welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: brexit begins. britain's prime minister signs the letter kick—starting the uk's departure from the european union. president trump scraps us plans to combat climate change. critics say it threatens the paris agreement and puts the planet at risk. deepening concerns for civilians in western mosul. we report on the thousands of people caught in the conflict. and more tensions between turkey and europe following claims the turkish secret service spied on turks living in germany. the british prime minister, theresa may, has signed the letter to the european union that

will trigger the process by which britain will leave the eu. it will be handed to the president of the european council on wednesday. mrs may said she was determined to use brexit as an opportunity to build a global britain, with new trade alliances across the world. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. nine months of careful assembly, plenty of preparation, and attention to detail. the decisions that have been taken will affect all our lives and livelihoods, and her political future. banging the drum for trade with the gulf, the prime minister wants to reach out. tomorrow we begin the negotiations to secure a new deep and special partnership with the european union. as we do so, i am determined that we should also seize this historic opportunity to get out into the world. but there's a job at home to do, too.

here in birmingham, voters favoured leaving the eu but were split almost down the middle. nevermind for now, negotiating with more than two dozen other countries, the referendum divided opinion here, notjust between north and south, or town and country, or even constituency and constituency, but sometimes street by street. in this part of birmingham on this side of the road, the harborne council ward, where nearly 70% of people voted to remain, but on the other side of the road, the quinton ward, where there was a very clear verdict the other way round. in the next two years, theresa may must try to seal her deal with voters everywhere who wanted very different things. others, like mike wheeler, a businessman, have even changed their mind in the last few months. ministers want to keep people on side, but we brought mike and a group of businesses

together to ask how. since the referendum, what we've seen is not what we expected, which was a massive crash of the economy and high levels of unemployment coming through. our sales have increased locally, our exports sales have increased and our employment levels have increased. so, we haven't seen what we expected, so that gives me a lot of confidence. we should finish the year much better than i thought we were going to finish. however, do i think uncertainty has gone away? absolutely not. i think it's here to stay and any false move by anyone in the government, really, could bring that back, just like that. let's get on with it. we can all do this, we can all do it together, and we're on the right trip together. i am bothered by short—term damage that can be done now, and which will be very hard for the government to manage through policy. i'm optimistic about the future from what i've seen and it's fair to say that our members are cautiously optimistic

about the future. i mean, we're seeing lots of our members continue to invest, continue to take advantage of the low pound, the exchange rates, etc. so, for exporters, it's been a real boon. yet, even from the looks on theirfaces, these prominent remainers are far less convinced. i worry that she will be pushed into a corner a little bit by the hard brexiteers, who will be reluctant to give an inch. with the prime minister almost ready to start a long and complicated process, the final product still looks unclear. but, however she fares, the shape of the country is being recast. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, birmingham. the scottish parliament has backed plans to call for a second referendum on independence from the uk. yes, 69, no, 59. there were no abstentions. the amendment is therefore agreed. the vote was called by the scottish national party

after the uk voted for brexit. any new referendum will have to be agreed by the government in westminster, but scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon, believes there's now a clear mandate for a second vote to take place. i hope the united kingdom government will respect the view of parliament. this is simply about giving people in scotland a choice. we agree that now is not the right time for that choice, but that choice should be available to the people of scotland when the terms of brexit are clear. with anti—eu sentiment growing across europe the upcoming brexit negotiations are bound to be contentious. the french presidential candidate marine le pen, leader of the far—right front national party, has told the bbc that she expects the eu to try and punish the british for their decision. translation: that's undeniably the intention of the eu. the eu wants the divorce to be as painful as possible. that's simply because they can feel that other nations in europe want to leave this political structure.

they don't want a domino effect. blackmail didn't work. project fear didn't work either. so they have to try and make the separation as painful as possible. will they succeed? i don't think so. president trump has signed a new executive order reversing many of barack obama's efforts to limit global warming. the order is meant to boost employment in america's energy sector, lifting a moratorium on the development of new coal fields. president trump has in the past called global warming a hoax and has repeatedly promised to help the struggling us coal industry, as our north america editorjon sopel reports. the coal industry was beginning to look like an endangered species in the us under barack obama but if president trump has his way coal will soon be king again and today he signed a raft of measures reversing the policies of his predecessor. my administration is putting

an end to the war on coal, we're going to have clean coal, really clean coal. with today's executive action i'm taking historic steps to lift the restrictions on american energy, to reverse government intrusion and to cancel job—killing regulations. the new measures will undo the clean power plan, rules aimed at reducing carbon emissions. it will lift a moratorium on the sale of new coal leases on federal land and scrap a limit on greenhouse emissions for construction of new power plants. and no—one can accuse the president of not being true to his word. so obama's talking about all of this with the global warming... a lot of it's a hoax. it's a hoax. we are going to put our coalminers back to work. this is waynesburg, pennsylvania, a town that voted overwhelmingly for donald trump last november, in part down to his pledge to overturn obamaera pledges on energy. the colliery here

shut down a year ago. today there's growing confidence their industry might be coming back. as of right now, money is coming right back, they do believe mining is going to pick up and they are going to get theirjobs back. around this area, mining is picking back up. but environmental campaigners are aghast and wonder where it leaves the paris limate change agreement that president obama committed the us to in december, 2015. 73% of americans believe that climate change is real and the government should act and lead on it. so mr trump's in the minority. if mr trump does not honour the paris deal, he willjoin a very small club that includes syria, nicaragua and uzbekistan. but the president wants to remove regulations that get in the way of these american jobs. in essence, the president wants all men to be able to drill and miners to be able to dig,

but the reason so many pits shut down wasn't because of regulation, it was because they'd become uneconomic as consumers moved to cheaper, cleaner forms of fuel. it's hard to see how the signing of an executive order changes that. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. officials in the australian state of queensland are beginning to assess the damage wrought by the powerful cyclone debbie. parts of the state remain difficult to access because many roads are blocked. only one fatality has been reported so far. the australian army is heading into the hardest hit areas, where tens of thousands of homes remain without power. let's get some of the latest on the storm's aftermath. my main message today for residents on the whitsunday coast is please stay off the roads. we need you to stay off the roads

because at 9am this morning the adf will be doing a reconnaissance, they'll be looking at the structural damage which is happening on the whitsunday coast, and we need to be able to get our emergency services personnel in as quickly as possible. for many people this morning they are waking up and they are seeing the devastation that has happened in their communities. our hearts go out to them. our priority is to look after you, is to look after the families that have been deeply impacted by this horrific cyclone. obviously there has been a large area that's been impacted, but the really severe area is that area around bowen, whitsunday, proserpine. those areas and the whitsunday islands remain difficult for us to contact and to get into. we're progressively getting information out of there. i'm pleased to say that the information that we're getting out of there that while there is significant damage there are no injured people. the tropical cyclone was downgraded to a tropical low at 3am overnight. currently it's located

to the northwest of moranbah and is continuing to track to the southwest this morning. during today we expect the remnant low to begin a more southerly track and then take a southeasterly track during this evening. and that would bring the low down across southeastern queensland during thursday and friday. the bbc‘s amelia butterlyjoins us now from airlie beach on queensland's coast. thank you for your time. we spoke to you yesterday when the storm was approaching. now the cyclone has hit, what sort of damage have you seen? there's significant damage at airlie beach. for a lot of the time last night you couldn't really see what was going on. what you've woken up what was going on. what you've woken up to now is trees strewn across the road, there's a lot of damage to the businesses on the seafront so people

have had debris flying into their properties or they have had flooded from the sea surge and from water mains bursting, so there's a lot of upset people this morning. i've seen some people in tears at the loss of structure and business they'll be facing. how are people coping? you have said you have seen people in tea rs. have said you have seen people in tears. has the army arrived, has help arrived? low, as far as i can tell there's no outside help. we're still expecting the army but we're not sure when they will be arriving —— no. there's a lot of local help, people are helping each other out. i'm ata people are helping each other out. i'm at a small tourism business at the moment and they have supplied me some powerfrom their the moment and they have supplied me some power from their generator because our hotel has no running water or power, that's what a lot of people at airlie beach facing today. it must have been a frightening experience for you, i believe you we re experience for you, i believe you were at a hotel, what happened, any flooding or damage there? our hotel

was built to withstand a category five cyclone, but there was still a lot of destruction despite that protection. a lot of the roof tiles we re protection. a lot of the roof tiles were blown off, trees were had fallen down and smashed things below them. other guests had their rooms flooded, i was fortunate, so they we re flooded, i was fortunate, so they were walking ankle—deep or knee deep in the water earlier on this morning. there was a warning this cyclone was going to be extremely destructive. has it essentially lived up to its name, or are people relieved that there hasn't been more damage? obviously i think people are relieved there were no injuries around here. people managed to stay safe and that's the most important thing. i think locals are saying to me they have never really experienced one like this before. cyclones a re experienced one like this before. cyclones are common in queensland but this one seems to have been particularly striking. there's definitely a feeling that there is a

sadness at the loss to property. amelia butterly from airlie beach in queensland on the coast, thank you for your time. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: tribal chic. new feathers in the cap for native american fashion. the accident that happened here was of the sort that can at worst produce a meltdown. in this case the precautions worked, but they didn't work quite well enough to prevent some old fears about the safety features of these stations from resurfacing. the republic of ireland has become the first country in the world to ban smoking in the workplace. from today, anyone lighting up in offices, businesses, pubs and restaurants will face a heavy fine. the president was on his way out of the washington hilton hotel, where he had been addressing

a trade union conference. the small crowd outside included his assailant. it has become a symbol of paris. 100 years ago, many parisians wished it had never been built. the eiffel tower's birthday is being marked by a re—enactment of the first ascent by gustave eiffel. this is bbc news. i'm reged ahmad. the latest headlines: britain's prime minister has signed a letter kick—starting the uk's departure from the european union. it'll be delivered to brussels on wednesday. president trump has signed an order scrapping us plans to combat climate change. critics say it puts the planet at risk and are planning a legal challenge. an american general leading the fight to recapture the iraqi city of mosul from the group calling itself islamic state,

has admitted that coalition forces were probably involved in the deaths of civilians. general stephen townsend said an investigation was under way, but also suggested the militants could be to blame. our middle east editorjeremy bowen is with the iraqi army as it advances into mosul, from where he sent this report. mosul is being broken by war to smash the ambition of islamic state. we drove through the streets taken back by is in the last few days. the jihadists seized mosul in 2014, posing as the liberators of sunni muslims. instead, they imposed a nightmare. and trying to end it was this general, 50 metres from an is sniper. translation: it is a street battle. we advanced in teams from house to house. the enemy is very aggressive,

using snipers and car bombs. fighting in a built—up area is the toughestjob a soldier can do. casualties are inevitable. mosul is a big city, which makes it worse. both sides are moving along passages knocked through walls because open ground is dangerous. through homes whose owners left in a hurry. dresses still hung in a cupboard. the command centre was in the living room. translation: the fighting has become room—to—room, not house—to—house. they are surrounded. either they fight or surrender.

they are not surrendering. it's close quarter combat. he had two hand grenades ready. could airstrikes help them? they're politically difficult, especially now the americans say their coalition probably killed at least 150 civilians. this fight is every bit as hard and slow and difficult as was predicted. gunfire but these soldiers seem capable, and they are pushing forward. they are determined. gunfire their enemies are around 20 metres away. translation: they are french saudis, but mainly french and saudis.

when we kill them, we find their identity cards. and now, civilians, when they can, queue for handouts. on this street, they said it was better than when jihadist came here to build their caliphate, to start a war to supersede islamic countries. and iraqis absorb more pain. jeremy bowen, bbc news, mosul. the latest in a series of special reports on the fierce fighting in western mosul, with our middle east editorjeremy bowen. germany's federal prosecutor has opened an investigation into suspected spying by turkey on turks living in germany. it follows reports that turkish intelligence handed to its german counterpart, a list of alleged supporters of the man turkey blames for last year's failed coup,

the muslim cleric fethullah gulen. but german ministers say spying by ankara on turks living in germany would not be tolerated. there was no immediate response from turkish officials. sarah corker reports. since last year's failed coup in turkey, 41,000 people have been arrested and president erdogan declared a state of emergency. the turkish government blames this mad, the exiled muslim cleric and former ally of president erdogan fethullah gulen of organising the coup. now there are accusations that the turkish secret service has been spying on turks living in germany, alleged gulen supporters. translation: we repeatedly told turkey something like this is unacceptable, matter what position someone may have on unacceptable, matter what position someone may have on the gulen movement, here, german law is applied and citizens will not be

spied on by foreign countries. it follows media reports that turkish intelligence handed a list of suspected of opposition sympathies to its german counterpart and asked for cooperation. tensions between the two nato allies are already high. burling infuriated and corrupt by cancelling turkish campaign rallies on german soil ahead of next month's referendum on expanding presidential powers. in southern turkey the fiery rhetoric against europe continued. translation: i am warning europe on this referendum, which is our domestic business. europe should not meddle in our domestic affairs and mind its own business. know your place. and as eligible turkish voters living in germany had to the polls, hundreds of turks on the intelligence list have now been warned by the german authorities that they were targeted.

a passenger plane in peru caught fire after reportedly skidding off a runway during landing. there are no reports of serious injuries with all 141 people onboard the peruvian airlines flight evacuated safely before the fire spread. the airline said in a statement that the boeing 737 jet drove off the runway for unspecified reasons while landing at the small airport in the andes. authorities are investigating. throughout history the clothes we have worn have created powerful perceptions of who we are. then, as now, fashion has been intertwined with culture. an exhibition at the national museum of the american indian in new york reveals how native americans today are developing their own contemporary look and changing the way we think about style and identity. jane o'brien reports. from couture to streetwear, daywear to costume, it's almost impossible to define native fashion. but that's hardly surprising.

after all, each tribe is a nation with its own identity and culture and there are hundreds of artists working across the vast american continent and they're all doing their own thing. what is the artist trying to do here? because these are not clothes i would wear. well, these two dresses by wendy ponca are really an expression of the creation story. the connection to the stars. so she's chosen a space age type material. i don't believe they are really meant necessarily to be worn, because of the material. they really are more of a statement and an exploration of these ideas. this one, by contrast, you could wear. it's a dress by bethany yellowtail and it's created in a very contemporary fashion, but it also has this line of faux elk teeth that run across the arms and over the chest. that's a direct reference

to betha ny‘s heritage and the dresses that historically were worn by the women and were covered in these elk tooth dresses. even where the cultural references are obvious, these clothes are anything but traditional. although that was the inspiration for margaret wood, who learnt to sew as a child. everyone had a traditional garment in the closet that they brought out for ceremonies and social events. then i started saying, those are good lines and wonderful colours. what if i did something that you could wear to work, and wear out to dinner, and notjust be associated with an indian gathering? the result includes this garment, based on the native blanket dress. the style is now frequently worn by young women at graduations and other important events, but what this exhibition demonstrates most profoundly is the independence

of native designers. their clothes are no longer solely the source of inspiration for others, they are themselves changing concepts of style and identity. amazing clothes. a reminder of our top story. britain's prime minister theresa may has signed an historic letter, triggering the uk's departure from the eu. it will be delivered to the european council president donald tusk on wednesday, setting up two yea rs of intense tusk on wednesday, setting up two years of intense negotiations. if you want to know more about written leaving the eu, do go to our website. —— britain. there is a good piece that gives you all of the details. you can also find me on twitter. see you soon. it is going to stay warm and springlike really

over the next few days. cooler into the weekend, but some outbreaks of rain over the weekend. on wednesday a cloudy start. very mild. 10—11 celsius to begin wednesday morning. some low cloud, mist and murk across the east and south—east. more across the east and south—east. persistent rain spr north. more persistent rain spreading north. in the east and south—east it should remain largely dry through the day. quite a damp afternoon for much of scotland. for northern ireland and northern england as well. heavier bursts around for the high ground, but fairly mild, despite the cloud and breeze. 12— 14. cloudy and wet for wales. the south—west england, cornwall and devon seeing most of the rain. further east it should stay dry. given brightness we could see16—

17. very mild despite the cloud cover. temperatures rise further into thursday. we tap into warm air off the near continent, especially across the south—east and east anglia, where we could see. 22 celsius but a very mild day further north and west. quite a different weather pattern from east to west. in the south—east it should stay dry. maybe sunshine. further north and west, outbreaks of rain. heavy at times and breezy. on friday we have more persistent rain pushing in from the west. a reactive weather front. a wet day on friday. still warm in the south—east. fairly mild for the north and west. the weather front clears through on friday night. then we are in the sunshine and showers for saturday and things turn a little bit quieter into sunday. high pressure builds in. we should see a fairly clear night, but some sunshine. on saturday, scattered april showers. some could be heavy. sunshine in between.

temperatures and notched down, 11— 16 celsius. a cool start to sunday, but at least mainly fine because of the high pressure. we should be sunshine around. more cloud at in the west and more of a breeze. a showery day on saturday, with sunshine between the showers. generally fine and settled on sunday thanks to the high pressure. the latest headlines from bbc news, i'm reged ahmad. britain's prime minister, theresa may, has signed a historic letter triggering the uk's departure from the european union. it will be delivered to european council president donald tusk on wednesday, setting up two years of intense negotiations. mrs may is set to tell mps that now is the moment for the country to come together. president donald trump has signed an executive order scrapping the us's green energy targets and boosting its troubled coal industry. us environmentalists say the move will hinder efforts to curb climate change and have vowed to challenge it in the courts. there's deepening concern for thousands of civilians caught up in the conflict in western mosul.

a us general leading the fight to recapture the iraqi city from the group calling itself islamic state has admitted that coalition forces were probably involved in many civilian deaths. now it's time for panorama. five days ago, terror came here, to the heart of london, killing and maiming indiscriminately. there is a breaking news story over at westminster palace. we are getting reports of an incident outside the palace of westminster. breaking news, there are reports of gunshots being heard outside the houses of parliament. at 2:39pm last wednesday afternoon, khalid masood was seeminglyjust another london motorist.

seconds later, he was a killer, driving his rented car onto the pavement, ploughing into pedestrians on one of london's busiest bridges. atourguide, adrian istoria, saw it all.