welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is nkem ifejika. our top stories: underfire: president trump's plan to impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium is condemned by trading partners — including canada. the integrated nature of our supply chains means that there will be significant disruption. in canada, obviously, but also in the united states. war crimes are being committed on syrian civilians in eastern ghouta, says the un. it calls for those responsible to be prosecuted. snow blizzards bring chaos across europe. at least 60 people have died in sub—zero temperatures. and britain's prime minister sets out her hopes for brexit. eu officials say her speech lacked details. hello and welcome to the programme.

the international monetary fund has joined international condemnation of president trump's plan to impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium. it says such a move will not only hurt other countries, but also those of the united states. stock markets have fallen since the announcement. our washington correspondent chris buckler reports. steel is essential to america's economy, but inside the us for many yea rs economy, but inside the us for many years it has been an industry in decline. donald trump blames cheap imports. however, his solution of new tariffs has sparked fears of a trade war. and led to increasingly heated language from many of america's trading partners, including china, canada, and mexico. the unacceptable nature of these proposals will hurt them as much as us. proposals will hurt them as much as us. and we are confident that we will continue to be up to defend

canadian industry. the president announced his plan for 35% tariffs for steel and 10% for aluminium, but it came surprise to many, including some inside the white house. details of the policy is to we worked out. many who rely on imported metal, including some of the president's oh supporters, are worried about the impact on the us economy, particularly with the growing threat of international retaliation. european leaders made a point of singling out the most american of products. translation: we will impose tariffs on harley—davidson mark urban, and levi's blue jeans. this on harley—davidson mark urban, and levi's bluejeans. this is highly reg retta ble. levi's bluejeans. this is highly regrettable. we would like to have a reasonable relationship with the united states of america, but we cannot simply bury our head in the

sand. —— harley—davidson, bourbon. instead, communities in the fall in industrial heartland of the us. it was here that donald trump and should support with his america first message. however, it is the modern supply of steel that worries many businesses here as well is abroad. they are concerned. their costs will rise will tariffs. and they could prove to be the hard truth of this protectionist policy. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. david mortlock was an adviser to president obama in international economics and trade and is now a partner at willkie farr & gallagher. hejoins me from partner at willkie farr & gallagher. he joins me from washington. partner at willkie farr & gallagher. hejoins me from washington. what is so hejoins me from washington. what is so bad about these tariffs is back they are essentially going to

increase the cost of steel and aluminium coming into the united states. they could be good politics in the short term, but really the burden will fall on the american consumer and worker. we are going to see, first of all, the cost of goods rise. you will be paying a lot more for your beer, your soda, for american cars. we will also see jobs disappear. factories are going to be now cheaper to run out of mexico and overseas, and that is before you even get to the retailer to measures being discussed by the eu, canada, china, and other countries. david, oi’ china, and other countries. david, or you could be accused of scaremongering, talking about job losses going to mexico, which is exactly what the president is trying not to do. for example, he is trained to protect steel manufacturers. these pledges that he made during his campaign. and he is fulfilling those pledges. —— these

are pledges. that is the irony of the announcement. it might sound good to begin with, but the reality is that even with the hard and as we have seen today, based solely on the restrictions on imports that will come from the president's tariffs, but also from the retired through measures. we just heard you on but also from the retired through measures. wejust heard you on blue jeans, motorcycles, and bourbon. that is 180,000 jobs right there. the us steel industry is only 140,000 jobs in total. and that is with all the other richo to measures from china. we could be talking many, from china. we could be talking any from china. we could be talking many, many more jobs, from china. we could be talking many, many morejobs, potentially millions in the balance. donald trump has talked about unfair trade deals, and that was one of the things that he talked about during his campaign. and one of the things that he has tried to fix. i suppose that he has tried to fix. i suppose that this is part of that deal, part of that plan. surely you can understand why the president wants

to give americans a better deal. absolutely. we are all concerned about american jobs. we absolutely. we are all concerned about americanjobs. we have absolutely. we are all concerned about american jobs. we have seen the economy grow over the last ten yea rs. we have the economy grow over the last ten years. we have seen morejobs being created, many, many months of street job creation. but that has come about through smart, well thought out, considered economic policies, including domestic spending, including domestic spending, including negotiating trade deals that are good for the american worker. this is not negotiation. this is simply unit armour all imposition of cost that will come down on american manufacturers. as a result, they will cutjobs to meet their margins. that is not good for american workers. america has the largest economy in the world. to some extent, it can throw its weight about. it comes from a strong negotiating position. but that requires negotiation. the reality is

that we are an economic partner to many other countries around the world. we have built the economy so quickly because we have been able to cut good multilateral trade deals and bea cut good multilateral trade deals and be a good partner. we absolutely need to look after the american worker and ensure that the jobs are there, but this is not the way to get it done. this is a weighty grandstand, but it is not slight economic policy. thank you very much david mortlock of willkie farr & gallagher, formerly of the obama white house. the united nations' top human rights official says war crimes are very likely being committed in the syrian region of eastern ghouta and there must be prosecutions. hundreds of people have been killed in the rebel—held enclave just outside the capital damascus in the past 12 days. and despite the un calling for a ceasefire nearly a week ago, the violence has not stopped. 0ur middle east editorjeremy bowen is in damascus. so far the united nations security council resolution, calling for a humanitarian ceasefire for 30 days right across syria, that exist on paper — it does not exist in reality.

here in eastern ghouta, not far from where i am in damascus there are great humanitarian needs and the un is ready to send in 45 trucks with food for 90,000 people. however, that has not happened and it may not happen for a few days more. right across the country there were hopes among some people towards the end of last year that the war may ratchet down. however, i think the evidence of this year is that the war may have changed its shape but it has also escalated. a bloody battle is continuing in the north syrian region of afrin. turkish authorities have confirmed that 41 of their soldiers have been killed so far in the violence — which is targeting kurdish fighters, known as the ypg. turkey considers the us—backed kurdish militia that controls much of north—eastern syria a terrorist group.

the bbc gained access to film on the kurdish side of the conflict, as richard galpin now reports. night time in afrin province in north—eastern syria. and turkish jets are pounding a target at a checkpoint. bewildered survivors emerge out of the dark and are picked up by ambulances. they had been part of a large convoy of vehicles, bringing food and fuel for the people of afrin city. there were casualties, including teenagers. but most people had managed to run to safetyjust in time. translation: we came here as a peaceful solidarity convoy for our brothers in afrin. we had no weapons, nothing.

but the forces of turkish president erdogan rained shells on us. we don't want them here or anywhere in syria. this, the remnants of the convoy. since turkey began its offensive against kurdish fighters in the area injanuary, human rights groups say over 90 civilians have been killed and hundreds injured, including children, in what they describe as indiscriminate attacks. the kurdish areas, marked in yellow, lie along much of the border with turkey. the afrin pocket in the far north—west of syria is the current focus of the turkish offensive but there may also be a move on the key city of manbij to ensure that kurdish fighters are driven well away from the turkish border. the turkish government says it is targeting a kurdish group known as the ypg because it poses a strategic threat as it is linked to insurgents, also kurdish, who are based inside turkey. already, the fighting has forced an estimated 15,000 people to leave their homes in search of safety. many here are traumatised

by what they have witnessed. this man said everybody fled from his village. the elderly were carried. it was terrifying, he said, and now he fears the village has been destroyed. no—one knows how long they could be stuck here. turkey says the offensive will continue until it has completely uprooted the ypg fighters from the border region. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. italy's political parties have held rallies ahead of the country's general election.

despite each party promising victory, analysts are predicting that no party will have a majority. the anti—establishment five star movement is likely to emerge as the biggest single party. an alliance of centre—right groups led by the former prime minister, silvio berlusconi, is also expected to do well. attacks on military headquarters and the french embassy in ouagadougou, the capital of burkina faso, are now known to have killed at least eight people and injured several more. the security minister, clement sawadogo, says an african regional meeting may have been the target of an attack on the army site — he says a car bomb caused an explosion. pictures have emerged of a hiking trail in brazil which was turned into an underwater world by heavy rains. the trail at an eco—tourism site injardim in the south of the country was flooded with clear water from a nearby river last month. local people say it is a very rare phenomenon that happens only when it rains more than 15 centimeters at once. across europe the sub—zero temperatures have claimed at least 60 lives in the past week.

the latest victims are at least four skiers who have died in an avalanche in the french alps. the severe weather has also wreaked havoc for transport, countless schools have been closed and tens of thousands of people are without power. janey mitchell reports. the southern alps near friends's border with italy: a frozen wilderness popular with off piste skiers. but now the location of the deadliest avalanche of the european winter so far. translation: six people were involved in this accident, all six have been found. but unfortunately four of them are dead. our thoughts are with the victims and their families. the brutal weather has claimed the highest number of victims in poland, where temperatures plunged as low as —27 celsius. here in cracow, the emergency services searching for a man who fell into the icy river. in croatia, it was not the snow causing problems, but freezing rain. leading to multiple road accidents.

even switzerland, an old hand in dealing with snow, struggled. geneva feeling the strain of another ten centimetres on friday, on top of the 15 which blanketed the city the previous day. almost 350 flights were cancelled on friday from dublin airport, which will remain closed into saturday. not quite sure how i am going to feed these two. irish racing stable owners battled to feed their horses. tens of thousands of people in ireland are without electricity, with a red alert snow and ice warning extended for eastern parts of the country into the weekend. as always, there are those making best use of the conditions, and capturing the magic of the late winter idyll. the world's biggest

investment company, blackrock in the united states says it's stepping up pressure on companies that make and sell guns in response to the florida school shooting. it's considering excluding them from some of its portfolios — and is also questioning them about how they monitor the safe use of their weapons. earlier this week the retail giant walmart and the chain dick's sporting goods announced restrictions on gun sales. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: rescuing the house of rosa parks. the home of the former civil rights icon is saved from demolition. first the plates slipped gently off the restaurant tables, then suddenly the tables, the chairs and people crashed sideways and downwards, and it was just a matter of seconds

as the ferry lurched on her side. the hydrogen bomb. on a remote pacific atoll, the americans have successfully tested a weapon whose explosive force dwarfed that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima. i heard the news earlier and so my heart went bang, bang! the constitutional rights of these marchers are their rights as citizens of the united states, and they should be protected, even in the right to test them out, so they don't get their heads broken and are sent to hospital. this religious controversy, i know you don't want to say too much about it, but does it worry you that it's going to boil up when you get to the states? well, it worries me, yes, but i hope everything will be all right in the end, as they say. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: president trump tweets that "trade wars can be good, because america

is losing billions of dollars in existing deals." he's announced a plan to impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium. war crimes are being committed on syrian civilians in eastern ghouta, says the un. it calls for those responsible to be prosecuted. theresa may has outlined her vision of britain's future relationship with the european union. she warned that both sides would have to accept " ha rd facts" and that no—one would get everything they wanted. she said the uk would have to pay money into some eu agencies to maintain access to them. and she repeated her commitment that that the britain's would not be part of the eu's single market or customs union. rob watson has more. applause. what a challenge she faced. to set out britain's future relationship with the eu, amid deep political divisions at home and profound

scepticism abroad. acknowledging possible downsides to brexit for the first time, she said britain had to face up to hard facts. in certain ways, access to each other‘s markets will be less than it is now. how could the eu's structure of rights and obligations be sustained if the uk or any country were allowed to enjoy all the benefits without all the obligations? mrs may is still proposing a profound separation from europe, the so—called hard brexit of leaving the customs union and single market. but she says that should not stop that being a deep partnership in the future. we should not think of our leaving the eu as marking an ending, as much as a new beginning for the united kingdom and our relationship with our european allies. change is not to be feared, so long as we face it with a clear—sighted determination to act the common good.

as to domestic reaction, her speech has prompted calls for more detailfrom business, which remains anxious about brexit, and drawn cautious praise from both the anti— and pro—european wings of her governing conservative party. the eu's chief negotiator said that mrs may was at last facing reality that there would be trade—offs from brexit. others were harsher. it has been a tumultuous week in the long—running drama that is brexit. with the opposition labour party coming out in favour of closer ties with the eu, and two former prime ministers warning of the dangers of leaving europe and pleading with politicians and voters alike to think again. the politician left with carrying out the results of a referendum that has divided britain like no other issue in decades, said the country was facing a crucial moment.

thank you. few would disagree. there have been protests across slovakia after the killing of an investigative journalist and his fiancee. jan kusiak‘s work alleged links between the italian mafia and figures close to prime minister robert fiso. he denies any wrongdoing. the biggest demonstration was in the capital, bratislava, from where our correspondent rob cameron sent this report. they came in their thousands, braving subzero temperatures, united in grief at the killing of a journalist. this was the largest protest here for many years. a sign that what began as a local tragedy has become a national crisis of leadership. the moral responsibility for the deaths is the government, for sure. they should have resigned straight after as it happened, but they haven't so far. i think that shows us that something is not right. i am mostly afraid of what will

become of my country, because it is turning into something i do not want it to turn into. that is also why i'm here. the authorities are still working to find out who pulled the trigger on the gun that killed jan kuciak and his fiancee. the young journalist had begun to untangle a complex web of business and personal connections that led from the calabrian mafia right to the prime minister's door. this week, a number of slovak newspapers published jan's unfinished final article, still missing its ending, in a show of solidarity and defiance. after these murders, i think it is a completely new situation and a completely new country. slovakia is a different country than it used to be years ago. the most serious question is if this country is a mafia state

and it is up to the prime minister to prove it is not. prime minister fico denies his government is in any way connected to organised crime. he is trying hard to control the political fallout from the scandal but there are signs that the public mood is turning. the people who have been filling squares across slovakia today were motivated by two emotions. there was sorrow at the death of a young journalist, murdered in his prime at the age ofjust 27 along with his fiancee. but there is also anger here. fury at the slovak authorities at their failure to protect him. the house of the american civil right activist rosa parks has returned to the us this week. since 2016 it has been on a journey to berlin where it was reconstructed. the house travelled more that 8,000

miles back and forth across the atlantic. it will soon go on display at brown university on america's east coast. the bbc‘s zoe conway reports. this container has precious cargo on board. ijust found out what i was pulling in this container here. rosa parks' house. an emotional moment for me. a beautiful day to be an american, i guess. but this is not where the story begins. it's 2016, and rosa parks' house is in ruins. but a rescue is underway. an artist has promised to preserve it, whilst it's found a permanent home. a lot of people did think that house was not worth saving, because there are so many in detroit that look like it. it goes without saying that she is a national icon, and what she did was so important for so many millions of people, even if they don't know it. and so it was taken to pieces

and loaded into a container, shipped across the atlantic, to ryan mendoza's home in berlin, germany. we did it! when in 1955 rosa parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in alabama to a white man, she became a heroine to the civil rights movement. but she was persecuted. jobless and penniless, she left the segregated south and head north to detroit, like so many african americans before her. her family says the house symbolised her struggle. the house symbolises that, look, you might not have $5, but you can still be ethical. you can still be honest. you can still do things for your fellow man. in berlin, ryan mendoza, with a little help from his son, rebuilt the house in his front yard. and finally the house got some attention. hundreds of people came to see it from schoolchildren to germany's deputy prime minister. i think that it is, it's deep

at the moment for america to come to terms of the fact that this house, in its other simplicity, is enormously valuable. perhaps what this house represents most of all is defined. rickety and decrepit it might be, yet here it is still standing. zoe conway, bbc news. what am under full story. what am underfull story. —— what what am under full story. —— what a wonderful story. you can get in touch with me and the team on twitter. hello again. there is not as much snow falling now and attention turns to the icy conditions.

it is still quite treacherous out there for many of us. gradually over the weekend we should slowly see it turn milder, less cold from the south. there will still be a wintry mix of rain, sleet and some snow. that really cold air with high pressure across scandinavia and siberian winds, that has moved away. instead, our weather will be coming in from areas of low pressure spinning to the south of the uk. ahead of that we still have the cold easterly wind for a while across scotland but gradually we will replace it with something a little less cold from the south or south—west. but still bring a wintry mix nevertheless. that is what we have at the moment. it is still cold out there, still frosty at the moment with a widespread frost and given the snow cover and some snow falling in places as well as that earlier freezing rain it will be very icy indeed. as we move through saturday there is still snow falling for awhile across northern england and northern ireland. that peters out. north of that, snow showers

in scotland on that cold easterly wind. the winds are lighter to the south with some sunshine and wet weather developing in the south. focused towards the south—west and into wales, mostly rain but some snow over the hills of wales. at least those temperatures are just getting above freezing. still cold but possibly six or seven across southern parts of england. this is where we have the focus of the wettest weather on saturday evening. rain for the most part but there will be snow over the hills of wales, developing through the midlands over the peak district and onto the pennines as that wetter weather moves north. we still have some cold air around, maybe some frost and some icy patches are quite likely as well. that wintry mix of rain, sleet and mostly hill snow across northern england will move slowly northwards into southern scotland, still some snow showers in the far north of the country. to the south, a bit of sunshine perhaps but not lasting long because we will get these areas of heavy rain developing across parts of wales and then

a little snow over the high ground. it is mostly rain. quite heavy in fact. temperatures are about eight or nine degrees. the northern half of the uk reaching for five, not warm but better than it has been. these weather fronts continue to push their way northwards. everything spinning around areas of low pressure to the south and south—west of the uk. the wind, we lose that easterly and the wind will be lighter. there will be sunshine in the outlook. temperatures will be better than they have been. not warm yet, those numbers are below average for this time of year. sunshine, but also some showers. the headlines: the eu and canada have pledged counter—measures after donald trump announced tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium. mr trump said trade wars can be good, because the us is losing billions of dollars from existing deals. the international monetary fund has joined global condemnation of the plan. the united nations top human rights official says it's likely war crimes are being committed in the syrian region of eastern ghouta and there must be prosecutions. hundreds have been killed

in the rebel—held enclave in the past 12 days. despite the un calling for a ceasefire, the violence hasn't stopped. severe weather is bringing chaos to large parts of europe. at least 60 people have died in sub—zero temperatures. heavy snowfall and blizzards are forecast to continue well into the weekend. the severe weather has also wreaked havoc for transport, and tens of thousands of people are without power. let's return to the snow that's brought chaos to much of the uk. amid the misery this week for many — stuck in cars,