a very warm welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to our viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's lebo diseko. our top stories: president donald trump signs his first executive order in the oval office after taking the oath earlier in the day. to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the united states, so help me god. congratulations, mr president. tens of thousands gather to watch as mr trump vows to give power to them, to the people. now the fun begins. the president and first lady share their first dance as the inauguration celebrations kick off. donald trump is now the 45th president of the united states.

he was sworn in in front of several hundred thousand people on the steps of capitol hill in washington. in his inaugural speech he said that from this day forward, "it's going to be america first". and president trump and the new first lady took to the dance floor, as is the tradition, for the latest incumbents to the white house in what was the first in a series of inaugural balls. they danced to a rendition of the classic song ‘my way‘ at the end of what has been such an eventful day. well, we did it. we did it. we began this journey and they said we, we and me, we didn't have a chance but we knew we were going to win and we won. and today we had a great day.

people that were not so nice to me were saying that we did a really good job today. and as the inauguration celebrations kick off with president trump and melantia trump's first dance, our correspondent laura trevelyan is in washington to tell us more about the series of inaugural balls. i found it fascinating that not only did he and melania start the first dance, but then they were joined by mike pence, the vice president, and his wife, and then all of donald trump's adult children took to the floor. that tells you a lot about the importance he places on family. during the campaign he took advice from his adult sons, his daughter, ivanka, and ivanka's husband, who will now be an adviser to donald trump. it was fascinating to see the

whole trump clan there on the board, beautifully outfitted, wearing these fabulous dresses. melania and ivanka showcasing american fashion. but also this is who donald trump is, family comes first, blood is much thicker than water. and one of his sons said in an interviewjust before the inauguration that we are quite insular and this will be something my father has to get used to, having these people around him. so an interesting tableau, all of the trump's on stage. it certainly was. these balls are all fairly highly anticipated. is the purpose essentially to introduce the president and the first lady to the nation? it's a tradition that goes back to the early days of the republic, when it was a more formal way to celebrate. this is what

people did in the 18th century, they had balls. then of course, as the inaugurations became more popular and the country became more rich, there were more balls. eric obama went to ten in his 2013 inauguration. —— barack obama. but it's a chance to celebrate and also the public face of the presidency is all—important. the public face of the presidency is all—importa nt. so the public face of the presidency is all—important. so much of thejob is public choreography, public performance and donald trump understands that, as someone who rose to fame as a reality tv show host on the apprentice and he is a producer at heart. he knows how important appearance is. and healy was denied choreographing the image of discontented, successful, beautiful first family. well, president trump's already started dismantling some of barack 0bama's key policies. just after his inauguration parade he signed his first executive orders, including that decree against the affordable care act, which is known as 0bamacare,

and the announcment of a national day of patriotism. he also signed a waiver to allow retired marine generaljames mattis to be defence secretary, even though it is less than the required seven years since he left the military. his appointment has been approved 98—1 by the senate. marine generaljohn kelly has been confirmed as secretary of homeland security. 0ur north america editorjon sopel looks back on mr trump's big day. announcer: ladies and gentlemen, the president—elect of the united states, donald trump. a scenario few scarcely thought possible, the billionaire reality tv host about to become commander—in—chief of the most powerful nation on earth. it's a ceremony going back over 200 years that has changed little in that time. i, donald john trump,

do solemnly swear. that i will faithfully execute... the office of president of the united states... and will to the best of my ability... preserve, protect and defend... the constitution of the united states. so help me god. with those 35 words the formality was complete but after that inaugural address that was anything but a continuation of tradition. the 45th president had won a mandate to be a disrupter of politics as normal. today we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another, orfrom one party to another, but we are transferring power from washington dc and giving it back to you, the people.

if the vips on the podium were starting to feel uncomfortable, president trump was just getting started. he painted a hellish picture of america, a very different picture to the one that barack obama was leaving behind. for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists. mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities. rusted—out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation. and an education system flush with cash but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge. and the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealised potential. this american carnage stops right here and stops right now. and then a message to the rest of the world —

don't look to us to bail you out, we have different priorities now. we assembled here today, are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city in every foreign capital and in every hall of power. from this day forward a new vision will govern our land. from this day forward it's going to be only america first. america first. economic nationalism would be the order of the day. we will follow two simple rules. buy american and hire american. and then an appeal for unity couched in these terms. it's time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget that whether we are black or brown or white we all bleed

the same red blood of patriots. but surely if there is one takeout from this inaugural, it is that president trump fully intends to govern as he campaigned, uncompromisingly. together we make america strong again. we will make america wealthy again. we will make america proud again. we will make america safe again. and, yes, together we will make america great again. thank you, god bless you, and god bless america. thank you. the crowds weren't enormous, certainly nothing like they were 8 years ago for barack 0bama's inauguration. but for those who had come, this was a day to remember. for others a day to forget. how painful this must have been for hillary clinton who polled three

million more votes than donald trump, yet lost the electoral college. later, the new president would salute the person he vanquished. let me tell you. there is something i wanted to say because i was very honoured, very, very honoured when i heard that president bill clinton and secretary hillary clinton was coming today. i think it is appropriate to say and i'd like you to stand up. i'd like you to stand up. applause after the inauguration ceremony, the final act for the 0bamas. power had passed, they are now private citizens. a us marine helicopter standing by to ferry them out of the city to start their new life. earlier this morning one final act in the white house for the outgoing president. a handwritten letter to his successor. and then the formal welcome. barack obama and michelle greeting the new occupants of the house, donald and melania trump,

and a gift to the outgoing first lady from her successor. and then the pose for posterity, the 44th and 45th presidents together. the ceremonial is over and the gladhanding for the moment is done. now donald trump is making his way along pennsylvania avenue back to the white house and the awesome responsibility of being president of the united states of america. and now the real work begins. the parade is another central piece of the pageant on inauguration day with military bands marching through the streets. but this being donald trump there had to be one surprise, and it came as he was approaching the white house. he got out of the car near the fbi building, but more importantly right across the road from the trump international hotel. donald trump the businessman, and donald trump the president

seemed to be going hand—in—hand. the day after his surprise election victory, barack obama said the world would keep on spinning, the sun would continue to rise. he's right, it has. but this morning, washington, america, and the rest of the world has woken to an uncertain new dawn. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. as we've seen, tens of thousands of trump supporters watched him —— stay with us on bbc news. still to come: reaction to donald trump taking office from around the world. for all of you who have just done the amazing, remarkable work, i can't wait to see what you do next andi can't wait to see what you do next and i promise you i will be right there with you. god bless you! this is bbc news.

i'm lebo diseko. the latest headlines: president donald trump has signed his first executive order in the oval office. tens of thousands of people watched his swearing in ceremony in front of the us capitol. but there've also been clashes in washington between police and people opposed to mr trump's presidency. charlotte laws is an author and trump supporter and she is in los angeles. thanks for making the time to speak to us. what did you think of the day, what were your highlights? well, it was a very exciting day. i thought that trump's speech was raw and honest, it was populist in nature and i think he reinforced a lot of the things that he had during his campaign. and he brought people together. i think there was a lot of unity talk, which he used through

the idea of patriotism, and the idea of everybody bleeds red blood and about in cities. so i felt that there was a lot of that. and about giving the government back to the people. and that was a very big part of his speech. so i think it has been a very encouraging, wonderful day and he did say at one of the balls tonight that he had a very successful day. i understand you had tickets to the inauguration and you gave them away? i did, i gave them to my mum and her husband and they are lifelong democrats. but very big trump supporters. there are a lot of democrats in the states supporting trump and they had good seats at the inauguration. now they are at one of the balls, having a wonderful time, sending me little photos from the ball, so it is exciting day for them. if donald trump has managed to reach out to democrats like your

mother and her husband, there does seem to be still this division in the country. you said donald trump reached out to people and this was a big part of his speech. we are still seeing a number of protests across the us and internationally. he has quite a job on his hands, doesn't he? he does, but he has a history of being a unifier. it has been difficult because of the fact it has been such a contentious campaign and there really has been the case of there really has been the case of the media in the united states trying to derail his campaign. everybody in this country knows that. that set a tone that was divisive and a lot of people got sucked into that point of view and they believed what the media was saying about donald trump. it isn't true. he cares about everybody. he wa nts to true. he cares about everybody. he wants to be the president for everyone. he has a history of bringing democrats and republicans together. he is the first president, even though he ran under the banner of republican, he is an independent,

not republican or conservative in any sense. we had a guest on in the last hour who said she doesn't feel safe. this was not made up by the media. this came out of donald trump's mouth, she said, as a muslim she doesn't feel safe, there are mexicans that i heard and latinos and black people who don't feel safe. how does donald trump make them feel valued? well, safe. how does donald trump make them feelvalued? well, as i said, i believe a lot of his words were taken out of context. he has a cowboy mouth. he says things, it's just blurt out, and a lot of times media takes it out of context. he is really not a racist, he is not a sexist, he really cares about all people. he does want a tough border security. that doesn't make you racist to say you want to keep your country racist to say you want to keep your cou ntry safe, racist to say you want to keep your country safe, you want taxpayers to not have to pay money out to those who come here illegally from other

nations. he wants to be an america first president. i think it is a positive thing. most people in this country believe that is a positive thing. iam country believe that is a positive thing. i am not sure that it is an issue for people around the world. it is true he may negotiate trade deals. he may want to make it so america isn't footing the bill for every country all over the world, but i think that people should be very encouraged because he isn't going to be trying to impose american values and lifestyles on other nations. he is not going to be nationbuilding. he is a passive rest. he won't get us into war. there are a lot of positive things. he has the potential to be an excellent president. just briefly, donald trump said the work begins now, he has started work already, what would you like to do first? well, i like the fact that he had started working on bringing jobs back to this country, and he had

meetings even during the interim, you know, while he was the president—elect, he has had meetings with the heads of corporations to keepjobs in the united states. he has had some success with that. i think that is excellent. i think that jobs is think that is excellent. i think thatjobs is one of his biggest strengths. the idea that he will be able to bring money back to this country. he will make it a wealthier country. he will make it a wealthier country. he will work on infrastructure, which is something the democrat very much support, and roads and that kind of thing, helping to build inner cities. i would say that if he concentrates on things that everybody can sign on to at first, that is a smart thing to do. because the first hundred days of the presidency are crucial to determine the success of the remainder of the four years. 0k, thank you for taking the time to speak to us. the president and first lady have continued their celebrations. this one was held in honour of the armed

services and this is what he had to say to those in the military. ijust met yourjoint i just met yourjoint chiefs ijust met yourjoint chiefs of staff... cheering and applause. and they are incredible. and i will tell you what, they know what to do, and they know what to do, and they know what to do fast, and we are going to see what happens, but we have a great country... and we want to do what is appropriate. we've been pushed around by a lot of different people. lots of bad things are happening. but i think you're going to see a big improvement, really. and i just going to see a big improvement, really. and ijust want to going to see a big improvement, really. and i just want to tell you that general matis was just approved by the senate... cheering and applause. first one, general kelly was just approved by the senate. cheering and applause. and isn't it something, to generals

we re and isn't it something, to generals were the first ones, with all the people and all the politicians, the generals get approved first. maybe that's the way it's supposed to be. maybe that's the way. in his inauguration speech, president trump set out his vision for his four year term. his top foreign policy goal, he said, is to eradicate radical islamic terrorism from the face of the earth. on friday evening the white house confirmed that the new administration would also develop a new "state—of—the—art" missile defence system. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james robbins assesses the likely global impact of the trump presidency. the world really is watching. billions of people sharing the ceremonial transfer of power, perhaps the most astonishing in history. across every continent, people trying to figure out what it could mean for them. donald trump's toughest language was directed to the middle east. jihadists of so—called islamic state our target number one, is the new commander—in—chief promised to... ..unite the civilised world against radical

islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth. and the new administration has announced it will protect america against possible missile attack, from iran, and also north korea, with a state—of—the—art missile defence system. but what about syria? barack obama allowed russia to take control there, and president trump could start working far more closely with the kremlin. america's allies worry about the new approach to russia, particularly if president trump actively favours vladimir putin over nato and the european union. ukraine is a real test. does mr putin feel his intervention there will now cost him less in future? that donald trump could soft—pedal on sanctions, favouring partnership,

rather than punishment. donald trump's deal—making will really be put to the test over international trade. trump the candidate demonised cheap imports, particularly from china, as the destroyer of american jobs. the trump white house has now confirmed us withdrawal from the tra ns—pacific partnership and threatens withdrawal from the nafta deal with america's neighbours, too, if renegotiation fails. i'm afraid international affairs are messy and complex, and i suspect that if trump clings to that "i win and you lose" kind of mentality, that will cause problems. so, in donald trump's new world, does britain stand to win, or lose? the government hopes for an early trade deal with the new anti—eu president, but does his isolationism threaten britain's wider global interests?

we have a deep and enduring relationship between the uk and the us, and because it is so deep and so complex it will prosper, and i'm quite confident of that in the future. hey, ho, donald trump has got to go... but demonstrators today in several british cities were in no doubt. for these protesters outside the american embassy, it's been a bad day, partly made in britain. the brexit vote divided the country, and it seemed to have given strength to donald trump, increasing his belief he could win. so, on this inauguration day, if global anxiety could be measured, would it be off the scale right now? the new president has it in his power to soothe his opponents' worst fears, but can he do that without betraying his supporters' best hopes? james robbins, bbc news. the new president and the first lady

are attending the last post inauguration ball, the third they have been to, this is called the salute to our armed forces ball, joined by mike pence and his wife, susan, as well as their families, and you can see the children coming out tojoin them and you can see the children coming out to join them now, and they were joined by members of the military, who were on hand to dance the night away. this is a ticket only affair, and it was traditionally only attended by veterans, first responders and serving members of the armed forces, but of course, this being a very special night, it was done slightly differently tonight. we willjust leave you with those pictures, donald trump and his wife, melania, at the last ball. hello.

many of us have enjoyed quite a settled spell of weather over recent days, but that's not to say that we're all enjoying the same sorts of conditions. the weather watcher pictures again tell the tale. cold, frosty starts across the southern half of britain. converting to gloriously sunny days in many spots. and here's the variety that i was talking about. because in the flow of high—pressure we have had in the weather front, it has produced cloudy, rather murky conditions for many at times. initially across wales, the midlands, and at times, it has drifted a little bit further north and east, such that it will be a real player in the east of the british isles on saturday. wee bit more cloud in parts of devon and cornwall. keeping the frost at bay for some here. but then underneath those clear skies, i don't doubt somebody in the countryside on the borders between england and wales will be

recording temperatures on the first part of saturday at —5, —6, something of that order. wee bit of fog, perhaps, across scotland. it will be a bright start across a good part of scotland. but as a consequence, a frosty one. as i was saying, the cloud from that old weather front still lurking with intent out in the north sea. and, as the day progresses, some of it mayjust come into play a little bit further into central parts of england, maybe getting into the scottish borders too. if you're underneath that, you may well find the odd spot of rain, and over higher ground maybe a fleck of snow. but that won't be an issue for the fourth round of the scottish cup. some cloud further south into england for the premier league. and then it's something of a hit and miss with regard to the night—time frost that takes you out of saturday into sunday. the north of scotland should see some frost. so too the southern counties of england. here we are into sunday. just watch out for the odd patch of fog around. as i say, it's something

of a patchwork. we've got an area of cloud producing a showery outburst of rain here. may be a patch of ice or two here. showers in the eastern shores. temperatures, again, not overly spectacular for this time of year. the start of next week, just keeping a very close eye on developments, because fog could become a real player in the heart of england down through central and southern parts as well. if you are on the move first thing, and indeed for much of the morning, some of those patches could be quite dense. just the first signs on tuesday of the wind freshening, and maybe a frontal system bringing cloud and rain to northern and western parts. the latest headlines from bbc news. i'm lebo diseko. president donald trump has signed his first executive order in the oval office. he was sworn in as the 45th president of the united states earlier in the day. in his inauguration speech,

he vowed to transfer power from washington to the people and protect americanjobs. tens of thousands of people watched the ceremony in front of the us capitol. many were there to support the new president. but there have also been clashes in washington between police and people opposed to mr trump's presidency. and president trump and the new first lady took to the dance floor, as is the tradition for the latest incumbents to the white house, in what was the first of three inaugural balls. they danced to the song ‘my way‘ at the end of what has been such an eventful day. more now on the inauguration events which are continuing with the salute to our armed services ball, in washington.