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: south korea in ferment as the country awaits the impeachment verdict on the country's president. more american states join the legal action against president trump's new immigration ban on six mainly muslim countries. the man in charge of protecting america's environment says he doesn't believe human activity is causing climate change. and freed as a result of a bbc investigation, but what happened next to the chimpanzee stolen by animal traffickers? hello. as we go on air, south korea's president, already impeached, is about to find out whether she will be permanently

removed from office. the constitutional court is publishing its decision now. the reading has begun. park geun—hye is embroiled in a corruption scandal, accused of soliciting bribes and allowing a close friend to profit from her connections with the presidency. if ms park is dismissed, there'll be a presidential election in south korea within 60 days. but the court could decide to reinstate her. our correspondent stephen evans is in the south korean capital, seoul. what are we expecting, this could ta ke what are we expecting, this could take a while? it could take about an hour or more. we are expecting the justices, eightjustices to file in, the court is empty at the moment, to start with their decision. at the end of the decision, it will take about an ally, the actual decision will be made about whether president park should be kicked out of office pretty well with immediate effect. there are 13 accusations brought

against her why the special prosecutor, the independent prosecutor. so, thejustices have to have decided, one, did she do anything wrong, and two, if she did anything wrong, and two, if she did anything wrong, and two, if she did anything wrong, was it so great that it merits being kicked out of office under the constitution? so, the prosecutor has thrown the book at her. some charges of real substance, like that she instigated a corrupt relationship whereby samsung gave a lot of money to foundations run by her best friend and in return she put the weight of the pension fund, the national pension fund, behind changes samsung wanted. that is a serious allegation of corruption. but it then goes down the line too, did her best friend have too much influence over her? where was she on the davis awol —— the day the saewol

ferry sank? the justices will decide whether the book hits are and whether the book hits are and whether the book hits are and whether the charges stick, that they should be so substantial that she should be so substantial that she should be so substantial that she should be the first president in this country ever to be thrown out of office while she is president. just to clarify, our viewers can see it, the justices have just to clarify, our viewers can see it, thejustices have been in for a while now, the verdict is being read. sometimes they get the result at the beginning, i gather, sometimes it is after the judgement has been read. this is, as you say, a very big issue. there are many people concerned about this. there isa people concerned about this. there is a big police presence outside. there have been massive protests against ms park. yes, coming to the office this morning they have started forming these barricades around the presidential palace of police bosses nose to tail, an awful

lot of police with riot gear close by them, and outside the court itself there are pretty big demonstrations both pro and anti park. i don't think you can doubt there will be tension whichever way this thing goes and i think if it goes towards keeping her in office, reinstating her full powers, goes towards keeping her in office, reinstating herfull powers, because she is still the president, just ripped up hours, if she is reinstated i think there will be a lot of anger from all the people who turned out every saturday to demonstrate against her —— stripped of powers. steve, thank you very much for that. we will keep anae on that and of course bring the result as soon as it comes through. legal challenges are piling up against president trump's revised travel ban on migrants from six mainly—muslim countries. a day after hawaii launched its lawsuit, washington state is also filing a motion to block the ban, and new york, massachusetts and oregon arejoining the suit. officials in washington state claim

even the new revised travel ban is still unconstitutional. our correspondent laura bicker is in washington. well, laura, do you think this is likely to get bigger, this case, this suit, and what exactly are the grounds? well, this is what happened last time, a number of states came forward and a numberjoined the fray. but yes, washing —— washington state was the key one, judge robart initiated that order. just hearing from the washington state attorney general, bob ferguson, he said that it is time that donald trump was told not so fast. he says it is still unconstitutional because it is still unconstitutional because it is still a muslim ban. he quoted the president's words back at him from during the campaign trail. he says he will be speaking to a number of

employers from xpedia to amazon who says it will adversely affect their companies, and policies and universities, if people from these countries are not allowed in. the white house says it is confident that this ban in its current form will stand up to legal interpretation, to legal talent. now, the changes, let's look at the changes, current visa holders are allowed in. if you are a refugee that has already been passed by the state department, he will be allowed in. after that there is a 90 day ban. iraq is no longer on the list. however, iran, libya, somalia, sudan, syria and yemen are still on the list. and the band also does not mention the religion of those who will be allowed in —— ban. previously critics have argued that

it would favour christian refugees and that's one of the reasons why many had protested the band, saying it was a muslim ban —— ban. at the washington state attorney says, he still says, he will continue arguing that your national origin does not determine whether or not you are a risk to national security and that remains their key challenge to this immigration order. laura, thank you very much for that. we will keep an eye on that of course. the united states is boosting its military presence in syria, ahead of a planned offensive against raqqa, stronghold of the extremist group that calls itself islamic state. the extra 400 forces are marines and army rangers who've been deployed in the past few days, to establish an outpost. from there, they'll be able to fire artillery at is positions around 20 miles away. the man president trump has put in charge of america's environmental policies has declared he doesn't believe carbon dioxide is a primary cause of global warming, a view that goes against

the overwhelming body of scientific evidence from researchers around the world. scott pruitt is a former attorney general of oklahoma who's frequently sued the environmental protection agency in the past. he also described the paris climate accord, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as a bad deal. here's our north america correspondent nick bryant, in washington it is one of those moments in the trump administration that comes as no surprise. scott pruitt is a well—known climate change sceptic. it is precisely why he got the job. it has been a jawdropping moment to hear the head of the environment protection agency say he is unconvinced that carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to global warming. that flies in the face of mainstream science and has been slammed by environmental groups. it also contradicts his very own agency's website. this does have policy implications.

any day now we are expecting an executive order from donald trump which would roll back many of barack obama's environmental regulations. there is also a fierce debate in the trump administration about whether or not to withdraw from the paris accord, that landmark achievement. people like scott pruitt, he says it is a bad deal. others like ivanka trump, the daughter of donald trump, and rex tillerson, they say america should stay in it. it is a measure of how much things have changed, that rex tillerson, who up until a few months ago he was the head of exxon mobil, the largest oil company in the world, is now a dissenting voice on the government's climate change policy. david doniger is a director at the natural resources defence council. he joins us from pasadena. david, good to talk to you. what do you make of the statement from scott pruitt? well, this is astounding, it is like having the surgeon general of the united states declared that

smoking is not the primary cause of lung cancer. it is so outside the scientific mainstream. the good thing is he is being very plain about his views, which he has been hiding from the senate and hiding from the american people up to this time. i suppose in the interest of full disclosure, mr pruitt might have made claim he is not a climate scientist, even a scientist, he has a degree in political science and indications. when he was attorney general of, homer he frequently sued the epa and he also on public record took hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry. maybe there is a longer game in what he is saying in his public stance. right. scott pruitt made his bed with the fossil fuel industry a long time ago and he has been rewarded with this position but he is moving from the minor leagues of american baseball to the major leagues and it remains

to the major leagues and it remains to be seen whether he can pull off what he intends to do. we are going to fight any of these rollbacks in the courts. they are against the clea n the courts. they are against the clean airactand the courts. they are against the clean air act and other american laws. and we think that this is... (inaudible). david, forgive me, the communications are difficult on this connection. thank you very much indeed for that. we will leave it for now. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the first ever female boxing world champion goes back to her roots to see her pioneering career honoured. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 2a hours in the soviet union lost

an elderly sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years hisjunior. we heard these gunshots from the gym. they came out of the exits and actually fired at our huts. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, ages a1, sentenced to 99 years, and due for parole when he's 90, travelled from memphis jail, to nashville state prison in an 8—car car convoy. paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. what are you going to do now — is it going to change your life much, do you think? i don't know, really, i've never been married before. this is bbc news. i'm mike embley. the latest headlines: south korea's constitutional court will shortly issue its ruling on whether to confirm president park's impeachment on 13 counts of corruption and abuse of power. more american states have

filed legal challenges to president trump's revised immigration ban on six mainly—muslim countries, arguing it remains unconstitutional. last month we brought you the story of nemlyjunior, a baby chimpanzee freed from wildlife traffickers in ivory coast. all thanks to a bbc investigation, two of the traffickers are now being prosecuted in the first case of its kind. and the body supposed to stop the illegal trade in endangered species has now tightened up its rules. the bbc‘s david shukman has been back to ivory coast to uncover the fate of the chimp at the centre of it all. a heart—warming story of recovery — a baby chimpanzee, nemleyjunior, with a great appetite. an astonishing turnaround, given the trauma he's been through. poachers killed his mother and the rest of his family and then sold him to wildlife traffickers. he's learning to explore — he was freed as a result

of a bbc news investigation. but he never liked to get too farfrom his keepers, he wants constant company. chimpanzees live in close families in the wild. nemleyjunior has now lost his, and needs a new one. this is a key moment for nemleyjunior, meeting another chimpanzee, a slightly older female. he's never going to make it back into the wild, so the best hope is to create bonds with a new family. just a few months ago, he looked so much thinner while in the hands of animal smugglers. they were selling him for $12,500. we briefed the police and they moved in. a raid led to two arrests. a young dealer called ibrahima traore and his uncle mohamed. they're now awaiting trial — the first prosecution for wildlife trafficking that ivory coast has ever seen.

and with big money involved, they're linked to another network of traffickers in guinea. the sidibe family also sold baby chimpanzees, but two of them have now been arrested, so this could be a turning point. once you get one, you arrest them, you prosecute them, you incarcerate them, that message starts to get out that wildlife crime is no longer high profit, low risk, there is a risk here, in fact, i might go to jail. the dealers circulate videos of the chimps for sale. wildlife investigators say the arrests will slow the trade but not stop it entirely. it is just one big step, but it is a never ending battle, wildlife trafficking. so you've made progress, but it's not the end? not the end, it's like a drug, it's a never ending battle. back at the zoo, nemleyjunior is playful. a mobile phone keeps him amused and here's the view from it.

after our first report of his rescue, many of you were keen to hear more about him. well, it's reassuring to see him thriving, and also to think that, with four traffickers arrested, other chimps in the jungles may be a little safer. david shukmman, bbc news, in ivory coast. the british artist, sir howard hodgkin, has died at the age of 8a. a painter and printmaker, he was a central figure in contemporary art for more than half a century, and became known for his semi—abstract blocks of colour. the tate described him as "one of the greatest artists of his generation," as our arts editor, will gompertz, reports. this is a self—portrait by howard hodgkin. it is how he saw himself, not in physical terms, but as a representation of his feelings and sensations. that was his style, to step out of time and place in order to paint memories. it is what marked him out as an artist. abstract, yet subjective.

each painting was the result of the laborious stop—start process that could take years. i hate the act of painting, i always have done. people have said to me so often, amateur painters, aren't you lucky to be able to do this? and i say, no thank you. i'm not lucky. i may be lucky with the result, but having to go through the horrors of painting the picture is not something i ever look forward to. he is really one of the great painters of his generation. he is up there with david hockney, with bridget riley. he has got an international reputation and he leaves behind him some very, very great works of art. howard hodgkin first arrived on the scene of the 1960s. he made his name in the 70s

and triumphed in the 80s, representing britain at the venice biennale and winning the turner prize. i am very pleased, very grateful and very surprised. matisse, degas and jackson pollock were all influences. but it was the light and life of india that he first discovered in 1964 which became his great love and inspiration. look at those colours in a row. lilac, the pink, the orange, yellow between. amazing. i think more than any other artist i can think of, howard's paintings are a celebration of life, they are an exploration of life. it is notjust life as if seen by a one eyed cyclops. it is life in motion, it is life as experienced over many years, but more than anything else, it is viewed through sensation and emotion and through feeling. howard hodgkin might not have enjoyed picking up his brush and making his art, but he couldn't resist it and never stopped.

his paintings were his way of remembering and will be our way of remembering him. the artist, sir howard hodgkin, who has died at the age of 8a. let's take you to a coffee shop in shanghai. here, all the employees are from families with a connection to hiv—aids. apart from giving them a job and skills, the cafe is trying to tackle the stigma still associated with hiv—aids. but as the bbc‘s robin brant discovered, that's not proving so easy. are we are trying to push them to become street thugs and gangsters? that is really upsetting. let's be honest. firstly, i did not know this, right? now you are telling me. i would talk to them like other people, and not have a second thought about what is going on. am i scared? that is commonsense. everyone would have a first intuition to think about it, whether i am safe or not. not if it is hiv, but anything, if it can be infecting. those who are biased and cannot

tolerate their food being served by someone who is hiv negative but with family members who are hiv positive, just don't come. you never know what you are going to find. we spoke to some people in there. that man in particular spoke very good english and had a bagel in his hand. but when i told him the story about this place, he said he had second thoughts and wasn't sure about coming back. social stigma and discrimination by people is irrational.

i think a lot of people understand that hiv cannot be spread by eating a bakery product. somehow, umm, there is still irrational fear. "battling" barbara buttrick, was known as the mighty atom, and became the first ever female boxing world champion, back in the 1950s. she moved from the uk to the states, eventually retiring undefeated. now, aged 87, she's returned to her home county of yorkshire, to meet young boxers, and see her

pioneering career honoured. david sillito went to hull to meet her. battling barbara, they used to call me. the mighty atom. barbara buttrick is 87. her sparring partner today, former wbc champion tommy coyle. i was what they would call a tomboy, i guess. she began more than 70 years ago. she decided, aged 15, to give up football and try boxing. it was a career choice that was met with more than a little disapproval. and a shortage of opponents. the answer was america. she took on all comers in carnivals and she won a world title. she has, over the years, faced more than 1000 people in the ring, a world champion, a pioneer in boxing. but even in her hometown of hull, few had heard of the mighty atom.

however, that has all changed. kat rose martin is the star of one of two new plays based on barbara's life. did you know the story of barbara? i didn't, which is really, really, like, shocking, really, because it's such an incredible story, how she became the bantamweight world champion and i'm stood next to the bantamweight world champion! and yet, we don't know about it. why don't we know about it? i think all this talk about girls not boxing is old—fashioned. girls aren't the delicate flowers they used to be. 70 years on, she has been proved right. tomorrow's boxers were queueing to meet barbara. a boxer? i know, i did try dance class but that lasted six weeks. are you inspired now? are you going to be a world champion? probably, yeah. it means a lot, yeah. i'm very proud to be back in hull, now, in a day when boxing is accepted, my life kind of is accepted, too, you know.

david sillito, speaking to "battling" barbara buttrick in her home town of hull today. breaking news on the top story. south korea's constitutional court in seoul has dismissed the president. that is the first president. that is the first president in south korean history to ever be dismissed from office. president park was already in pitch, they were deciding on whether to permanently remove her for a corruption scandal. she was accused of soliciting bribes and allowing close friends to profit from her connections. samsung was also involved. there will be a presidential election in south korea within 60 days. very briefly. these pictures from a massive fireworks

display in mexico. thousands of locals and visitors took to the streets for the celebration, dancing, as you can see, among the fireworks. dozens were killed last december in a fireworks factory explosion, yet they danced anyway. thank you for watching. thanks to a ridge of high pressure, thursday turned out to be a glorious day for many. plenty of sunshine and a top temperature of 17 celsius reached across the south—east of england. during the course of the night, looks like central and eastern areas will hold on to the clear skies. temperatures by friday morning, actually quite chilly here. but further south and west, increasing cloud, some light patchy rain, some hill fog, also a little bit of mist as well. a bit more of a breeze here, so it will be a mild start first thing across southern and western areas.

but chilly further east. and further east, closer to this area of high pressure. whereas this area of low pressure will bringing increasingly unsettled weather to western areas. so for friday morning, it is an east—west split. cloudy, breezy across the west, with spots of drizzle. chilly and bright across the far east. it will also be a bit of a bright, dry start across the north—east of scotland and the northern isles. further west, cloudier, some spits and spots of light rain, particularly acrosswestern up slopes, some too for northern ireland with a bit of mist and murk, and some hill fog. that's also the case for north—west england, wales, the south—west of england. but for east of the pennines, in towards east anglia, and maybe the south—east for a while, it will be a chilly start but at least bright with some sunshine. notice the temperature difference — 6—7 degrees in the east, 10—11 in the west. as the day wears on though, the cloud across western areas will slowly creep eastwards. i don't think reaching the far south—east and east anglia really until after dark. here you should see the sunshine. maybe a high of 13—14 degrees.

further west though, it will be very mild but rather cloudy with some spots of light rain. so it means for the six nations rugby, wales v ireland, in cardiff, during the evening it looks like it will be a fairly mild one, rather cloudy and there could be the odd spit of rain in the air. now, as we head into the weekend, it's a tale of two halves. i think saturday looking dry into sunday looks like we'll see a weather front bringing some cooler and fresher air, mainly across northern and western areas. for saturday though, skies will be brightening up across northern ireland and scotland behind this weather front which will bring some dreary weather to central parts of the uk. but to the south—east, here, a little bit of brightness. it could be very mild indeed, with temperatures of 15, 16, maybe 17 degrees. sunday is a messier picture. we lose one weather front only to be replaced by another one. and there will be some dry interludes here and there. looks like there will be some rain about and feeling fresher. so to sum up for the weekend,

i think saturday looking like being the driest of the two days, with some sunshine around and feeling quite warm particularly across the south and the east. because for sunday, it looks like there will be more cloud around. and many people seeing some rain at times. it will start to feel cooler and fresher. the latest headlines from bbc news. my name is mike embley. south korea's highest court has upheld the impeachment of the country's president, park geun—hye. she will be removed from office. she was accused by parliament of 13 charges including bribery and abuse of power. she could face a criminal trial. the country must hold a presidential election within 60 days. there've been more legal challenges to president trump's second attempt to ban migrants from six mainly—muslim countries. a day after hawaii launched the first lawsuit, washington state is also filing its own motion — with the states of new york, massachusetts and oregon joining its suit. the new head of the us environmental protection agency has been criticised for saying he's not convinced carbon dioxide is a major

cause of global warming. scott pruitt, a known climate change sceptic, has been accused of ignoring decades of evidence. he insists there should be more analysis. now it's time for a look back at the day in parliament.