Transcripts For BBCNEWS Beyond 100 Days 20200115

Ignore the evidence . New data out today tells us past decade was the hottest ever recorded on the planet. And not one but two anti aircraft missiles hit the ukrainian airliner. This was not a split second decision as we were originially told. They were fired 30 seconds apart. Hello and welcome im katty kay in washington and Christian Fraser is in london. Democrats in the house of representatives have just voted to send the impeachment of donald trump to the senate for trial. In a couple of hours the 7 democratic managers of the process think of them as the prosecutors will formally walk those articles through the halls of congress to the upper chamber. And then next tuesday, for only the third time in american history, the senate will stage a trial to decide whether pesident trump is removed from office. Of course the senates is under republican control there is almost zero chance of that actually happening. But for the next two weeks the country will listen as the case is made that donald trump jeapordised the nations security for his own political gain. It is, democrats say, a solemn moment in us history. What is at stake here is the constitution of the United States. This is what an impeachment is about. The president violated his oath of office, undermined our National Security, jeopardised the integrity of our elections, tried to use the appropriations process as his private atm machine to grant or withhold funds granted by congress in order to advance his personal and political advantage. As the Senate Begins the trial a bunch of new evidence is emerging documents that may influence the case. Democrats have been criticised for rushing the impeachment through the house and so missing some of this information. But today they said they couldnt wait any longer becuase the threat is current. We couldnt wait because, some people said, let the election take care of him. Hes trying to cheat in that election. So it is essential that we bring this impeachment to stop the president from trying to rig not from trying, he tried from rigging the next election. Our Political Correspondent ben wright is on capitol hill and joins us now. What happens now, ben . what happens now, ben . A house in the last hour voted to approve the seven impeachment managers, the prosecutors, as you said cover that nancy pelosi had recommended, it has also voted to approve sending those two articles of impeachment to the senate. What we are waiting for now isa senate. What we are waiting for now is a ceremony for those articles of impeachment are carried through the Capital Building from the house of representatives under capitol dome to the senate where there will be formally read out. It might drift into tomorrow morning. A bit of a wrangle about how the procedure should work. Thats what will happen next. The Chiefjustice John Roberts will be summoned to come here, take an oath and start the process of swearing in senators. Of course that will make up the jury in this. The trial itself will not begin until after the weekend and in the Public Holiday monday the expected on tuesday. Ben is a very serious correspondent has serious issues that he raises their but there are odd to things about this impeachment can be with and it was worth mentioning. The fact for example that fun faction number one, well, kind of. The impeachment articles are printed on parchment paper which had been wondering today have a stack of parchment paper in case we run out . Do they said that in turn up run out . Do they said that in turn up to kinkos and say we want three boxes of this and a bit of parchment if you like. Theres also an aggressive its her money, but not to mention them all. And grossman ceremony, its about things being officially signed. And carry on with all of these fun facts. I saw this. This is from 1999. The sergeant at oui this is from 1999. The sergeant at our stands there and says shut up or you face imprisonment while he reads out the charge, basically. Politicians dont normally shut up, do they . Know. And also you cannot put any questions down that loudly cover the have to be written down on paper and guess what the americans are saying . Brits you taught us the city way so if you think its i blame yourselves. There you go, fun fa ct. Blame yourselves. There you go, fun fact. Lets get back to the evidence. So what about these new stache of documents that democrats have released on the eve of the trial. The new evidence comes from lev parnas, an indicted former associate of the president s personal attorney rudy giuliani. And among the letters is one from giulliani to president zelensky of ukraine. In my capacity as personal counsel to President Trump and with his knowledge and consent, i request a meeting with you. The documents also include Text Messages sent by robert hyde a former congressional candidate and supporter of President Donald Trump to les parnas. In march 2019 they exchanged texts about the Us Ambassador to ukraine Marie Yovanovitch who President Trump wanted out. It appears they were monitoring her movements for unknown reasons. They are moving her tomorrow said one text they will let me know when she moves. They are willing to help if we you would like a price. Guess you can do anything in the ukraine with money. Which all sounds like out of some sort of gangster moving. Jonathan turley is with us he testified as a witness expert in the Housejudiciary Committee hearing during the impeachment inquiry of President Trump the constitutional law professor at George Washington University Also serves as the bbcs legal analyst. Thank you very much forjoining us. All of this evidence coming out on the eve of the trial, what impact is it going to have on the second process given that it was not raised during the house process . Well, that is the difficult question. Because they effectively closed their records with the earlier vote all this is being left to the opposing party in the senate as to whether they want to pursue it. Thats the problem with rushing the impeachment vote. During the hearing i strongly encourage the democrats to just wait one 01 encourage the democrats to just wait one or two months to allow the completion of the record. They insist they had no time to get the case to the senate but then they did nothing for a month and this is going to be the price you pay, because it effectively enhance your case to the opposing party and says we really would like you to pursue these new leads. They are not going to do that. It does not appear, however that there are votes on the republican side to bar all witnesses. For us senators have indicated they may join witnesses. For us senators have indicated they mayjoin the democrats in permitting witnesses, but that fouts has yet to be taken. Which is a good reminder that this is not like a trial and the court. Its usually political as well. If i am paraphrasing you correctly you we re am paraphrasing you correctly you were not opposed to impeachment per se. You want the process to play out, but having read all of the documents that they had collected at that time, did you think this new hall of documents is significant . Does it blow a hole in some of President Trumps defence . Does it blow a hole in some of President Trumps defence . |j does it blow a hole in some of President Trumps defence . I think this is definitely a relevant piece of evidence. This is the two count i testified could be a legitimate as the basis for an impeachment. I felt the basis for an impeachment. I felt the record was not there. This helps with the record. The problem is that there remainsa with the record. The problem is that there remains a glaring gaps. Those individuals with direct knowledge of a quid pro quo or is there not subpoenaed or the house never tried to compel her testimony. People like former National Security adviser john bolton. And he has been outside the capital wearing a sandwich board saying please subpoena me. So the question is will the senate do that . The democrat count counter argument to that is that the white house of bucky witnesses and would not let them speak in the house. Because this was an issue asjerry said today in this action intervention. Make it your point about them delaying themselves. Is there a sense of urgency about all of this because its an issue of National Security and potentially a round in november election . Whatever sense of urgency was lost when the house stopped a dime and for weeks. It destroyed their narrative. Only took three months and the famous nixon case to go from the trial court to a final ruling the supreme court. And so final ruling the supreme court. And so this is all sort of baffling in terms of the strategy here. But the day is not over. This is new information, witnesses out there who could damage the president. The question is whether the republicans complete the record whether the house left it uncompleted. Just as we have been discussing, the fun fa cts we have been discussing, the fun facts as weve heard. I will unfold in the senate. Theres no debate and of course the chiefjustice its their presiding, so how do you get toa their presiding, so how do you get to a stage where you decide whether theres going to be witnesses or documents are going to be called . They following the rules of the clinton impeachment which put that to later. Those only witness stays of three and they barred live testimony. Back in the democrats did not even want to hold dispositions and wanted us to vote. As both parties are flipping and their position we will have to wait for this pageantry which all the members will walk these articles over to the senate. And the senate will then officially have the case. For some that will be a moment of triumph and for others will be a parade of portables. It depends on how you view the impeachment and thats how you have this problem. The needle has not moved on this that much, you know, but the country is pretty divided still right in the middle. And not a lot of folks are being convinced one where the other. Thank you very much forjoining us. The number one job of the seven managers are too treacherous persuade a group of republican senators to abandon them and break ranks. Democratic candidates have less than three weeks to make their case to voters in iowa about why they should be the person to try to oust donald trump. So you might have expected last nights democratic debate the last one before the first test to be fiery. Well, youd be wrong. It was, frankly, slightly lacking in excitement. Which might be a problem for the democratic field as a whole as they try to motivate voters. Perhaps the candidates are tired of condensing complicated policy matters into soundbite answers. Or maybe its debate fatigue setting in there have been seven official ones so far, after all. But there arent alot of moments being replayed on Us Cable Television in fact this one is really the most memorable. What did you think when senator sanders told you a woman could not win the election . Laughter. I disagreed. Can a woman beat donald trump . Look at the men on the stage, collectively, they have lost ten elections. The only people on this stage who have won every single election that theyve been in are the women. That was her answer on stage. But look what happened when the debate ended. Everyone else went to shake hands with their competitiors senator sanders and senator warren did not. Instead, they spoke heatedly and in a short and clearly tense exchange. Its clearly a point of contention. And the topic of whether a woman could or couldnt win the presidency leads us to wonder whether that sentiment is a truly a reflection of america in 2020. Joining us now to discuss this is susannah wellford, ceo of running start, an organisation which inspires young women to run for political office. Good to have you with us. This was the conundrum, really, wasnt it for Elizabeth Warren last night . If you bring the issue of whether america can elect a woman president into the debate youre bringing it in as an issue at time when iowans are wondering who is the most likely person to beat donald trump, and thats a fact of the company gets theissue thats a fact of the company gets the issue for them. So do you bring it in or do you not . I frankly think its the wrong question. We know that america is ready to vote for a woman president , the asking americans since1937 woman president , the asking americans since 1937 whether they americans since1937 whether they think a woman can borrow that they would vote for a woman come up well they said only 33 of them said yes, right now we are almost at 100 . Americans understand that a woman, that they would vote for a woman, but really i think the real question being asked is this question of can a woman beat donald trump . I think thats an insulting question if its not the question we should be asking. This is the second time a woman has gotten to the top, and so ple nty of woman has gotten to the top, and so plenty of men have lost their elections, we have no idea whats going to work in this election and so going to work in this election and so really we should get away from this question of our women qualified, are we ready, our women viable . Qualified, are we ready, our women viable . We qualified, are we ready, our women viable . We know they are viable, and we know that having a woman at the top of the ticket would put us in line with the rest of the world and bea line with the rest of the world and be a good thing for everyone. The question of polls, how reliable are they . Ive seen some research which suggests that when people asked themselves would you vote for women, they say of course there would come and no one wants to seep as a sexist person and say yes. Would people you know, or would other people, or what your next door neighbour vote for a woman . Then the numbers actually change rather. Is there something there about people not wanting to say exactly what they think . That such a great point. I think, right, when they asked would you vote and say yes they say im not sure my neighbour would vote for a woman for president. And, really, ithink that its we still believe that the person who has the best chance of winning is what we have had before which is the straight, white, older man. We have seen, especially in the 2010 election so recently that women can win in competitive districts. And that they can have races that nobody thought they could win and really making a difference. I think we need to stop asking this question and each is also think about the message it sends to all women about, it sounds as if we are questioning their credentials and ability to rise up to leadership positions. So what youre both saying about what people say two posters have pulled out a quote for the Washington Post today they said exactly that. This is too important to screw up, said this man. I would vote for a woman, but i know lots of people who would not. Exactly what she just said. A data analyst nate silver of 538 whose poles we will use a lot, he says of people just voted for the who they actually want and the women would win. And we know that that is true. Its so insulting when you think about it. Are we saying that we are only going to put a woman up as our candidate when its an election that does not have any stakes, like this is a pretty easy election so and so we will try the woman . We have seen the outliers do win for presidency you saw with John F Kennedy and it recently with obama. You do not have to be the status quo to win, and good running start to member organisation, we train women to run for political office. Young woman will not look like the people in office right now so we tell them youve got to run on who you are and what is authentic and what youre going to bring to the table. Thats going to be better for everybody. And by the wake we should remember that Hillary Clinton did win the popular vote. In a sense for there is not for the di toro college. Shes artie won the election. You read a lot of about this and i know you speak all across america about women in power. So why do you think they are not happy with the president . Its an interesting question. Theyve already had a female elected heads of states, so his countries have beat america to this so why has america not done it . I think this so why has america not done it . Ithink in this so why has america not done it . I think in part of it is many insta nces i think in part of it is many instances around the roper women have been elected as heads of state, through a parliamentary system. Effectively the head of the party and the party is then elected into office. In the problem in the United States is breaking through in a president ial system or you have to be able to raise the hughes amount of money and you did big rolodex. The only surprise is the only woman who is almost got there is the wife ofa who is almost got there is the wife of a former president. If that much harder in eight president ial system for a woman to break through whereas susanna was saying no one has done it before. Theres really a very stubborn boys club. Its really interesting conversation to have. It will be looking at it a lot more. A Delta Air Lines flight dumped jet fuel over 5 miles of suburban los angeles yesterday, covering the playgrounds of number of schools. At least 60 people, many of them children, were treated for breathing problems and skin irritation. The plane bound for shanghai had just taken off from los angeles airport when it began experiencing engine trouble. It is not uncommon for a plane to dump fuel . It is part of a normal procedure to reach the required landing weight. But by law they are supposed to do it away from Populated Areas and at a higher altitude. On this occasion it wasnt possible. This was an emergency. We caught up with one passenger, tim lefebvre, who is finally on his way to china via detroit airport, to find out what happened. We were just taking off, probably four minutes into take off, i didnt even think it was that long, suddenly there was a loud pop coming from the right side of the plane, out of the right engine. At that point, we levelled off, so i thought something was wrong, because usually you just keep climbing. This was over the ocean, we were looking at malibu, and then he kind of banked it so that we were going over the mountains in malibu, calabasas and stuff like that, i live right over there, so i knew where we were. Then we started going to the flight path back to lax. Its a huge valley that goes from the mountains into the sea, and theres endless houses and warehouses and buildings and malls. Theres no real free space there to dump fuel, so unfortunately, it just fell in people. We got back to the gate and then i looked at one of the flight attendants,who was actually pretty shook, and she said shed never seen that in 45 years of being with airlines. So that was my first engine failure too and hopefully the last yes. The rescue package that Boris Johnson signed off yesterday for the struggling airliner flybe sent a signal. Previous tory governments might have let the company go to the wall. But flybe provides a unique service to towns and cities across the uk, and this government is now keenly focused on breathing new life into the nations and regions. Rebalancing the uk economy. And thats because so many of the new intake of conservative mps are from the north. One third are newly elected, a threat to the old way of doing things. For now they are finding their way but by all accounts have set up their own Whatsapp Group, to swap tips, maybe to organise. It is called the 109. And the governments enforcers, the whips have been locked out. Matt chorley, editor of the times red box has been investigating. Matt, i always thought that whatsapp was an encrypted, uncrackable form of communication, but somehow, you appear to have found your way into the Whatsapp Group known as 109. What does it tell us . First of all, its called 109, because thats how many tory mps, new tory mps, were elected in december. At least, thats what they thought, because thats what the Prime Minister told them when they metjust before christmas. Theres debate about renaming it, because it turns out theres only 107. But in this Whatsapp Group, theres only about 66 sorry, im hoping youre keeping track of the numbers, because therell be a test later basically, the Whatsapp Group is being used to coordinate and support each other, because there are so many of them, almost a third of all tory mps are new, and theyre finding their way along. And more than one of them, in fact, has done what every new mp should do, and started leaking details of it to me. Excellent, excellent. So, in these details, do you get the idea that some of them are organising . Are they forming themselves into a northern caucus . Which im going to call the noc, northerners 0nly caucus. Theres some who want the new intake to act as a caucus entirely. So theres been talk, theres some elections coming up for select committee chairmen, theres talk of them having their own hustings and then voting in a bloc. Thats not gone down well with eveyone, some want to do their own thing. Youve also got the northern bloc, the one everyones talking about, because the conservatives made so many gains in the north. The midlands bloc like to see themselves as being distinct from the northern bloc, although they tend to get lumped in. If they do form into a cohesive bloc, how much pressure can they put, as, say, the tea party did here in the United States, followed by the freedom caucus, on leadership, in order to get what they want . We shouldnt over egg the pudding, with a majority of 80, the Prime Minister can feel pretty confident he can get what he likes through. Two things worth noting, the tone of the new intake is very different from what weve seen before. Its much younger, there are more women, not as many women as the labour party has got, but its definitely more female. And the backgrounds theyre from, youre got doctors, lots of former teachers, trade unionists, as well as actually some former special advisers who know their way around government and the levers to pull and that sort of thing. And i think there is at least consensus between the new intake and downing street at the moment, that something needs to be done to pay back the people who lent them their votes in the election in december. Where the tension, i think, will start coming, is where mps start finding out they cant have everything they want right away, and if the government starts to get them to do things theyre not comfortable with. Is it true youre going to dinner with them tonight, youre hosting a dinner for the new intake . Well see how it goes, its drinks first of all. All 109 of them do you have business cards, to hand out liberally . Exactly right, theres a sort of drinks do between political journalists and the new intake, and so, because there are so many of them, we dont want to waste our time speaking to people who are going to be no use at all, so that ones that are going to make the effort to come to the press bar and speak to the journalists, theyre the ones we really want to get to know. Hone in theyre the ones who will be left off the Whatsapp Group fairly soon. Yes, im cooperating noc, a northerners only caucus of which i could be a member. Its an exclusive club. On this programme is a club of eu. You could be president of it on the other hand, that would be great. They will be knocking on the door, they will be using it. This is beyond 100 days from the bbc. Coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news new data compiled by british and american scientists shows that the past decade was the warmest on record around the world and the heat is set to continue to rise unless action is taken. And will the britsh public cough up so that big ben can bong for brexit . Good evening. For many areas compared to easterly conditions we had earlier in the week it has been a quiet story. So lets refer the northern half of the uk, some showers around but many areas got to see some sunshine. As we head into this evening and next system will start to work its way in as an area of low pressure that is developing in the atlantic. For many though we finished the day with clear skies. Gradually as the night progresses this band of rain presented Northern Ireland and eventually western scotland. The showers gradually fading before this rain pushes in. While we have got clear skies it would be quite chilly initially and to the west. Regularly temperatures will start to rise as we draw up milder southerly air. So this is how thursday is shaping up is going to be wet and windy. Heavy persistent rent coveted by gills forever see coasts. Wendy everywhere really as this rain transfers its way eastwards through the day. Have stating largely fine and try during Daylight Hours but east anglia and the far southeast. Temperatures remain above average for this time of year. That band of rain clears eastwards as we head through thursday night. Still under the influence of this area of low pressure, and it is closest to the area of low Pressure Group friday. There will have verily blustery conditions. Away from that really at the clearing update from a lot of fun and dry weather. Some showers now to the south which could be quite lively but they should ease, fade as we head for the afternoon. Temperatures certainly down on thursdays values but we have some sunshine to compensate. But there is a change on the cards as we head into the weekend. Its going to be turning more settled, for many areas that means dryer with lighter winds that means dryer with lighter winds that we have seen over the past week. For saturday heres the game changer, an area of High Pressure thats going to be building in and becoming established over the uk for the weekend. Through saturday it was to got a bit of a northwest flow bringing one or two showers which could be witchery over the hills, parts of scotland but otherwise it is largely drive. Lengthy spells of sunshine around. Frost and possibly patches of fog could be an issue as we head into the weekend, but a good deal of fine and dry weather around. Temperatures a little down or were they have been recently, but plenty of sunshine. This is beyond 100 days. With me katty kay in washington, Christian Fraser is in london. Our top stories. The speaker of the us house of representatives, nancy pelosi annoumces the Seven Members of congress who will prosecute Donald Trumps impeachment trial in the senate. The us and china sign a partial trade deal aimed at easing the 18 month trade war between the worlds two biggest economies. Wildfires, flooding, drought. As we see more extreme weather, new figures confirm, the past decade, was the hottest on record. Coming up in the next half hour irans president rejects the uks offer of a trump deal for its nuclear programme, as new footage shows it fired two missiles when it shot down a ukrainian passenger jet and should big ben bong for brexit . Well look at one mps campaign to make it happen. In the last few hours President Trump and chinas vice premier liu have signed a trade deal which should go some way to easing the 18 month long trade war between the worlds two biggest economies. And at the start of an Election Year you can well imagine the president is pleased, maybe even relieved, to get something over the line. Today, we take a momentous step, one that has never been taken befor with china, toward a future of fair and reciprocal trade as we sign phase one of the historic trade deal between the United States and china. Together we are righting the wrongs of the past and delivering a future of economicjustice and security for american workers, farmers and families. As we said earlier this the first phase in ending the trade war which has now been going on for a year and a half and with tariffs still in place theres a long way to go yet. Samira hussain reports from pennsylvania on how it has affected us companies so far. Relief cant come soon enough for workers at the sawmill in pennsylvania. Where china tariffs on us word, retaliation against chinese goods, business set up a0 . This plant alone let go of 15 people. It now only rents one shift a day. 66 employees here this is their lives, our lives. We come to work every day to make a great product, and if we cant sell our product we wont be able to make our product. Northwest hardwoods which operates the mill has had to close operations in several states. The ceo says if they trade war doesnt end soon it could be the end of the American Timber industry. Jobs that are being severely impacted of those Rural Communities that have been built around the sawmills for decades. That will continue to feel the brunt of the impact of a lack of trade with china. President trump and president xi has agreed to a truce which should be good news for Companies Like northwest hardwood. But executives and workers across america may be left wondering at the end of the trade war, was it worth fighting it in the first place . Some relief there. It is only a partial deal however. The last ten years were the hottest on record around the world, thats the conclusion of the met office, nasa and other meteorological agencies. Measurements also reveal that last year was the second warmest year since records began, and the heat is set to continue to rise unless action is taken. 0ur science correspondent, rebecca morelle, has more. From the heatwaves across europe that saw the uk hit an all time high of 38. 7 degrees, to greenland, which broke the record for the most ice lost in a single day, and our oceans, which are now the warmest theyve been in human history, 2019 was a year of extremes. And this map shows how Global Temperatures have changed over time. Each decade from the 1980s has been warmer than the decade before. The last ten years have now been confirmed as the hottest since records began. Scientists say humans are to blame. Carbon dioxide levels are at the highest that weve ever recorded in our atmosphere, and theres a definite connection between the amount of Carbon Dioxide and the temperature. We are seeing the highest Global Temperatures in the last decade, and well see more of that. As Carbon Dioxide continues to grow, we will see Global Temperatures increasing. Measurements taken at observatories like this one show that our planet is heating up fast. Already, the worlds temperature has risen by 1. 1 degrees above preindustrial levels. Scientists though say we need to stop temperatures from rising above 1. 5 degrees to stop the worst effects of Global Warming but, with our current climate policies, we are heading for more than three degrees, and that would bring unprecedented changes. Higher temperatures will mean more heatwaves and droughts, sea levels would rise and rain would intensify, bringing more floods like the ones that hit yorkshire last year. What we have to remember is that the Climate Crisis is going to affect our economy across so many different dimensions, so its going to impact on health and already its impacting on health, its going to impact on food supply and food security, its going to impact on infrastructure, so we talk about critical infrastructure, the impact on electricity, the impact on schools and hospitals. Climate awareness is now higher than ever before, but Scientists Say its action thats needed, by cutting Greenhouse Gas emissions to net zero by 2050. This, though, will require huge changes, from swapping fossil fuels to renewables to drastically reducing how much we fly and rethinking the food we eat. But the extreme conditions show no signs of letting up, especially with australias fires, which continue to burn. The met office is already forecasting that 2020 could be another record breaking year. Rebecca morelle, bbc news. On a similar theme the scale of the australian fires has been captured from space. One of the astronauts on the International Space station, catherine coke posted a couple of pictures on twitter. The smoke from the wildfires, is now into the stratosphere and is expected to make at least one full circuit around the globe. And heres what is to come in a special season focussing on the planet, here on bbc news. Iam in an i am in an attack images show it is melting much more rapidly. The water is receding now but there are communities that have not been reached. These are sold in indonesia trying to clear a river. Walls of fire, 30, a0 kilometres wide. Trying to clear a river. Walls of fire, 30, 40 kilometres wide. Crumbling norfolk cliff, this could be the answer, a £20 million experiment. Throughout 2020 across bbc news they will be special cove rage of bbc news they will be special coverage of issues affecting the climate and planet. Lets return to the us, china trade deal. Michelle fleury is live at the white house for us this is phase one so there is a place from the chinese to buy a lot of American Goods but is everything thatis of American Goods but is everything that is buried in the future phase two that is going to cause problems. Yes, but is the thing. All of the contentious stuff has been left out of this phase will allow for the second round of negotiations and that has led to scepticism in both sides that anything can be done at all. Today, the focus was on the pmp all. Today, the focus was on the pomp and ceremony of this signing away had a chinese delegation there alongside President Trump. Key figures from his administration, the commerce secretary to the transportation secretary, also figures from industry hailing but donald trump sees as a victory for him on trade, and his pledge to the electorate in america which is to bring back american jobs and american industry. And to deal with what he sees as unfair trade policies around the world. That has been part of his confrontation with china, this is a first ever trying to address that. Michelle, to get back to that piece from pennsylvania, that in the factory where they have had to lay off 15 people, they have seen sales fall by a0 , how much impact whale what has been signed today have on those people . I think that is a key question. While this deal stops new ta riffs question. While this deal stops new tariffs being introduced that are on the books, that were planned, it leaves plenty in place. That was something that the trade secretary was asked about because you have many trade, many tariffs on goods are still in place and yet you have this commitment is from china to buy more American Goods and services. Whats with those goods and services be if they are subject to tariffs . 0ne be if they are subject to tariffs . One of the key things we learnt is that they will be exemptions. Specifically, the word industry, the lumber industry that has been affected, they may get a carve out, an exemption that would allow them to sell more of their products to china and get around the tariffs. All of this we will have to wait and see how this plays out, the deal has just been signed, theyve got 30 days before it comes into effect and then youre going to have to wait to see how it is implemented. All of this will be in the detail and all of it will be if either side doesnt live up to this, can they enforce it . That has been a challenge when dealing with china in the past. Ok, but the americans would like is if the chinese to change their system, the chinese to change their system, the economic model. But we have away from. In a Surprising Development this afternoon the russian government resigned en masse. It came within hours of a state of the nation speech, given by the russian president Vladimir Putin, in which he outlined a series of changes to the constitution which would take power away from his successor. Prime minister medvedev made his resignation announcement can on state tv sitting next to the president. This is mr putins fourth term of office. He has four year left. Under the existing constitution, he would not be entitled to another term. Steve rosenberg was watching the resignation for us most countries, when a government resigns, that is a sign of a political crisis, but russia, putins russia, is not like most other countries. The system of power they have constructed here is often referred to as managed democracy, where the kremlin does all the managing. All the power is concentrated in the kremlin. Not in the cabinet, not in the government. So in a sense, it doesnt matter matter who the ministers are, who the Prime Minister is. Having said that, the resignation of dmitry medvedev, the Prime Minister, whos been Prime Minister for the last eight years, it should mean something. And it certainly feels as if its part of some kind of operation or some kind of plan which has been started by the kremlin. The aim of which, ultimately, is to leave Vladimir Putin in power after 202a. Remember, in 202a, hes constitutionally obliged to leave the kremlin, to leave the presidency. Theres been a lot of speculation here for months now that he may try to find some way of remaining in power, if not as president , then in some other form. Iam i am truly fascinated by this story. I am intrigued. I am truly fascinated by this story. Iam intrigued. Apparently, the i am truly fascinated by this story. I am intrigued. Apparently, the new Prime Minister is head of a ship is my tax service. He is reasonably unknown but he is quite talented. We had 70 from newsnight coming in and he did a deep dive who is coming in from putin, here is his tweet. I have never heard of him until today. Maybe we can get him on tomorrow. How many times has the government resigned en masse . It is tricky. Why did mr putin think about that . This is beyond 100 days. Still to come the duchess of sussexs father could testify against her, in her legal battle with the mail on sunday as he forms part of the papers defence. It comes as the dutchess and prince harry negotiate how theyll step down as senior members of the royal family. Nicholas witchell reports. Markle versus markle. As if the events of the past week havent been enough, there is now the prospect of the relationship between Meghan Markle and her estranged father, thomas, being dissected at the high court in london. The reason meghan is suing the mail on sunday for breach of privacy after the newspaper published a letter she had sent her father. Mr markle had given the letter to the newspaper. Unsurprisingly, in preparing its detailed defence, the mail on sunday regards Thomas Markle as its principal defence witness. Meghans half sister samantha has told the bbc, if he is called to give evidence, he will come. Meghans relationship with herfather reached crisis point at the time of her wedding. Mr markle, who lives in mexico, developed heart trouble and was unable to attend. Now the mail on sundays lawyers have revealed Text Messages between the two of them. In one, mr markle says. So what should meghan do . Media lawyers say the answer is obvious. You really dont want to go down this particular road. Whoever is advising them is frankly not doing them any service whatsoever. So, in snowy vancouver in canada, where meghan was photographed yesterday at a womens centre, there are decisions to be made. Harry, who appeared in an Invictus Games video, which was released tonight, is expected to join her in the coming days. Then the couple must take a view. Do they really want to begin their new life with a court case which would make headlines around the world . Nicholas witchell, bbc news. New footage has emerged which appears to show two missiles being fired at the ukrainian airliner, which was unintentionally shot down by iran a week ago. The images obtained by the New York Times were captured on a Security Camera in tehran. They show a first missile being fired at the plane, which strikes it before, about 30 seconds later, a second missile is launched which also hits the plane. All 176 people on board were killed when it crashed moments later. Rana rahimpour from the Bbcs Persian Service is here to tell us more. The story were telling last week is here you have the anti aircraft batteries on high alert, impulsively ina batteries on high alert, impulsively in a split second they pressed the button. But this belies that story . There is 30 seconds between the two stopped missiles being fired. There is 30 seconds between the two stopped missiles being fired. The question many people are asking is, whether the person or the commander who asked the person in charge to press the button realised between that 30 seconds that they had shot a passenger aeroplane . Was it truly a mistake as the iranian officials are saying or did they realise what they we re saying or did they realise what they were doing . There are so many questions. Unfortunately, the iranian authorities are not giving any explanation about this incident, there are questions about why the arena airspace was open, why did they fire twice at the aeroplane . Many say the reader should have shown this was a passenger aeroplane. They have cameras, heat sensitive cameras, should have shown this was a passenger plane with two engines. Everything would have shown they would have picked up it is not a cruise missile. The iranian authorities havent given any kind of convincing explanation. Foreign ministers acknowledged that people have been lied to. Exactly, the problem is the lies are not over. Even today, Hassan Rouhani spoke and said, yes, iasked even today, Hassan Rouhani spoke and said, yes, i asked the authority to be honest. He is the head of irans security council. He said he did not know until three days after the incident it was not a technical problem. He is not being honest and that creates a lot of anger. They talk about honesty but they dont show any honesty. And a separate issue, we had a statement from the iranian president today who said us troops are unsafe, tomorrow the european troops may be insecure. That appears to me to be the first direct threat he has made a european troops. You are absolutely right. They are increasing threats and this is the first sign that Hassan Rouhani is threatening the lives of european soldiers. He was angry today when he spoke, the foreign minister also spoke and he was clearly very angry. Toa to a certain degree they have a right to be angry, this was an international deal, the United States was pa Rt International deal, the United States was part of it, President Trump decided to withdraw unilaterally and iran says it isnt fair. Now europe is getting closer and closer to the british Prime Minister asking for a tramp deal which is completely unacceptable to the iranians. On the plane issue, they could be conspiracy theories quickly, you mentioned that the speculation in some quarters that was it a mistake after all if there we re was it a mistake after all if there were 30 seconds between these two missiles . How do we make sure conspiracy theories dont spread . What is the best thing the iranian government could do . What it is likely to do . Many people were expecting some transparency from the iranians but it seems that their tactics havent changed. We have heard from some of the revolutionary guard commander saying, may the reader system was hacked by the americans. Instead of coming out and being totally honest and open with people, some of these conspiracy theories are created by iranian authorities. In this environment of darkness and no explanation, these theories will come i think, get more amorphous of an important line coming and, crash investigators from canada have visited the site of the crash today and they will examine the wreckage on wednesday. That is from the transport minister. They have not been granted access to the flight have not been granted access to the flight and cockpit recorders. Have not been granted access to the flight and cockpit recorderslj flight and cockpit recorders. heard some ukrainian news channels we re heard some ukrainian news channels were reporting the ukrainian investigators havent been able to tap into the black box. There are so many questions around this and unlike what many leaders, including the canadian Prime Minister was hoping the iranians would come out and be honest about this incident, it seems the ad still trying to hide the facts about what happened. it seems the ad still trying to hide the facts about what happened. I was loved having the programme, thank you very much. We are just 16 days from january 31st, the day the uk finally leaves the eu. But how do you mark such an Important National occasion, when big ben is out service. And will it chime with national sentiment. Today, the conservative mp Mark Francois has announced he is launching a National Crowdfunding campaign by tomorrow to make sure big ben bongs for brexit. The government has refused to foot the bill. But it doesnt come cheap. Brexit supporters are going to have to cough up, if they want the clapper replaced in time. First theres the £120,000 cost of reinstalling the electric bonging mechanism itself, and the temporary floor needed in the bellfry to sound it. Then theres also the price of interrupting the restoration work, which could come to £a00,000 depending on the length of the delay. That totals a bill of half a Million Pounds coming to around £a5,000 a bong if the bell strikes 11 times. Were joined now by one of the campaigns coordinators, conservative mp Mark Francois who is in westminster. Is it worth the money . Yes, it is. Article 50, by law, we leave the European Union at precisely 11pm gmt on the 315t ofjanuary. After the history of all of this, some people wa nt history of all of this, some people want to celebrate, say may not, but for those who do, because we leave ata for those who do, because we leave at a precise time, just as our new years eve you need to look to mark the moment, it seems inconceivable to me and many of my colleagues that clock should be any other than the most iconic clock in the world, which is big ben. Half £1 million, a5,000 per bong . Which is big ben. Half £1 million, 45,000 per bong . Is it worth it . I think those figures have been inflated by house of commons officials who dont want to do it. Nevertheless, if it really is half £1 million and i have tabled some questions about that matter, then a 50,000 people gave £10 each, we could do it. I think this is such a historic moment in our islands story, it would be appropriate for the clock to chime just as it does on new years eve, just as it does perfectly for remembrance sunday. This is voluntary, nobody will be forced to donate. Lets see what the British Public think. The crowdfunding website was launched to 7pm this evening, it is being headed up 7pm this evening, it is being headed up by 7pm this evening, it is being headed up by stand for brexit, they are using go find me and and as i was on my way down here, donations are coming in at more than one a minute. If anybody does want to donate, that is the web link they need. What is it . Go fond me, dot com, forwards big ben, bong for brexit. Careful, christian might change it. This is to make an historic moment, not to pay for somebodys garden gnomes. Im going to cut you some slack. We spent over £2 million on fireworks fired over the london eye and some of that comes from london taxpayers money and not everybody celebrates new year and they raise money from tickets. That is my other question, if you dont get to the 500 thousand pounds you need, why cant you charge people for tickets for the brexit party . You are quite right at the fireworks for new years eve of which big ben chimes, with over £2 million and most of that was paid for by council taxpayers. That was public money. We are saying this isnt going to cost the public a penny. In taxpayers money, it is entirely voluntary. Lets see what happens. Ive got a funny feeling we are going to hit their target. If we mess, help the heroes will get the money. We are going to crash the bong we have to go. Compared to the stormy conditions we had earlier in the week, it has been acquired a story. The study for the northern part of the uk, since i was around but many areas got to see some sunshine. This evening, the next system will start to work its way in. It is an area of low pressure developing in the atlantic. For many, we finished the day with clear skies and gradually as the night progresses this band of rain pushes into Northern Ireland and western scotland, the showers was fading before this rain pushes in. Well we have a clear skies it will be chilly initially out of the west, particularly temperatures will start to rise as we draw up milder so that the air. This is how thursday was mike shaping up. It is going to be wet and windy across the board, heavy rain accompanied by gales for irish sea coast and up to the west coast of scotland, windy everywhere as this rain transfers eastwards through the day. Perhaps staying fine and dry during Daylight Hours for east anglia and the far south east. Temperatures remain above average. That band of rain clears eastwards as we had through thursday night, we had under the influence of this area of low pressure and it is closest to that area of low pressure through friday where we will have blustery conditions. Away from that, it is a clearing up day. A lot are fine and dry weather, since i was in the south which could be lively but they should ease and fade as we head through the afternoon. Temperatures down on thursdays values but weve got sunshine to compensate. There is change on the cards as we head into the weekend, it is going to turn settled. That means drier, lighter winds. For saturday, here is the game changer, an area of High Pressure that is going to be building in and becoming established over the uk through the weekend, through saturday, weve got a north westerly flow bringing in one or two so which could be wintry over the hills, parts of scotland but otherwise it is largely dry, lengthy spells of sunshine around, frost and patches of fog will be an issue as we head into the weekend. A good deal of fine weather around, temperatures a little down and where they have been but plenty of sunshine. This is bbc news. Im julian warricker. The headlines at eight. The world has just experienced its hottest decade on record with last year one of the warmest ever seen. The duchess of sussexs first public appearance in canada since last weeks shock announcement as it emerges herfather could testify against her in court in her privacy battle with the mail on sunday. Growing backlash over the governments rescue plan for flybe rival airlines line up to complain about what they call a misuse of public funds. Russias government resigns just hours after president putin proposes consitutional changes that could prolong his stay in power. Democrats vote to send two articles of impeachment against donald trump to the senate. And in search of answers a once in a generation clinical trial