welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is nkem ifejika. our top stories: john bolton's set to become the next us national security adviser. but what will the hardliner bring to the white house? fears of a trade war as president trump hits china with sweeping tariffs. beijing vows to fight to the end. eu leaders agree with britain that russia was likely to be behind the nerve agent attack, saying there was no plausible alternative explanation. and the art of protest: the images capturing key chapters in america's social history. hello and welcome. president trump has named john bolton as his new national security adviser. he'll replace general hr mcmaster,

who's been sacked in the latest change in white house personnel. mr bolton, a former us ambassador to the un, is a hawk who has advocated using military force against iran and north korea. he'll be the third national security adviser in m months — he'll take up the post next month. chris buckler in washington has more. this is no ordinary appointment, this is like donald trump's spirit animal. this is notjust a revolving door of the white house, it is something quite different. it's a change of tack on foreign policy. instead of hr mcmaster as national security adviser and secretary of state, we have two different people and they are much closer to donald trump in their thinking is perhaps

their predecessors were. if you take a look atjohn boulton, he has been you ff;— you also get a sense be scrapped. you'alsa get'a'sense be scrapped. ypu'elsp’ get'p'sense is be scrapped. ydlj'eled' get'a'sense is going to come to this that is going to come to this position now it is going to know there are quite a lot of eyes on him but there is a change of the guardian foreign policy and in a statement tonight, this is whatjohn bolton said. the us faces a wide array of issues and i look forward to working with president trump and his leadership team in addressing these conflicts issues in an effort to make our country safe at home and there are a whole range of issues that are worth talking about. the iran nuclear deal. he, like the president, wants to scrap it and that will be discussed in the weeks ahead. there was a north korean summit planned between kimjong—un and president of order we are still

awaiting a date and time and then there are issues like russia, the president criticised for not being tough enough on russia butjohn boulton —— john bolton tough enough on russia butjohn boulton ——john bolton is someone who has been talking tough on russia for some time you will see a change of tone coming from the white house but what it means in terms of foreign policy, it's difficult to tell. and it's almost as if after being shackled for quite a while, donald trump has the team that he wa nts. donald trump has the team that he wants. i think beyond that, if you ta ke wants. i think beyond that, if you take a look at president trump over the last wild, he's been trying to put his people into the positions that he wants to see them in. this isa that he wants to see them in. this is a white house that has gone to a huge amount of change. there are questions about some other people in positions. although the house —— although the white house was happy

with hr mcmaster, they have been talking about this for weeks. but in terms of foreign policy, there are many challenges ahead. many challenges for president trump and if you look at the foreign policy issues like north korea and look at iran and russia, beyond that, there is the question of tariffs and much more to suggest president trump is determined to put forward a message time and time again he said in the campaign of america first. that is a fundamental in this new, ever—changing white house. later in the programme, we'll be talking to a former member of the us national security council. president trump has also announced plans for $60 billion worth of tariffs on china, moving the prospect of a trade war between the world's two largest economies a step closer. mr trump said the levies were needed to end what he said was the biggest trade deficit in history. beijing forcefully denounced the tariffs, saying it

will defend its own legitimate interests with all necessary measures. john sudworth has more about the response. us presidents have long had serious concerns about chinese trade practices. the theft of us intellectual property, for example, and the forced transfer of us technology to chinese companies but presidents have until now at least concluded that the cost has far outweighed by the benefits of access to this booming market of 1.3 billion people. the message from china in quite clear — we do not want a trade war but if you start one, we will fight it. what might that look like? one possible area of retaliation hinted at by the chinese foreign ministry is soya beans, an interesting choice because that would hit farmers in the us state of iowa in particular. iowa, a place that firmly backed donald trump for president. there are concerns we are sliding towards that trade war. and a nationalistic communist party news editor had this to say — had this to say — china is far more

resilient than the us to pain. and for more on the us‘s plans to impose tariffs on billions of dollars of chinese imports, go to the bbc wesbiste. you'll also find background information on the possibility of china imposing its own anti us trade measures, in retaliation. that's all at bbc.com/news. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: at least 13 people have been killed in a fire in an apartment block in ho chi minh city in vietnam. the fire broke out in the underground car park but quickly spread throughout the building. dozens of other people were injured. buses have begun transporting hundreds of syrian rebel fighters and their families out of a town in the former rebel stronghold of eastern ghouta, as part of an evacuation deal.

the fighters in the suburb of damascus agreed to lay down their arms in return for safe passage to the north of the country. the nigerian government says it will not stop in its efforts to free the last remaining schoolgirl being held by boko haram, after a kidnapping in the northern town of dapchi last month. the christian girl, who refused to convert to islam is still being held while most of the 110 girls taken have now been released. five other students are believed to have died. the venezuelan president, nicolas maduro, says he is re—denominating the country's currency, knocking three zeroes off the bolivar. he's unveiled the new bank notes, which will be put into circulation on june 4. venezuela has the world's highest inflation rate and a chronic shortage of basic goods. eu leaders meeting in brussels have agreed with the british government that it was highly likely that russia was responsible for the nerve agent attack on a former spy. russia continues to deny any

involvement in the attack on the former double agent, sergei skripal, and his daughter, yulia. the eu leaders said there was "no other plausible expla nation". prime minister theresa may gave her reaction to journalists in brussels. yes, we have had a very full discussion on russia, the eu council, and i welcome the fact that the eu council has agreed with the united kingdom's government, their assessment that russia was responsible for the murder on the streets of salisbury, and there is no plausible alternative explanation. russia, the threat that russia poses, respects no borders. it is a threat to our values. it is right that here in the eu council we are standing together to uphold those values. and i will be back here tomorrow when we will have a very important discussion on trade. as those discussions were taking place in brussels,

officials in salisbury announced that detective sergeant nick bailey, who fell ill after being exposed to the nerve agent, has now been discharged from hospital. but the former spy and his daughter are both heavily sedated and unable to communicate in any meaningful way. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports. for more than two weeks, detective sergeant nick bailey has have been having what his boss called significant and daunting medical treatment. he had become contaminated while responding to the salisbury nerve agent attack, but now he's well enough to leave hospital. i'm pleased to say that sergeant nick bailey's condition has now improved and he was discharged from salisbury district hospital this afternoon. i personally want to wish nick and his family well and i know that the staff right across the hospital will want me to share their very best wishes. i'm sure you'll understand that, for reasons of patient confidentiality, i'm not able to go into any further detail regarding nick's condition or his treatment.

nick bailey's wife said it had been the most traumatic event of their life together. his chief constable read a statement on his behalf. "people ask how i'm feeling. there are really no words to explain how i feel right now. surreal is the word that keeps cropping up — and it really has been completely surreal. i have been so very overwhelmed by the support, cards and messages i have received. everyone has been incredible." at the same time a judge released the most detailed description yet of the health of yulia and sergei skripal. he said both are heavily sedated, neither can communicate, and it's not known to what extent either will recover. no friend or relative has been in touch with the hospital to ask about their welfare. at a private hearing at the court of protection, mrjustice williams ruled that as the skripals are unable to give

consent and no relatives can be contacted to give consent for them, fresh blood samples can be taken from them with his permission. these will be given to international experts from the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons, to independently verify what the substance was that made them so ill. british experts believe the substance was a russian designed novichok nerve agent, and we learned today that the fourth person affected by it — who's been treated as an outpatient — is also a police officer. daniel sandford, bbc news, at the court of protection. a memorial service has been held in memory of the five people killed in the westminster terror attack a year ago. the attacker, khalid masood, who also died, drove into pedestrians on westminster bridge, before stabbing a police officer outside the houses of parliament. vicki young reflects on the day. a year ago today, on this estate and on westminster bridge,

we were visited by what i regard as evil. senior politicians and faith leaders led tributes today to the five victime of the attack. westminster fell silent in their honour and remembered the shocking events of a year ago. the fear as khaled massoud ploughed his car into pedestrians on the bridge. the panic as people fled to safety. pc keith palmer was fatally stabbed as he stood on duty protecting parliament. one of his colleagues recalls the moment it happened. mass confusion, really. eventually one of my friends came over and said, who is it, who is the officer on the floor? he said, it is your friend keith. and — well, terrible.

a conservative minister had been among those desperately trying to save the officer's life. you rack your brains as to what more you could have done and should you have done things differently? there are all sorts of things you torment your mind with but you can't. you have to understand everybody that i think did their utmost on that day and it's very, very sad. romanian tourist andreea cristea also died in the attack. her family are still struggling to cope with the loss. there are moments when i pick up the phone to call her or write on messenger. we spent all our time together and now all of this doesn't make any sense. in her tribute, the prime minister said this was a day to remember those who were lost but also to defy those who sought to silence our democracy one year ago. vicki young, bbc news, westminster.

stay with us on bbc news. still to come: capturing america's turbulent past: the new york gallery putting protest in the picture. let there be no more wars or bloodshed between arabs and israelis. with great regret, the committee have decided that south africa should be excluded from the 1970 competition. streaking across the sky,

the white—hot wreckage from mir drew gasps from onlookers on fiji. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: john bolton's set to become the next us national security adviser, replacing general hr mcmaster. china's vowed to fight to the end to defend its interests after president trump announced plans to impose trade tariffs worth $60 billion. let's get more on the latest personnel changes at the white house. michael carpenter is former us deputy assistant secretary of defence. he was also director for russia at the national security council wherejohn bolton will be taking charge. he's in washington for us. thanks forjoining us, michael. the

first question i want to ask, from what i understand is you were hanging out with some of your national—security buddies when this news broke, what did they say to you? i think across-the-board there's incredible concern with the appointment. he did not want to be a pa rt appointment. he did not want to be a part of... he's been aggressive in terms of north korea and iran, in terms of north korea and iran, in terms of north korea and iran, in terms of saying the iraqi war, of which he was a champion, was absolutely worth it and the right thing to do. you're right, tonight i was with some friends who are currently serving with the national security council in senior positions, and there was a lot of consternation and anxiety about what it means and frankly a lot of them we re it means and frankly a lot of them were saying they forecast a lot of people stepping down in the current months. obviously bolton is entitled to bring his own team but this means

turmoil at the top at a time where the us is engaged in some very tricky diplomatic commitments. it's worth pointing out he is an adviser, he will speak to the president, but the president doesn't necessarily have to listen to him? the doesn't but what we've seen over the course of the last year is that president trump has tried to purge his cabinet of those officials that are not like—minded with him and install loyalists. we've seen tillerson has gone from the state department and a much more hawkish secretary of state in mike pompeo has been appointed, the same thing with the departure of hr mcmaster, who is generally seen asa hr mcmaster, who is generally seen as a moderate, more traditional sort of republican foreign—policy theorist. now we havejohn bolton, who even within the republican party, is on the extreme right wing fringe is. to all intents and purposes there's nothing wrong with the president choosing like—minded people who think along the same

lines as him. isn't that normal? that's ok, isn't it? allowed no, it's ok, he absolutely has a right to appoint whoever he wants to keep positions in his cabinet. the problem is if we have a very unstable, material, impulsive president surrounded by people who have... ideologues i should say, who have... ideologues i should say, who have an agenda, especially one that involves going to war with north korea, iran, in the middle east. we get into a very tricky scenario and particularly i think if we have robert mueller honing in on his ties to russia, donald trump's, and you could get a wag the dog scenario and that's something people need to be concerned about. these appointments frankly make that more possible. lots of people will be thinking about whether that is a bit

scaremongering, but i know that's not what you're trying to do. some people think that is hyperbole but bolton has recently walked, written in the wall streetjournal bolton has recently walked, written in the wall street journal about bolton has recently walked, written in the wall streetjournal about a rationale for striking north korea first. he said the iraqi war was absolutely worth it and he said the iran deal in the obama administration was an absolute blunder. people can make their own judgements about what he brings to national security policy, but from my perspective it very concerning an very dangerous. we will wait to find out how this all shakes out. thanks for joining out how this all shakes out. thanks forjoining us, michael carpenter, a lwa ys forjoining us, michael carpenter, always a pleasure to have you on the programme. supporters of gun control legislation are getting ready to descend on washington, dc and other us cities this weekend. the march for our lives was organised by survivors of last month's parkland school shooting, just the latest issue to inspire mass protest. america has a rich history of demonstrations and artistic works that reflect them. nick bryant has gone to the whitney museum in new york for an exhibition about some

of the key moments. we live in an age of political protest. whether it's african—america ns condemning police brutality. women campaigning against misogyny. schoolchildren demanding an end to gun violence. or white working—class voters railing against the establishment. the whitney museum of art has marked this turbulent chapter in the american story with an exhibition of politically inspired art. at its heart is the question — what's the role of the artist in the modern political realm? i think they're trying to assess the moment we're in, give some kind of true assessment of where we are. maybe an optimistic idea of how we can get out of certain moments. but also reallyjust kind of gauge what the moment is. looking at a lot of this art, you're struck by its resonance today? the exhibition also has works from the 1940s to the current day.

i think you could look at it and say, i think we're still dealing with these same issues, whether it's about racial segregation, whether it's about violence, whether it's about war, and you can be very cynical and say we haven't gotten out of these traps. this installation looks like a trophy room, but it actually showcases the history of police brutality in new york between the 1940s and 1990s. each statuette memorialises an incident. it's the sort of work that could easily be constantly updated. yes, you could absolutely of course fill it in with not only incidents since this time but other police departments around the country, around the world, military organisations. i mean, there's a lot of places you could look to think about this issue. now, walking through this gallery you do notice the absence of one key figure, and that is donaldj trump? yeah, for us i think the idea was that putting together an exhibition of the history of protest in the united states is more important than any one person, even the president of the united states.

the idea is to think about how art is suffering these issues, how different audiences have responded to it and how artists might go on to continue to make work that shows us the moment we're living in. art and protest are never in complete sync, the creative process is not a rapid response endeavour, so perhaps it will be some time yet before the iconic images of the trump years emerge. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. the british prime minister called it an expression of independence and sovereignty, but the new blue uk passport that will be issued after brexit could be made in france, according to the british firm that lost the contract. the government says the process was carried out in a fair and open way but one eurosceptic member of parliament condemned the decision as a national humiliation. danny savage reports. an icon of british identity. post—brexit, the current style burgundy passport is going to be replaced with a new version

of the old style. but the current uk manufacturer says they're going to be made in france, and they object. i think it's disappointing for my workforce, who i'll now have to go and talk to later today or in the coming days, and explain to them why theresa may and amber rudd don't believe that the british passport should be manufactured by them. just down the road in durham is the passport office. there wasn't much appetite here today for french—made british passports. well, i think it should be made up here. ijust don't get it. if we're leaving the eu, why take it abroad? it's prestige. a british passport should be printed in made in england. and they shouldn't be made elsewhere in europe? i don't think so, no. regardless of cost? regardless of cost. the british government should step in and try and make sure... i think it's, the name of the company, de la rue or something... ? they should maybe get the contract.

but again they may have to look at the price. the government says the deal could save the taxpayer up to £120 million, and they're playing by the rules. great uk companies compete on a world stage, and we often win business around the world, and will continue to do so, both before and after we leave the european union. and they say on the new—look passports will only be added here, not abroad. danny savage, bbc news, durham. prince harry and his american fiancee meghan markle have invited 600 guests to their wedding in may. the invitations were sent out this week. there will be a ceremony at st george's chapel, windsorfollowed by a lunchtime reception and a smaller event for 200 in the evening. here's our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. these other people who actually go into saint georges chapel, friends and others, i imagine there's been some sort of competition to get onto that list, which won't be published, we'll just have to that list, which won't be published, we'lljust have to wait until the

day, and really not the done thing to go out and said, and sort of wave this stiff card around, i think that's one way of being excluded from the circle of friends if you start to do that. but 600 people are receiving invitations. a p pa re ntly apparently i should look out in the post to see what happens when something crops on my doorstep this week! a little more now on our top story: a few moments agojohn bolton issued this statement, "it is an honour to be asked by president trump to serve as his national security advisor. i humbly accept his offer. the united states currently faces a wide array of issues and i look forward to working with president trump and his leadership team in addressing these complex challenges in an effort to make our country safer at home and stronger abroad." and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter, i'm @nkem|fejika. for now, goodbye. hello there. thursday was another

pretty mild day. we saw a top temperature of 15.1 celsius in the north—east of scotland, making this the warmest day of the year so far for scotland. now, during the overnight period, you'll be seeing a series of weather fronts moving in from the west, bringing outbreaks of rain. quite a lot of cloud around, also strengthening wind, too. but by the end of the night into the early hours of friday, i think most of the rain will become confined to scotland, northern ireland, northern england. the weather front further south will have barely any rain on it, as it reaches eastern england. just the odd spit and spot, it'lljust be mainly cloud. but where we have the cloud cover, it's going to be another fairly mild start to friday. so friday starts off on a grey note for many. outbreaks of heavy and persistent rain in the northern half of the country for friday. however, it's an improving picture into the afternoon. looks like the clouds will move away, sunshine will appear, and we should see one or two showers across the north and west of scotland, though staying wet across the far north—west of scotland. rain coming in towards

cornwall and devon. temperatures single figures in the north. cooler generally, 10—12 for england and wales. friday night, this feature in the south of the country will bring further rain from the west country into central and southern england. so here, where we have more cloud cover, not so cold to start saturday. but further north, under clear skies, a touch of frost — temperatures hovering around freezing. so, for this weekend, it's actually not looking that bad. there will be some good spells of sunshine around. a few showers, most in the north of the country. it will be fairly mild, with temperatures fairly typical for this time of year. saturday may start off quite cloudy, damp across southern britain. outbreaks of rain maybe, confined to the south—east of england in the afternoon. the best of the brightness further north and west. we'll have a few showers for scotland and northern ireland. these will be wintry on the higher ground. temperatures again ranging between nine to 10 or 11 further south. now, during saturday night, that rain should eventually clear away from the south of the country. we'll see largely clear skies. those showers will continue across scotland, these will be wintry. a cooler night to come under clear skies, with light winds.

temperatures dipping to freezing in rural areas. hovering around 1—4 degrees near towns and cities. so a chilly start for sunday, but probably the better day of the weekend. there will be more showers around, a few showers in the north, and they will be wintry in nature over the scottish hills. it could be a touch more mild. 10—13 degrees in the south. but as we head through the new working week, temperatures begin to fall away as we get closer to easter, so we'll start to import a cold wind, and the risk of snow and overnight frost. this is bbc news.

the headlines: president trump has named the right—wing hawk, john bolton, as third new national security adviser in just 1a months. he'll replace the sacked general hr mcmaster next month. bolton, who's a former us ambassador to the un, takes a hard line on iran, north korea and russia. there are growing fears of a trade war between the us and china after president trump announced plans to impose sweeping tariffs worth up to $60 billion on chinese goods. beijing says it's considering tariffs worth up to $3 billion on a range of products imported from the us. eu leaders meeting in brussels have agreed with the british government that it was highly likely that russia was responsible for the nerve agent attack on a former spy. russia continues to deny any involvement in the attack on the former double agent, sergei skripal, and his daughter, yulia. now on bbc news, panorama.

every day, britain's discovering just how much more men are earning than women. the gender pay gap's been revealed at hundreds... female employees earning up to 43% less than male employees at ba rclays. nearly 50 years after equal pay became the law, could this be the year that things finally change? we're not little ladies any more, we do just as much hard work. chanting "what do we want? equal pay! when do we want it? now". the bbc, my own employer, has found itself at the centre of the row. i felt somebody had to do it, somebody had to call management out. when you're in a talent business, there are many, many reasons as to why people might be paid slightly differently.