welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm duncan golestani. our top stories: president trump stands by his america first policies for trade, but insists when america grows, so does the world. the entire board of us gymnastics is to resign in the wake of the scandal surrounding the sexual abuse of young athletes by larry nassar. police in canada say a billionaire and his wife were murdered in a targeted killing. and paris braces itself for more flooding as water levels are set to peak this weekend. hello and welcome to the programme. president trump has told business and political leaders that his policy of putting "america first" does not mean the united states will reject free trade agreements with other countries. but speaking at the world economic forum in switzerland, he attacked what he described as "unfair" global trading practices. here's our north america editor, jon sopel. wherever donald trump has gone

in davos, the crowds have gone with him. and wherever the cameras have been, the president has been pleased to oblige. i hope we're going to bring back many billions of dollars into the us. i think that'll happen. it's already happening. but billions of dollars is coming back into the us, and i think that willjust continue. how much today? how much? probably a lot. and that was the theme of his speech. america first, yes, but an america welcoming the world. i will always put america first, just like the leaders of other countries should put their country first also. but america first does not mean america alone. when the united states grows, so does the world. but at the end of a week in which the us imposed extra

charges on some imported goods from china, he played down talk of a trade war. nevertheless, there was a warning. we cannot have free and open trade if some countries exploit the system at the expense of others. we support free trade, but it needs to be fair, and it needs to be reciprocal. because in the end, unfair trade undermines us all. some stood to applaud, but it wasn't the ovation given to president xi of china last year. this hasn't been a complete meeting of minds, but then again it was never going to be. that said, donald trump has been more conciliatory than many would have expected, and the audience have reacted more warmly. it may be that davos 2018 turns out to be a win—win. and the president was in

conciliatory, almost repentant mood over those britain first anti—muslim retweets from last year that brought him to blows with the prime minister. here's what's fair. if you're telling me those are horrible people, horrible, racist people, i would certainly apologise, if you'd like me to do that. i know nothing about them. so, yes, he would apologise, he just didn't actually say sorry. the president has now left the swiss alps, and if not yet a fully paid—up member of the davos set, he will probably be invited back. there's a lot they liked about what donald trump said, and who would disagree with his central message, that a booming us economy is good for the global economy? jon sopel, bbc news, davos. and later in the programme, we'll be backin and later in the programme, we'll be back in davos to hear from leo varadkar, the irish prime minister. the entire board of the us gymnastics authority is to resign in the wake of the scandal involving former team doctor,

larry nassar. on wednesday, he was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing more than 150 female gymnasts. earlier i spoke to our correspondent, peter bowes in los angeles. he said the resignations were no surprise. usa gymnasics were put under pressure by the us olympic committee that presented them with an ultimatum. and that was if the board members did not all resign, well, the body would be stripped of its power to run gymnastics in the usa. it did not take long before the announcement was made that the remaining board members, five of them, had already resigned, in the wake of what happened over the past week. they have now all decided to resign and they will be replaced

with interim members over the coming months. us gymnastics has also been told that it must co—operate with an independent investigation into what has happened, because many questions remain, including who knew what and when. was there a cover—up? us gymnastics have denied that they have covered up any knowledge of this abuse before it came to light, but clearly, many questions in the future for that investigation, and several others. peter, how is this being felt beyond gymnastics, in other sporting areas? this, i think, is going to every aspect of sport in the united states. in fact, we know from the house of representatives today that a directive has gone out, looking at potential abuse in other sports, as well as gymnastics, of course. i think it has hit a nerve with many people, of course. we had the victim impact statements of many people over the last week or so that were very — i mean, quite graphic to listen

to, and very emotional, for all those concerned, but this is something that is resonating with other sports and other sporting bodies. and they, themselves, i think will be under the microscope, as we move forward. peter bowes in los angeles, for us. let's look at some more stories making the news, now. the main syrian opposition group, the high negotiations committee, says it won't attend a peace conference hosted by russia in sochi next week. russia's meeting is backed by iran and turkey, but western powers are concerned it would undermine a un—backed solution to the conflict. the opposition's announcement came after two days of un—sponsored syrian peace talks in vienna. some of the richest and most influential men in saudi arabia have been released from a hotel after paying large sums of money to the authorities. they were being held in an anticorruption purge of november. those now free include the owner of the first privately owned arabian satellite network. formal coalition talks have begun in

germany to break four months of political stalemate following september's inconclusive elections. angela merkel‘s conservatives are seeking to form a government with the country's second biggest party, the country's second biggest party, the social democrats. residents in the south african city of cape town have been warned that their water will be shut off by april, unless they do more to conserve supplies. a severe drought has seen consumption limited to 50 litres per person per day. police in toronto have confirmed that the billionaire barry sherman and his wife, honey, were murdered in a targeted killing. the pair were found dead at their home in december.

officers originally thought it could have been a murder—suicide. harvey biggs reports. their deaths shocked canada's business and philanthropic communities. barry and honey sherman were found dead in their toronto home on december 15. in the days following, local media reported their deaths were being treated as a possible murder—suicide. the family denied that, saying no one close to the couple believed this. they criticise the initial handling of the case by authorities, hired their own private investigator, and conducted an independent autopsy and say they are not surprised that six weeks later authorities now say they are treating the death as murder. there are no signs of forced entry on all access points to the home. barry and honey sherman

were found deceased in the lower—level pool area. we believe now, through the six weeks of work review, we have sufficient evidence to describe this as a double homicide investigation. and that both barry and honey sherman were, in fact, targeted. barry sherman founded pharmaceutical giant apotex, which sells generic medicines worldwide. he and his wife were both well—known for their donations to hospitals, charities, and jewish organisations. detectives do not yet have any suspects. so the mystery of who killed them and why it continues. harvey biggs, bbc news. hundreds of homes have been evacuated in paris, as the city braces itself for more flooding. the river seine, which burst its banks on tuesday, has swollen again, due to ongoing torrential downpours. stefan levy reports. days of heavy rain in the french capital have left the city on high alert. roads, usually filled with paris traffic, are now devoid of cars and submerged in water. forecasters say the river seine‘s

water levels could rise further over the weekend, to six metres, just shy of the 6.2 metre peak injune 2016, which led to two deaths and injured dozens more. authorities insist they are prepared. translation: what would be a problem would be the boats stationed near the banks. the operations put in place by our brigade, which consists of putting wooden boards on the sides of the boat and the river banks, are to prevent them getting stranded on the banks. the city is usually bustling with tourists admiring all it has to offer. the rising river levels are now, themselves, the attraction. this statue of a crimean soldier has

been used to alert people to rising water levels for years. by thursday, the water was up to his thighs. the police have been helping families flee their homes, here in the southern suburb of villeneuve le roi. translation: in the four years that i have lived here, twice it has flooded. it is a big deal. i have two children. it was traumatising. experts say the weather could stay high throughout next week, especially if more rain falls. with increasingly unpredictable weather, there comes a sense of uncertainty for people in paris as to when the waters will return. stefan levy, bbc news. let's go back to a story that we brought you earlier, that police in toronto have confirmed that they believe that the billionaire barry sherman and his wife were killed in a targeted killing. we go to toronto and speak to a reporter with cbc use. and speak to a reporter with cbc

use. just bring us up to date with the police investigation, if you would? this came after we really had not heard anything for six weeks. there were lots of unofficial reports, but this was the first time that we have heard directly from police, and they did confirm that yes, they believe that this was a double murder, and that it was targeted. they were found dead in their home. it was december 15. they said that barry sherman and honey had not been seen since december 13, two days earlier. there are still a lot of questions, though, that police could not enter. they said that they have spent thousands of hours in total investigating this. they have interviewed many witnesses. they lived in a wealthy area. they have gathered security camera footage, and said that it would amount to probably 2000 hours

was of security camera video. —— hour ‘s worth. they said at this point they do not have any suspect. some of these details we had heard. one unit spoke to a source because also theirfamily, one unit spoke to a source because also their family, they have four aduu also their family, they have four adult children, and they really were not happy with what they wear hearing that police were initially investigating. they had been earlier media reports saying that this was being looked at as a possible murder—suicide, and so they hired private investigators, who were also looking into the case. with police looking into the case. with police looking into the case. with police looking into this case today, they also turned over the home to the sherman family. they are now going to be going into that house. thank you very much. you are welcome. stay

with us on bbc news. still to come: paying tribute to the pope of french cooking. thousands say farewell to paul bocuse. the shuttle challenger exploded soon after lift—off. there were seven astronauts on board, one of them a woman school teacher. all of them are believed to have been killed. by the evening, tahrir square, the heart of official cairo, was in the hands of the demonstrators. they were using the word "revolution". the earthquake singled out buildings and brought them down in seconds. tonight, the search for any survivors has an increasing desperation about it as the hours pass. the new government is firmly in control of the entire republic of uganda. moscow got its first taste of western fast food as mcdonald's

opened their biggest restaurant in pushkin square. but the hundreds of muscovites queued up today will not find it cheap, with a big mac costing half a day's wages for the average russian. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: president trump has defended his policy of america first but says he accepts open trade as long as it is reciprocal. the entire board of the us gymnastics authority is to resign in the wake of the sexual abuse of 100 athletes by the former doctor larry nassar. the indian premier league auction this year is likely to be the biggest ever. top players on the

option list, including star players joe root, chris gayle, mitchell sta rc joe root, chris gayle, mitchell starc and sing. joining me from mumbai is our correspondent. how does this work? unlike other major sporting leagues in the world, it is different in terms of buying it started ten years ago and every tea m it started ten years ago and every team is allowed to keep a player for a maximum of ten years after which the players have to come back into the players have to come back into the central pool. today the central clu bs the central pool. today the central clubs will be fur each individual player. the team which offers the highest money gets the player to play for their team. ten years ago, and now almost all the players are backin and now almost all the players are back in the pool and all clubs will

assemble and this place will come up one by one, their names will come up, allowing every team to bid for them at whoever offers the highest money that player goes to that team. they will not get much choice in where they will end up in the world? absolutely. they have no choice at all. clearly it depends on the team which offers the highest money. they have no say for which team they want to play. it is absolutely down to the money offered by the team. who are you keeping your eye on? in the next a0 minutes the auction will begin and some buried each international players. the england captain,joe international players. the england captain, joe root, then stokes who has been in the news support while. he is expected to be one of the

highest paid players and australia's mitchell starc. the west indian players are in demand, players like chris gayle and a lot of england players. these players will be in demand. —— indian players. the international names are in huge demand. we will check in with you in a few hours and see what happens. more on davos. the irish prime minister isn't there. last year he became the first openly gay person to hold that post. in march it will celebrate saint patrick ‘s day in washington. mike pence's use of come under criticism from the lgb community. i am there representing

my country, it is not all about me and the role i hold as prime minister. my view on all these matters when it comes to an engagement overseas is to engage with people and to co—operate with them and to raise concerns to their face. i am absolutely sure one of the things i will be speaking to mike pence about is equality for everyone. what will you say? i do not know, i have not met him yet. i will expect to tell it a bit about my story, about how ireland has gone from a very conservative country to one where it is now enshrined in our constitution to have marriage equality. maybe telling some of my personal story. you will be hoping to change his mind?” personal story. you will be hoping to change his mind? i am not so

hubristic to think i will change the mind of the vice president what i would hope he would look to america and america is in so many ways of looking for freedom and america is in so many ways of looking forfreedom in and america is in so many ways of looking for freedom in the world and the gay rights movement started in america, at stable, and spread around the world and what makes america great is those kind of liberal values. —— stonewall. america great is those kind of liberalvalues. —— stonewall. i think the majority of americans have not given up on thatjust yet. a funeral has been held for the veteran chef, paul bocuse, who was known as the pope of french gastronomy. as richard forrest reports, the ceremony at lyons cathedral as richard forrest reports, the ceremony at lyon cathedral brought mourners from around the world. they came in their hundreds, the great and the good of the gastronomic world, dressed in their chef's whites, to pay tribute to the man credited with changing the taste of french cooking. as his coffin was brought into lyon cathedral, the chefs stood in the aisles. they had flown in from across the world, to say goodbye

to a man who had been their inspiration and, in many cases, their teacher. paul bocuse came from a family of cooks, going back to the 18th century. he was an architect of the "nouvelle cuisine" revolution, sweeping away rich, heavy sauces in favour of super—fresh ingredients and innovation. he was known for his flair in the kitchen as well as his showmanship, and helped usher in an era of celebrity chefs. he was so popular in france, people stood outside the cathedral in the rain to watch the service on video screens. applause. paul bocuse will be buried in his family's vault, in a village just north of lyon, not farfrom his restaurant, he turned from a modest inn into a world—famous temple of french cuisine. richard forrest, bbc news. three billboards outside ebbing missouri is a story

about a grieving mother's fight forjustice. it's been nominated for seven academy awards and, after her best actress win at the golden globes, its star, frances mcdormand, is getting plenty of oscar attention. the bbc‘s arts editor will gompertz has been speaking to the film's writer and director, martin mcdonagh. my daughter angela was murdered seven months ago... francis mcdormand as mildred hayes, the uncompromising, unflinching and very angry grieving mother... you drilled a hole in the dentist? no i didn't. who rents three billboards outside ebbing, missouri, a fictional town created by martin mcdonagh, the film's london—born irish writer and director. martin mcdonagh has got an oscar nomination for his writing but not for his directing. i wonder if he's a little bit disappointed. no, not really, particularly because the mates got nominated in the other categories. it would have been nice, but seven's good. you get over here. no, you get over here. all right.

one of the criticisms that three billboards has is that the sam rockwell character, dixon the policeman, who is a racist, is treated sympathetically by you. well, he's definitely a racist and a bully. i wouldn't say he's treated sympathetically. i was trying to see, i think, the hope in all of these people. so if you say that's treating characters symathetically, to a degree it is. but the point of the film, and i think the thing that i hope people come away with, is the possibility of changing people. if it was me, i'd start a database. every male baby that's born, stick them on it and, as soon as he'd done something wrong, cross—reference it, make 100% certain it was a correct match, then kill him. we've heard many speeches from many people in the movie industry saying it is time for a change. do you think that's just lip service, or do you think something actually quite fundamental is happening? it feels like something really new and really great is happening. like, i've been in the rooms

at the last couple of awards things, and it is palpable, and it does feel angry, and it does feel like it's not going to go away, and i think that's great. it feels like a change is properly happening. i'd do anything to catch your daughter's killer. the oscars ceremony at the beginning of march might well point towards that change, with some surprising winners, and quite possibly a forthright acceptance speech from this lady. will gompertz, bbc news. the guggenheim museum in new york is reported to have turned down a request from president trump to borrow a painting by van gough for the white house. the washington post said they apologise for not being able to furnish the painting but

expressed hope the alternative may be of interest, the 18 carat gold toilet is the creation of artist marussia catalan and it is titled america. a reminder of the top stories: president trump has told the world economic forum that us will no longer tolerate unfair trade practices, defending his america first policy against accusations of protectionism. he told leaders in davos that the us supported a global system of global trade. you're watching bbc news. stay with us. well, the weekend is not looking too great for most of us. it's not going to be that bad, but there will be a lot of cloud around.

it is going to be mild, though. this is what is heading our way. it looks like a lot of cloud streaming in our direction. we'll be stuck under this during the course of saturday. it's already coming in, bringing some rainfall to western parts of the country. ahead of it, you can see it's still dry even through early saturday morning. so here we would have had a touch of frost around. i think by around 6am, the temperatures are above freezing already. but touching freezing early in the night. this is what happens through the course of the morning. so the weather front moves to the east, west to east, so you can see the back edge and rain getting into the western isles and northern ireland. so through the morning, in belfast, for example, the weather will actually be improving, after a damp end to the night. it is raining at this stage, so nine o'clock across the north—west in england, lancashire, wales, into the south—west, but across the heart, the east midlands, east anglia, down to the south—east, it is actually bright. i wouldn't be surprised even by some blue sky for a time. but not for very long, because by the latter part of the morning, that weather front moves in and it's overcast

across many parts of the country, at least in central and southern areas. in scotland, bright and windy, very windy in the western isles and the far north of scotland. gale force winds, and at 70 miles an hour. compared to the rest of europe on saturday, london will be about 10 degrees, paris at eight. madrid nine degrees. pretty much the same across many parts of western and south—western parts of europe. rome will be about 15. back home, here's the low pressure late on saturday into sunday. that will bring severe gales to scotland. blustery conditions throughout the pennines as well. but the isobars are coming from the south—west, meaning that the south—westerly winds will continue into sunday. in this sort of weather situation, we have a lot of cloud. it is mild. temperatures might even touch about 1a or 15 degrees, which is mild for this time of year. with that, rain around, particularly across northern and north—western areas of the uk.

but double figures, i think, for most of us. still staying mild in the south—westerly winds. a bit of rain around in this on monday. that will move southwards, but a shift in the wind direction here in the north means that it will turn a little bit colder. so i think single figures, even about five degrees, there. no more than that in aberdeen. have a good weekend. this is bbc news, the headlines: donald trump has told told business and political leaders that his policy of putting america first does not mean america alone. speaking at the world economic forum in switzerland, he rejected accusations of protectionism, but used his address to attack what he described as unfair and predatory global trading practices. the entire board of the us gymnastics authority is to resign in the wake of the scandal involving the sexual abuse of 150 female athletes by the former team doctor, larry nassar.

a spokesman said all 18 directors would comply with an instruction by the us olympic committee to stand down. and police in toronto say the murder of a billionaire and his wife was just that. they were found dead in their home in december. newswatch with samira ahmed in 10 minutes, but first up it's click.