hello. welcome to the programme. ajury in chicago has found actorjussie smollett guilty of staging a hate crime against himself. mr smollett, who is african—american and openly gay, was accused of orchestrating a homophobic attack against him by people impersonating supporters of then—president donald trump in 2019 to generate publicity after reportedly being annoyed by his treatment on the tv show he was starring in at the time. special prosecutor daniel webb spoke to media shortly after the verdict. unfortunately, that is not the rat we wanted. sometimes that is the wrap that you have to take to win, especially a case where we remain 100% confident in our client puzzling innocence. from the first day of this case, his case has been prejudged, his case has been tried in the media, and it is unfortunate, this is the united states of america, we live in a constitutional democracy where everyone is presumed innocent. 0bviously everyone is presumed innocent. obviously it would say that has not been the case. in social media, in the media, he has been tried and convicted before his day in court. i been tried and convicted before his day in court.— his day in court. i apologise. that was _ his day in court. i apologise. that was the _ his day in court. i apologise. that was the wrong - his day in court. i apologise. that was the wrong clip. - his day in court. i apologise. | that was the wrong clip. this was the statement by the prosecutor. a lot of times, people say, "well, police officers sweep things under the rug." this police department responded by absolutely testifying in this trial, that they took it seriously, they believed he was the victim of a crime and they worked so hard for the next three weeks, you saw — 26 chicago police officers spent 3,000 hours of time, costing the city well over $100,000 for a fake crime that never occurred — and by the way, a fake crime that denigrates what a real hate crime is. 0ur correspondent, nomia iqbal, has more of the details. in the trial, we heard from the two men who were accused in the first place of carrying out this attack onjussie smollett. they had been released and they justified againstjussie smollett. they are two brothers from nigeria and they claimed jussie smollett had paid them about $3500 to stage this attack. jussie smollett himself took to the stand to defend himself and he claimed that it was never money to stage an attack. he said that he had paid them this money for personal sessions, paid them this money for personalsessions, meal paid them this money for personal sessions, meal plans, workout plans that the two brothers arejim in structures, and he has maintained his innocence throughout all of this —— gym. as we heard there, prosecution is steadfast on this. they said this was something that everyone has staged to try and boost his profile, bruised his tv career, and after about eight day of deliberation, nine hours, he was found guilty on five or six charters. they said he lied to police and the jury.— police and the “ury. they say the are police and the jury. they say they are confident _ police and the jury. they say they are confident they - police and the jury. they say they are confident they will. they are confident they will win on appeal and get it overturned?— win on appeal and get it overturned? yes, they are confident _ overturned? yes, they are confident they _ overturned? yes, they are confident they can - overturned? yes, they are confident they can do - overturned? yes, they are| confident they can do that. jussie smollett has maintained he never did anything wrong, which is really interesting just how much this case has turned. at the time, when he claimed that this homophobic and racist attack happened, there was an outpouring of support for him, and we are talking about tv presenters, news presenters giving monologues and even the now vice president kamala harris, and that support soon turned into anger, and those people that once supported him accused him of taking advantage of the anger and him of taking advantage of the angerand pain of him of taking advantage of the anger and pain of racism, and his career has declined since then, but, yes, his team are planning to appeal, but if that is not successful, he does face prison time. is not successful, he does face prison time-— prison time. our corresponded in washington. _ here in london, an unofficial tribunal investigating china's treatment of the uyghur minority has found evidence of crimes against humanity and genocide. the findings detail systematic human rights abuses, including forced labour and torture. the chair of the tribunal, sir geoffrey nice, explained how women were sterilised without their consent and families deliberately separated. witness statements also described rapes and assaults in detention camps. pressure is growing on beijing after both the us and other countries announced diplomatic boycotts of the winter olympics. the us house of representatives has also approved legislation banning imports from xinjiang. human rights groups believe china has detained more thani million uyghurs over the past few years. here's the chair of the uyghur tribunal delivering the outcome. 0n the basis of evidence heard in public, the tribunal is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the prc, by the imposition of measures to prevent births, intended to destroy a significant part of the uyghurs in xinjiang. as such, it has committed genocide. the tribunal is satisfied that president xi jinping, chen quanguo and other very senior officials in the prc and ccp bear primary responsibility for acts that have occurred in xinjiang. we can now speak to sophie richardson who serves as the china director at human rights watch. shejoins us now she joins us now from washington. thank you for making the time for us. this was an unofficial tribunal. does it have any teeth? will it romped any change? i does it have any teeth? will it romped any change?— does it have any teeth? will it romped any change? i think the heafinas romped any change? i think the hearings and — romped any change? i think the hearings and the _ romped any change? i think the hearings and the verdict - hearings and the verdict announced today are powerful reminders that the chinese government continues to commit serious human rights crimes against xinjiang, across uyghur �*s in against xinjiang, across uyghur �*sin xingjong, and it is urgent for governments to come together to pursue formal investigations with referrals to establish legal institutions. that is the appropriate response to violations of this scope and scale. �* �* , ,., violations of this scope and scale. �* �* , ., scale. the bbc put some of the claims made — scale. the bbc put some of the claims made by _ scale. the bbc put some of the claims made by the _ scale. the bbc put some of the claims made by the tribunal - scale. the bbc put some of the claims made by the tribunal to | claims made by the tribunal to the chinese embassy here in london. they said some of the statements made were a pack of lies and said its latest attempt to slander china public policy on xinjiang and interfering in china's internal affairs. what do you say to that? i affairs. what do you say to that? 4' , that? i think if the chinese government _ that? i think if the chinese government doesn't - that? i think if the chinese government doesn't want. government doesn't want anyone interfering in its internal affairs, it should sign the roughly half dozen human rights treaties it has joined roughly half dozen human rights treaties it hasjoined —— unsign. theirfavourite unsign. their favourite responses to unsign. theirfavourite responses to dismiss it as a live if it actually had real concern people, it would allow independent investigators into the country to assess what is going on. really, the chinese government's responses around this crisis have now been shockingly disingenuous for several years, shockingly disingenuous for severalyears, it shockingly disingenuous for several years, it is precisely why an independent and legally binding initiative is essential. that is what the world does in response to human rights crimes. there is no reason that the chinese government should be treated any differently.— government should be treated any differently. this comes off the back of — any differently. this comes off the back of the _ any differently. this comes off the back of the dramatic - the back of the dramatic boycotts of the beijing winter olympics. will those have any olympics. will those have any effect on the chinese government's policy, or what else could be done?- government's policy, or what else could be done? they will certainly take _ else could be done? they will certainly take some _ else could be done? they will| certainly take some diplomatic lustre away from the games, the chinese government wants very much to use this as a way of demonstrating the legitimacy to the world and showing that it has genuine support. i think the diplomatic boycotts help chip away at the chinese government's sense of impervious nurse and impunity. it is the right step to take. 0k. it is the right step to take. ok. we will leave it there. sophie richardson, thank you very much for making the time for us. now to the uk. the drama surrounding the british prime minister, borisjohnson, has added fresh scenes and new characters. after the claims about the rule—breaking christmas parties, there are now questions over whether he misled an investigation into refurbishments at his downing street flat. if that wasn't enough, some conservative mps are furious over his new coronavirus restrictions. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg has this report. nightmares on downing street. behind every window, a different dilemma. what's the truth about last year's christmas party in the building? who paid forjohnsons' expensive interior design upstairs? how can they control another surge in the pandemic? and can they keep their own party under control? when thejohnsons moved in upstairs, they had thousands of pounds of renovations. when the lavish expenses emerged, this was the prime minister's claim. who initially paid for the redecoration of this downing street flat? he should know that i paid for downing street refurbishment personally, mr speaker. yet the tories have been fined thousands for breaking spending rules after a wealthy businessman tried to set up a special trust to pay for doing up the flat. the real tangle is whether borisjohnson has been straight about what happened. he told a previous investigation he hadn't known exactly where the cash came from until february this year, but today's report showed he sent a wealthy donor a whatsapp about the cash several months before. downing street's defence? it's suggested he knew this wealthy donor was overseeing the money, but not that he was directly providing the cash himself. boris johnson's taking the british public forfools. he's not only broken the law, but made a mockery of the standards we expect. and even though there's been tears and a resignation, number ten's hardly recovered from denials and non—denials about parties under its roof. i'm truly sorry... and tonight, confirmation that the director of communications in downing street, jack doyle, attended and made a speech at the gathering on december 18 to thank as many as 30 staff who were present. he's the man who's been in charge of denying there was a party. now, we know he was at the event, just one of three under investigation. thank you very much, mr speaker. willa formal investigation catch up with what really happened? not one, not two, but three what the government is still calling gatherings. a gathering at number ten downing street on november 27, 2020, a gathering at the department for education on december 10, 2020. and allegations made of a gathering at number ten downing street on december 18, 2020. but it's the emptying of offices next week, the return of tighter covid restrictions, vaccine passports to get into venues that's stirring strong feelings. dozens of tory mps have already vowed to vote against the plans next week, and this is all provoking private questions about the prime minister's future with a warning from the past. the mood of the conservative party is sulphurous, and what we need now is a bit of grip from number ten. it's no good having these stories dragged out by the media. the government needs to make a clean breast of it. the conservative party history is littered with ruthlessness on these occasions, but i'm confident that boris will get a grip. there is exasperation in the tory party about what's been happening, and near universal agreement that someone somehow has to take control of what's happening here. but a universal belief that that will certainly happen? that's a different matter. downing street will soon be home for a new baby girl, born happy and healthy to thejohnsons this morning. but what many conservatives also want to see is rigour and clear logic in residence behind that famous door. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: how's this for distance learning? the chinese pupils getting a science lesson from outer space. john lennon was shot at the entrance to the dakota building in the centre of new york. there's been a crowd here standing in more or less silent vigil and the flowers have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of this war ended at the walls of the old city of dubrovnik. this morning, witnesses said shells were landing every 20 seconds. people are celebrating the passing of a man they hold responsible for hundreds of deaths and oppression. elsewhere, people have been gathering to mourn his passing. imelda marcos, the widow of the former - president of the philippines, has gone on trial in manila. she's facing seven charges of tax evasion, _ estimated at £120 million. she pleaded not guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to separate. a statement from buckingham palace said the decision had been reached amicably. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: a court in chicago has found the actorjessie smallest guilty of staging an attack on himself nearly two years ago and making it look like a hate crime. an unofficial tribunal in london finds evidence of crimes against humanity and genocide against china's uyghur minority. workers at a starbucks cafe in the city of buffalo in upstate new york have voted to start a union. starbucks decertified unions in the us more than 30 years ago, but campaigners say the pandemic and work conditions have been the catalyst for change. robert reich was labor secretary in the clinton administration and is professor of public policy at the university of california, berkeley. he joins us now. thank you for bein: he joins us now. thank you for being with _ he joins us now. thank you for being with us. _ he joins us now. thank you for being with us. how— he joins us now. thank you for being with us. how significant| being with us. how significant is this? i being with us. how significant is this? ., , is this? i think it is quite significant _ is this? i think it is quite significant because - is this? i think it is quite - significant because starbucks's entire business model has been based upon fighting unions, starbucks is one of the largest chains in the world, particularly with regard to coffee and in fact in retail generally and its workers get on average in the united states only $14 per hour — very, very low. working conditions have been the subject of worker complaints four years in terms of understaffing and having survived the pandemic and gone through that awful period, i think many starbucks workers, like restaurant workers all over america, like restaurant workers all overamerica, retailworkers, indeed, are saying to themselves it's time we were rewarded for our efforts —— for years. rewarded for our efforts -- for ears. ., �* years. you've said previously that starbucks _ years. you've said previously that starbucks takes an - that starbucks takes an antiunion approach. starbucks says it is not antiunion, they have sent us a statement that says for the last three months we have been working hard on creating the best possible environment for our employees. they support each other, they offer excellent pay and conditions, especially for the service sector. how do you respond to that? i understand that starbucks, _ respond to that? i understand that starbucks, for _ respond to that? i understand that starbucks, for the - respond to that? i understand that starbucks, for the last i that starbucks, for the last three monkeys, is lot in buffalo, particularly, where there is an activity has been centred, to try to stop the unionisation and dissent executives and managers into many of the stores and has hired new employees to delete the effectiveness of the present employees in terms of forming unions —— dilute. it is done very similar to what is on is trying to do across its is on network of warehouses to try to discourage unionisation. —— what gilke economics and behaviour, it really is an attempt to discourage unionisation —— what amazon. discourage unionisation -- what amazon. ., ., ~ ., ., amazon. you mentioned amazon, this is one — amazon. you mentioned amazon, this is one store _ amazon. you mentioned amazon, this is one store of— amazon. you mentioned amazon, this is one store of many - amazon. you mentioned amazon, this is one store of many so - this is one store of many so are there wider implications? i think there will be. the restaurant sector in the united states, especially the restaurant chains, have done extraordinarily well in this almost post— pandemic era we are in. there is huge pent—up demand, restaurants, well, starbucks's own profitability in the first three quarters of this year has been about $3 billion more than it was last year. it's executives are very, very well—paid. i think we're going to see more union activity and, indeed, what we are seeing not only in retail and restaurant but we are seeing in hospitals, in firms like kelloggs, even students at columbia university, graduate students who are workers at columbia university, all of them are beginning to strike. we are seeing more strike activity in america right now and we have in years.- and we have in years. three starbucks — and we have in years. three starbucks stores _ and we have in years. three starbucks stores in - and we have in years. three starbucks stores in upstate | and we have in years. three - starbucks stores in upstate new york voted on unionisation. 0ne voted for it, one is tbc but one voted against it. doesn't really send a strong message about heralding a new age of unionisation? it about heralding a new age of unionisation?— unionisation? it does in the sense that _ unionisation? it does in the sense that starbucks - unionisation? it does in the sense that starbucks has i unionisation? it does in the i sense that starbucks has done everything in its power, not just over the past three months but over the entire course of starbucks's extraordinary rain with regards to its business and its business model —— reign. it is done everything to discourage unionisation and the fact that it failed and there is this one little oasis of unionised workers in the starbucks train system is a huge, huge signal to other starbucks workers, to other workers around the country amazon workers as well, other workers who have been trying to unionise, that it is possible to prevail. unionise, that it is possible to prevail-— to prevail. we will have to leave it — to prevail. we will have to leave it there. _ robert reich, thank you. let's get some of the day's other news. at least 49 migrants have died after the truck they were hiding in crashed in the south of mexico. the accident, close to the border with guatemala, is a major transit point for undocumented migrants trying to reach the united states. a further 58 people have been injured, some of them seriously. local officials have suggested the driver was speeding when he lost control. the wife of republican veteran bob dole has been paying tribute to her husband as he lies in state ahead of a memorial service on friday. elizabeth dole briefly laid her head on his casket in silent tribute. she was married to the world war ii veteran and politician for 46 years before his passing at the weekend. new research on dragonflies has revealed that 16 % of the world's 6,000 species are at risk of extinction because of the loss of the wetlands where they thrive. conservationists say wetlands are disappearing three times faster than the world's forests. the actress sienna miller is the latest celebrity to win damages following claims of phone hacking by a british tabloid newspaper. she's accepted a substantial settlement from rupert murdoch's news group newspapers after accusing the sun newspaper of illegally obtaining her medical records, which revealed that she was pregnant. here in the uk, it's been an evening of cocktails on the sofa with old friends. the sex and the city reboot has had its uk premiere. it's been more than a decade since we last saw our favourite new yorkers, so have they still got it? don't worry — there's no spoiler alert required as lucy grey won't be giving anything away. ifind i find that if you have good friends in your corner, anything's possible. ten years since the last _ anything's possible. ten years since the last series _ anything's possible. ten years since the last series and - anything's possible. ten years since the last series and 11 - since the last series and 11 years since the second film, the less said about that, the better, and and just like that curry and the girls are back. honey, i'm home.— curry and the girls are back. honey, i'm home. most of them. kim carr's _ honey, i'm home. most of them. kim carr's samantha, _ honey, i'm home. most of them. kim carr's samantha, a - honey, i'm home. most of them. kim carr's samantha, a huge - kim carr's samantha, a huge part of eczema city, is not in this new series —— carrie. apparently because of a falling out with sarah jessica parker but other than the glaring omission and the new name for the show it all feels very familiar. if perhaps a bit more serious. ~ ., ., , serious. we are in a different cultural moment, _ serious. we are in a different cultural moment, we're - serious. we are in a different l cultural moment, we're talking about different things, we are dealing with different things. we thought how amazing to be able to tell these stories and not that we can solve anything, we cannot, but we can talk about it in the way that we did with women's sexuality in the first show. you know, we didn't solve anything, we just opened a door. it solve anything, we 'ust opened a door. , . . a door. it started with a conversation _ a door. it started with a conversation that - a door. it started with a conversation that i - a door. it started with a conversation that i had | a door. it started with a - conversation that i had with michaei— conversation that i had with michael in late march of 2020. and it — michael in late march of 2020. and it evolved into realising that— and it evolved into realising that there were stories that were — that there were stories that were exciting to us and the idea — were exciting to us and the idea of— were exciting to us and the idea of the family growing, the fraternity, sorority growing was — fraternity, sorority growing was exciting and seemed challenging and interesting and seemed — challenging and interesting and seemed like it was appealing to all the — seemed like it was appealing to all the people that you people we went— all the people that you people we went to some it was encouraging. we went to some it was encouraging-— we went to some it was encouraging. we went to some it was encourauain. �* ., ., ., encouraging. i've learned a lot from around _ encouraging. i've learned a lot from around over— encouraging. i've learned a lot from around over the - encouraging. i've learned a lot from around over the years . encouraging. i've learned a lot| from around over the years and ithink— from around over the years and i think she _ from around over the years and i think she is, _ from around over the years and i think she is, in _ from around over the years and i think she is, in a _ from around over the years and i think she is, in a funny- from around over the years and i think she is, in a funny way, l i think she is, in a funny way, learned — i think she is, in a funny way, learned a _ i think she is, in a funny way, learned a lot _ i think she is, in a funny way, learned a lot from _ i think she is, in a funny way, learned a lot from me. - i think she is, in a funny way, learned a lot from me. it- i think she is, in a funny way, learned a lot from me.- learned a lot from me. it was like meeting _ learned a lot from me. it was like meeting an _ learned a lot from me. it was like meeting an old _ learned a lot from me. it was like meeting an old friend - learned a lot from me. it was| like meeting an old friend you have not seen in 20 years and you pick the conversation right back up again. it was a special time in our lives and a special time in our lives and a special time in our lives and a special time in the city and the city has had some hard times and i hope we can shore it up a little. ifi hope we can shore it up a little. if i can be a small part of that shoring up, with a martini, ora tequila... 50. part of that shoring up, with a martini, or a tequila. . .- martini, ora tequila... so, is it any good? _ martini, ora tequila... so, is it any good? a _ martini, ora tequila... so, is it any good? a bit _ martini, ora tequila... so, is it any good? a bit like - martini, ora tequila... so, is it any good? a bit like the i it any good? a bit like the best cosmopolitans, the reviews are, well, mixed. but what about the fashion? is a style icon carrie still setting trends in her 50s? after all the years. _ trends in her 50s? after all the years, and _ trends in her 50s? after all the years, and all- trends in her 50s? after all the years, and all the i trends in her 50s? after all- the years, and all the changes, you're still you. hello, mothers. , lovers. lucy grey, bbc news. hundreds of schoolchildren across china have been taking part in a somewhat unusual science lesson. the pupils came from various cities in different parts of the country, but the people doing the teaching were a long way away. the bbc�*s tim allman explains. class begins and the children wait attentively, but giving teacher an apple may be a bit of a stretch — particularly when teacher is floating 400km up in space, wang yaping introducing her and her fellow astronauts from china's new space station. this is distance learning on a completely different scale. the three astronauts carried out a series of experiments in zero gravity, here comparing how buoyancy works both on earth and in space. some of the children even got to ask questions. "talking to the astronauts has made me interested in the universe," said this student, "and i dream about space." "i think we young people should also be ambitious and aspiring," said this boy, "and build our own spacecraft." after the hour was up, the lesson came to an end and the astronauts waved goodbye. as one official put it, they want to plant the seeds of space and science in the hearts of children. tim allman, bbc news. as always, much more on all of those stories on the bbc news website and the bbc news app. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @richpreston. from me and the rest of the team here in london, goodbye. hello there. thursday brought a day of contrasting weather conditions. glorious blue sky and sunshine in west sussex — nearly six hours of sunshine before the rain arrived late on in the afternoon. and as for friday, well, we could actually see plenty of sunshine yet again in many places. there will be a scattering of sharp showers and it will feel pretty chilly for most of us. however, as we head into the weekend, the story is changing. it will turn increasingly cloudy with some rain around but, more noticeably, it will turn milder. before that, though, this weather front continues to clear away. the winds swing round to a north—westerly and that's going to feed in some showers from the word go across the far north and west of scotland. it's going to be a chilly start as well first thing this morning with low single figures in the north. now, some of these showers could be heavy with some hail and thunder mixed in there as well and they will drift their way down through the cheshire gap towards the midlands but you can also see there's a good slice of dry, sunny weather to be found for many particularly sheltered eastern areas, central and southern england as well. temperatures generally around 4—9 degrees, so still a little below par, really, for the time of year. however, as we head into the weekend, here's the change. these weather fronts will start to push in and they're going to swing the wind direction around to a south—westerly, so that's going to feed in some milder air from the south—west and that's going to gradually nudge its way northwards for the second half of the weekend. it does come at a price — it means more cloud around. perhaps some early morning brightness in sheltered eastern areas. clouding over from the west with the rain pushing in, and some of it turning quite heavy along west—facing slopes as well. now, in terms of the feel of the weather, if we keep those clearer skies, 6 or 7 degrees for a time but out to the west, the milder air showing its hand — we'll likely see 10—12 celsius. then on sunday, it's going to be a rather cloudy, damp, misty, murky kind of day with outbreaks of rain perhaps threatening into the far north and west. but look at the temperatures — widely, we're likely to see highs of 11—14 degrees — that's just above the average, really, for this time of year. and that milder trend is set to stay with us for the week ahead, although cloud cover could be a bit of an issue from time to time. that's it. take care. this is bbc news. the headlines. a court in chicago has found the actorjussie smollett guilty of lying to police after he staged an attack on himself nearly three years ago and said it was a hate crime. his claims prompted an outpouring of support from celebrities and politicians at the time. an unofficial tribunal looking into allegations of human rights violations in the chinese region of xinjiang has concluded that beijing has carried out genocide and crimes against humanity. it accused china of torture, rape and religious destruction against muslim uyghurs and other ethnic minorities. and workers at a starbucks store in buffalo in upstate new york have voted to start a union. union organisers of say the pandemic and deteriorating work conditions have been catalysts for change. starbucks says it's not anti—union, but that the issues raised don't warrant unionisation. a very good friday morning to you. now on bbc news, it's panorama. tonight on panorama, we investigate some of the biggest private companies running our care homes. oh, my god. there is only one winner, isn't there, and that is the investment companies. families are asking how care home fees are being spent. they spent £125,000. when you're paying a lot of money for his care, i was expecting a little bit more quality. have some companies been taking too much money out of the system? typically, they pile a lot. of debt on the a company at high interest rates, i excessive interest rates.