Plus, why the naked man was given a Covid fine...
| Trump's lawyers deny insurrection |
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| | | Donald Trump may no longer be US president, but his impeachment goes on. The House of Representatives – the lower house of Congress – voted to impeach him last month for “inciting insurrection” before the Capitol riot. Today, his trial will begin in the upper house, the Senate – and Mr Trump’s lawyers say he was not responsible for the violence in Washington DC. Mr Trump’s lawyers argue that – according to FBI documents – the riot was planned days in advance, meaning he cannot have encouraged the violence. They also insist the trial is unconstitutional because Mr Trump has left office. It is a “selfish attempt” by Democrats to “prey upon the feelings of horror and confusion that fell upon all Americans” after the riot, they say. A two-thirds majority is needed to convict – meaning 17 Republicans would need to join 50 Democrats in the vote. Last month a bid to dismiss the case was backed by 45 of the Senate's 50 Republicans. Mr Trump will not testify. Read more about how the trial will work here – and read our North America editor Jon Sopel’s preview below. | |
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| Two tests after arrival for UK travellers |
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| People arriving in the UK must have a negative test before entering the country. After arriving, they must self-isolate for up to 10 days – and, from 15 February, people arriving from Covid hotspots must pay to isolate in hotels. Now, another layer is being added – all arrivals will be tested twice during their isolation. It’s not know when the tests will take place – but it’s thought it could be on the second and eighth day of isolation. The government says the tests will “provide a further level of protection” and “give us even more opportunities to detect new variants”. | |
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| NHS app 'has prevented 600,000 cases' |
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| The NHS Covid-19 app has told 1.7 million people in England and Wales to self-isolate so far - and ministers believe it has prevented 600,000 cases. Internal data shows 16.5 million people are using the contact-tracing tool. That's 24% below the number of downloads, as some people delete the app, turn off the contact tracing - or never even activate it. |
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| | | | | Don't expect the president's words to be the backbone of the defence. Instead it will focus on the constitutionality of impeaching a president once he's left office. The lawyers will argue that the weapon of impeachment is only to be used for a serving politician, not a private citizen (as Donald Trump now is). How can you use the sanction of removing someone from office when they've already left office? And this is I suspect the justification (fig-leaf, I feel sure Democrats will insist) that Republicans will reach for as their justification for acquitting Donald Trump. Of course, Democrats will point out the offence took place while he was president, and you don't get a free pass just because you've left office. Impeachment II will get big, big TV audiences - though they'd have been far greater if the president had testified, as Democrat impeachment managers had wanted. But the outcome - and here I feel the need to issue a spoiler alert - is almost certainly going to be the same as Impeachment I. He will be acquitted. | |
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| | Jon Sopel | BBC North America editor | |
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| | | | The Guardian, the Financial Times, and others focus on the effect of variants on the vaccine; the Daily Mail says its "Computers for Kids" campaign has passed the £10m mark; while the Sun says Mike Tindall has been claiming furlough money for his business - despite "being worth £15m". Read all the front pages here. | |
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| | | | | Myanmar Water cannon fired at protesters |
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| If you watch one thing today |
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| If you listen to one thing today |
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| If you read one thing today |
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| Need something different? |
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