This is the briefing. Im sally bundock. Our top story articles of impeachment against President Trump formally delivered to the us senate, with a trial set for next week. What next for russia as president putin unveils plans that could prolong his stay in power . At the start of a special season on the climate crisis, Sir David Attenborough tells the bbc more needs to be done to tackle global warming. We have been putting things off year after yea r. We have been putting things off year after year. Weve been raising targets and saying, 0h, after year. Weve been raising targets and saying, oh, well, if we do it within the next 20 years r u do it within the next 20 years or. The moment of crisis has
come. Ceasefire in the trade war the us and china sign a phase one deal, but huge issues still remain. A warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. Also in the programme mobile users spent more than 3. 5 hours a day on their phones last year making tech firms 300 billion. So wed like to know how much time do you spend . Which apps do you use most and why . Get in touch, just use the bbcthebriefing. The stage is finally set for the trial of donald trump, only the third american president to face impeachment. A few hours ago, the speaker of the house of representatives, amid much fanfare, signed the articles of impeachment. Theyve now been sent to the senate, where the hearings will begin next tuesday. From washington, ben wright reports. The trial of President Donald Trump has been triggered. A month after the house of representatives voted to impeach donald trump on charges of abusing power and obstructing congress, last night the democratic speaker of the house nancy pelosi signed the impeachment articles, a momentous moment that required many pens. The papers were then ceremoniously carried across the Capitol Building to the senate by lawmakers who will
prosecute the case against President Donald Trump. This is where the saga moves next for only the third impeachment trial in us history. So sad, so tragic for our country that the actions taken by the president to undermine our national security, to violate his oath of office and to jeopardise the security of our elections, the integrity of our elections, has taken us to this place. So today we will make history. Congress has already held hearings into Donald Trumps efforts to pressure ukraine into investigating his political opponents. Democrats now want new witnesses and documents to feature in the senate trial, but its not clear yet that will happen in the impeachment process is totally divided down party lines. This is a political impeachment. This is a political impeachment. This has nothing to do with the fact weve shown there was nothing done wrong, but that does not matter. When the train is on the tracks, the
whistle is blowing, impeachment matters and the only thing that matters and the only thing that matters on the timeline, the only real emergency here is that there is a 2020 election in which the democrats cant stand to see the fa ct democrats cant stand to see the fact this president is going to win again. President donald trump wont testify himself and is contemptuous of the impeachment process. They have a hoax going on over there, lets take care of it. He also knows hes as a backing of the republican controlled senate. The senate trial will Begin Next Week and its likely to widen further the political chasm that already exists in the united states. The republicans say this whole process isa sham republicans say this whole process is a sham that shows the democrats are out of touch with ordinary voters, the democrats hope this trial will prove Donald Trumps unfitness for office if, as the senate exec expects, equips him and chucks these impeachment charges out. Ben wright, bbc news. Russians and many others are trying to decide what to make of president Vladimir Putins unexpected sha ke up of the constitution. Theres a new Prime Minister, hes a little known tax chief, and more powerfor the state council, chaired by mr putin. Gareth barlow reports. Vladimir putin surprised almost everyone when he announced his proposed reforms to the russian constitution, a transfer of power from presidency to parliament, limiting future president s to two terms, giving the lower house more power to appoint key figures, and increasing the status of the state council, which he controls. Translation you cant help but agree with those who say the constitution was adopted over a quarter of a century ago, during a serious domestic political crisis. The state of affairs has changed drastically. President putin didnt just propose new powers. He replaced key people. The Prime Minister and former president , dmitry medvedev, is out. A little known technocrat is in. In one of his final acts, the pm said the government would resign to aid the changes. Translation we, the government of the russian federation, should provide the president with the opportunity to make the necessary changes. I believe it would be right, in accordance with the constitution, that the government resigns. Ministers were said to have been taken by complete surprise by the reforms and resignations. President putin, who must step down in 2024, said the changes should be voted on in a referendum. Translation considering the proposals envisage significant changes to the political system, i think its necessary to put the entire package of proposed changes to the russian constitution to a public vote. But what do ordinary russians make of the president s proposals . Translation i view it positively. Perhaps things will change for the better. Everything should be for the better in our country. People are quite tired of suffering. Translation its quite sad. It seems that nothing is going to change. These people have left, but they will be replaced by similar ones. Exactly how the president s plans will play out arent clear. What is apparent is that Vladimir Putin knows his time leading the country will come to an end, but that he is working to ensure hell retain influence and power for years to come. Gareth barlow, bbc news. Lets brief you on some of the other stories making the news dozens of people have been hurt in clashes between the Security Forces and Anti Government protestors in beirut, a day after demonstrations against banks turned violent in the lebanese capital. Hundreds of demonstrators rallied outside a Police Station late on wednesday demanding the release of more than fifty people arrested in the previous days unrest. 50. Seismologists in the philippines are continuing to warn of a possibility of a hazardous eruption at taal volcano despite a reduction of activity in the main crater. The Philippine Institute of volcanology and seismology say eruptions have waned to weak emissions of steam and ash plumes between 500m and 800m tall. Its now been five days since the volcano, around 70km south of the philippine capital manila, began erupting. Iran will today come under further pressure over the shooting down of the ukrainian passengerjet near tehran last week. Ministers from five countries whose citizens were among the 176 People Killed in the disaster will meet in london to demand a transparent investigation, accountability and financial compensation for the victims families. Jay z has sued prison officials in mississippi on behalf of 29 inmates whose lives he says are at risk. The lawsuit claims the mens lives are in danger because of understaffing and neglect inside missisippis prisons. Five inmates have been killed in prison violence in the state in the past two weeks. Major stock indices in the us have closed at record highs after the signing of a partial trade deal between america and china. The us called off some planned tariffs on chinese goods, while china agreed to increase purchases of american exports. Cornelia meyerjoins me now. Shes the ceo of mrl corporation, a business consultancy. She is with us for the briefing. Good morning, coniglio. Lovely to you. How excited are you about what happened yesterday in washington . Yellow its a step in the right direction but we are nowhere near there. The thing is, where i have a little bit of an issue is that
initially i had sympathy for donald trump when he tried to address things like intellectual property theft, state subsidies, you know, which make it much easierfor some companies especially in the ai field and so on to become dominant, the huawei debate, the opening of the financial markets, and this has been much more of a. We give you a reduction in tariffs and therefore you buy much more from us. 200 billion worth of it. And if you look at before the trade war, for instance, the agriculture was the biggest market for importing agriculture produce from china was the us and it has come down to numberfive. The us and it has come down to number five. This was clearly important. It did address some of the intellectual property issues but it didnt address the state subsidy issues. Those issues, the tricky ones to be resolved, havent been
resolved yet with phase one. That is phase two, isnt it, and what comes next, i guess. 0n phase two, isnt it, and what comes next, i guess. On this phase two, isnt it, and what comes next, i guess. 0n thisjourney the end destination is to have a more fair Playing Field . It is, and that would be a good thing. If they get there but theres ways of getting there. I would have personally preferred to a wto type arrangement, a neutral arbiter in between, but at least they are moving in the right direction. Markets are clever. Markets will not. They will assess things in the correct way. On a daily basis. On a daily basis. It all changes incredibly quickly. Thank you very much, cornelia. She will be back for our news briefing later. Britains prince harry will make his first public appearance today since he, and his wife meghan, announced they will be stepping back from their roles as senior royals. The duke of sussex will conduct the draw for the 2021 Rugby League World cup. Jon donnison has more. Prince harry, seen here at the challenge cup final last summer, is patron of the Rugby Football League. Today his first public appearance since he and his wife announced they wa nt to since he and his wife announced they want to step from their roles as senior royals will be to host the draws for the Rugby League World cup to be held in england in 2021. Rugby league isntjust a support, its a community. In the runup to the tournament, harry is launching a charter to look at Mental Health within the sport. Something like a Mental Fitness charter will help us make Real Progress in getting rid of the stigma associated with Mental Illness and remind people that it is not just about being illness and remind people that it is notjust about being physically illness and remind people that it is not just about being physically fit but more importantly mentally strong. So prince harry is not stepping back from a public role just yet. He also appeared in an Invictus Games video, released last night. The 2022 invictus will travel to a
new country. How much of this kind of thing the sussexes will be doing in the future remains unclear. Meghan is now in canada, where she was photographed ata canada, where she was photographed at a local womens centre. It might provide some respite from the headlines at home and questions over whether the duchesss of father might testify against her in her lawsuit against the mail on sunday. Prince harry is expected to join his wife in canada next week. Jon donnison, bbc news. Stay with us on the briefing, still to come sri lankas tea growers struggle to produce theirfamous brew as prices fall while costs go up. Day one of Operation Desert Storm to force the iraqis out of kuwait has seen the most intense air attack since the second world war. Tobacco is americas oldest industry and its one of its biggest,
but the industry is nervous of this report. This may tend to make people want to stop smoking cigarettes. There is not a street that is unaffected. Huge parts of kobe were simply demolished as buildings crashed into one another. This woman said she had been given no help and no advice by the authorities. She stood outside the ruins of her business. Tens of thousands of black children in south africa have taken advantage of laws passed by the countrys new multiracial government and enrolled at formerly white schools. Tonight sees the 9,610th performance of her long running play, the mousetrap. When they heard of her death today, the management considered whether to cancel tonights performance, but Agatha Christie would have been the last person to want such a thing. Youre watching the briefing. 0ur headlines key impeachment documents have been
signed and sent to the us senate which will put President Trump on trial for abuse of power and obstruction of congress. President putin has proposed changes to the russian constitution that could enable him to prolong his grip on power. Naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough has warned the moment of crisis has come in efforts to tackle Climate Change, and says we have been putting things off for year after year. The comments were made in an exclusive interview with science editor david shukman, which launches a year of special coverage on Climate Change on the bbc. The fires in australia are ferocious, out of control and far worse than usual. Theyve made headlines around the world. And scientists have warned that climate
change has made them more severe. Now, Sir David Attenborough believes agrees with them. As i speak, south east australia is on fire. Why . Because the temperatures of the earth have been increasing. That is a major, international catastrophe and to say, oh, something of the climate. Is probably nonsense. And because of the most recent talks on Climate Change in madrid last month ended with little agreement so david says that key decisions can no longer be delayed. We have been putting things off a year after year. We have been raising targets and saying, oh well, if we do it within the next 20 years or if we do it. The moment of crisis has come. Is new Research Says the melting of theice is new Research Says the melting of the ice sheets is accelerating and
extremes the ice sheets is accelerating and extre m es of the ice sheets is accelerating and extremes of weather are set to become more severe, so extremes of weather are set to become more severe, so david hopes the world will now respond. You can find out more about our plans for covering Climate Change, in 2020, at bbc. Com news or on the bbc news app. Well have the latest analysis and research from our correspondents who will outlining the major isues in the build up to the un Climate Change summit in glasgow later this year. A little bit of a relief for the firefighters battling the bushfires in australia. Rain has fallen on parts of south eastern australia, up to 80 millimetres of it, in some parts of new south wales, and its expected to continue towards the weekend. The hope is for slow, steady and substantial rainfall across all the fire affected areas. Dozens of injured koalas have arrived at the Kangaroo Island wildlife parks makeshift
animal hospital. The Australian Government rescue programme is intended to care for those injured in the bushfires that have devasted wildlife. The Australian Environment minister has said the countrys koala population had taken an extraordinary hit as a result of bushfires and warned they could be listed as endangered for the first time. Now its time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. Hello im Gavin Ramjaun and this is your thursday sport briefing. We begin with football juan matas second half goal sent Manchester United into the fa cup fourth round as they beat wolves. The spanish midfielder chipped over wolves keeperjohn ruddy to settle the third round replay after being put through on goal by anthony martial. Wolves had an early pedro neto strike ruled out by the video assistant referee for a handball in the build up. Manchester united will next travel to either premier League Watford or third tier tranmere whose third round replay on tuesday
was postponed because of heavy rain. I think you can see that there are two tea ms i think you can see that there are two teams there that towards the end we re two teams there that towards the end were tired. And to end an opening game at which sometimes doesnt suit us, we wanted to control the game but you dont get a easier draw next round if you win so i 0 but you dont get a easier draw next round if you win so 1 0 is enough and where delighted to beat wolverhampton. Fernando alonso escaped serious injury after rolling his car at the dakar rally in saudi arabia. The two time fi World Champion was able to contnue without a windscreen but fell from tenth to fourteenth by the end of the stage. His fellow spaniard carlos sainz won the stage and has a lead of more than eighteen minutes with just two days to go. To cricket and the third test between south africa and england gets underway in port elizabeth
in the coming hours. The series is level at one game apiece after south africa took the opening test, but then lost the second in cape town with a young squad which included five players aged 2a or under. England captain joe root says its important that his side arent complacent after their win. Gives us nothing going into this game other than momentum. We got to make sure that we follow that up from a young team, it is really important that we dont live off of that when for the rest of the tour. We sort of try and exceed it and ta ke we sort of try and exceed it and take this opportunity to get in front of the game and drive it home. The draw for the 2021 Rugby League World cup will be made at Buckingham Palace later this thursday. The duke of sussex patron of the Rugby Football League will be in charge of the draws, which as well as deciding the mens competition will also feature the womens
and wheelchair events, and therell be representatives from all 21 nations involved. The hosts england, along with the holders australia, the 2008 champions new zealand and the fourth ranked nation tonga have all been pre allocated to their groups and the rest will be drawn from three pools of four. And finally if you thought that playing snooker was a relatively safe past time, think again. Especially for the referee in the match at the masters between kyran wilson and jack kisowski. Watch the wasp on wilsons collar. He goes to take the pot it falls onto the table, wilson is rescued by ben williams who scoops it up and then it stings him through those pristine white gloves. 0uch. Thats what you get for helping out. A bit harsh there i think. You can get all the latest sports news at our website thats bbc. Com sport. But from me gavin
ramjaun and the rest of the sport team, thats your thursday sport briefing. Thanks to gavin. Trouble is brewing in sri lankas tea industry. The country is one of the worlds biggest exporters of tea. Its ceylon tea brought in nearly 1. 5 billion in revenue last year. But smaller factories are closing down because prices are falling as production costs rise. Anbarasan ethirajan reports from central sri lanka. A lush Green Landscape in central sri lanka. The world famous ceylon tea has been grown on these hills for more than a century and a half. Women workers carefully pick the best two leaves under bud. They need to gather at least 20kg of tea leaves to earn their full wages, less than 5 a day. The workers here are gathering all the tea leaves theyve plucked since the morning. Theyve been working for hours, wading through these Tea Plantations for miles to gather
these tea leaves. Theyre being weighed now and then these tea leaves will be taken to the factory. The tender leaves are dried and processed in factories like these. From bush to cup in 2a hours. But the industry has been struggling in recent months due to the Global Economic crisis and the instability in the middle east. There is less demand for tea and the payments are also delayed. As a result, prices are falling at auctions in colombo. Right now because of the very low prices, mainly the smallholder sector and private sector vendors are shutting down. That is directly related to the price of the tea we see at auctions. Surviving tea estates are facing another problem, they are losing their tea pickers. Despite working in these estates for many generations, many say life hasnt improved. Translation if i fall sick, then i have to stay at home. There are no ambulances here. Last month, i got bitten by a snake but i survived. Im living with my husband and three children in a small room in the estate quarters. Many workers are leaving the plantations to find jobs in urban areas for better pay and conditions. In the last three decades, the workforce has dropped by two thirds. Hundreds and thousands of people depend on the industry. For those involved in the making of ceylon tea, these are challenging times. Anbarasan ethirajan in central sri lanka, bbc news. The next person to play the spy will be male. The forthcoming film no time to die will be Daniel Craigs last outing as 007, and there has been speculation that his successor will be a woman. The rumours were fuelled when it was disclosed that actress Lashana Lynch is playing a female 00 agent after craigs bond has left active service. Who will it be . We will find out soon but in the meantime. Speculation is rife. And, tell me what you think about our talking point today the news that what we have been up to with our smart phones in 2019 and a p pa re ntly to with our smart phones in 2019 and apparently on average we spend 3. 5 hours a day on our smart devices. The games, the upper providers and Gaming Companies make a fortune from us on our Gaming Companies make a fortune from us on our devices. Apparently netflix and tinder are very popular. My netflix and tinder are very popular. My last year, what are you up to an argument the dead . She says good
morning sally from china, instagram, facebook, twitter are my favourites and mostly i use all the ups and i spend more than 3. 5 hours. That is one confession and in the business. Hello. Wednesday brought us a largely fine day with good spells of sunshine, but this brief window of fine weather is short lived because for thursday, the next area of low pressure will be moving in to bring another spell of wet and windy weather to our shores. You can see it here showing up on the pressure chart hurtling up from the south west. The isobars all packed together towards the west, so this is where well see the strongest of the winds. They will start wet and windy from the word go in scotland and northern ireland, snow on the hills for a while, and then the rain will pile into many southern and western parts of england and wales, gradually spreading eastwards, probably reaching many eastern areas just after dark. Some heavy bursts of rain likely, 40 50mph gusts, maybe more than that in the south west. It will be mild for england
and wales but it wont feel like that because of the strength of the wind and the rain. The wet and windy weather sails northwards on thursday night and into friday. Weve few isobars on the chart so less windy, that is away from the north of scotland. There will be a mixture of sunshine and showers. The showers will tend to fall in bands along minor weatherfronts, so we could see some pretty heavy ones. Scotland and northern ireland, snow on the hills, a few in england and wales as well, but good spells of sunshine in between. Those temperatures lower weve got a cooler air mass coming from the north west, so 6 to maybe 9 or 10 in the south east. From the north west, so 6 to maybe 9 or 10 in the south east. For the weekend, colder. Weve got High Pressure moving in so drier with sunny spells, but youll notice the chill by day and certainly by night, with return to overnight frost. You can see this High Pressure building in across the country gradually over the weekend. Still the low pressure to the north of the uk will bring windy conditions on saturday across scotland with some showers, some of which will be heavy, wintry, on the hills. Maybe the odd shower further south but for many, it should be dry with increasing dry weather on saturday afternoon. So, plenty of sunshine around but it will feel colder 6 8 will be the high. A frosty Night Saturday night with some mist and also some freezing fog, which could be slow to clear in places. Eventually it should lift in many areas and if it doesnt, it will stay quite chilly. We should be looking at lighter winds for all, plenty of sunshine for sunday. Something a little bit breezier and less cold heading to the far north west of the country, so nine or ten in stornoway, but for most, 6 8 degrees. This is the business briefing. Im sally bundock. Ceasefire in the trade war. The us and china sign a phase one deal, but huge issues still remain. Plus app happy mobile users spent more three and a half hours a day on their phones last year, making tech firms 300 billion. So who are the big winners from our global addiction . And on the markets, us shares hit new highs as the trade deal is signed, with the dowjones closing above 29,000 for the first time