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 demonstrations since the fall of communism. romanians take to the streets against a government decree that could see dozens of corrupt politicians freed from jail. in california, activists try to block a speech by an editor of the far—right website breitbart. the most serious fighting in a long time in eastern ukraine. the head of nato urges moscow to use its influence to control pro—russian rebels. 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 it's thought are the biggest anti—government demonstrations since the fall of communism in 1989. they're angry at an emergency decree that decriminalises some corruption offences — they see it as an attempt to free dozens of corrupt politicians. across the country, a quarter of a million people have taken to the streets in severe winter weather — 150,000 of them outside government offices in bucharest. sarah corker reports. in bucharest victory square violence erupted and escalated through the night. in the shadow of the parliament building, was a stand—off between demonstrators and riot police. there is wide—spread public anger across romania over an emergency law which decriminalises a string of corruption offences. translation: we came

to protect our country against criminals who tried to dismiss the rule of law in romania and protect our rights and interests, not their obscure interests. in 55 towns and cities across the country, tens of thousands of people braved sub zero temperatures to demonstrate for a second night. a show of solidarity and frustration. and opposition mps showed their concern. the new decree exonerates public officials of corruption if they involve sums of less than $48,000. the government says it will reduce overcrowding in jails. it is set to become law in ten days. translation: i believe nobody can contest what is legal, what the government can legally do. the government has the power to adopt draft bills and degrees. but the eu warned romania

against backtracking in its efforts against corruption. translation: the federal chancellor angela merkel had expressed very clearly her view that if the fight against corruption is weakened, and the policy of reform too, this would be a very wrong signal. police detained dozens of protesters in the capital. these are the largest anti—government protests for three decades and come just a few weeks since romania's left—wing government took office. sarah corker, bbc news. some breaking news from california: hundreds of protesters are throwing smoke bombs and flares outside the berkeley student union building where milo yiannopoulos — news editor of the far—right breitbart website — was scheduled to speak. he's vocal supporter of president trump and a self—proclaimed internet troll.

let's cross live to los angeles and speak to peter bowes. the pictures we have were short —— shot a short time ago. has the protests being cancelled now? yes, it was cancelled about an hour or so ago. the speech was supposed to be starting about now. clearly, the university knew it was going to be controversial. crowds were beginning to build up during the day. initially, they were peaceful crowds with banners saying "hate speech is not free speech." you know that a lot of his speech over the last few months has been extremely controversial. he has been accused of being anti— muslim, misogynist, some of his comments, he is described as a professional provocateur. he certainly does

provoke a lot of people. clearly, theissue provoke a lot of people. clearly, the issue of what is at the centre here at collie is a matter of free speech and whether he should have had the right to speak, however unpalatable his views. —— berkely. some people call breitbart us that —— fake news site. now steve bowman works for donald trump and he was the publisher of breitba rt works for donald trump and he was the publisher of breitbart —— bannon. yes, he is now a longsighted donald trump in the white house. he has held a very senior position. he seems to be directing policy, in many respects. there is a certain irony, of course, we are speaking about free speech and what has happened in berkely. steve bannan is the person in the white house a few days ago he suggested that dress should shut its mouth. —— bannon. days ago he suggested that dress

should shut its mouth. —— bannonlj know it began as a peaceful process for several hours. —— protest. then it became quite active. it got very active. it was seemingly quite violent as well. there is a fire which you can see. my understanding is that it is a tree that is burning just in front of the university building. the barricades were hurriedly put up and reinforcements brought in as more police officers tried to control the situation. it was on the verge, it seems, of getting out of control. a very angry protest. some people ‘s memories go back to 1964 with locally, the university often been described as the birthplace of the free—speech movement. there was a student protest against university authorities for a ban on political

activities on campus. for all it was many decades ago, people are remembering that time. the atmosphere and the anger that surrounded that event and some remember it quite vividly. we should just stress that that speech by milo yiannopoulos has been cancelled, as had —— have other of his appearances on campus. 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 the town of avdiivka have been left without electricity or water. tom burridge is there for us. the ukranian military has been fighting russian—backed separatists for two and half years now. things have really hotted up in the town of avdiivka. we have come to this residential area and we have seen this

on several houses that have been hit — you can see the impact there. if you come through here, they are kind of lucky because, in a way, the house was not hit but actually their garden shed was. a rocket or mortar or something like that has come in and totally flattened this. but we have also sadly discovered that sadly a woman was killed in the morning. we see evidence of that and we have spoken to one of her relatives. translation: we think she came to visit us because her daughter lives here. we can't understand why people are dying. we have been through shelling before. 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 have not seen my children and grandchildren in two years. i cannot sleep at night, i have to hide in the basement and i am scared there.

you can see the ukranian soldiers here serving out hot stew for the people waiting in the cold. avdiivka is really a city in need. the people here are sadly accustomed to war — they have been used to it for two and a half years. but the situation in the last three days has gotten much much worse. donald trump's choice for secretary of state has been sworn in, after a hard —fought confirmation hearing and a tight vote. rex tillerson will be america's top diplomat. he faces any number of geopolitical challenges, from how to deal with moscow, to unrest in the middle east and growing tensions in asia. as i enter the responsibilities of secretary of state, and as i serve this president, i serve their interest and will always represent the interests of all of the american people at all times. and again, mr president, thank you for this extraordinary opportunity. more on that and rex tillerson faced more scrutiny —

and more opposition — than is usual for such an appointment. critics in congress point to his business interests — he's the former head of exxon mobil — and his close ties with russia. more from our washington correspondent david willis. it went in the end of 56— 43. every republican voting in favour of mr telethon‘s appointment. virtually every democrat voting against him. —— rex tillerson. this was one of the most contentious appointments of secretary of state in us history. members of the senate committee, members of the senate, questioning rex tillerson on his views on things. not least his worldview as a man formerly the ceo of exxon mobil. also whether he had the diplomatic skills to do the job

as us top diplomat. and his ties to vladimir putin, former business ties to the russian president. and there was concern as well about foreign policy under the trump administration. especially this ban on people travelling from seven predominantly muslim countries to the us. how will he cope with that? in the end he was confirmed as the 69th secretary of state. the first thing he will have to do when touching the ground is reassuring his staff, many of whom are wobbly, about the travel ban. david willis in washington. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: 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. 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. this is bbc news. i'm mike embley. the latest headlines: there are angry protests going on at the university around a quarter of a million romanians have been protesting

against a new government decree that's decriminalised some corruption offences and could see dozens of politicians freed from jail. there are angry protests going on at the university of berkeley in california where the editor of right—wing website breitbart is scheduled to speak later. facebook and its virtual reality unit 0culus has been ordered by a texanjury, to pay $500 million in damages to zenimax media by a texan jury to pay $500 million in damages to zenimax media the video game publisher that says 0culus stole its technology. but still facebook‘s shares rose on wednesday as the world's largest online social network reported higher—than—expected quarterly profit and revenue, thanks to online advertising. dave lee our north america technology reporter is outside facebook headquarters in san francisco. tell us more about what is going on here. in terms of the case against 0culus, the trial happened last month. the accusation was that in the early days of facebook‘s vr

technology, for they bought the technology, for they bought the technology, they stole some technology, they stole some technology to get it off the ground. they claimed they were owed for money on its use. thejury they claimed they were owed for money on its use. the jury didn't agree with that. it said no trade secrets were taken. they ruled that members of the 0culus team had broken a nondisclosure agreement about parts of computer code. for that thejudges said about parts of computer code. for that the judges said facebook and those employees must pay a combined $500 million in damages. and also, the company which won the case, zenimax, seek settlement, so could get more damaging. clearly not finished. will facebook appeal? yes. facebook has said they will appeal. they said they are pleased that the

jury they said they are pleased that the jury found they said they are pleased that the juryfound in they said they are pleased that the jury found in their favour, they said they are pleased that the jury found in theirfavour, or they said they are pleased that the jury found in their favour, or they could have seen damages of around $2 billion, that is what was asked for. all the same, they are not happy about $500 million. they say the success of 0culus is because of what facebook put into it, so they will appeal the decision. facebook put into it, so they will appealthe decision. it facebook put into it, so they will appeal the decision. it doesn't seem to have harmed facebook‘s numbers. absolutely not. that fine is a drop in the ocean. they said their profits last year rose to ten pointud billion —— ten pointud billion dollars. clearly facebook is riding high. this fine, while embarrassing, isn't causing a problem to their business. embarrassing, isn't causing a problem to their businessm embarrassing, isn't causing a problem to their business. it is a figure anyone would need to check, isn't it? thank you. it's 12 months since zika was declared a global health emergency, and scientists are only now managing to piece together the impact the virus has on babies born to infected mothers. and it seems many more children could be suffering health complications than first thought.

camilla costa has been to recife in brazil, ground zero of the epidemic, to get 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 tuesdays, wednesdays and fridays. i wake up at 4.00 in the morning and i arrive here at 6.00 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. let's round up some of the other main stories: british members of parliament have voted overwhelmingly to give the government an historic mandate to start the process of leaving

the european union. the vote to trigger article 50 of the lisbon treaty was 498 in favour, 114 against. there'll be more detailed scrutiny of the bill in the house of commons next week. police in delaware say inmates at a prison in smyrna have released one of the five hostages they have been holding. negotiations are continuing to free the others who are all members of staff. 0ther prisons across the state have been put in lockdown. dozens of police vehicles as well as ambulances have been sent to the prison. mr trump's supporters say he's keeping the promises he made on the campaign trail. 0ur north america correspondent nick bryant has travelled to the southern state of tennessee, to gauge how people are taking to the new president. the hills of eastern tennessee, a landscape that reminds us that it wasn't just the rust belt that won donald trump the presidency, but the bible belt as well.

father, god, we are so grateful to be able to meet here. chattanooga prides itself on being the buckle of the belt, and this bible study group praise for his conservative supreme court nominee and thanking god for placing him in the white house. god has done work in him, he has changed him and you can see it with the people he surrounded himself with. and i do believe he has brought a seriousness people didn't think would come out of donald trump. i think god led this country to put donald trump in office. i was very opposed to him. mark west started out as a "never trump" republican, an evangelical christian who looked at the new yorker playboy, but he has become a convert. social conservatives in general have been so fed up in washington for so long, for decades, we wanted someone to go to washington and blow it up. and whether i was a trump supporter

or not, so many of us are looking for trump to do what many have not done so far, to completely change the landscape, to blow up, figuratively, washington, and give us a new american revolution. it's been the pace of the trump presidency that's felt like a final furlong gallop, which has impressed kelly and tod floyd. we're excited to see what he'll continue to do. you think he's making good on his promises? i think he has. i think the permutation of immigration policy showed that he, you know, was not a career politician. but i think that's why he was voted into office, because we don't want career politicians any more. there's no sign here of bias remorse. to travel from coastal cities like new york and los angeles into these 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. and, once again, it feels like the people of america are sharing the same continent but not the same country. and mr trump's immigration order is facing a backlash. the un secretary general saying it's ‘not the way‘ to protect against terrorism. and us officials are trying to prevent a repeat of last weekend's airport chaos. caught up in the crowds was alaa, an iraqi immigrant whose wife was flying in from iraq. at one point a stranger appeared with a military medal. here's their story. it didn't seem real to me. it didn't seem it didn't seem real to me. it didn't seem real. i did two combat

deployments. i was injured multiple times. i worked with the americans in the embassy in baghdad. i came to the united states in 2008 on a special emigrant visa.|j the united states in 2008 on a special emigrant visa. i was on my way back from home depot al—saud and i saw what was happening atjfk. i quickly searched to see if something was happening. before i knew it, we we re halfway was happening. before i knew it, we were halfway there. i admit i was in denial. i didn't understand the situation from the beginning because i was thinking that the system should be working and he was a green ca rd should be working and he was a green card holder —— she was. and then i

meet this wonderful man. i got this from an american fellow. this is what all america is all about, you know, this is what america is all about. i was asked, know, this is what america is all about. iwas asked, do know, this is what america is all about. i was asked, do you go to protests? honestly, ididn't about. i was asked, do you go to protests? honestly, i didn't think i would go, my purpose wasn't to give him a purple light, it was a waterway have that represents what it means to me. i thought, i want you to leave with the true american sentiment. it is probably the most precious gift i have ever 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 is something that will always be part of me. you know, i don't need the medal, i have the scars on my body to represent the experiences i encountered. it was literally just

experiences i encountered. it was literallyjust me trying to give him something that was important. literallyjust me trying to give him something that was importantm literallyjust me trying to give him something that was important. it did make me happy. it made my family happy. and for ever changed our lives. jeff and alaa. and finally, from hawaii, this is a fire hose flying from the kilouae volcano into the pacific ocean. scientists estimate that one to two million gallons of lava, flows into the ocean each hour. they're not sure how long the lava stream will last. and just a reminder. around a quarter of a million romanians have been protesting against a new government decree that's decriminalised some corruption offences and could see dozens of politicians freed from jail.

thank you so much for watching. good morning. 0ur weather over the next few days will be coming in off the atlantic. if you look at the satellite imagery there's lots of cloud heading with it. some nasty areas of low pressure, potentially. it means a windier spell of weather across the uk and a bit of rain at times too. many of you will have to deal with rain this morning. we have overnight rain clearing away from parts of cornwall and cold temperatures in the morning. a damp start across much of wales and 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 scotland and northern ireland. brightest weather in the north of scotland. we will see gales, maybe severe gales, around coasts in the west and south. a blustery day for all of you. rain initially across wales and the south—west, spreading 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 get 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 into 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.

the strongest 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. the latest headlines from bbc news. i'm mike embley. police in romania have dispersed what's thought to be the largest demonstration there since the fall of communism. crowds are angry at a new decree exonerating public officials guilty of corruption worth less than $50,000. it would allow some convicted politicians out ofjail and back into theirjobs. protesters have been throwing smoke bombs and flares and pulling away barricades at the berkeley campus of the university of california — where milo yiannopoulos,

editor of the far right fake news website breitbart, was due to speak. hundreds had been demonstrating peacefully for hours beforehand. the event has now been cancelled. british mps have given initial approval to a draft law paving the way for the uk's exit from the european union. more political battles are expected next week when the bill gets more scrutiny. today the government will publish a white paper setting out its exit strategy. let's take a look now at some of the front pages. the daily express, which campaigned for the uk to leave the european union, describes yesterday's brexit vote as a giant leap towards freedom.