welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm duncan golestani. our top stories: president trump set to declare a national emergency to secure funding for a border wall with mexico. he faces a battle with democrats, and some republicans. a teenager who ran away to syria to join the islamic state group is told she could face prosecution if she tries to return home to the uk. the ayes to the right, 258. the noes to the left, 303. cheering another big parliamentary defeat for the british government over its vision for brexit. a year after one of the deadliest school shootings in us history, we report from parkland, florida, where calls for gun control are still being ignored. and, in the shadow of chernobyl. why those living near the nuclear power plant might finally be free of its legacy.

to the pokhran. this is —— hello, welcome. the white house has announced that president trump will sign a new spending bill to avoid a further government shutdown. it's worth $1.3 billion and has been approved by the senate. but the president also announced he will declare a national emergency to fund his border wall. that is likely to prove highly controversial in washington. senior democrats have already responded by accusing him of committing a "gross abuse of power" and a "lawless act". this was nancy pelosi, the speaker of the house. we will review options, will be

prepared to respond appropriately to have. i know that the republicans have. i know that the republicans have some unease about it, no matter what they say, because the president can declare a national emergency on something that he has created as an emergent, an illusion that he wants to convey, just think of what the president had different values can present to the american people. you want to talk about a national emergency? let's talk about today. the one year anniversary of another manifestation of the epidemic of gun violence in america. that's a national emergency. why don't you declare that emergency, mr president? let's get the latest from washington and our correspondent, chris buckler. so the president opening a new front in his battle to get his border wall. yeah, and you get the impression that donald trump's desire to build this wall has become more thanjust desire to build this wall has become more than just a priority, it has become a point of principle. he wa nts become a point of principle. he wants this barrier along the border with mexico, he has promised his

supporters time and time again that he will build it, but it is getting the money for it, and as you are aware, he did say that he would not accept any funding bill that did not include $5.7 billion for this wall. now, he's had to back down on that and in doing so, he has come up with this new plan, we effectively he will try to get money from other funds using his presidential powers by declaring this state of emergency at the southern border. —— where. the truth is, they will be some republicans inside congress who will be happy about that idea but they will be relieved that fundamentally, they have avoided having another government shut down because that left hundreds of thousands of workers not knowing when they would get paid and that was really damaging the president trump and republicans in the polls, but you now go to the next age can declaring this national emergency and that attention is facing its own legal challenges. there have also been questions about what exact funds he

will try to get the money from, the suggestions that it could come from military budgets, but also the old military budgets, but also the old military budgets, but also the old military budgets, you can also look at disaster relief funds. that would be controversial in itself. it does give you the sense that while they have got over this hurdle of actually finally getting a funding deal that will avoid a shutdown, that this battle over the border wall isn't over and as much as president trump wants to say that he wa nts to president trump wants to say that he wants to build a physical barrier, you also faces other barriers in the democrats want to ensure that. 0k, thank you. and later in the programme, will be talking to someone programme, will be talking to someone who served in previous administrations to get his take on that. cuba has accused the united states of secretly moving troops to several caribbean islands, in preparation for an attempt to depose the venezuelan president, nicolas maduro. it said us military aircraft landed

last week in puerto rico, the dominican republic, and other strategic locations in the region. india has called for international sanctions against the leader of a pakistan—based militant group, which says it carried out a deadly suicide attack in kashmir. the indian government has asked for the leader of jaish—e—muammmad group, masood azhar, to be designated a terrorist by the un. a new report says that five times more babies die as a result of conflicts around the world, compared to the number of soldiers. save the children says that in the past five years, 0.5 million infants have been killed through starvation, disease, and lack of medical care arising from war. a third man suspected of helping to poison the former russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter in britain last year has been identified as a senior russian military intelligence officer. the investigative website bellingcat named him as denis sergeev. a british teenager, who ran away

from home to join islamic state militants in syria, has been told she could face prosecution if she tries to head back to the uk. shamima begum says she's pregnant and wants to return for the sake of her baby. she was just 15 when she left east london with two other schoolgirls. daniel sandford reports. this is the route across the desert taken by shamima begum as she fled, two weeks ago, from one of the last specks of territory held by the islamic state group. today, hundreds more is women were making the same journey, heading for this camp in northern syria. the same camp where yesterday, shamima begum, who's one of the bethnal green girls, reappeared after almost four years. she had travelled from london to join is with two school friends. one of those friends is now dead. she herself was married at 15 and has lost two children

to malnutrition and disease. but she says going to join is was the right decision. she told the times her schoolfriend, amira abase, was also still alive two weeks ago. amira abase's father, who thought until today that she might be dead, now wants the british government to try to bring the girls home. he says they were young teenagers who shouldn't be punished for their mistakes and he would go and get her himself if he could. never stay one minute here if i can go fly there to see her. and when you see her, what would you say to her? i don't know. but the security minister said the government can't help the surviving bethnal green girls where they are. well, we just don't provide consular services in syria. you know, it's dangerous, i don't want to send british civil servants and officials out into a, you know, still active civil war, in effect, in parts of a failed state. so what are the options for shamima begum? the uk won't go and get her out of northern syria but would give her assistance if she made it

to an embassy or consulate in turkey, for example. it's unlikely she'd have her nationality stripped away, although the home secretary has the power to do so. if she returns to the uk, she could face prosecution for membership of a terrorist organisation or encouraging terrorism. irrespective of a prosecution decision, she would be offered the chance to enter a deradicalisation programme. shiraz maher, who has been studying is since 2014, says even teenage girls like shamima begum were helping the murderous caliphate. just by virtue of being there, they were building a kind of critical mass on the ground. they were having these children who were believed to be, and called the so—called cubs of the caliphate, that they would go on to be future fighters. but in the east london bengali community that shamima begum comes from, some say she must still be treated fairly and as the british citizen she is. from my point of view, she was a young child when she was groomed by isis.

and seduced by some twisted form of empowerment for muslims. but it's not as simple as, you know, a brainwashed jihadi bride. so that needs to be taken into consideration. but as the fighters of is continue to lose ground, the arguments about what to do with its supporters are going to intensify over the next few months. daniel sandford, bbc news. british mps have inflicted a damaging political defeat on theresa may's brexit plans by rejecting a motion which endorsed the government's negotiating strategy. more than a fifth of the conservative party failed to back the prime minister. this was the moment the result was announced in the house of commons. the ayes to the right, 258. the noes to the left, 303. the opposition labour party said mrs may couldn't keep

ploughing on without a coherent plan. the uk is due to leave the eu in just over six weeks's time. we'll get some analysis from our europe editor, katya adler, in brussels in a few moments, but first, here's our political editor laura kuenssberg at westminster. this vote might not change much in theory, but it changes something in political practice. remember, a few weeks ago, mps comprehensively chucked out the prime minister's compromise. since then, she has been trying to show to the european union that it's worth giving her a change to that deal and that she can keep her party and parliament together, but today those efforts failed. the tory party, once again, was split. well, it's not going to dramatically change thinking in brussels because the eu was already feeling that now was not the moment for them to act, because they don't believe that theresa may has a stable majority in parliament, and since she's trying to appease all sorts of different sides,

the eu thinking is that if they give something now in order to keep mp5 on board, she'd have to come back again in maybe two weeks's time and ask for more again, a bit like oliver twist. katya adler there. and you can keep up to date with the latest brexit developments on our website. you'll also find a simple guide to brexitjargon. that's all at bbc.com/news. or you can download the bbc news app. stay with us here on bbc news, still to come: in the shadow of chernobyl. part of the abandoned exclusion zone around the plant could now be safe for people. nine years and 15,000 deaths after going into afghanistan, the last soviet troops were finally coming home. the withdrawal completed in good order, but the army defeated

in the task it had been sent to perform. malcolm has been murdered. that has a terrible effect on the moral of the people, i'm terrified of the repercussions in the streets. one wonders who is next. as the airlift got under way, there was no letup in the eruption itself. lava streams from a vent low in the crater flow down to the sea on the east of the island, away from the town for the time being, but it could start flowing again at any time. the russians heralded their new generation space station with a spectacular night launch. they called it mir, the russian for peace. ressa this is bbc news, the latest headlines: president trump's set to declare

a national emergency, to secure funding for a border wall with mexico. a british teenager who ran away to syria, to join the islamic state group, has been told she could face prosecution if she tries to come home. let's get more on our top story now. taylor griffin is editor of the political website, roughly explained, he was also a spokesman in george w bush's administration. is this move by president trump going to be constitutional or not? that is the important question. you have to constitutional actors, the legislative ranch which under the us constitution has the exclusive authority to determine how tax dollars are spent and the executive branch, headed by the president,

which determines what the national interests of the us. congress has given the president is some authority that he could conceivably use to spend this money spending a wall by declaring a national emergency. the problem is and what the courts have to figure out, congress specifically decided not to fund a wall so can he still use those authorities he has that were meant to give him some flexibility in an emergency. this will have to be sorted out late the supreme court. how you expect the administration to argue this is an emergency? one of the things you will see them key on is there has been a rise recently, in the last year or so, been a rise recently, in the last yearorso, in the

been a rise recently, in the last year or so, in the numbers of families with unaccompanied minors approaching the border in large groups. 0ver approaching the border in large groups. over the past years, the total number has been declining at there has been a huge influx in families and unaccompanied minors and that is the emergency they will point to and also to drugs coming into the country and some of these powers are trying to drug intervention so that is why you hear in talka intervention so that is why you hear in talk a lot about drugs coming through the country through the southern border. do you think this is more of a political move, to a suede his base and critics who've been quite vocal in the last weeks? i think you hit the nail on that. when president trump insisted on this funding and the democrats had not agreed to, he walked out on a limb and once you've worked out, his

supporters wanted him not to give up and hold fast the democrats are not going to give in so the only way to get around that is the sign this bill. it is not realistic to get it donein bill. it is not realistic to get it done in the congress but i will get it done in another way because i still dedicated to building this wall. whether they let him do it is not as important to him but it is politically important to him. that is the biggest imperative to ensure his supporters that he is standing behind his signature promise. this will be tough for republicans in the senate because they will have to go on the record and say whether they agree with this. well, they already voted to approve it. i am certain the democrats will begin to try to introduce legislation to restrict the president from being able to do

this and that will be the next fight. a fight in the courts, in the congress and the house of representative more than likely to pass some legislation to and tie in the president hans. but they do not wa nt to the president hans. but they do not want to tie his hands too much so that a future democratic president will have his hands tied. ultimately the congress will be fighting over these over the next few months and maybe years. a lot of fighting ahead. good to get your analysis. my pleasure. a philippinesjournalist and government critic, accused of libel, has told the bbc that the accusations against her are ludicrous and amount to political harassment. maria ressa, who's on bail after her arrest a day earlier, said democracy in the philippines under president duterte was suffering "death by a thousand cuts". president duterte has described her news website, rappler, as fake news, although he has previously denied that the charges against her are politically motivated. it's a year since 17 people

were killed by an ex—student at a high school in florida. dozens more were injured in the devastating attack in the city of parkland. people there gathered earlier to remember the victims and to mark the moment the gunman opened fire at the marjorie stoneman douglas high school. the shooting led to a nationwide discussion on gun control in america, but, so far, there have been no meaningful changes to current laws. samira hussain reports now on those who are still living with the physical and emotional reminders of what happened. good morning, have a great day, guys. a typical morning walk to school done by thousands across the country. but this is different. these kids go to marjory stoneman douglas, a name that will forever conjure images from this day. students fleeing for safety

as a gunman armed with a semiautomatic rifle opened fire. this is the first one. anthony was shot five times. using his own body as a shield, he prevented the gunman from entering the classroom. he saved up to 20 kids, but, to this day, when he tries to sleep, he is taken right back to the shooting. i never sleep. sometimes i sleep but i can't sleep well. i dream a lot of that day. the same things that i see there, i see in my head. this is the building where the shooting happened. it can't be torn down. it's actually been preserved as evidence for the gunman's trial, a trial that has not even started yet. and so it stands like a constant concrete reminder of what happened that day. i love you with all my heart. i am telling you right now, i love you.

i know what you did today. that is the accused gunman, nikolas cruz, in a green hospital gown, being comforted by his younger brother zachary. this police video was taken just hours after the shooting. you told him you loved him more than once. 0nly because i'm his brother and, you know, the whole world is going to give him hate. why do i have to give him hate? are you angry at him? yes. what makes you angry? that he did what he did. he had no reason. i don't know. the shooting sparked a movement. they channelled their anger through activism, taking to the streets of washington, dc, by the thousands, demanding stricter gun control laws. for those students, this song became their anthem. # we can hug a little tighter...# i think through the actions that we have seen with our

classmates, they have such a big audience and wide audience that not only were they heard, they inspired other people to get up and be heard, as well. i can't change what happened in the past. ijust need to make sure it doesn't happen again in the future. # you, you threw my city away.# but, one year on, victims of this mass shooting are still recovering and, one year on, federal gun—control laws have not changed. # we will shine.# samira hussain, parkland, florida. it was the world's worst nuclear disaster when the chernobyl power plant exploded in 1986, claiming the lives of 31 people — but thousands more have been affected through radiation. now, some three decades on, the abandoned exclusion zone surrounding the plant could be shrunk for the first time. victoria gill spent a week in the zone with a team of scientists. this is her report.

it's playtime at the kindergarten in the town of narodychi. but this community is inside ukraine's officially abandoned exclusion zone. 33 years ago, it was designated contaminated after the world's worst nuclear accident — an explosion at chernobyl‘s nuclear power plant, less than 100 kilometres away. tatiana remembers the evacuation. translation: when the accident happened, all the children and staff from the kindergarten were evacuated to clean zones. in three months, we were sent back. life went on. but the future for these children and theirfamilies is uncertain. strict rules mean no agriculture and no new development here. that could be about to change. talks are set to agree the legal removal of this district from the exclusion zone. translation: it's not a secret that

half our parents are unemployed, because there's no where to work. i wish we could start to grow again. but most of the zone is a post—human landscape. more than 4000 square kilometres, spanning ukraine and belarus, evacuated. where people moved out, wildlife, including these wild horses, moved in. they use these abandoned buildings, because they're avoiding of mosquitoes, and heat and wind inside. so they're adapting, they're adapting to the exclusion zone? three decades of tracking wildlife and measuring radiation has shown how the zone has recovered. a kilometre from where the nuclear accident happened, we're getting less of an external dose of radiation than on the flight over. three times less than what we got on the aeroplane coming over. they now say that most of this wilderness, created by a nuclear disaster, has similar levels of radiation

to many parts of the populated world. natural radioactivity is all around us, it varies from country to country, from place to place. most of the areas in the exclusion zone gives rise to lower radiation dose rates than in many areas of natural radioactivity worldwide. the still leaking, damaged reactor here is now entombed in steel. it won't be safe for generations. but in narodychi, researchers say the land has recovered. so much so that these children, born in the shadow of chernobyl, may finally be free of its legacy. victoria gill, bbc news, the chernobyl exclusion zone. finally, some pictures of the president putin practising one of his favourite pastimes. he took part in a judo session with russia's olympic team, and used his own black belt qualifications to throw several opponents to the floor, although none of them seemed to want to send their 66 year—old flying through the air.

putin did apparently injure his finger during the session but it didn't seem to stop him from finishing the drill. heuir watching bbc news. thank you for your company. —— you are. hello. it was not just love in the air on valentine's day, spring in the air too, as the uk recorded its highest valentine's day temperature in 21 years. and that was at wales. here's a view from aberystwyth, but it was at bala, the temperatures reached 16.1 celsius, top of the valentine's day shop. you can see the extent of temperatures in double figures elsewhere and how far removed from average they are at this time of year. and there is more mild to very mild weather on the way in the next few days.

but we know the nights are quite chilly and actually friday starts on a colder note in scotland and northern ireland compared with thursday morning, and especially in parts of england and wales. there will be a touch of frost around in places and, the further south you are, the chance of seeing some maybe dense fog patches, that could be rather slow to clear. but the last of those should be gone by late morning, lunchtime. but then, for most of us, it is blue skies and sunshine all the way. though cloud will increase in northern ireland, especially to the west, and in western scotland. and into the north—west and the western isles some outbreaks of rains slowly moving in. but the colours indicate just how much temperatures are going to rebound after that chilly start, on towards the midteens again, on again towards 15 or even 16 celsius, though it is quite breezy. if anything a touch windier than it was on thursday, especially towards the north—west and the western isles. these are average speeds. there could be some gusts of up to around 50 miles per hour or so. friday night is not going to be as chilly as more cloud moves into the uk, courtesy of these fairly weak weather fronts. another system will come in towards the uk later in the weekend.

they are just going to deliver glancing blows but at least giving more cloud in places. but the important thing, the flow of air around these weather systems will maintain a feed coming in from the south and that means it is going go stay mild, with temperatures above average. so this is what we are expecting for the weekend — mild, yes, breezy, also, still. dry for many but these weather systems i've pointed out will bring the threat of seeing a bit of rain. we may welcome that in the garden, especially down towards the west of the uk. but there will be more cloud in southern england, east anglia and the midlands, into wales, on saturday. maybe a bit of drizzle into the far south—west. northern england seeing sunny spells. broken cloud in northern ireland, eastern scotland. cloudy in north—west scotland, where there is some patchy rain. early rain clearing from shetland. still breezy, still mild. 0n then on sunday, more sunshine around at least to start the day. but this weather system comes in from the west, delivering some rather patchy outbreaks of rain, more appreciativley so towards north—west scotland. it is still breezy but it is still mild, especially where you see the best of the sunshine down the eastern side of the uk. bye— bye.

hello. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the white house has announced that president trump will sign a new spending bill to avoid a further government shutdown, but will also declare a national emergency to fund his border wall. he now faces a battle with democrats — and some republicans — over his plans. a british teenager, who ran away to syria to join the islamic state group, has been told she could face prosecution if she tries to head back to the uk. shamima begum, who's now 19, says she's pregnant and wants to return home for the sake of her baby. british mps have inflicted a damaging political defeat on theresa may's brexit plans by rejecting a motion which endorsed the government's negotiating strategy. more than a fifth of the conservative party failed to back the prime minister. now on bbc news, it's thursday in parliament.