hello, you are watching bbc world news. i'm alpa patel. our top story this hour: britain moves significa ntly closer to leaving the european union, after parliament approves a law allowing the government to trigger brexit. but the process is complicated, as scotland's leader drops a political bombshell and demands a second independence referendum. welcome to the programme. our other main stories this hour: turkey announces sanctions against the netherlands, as the diplomatic row between the two appears to be reaching breaking point. thousands of flights are cancelled, as americans on the eastern seaboard face the worst snowstorms of the season. frayed tempers and an early red card, as chelsea knock holders manchester united out of the english fa cup. i'm sally bundock.

in business: free to fire the brexit starting gun, but how prepared is the uk economy? we make sense of the latest data. the waiting game. toshiba shares plunge in tokyo, as it delays its results announcement for a second time. britain has stepped significantly closer to leaving the european union. parliament has given its final approval to a crucial law that allows the government to trigger brexit. mps in the house of commons overturned amendments from the upper house, the lords, seeking guarantees on the rights of eu nationals in the uk, and on how much say parliament will have on the final terms of the brexit deal. here is our political correspondent chris mason. contents, 118. not contents, 274. so

the knot contends have it. with those words, the government achieved what the supreme court told ministers they had to, parliamentary approval to start brexit. the debate here in the house of lords and in the house of commons, are for now at least, done. what came very clearly in all the debate, it is uncertainty thatis in all the debate, it is uncertainty that is bad for business, it is uncertainty that is bad for foreign nationals in the uk, it is bad for uk nationals resident in eu countries. so i think the quicker we get on with this process the better. the house of commons had overturned two suggested changes to the plan's new law, guaranteeing the right of eu citizens living here, and ensuring parliament gets a vote after the government's brexit negotiations. that meant the bill

was carried down this corridor of power, and back to the house of lords. but, collectively, they knew the game was up, as the unelected bit of parliament, they decided to let the government get its way, leaving some mps frustrated. let the government get its way, leaving some mps frustratedm let the government get its way, leaving some mps frustrated. it is honestly... in the 12 years i have been an mp, i have never seen a government caving in such a dogmatic and high—handed way towards parliament. i thought the whole point of brexit, this is what the brexiteers said, was restoring sovereignty to this great place, not undermining it. the process of leaving the european union is about to begin. that flag on the left will $0011 to begin. that flag on the left will soon come down. the big question now, as the scottish government pushes again the independence, is whether the union flag will flutter for much longer as well. well, to another almighty twist in british politics, the announcement by the scottish government that it is planning a second referendum on independence, a move which could complicate the brexit process.

scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, says it is necessary to protect scottish interests. but the british prime minister, teresa may, who would have to approve the vote, has called it a divisive move. here is our scotland editor sarah smith. this is a big and bold move from nicola sturgeon, a dramatic political moment, one that is a huge gamble for her. but it is a risk she says she is ready to take. what scotland deserves, in the light of the material change of circumstances brought about by the brexit vote, is the chance to decide our future, in a fair, free and democratic way. a democratic decision she says must happen before the uk leaves the eu. it could have been avoided, she claims, if the uk government had been prepared to negotiate a separate brexit deal for scotland. we have worked hard, really hard,

to try to find agreement. the prime minister and her government have been given every opportunity to compromise. our efforts have instead been met with a brick wall of intransigence. opinion polls still don't suggest more than 50% of the country would want to vote for independence. the economic circumstances are much harderfor you than they were in 2014. do you really believe you could win another referendum on independence? yes, i do. absolutely, i believe that. i believe that it would be wrong for scotland to be taken down a path that it has no control over, regardless of the consequences for our economy, for our society, for our place in the world, for our very sense of who we are as a country. that would be wrong, and therefore my judgement is that we should have that choice. outside, people came to share a significant moment. but this big decision can't be made here alone. the scottish government will need the prime minister's permission for another referendum.

instead of playing politics with the future of our country, the scottish government should focus on delivering good government and public services for the people of scotland. politics is not a game. in the scottish parliament, a majority do support another independence referendum, even though the tories, the lib dems and labour will oppose it. nicola sturgeon tells us she's forcing this debate on us because of brexit, and the uncertainty and division that that's caused, so how on earth can creating more uncertainty be a good thing? when the prime minister met the first minister here injuly, she said they would reach a uk—wide agreement on brexit. that failed. now, they must try and agree the terms of a scottish referendum. clearly a second independence

referendum is going to be a high—stakes venture for all concerned, with the result currently impossible to predict. and with all the business news, here is sally. and brexit your top story as well. we will be looking at the economic fallout with a leading economist in world business report. the negotiations will bring a period of uncertainty for the uk economy. britain recorded growth of 2% last year. but in 2017, the international monetary fund predicts this will slow to 1.5%, though this is actually up from their previous estimate of 1.1%. the story gets worse in 2018, where growth is expected to come in atjust1.4%. the ongoing uncertainty has also taken its toll on the currency.

since the referendum lastjune, the value of the pound has fallen over 18% against the us dollar. the weakness in sterling has made imports into the country more expensive. in the three months ending injanuary, fish prices rose 8.8%, tea prices were up 6%, and butter prices rose some 15.8%. the negotiations will take place as eurosceptic political parties gain ground across much of the continent. the netherlands is set to head to the polls tomorrow, with france and germany both set to face national elections in coming months. so what does all this mean? we will

be making sense of this latest chapter in the saga in world business report. shares of japanese conglomerate toshiba have fallen 7% in tokyo. that is after the company announced it will extend the deadline for submitting its earnings report for the second time. toshiba says the delay to next month stems from an investigation into its us subsidiary, westinghouse electric. the company is expected to announce losses of $6 billion, and is likely to have to sell off some of its business. so where did it all go wrong for one of japan's corporate icons? we will have more on all of those stories in about 20 minutes. the diplomatic row between turkey and the netherlands

is getting more acrimonious. the turkish government is introducing measures in retaliation to a dutch decision to prevent two turkish ministers from speaking at campaign rallies in rotterdam. it is also refusing to let the dutch ambassador return to ankara, and contacts between the two will be suspended. sarah corker reports. dutch embassy staff arrive for work in ankara amid tight security, a clear sign that this diplomatic crisis is far from clear sign that this diplomatic crisis is farfrom over. and, for the third time in as many days, turkey accused the dutch of nazism for blocking its ministers from political campaigning. and this was tu rkey‘s political campaigning. and this was turkey's retaliation. until the netherlands make good on the matters we have stated, the dutch ambassador to turkey, who is on leave outside oui’ to turkey, who is on leave outside our country at the moment, will be banned from entry, meaning he won't be allowed to return. secondly, it

was decided that until the netherlands somehow compensates for what it has done, high—level relations and planned meetings for ministers and above will be put on hold. and, once again, president erdogan was on the attack, criticising eu leaders who he said couldn't come to terms with turkey's rise. so how has this row between two nato allies escalated? three eu countries have now banned turkey from holding rallies, rally is designed to drum up support among turkish expats, ahead of a referendum on expanding presidential powers. 0n referendum on expanding presidential powers. on saturday, the dutch government barred two turkish officials from addressing crowds in rotterdam. angry protests by pro— turkish demonstrators followed. then, president erdogan likened the dutch to fascists. they issued a

travel warning, and then turkey called for international sanctions to be imposed on the dutch. and we will never negotiate under threats, under these types of utterings. we have not sought this, and we will try to de—escalate. at of course, to de—escalate, it takes two to tango. violent clashes over the weekend in rotterdam and inflammatory language from ankara have led eu leaders to harden their stance against turkey. translation: these comparisons are totally misleading. they belittle the suffering, especially in the case of the netherlands, which suffered so much under the nazis. this is completely unacceptable. eu officials cited security concerns for banning turkish rallies, and this stand—off now risks affecting ankara's entire relationship with europe. the dutch prime minister, mark rutte, and his rival geert wilders of the anti—islam

freedom party, have taken part in a televised debate ahead of the country's parliamentary election. mr rutte defended his economic record over the past five years, and his decision to stop those two turkish ministers addressing dutch—turks at rallies over the weekend. mr wilders attacked his credibility, and urged him to close the country's borders. the north—eastern united states is hunkering down for the worst snowstorm of the season. 50 million people along the eastern seaboard are under blizzard warnings. schools are closed, and thousands of flights and trains are cancelled. it has even forced the postponement of a visit by the german chancellor, who is due to meet president trump. nada tawfik reports. satellite images showing the scale of the nor‘easter hitting the eastern seaboard. and, as the snow falls, it has promised to worsen

dramatically, quickly. it has proven already treacherous. in wisconsin, chaos on the roadways. 40 cars involved in a crash on the interstate, in the midst of the storm. blizzard warnings are in place from pennsylvania to maine, and in new york, where as much as 20 inches is expected by tuesday evening, a state of emergency has been declared. new york's mayor, bill de blasio, warned this could be one of the biggest snowstorms in recent memory, and urged residents to stay indoors. if you must go out, do so for as limited a time period as possible. if you need to travel, use mass transit, if at all possible. but the best thing to do is stay in, if you can stay in. on monday, president donald trump gave assurances that officials were prepared for this severe storm. everybody in government is fully prepared and ready, and the entire north—east, it seems, is under a very severe winter storm warning. so let's hope it's not

going to be as bad as some people are predicting. but the blizzard has disrupted diplomacy. president trump was due to meet the german chancellor, angela merkel. her trip to the white house has now been postponed until friday. just days before spring, and coming after an unusually warm winter, shoppers find themselves feeling weather whiplash, buying snow blowers and salt for one last blast of winter. nada tawfik, bbc news, new york. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: can photographs alter the way we live? exploring the power of digital imagery to promote social change. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 24 hours then the soviet union lost an elderly sick leader and replaced him

with a dynamic figure 20 years hisjunior. we heard these gunshots in the gym. then he came out through a fire exit and started firing at our huts. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged 41, sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an eight—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 world news. the latest headlines: brexit gets a step closer for the uk — but scotland's leader drops a political bombshell and demands a second independence referendum.

turkey announces a series of sanctions against the netherlands — as the diplomatic row between the two nations appears to be reaching breaking point. it's six years since the start of the syrian conflict, and now all eyes are turning to raqqa, the de—facto capital of so—called islamic state in the country. thousands of people are fleeing from the area ahead of an anticipated us—led offensive. many of them are heading to manbij which is held by american backed groups. well we've been hearing from some families — who have been forced to leave everything behind. you can find plenty more on assyrian —— the syrian conflict on our website. let's turn to some sport — where we start with the news that seven—time—winners chelsea, have

beaten holders manchester united 1—0 — to progress to the fa cup semi finals. watching at stamford bridge was olly foster. manchester united fans have been coming to stamford bridge for over four years without any joy. as they were frisked for offensive items at the shed end, the united team bus was under just as much scrutiny. anything offensive on there, a striker, just one will do. marcus rushford off his sick bed to answer his manager's call. jose mourinho used to have that hold over chelsea's players, of course. john terry remembers the good old days, the new man isn't doing too badly either. they are lighting up the premier league. united were dazzled the last time they visited and if it hadn't been for their keeper, david de gea, the match could have been out of sight very early on. eden hazard and gary cahill both kept out by fingertips. united were further stretched. a second yellow card for ander herrera. that would test the mourinho tactics and temperament. the first half was heated but goalless. last season, kante was the unsung hero among leicester's champions. chelsea recognised his worth. his goal finding the bottom

corner was worth a lot. a wembley semi—final. rashford should have scored an equaliser that would have forced extra time. thibaut coutois had little to do but did it well. that was united's chance. chelsea had so many more. diego costa with the best of them. a miss not so costly as united's ten men ran out of steam. the double is still on for the blues, that's what victory meant for them. what defeat meant to mourinho is difficult to tell. after the match, the draw took place for the english fa cup semi—finals. chelsea's prize for beating manchester united is a tie against tottenham hotspur — while arsenal will face manchester city. those matches will be played at wembley on the weekend of the 22 and 23rd of april. now on a daily basis — we're bombarded by thousands of images every single day — some we ignore, some we like, love, share. but what do they do to the way we think — and how do they influence

the world around us? jane o'brien reports from new york on a new exhibition exploring the power of digital imagery to promote social change. yanis marshall is a french choreographer whose exuberant high—heeled dance videos went viral. his work is included in this exhibition, perpetual revolution, to show how internet imagery can help break gender stereotypes and lead to positive social change. within traditional photography social change generally meant the photographer was photographing something negative in the world, famine or war, the idea somehow the images would help promote change. now people are photographing themselves and creating their own kind of change. so it's fantastic that gender queer people and trans people have had this mode of communication in order to build community and represent themselves.

gender is just one theme. the exhibition also explores the impact of web imagery on perceptions of refugees, social justice, climate change and more. but there's a common thread that anybody who spends any time on social media will grasp immediately, and that's the power of the networked image, pictures we create or find online and disseminate to others in an endless cycle of sharing. but what long—term impact are they having on us, and perhaps more importantly, how are we using them to influence others? there is, of course, a dark side. the terrorist organisation, so—called islamic state or isis, now produces patent the false but tweetable images of a utopian society under its rule. isis is the one instance

in which the social change is bad. they make propaganda in a variety of different languages. a lot of it ends up being translated into english, but they're aiming at anyone who might come and join their cause. this exhibition shows how digital imagery reflects society, but in a world that often feels influx, it also shows how we can use our visual culture to reinvent ourselves and even create a new reality. jane o'brien, bbc news, new york. a rare and valuable violin is returning to the content bass concept stage in new york after it was stolen. the prized instrument to be worth

millions of dollars was rediscovered in 2015. it had belonged to a virtuoso violinist but was taken from his dressing room after a performance in massachusetts in 1980. the main news again this hour, britain has moved significantly closer to leaving the european union after parliament approved a law allowing the government to trigger brexit. hello there. monday was a mild and for many of us, quite a sunny day. tuesday brings more cloud but temperatures still on the mild side for this time of year. it will feel breezy and particularly windy across the northern isles of scotland where the strength of the winds could cause disruption. brisk westerly winds in the far north. for the rest of the uk, a quieter day to come. we will start off with quite a lot of cloud but certainly mild and frost free from the word go. the cloud should break

up later in the day. let's start off across scotland and northern ireland, some sunshine in the morning. scattered showers will continue in the north of scotland, particularly in the northern and western isles where it will be breezy. heading south, largely dry across england and wales. a lot of cloud for northern england, parts of wales and the south—west. some hill fog and possibly the odd spot of drizzle. a murky start. for central and eastern parts of england, the cloud is thin so the sunshine will break through. sunny spells developing through the day. slightly cloudy further north—west across england and wales. sunshine and showers for scotland, but 70 mph gusts of wind combined with big waves for the northern isles. the winds and waves could cause disruption here. northern ireland, not a bad day. mostly dry with sunshine. temperatures getting up to mainly 13 or 15 degrees, so still mild for this time of year. as we end the day on tuesday, most places dry, light patchy rain pushing a bit further south across england and wales. clearer skies heading into the northern half of the country. temperatures getting up to mainly 13 or 15 degrees, so still mild for this time of year.

as we end the day on tuesday, most places dry, light patchy rain pushing a bit further south across england and wales. clearer skies heading into the northern half of the country. for wednesday, high—pressure dominates, still quite breezy and showery in the far north but for most of us, dry. sunshine towards the east but cloudier skies in the west. temperatures still in the mid teens so a decent—looking day. heading into thursday, a weather front is trying to push in from the atlantic, bringing wind into the weather across the north—western half of the country. here we will also see a few spots of rain. further south and east across england wales, still dry and 14 or 15 degrees. quite cloudy but we will see fresh conditions moving into the north—west. friday into saturday, the weather will be feeling a little bit cooler so temperatures around 9—14 degrees and more unsettled towards the weekend. this is bbc world news. the headlines: britain has moved significantly closer to leaving the european union, after parliament approved a law allowing the government to trigger brexit. the process will be complicated

by the scottish government seeking a second independence referendum. turkey has announced a series of sanctions in retaliation for a dutch decision to block its ministers from campaigning for a referendum. germany, austria and switzerland have also blocked rallies on security grounds. around 50 million people across north—east america are facing the worst snowstorms of the season. thousands of flights and trains have been cancelled, and several regions have declared a state of emergency. an independent congressional report has found president trump's planned changes to the health insurance law known as obamacare would reduce