a very warm welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to our viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: the biggest protests since the fall of communism — romania takes to the streets over the government corruption. brexit overcomes its first legal hurdle —with a massive vote brexit overcomes its first legal hurdle with a massive vote in favour in britain's lower house. it's 12 months since zika was declared a global health emergency — now scientists think many more babies could be affected. and giving thanks for donald trump, we visit the american city called the buckle on the bible belt, where they love what their new president is doing. police in the romanian capital, bucharest, have used tear gas against protesters in what's said to be the biggest anti—government rally since the fall of communism in 1989.

reports say up to a quarter of a million people are demonstrating against an emergency decree that decriminalises some corruption offences. 150,000 outside government officers. sarah corker reports. in bucharest victory square of violence erupted and escalated through the night. in the shadow of the parliament building, a stand—off between demonstrators and fry yet police. an emergency law which decriminalise as a string of corruption offences is what they are demonstrating against. seshan make we wa nt demonstrating against. seshan make we want to protect our country against criminal who tried to

dismiss the rule of law in remainiac and protect our rights and not their. —— and protect our rights and not their. -- translation:. tens of thousands of people braved sub zero temperatures to demonstrate for a second night. the show of solidarity and frustration. opposition mps showed their concerns. the new decree exonerates public officials of corruption if they involved sums of corruption if they involved sums of less tha n of corruption if they involved sums of less than a0 $1000. the government says it will reduce overcrowding in chow and is set to become law in ten days. translation: i believe nobody can contest what is illegal, but the government can legally do. the government has the power to adopt draft bills and degrees. but a warning against backtracking against corruption. translation: the federal chancellor

angela merkel has expressed very clearly her view that if corruption laws are weakened, this would be a very wrong signal. police detained dozens very wrong signal. police detained d oze ns of very wrong signal. police detained dozens of protesters in the capital. these are the largest anti—government protests in 3—d ——3 decades. more now from christian mititelu — former head of the bbc‘s romanian service. what do you think is going on here? it isa what do you think is going on here? it is a big protest. people are really fed up with the attempts to guide you to the anticorruption policy which has been reasonably successful in the last couple of yea rs. successful in the last couple of years. i think the government is react and somehow to the vigorous campaign which sometimes have also

said political alliances. it seems that some politicians have been prevented from ryan or office and being elected because of pending court cases alljudicial investigations and this is now the reaction of the new government which was elected with a substantial majority and which has in a rather an waze way to simply use a decree to introduce such changes in stead of having proper consultations with all the parties involved and having parliamentary debate. it is extraordinary to see this number of people on the streets in this matter. protesters a re people on the streets in this matter. protesters are also protest in knowing that it has been effective before. yes, the previous

government was toppled by protesters. it was to do with a fire ata protesters. it was to do with a fire at a club and the negligent of the people which were to ensure fire did not rake out so easily. this is indignation about the way the government is proceeding. we have a strange situation in romanian or stop we have a president very much backing the opposition and condemning the attempts to dilutes the laws. and then we have the leader of the ruling party and leader of the ruling party and leader of the ruling party and leader of an allied party in government who are both under judicial investigation and in danger of being prevented for taking public office and that is why the leader of the party is not prime minister, he had to appoint somebody else as prime minister and it seems that

this law seems to be dealing with this law seems to be dealing with this problem therefore it is a designated for the leader of the party to become prime minister and to get rid of the investigations. i have to say some of the investigations are rather then in some way to top the leader of the party is accused of having instigated the use of public money to pay somebody working for the party which should not have happened and the leader of the senate is supposed to have not cooperated with the prosecutors in a case in which he is simply a week is. but i think it committed some sort of perjury. so this is the background to this conflict. as the decrease that is, that would open the leader of the leftist government to become prime minister in the future and it has seen

minister in the future and it has seen free a lot of politicians in jail. donald trump's choice for secretary of state has been sworn in. rex tillerson will be the top diplomat for the us government. he faces any number of geopolitical challenges, from how to deal with moscow, to unrest in the middle east and growing tensions in asia. asi as i entered the responsibilities of secretary of state, as i serve the president of all was represented the interests of all the american people. mr president, thank you for this extraordinary opportunities will stop here members of parliament at westminster have taken the first step towards invoking article 50 of the lisbon treaty, the start of the process of the uk leaving the european union. they voted by an overwhelming majority in favour of legislation drawn up by the government. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. feeling confident, prime minister? she didn't really need to worry. having fought against having

the vote, government ministers never really worried about winning it. chanting: no trump! no brexit! in the end, a much bigger proportion of mps voted to begin brexit than the proportion of us that chose to leave. the ayes to the right, a98. the noes to the left, 11a. suicide. huge cheers. but yes, that was one mp muttering "suicide". so the ayes have it, the ayes have it! cheering. dozens of labour ministers voting against but a thumping government majority. we can go into this negotiation with self—confidence and ambition. but my point of view, i want to bridge some of the gaps and heal some of the wounds. it is difficult for the labour party. we are a pro—european internationalist party and we believe in cooperation and collaboration with other nations. but many voting yes did so with a heavy heart.

the government has chosen and i respect this decision, not to make the economy the priority in this negotiation. the european union is not prioritising the economy either. we don't want give the sense that people having voted for brexit because they felt they'd been ignored, are being ignored again. on a wet wednesday, the debate didn't feel it's been about the country's destiny. but tonight, history hangs over. a quiet revolution, the prime minister called it. brexiteers were proudly manning the barricades. for the first time in a0 years, the way british parliamentary democracy is meant to work, will actually be able to work. this was a nationwide referendum of the british people and the british people spoke. in the unlikely event it was news to anyone, our former top diplomat in brussels, now out of his job, warned mps today of bumpy times ahead. sir rogers, is the government going to make a failure of brexit?

fist fights, feisty talks and potentially a bill of billions to get out of the european club. this is going to be on a humongous scale, going to have enormous amounts of businesses running up various different channels. the total financial liability, as they see it, might be in the order of a0— 60 billion euros on exit. that prospect and principal means some labour mps have even quit their commons top team rather than obeyjeremy corbyn‘s call to vote for the bill. several have sacrificed front bench jobs, like rachael maskell, until tonight in the shadow cabinet, not any more because she voted with her remain constituents. you've made your decision on principle but it is the labour party that looks divided tonight. i think the labour party is absolutely solid now. we do not want a theresa may brexit, that we are going to be working towards ensuring the voices of people across the country

are involved in the process as we go forward. the arguments don't end tonight. yesterday it was compared to alice in wonderland but alice only took herself into the hole. this prime minister is taking virtually all of the tory party, half the labour party, and the entire country into the hole. how then can anyone pretend that this undiscussed, unwritten, unnegotiated deal, in any way, has the backing of the british people? so, the prime minister sweeps out, she has her way. those against her seem lonely, for now. our political editor laura kuenssberg reporting. it's been 12 months since zika was declared a global health emergency. scientists are now beginning to piece together the impact the virus has on babies born to infected mothers. they say many more children could be suffering from health complications than first thought. camilla costa has been to brazil,

the ground zero of the epidemic, to find out the latest. this is zika's devastating consequence. these babies will need help for the rest of their lives. here's the best place for them to get the specialist care they need, but there isn't enough money to help all of them. one of those on the waiting list is jose wesley, he became the face of zika after this photo went viral. a year later, jose is still very small for his age, he has breathing difficulties, trouble swallowing and can't walk. the only way his mother can feed him is through a tube. translation: i come here three times a week, on tuesday, wednesdays and fridays. i wake up at a.00am in the morning and i arrive here at 6.00am because there's no other transport available. then i wait for the doctor.

it's very difficult, but it's not impossible. if it's for my baby's health, nothing is impossible. a year after zika was declared a global emergency, doctors believe the number of babies affected could be much higher. i'm with baby mierella victoria, she's15—months—old and she is one of those cases doctors are studying right now. she wasn't born with microcephaly, but later on she showed signs that she too was affected by the zika virus in her mother's womb. her mother thought she had escaped zika's devastating impact, but after a few months something didn't seem right. translation: when the doctor said it was zika, i was really surprised, but also relieved because i had noticed she had motor problems. i wondered why she wasn't developing like other kids. so, from then on, i knew i was wrong, i could treat her with therapy and stimulation. they call it congenital zika syndrome. even if these babies are born

with a normal sized head, they can have poor vision, hearing loss and other disabilities later in their lives. research shows that for every baby with microcephaly, ten others might develop these problems. we still have a lot to learn, but we already know that the microcephaly is just the tip of the iceberg. we expect to determine the risk of early and the later symptoms related to this syndrome. mierella is now getting the help she needs. doctors are rushing to identify the thousands of babies like her who will also require treatment, but the brazilian health system is already struggling to cope with zika's legacy. camilla costa, bbc news, recife. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the story of how president trump's immigration ban brought together the wounded iraqi war veteran who

and the former military translator. this is the moment that millions in iran had been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid. the ban on the african national congress is lifted immediately, and the anc leader, nelson mandela, after 27 years injail, is to be set free unconditionally. the aircraft was returning from belgrade, where manchester united had entered the semi—final of the european cup. two americans are the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to their spaceship. one of them called it a piece of cake. thousands of people have given yachstwoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming after she smashed the world record for sailing solo around the world non—stop.

glad to be us on bbc news. the headlines: romanians are protesting after a new government decree has decriminalised can —— decriminalised corruption. donald trump's choice the secretary of state has been sworn in after a hardfought confirmation hearing and a tight vote. rex tillerson faced more scrutiny and opposition than is usualfor scrutiny and opposition than is usual for such scrutiny and opposition than is usualfor such an scrutiny and opposition than is usual for such an appointment. critics in congress point to his business interests as the former head of exxon mobil and his close ties with russia. more from our washington correspondent david willis. in the end it was 56- a}, every republican voting in favour of rex tillerson‘s appointment, and virtually every democrat appointing

—— voting against him. this was one of the most contentious appointments of the most contentious appointments ofa of the most contentious appointments of a secretary of state in us history. members of the senate committee, members of the senate, i should say, questioning rex tillerson on a range of different issues, not least his worldview as a man who was formerly the ceo of exxon mobil, and also whether he had the diplomatic skills to do the job of america's top diplomat, and his ties to vladimir putin, his former business ties to the russian president. there was concern as well about foreign policy under the trump administration, particularly this ban on people travelling from seven predominantly muslim countries to the united states, how will mr tillerson cope with that? well, india and he was confirmed as the 69th secretary of state. —— in the end he was. the first thing he will have to do is reassure his staff,

many of whom are very wobbly about that whole travel ban. mr trump's supporters say he is keeping the promises he made on the campaign trail. and north american correspondent, nick bryant, has travelled to tennessee to gauge how people are taking to the new president. the hills of eastern tennessee. a landscape that reminds us tennessee. a landscape that reminds us it was notjust the rust belt that one donald trump the presidency, but the bible belt as well. chattanooga prides itself on being the buckle of that belts, and that this bible study group this morning, praise for his socially conservative supreme court nominee, and thanks to god for placing him in the white house. god has done the work in him. he has changed him. you can see it in the people he surrounds himself with. i do believe he has brought a seriousness, people didn't think we would see it from him. i think god led this country to put old trump in office. —— donald

trump. i was very opposed to him. mark west began as another trump republican, an evangelical christian who looks upon the new york as a philandering playboy. but he has become a convert. social conservatives and conservatives in general have been so fed up with washington for decades, we wanted somebody to go to washington and blow it up. and whether i was a trump support or not, so many of us are looking at trump to do exactly what he has been doing so far, to com pletely what he has been doing so far, to completely change the landscape, blowup, figuratively, washington, and give us a new american revolution. it has been the pace of the trump presidency that has felt lack of final furlong gallop which has impressed kelly and taught floyd. we are impressed to see what he can continue to do. you think he is making good on his promises?” think he is. the implantation of his immigration policy shows that he is not a career politician, but i think thatis not a career politician, but i think that is why he got voted into

office, because we do not want career office, because we do not want career politicians any more. no sign here of via's remorse. to travel from coastal cities like new york and los angeles into this heartland communities feels like crossing into a parallel universe. there are two americas right now, and how you react to donald trump determines which one you inhabit. the cannons from the american civil war that dot this landscape can be viewed both as relics of the past and reminders of how conflict and divisiveness is almost written into this nation's dna. once again, it feels like the people of america are sharing the same continent, but not the same country. mr trump's immigration order is still facing a massive backlash, the un secretary general saying it is not the way to protect against terrorism. us officials are trying to prevent a repeat of last weekend's airport chaos. caught up

in the crowds was ala, an iraqi immigrantflying in. in the crowds was ala, an iraqi immigrant flying in. at one pointa stranger appeared with a military medal. to be honest with you, i didn't believe it was him. it didn't seem didn't believe it was him. it didn't seem real to me. it didn't seem real. did two combat deployments, was injured multiple times. traumatic brain injury, shrapnel wounds.” worked with americans in the embassy in baghdad. i came to the united states in 2008, on a special immigrant visa. i was actually on my way back from home depot and i had just started working the floor, and i saw the coverage atjfk. just started working the floor, and i saw the coverage at jfk. a scene of outrage atjfk i saw the coverage at jfk. a scene of outrage at jfk airport in i saw the coverage at jfk. a scene of outrage atjfk airport in new york, where two and from iraq were detained. i quickly did a search to see if there was something happening. ifelt see if there was something happening. i felt so strongly. we faure knew it we were halfway there.

—— be for i knew it. i was iwas in i was in denial. i didn't understand the situation from the beginning. because i was thinking that the syste m because i was thinking that the system should be working, and she was a system should be working, and she wasa green system should be working, and she was a green card holder. then i met this wonderful man. i was asked, do you go to protest? well, i didn't think i was going to protest. my thought was that by giving him the purple heart, it was, what do i have that is important to me? you are in that airport with bad experiences but i wanted you to leave with the two american sentiment. -- true. it is probably the most precious gift i have

received in my life. it is going to be on display somewhere in this house, but also it is going to be a story, a story i keep telling. the purple heart to me, it represents something that will always be part of me. i don't need the medal, i have the scars on my body to represent the experiences i encountered. it was literallyjust me trying to give him something that was important. it did make me happy. it made my family happy. it forever changed our lives, in a way. the secretary general of nato has urged russia to use its influence with rebels in eastern ukraine to end an upsurge in fighting. jens stoltenberg says a ceasefire has been violated thousands of times in recent days. he calls the spike in violence the most serious in a long time. about 20,000 civilians in one town have a left without electricity or water.

the ukrainian military has been fighting russian backed separatists for two and a half years now. things have really heated up in the town of avdiivka. we have come to this residential area and seen this in several houses that have been hit, you can see the impact there. if you come back here, this couple lives here. they are kind of lucky, really, because in a way, the house was not hit, but actually, the garden shed was. you can see that a rocket or a mortal something like that has come in and totally flattened it. —— mortar or something. we have also discovered, sadly, that a woman was killed in the morning. we have seen evidence of that and spoken to one of her relatives. translation: we think she came to visit us because her daughter lives here. we cannot understand why people are dying. we have nowhere else to go. we have come to this

temporary camp in avdiivka, and there is a sea of people here. hundreds queueing for help. translation: i haven't seen my children and grandchildren in two yea rs. children and grandchildren in two years. i cannot sleep at night. i have to hide in the basement, and i am scared of there. you can see the ukrainian soldiers here are serving hot stew for the people who are queueing and waiting in the cold. avdiivka is really a city in need. the people here i sadly accustomed to war. they have been used to it for two and a half years. but it has gotten much, much worse. that main story again, about a quarter of a million romanians are protesting against a new government decree which officially decriminalising spinster and is as of corruption worth less than $50,000. -- of corruption worth less than $50,000. —— decriminalise as insta nces $50,000. —— decriminalise as instances of corruption. good morning. our weather over the

next few days will be coming in off the atlantic. if you look at the satellite imagery there is lots of cloud heading with it. some nasty areas of low pressure, potentially. it means a windy a spell of weather across the uk and a bit of rain at times too. —— windy. many of you will have to deal with rain this morning. we have overnight rain clearing away from parts of cornwall and temperature in the morning. a damp start across much of wales in south—west england, that rain spreading to the south—east and across the south—west midlands. a few spots of rain to other parts of england, south to south—easterly winds fairly gusty about eastern areas in particular. outbreaks of rain in north—west england, southern scotla nd rain in north—west england, southern scotland and northern ireland. brightest weather in the north of scotland. we will see gales, may be severe gales, around coasts in the

west and south. a blustery day for all of you. rain initially across wales and the south—west, is rendering across to eastern england and a good part of northern scotland later on. there will be brighter weather in the west during the afternoon before the showers gets going, to end the day, and going into the evening. just about all temperatures in double figures. a reasonably mild night will follow. winds easing back later on, with clear skies across central and eastern areas. we will see them drop well back into single figures. in the west, well clear of a frost. frequent showers through the night and the breeze picking up again. friday, and even windier spell of weather coming, but not until late in the day. this area of low pressure is causing us all sorts of problems. it will have an impact to a certain degree on the south and south—east of england. the rest of the winds will be across the channel and to france. really, friday does begin fairly benign. quiet, dry and sunny for many areas. a few showers across scotland and northern ireland. many in the northern half

of the uk staying dry through the day. during the afternoon wet and windy weather spreads into wales and much of southern england. strong to gale force winds developing as well. this strong this winds are likely to be in the english channel. france will bear the brunt, but so will the channel islands, which could see gusts of 70 miles an hour, if not a bit more. into the afternoon and evening that will spread into the south—east of england, up to 50 miles an hour, which could cause a minor disruption. stay tuned to the forecast, because details could change. strong winds through the night stretching into northern england and southern scotland. outbreaks of rain to start the weekend. a quieter story further south with some sunshine at times and a few showers later on. goodbye for now. police in romania have dispersed what's said to be the largest demonstration there since the fall of communism. crowds were angry at a new decree exonerating public officials guilty of corruption worth less than $50,000. the measure would allow some convicted politicians to resume office. british mps have given initial approval to a draft law paving

the way for the uk‘s exit from the european union. however, more political battles are expected next week when the bill is subject to further scrutiny. later on thursday the government will publish a white paper setting out its exit strategy. president trump's new secretary of state, rex tillerson, has been sworn into office. at the ceremony, mr trump took an optimistic view of the international challenges facing his new administration, saying he was confident mr tillerson could use his unique skills to help bring peace and stability. now it's time for a look back at the day in parliament.