constable of northamptonshire police, he says he has written a strongly worded letter. Now, this diplomatic immunity issue is at the centre of this case. What is the point of diplomatic immunity . Why do they have it . It was enshrined in 1961 in the vienna convention. It states that diplomats and members of diplomats families have immunity from prosecution in their host country, if they are not actually members of that country, if they are not nationals of that country. Now, that can be waived by their home country. When this was enforced in 1961 the idea was that diplomats, and diplomats and potentially hostile countries, could go about their work without fear of being prosecuted for what they were doing. Since then, all these years on, there have been questions about how effective it is. For example, it was recently reported members of Embassy Staff had wrapped up unpaid bills of more than 100 million in congestion charges here in london, which they simply werent going to pay because they would not be taken to court over it. Racked up unpaid bills. So there are some questions about how it is being used and whether this idea of hostile countries are still relevant, for example, the relationship between the uk and the us, in this case. What has the us response been in this case . The state Department Says its sympathies are with harry dunns family, and it says it will listen carefully to this request to waive the right for immunity in this case. But it says it is very rare for them to do that. That is the wording they have issued. I think when we have seen the emotional appeal from harry dunns mother, speaking, very considered, but also with tears and wanting something done in this case, i think that is going to put pressure on this woman to considered returning to the uk. Iraqs interior ministry has confirmed 104 people have been killed in less than a week of Anti Government protests. Around 6,000 have been injured in the deadliest unrest since the Islamic State group was declared defeated in 2017. Heres our middle east editor, jeremy bowen. The Iraqi Security forces are opening fire at demonstrators. Thats why so many people have been killed. The use of deadly force as well as tear gas and other methods can only increase the anger of the mainly young people have gone onto the streets to protest. The un in iraq has demanded an end to what it calls a senseless loss of life. Decades of war have inflicted terrible damage on iraq and its people. Unemployment is high and even those with jobs are struggling. Its mainly young men on the streets. A quarter of the population lives on less than us 2 a day. This man says he has a masters degree but the government wouldnt even hire him as a street sweeper. All these young people, he said, are treated unfairly. The Prime Minister has so far offered little more than vague promises and an appeal for calm. He said he was speaking so the deterioration in the security situation would not lead to the destruction of the state. Perhaps its surprising that its taken so long for demonstrators to go onto the streets. Iraq has the worlds fourth biggest oil reserves. It should be rich. But its also one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Another generation has grown up in a state that cant offer them much more than a very hard life and these demonstrations are born of desperation. Jeremy bowen, bbc news. Stay with us on bbc news. Still to come the 5,000 year old settlement uncovered by archaeologists in israel. This was a celebration by people who were relishing their freedom. They believe everythings going to be different from now on. They think their country will be respected in the world once more as it used to be before Slobodan Milosevic took power. The dalai lama, the exiled spiritual leader of tibet has won this years nobel peace prize. As the parade was reaching its climax, two grenades exploded and a group of soldiersjumped from a military truck taking part in the parade and ran towards the president , firing kalashnikov automatic rifles. After 437 years, the skeleton ribs of henry viiis tragic warship emerged. But even as divers work to buoy her up, the mary rose went through another heart stopping drama. I want to be the peoples governor. I want to represent everybody. I believe in the people of california. This is bbc world news. The latest headlines a second whistleblower has come forward with whats described as first hand evidence of the phone call at the centre of the impeachment inquiry into donald trump. Police in hong kong have fired tear gas at pro democracy demonstrators, and arrested dozens for defying a law banning face masks. Pope francis has denounced the fires that recently devastated large areas of the Amazon Region at the opening of they three day synod. The vatican is also considering whether married men should be ordained as priests in the amazon a move to boost dwindling numbers of clergy in the region. John mcmanus reports. At the opening mass for the synod of the amazon, pope francis had a tough message for those he accuses of exploiting the amazon basin. Translation may god preserve us from the greed of new forms of colonialism. The fire set by interests that destroy, like the fire that recently devastated amazonia, is not the fire of the gospel. The environment is the main focus of this 3 week meeting of bishops and laypeople from the Amazon Region. But tucked away in the preparatory document is a potentially explosive idea that to remedy the serious shortage of priests in the amazon, the church could ordain married men. That would break with centuries of tradition, whereby only celibate men could be raised to the priesthood. The suggestion has aroused serious opposition within the vatican, with some clerics worried that a solution to a latin american problem could be exported across the catholic world. Cardinal raymond burke, whos become a focus of opposition to the pope within the vatican, has already denounced some of the synod discussion as heretical. But Church Leaders in brazil are adamant that the problem is real. One diocese of more than 67,000 square miles has only 21 priests. Any final decision would be made by the pope and its unlikely even a reformer like francis would enact such a sudden and dramatic change. But the very fact that married priests are even being discussed is another sign of how this pope is opening up the church to different ideas. John mcmanus, bbc news. On the 18th anniversary of the start of the war in afghanistan, an International Organisation says every child there has only known life in a country in conflict. Save the children says afghan children are living in daily fear of explosions, and 84 of the victims of explosive remnants are under 18. It also says 3. 7 million are not attending school because its too unsafe 60 of them are girls. Now, just 2. 5 million years ago, a Massive Energy flare ripped through our galaxy its impact was felt 200,000 light years away. This New Discovery that the milky ways centre was more dynamic than previously thought, can lead to a complete reinterpretation of its evolution. The team behind the discovery, led by professorjoss bland hawthorn from australia, used the data gathered by the Hubble Space Telescope to calculate when the massive explosion of High Energy Radiation took place. Professor hawthorn told me why the discovery is so significant. When gas clouds and stars fall into the centre of the galaxy, they go into a death spiral around the central black hole we have an enormous black hole at the centre of our galaxy, four million times the mass of our sun. The black hole itself is invisible, but this spiral of gas going around the centre of the black hole gets very, very hot indeed, then blows off jets, winds and bubbles into the surrounding galaxy. So, what weve seen is evidence of the explosion 3. 5 million years ago, a giant beam of radiation, like a lighthouse beacon flashed from a Galactic Centre and went right across the galaxy and lit up gas a long with out from the centre of our galaxy. We just saw some pictures there to give us a sense of what this is, but given this is at the centre of the galaxy and given that earth is far away from it, are we any danger of this flare and what its producing . Its a very good question, because our black hole, in fact, the disc around the black hole does flop around a lot. Its not like the very, very massive black holes and quasars that we see in the distant universe. The ones that we see in the local universe flop around. In actual fact, the jet beam and radiation could indeed come in our direction, and thats an interesting question, because it could have happened in the past, it could happen in the future. So, now that youve discovered this, what does it tell you . Why is it important . Its important because we now know that, essentially, all galaxies have these massive black holes in their centres. If you look out into the local universe, very few black holes have these shining discs right now, maybe a few percent at most. But i think what it means is that, in fact, they all have these events at the centre and the reason we only see a few percent, which are bright today, is because theyre flickering. They turn on, turn off, rather like fireflies. So you can imagine with your flashlight, if the battery was packing up, it would start your torch starts to flicker. So i think its a bit like that, that these black holes flicker over thousands of years, and i think the amazing thing for us was to find our own milky way is just one of those sources. We have a flickering black hole at the centre of our galaxy. Sydney universitys professor joss bland hawthorn, who led the team behind that discovery. Archaeologists in israel have unearthed the remains of a 5,000 year old city said to be among the biggest of its era. The city dates from the early bronze age and was believed to be home to around 6,000 people. The site is close to the modern israeli city of harish. The bbcs tim allman reports. It has been described by some as the new york of its time. An ancient city buried for millennia, rediscovered when engineers wanted to carry out roadworks. No one knew it was here. No one knew how big it would turn out to be. Translation en esur is the largest site and the most important from that era. Its double the size of what wed previously seen. The city covers an area of around 160 acres and dates from the end of the fourth millennium bc, in what was then the biblical land of canaan. All sorts of things have been unearthed tools, figurines, pottery. Experts believe it could transform the way we understand the development of villages, towns and cities. Translation what makes this site so important is that we can observe a set of components that make it a city, such as residential buildings and streets that divided the houses and created quarters which connected them to other areas. There are even some remains of what may be an older settlement from an earlier era. Once the site has been fully excavated and examined, its likely to be covered up once more. En esur has been called a megalopolis, a huge city of the bronze age. An ancient mystery, an ancient marvel. Tim allman, bbc news. Now, lets just leave you with these pictures from china. Three young pandas are being trained for life in the wild. There they are. Chinas conservation and Research Centre for pandas is letting the cubs live with their mother in what theyre calling semi wild environments before being fully released probably quite different to what youre seeing now on your screen. 9 out of 11 panda cubs released last december have survived. The Research Centre in chinas southwest Sichuan Province has over 300 pandas, the largest number of captive giant pandas anywhere hello. Its been another very wet 2a hours for some. Western scotland, overnight into sunday, had nearly 60mm of rain in places. In east anglia, we had a0 50mm of rain through the course of sunday, which has resulted in flooding. And, in fact, there are a number of flood warnings in force across the rivers in scotland and england. And with more rain to come in the next 2a hours, thats not good news. The grounds saturated as well. But more rain is what we have. This next dominant area of low pressure is advancing in. So were looking at severe Gale Force Winds through the course of the day across parts of northern and western scotland and gales in other areas in the north and west as well. Combined with yet more rain, it will be particularly unpleasant as we go through the rush hour. We could see some mist and some fog under the clearer skies further east. But a very windy day across northern and western areas, very wet through the rush hour as well. Were not expecting as much rain as weve had in the past 2a hours, but nevertheless, the ground is saturated, so it will go straight onto the roads and into the rivers. Therell be lots of spray and standing water for those travelling. And, of course, the strong and gusty winds, which will eventually blow the rain away from scotland and northern ireland, allow some brighter skies, but heavy showers to follow. And it could take much of the day for that rain to get into southern and eastern areas once the fog has cleared away. It doesnt look as wet for east anglia as it was during the day on sunday. But nevertheless, more rain is not good news. Now, it does meander its way into the near continent as we head into tuesday morning. Its very close by, so it drags its heels a little bit. And then that low pressure is moving a little closer to the north west of scotland. So, still windy in northern and western areas. But windier, potentially, across england and wales on tuesday, which will blow the showers in. So more of a showery day. But the showers will tend to merge at times to give longer spells of rain. Strong and gusty winds will blow them right the way east across england and across scotland, northern ireland, and wales as well. And they will be heavy. There will be torrential downpours with hail and with lightning and, therefore, thunder. But temperatures are doing quite well. No real frost worries this week. Temperatures by day a little above average or around average. Another very showery picture, as you can see on wednesday, perhaps clumping together in places to give longer spells of rain. And perhaps fewer reaching eastern areas, but were clutching at straws for the detail. The devil is in the detail this week. But it does look very showery for most of us. Of course there will be some sunshine, but it will often be quite windy with that low pressure sat close by. No sooner does that one start to move out the way, by the end of the week we have another area of low pressure coming in and yet more weather fronts with those. So as ever you can stay up to date on the website. 00 29 01,591 2147483051 51 15,510 heres our middle east 2147483051 51 15,510 4294966103 13 29,430 editor, jeremy bowen
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