hello, and welcome to "gmt" on "bbc world news." i'm stephen sackur. our top stories. president obama tells millions of illegal immigrants, you can come out of the shadows, as he uses his executive power to push through immigration reform. up to five million immigrants are freed from the threat of deportation, but the republican-controlled congress announces it as an abuse of presidential power. >> our neighbors, our classmates, our friends, they did not come here in search of a

free ride or an easy life. >> violent clashes in the center of mexico city as thousands vent their fury over the government's failure to discover the fate of 43 missing students. and at least ten people die in the northeastern u.s. as early storms dump two meters of snow in less than 24 hours. and aaron's here with all the business, including a look at the economic implications of that immigration change in the united states. >> stephen, you know supporters of obama's amnesty say it will bring more workers into the tax system and boost government revenue. but the critics say it will overwhelm social welfare programs. so we'll take a look at how the total estimated 11 million illegal immigrants are considered a key part of the world's largest economy.

a very warm welcome to "gmt." it's midday here in london, 6:00 a.m. in mexico city, and 7:00 a.m. in washington, d.c., where millions of illegal immigrants can come out of the shadows, as president obama put it. he has used his executive power to force through sweeping changes to the u.s. immigration system. republicans are calling it an abuse of presidential power, which could have grave political consequences. the changes will shield around five million people from deportation and allow many to work legally. under the plan, undocumented parents of children who are u.s. citizens will be able to apply for work permits lasting three years. there are estimated to be 11 million illegal immigrants in the united states. well, president obama's speech was watched closely by millions of those migrants, and one of them was astrid silver. the president even gave her a name check in his speech. the bbc was there to see her

reaction. >> tonight i'd like to talk with you about immigration. >> once you realize you're undocumented, and for those who know it their entire lives, you always live with the fear that immigration is going to come and take your family member. my name is astrid silva. i was born in mexico and i was brought to the united states when i was 4 years old, and i've been living here for over 20 years. >> tomorrow i'll travel to las vegas and meet with some of these students, including a young woman named astrid silva. astrid was brought to america when she was 4 years old. her only possessions were a cross, her doll, and the frilly dress she had on. still, she mostly lived in the shadows. until her grandmother, who visited every year from mexico, passed away. and she couldn't travel to the funeral without risk of being found out and deported.

>> my grandmother passing away was the moment where i just decided that i couldn't keep hiding because at that moepoint you're taught that what you did is wrong. you're taught that your parents wanting a better future for you is wrong, in the media, in everything. you're just told that what you did is something you should be ashamed of. and i think at that moment, i realized my parents did this so that i could have a better life. >> and today, astrid silva is a college student working on her third degree. are we a nation that kicks out a striving, hopeful immigrant like astrid? or are we a nation that finds a way to welcome her in? >> i know that the reality is that there is a congress that doesn't necessarily support immigration reform. but i think that they need to realize that for the betterment of our country, we have to pass an immigration law. they have to realize that they may be against people coming

here without documentation, but they don't know how the system works to where people have to come here. waiting to come here based on a sibling visa takes up to 14 years. it's just our system has been broken for so long that people like my dad who were coming here the right way, they're locked out of it because of something that a system that's not structured correctly. >> so there's astrid silva's take on president obama's announced reforms. let's look more closely at who is most likely to benefit from these changes. over half of all legal immigrants to the u.s. are from latin america. around 28% are from mexico alone. estimates by the u.s. government suggest this is reflected in the numbers of illegal immigrants, over 75% of them are thought to be from latin america. most of them mexicans. so, with me to chew this over is william marquez from bbc mundo. i know you followed this story

very closely. first of all, aside from the individual stories, like the one we've just heard, tell me how you think what mr. obama has announced will be received across the united states in immigrant communities, particularly hispanic american communities. >> well, it is a day of mixed emotions. obviously the fear of being deported has been lifted over about 5 million undocumented workers. also they'll be able to look for work in a more formalized way. on the other hand, it is a stopgap measure. it's not a permanent solution. it offers no benefits for them. he clearly said that they will not have the same rights as other citizens or visitors to the country. and absolutely no legal path to citizenship, which is the ultimate goal of the undocumented citizen. >> and that is what so many in the hispanic community and the united states thought that president obama could and would deliver for them.

but this is not it. >> well, at least opening a path, but obviously this really is more of a political move than anything else. >> now, let's talk in practical terms about how it might work. imagine we're talking about a particular illegal immigrant who has spent more than five years in the united states. he can regularize his situation by, as obama says, coming out of the shadows. but how will that work and do you think there are some people who won't necessarily want to come out of the shadows? >> look at it from their perspective. here's a person who's lived possibly decades working in the shadows and living in the shadows. now they have to come out, which if this doesn't last very long, then they can -- >> three years, in the first instance. >> well, it's at least until obama is in office. after that, anything can happen. but then they're exposed. also, this ought to cost some money. and these people are people who

live hand-to-mouth. when obama did something similar with the deferred action for students who had arrived there as children, they had problems trying to get the money to pay for all the documentation. >> we're just looking at some pictures of the border and of course people continue to try to enter the united states from across that mexican border. obama's message is partly, you know, we can deal with this now because the numbers are falling and that we are dealing much better with the continued flow of illegal immigration. is that really true? >> well, obama is on record as the president who has deported more undocumented immigrants from the united states. there's an economic element there, there's an underbelly to that which i will not go into. but you really have to in some way reform the system and offer something to the people who are already there. and the proof that more people are coming. i mean, most of the immigrants

aren't a national threat to the u.s. they really go there to work and to contribute to a system that would collapse if they didn't have that immigrant work. >> well, thank you so much, william, for that perspective on how this reform looks from the hispanic communities in the united states. just a little later in the program, we're going to look at the political fallout as well, because clearly republicans in the u.s. congress not happy at all. so that later. but now, let's switch to mexico. tens of thousands of people have marched in mexico city, calling on the government to find the 43 students who went missing in mexico's southern guerrero state two months ago. the disappearance of those students, which officials have blamed on local police officers linked to drug gangs, has angered many in mexico. this report is from vladimir hernandez. >> reporter: this is a small town near the coast.

all political parties are responsible, all state officials are accomplices, this woman says. this is what sparked it all. 43 students who went missing in late september. they were last seen bundled into a van by the police. this political crisis has revealed the widespread anger against the political system. mexicans seem to be fed up that there are tens of thousands of people missing since 2006 when this drug war started, and no one seems to be doing anything about it. there is still a lot of fear in this part of mexico. many don't want to show their ie de -- identity when they parties nate these protests. a corrupt mayor is now in jail in collusion with a police handed them over to drug cartel hitmen because he was fed up with their constant protests for a better life. but the parents, although

desperate, still think they are alive. >> translator: all of the parents are desperate. we ask each other, how will they be? where are they? are they eating? are they tied up? do they even get water? >> reporter: and now for francisco, it's back to the road again. they've been traveling for a week now, stopping at towns and caravans in support. there are three caravans like this one in northeast, and here in the southwest of mexico. daniela's brother is one of the missing, and being on the caravan gives her some comfort. she tells me that if she stays at home, she feels sad. but here, she gets the support of the people in the caravan. a uk-funded mexican project has been trying to make sense of why there are so many disappeared here. and also trying to find them.

>> i think it's also linked with a lack of political interest the country has had around the disappearance until now. seeing lies like never before, what's going on in this country for at least ten years. we know because of the police in guerrero that they have found something close to 100 clandestine mass graves, even though they have reported less than that. so guerrero is now a red spot, like an emergency spot of mass graves. >> reporter: mexico has become a country of mass graves in the last decade. many were found in the search for the 43 missing state of the unions. such is the scale of this problem that nobody really knows how many people have disappeared in this country. and most likely, no one will ever know. now, in other news, an outspoken chinese journalist has gone on trial in beijing accused of revealing state secrets. the closed door trial of gao you lasted just four hours.

she's accused of passing on a communist party document that warns its members against western values. she denies the charges. the 70-year-old faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if she is found guilty. britain's anti-european union uk independence party, ukip, has won its second seat in parliament. mark reckless was re-elected to his seat in southeast england after defecting from the governing conservative party. the result is a blow to prime minister david cameron, who's already promised a referendum on britain's eu membership if his party wins next year's general election. stay with us here on "bbc world news." still to come, a world famous london landmark which some regard more highly than the politics conducted inside it. but are the houses of parliament falling down? you owned your car for four years.

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welcome back to "gmt." let's return to our top story. the sweeping changes the u.s. immigration laws to the u.s. immigration laws pushed through by president obama. not actually through legislation, but by executive order. he's bypassed the u.s. congress. it's a tactic that has been used by a host of presidents before him, but it hasn't stopped the republicans on this occasion of accusing him of acting like an absolute monarch. so let's get more reaction from the united states. joining me from washington, d.c. is a correspondent with the national journal. you followed this immigration story for an awful long time. people have called the system dysfunctional for an awful long time as well. is this the fundamental reform that so many people believe is necessary or not? >> it's not even close to the fundamental reform that is necessary, although it's

possible that the president's actions could start the process of actually reforming immigration system. the problem with immigration in the united states is it's actually very difficult to become a legal permanent resident here. either you have to have an employer tell you -- you know, sponsor you for a visa, and that's limited. there's only 140,000 of those available per year, which means that some people are waiting in line for ten, 15, 20 years. the other way to become a legal permanent resident is if you're sponsored by a family member. but that only counts if you have not broken any laws, of which being here without papers is part of that kind of -- that broken system. so it's very -- as it turns out, this is the reason why the population of undocumented immigrants has swelled to 11 million in this country because there's really no way to adjust your status once you get here, if you don't get here through initial legitimate means. >> okay, so it is clear that those 11 million are not going

to have a pathway to citizenship as a result of this executive order from the president, but what they are beginning to have and what many of them are very happy about is the chance to regularize their situation. >> yes. >> and it seems up to five million of them will take advantage of that. my question to you is, on the politics. can the republicans afford to be adamantly opposed to this, and therefore once again positioning themselves, it seems, against the interests of hispanic americans? >> well, and that's the fundamental question. you ask a really good question, which a number of republicans that i talk to all the time are asking as well. i think that this is a really difficult issue for republicans in the united states. i feel for them in every way, because it's difficult -- they get nothing politically from championing anything that allows more people to come into the country. especially if it seems that those people broke the law. so for them, it's just taking a huge political risk, which they could lose their own personal seats for the same of perhaps somebody else becoming president. so what i'm looking for from the republicans is a way to go

forward, and the president has kind of offered them that, although they are incredibly angry and are talking about doing things like stopping the government funding process, possibly shutting the government down, which doesn't particularly bode well, but this is a really messy topic in the united states, and so it's going to be ugly no matter what. >> well, very quickly, because we're almost out of time, fawn. are we looking at another round of political gridlock? i mean, talk of shutting down government and everything else. is it going to get that bad? >> you know, i don't think it's beginning to get as bad as a government shutdown, but it's hard to imagine the gridlock that we've seen over the last couple of years actually shifting between now and the next presidential election. but that said, the republicans are in charge of congress, and that's a big deal, and they do need to come forward and show that they can do something, somewhat affirmative rather than just saying no to the president and calling him bad names. so we'll see what happens. >> all right. fawn johnson in washington, d.c. thanks a lot for joining me on "gmt."

now, extreme winter weather is continuing in the northeast of the u.s. not so much washington, but further north. and a state of emergency has been declared in parts of new york state. at least ten people have died. forecasters say the bad weather could leave some areas with nearly 2.5 meters of snow on the ground. alpa patel has this report. >> reporter: the battle in buffalo is on. this woman is standing on her car, which is completely buried. >> see, there's the door. >> nice. >> you wouldn't believe how long it took to find it. >> reporter: the extreme weather is continuing to disrupt everyday life. and here's why. the region has received as much snow in three days as it would do in an entire year. overnight, more snow fell, with some parts expecting at least two feet. it's not good news for the

emergency services, who have been working around the clock. members of the national guard have been brought in to help, to show his thanks, the governor of new york handed out pizzas. >> this is i believe the largest deployment of its kind ever. literally thousands of people from across the state coming in to help. >> reporter: but anxiety is growing, particularly over the amount of snow on rooftops. this is the fear, that the sheer weight will cause collapse with concern for those living in trailers. firefighters had to assist more than a hundred elderly residents from their nursing home in new york after cracking started to appear inside their building. the east coast has been particularly badly affected. but the entire country is in the grip of a rare cold snap with the authorities struggling to

keep up with the elements. but with temperatures set to rise at the weekend, attention is turning to a new fear. the thawing of so much snow could lead to widespread flooding. alpa patel, bbc news. now, we have some breaking news coming in, which actually is positive news about ebola. this from the world health organization, which has just announced that the democratic republic of congo can be declared ebola-free. now, drc has had its own ebola outbreak in recent weeks, which is separate from the outbreak in west africa. it has killed, it's believed, officials say 49 or so people in recent weeks. 66 people also infected all in the northwestern equator province of drc. but now, as i say, world health organization officials say that

they can confidently declare that the transmission period has passed with no new cases, and drc can be said to be ebola-free. so one piece of positive news about the virus there. now, it is one of britain's most revered buildings. a must-see for any traveler to london. but the palace of westminster is apparently slowly falling apart. from the outside, it looks pretty good, considering its age. but if you look closer, you can see the years haven't been kind. a bumpy history featuring fires and floods mean that some of the roofs are now leaking and much of the stone work is crumbling. the bbc's "newsnight" program has discovered that taxpayers may have to spend more than 3 billion pounds or nearly $5 billion to stop the houses of parliament turning into a ruin.

>> reporter: crumbling. sinking. the grand gothic palace of westminster has cracking masonry, even gargoyles so eroded their gruesome faces can't be traced. their basements hide asbestos and leaking pipes. our parliament is badly in need of not just a makeover, but a total restoration. some of the worst damage is on the famous skyline. it hardly even feels as if anyone's been up here for 150 years. that alone might tatter it properly. >> the building is getting older faster than we're able to deal with it. the end point of that would be that you just couldn't use the building. it would literally begin to crumble. we're talking about very intricate, priceless victorian artwork and books in this case, and they could be lost forever. >> reporter: the bill to fix it

will cost us all. "newsnight" understands the work assumption of the cost is 3 billion pounds. insiders believe the bill could run higher. mps might have to move out completely for five years. but is leaving it to crumble really an option? >> it's one building that everyone recognizes around the world. people come here to see the building. its power is intoxicating. it has to be done properly. be a model of how it was for the 21st century. >> an official report costing the different options is complete, but it won't be published until after the election while more research is being carried out. before a final decision is made, politicians will no doubt argue amongst themselves about how to proceed, but they'll have to persuade the public they're worth it. do stay with us here on "gmt." coming up in the next half-hour, we're going to have a special look inside the flash point town

of kobane. that is the syrian kurdish town besieged for months by i.s. fighters. we have an eyewitness account of what life is like inside the town. so do stay with us here on "gmt." winter arrived early across north america. the cold, the amounts of snow. but it will then gradually start to warm up over the weekend. that poses other problems. enhanced areas of rain. (receptionist) gunderman group.

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kobane is a broken city where remaining civilians survive alongside decomposing bodies. for how much longer will the agony last.

and we meet the man who's got himself quite a few disciples on social media by dressing up as jesus. aaron is back. and he's actually looking at how to create social media sensations. >> yes. we've all heard that phrase "going viral" and how youtube has turned someone from zero to overnight hero. now society is investing millions into professional studios from london to tokyo and across america. so stay tuned. because we've got a special report from this one, from its new york studio. welcome back to "gmt." for more than two months, islamic state fighters have besieged kobane in northern syria. it has become a symbolic front line in the fight against i.s.,

who control swaths of syria and iraq. now, given the intensity of the fighting, we've had precious few reports from inside the city. little has been known about the fate of the residents who stayed rather than fled across the border into turkey. well, joining me now from new york city is a reporter for vocative.com, and recently, lindsay spent the better part of a week actually inside kobane. so it was pretty rare access. i want you to give me your overall impressions. i called it a broken city. what does it feel like when you're actually able to spend time inside it? >> it's almost like a ghost town. a ghost town with a lot of shelling and sniper fire. everything's abandoned. so many destroyed buildings. and yet there are still so many civilians inside. >> sorry to interrupt, but that seems to me the most revealing and important part of what you discovered inside the town,

that, you know, we sort of described it almost as deserted, but it is not deserted, is it? >> it's not at all. there are perhaps 10,000 civilians still left inside. they're surviving on very little food aid, because very little is coming in from turkey. it's really a sad situation. >> i mean, literally, as you spent time with them, how are they able to eke out an existence? >> the ypg, the kurdish forces help them. they provide some food aid. i mean, they're all just kind of helping each other. and doing the best that they can. >> and this graphic account you gave of bodies left decomposing on the streets, are those -- those are fighters. i mean, the civilians are living obviously right on top of where the fighting is taking place. >> yes. and i.s. does not collect their fallen fighters, especially in

kobane, so you have corpses that have been rotting for two, three weeks and causing a massive sanitation issue. >> what about the attitude of these -- you say thousands of people who are still living there, their attitude to the concerted air strike campaign led by the americans. i mean, is the feeling that the bombing is helping, is working, or not? >> i think not so much when i was there. although they're all very pro-american, the kurdish civilians in town. but now there's been serious progress. and i think that they're starting to see that the town is coming back under the kurdish forces, so it's actually -- the air strikes are actually starting to be very effective. >> so as you were there, you got the sense that territory is actually slowly being regained by the kurdish forces, did you? >> yes, and when i arrived, some free syrian army fighters were

joining the iraqi peshmerga. and it was sort of like an influx of more fire power. since then, they've made significant progress, especially in the eastern part of the city. and now, i believe reports from the ground tell me that maybe 20% is under i.s. control, whereas when i was there it was 60% to 70%, so it's quite a significant change. >> lindsay, just tell me this. i said we get so little independent information out of kobane. how did you get in? how dangerous was it? and is it going to be any easier in the future do you think to get in? >> i don't think it will be any easier. i went in with a contact from the free syrian army. and a high-ranking official was actually going in and agreed to take me in. but we were some of the first foreign journalists, and it's still beginning to be very difficult. turkey really doesn't want anyone going in or out. especially not foreigners. >> how dangerous? >> very dangerous. very dangerous.

isis shelled the border as we were trying to leave, and we were basically trapped for an hour and a half until the shelling stopped, and we were able to run out. but very active combat. very dangerous city, absolutely. >> i think people admire journalists like yourself who take those risks, but you must be obviously aware of what we see, the videos, the executions of people who are captured by i.s. i mean, given the context, did you think very carefully before you went in? >> absolutely. and i've been to syria several times. even with the lack of coverage, it's a very, very important thing to cover. so i definitely thought about it very carefully, but i jumped at the opportunity to go in. >> well, lindsay, we appreciate you coming on "gmt" to tell us what you saw. thank you very much indeed. >> thank you so much. now, don't forget, you can get all the latest on the fight against so-called islamic state, the war in syria, plenty more on our website. for the latest features, videos,

interactive rof ivive reports, the mapping the contact tool, head to bbc.com/syria. now, going to get back to business with aaron, who's joined me. aaron, i think you're -- what are you starting? you tell me, aaron. i look forward to it, whatever it is. >> obama's amnesty. we're looking at the economic impact of illegal immigrants to the u.s. economy, the world's largest, and the five million as they become legal. as you've been hearing, certainly earlier in the hour of this program, but all day about president obama who announced that he will grant temporary legal status to around five million illegal immigrants, mostly parents of american citizens, and permanent residents who have lived in the country for five years. so what are the wider economic implications for a country whose foundations were built on immigration? we know that supporters of an immigration overhaul estimate

that granting legal status will bring basically more workers into the tax system, and what will that do? that will boost the government revenue, the government coffers. however, many critics have said it will overwhelm social welfare programs and displace numerous workers. but there is no denying that an estimated near 11 million illegal immigrants are a quay part of that u.s. economy. 53% of farm workers hired in the u.s. are illegal immigrants. let's talk to our own an dru walker, economics correspondent. great to see you as always. there is no doubt there is a pretty big contribution. i mean, i lived in the states for several years. i saw it with my own eyes. many americans saying they do the jobs we don't want to do. >> yes, the pugh research center puts the unorganized population at about 5% of the total work force. so an important contribution. you mentioned the agriculture

sector. there's other figures that i've seen from the department of agriculture suggesting even higher figures, 68% of shared crop farm workers are of immigrant origins, born typically in mexico. so an enormous factor in the u.s. agricultural sector. also important workers in the construction industry and also in leisure and hospitality. so there's no question the numbers are very significant contributors to the u.s. economic activity. >> what does it mean then if five million come forward and they're formally processed, five million illegal become legal. that does mean more tax hike, i can imagine, for the american pot? >> it probably means some more tax in the sense that they'll have to come into the income tax system. although bear in mind that typically they're going to be on pretty low pay, which means that

they won't be paying a great deal of tax. they will already be paying tax indirectly through those living in tax that have got sales taxes, which most do have, but some don't. they'll be paying a bit through that. so there will be some contribution to the u.s. government finances. but then, of course, there is always the possibility in the longer term that they may be eligible for various benefits. i think what you can say is the net impact is not going to be terribly large. >> just briefly, this illegal immigration is not the only part of the immigration argument. there are many firms who say they struggle to get high skilled labor into the country. >> the chamber of commerce made a particular point about the technology sector, about silicon valley struggling to find people with the engineering, mathema c mathematics skills that they want in the u.s., and sometimes

having difficulty getting them here when they find them abroad. the health department has suggested that there could be a shortage of 20,000 primary care physicians by the end of the decade. that's what we in the uk would call general practitioners. so there are other problems at the other end of the market in the united states. >> thanks for that update. always appreciate it. andrew walker joining us there. twitter is never far from the news, and recently the head of the uk intelligence agency, gchq, called twitter and facebook the command control networks of choice for isis. the bbc's technology correspondent rory jones has spoken to the company's founder and chairman jack dorsey and asked for his reaction to those comments and this is what he had to say. >> i think twitter and all these tools, all these technologies are a reflection of the world in many ways, and we as a humanity choose how to use them and how not to use them.

i think the most important thing is the conversation is coming to the surface so we can make sure that we're using these tools in a positive light and that does take time. every new tool creates a new opportunity and potentially that opportunity is negative and we need to make sure that we're watching it and steering it in the right direction. >> in this country, one tweet last night cost a politician a job. it was just a picture with a caption. does that frighten you, the power of that medium? >> i don't think it's any different from what we've been doing as a humanity. it's just faster. technology again is just a tool. really all it does and its only purpose is to make these systems a lot more accessible. and to change the velocity. so you have typical things that we do on a daily basis just happening faster and more and more people. i don't think that's something we should be afraid of. i think it's something we should really embrace and figure out how to use to make the world a

much better place faster. >> okay, let's stay with technology. i am sure you've all heard of the phrase going viral. the power of sites like youtube to turn someone from zero to internet hero overnight. and of course rake in huge amounts of bucks for the site's owner in the process, advertising bucks, that would be. now youtube is investing millions of dollars to help foster tomorrow's stars of internet video here by setting up professional studios from london to tokyo and across america. they are free to use for anyone who has at least five thundershower s -- 5,000 subscribers. samira hussain put this together. >> what the heck is this? >> this is probably one that you gave me. >> the cloons describe their video is sketch comedy versus social experiment. >> we bought a camera and just started making things. we had no idea what we were doing. we didn't study film.

we just made stuff. we put things on youtube because it was the place to put them so we could share them with friends and family. and then we had a viral video about a year in. and then we're like, all right, we can do this. >> reporter: since launching their channel, more than 21 million people have clicked on one of their videos. it's led to serious money in ad revenue and a full-time career in entertainment. >> so, in here we have our main production control room. >> reporter: youtube, owned by google, recently threw open the doors of its new york studio, free for video makers like the cloons to use, as long as you have at least 5,000 subscribers. by providing state of the art equipment, youtube wants to create more and better videos. every click means revenue for google. part of the reason why every inch of this 20,000-square-foot space is camera ready, even the loo. >> the bathroom sort of has these mat tiles which makes it a

little bit less reflective. you can imagine potentially like a nightclub scene or something along those lines. >> reporter: google won't say how much it spent building these studios. they see it as an investment. it's also an indication of just how much money it makes from these young enterprising creatives. google takes a 45% cut of all the ad revenue. a hefty sum, but success on youtube can open many doors, as traditional talent agencies are turning to youtube to find the next stars. >> if you think of a youtube star, they are someone who can be in front of camera. they are someone who's creative, who can produce, who understands how to manage an audience. >> reporter: do you want to eventually stop doing youtube? >> no way. >> reporter: a winning formula for a post-tv generation. samira hussain, bbc news, new york. >> great stuff, huh? lots going on.

follow me on twitter. tweet me. i'll tweet you right back. i think you and i should do something on youtube. do you know how much money some of these people make? >> i can't believe you haven't gone viral already. >> do you know that is competition, though. >> we have to take it seriousism and we do. right. aaron, thank you very much. do stay with us here on "bbc world news," because still to come. spreading his message of peace in the city of brotherly love. we bring you the man from philadelphia with his own take on jesus. d you want to get an m. but going back to school is hard. because you work. now capella university offers a revolutionary new way to get your degree. it's called flexpath, and it's the most direct path, leveraging what you've learned on the job and focusing on what you need to know. so you can get a degree at your pace and graduate at the speed of you.

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welcome back to "gmt." i'm stephen sackur and these are

the top stories. president obama has outlined some of the most sweeping changes to the u.s. immigration system for decades. and around five million people living illegally in america could now be regularized. riot police in mexico city have pushed back thousands of demonstrators from the capital's main square after officers clashed with several hundred masked protesters who were furious about corruption. now, officials in guinea say a cooler containing blood samples believed to have ebola inside them, the ebola virus, were taken during a roadside robbery. bandits reportedly held up a mini bus taxi as it transported these samples from central guinea to a test site in the south. why they were taken is unknown. but officials have appealed on national radio for potentially dangerous blood samples like these to be returned.

guinea is, of course, one of the countries in west africa struggling to contain the ebola virus. but the struggle is being hampered by high rates of malnutrition, which make it harder for patients to recover from the disease. our health correspondent is in guinea, and she spoke to the world food program about how their efforts to fight the disease are progressing. >> we're at the world food program's warehouse. they are delivering between 3,000 and 4,000 tons of food to ebola-hit areas every month. joining me is world food program's country director e z elizabeth fore. tell me how about the situation is here in guinea. >> well, the areas that have been the hardest hit by the ebola virus were areas that were highly food insecure even before we had ebola in guinea. and we have indications that the situation -- the food security situation has actually got worse. >> and why is that? >> well, because people are

not -- farmers aren't going to the fields. traders are not -- food trading markets are affected, so markets are not functioning. there isn't the movement, the local economy has been heavily affected. and then also, there's a lot of stigmatization, so even people who may wish to go to the market to buy food, sometimes the people don't want to sell it to them. >> reporter: so what are they doing instead then? >> well, they're coping. and we're seeing from a recent study that we did, the coping strategies are quite intense. so people are reducing the number of meals that they're eating every day. they're reducing the quality of the food that they're eating. quite drastic measures. >> and you're supplying food to some of the treatment centers as well, that's clearly very important.

>> what we have been told by our medical partners that we work closely with, msf, who run these treatment centers, is that, you know, there's a period of time right at the beginning when someone is confirmed with ebola, when they don't have that many symptoms, and if we feed them well at that point and they're well-nourished, they're stronger, better able to deal with the heavy symptoms that come later, and have a better chance of surviving and recovering afterwards. so the providing nutritious food to those patients is critical. >> reporter: elizabeth fore, thank you very much. they're doing food drops every single day here. they said that this is crucial to helping to bring this outbreak under control because it gives people much better chance of fighting the virus off if they're well-nourished, they're able to much-better be able to fight ebola and survive. now, michael grant is a

28-year-old with a very distinctive look. for the last seven months, he's been walking through the streets of philadelphia dressed as a modern day jesus. and he has become something of a media sensation. a social media sensation. the bbc trending team caught up with him to figure out what was going on. >> how old are you? >> ageless. i don't have an age. >> where are you from? >> not of this world. ♪ i once was lost in sin but jesus took me in ♪ >> my name is philly jesus. you can call me p.j. i bring the story of jesus christ to life in the streets of philadelphia. >> there he is. he's famous. >> i've been doing this for seven months. i use my passion for the performing arts to share the story of christ in a fun, likable way.

>> jesus, save me! >> philly jesus, he seems maybe a little bit off, but he seems like he's spreading love. >> he's up there, he's up there. i wish i had 5,000 followers on instagram. >> i walk with a cross to give a visual image. that's when i started going viral. i grew up doing musical theater. i got involved in hip-hop. i went by this name opal weaver. i got caught up in drugs. i used to shoot up heroin. that lifestyle eventually put me away in a court-stipulated program where i was introduced to the gospel of jesus christ. this is me wearing jesus's jersey. instead of me going up to them, people are naturally drawn to me and they're interestinged on why i'm doing what i'm doing, and i tell them my story. >> i can take your picture if you want. >> i couch surf. i stay with friends.

sometimes family. i bounce around. but i don't have a home of my own. i come in to charge my phone for like five minutes. ♪ i once was lost in sin but jesus took me in ♪ >> it's just funny how police consider him a nuisance. >> he got arrested for accepting donations or something silly like that. >> he accepts tips and things like that. i think that's why he was arrested because apparently he was soliciting. but as far as i'm concerned, he's not hurting anyone. >> i heard about you on the news, man. you got locked up, huh? >> they let you out? >> i'm a born again christian. i don't think i'm jesus christ. i want to be an inspiration to people. my message to people is don't care what anyone thinks about you. do what makes you happy. do you.

>> michael grant, the so-called philly jesus. before we go, a quick reminder of our top story on "gmt." president obama has announced a major reform of the immigration system. he says up to five million american illegal immigrants could come out of the shadows. that's it from us. something safer... something greener. something the whole world can share. people come to boeing to do many different things. but it's always about the very thing we do best. ♪ but it's always about the very thing we do best. ♪ ♪

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