this is bbc world news. the headlines — thousands of anti—government protesters have ta ken to the streets in venezuela on a day of rival demonstrations. police used pepper spray against supporters of the opposition leader, juan guaido. a huge number of pro—government demonstrators also gathered in the city centre. the british government has defended the decision to revoke the citizenship of a british teenager who joined the islamic state group. it's faced criticism after shamima begum's baby died in a syrian camp. the british government has rejected a proposalfrom the eu's chief brexit negotiator to resolve the deadlock over the northern ireland backstop. theresa may has appealed to mps to back her brexit deal next week. and r kelly has been released from prison after paying more than $160,000 in overdue child support. the singer has previously spent three nights in jail after being charged in four sex

abuse cases, allegations he denies. at 10.00, kate silverton will be here with a full round—up of the day's news. first, it s time for our world 7 and a special programme as part of crossing divides, the bbc season bringing people together in a fragmented world. with political violence on the rise in america, mike wendling s been to portland, oregon to find out whether activists on the right and left can find any common ground. and a warning — there are some scenes of violence and rioting in this programme. portland, oregon, in america's pacific northwest. since the election of president donald trump, there has been trouble in the streets. usa! the far right is on the march. see, i get very violent. i'm one of the more

violent because i don't like to fight for very long. they are confronted by home—grown antifascist groups. someone has got to stop them marching in my streets. not in my town. why has this city become a battle ground between far right and the leftist antifascist movement? i'm mike wendling, and i've come here to find out. i get, "chief 0utlaw whose side are you on? "what are little black girls going to think "of you for protecting white supremacists? " i also want to bring together two people from opposing sides. they know each other from across the barricades. when they meet again on neutral ground, will they talk, or will they fight?

it is a disturbing trend across america — political violence in the streets. new york. berkeley, california. a murder in charlottesville, virginia. but the main battle ground is a hipster utopia — the city of portland. right—wing groups come from out of town, proclaiming the right to free speech. usa! as an american, i want to know why extremism is on the rise across my country, and who is invading once—peaceful portland, and why. and i've come 4.5 hours south of the city to this town called ashland.

hey, welcome to my town. rob cantrall is a local chapter leader of one of america's newest far right groups, the proud boys. how are you doing? right now, he is living in his car, along with all his stuff, his favourite companion, marley, and marley's litter box. rob is divorced, with a daughter and grandson. he works at a local marijuana farm. it's humble, dirty, peaceful. and you haven't even seen the back yet. although it's illegal in most places in america, in oregon, growing cannabis is tolerated, and adults are perfectly free to smoke it. to give you an idea of how many plants we have, about 600. freedom is what rob says he is all about.

we are trying to save the way of life. freedom and not let it turn into some oppressive commu—nation. or any kind of ism. the proud boys is a men's only club. they say they stand for traditional values, capitalism, defined gender roles, free speech. they have ten principles. one of them is abolish prisons. end the welfare state. no more welfare. i know that seems pretty heartless. we can do that by having a more lucrative economy. and taking care of each other a little bit more. we just don't want the government to take care of us. but rob's main source of income these days is a government disability allowance. venerate the housewife. the home is the best home. the proud boys have been designated a hate group by an anti—extremism

organisation in america. they deny they are racist or homophobic. they have black members and gay members. what makes them extreme is their violence. one of the tenets is we are never supposed to hit first. people have said the proud boys have started violence, there has been video. there have been people arrested. see, i get very violent in fights. i'm one of the more violent because i don't like to fight for very long. so i want to get it done. rob and the proud boys are willing to make the trip into portland again and again. are you excited or what? come on now! they march with other right—wing groups, including patriot prayer.

sometimes the rallies result in violence and arrests. one man who marched with the far right committed murder. jeremy christian was extreme even by their standards. in 2017, christian was shouting racial abuse at two muslim women on a portland train. two men tried to intervene. he stabbed them. when he appeared in court, he shouted, "death to the enemies of america. "death to antifa." i've come to a quite working—class neighbourhood, where patriotism is on display. this is the home of one of portland's prominent antifa, short for antifascist, activists. hello, luis? how are you doing? good, how are you doing? good, nice to see you. come on in.

thanks. on a real bad day, i'm probably an anarchist. on a real good day, a social democrat. luis grew up in the city. his grandparents were immigrants. he's a comedian and writer, but he has lost his patience with american politics. i think it is ridiculous that these group of nativists, white nationalists and right—wingers keep coming to my town and keep bringing their hate to my town. the red sauce is good. it is not as spicy... antifascist in portland are a broad mix of left—wing types. luis' house is an unofficial activist hub. they need to learn that their violence that they are bringing is not going to be unopposed. it is not going to be just taken and absorbed. it is going to send a bit back to them.

these activists say the other side's claim about free speech is a pretense for hiding a fascist agenda. most people in portland are repulsed by the far right. they have already killed two people. lots of innocent people's lives have been disrupted. someone's got to stop them, they are not going to march in my streets. not in my town. but many also disagree with the antifascist tactics. antifa aren't afraid to fight. "i suggest you never walk the streets of portland again." battles on the streets are mirrored online, and some are deeply personal. luis plays a message from proud boy rob cantrall. i'm not done with you, ijust started, dog. why don't you let me know when you're going to be walking the streets of portland, you little bleep?

this is their first encounter, at a rally two years ago. if you threaten me, i am going to take on one of these guys. rob argued with an antifa activist. luis tried to separate them. have a good bleep day. you send you a picture of you, and your partner at... since then, they have slung insults and threats back and forth online. so there i said, "i prefer to use suicide". luis gives as good as he gets. there are dozens of proud boy chapters in 37 states, and the uk and canada. their exact numbers are unknown. there is a sizeable group near portland in a suburb just over the state line. rob has travelled up for a proud boy party, and we have received a last— minute invitation. hello. you guys missed out on all the food. welcome.

who do you think you are? i'm your daddy! really?! we are protecting freedom of speech. to become a member of the brotherhood, you have to do the following. first degree, recite a slogan. my name is rob cantrall. i am a western chauvinist who refuses to apologise for creating the modern world. second degree, name breakfast cereals while getting smacked by fellow proud boys. cocoa puffs! frosted flakes! also, promise not to masturbate. and the third degree, brand yourself in solidarity. proud boy. look at that big beautiful smiling face. loud and proud!

rob's fellow proud boys show off some ink. they flash 0k signs meant to mock left—wingers. and they wear their uniform of choice, a fred perry polo shirt. most of these men are fourth degree members, but they are a bit cagey about exactly what that entails. because i know not everybody on the left is bad... fourth degrees are awarded for it getting attacked by an antifascist, fighting, or getting arrested. not exactly your average drinking club. how many times have you been arrested at these rallies? altogether, 18 times. all of these rallies that have happened in portland? yes. look at that swing!

tusitala toese, known as tiny, is originally from american samoa. he is one of the group of‘s leaders. his proud boy brothers point to him when they deny they are racist. tiny has been arrested for disorderly conduct, harassment, and assault. they shout ready? yeah. but he claims that the proud boys are simply standing up for free speech. and antifascists are the real problem. they are being selfish. not everybody in portland agrees with them. and if they are trying to build a community, it's a community of masked ninjas that does not follow the law, that does not want a law. accusations of violence go both ways. when they clash, everyone is affected.

at a protest, a lot of the time the police will set up a system of barricades to try to keep the protesters separated, or to keep it contained to one area. localjournalist, mike bivins, covers right—wing rallies in portland. you know, they mean business. this is where it begins, but not where it ends. brawls spill out onto the streets. on october the 13th, patriot prayer called for a protest in downtown portland. they eventually clashed with some antifascist left—wing protesters outside of kelly's 0lympian. yeah, they really started just beating the bleep out of each other once the first punch was thrown.

last time, i didn't even know what was going on before somebody ran in, and was choking because they had got maced, and then everybody started choking in the bar, and then we went on lockdown. portland's democratic mayor tried to pass a law to clamp down on the marches. constitutionally, we cannot stop people from coming to our city, but we believe there are some pre—emptive steps we can take. limit their rights to firearms, close certain public facilities, require notification. keep different groups separated in a reasonable amount of distance so they could not directly brawl. the law did not pass the council, because the lawmakers were worried about restricting free speech. the marches cannot be stopped by the city government. and the antifascists say they will not rely on local police.

i carry a gun with me at all times, and i will say that... i mean, i really don't like guns. honestly, when i got out of the military, i got rid of every weapon i had. do you have a gun now? of course. as we are on our way to the barber with luis, i see how easily things can escalate. so this is my neighbourhood, it is a working class neighbourhood that is starting to be gentrified. you can see with the mcmansion homes... then luis and his comrades see a man nearby. they think he is watching us. they think he is wearing a hoodie showing the logo of a far right militia. they shout your militia hoodie. it is not militia. what is it, then?

get out of here. what just happened ? that man was wearing a 3% t—shirt whether he wants to admit it publicly or not. they are nationalists. i do not want them in my neighbourhood. my personal philosophy is that, wherever fascism is, i am going to be there and i am going to confront it. the fighting isn't confined to the streets. sometimes, it comes home. a person ran up to the tree right there and threw a rock through my window. you can see it is a double pane glass window here. prior to that, this year, on st patrick's day, my house was firebombed. it was shooting out flames about that big,

that way, filling up the neighbourhood. did the police ever find who was responsible? i don't call the police. i don't call people that are out to harm me to try and protect me. both the antifascists and the proud boys say the police are too hard on their side, and too soft on the other. for antifa, even talking to the cops can get you cut off from the group. people are not lining up to cooperate with us. danielle 0utlaw has been portland's chief of police for less than two years. i get, "chief 0utlaw, which side are you on? "what are little black girl going to think of you for protecting "white supremacists? " we enforce laws, but we focus on behaviours. and regardless of which side it is, we still have an obligation to protect and to facilitate first amendment rights to free speech,

regardless of what is being said. we have convinced rob and luis to exercise their freedom of speech with each other. western culture. they hate each other, but they agreed to use words, not fists. i just hope they stick to the bargain. what do you hope might come out of that meeting? is anything going to come out of it? nope. i am trepidatious. i think he is going to attack me. rob, on the other hand, isn't sure what to expect. i worry that he is going to say something or i am going to say something that is just going to trigger the other one, and it is going to go to hell. he might teach me something. i might teach him something. but i never expect to change someone's mind. so you hope to have a connection with him? yeah, everybody should do that. we are still humans. we meet in a cannabis club.

they do agree on at least one thing — liberalising america's drug laws is a good idea. i wasn't sure the discussion was going to happen at all, until they both arrived. we have hired securityjust in case. rob's cat marley is frisked, too. the mood is tense as i read out the rules. number one, no violence. luis, will you take off your glasses? i would feel so much more like i am interacting with you if i could see your eyes. excuse me? no. luis will not address rob directly. body language says it all. luis, what do you think of rob? i think he is a bigot, i think he is a misogynist, i think he is violent towards women, and i think he is a racist. he is obviously

ignorant of who i am. you're not those things? you cannot be a racist if you do not subscribe to race. rob, what do you think of luis? i think he is violent on the street. we saw what you did, all right? just own up to it. ok, so, luis, respond to that. i'm not the one that has been caught on video camera threatening to punch women in the face. i am more qualified than these peaceful guys to know what you are about, because i'm a violent man. and you're a violent man. that is how i see... i see what you do, you see what i do. ijust come up with my own eyes, and from my experience, as a violent person, i know that you are a violent person. i show them video clips where they are verbally

attacking the other side. we are going to burn down your book store. give me a good reason. we have recorded you saying we are going to burn down your book store. oh, my god! how was that everjustified, rob, to threaten to burn down a book store ? i am so justified in telling those fools i was going to burn down their book store. it is not illegal, is it? i think burning down a book store is probably illegal. is it? if i could find a way to do it legally, would you guys stop hating on me on that? luis, i am going to show you this. next, it is luis's turn. you come and find me. he shouts i'm going to ask you the same question. how is that behaviourjustified? that march turned into a personal feud between me and a right—wing journalist.

and that in no way is right. so that was a misstep? it was in no way correct. takes a big man to say something like that. a breakthrough? maybe, but it doesn't last. you have seen the texts where he has threatened my girlfriend. threatening her with a good time, that's it, threatening her with a good time. you have seen the threats. how does this end? proud boys have been told, mayke a video renouncing hate in the proud boys, go away, that's how it ends. you want me to leave my own town? you want us to just walk off a cliff? how do you see this ending? badly. so no meeting of minds, but at least it all went off without a fight. and marley the cat had a good time.

luis is back with his fellow antifascists. they wait for nightfall before dropping their banner on a bridge. portland is a warning about where american politics could lead. one thing is clear — these two groups will keep fighting. hello, some turbulent weather in this forecast, not just hello, some turbulent weather in

this forecast, notjust in the short—term, but also looking further ahead into next weekend. 0ne short—term, but also looking further ahead into next weekend. one of the reasons is the jet stream. the wind is higher than the atmosphere, which dry our weather patterns, a strong and active jet across the atlantic at the moment. this will continue to push areas of low pressure eastwards into the uk over coming days. so things will stay unsettled, some spells of rain and also some snow, particularly for the northern half of the uk. gales, severe gales at times, but equally some spells of sunshine, too. this is how sunday shapes up, rain clearing slowly from eastern england, east anglia, but snow working across parts of northern ireland, scotland, northern england, perhaps as far south as the north midlands and north wales for a while, turning more shallow through the afternoon. but we could see a couple of centimetres in places, more of a higher ground, and another windy day. gusts widely between a0 and 50 mph. the thermometer may read five to ii celsius, but add on the strength of the wind, it will feel

even colder. keep some wintry showers going overnight, but slowly, they will start to ease as this area of high pressure builds in from the south—west. so for a time on monday, when is less strong, dry, some sunshine, still in this cold air. milder conditions tantalisingly close, and we will see temperatures rising a little bit through the middle part of the week. but a cold feel to monday, the wind is less strong, a good deal of sunshine before cloud starts to build from the west, head of some wet and very windy weather overnight. temperatures on monday are generally ina range temperatures on monday are generally in a range from eight to ii or 12 celsius. mildest across southern england. very turbulent weather as we go from monday into tuesday, stormy conditions, wet and windy, nails, severe gales, snow as well, particularly across parts of scotla nd particularly across parts of scotland and northern england. that rain will linger across east anglia in south—east england from tuesday, behind the rain some sunshine, but also a peppering of wintry showers blowing through and the strong winds. the strings will have used

somewhat compared to overnight, but still looking at gusts of a0 or 50 mph, feeling pretty cool given the strength of the wind, seven to ii celsius on tuesday. the steep area of low pressure close by on tuesday, notice the squeeze in the ice virus, oi’ notice the squeeze in the ice virus, or more windy weather, more showers piling across, so it could merge at times. across scotland and northern england, the showers move south red meat, temperatures packing up, nine to ii or 12 celsius. might not a lwa ys to ii or 12 celsius. might not always feel that way given the strength of the wind and the showers. by thursday, the situation is reversed, some heavy rain for parts of scotland and may be northern ireland, dreyer was perhaps the best of any sunshine further south and east. temperatures widely in double figures, ten or 12 celsius. back to ourjet stream, what is the end of the week. active jet across the atlantic, still

pushing areas of low pressure across us. pushing areas of low pressure across us. and temperatures will fluctuate slightly, generally on the cold side of the jets. we will be in some colder conditions, but as that fluctuates further northwards, rising for a time. so there will be further spells of rain as we look into next weekend, still some strong winds, but some dreyer, brighter interludes. perhaps some rain as well.