president trump sacks his attorney general after she refused to implement his controversial travel ban. donald trump's team have defended the move saying he had to send a message to the civil service that it was not their place to challenge him. after last night's protests, more than 70 mps call for donald trump to be banned from addressing parliament if his state visit to britain goes ahead. downing street says the state visit is months away and no timings have been worked out yet. also this lunchtime... the road to brexit. mps begin debating a bill to trigger britain's exit from the eu before tomorrow's vote. should parents be allowed to take their children on holiday during term time? a legal battle is underway at the supreme court. silent epidemic as millions say they feel lonely but wouldn't admit it. a campaign's launched to tackle it in the name of murdered mpjo cox. hundreds of baby chimps stolen from the wild in africa and sold as pets. how the authorities are trying to clamp down on the illegal trade. and the primary schools letting their pupils wear slippers — as research suggests it helps them do better in class.

coming up in the sport on bbc news, claims that lord coe misled mps as questions grow over what he knew and when over the russian doping scandal. good afternoon, and welcome to the bbc news at one. president trump has sacked his acting attorney general, accusing her of betrayal after she told government lawyers not to defend his controversial travel restrictions in court. sally yates, who was appointed by president obama, had said she was not convinced mr trump's temporary ban on travellers from seven muslim countries was legal. richard lister reports. it isa

it is a battle over american values and it's going on all across the county. in columbus ohio last night it was met with pepper spray. in dallas, texas, there was a silent vigil and concern over what the future holds. we came from mexico. things aren't great there now. do deny something an opportunity to build a future seems completely wrong. the most significant protest came from sally yates, an abomb ma appointee asked by president trump to stay on as acting attorney general. she said it was her duty to stand for what is white. she was sacked within hours. a furious white house said she

betrayed her department and accused her of being very weak on illegal immigration. teeth ex-from the nation... this he can tiff order may be controversial but polling suggests at least half the country supports this ban against predominately muslim nations. these seven nations, one, they are not our friends and are not willing to provide the necessary background information on their nationals for us information on their nationals for us to even consider allowing them to visit our country. but washington's preparing for another day of con greeceal confrontation. democrats say the president's approach is causing chaos. if this continues, this country has big trouble. we cannot have a twitter presidency. we cannot have a twitter presidency. we cannot have a presidency that thinks, this sounds good and let's go do it and not think the consequences through. 7 go do it and not think the consequences through. ? in a sign of

the unusual time, the former president broke with protocol to say he fundamentally disdisagrees with the notion of discrimination because of faith or religion. there is a lot at stake. a hardline conservative who will influence the course of american government for years to come. congratulations, mr president. in ten days, donald trump has changed america in the point where it has been said if one of the biggest challenged faced by the eu in 60 years. the president of the european council donald tusk has called downing street says any visit by president trump is "months away", and no timings have been decided. more than one—and—a—half million people have signed a petition urging the government to cancel his state visit to the uk later this year. our diplomatic correspondent james robbins reports. say it loud and say it clear.

refugees are welcome here. they don't like the new president or his policies. they don't want him here as an honoured guest of the queen. there's never been so much public protest. the government is standing firm, its invitation to donald trump on behalf of the queen still stands though it was issued far too quickly. it is the government's role to make sure the queen isn't dragged into political controversy. i think they have to watch that dimension given the level of public concern about this state visit invitation. the state visit is the highest accolade the country can pay to a foreign leader. normally, it's offered after a us president has beenin offered after a us president has been in office for several years. and to issue the invetation in the first days of president trump being in the white house to happen in the next fewp months felt to me a bit premature, frankly. president obama

much more popular in britain, was in his third year of office when he was given a state visit in 2011. he'd been before on politically—focussed official visits but the pomp and pageantry of a state visit which delivers the coveted imagery. today, cabinet ministers were staying silent on the controversy. number ten are now stressing it's months away. prominent pro—brexit mps are behind the invitation. this is an important state visit in the national interests. it represents the recognition in this country of united states in relation to the whole of our foreign policy, united states in relation to the whole of ourforeign policy, our alliances through two world wars and the whole of the brexit question as well. no date has yet been set for the state visit. but the petition against it is steadily gaining support. james robbins bbc news. the president of the european

council donald tusk has called president donald trump a "threat" to the european union. in a strongly worded letter to member states, mr tusk said america had joined russia, china and radical islam among threats to europe — and called on europeans to stick together. our europe correspondent damian grammaticas is in brussels. it was. what's interested is that donald tusk has done this just before a meeting of european leaders at the end of the this week. he chairs those sum its. he prides himself on being a tough talking, straight talking sort of chairman of those meetings. likes to lay out what he sees as the biggest issues facing the eu. he identifies threats externally, china assertive, russia, also the united states saying worrying declarations by the new american administration make our

future highly unpredictable. he talks about the new administration putting into question 70 years of american policy. there is a sense of real concern. some disorientation in europe about what the trump administration is doing. interestingly, mr tusk finishes with a call to say there are trade opportunities with europe to stand up opportunities with europe to stand upfor opportunities with europe to stand up for open trade too. mps have just begun debating the bill which gives the government the authority to start the formal process of leaving the eu. the legislation allows for the triggering of article 50. it looks set to be approved in a vote tomorrow, with labour mps being told byjeremy corbyn that they should back the bill. but some labour mps say they will join the snp in voting against it. our political correspondent ian watson reports. the phoney war is over. the courts have given parliament a say over whether and when britain leaves the european union. now mps have to nail

their colours to the mast. are they going to argue over what type of brexit they want or oppose it entirely? the government's warning mps who vote against triggering article 50, the formal process of leaving the e. will be defying the will of the people. the core of this bill lies a very simple question. do we trust the people or not? the democratic mandate is clear. the electorate voting for a government to give them a referendum. parliament voted to hold the referendum. people voted in that referendum. people voted in that referendum and we are now honouring the result of that referendum. referendum and we are now honouring the result of that referendumm the result of that referendumm the legislation to leave the eu were compared to say, a train, it would bea compared to say, a train, it would be a eurostar on a fast—track. mps getjust be a eurostar on a fast—track. mps get just two days be a eurostar on a fast—track. mps getjust two days of debate this week, three days next and the government hopes it will all get through the house of lords by early march. if you were to stand here at the very heart of parliament at any

time over the last quarter of a century, you'd meet plenty of tory mps who are willing to defy their party line on europe. but, over the next two days of debate, it is labour's divisions which will be on display. jeremy corbyn has already lost two thames of his top team. i'm told three shadow cabinet members are considering whether to resign over his instructions to trigger article 50. reasons around two dozen former ministers and shadow ministers areally to rebel too. one is the man who challenged jeremy corbyn for the leadership. i asked him why he's still defying him?|j think him why he's still defying him?” think brexit will make our country poorer, our politics meaner. i think some of us need to stand up for the public and against this headlong rush to leave the european union and send us over the can cliff. other opposition parties will attempt to stop britain's exit from the eu in

its tracks. we need to stop it and that's why we won't give the uk government carte blanch to do what he wants in relation to the brexit negotiations. many of the conservative mps who have qualms over brexit are flagging up they won't rebel now. the prime minister said mps will get a final vote at the end of the process. this bill we're considering this week and next isa we're considering this week and next is a process to trigger the notice. so, expect a lively debate in parliament but don't expect a major upset. iain watson, bbc news. we can. our assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster. two days of debate. then the vote. they're getting two days of debate. then the vote. they‘ re getting through two days of debate. then the vote. they're getting through this quickly? they are but david davis seemed to have lost his voice a bit. he'll need it over the next few days. he's facing an almighty parliamentary tussle over the timing and the way this legislation is being fast—tracked through with three days. over 100 amendments have

been put down to try to shape mrs may's approach to brexit. anger too this paper the government first promised back in december setting out mrs may's plans for brexit still hasn't been produced. i don't know if you read the pavement eano or dandy, when dennis the menace was involved in a bust uhf, there were fists and grunts and groans and shouts. that's going to happen in the commons. yet theresa may will emerge unscathed. she'll have her bill in the timetable she wants. why? her opponents are divided. tory rebels do not want to fight. now, in the house of lords, they fear if they try to defy the result, it will provoke demands for scrapping the house of lords. jeremy corbyn has told his mps to back the legislation. so confident is mrs

may, her people think she can get the bill through by march 9th. weeks before her end of march deadline. thank you. and you can see continuing coverage of that debate over on the bbc news channel. a legal battle over the rights of parents to take their children on term—time holidays reaches the supreme court today. five judges will hear an appeal by a council which fined a father, jon platt, for taking his daughter to florida without her school's permission. mr platt challenged his fine in the high court and won. our education correspondent gillian hargreaves reports. john platt, a dad from the isle of wight fighting his case in the highest court in the united kingdom, over a £120 fine for taking his daughter on holiday to florida. it's a shocking situation that if i lose today that any unauthorised absence of any child in any school in england, that a criminal offence will have been committed. warm seas, soft sand, trying to book a family break without incurring the big increase

in price that tour companies charge during the school holidays is a big challenge for most families. they shouldn't take weeks and weeks out of school but i don't think one family holiday per year is going to affect a child's education. it's a little bit too inflexible a system, i guess, because there can be lots of mitigating family circumstances. if it is during the school term and the rest of your class is coming into school and gaining their education, i don't think it is really fair that you get to take this time off. and the government agrees, saying even a few days away from school can have a big impact on exam results. but teaching unions think finding parents isn't the answer. it is important that children attend school, it is important heads are given the professional responsibility to make discretion and it's important schools don't get into conflict with parents over the issue of fining. better to engage and educate parents than have conflict with them. this morning, judges were told the case rests

on whether it is right to fine a parent for taking their child out of school, if that pupil usually attends school regularly. who doesn't dream of a warm summer holiday on a dank, miserable january day? the great challenge for the judges at the supreme court is to decide whether parents have the right to take that holiday at a time of their choosing. 35 schools have told the bbc they've revised their dividance since mr platt's case went to court. gillian hargreaves, bbc news. our top story this lunchtime. president trump sacks his attorney general after she refused to implement his controversial travel ban. coming up — could wearing slippers to school help pupils do better in class? coming up in the sport at half past: chelsea meet liverpool in one of seven premier league matches tonight. jurgen klopp's side have

lost their last three games in a row as they prepare to face the premier league leaders. it's being called the silent epidemic. more than nine million people privately admit that they are always or often lonely, but most would never admit that in public. that's according to research carried out ahead of the launch today of a new campaign to tackle loneliness. it's being set up in the name of the murdered mpjo cox and will look for practical solutions to tackle the problem. tim muffett reports. it is a horrible problem. you sort of go down and down and down with a loss of confidence. sandra's loneliness was all—consuming. loneliness leads to other things. it affects your mental health and things like that. it makes you depressed. how bad did things get for you?

really bad. really bad where i did not want to live any more. made aware of her isolation, sandra was visited by her mp, jo cox. i wanted to speak tojo and talk about the elderly being lonely, isolated, ill, nobody going to their homes. she was really shocked, i thought. she was really listening, you know, intense. i think she looked a bit upset as well. jo cox began setting up a cross—party commission on loneliness to help tackle the issue when she was murdered. it was one of those issues... today, with the backing of her family, it is officially launched. we have had very dark days and very dark times, as you would expect. but actually we are not going to be beaten by what happened. and for me, i have decided i am going to come out fighting and i am

going to try and make some of the changes and differences jo cannot make for herself any more. the idea is politicians, charities and other organisations work together to help those who feel isolated. we were like that from being kids. the people is what we cared about, i cannot be back to normality because there is no normality withoutjo but what i can do is try and work to continue some of the good stuff she did and try and make her proud. more than nine million people, around a fifth of the uk adult population, often feel lonely, according to one study. the impact on health can be profound. but admitting loneliness is a problem can be difficult. sandra contacted the royal voluntary service, one of 13 organisations

supporting thejo cox loneliness commission. volunteers like victoria take time out to visit lonely people. the impact can be profound. it is quite a simple at the end of the day. i spend one hour in the whole week, i stop in on my way home from work. it is no extra effort on my part but the benefit people get out of it will be massive in terms of what you can do. they'll try and help if they can, really, really nice people. start a conversation — the motto of the new loneliness commission is simple. it is hoped it will be effective. tim muffett, bbc news. new e—mails which have just been released appear to show that lord coe was aware of corruption

allegations in his sport before they we re allegations in his sport before they were made public. the head of world athletics had told parliamentary select committee that he was unaware of the specific claims of a russian doping scandal. our sports editor dan roan is at the bbc‘s sport centre. he is the most powerful man in world athletics. this stems back to an appearance, evidence he gave to a parliamentary select committee in september of 2015. he was asked then about what he knew exactly and when about what he knew exactly and when about the great russian corruption scandal that rocked the sport to its foundations the previous year. those allegations first became public in a documentary aired in germany in december of 2014. coe said he wasn't aware of the specific allegations but then the problems began for him, effectively in three stages. first of all, the bbc panorama programme last summer revealed that the former runner david bedford had sent an e—mail to coe with attachments detailing concerns about those allegations. coe said in response he hadn't ever opened the attachments, he forwarded the e—mail on to the ethics committee. therefore, he didn't mislead parliament. however,

then bedford appeared in front of then bedford appeared in front of the parliamentary committee and said he was surprised and disappointed to hear that and now today this e—mail has been revealed that coe sent to the head of the iaaf committee in which he said he was aware of the allegations four months before that german documentary. now coe importantly says that doesn't constitute a discrepancy. he wasn't specifically asked about timing by those mps but the head of the parliamentary committee has today said he finds coe's defence and an excuse and it is clear he withheld effectively certain relevant information. thank you. more than 600 women in russia are killed in their home every month, victims of domestic abuse. despite that, new laws are expected to be passed that reduce the penalty for those found guilty of abusing their partners. it means first—time offenders, whose victims don't need hospital treatment, will no longer face a prison sentence. the move was presented as a way of protecting the family unit but some fear it sends a dangerous signal —

that violence in the home is acceptable. sarah rainsford reports from moscow. marina tells me her story in a quiet, calm voice but the details are horrific. her husband beat her almost every day for over a year. she's in hiding now, so we've disguised her identity. marina's heels still have metal plates in them. they were shattered when her husband pushed her through the window of their flat. translation: he came home one night and started to strangle me. when i ran, he shoved me and ifell from the second floor. i broke both my feet, my lower ribs and when i got out of hospital he carried on beating me in my wheelchair. but in parliament last week, as contenders for miss university were posing for photographs, deputies were reducing the penalty for domestic abuse. there'll now be a fine for abusers, not a prison term, if the victim is not seriously hurt.

the proposal sailed through with talk of protecting families from interference. i think that government shouldn't tell men and women how to behave with each other and in this case it's like you are sleeping in bed with your wife and a lawyer and some human rights organisation. those who work with victims of violence are worried, though. with so little protection in law, there are also very few places here where women who are suffering from abuse can actually run to. there are just two state—run shelters here in moscow and then this place is run by a charity and helped by the church. for women whose situations have become a crisis, places like this are a really important refuge. this is where marina is staying for now with four other families. the director tells me women get help here to rebuild their lives and advice on pressing charges if they want to but that was hard

even before the law changed. translation: maybe one in 1,000 women manages to bring her case to court and now the maximum punishment is a fine, so if the woman goes home she has no protection and her husband can take his revenge. marina has a newjob and says she's starting to feel safe again but she's now battling for custody of her youngest child, left behind when she ran for her life. marina's oldest daughter escaped with her. she smiles as we chat and she names all the cows here at the farm. but her mum says she still cries herself to sleep at night and marina fears stopping the kind of abuse her family suffered just got even harder here. sarah raynsford, bbc news, moscow. hundreds of baby chimpanzees have been seized from the wild in west africa over the past decade and sold as pets in places like

the gulf and china. a year—long investigation by bbc news has exposed a global network of traffickers who are trading the animals. our science editor david shukman is here. explain what you found. yes, we went undercover with colleagues posing as buyers, dealing with traders who we re buyers, dealing with traders who were offering us baby chimpanzees we uncovered a series of connections where poachers go out and catch infa nt where poachers go out and catch infant chimpanzees who then sell them to middlemen, buyers, who then have connections in airlines, in airports with corrupt officials who sell them export permits. ultimately, you reach buyers, wealthy enough to pay £10,000 for a baby chimpanzee in china or thailand. it seems a very exotic thing to have a baby chimpanzee and they are adorable, but it is fuelling demand which trickles back

to thejungle. fuelling demand which trickles back to the jungle. we uncovered there are these connections, a secret international network with one of the cruellest forms of wildlife crime. we hear a lot about the slaughter of elephants and rhino for their tusks and horns, but this is a different kind of crime, because to get one infant chimpanzee alive out of thejungle get one infant chimpanzee alive out of the jungle you generally have to kill its family. typically that means up kill its family. typically that means up to ten adults are killed to get the one infant ready for trade. what can authorities do? there are laws about it. there is an international treaty, a convention which most countries have signed up to. it's illegal to sell chimpanzees commercially. but there are ways around that. you can buy the export permits that allow you to do it. i think the absolute key thing is to try and choke off demand. we have seen try and choke off demand. we have seen how china over christmas announced that it was banning all trade in ivory. wildlife campaigners seen trade in ivory. wildlife campaigners seen this as absolutely key for helping stop the slaughter of elephants. if people can be persuaded not to buy a baby chimp,

maybe it will make a difference back in thejungles. maybe it will make a difference back in the jungles. thank you. he's been in charge of the tardis for just over three years but now peter capaldi has announced he's quitting his role as dr who. the actor who became the 12th timelord in 2013 said it had been cosmic, but it was time to move on. our entertainment correspondent lizo mzumba reports. from his very first scene in 2013 peter capaldi gave the impression it was a role he had dreamed of playing for years. in fact, was a role he had dreamed of playing foryears. infact, he had. a lifelong fan he had even written to the radio times when he was 15 praising the show. now he has decided it is time to leave.” praising the show. now he has decided it is time to leave. i feel sad. i love dr who. it's a fantastic programme to work on. i feel it is time for me to move on to different challenges. he brought his own unique versatility to the part,

sometimes playful. occasionally sinister.” sometimes playful. occasionally sinister. i will do my best. but i strongly advise to you keep out of my way. you will find it's a very small universe when i am angry with you. sglp he has been a popular doctor with fans, the crowds that turned out for the screening of his first episode we re the screening of his first episode were as big as those for some film premiers and this appearance in mark america one of many overseas trips where he has helped it into an international brand. this is clara... i am his carer. along the way he has met plenty of old enemies. and he will be teaming up with a new companion for his final season that starts in april. where are we? in the middle of a war. i am the doctor, i will save

all your lives and when i do you will spend them wondering who i was. he will leave in this year's christmas episode so now there is huge speculation about who will be the next actor or perhaps actress to ta ke the next actor or perhaps actress to take on one of the best—known and enduring roles on television. a couple of primary schools in england have begun allowing pupils to wear their slippers in class, after research found it helps them to get better grades. the study from bournemouth university found children who attend lessons without shoes work harder and behave better. frankie mccamley reports. not what you'd expect to see in a typical classroom but gone are the days here of shining shoes and tying those laces — slippers and socks are in. this school in croydon is one of a handful in the country taking this different approach, allowing children to come into the classroom wearing just slippers or socks, but the real question is what do the pupils think? i feel more comfortable and ifind a new experience

of learning a different way. without wearing your shoes it feels more comfy and like you are in a house and you don't always have to wear footwear and it doesn't really feel like you are in a classroom, it feels wide and feels like you are home. without shoes it makes you feel like you are much more at home instead of being restricted. i don't know why, but ijust like to have my toes being able to... i don't know, be free. the science behind it all comes from a 10—year study covering 25 countries which found leaving shoes at the door created a calmer and quieter environment with children spending even longer in the classroom and teachers here believe it's working. going to work is about more than being able to tie your shoelace for a start.