the poisoning of a former double agent in britain have begun leaving washington. earlier, russia told britain it must reduce its diplomatic presence by just over 50 people. palestinians are observing a day of national mourning for at least 16 people killed in clashes with israeli soldiers at the gaza border on friday. the un secretary—general has called for an independent inquiry into the deaths. two men, believed to have been members of the islamic state cell known as ‘the beatles‘, complain they can't have a fair trial because the government has stripped them of their british citizenship. the funeral of world—renowned scientist stephen hawking has taken place in cambridge. the theoretical physicist, who had motor neurone disease, died march 1a, aged 76. up to 500 family and friends attended the service. now on bbc news, it's time for click. a lot has happened on facebook since you last logged in —

and that's an understatement. it is the week the world got a wake—up call. the row over facebook and the misuse of data... a data firm, associated with the trump campaign has been suspended... we willingly let facebook, google and other companies access our personal data and in return, they give us personalised services for free. it means our personal information is valuable to them,

but for a long time now, we have wondered just how valuable? but ever since these companies started amassing our data, the clock has been ticking. in 2008, we showed you how you and your friends‘ facebook data could be accessed by a rogue facebook application without consent. in 2011, a researcher warned that if computers could analyse enough facebook data from enough people, they could spot connections between the way you act online and your personality traits, the type of person you are. what is really changing about those algorithms is that they can take your music preferences or your book preferences and extract from this seemingly innocent information very accurate predictions about your religiosity, leadership potential, political views, personality, and so on. by having hundreds and hundreds

of thousands take this survey, we were able to form a model to predict the personality of every single adult in the united states of america. by 2016, alexander nix was explaining how cambridge analytica could use this kind of research to find people of different personality types and target them with specific messages that might influence their behaviour. if you know the personality of the people you're targeting, you can nuance your messaging to resonate more effectively with those key audience groups, because it's personality that drives behaviour, and behaviour that obviously influences how you vote. soon afterwards, these techniques were used by two political campaigns that would rock the world. yes, your likes and dislikes, your comments and posts, your personal data, they are valuable. but it is what they say

about you as a person, that's where the real power lies. no—one knows exactly how much these techniques actually contributed to the results of the votes. one of the first researchers to ask the question was paul—olivier dehaye he worked on an article at the end of 2016 which investigated what was happening, and this week he was here in london to give evidence to mps about the latest revelations. sitting alongside him in the commons select committee was cambridge analytica whistle—blower christopher wiley. and straight after the session, paul sat down with me. this isn't just about facebook and not just about cambridge analytica, is it? this data collection and analysis has been going on for a long time and has been done by lots of people? right, so, in two ways, it is not just about those companies. facebook enables a lot more companies than just

cambridge analytica to suck out data in similar ways. so that's the first thing. and then facebook is just one player in a big ecosystem of online advertising, online profiling. some of the companies you have heard of, but some of them you just have no relationship with. even if you fully understand the terms and conditions that you're agreeing to about what data you're sharing, i don't think anyone really understood what could be inferred from the data, so not the list of your friends, not your likes and dislikes, but the things that you've never talked about that now they can tell from your digital footprint? yeah, it is really hard to understand the inference power of this data, what can be deduced from it, that's true, how people make decisions, how they think about the issue before making a decision or not. another way to say this is that they were trying to find gullible people. so if you are able to do that, you can just make them, you know, buy into anything and any content. it is easy to believe that facebook

managed to swing the us election, managed to swing brexit, it was only people on facebook who saw these ads that were targeted at them and then went out and possibly changed their vote. is that what we're talking about, or are we talking about facebook just being used as a research tool which could then be applied to the community in many ways? whether people were individually convinced to vote differently, i don't personally believe that is how it happened. what i believe is that facebook itself could be manipulated using these techniques to make some content go viral, that would affect public discourse. so that would steer the conversation, basically. and if you're able to do this, more or less automated, more or less repetitive fashion, then you have partly already won the election because you're steering the conversation about the election. and that's the point that hillary clinton has been making

again and again about cambridge analytica, their ability to steer the conversation on these topics. is their ability to steer the conversation on these topics. and that had an impact — the fact that some content was shared widely during the election had an impact on editorial decisions made by the more established media, which in turn had an impact on other people. paul says that even though facebook and google have recently allowed us to download everything that they have on us, it's not really everything. so facebook can collect data of people who don't have facebook? yeah, it's called shadow profiles. yeah. so, that practice, for instance, has been forbidden in belgium, where i am from. even people who do have an account are being tracked over the web, all over — that same information is collected about them. why can't they see it?

why can't they see all the web pages that facebook knows they have visited before? making that transparent would have a very dramatic effect, i think, in making people aware of how much tracking goes on. do you think that uk or eu regulation is strong enough when it comes to protecting our data? that's part of what i wanted to say in the committee. we have very strong regulations around personal data that are going to get stronger but it is completely useless and actually worse than not having it if we are not going to enforce it. it needs to be enforced — that's the critical point where things are failing. why are they not being enforced? because the regulators currently see their role as balancing commercial interests with democratic interests regarding personal data, and the balancing they have done so far was simply wrong, too much on the side of commercial interests and not enough on the counterbalances, if you want. facebook‘s reputation and its wealth has taken a massive hit in the last couple of weeks with $80 billion

being wiped off its value. so, can the recently announced new privacy tools help to restore confidence? is this the end for facebook? facebook can still adapt their ways, they can still change — they will have to anyway, because of the regulation that's it is an opportunity to reinvent themselves. it is notjust facebook and cambridge analytica which have been raising big questions about the future of tech. as you will probably know, an uber self—driving test car hit and killed a pedestrian, a 49—year—old in arizona on march 19. uber subsequently announced that it would indefinitely discontinue all of its other tests, but the accident leaves big questions about how the self—driving sector is to proceed.

well, dave lee has met the boss of one of the other big self—driving frontrunners to find out what this might mean. i would like to introduce to you all the world's first premium electric, fully self—driving car... the sensors are engineered by waymo but the car is every inch a jaguar. waymo and jaguar land rover are going to work together to get 20,000 of these cars on the roads within the next two years. their eventual aim is 1 million self—driving trips every single day. so by the end of this year, we will have this driverless transportation service up and running in phoenix. folks will be able to use a waymo app to get from one point to another. and there won't be a safety driver? that's correct.

how willing will people be to jump in a car without a driver behind the wheel? if our experience in phoenix is any indication, a lot of people, more than we would be able to handle, quite frankly! oh, this is weird! what waymo is hoping to do with self—driving is coming years before most would have predicted. the company has been running tests with a select few customers and says it is having a profound effect on their lives. but the self—driving industry suffered a major, tragic setback when uber‘s self driving car struck 49—year—old elaine herzberg as she crossed the road with her bicycle. there are lots of questions being looked at by investigators — namely, why didn't the car, which should have been able to see

in the dark, stop? but even if the public is worried, it's clear that waymo, which has been working on the technology longer than uber, is still confident. it is very bold of you to do this launch so soon after a fatal crash in this sector. did that cross your mind at all when setting up? not really. our focus has always been on safety — it's how we founded this project more nine years ago — and during that time, we have driven over 5 million miles autonomously on public roads in the us, testing in 25 different cities. we've exercised that software in over 5 billion miles of simulation. at any given time, we've got 25,000 cars driving around in simulation, making that software even stronger and better. but are you worried about the perception in the wake of what happened to uber — i appreciate it is not the same company, but the perception

of self—driving took a real hit you know, we will have to see. right? i think ourjob is just to get out there and be as transparent as we can with our technology. last fall, we published a 40—page safety report which meant to explain to the world how it is we think through all aspects of safety. again, it is ourfounding concept at waymo is to provide a very safe car for people. so, we will see. speaks italian. i'm feeling a bit peckish and i have got some gadgets to test and luckily, i can deal with both of those things here. thank you very much. so, how about a spot of italian food and some help from a few of the latest translation devices to see if i can order from the native italian speakers who work here, in their first language?

wish me luck! hello! excuse mejust a moment. first up, these were released last year by google and as well as being these were released last year by google and as well as being a set of bluetooth earplugs, they also translate in real time. the thing is you do need to have a google pixel phone to make it plausible. help me speak italian. i would like the mozzarella, tomato and avocado salad, please, but i don't eat garlic — is there any garlic in it? just waiting for the italian. computer speaks italian. and if you want to understand the response you get, it can be picked up your phone and translated into your ears, creating some sort of two—way conversation... there is no oil in the salad! so, they sound similar in italian, do they?

yeah. the thing is, i feel rather silly talking with these... i think i would have felt more comfortable just using google translate on my phone. these are totally wireless earplugs. the old one has been updated and it now has integration with third—party apps, which includes the one i am about to use now. ok, i like the sound of the avocado buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes, please, but can i check there is no garlic in it...? perfect, thank you very much! could ijust have some tap water to drink, please? phone talks italian. i would like some water from the sink to drink, please?

i can understand but it is not the proper translation! the final device i'm going to test is travis the translator. you may wonder why you would want a stand—alone device when actually, your phone can do most of this, so do you need any earphones? certainly, do you need one of these? well, you can either put a sim card in it and it connects via wi—fi or you can connect it to your own personal hotspot. the company claims it can understand context better than phone apps in more languages as it calls upon data from many translation engines, including ibm, microsoft, and google. this is probably the most fiddly one i've ever used. i think it is time to try ordering the dessert! i like what is described on the menu as a traditional home—made italian favourite... device speaks italian. of course, this has just been

a brief demonstration of these devices and what they can do but i have tested them in a few different environments and so far, this one seems to have worked pretty well. the others as well, the translation has been 0k, it's just been a little bit fiddly and awkward having something in my ears. and at many points, i've felt like i could just use my smartphone for this! thank you very much! that was lara. now, we haven't talked about virtual reality for a little while, but don't worry, it hasn't gone away. in fact, its effects are now being felt in popular culture with virtual worlds featuring prominently in tv shows like the electric dreams sci—fi anthology.

and now, vr is making a return to the big screen, thanks to a hollywood legend. this is the oasis. ready player 0ne explores a virtual world through the eyes of an inhabitant of a gigantic community of stacked motorhomes in columbus, ohio in a grim imagining of the year 2045. it is the latest sci—fi offering from hollywood legend steven spielberg. scraping by in a slum composed of old caravans and shipping containers is such an unpleasant existence that most of the characters in the movie choose to shun the real world, creating avatars of themselves and spending most of their time in the virtual reality called the oasis. wade is searching for three keys left by mark rylance‘s deceased creator of the oasis, james halliday. these keys will turn over control

of the virtual world to whoever finds them. wade and his gang are not alone in their quest — an evil corporation is also searching for the keys so that it can take over the oasis and exploit its user base. tech companies exploiting their users? ridiculous! what could be further from reality?! virtual or otherwise? does the movie tell us anything about the way we live now? obviously, in the film, everybody spends their time inside a virtual, online world, and now we get people spending a lot of time on social media and that kind of thing, so that is there something to take away?

in the oasis, they are limited to their imagination and in our world now, it is right at your fingertips. you can choose to be immersed in a digital screen or you can choose to engage in reality. and i think this film is going to resonate because it explores themes that are really present in our world today. the movie is split between the real and virtual world and the cast engaged in extensive performance capture to create their virtual alter egos. i build worlds... the two of us had never performed using that medium. you are completely operating in your own imagination. you don't have a costume, you don't have hair and make—up and so your avatar encapsulates a certain swagger and confidence because you are completely using your own imagination and you are being playful. the movie is based on the hugely popular book by the same name, penned by the author who also co—wrote the screenplay. is it a cautionary tale or a celebration of virtual reality? for me, it serves as an allegory for the internet which i think is the most powerful complication tool that we have ever devised.

it connects all of us and also somehow isolates us as well. i always thought of it as the opposite of the matrix. as opposed to machines enslaving us, we would create a virtual world and then willingly escape into it. would rberneglected elm—had so, for me, it is a fun adventure that kind of shows the potential of this technology, but also the pitfalls of it. i'm a dreamer... the book has had a massive influence on a lot of people because it of a lot of the technologies that

you see in the film or read about in the book already — things like the suits and the controllers and a vr headset, looking very much there is a host oftowerend- but one is about to iflé “launched which doesn't need a computer. i think the technology maybe is not quite there yet, you've still got the problem of cables on a lot of headsets or you have to make the trade off and get a mobile version,

in which case the quality is not so good. one solution to the problems of the kit is to let somebody else set it up for you. that's where this one comes in. i think we're going to be seeing more of these arcades, live vr experiences, like the void, which is an experience, you can go with friends and it is a prepared room, environment, especially for that experience, kind of like going to a movie or an escape room or some interactive theatre, i think that will become more popular and widespread. here at game box in south london, the virtual reality is combined with a pub to give a social vr experience which makes use of a harness to make sure players don't injure themselves if they have had one to many. collaborative games rely on teamwork to solve simple tasks. it also illustrates the potential of more social vr experiences.

man down! failing that, you could just try to shoot your opponents in zero shooter sky front. and the brains behind this outfit are occurring to use this game to launch the world's first inter—pub vr tournament. is going to be between london and brighton, and there are going to be teams from both sides competing against each other. the pub that wins overall, they're going to win a happy hour for the whole pub! so not so far—fetched after all! but whether it is a frightening vision of an online future or an all action pop culture mash up, it's alljust a matter of perspective! how about an entire movie in vr next time, mr spielberg?! that's it from us for this week. don't forget we live on facebook and on twitter, thank you very much the watching and we will see you soon. hello there. saturday was a pretty disappointing day across the board — it felt cool, it was cloudy, there were further outbreaks of rain across many central and eastern areas with some sleet and snow on the hills. this weather watcher picture from east lothian pretty much sums up how many places were throughout the afternoon. but there was some sunshine across the north and west of scotland. that's because a ridge of high pressure was moving in and for easter day, that ridge of high pressure will be

very much in control. so we are starting off on a cold and frosty note with clear skies for many. it will be largely dry, too, and there should be plenty of sunshine around through the morning. temperature wise, we could be looking at —3 to —6 across scotland this morning. a cold start as well across wales, the south—west of england. but still some cloud to begin the day across central and eastern areas. again, a few showers around, maybe wintry over the higher ground, but for most of us, it's looking fine and dry. glimmers of brightness around. a few wintry showers across the far north of scotland. later in the day, a spell of wet and windy weather will arrive across cornwall and devon, that's courtesy of this area of low pressure which will continue to move northwards during the early hours of easter monday, bringing a mixture of rain and sleet and snow. initially across southern areas, we will see the snow only to the highest ground but as it continues to bump into that cold air, we could see some sleet and snow down to lower levels across mid—north wales, the north midlands, northern england, the pennines and into central southern scotland, maybe northern ireland too, as it continues to march

its way northwards. further south, all reverting back to rain because it will be turning mild. temperatures 10—12 degrees. but that snow could cause some some problems, particularly for central northern parts of the country, as it settles the lower ground as well. just keep tuned to bbc local radio and to all of the weather forecasts. as we head into tuesday, a different feel to the weather. we are bringing in very mild air from the south or south—west. plenty of heavy april showers. some sunny spells in between. some of them may contain some thunder, in fact. wet weather continuing across the north and west of scotland. but notice the temperatures, ten to maybe 1a or 15 degrees. low pressure still with us as we head on into the middle of part of the week, so it does remain unsettled. a lot of rain at times too, but i think we are looking at heavy showers on wednesday.

some will merge together to produce longer spells of rain. there could even be the odd thundery one for central, southern and eastern areas as again, it will feel very mild again in south—westerly winds. given some sunshine, we could be looking at highs of 1a or 15 celsius, and even quite mild across the northern parts as well. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is nken ifejika. our top stories: moscow bound — russian diplomats begin leaving the us in the latest tit for tat expulsions over the nerve agent attack in britain. it's one of syria's last rebel towns still standing. now, a deal has reportedly been reached for douma's civilian casualties to be allowed to leave. hundreds pay their respects at the funeral of the world—renowned physicist, professor stephen hawking. on a collision course — the out—of—control chinese space station expected to land back on earth with a bump. and it was billed as the battle of the heavyweights — what happened when two world champions met in boxing's biggest night of the year.