welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: smiles and applause after congress takes the first step towards scrapping obamaca re in favour of trumpca re. this is, make no mistake, this is a repeal and a replace of obamacare, make no mistake about it. make no mistake. after 70 years in the public eye prince philip, husband of queen elizabeth, is retiring. now it gets personal. france's presidential frontrunner, macron, files a lawsuit, after rival, le pen, repeats claims he has a secret bank account. also in the programme: one of rome's most important landmarks gets a multi—million dollar makeover. hello.

president trump has finally notched up a major legislative victory, the first stage in repealing barack obama's signature achievement the affordable care act. the us house of representatives has narrowly passed the republican replacement for obamacare. but how quickly the new bill becomes law, whether it does at all, is a whole other question. it will face a very tight vote in the senate. here's our north america editor, jon sopel. the moment at just after two o'clock this afternoon in washington, when trumpcare became a thing. the ayes are 217. the nays are 213. the bill is passed. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. shame, shame, shame, shame. but outside, a rather different scene, as protesters chant, "shame." this fight isn't over yet. getting the measure through the senate is going to be every bit as tough. because, as today's debate showed,

this is a deeply divisive issue. so, i ask you, my colleagues, does trumpcare lower health costs? no. does trumpca re provide better healthcare? no. does trumpca re protect seniors and families? no. has panto season come to politics? yes. are we going to be men and women of our word? yes. are we going to keep the promises that we made? yes. or are we going to falter? thank you. in the rose garden this afternoon, the president beamed. a time for fist pumps and hugs with the speaker. this is an important legislative victory. this is a great plan. i actually think it will get even better. this is, make no mistake, this is a repeal and a replace of obamacare, make no mistake about it. make no mistake. they're dancing a happy dance at the white house today. but he extraordinary thing about this vote is that there's been no independent assessment done on who will be affected,

in what way, and what the costs will be. by the time this gets to the senate, that will have happened. and that could affect whether obamacare really does become trumpcare. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. president trump returned to new york for the first time as president. fresh from his healthcare victory president trump has been back in his home city new york, meeting australian prime minister malcolm turnbull. mr trump said his disagreement with australia over a deal to accept refugees from a detention camp there has been resolved — he said they "got along great". new york likes to pride itself on its welcoming tradition. it was not extended last night to its home town resident. many of these protesters regard donald trump as the city's least favourite child. he does not

belong in this city and is a traitor. i want to get back to what feels to me like a normal america. traitor. i want to get back to what feels to me like a normal americalj wish feels to me like a normal america.” wish he would never come back at all ever, never, ever. new york has seen large anti—trump protesting. this was small by the standards of the big apple. a handful of supporters also turned out to greet him. welcome home. donald trump has not stepped foot in new york for 107 days, the longest absence from his native city at any stage in his life. travelling through the city in a limousine is nothing new to donald trump, but never before has he done so trump, but never before has he done so in trump, but never before has he done soina trump, but never before has he done so in a motorcade with the presidential seal on the side of his car. the one—time property tycoon returned as commander—in—chief to commemorate the 75th anniversary of

the battle of the coral sea. it was an event that helped forge the us — australian alliance. beforehand, he met the australian prime minister, malcolm turnbull, a leader he a p pa re ntly malcolm turnbull, a leader he apparently clashed with in a phone call earlier in his presidency. we had a good telephone call. you exaggerated it. it was a big exaggeration. we had a great one. we are not babies. we are young at heart. it was a very, very good call. it was fake news. mending relations with his home city will be nowhere near as easy. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. approaching his 96th birthday, after almost 70 years in the public eye, prince philip, husband of britain's queen elizabeth, is calling it a day. he will retire from royal duties later this year. buckingham palace says the decision is not related to any health issues.

this from our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. it's an image to which the nation has become accustomed over a good many decades. the queen and the duke of edinburgh side by side on official business. today, they were at a reception at st james's palace. the duke, a few steps behind, and there in support. inside, meeting members of the order of merit. swapping stories about hearing aids. we've all got them. and joking about retirement. you're standing down? i can't stand up much. never mind standing down, i have trouble standing up, he said. but, come the autumn, his attendance at events such as this will be the exception. after nearly 70 years of public service, the duke has decided a few weeks short of his 96th birthday that it's finally time to step back from public duties. the palace says the decision has not

been prompted by any particular concerns about his health and the evidence would support that. yesterday he was at lord's cricket ground, opening a new stand, and sharing a familiarjoke. i'm the world's most experienced plaque unveiler. alongside all those plaques he's unveiled are the serious achievements, things like the duke of edinburgh award scheme. but his most important contribution has been the support he's given to his wife, the queen. as she's become the longest reigning monarch in british history, he's become the longest serving consort. they've done it together. on their golden wedding anniversary, the queen spoke about how much her husband meant to her. he is someone who doesn't take easily to compliments. soon, his role will come to an end.

the duke of edinburgh will not accept the invitations for visits and engagements, though he may still choose to attend certain public events choose to attend certain public eve nts fro m choose to attend certain public events from time to time. his retirement from public duties will mean other members of the royal family wealth that up to support the queen. it is likely she will be seen with the prince of wales or princess anne. those who know her say she will miss him. the queen will undoubtedly miss him on public occasions. there's no doubt that when they go out for a day together, they are mutual support system. having been on tours with them, having followed in the car behind them, you see at the end of the day they get together into the car

and he entertains her hugely, telling her funny stories about what's happened during the day. so she will definitely miss all that and occasionally she will strike us as a lonely figure. but she'll be going back to buckingham palace, windsor castle, balmoral, and he will be there. slowly but surely there is a generational shift taking place at the palace. officials have made it clear that the queen will continue with her public engagements. but, at the age of 91 now, her load is being lightened. as monarch, she is still the centralfigure. as today has underlined, there is starting to be tangible evidence of transition. nicholas witchell, bbc news. nicholas witchell reporting. eight brazilian men have beenjailed for planning islamist attacks at the rio olympics and for using the internet to promote the islamic state group. the men were arrested shortly before the beginning of the games, in august, after the fbi alerted the brazilian authorities. the ringleader has been given a sentence of 15 years, while the others have been jailed for five to six years. russia, turkey, and iran have signed an agreement,

to establish four safe zones in syria. the proposals drawn up by moscow were agreed by delegates, at a second day of peace negotiations in kazakhstan. representatives of the syrian armed opposition, walked out of the talks, saying, they could not accept the plan. counting is under way following local elections in britain that are being seen as a key indicator as to how next month's general election might go. voters across england, scotland and wales have been choosing local councillors and mayors. for our uk viewers, we'll have more on this in a few minutes, after the weather. 20 minutes. the frontrunner in the race for the french presidency, emmanuel macron, has filed a lawsuit over on line rumours that he has a secret bank account in the caribbean. prosecutors in paris have opened an investigation. he is widely seen as coming out on top from wednesday's fierce and ill—tempered tv debate with his rival marine le pen. back campaigning, she was the target of an egg—throwing attack. lucy williamson reports. borders and barriers aren't really

emmanuel macron's thing. but when you might be the next president of france, your supporters have to get used to them. and so the european flags that mark his rallies were waved today from behind rows of fencing. france, he said, needed to end divisions, of its people, its land, and its social classes. translation: we've seen that society in the uk, where the middle—class implodes. and that was the moment that britain decided to withdraw from the world stage. momentum is building behind emmanuel macron but this fight has been getting ever more personal. with just one more day of campaigning left, the end of france's extraordinary presidential race is in sight. 2a hours after a bitter debate with marine le pen, mr macron is still seen as the firm favourite. some of his voters say they are not choosing him,

so much as blocking the far right. two thirds of the country's far left supporters may not vote for him at all. if marine le pen wins, it will be of course. if emmanuel macron wins, what will be the consequence? in five years, marine le pen will be so strong. it's not what i prefer. it's what i have to do. critics have accused marine le pen of using last night's debate to goad her opponent. but personal attacks happen on the campaign trail, too. today, an egg, thrown during a visit to northern france. translation: the french people know my programme very well. that is because it is very clear. i have been presenting it to them for several years. i want to lift the veil, and i believe i did that successfully, on who mr macron is. there's more than one role at stake in this campaign. the presidency is the real treasure but, for france's far right party, emerging as the official opposition would also be a prize.

this campaign has been, in many ways, and argument over french identity. no matter how many european flags are waved, every election rally here ends the same. la marseillaise plays. even if france's political map has changed. lucy williams, bbc news. much more to come on bbc news, including vests. —— this. rio's police struggle to cope after the games have gone. the drug gangs are back. i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, do hereby serve to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterrand.

the tunnel is still not yet ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and islam struggled for supremacy. now the pope's visit symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister became the first man in the world to run a mile in under four minutes. memories of victory as the ve celebrations reach their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom. this is bbc news. one main headline: president trump

and the us house of representatives has taken this first step towards blocking barack has taken this first step towards blocking ba rack obama's has taken this first step towards blocking barack obama's health plan. staying with that story. a professor of public health and medicine in florida told me why this is a political victory for donald trump. there are some exceptionally conservative republicans in the house who want to completely trash all of the components of the old affordable care act because they don't believe the government should be devoting any of its resources to supporting the healthca re be devoting any of its resources to supporting the healthcare of individuals, that individuals should be more responsible and that in america we go it alone as opposed to the rest of most of the world. after the rest of most of the world. after the first failure to get it through a lot of representatives of the people had a pretty hard time at town hall meetings. this time there may be more protected. some of the biggest provisions don't come in until after the 2018 bid terms.

exactly. that was one of the clever political tools. when the original obamacare was passed in 2008 it was written pretty much and passed with an obscure parliamentary procedure. the republicans were very angry about that and they passed six or seven attempts to trash the law and it didn't succeed because they didn't have a majority and president obama would have vetoed it. and the republicans knew that if the democrats tried to revise it it wouldn't work. the democrat said when they wrote it that it was flawed. it had operational flaws. now the republicans are in the majority and they have the opportunity to use the same technique. they did not go out after two failed attempts to have meetings with their constituents because they got very bad feedback on those things. and, indeed, most of the provisions of this proposed bill would not take effect until 2019, after the mid—term elections, ostensibly protecting the political integrity of the incumbents. obviously the political point

for the republicans is to do away with the signatory achievement of president obama. that was a campaign pledge. what do you make of the analysis that says they will cut medicaid by over $800 million, largely to fund tax cuts for the 1%. is that fair? it's not really fair. this entire programme is only eight years old. if the entire obamacare legislation was scrapped, and that's not what is being proposed by the way, then we're simply going back to 2008, at which time people who didn't have insurance went to hospital emergency rooms, free clinics and insurance companies were able to craft any policies they wanted, excluding people. some of the provisions of obamacare are truly embraced by most americans, especially the proclusion against having previous conditions work against you, allowing children up to age 26 to participate in their parents'

plans and reducing the cost of pharmaceuticals to many of the elderly, as well as the subsidies. but most americans are under this mandate that says, you have to buy this, whether you like it or need it. that's like saying you need to buy broccoli, whether you like it or not. americans didn't like idea of expanding medicaid. most states decided not to do it. under this new provision those states might be punished in many ways. this proposal makes the states the bad guys in interpreting how the new law will be applied to individuals, unless the governments step back and lets federal legislators say, we kept our promise. less than a year after the olympic games, there's been an upsurge of violence in parts of rio de janeiro. the huge cost of the games means the city doesn't have enough money to properly fund its police and that's led to drug gangs re—taking territory and more armed clashes. amnesty international has criticised the police, accusing them

of using excessive force. bill hayton reports. moving like a military unit, a drugs gang shows who controls this turf. in the run—up to last year's olympics, police took control of areas like this, but now rival groups are fighting each other and the police. in the first two months of 2017, says amnesty international, police killed 182 people in rio, almost double the figure of a year ago. translation: everyone is terrified. we are scared to go out in the streets. people are stopping doing normal things. this week, to divert and stretch police resources, drugs gangs hijacked and set fire to local buses. the authorities in rio admit they can't cope. local police seize one illegal firearm every hour but say a lack of funds means they can't control the streets. translation: the government must give the police the necessary tools so they can work. we are talking about a police force which has not received full pay

or bonuses and has not been able to take time off owed from the olympic games. the central government has pledged to send another 100 federal police officers to rio but it too admits that it can't solve the problems overnight. translation: rio has this historical difference which is an insecurity that sometimes goes up and sometimes comes down. right now it is clear that rio de janeiro needs the helping hand the president is offering. the city wants enough officers to permanently occupy the slums. at the moment all they do is mount raids which result in armed clashes. caught in the middle are the ten of thousands of civilians living in poor parts of the city. human rights groups fear they will become the main victims of rio's renewed violence. bill hayton, bbc news. let's take a look at some of the other stories

making the news. an australian woman who killed eight children in a stabbing attack at her home will not stand trial because she was of unsound mind. raina thaiday was experiencing a psychotic episode when she turned on herfour sons, three daughters and a niece in cairns in december 2014. the legal decision means she can't be held criminally responsible. countless female basketballers are smiling tonight, after basketball‘s world governing body changed its rules to allow women to wear the hijab during matches. previous rules had banned the practice, over what governing body fiba said was a safety issue. qatar even withdraw from the 2014 asian games because of the old ruling. one of rome's most important landmarks is to be restored to its former glory. renovation work is to be carried out on the mausoleum of augustus, the first roman emperor. it's estimated it'll cost more than $6 million. tim allman reports. hardhats at the ready, the mayor of rome and other officials arrived at a tomb built

more than 2000 years ago. an iconic landmark in a city full of iconic landmarks. this is history in brick and stone. translation: certainly the project and the restoration works are enormous. i hope that soon it will be given back to the citizens of rome. the mausoleum of augustus was built in 28 bc by emperor augustus, the first emperor of rome. his remains were buried here, as were those of several of his successors. the tomb was plundered in the fifth century before falling into disrepair. later it was restored by fascist dictator benito mussolini and abandoned again. the renovations were expected to take at least two years. once complete, the mausoleum will be a reminder of ancient times and a reminder of the glory of rome.

tim allman, bbc news. it is the final day of campaigning in the french presidential election but it is not the only competition of significance. the annual get bake off celebrates the best stick of bread. many take part, for the right to become the official supplier to the home of the new president. ina in a country where people lived it, nothing is as stable as the beget. more than 100 were lined up to provide the country's new president with a daily bread. translation: french baking is known and recognised by the whole world. the ba g u ette recognised by the whole world. the baguette is a symbol of paris, so something that really matters to me. known as the grand prix of ba g u ettes,

known as the grand prix of baguettes, it involves many people, including head chefs and last year's winner who baked for the president. who does he want is the next in a palace? translation: it doesn't matter much, as long as they respect the artist and values of the becher‘s brook session. it is about promoting our skills and making sure our fellow citizens can consume partisan bakes instead of factory ones. the judging partisan bakes instead of factory ones. thejudging is rigourous. if you want to bake something fit for the presidential palate it needs to meet certain criteria. obviously taste is paramount. but it's also got to smell good. and, yes, size does matter. nothing short of half a metre will do. after several were rejected, the eventual winner was a bakerin rejected, the eventual winner was a baker in paris's 13th district. this is where he will be delivering to over the next 12 months. as for who he will deliver two, we find that out on sunday. much more on all the news any time

on the bbc website. you can reach me and most of the team on twitter. thanks for watching. come again. good morning. northern and western areas once again the best for the sunshine today. little change from what we've seen in recent day. still quite breezy across the country and still fairly grey to start with in southern—most counties of england and wales. but here a few more glimpses of sunshine around through the day than we've been used to. any spots of rain limited to the south coast and the channel islands, although cloud will return across east anglia and the south—east, as well as parts of the midlands later in the day. with the sunshine the best in the west, western wales, western parts of scotland, could hit 19 or 20 celsius. still cool with the onshore breeze across those eastern coastal counties. as we go into friday night, mostly dry but a bit more cloud then pushes through the midlands, towards northern england,

wales and northern ireland. a cloudier day here for saturday with a few spots of light rain and drizzle. the other change for saturday is we could actually see some more persistent rain push close to the channel islands, cornwall, the isles of scilly, through the day, even a few showers in devon. but scotland and parts of northern ireland stay with the sunshine, and a brighter and less chilly day to come in east anglia and the south—east. bye for now. welcome back to bbc news. a summary of the local election results so far. some results have already been announced following yesterday's polling for 88 councils in england, scotla nd polling for 88 councils in england, scotland and wales. also mayoral elections for six new devolved areas in england. the conservatives have on warwickshire, gloucestershire and lincolnshire councils with a majority. they were previously under no overall control. labour's candidate has won the election in

doncaster. more now from our political correspondent chris mason, following developments from salford. how is looking? we are now 6.5 hours on from the polls closing, but, unlike a general election night, we are still way off having the overall picture. it will be friday afternoon and into friday evening before we have all of the results. but let us bring you what we have so far. a clear pattern is emerging. taking a look at the picture in england, for instance, significant gains that you can see for the conservatives. 105 seat up. quite something for a party that has been in government on its own and in coalition for seven yea rs. own and in coalition for seven years. labour sweeping back. a difficult night for labour so far. the lib dems, patchy. some results that have been positive but overall slipping back in england. the very poor night for ukip. struggling to define it else it would seem in the eyes of many of the electorate since

the brexit referendum, given that for many that was the reason for the pa rty‘s for many that was the reason for the party's existence. you can see the reference to others in england. as everin reference to others in england. as ever in government at good number of minor parties, all independence. taking a look in wales, a similar picture to that of england. substantial losses for labour. gains for the conservatives in territory thatis for the conservatives in territory that is often tricky for them in wales. a small flat for the lib dems. some gains for blade comrie and another loss for ukip. —— plaid cymru. the scottish councils, that we re cymru. the scottish councils, that were out for election yesterday, accounting there doesn't start until later this morning. focusing for a moment on some of the results. labour in doncaster, a surprise? not a surprise. positive news for labour when there isn't a lot for labour. ros jones re—elected

when there isn't a lot for labour. rosjones re—elected for doncaster. not as interesting in use terms as some of the other results that will come in the coming hours, because that post already existed. she was re—elected to it, rather than being the first incumbent of that post at this particular election. so, yes, labour will point to that and say they have managed to get a victory. there are still plenty of people winning to listen to labour's message, but the picture so far i should emphasise so far because there are many results still to come suggests that it will be a tough day for the labour leaderjeremy corbyn. all right. thank you very much indeed. much more, of course, on the bbc website at any time. now it is time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. south africa's anc was once

seen as an inspirational model for africa. now it's becoming a watchword for infighting, cronyism, corruption and the dangers of one—party rule. president jacob zuma stands accused of abusing his power notjust