welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm mike embley. our top stories: president trump says he wants a radical overhaul of the immigration system to favour skilled workers who speak english. it establishes a new legal immigration system that protects american wages, promotes american values, and attracts the best and brightest from all around the world. us—china relations reach a new low as washington blocks the tech giant huawei from american markets. the sanctions come into effect immediately. history in asia. taiwan is to become the first country in the region to formally legalise same—sex marriage.

no more coal, no more oil! keep your carbon in the soil! as australia heads to the polls, we examine the debate over climate change which has dominated the campaign. president trump has unveiled sweeping new proposals to change the american immigration system, a hugely divisive issue which has resisted reform for three decades. he says he wants to make the system more merit—based, more favourable to well educated english—speaking applicants, who already have a job in the us, and to toughen border security. our plan achieves two critical goals. first, it stops illegal immigration and fully secures the border. and second, it establishes a new legal immigration system

that protects american wages, promotes american values, and attracts the best and brightest from all around the world. but the current political divisions mean mr trump's plan is unlikely to make it through congress. two of his opponents have already described the plan as dead in the water. in his speech, mr trump acknowledged that the house of representatives, which is controlled by the democrats, might well block it. more on that from our north america correspondent david willis. the democrats making quite plain that they see this as patronising and out of touch, not least of course because there is no provision in this plan by president trump to look after the so—called dreamers. those are the young people who were brought to the united states as children, through new fault of their own. without protection for them, the democrats won't be signing off on anything. but you're absolutely right. president trump is also being criticised from the right wing for this,

because these plans contain no proposals to actually limit the amount of immigration into the united states. that's something that those on the right want to see, because they believe that immigrants from other countries are taking away the jobs of ordinary americans. so the president effectively getting it on both sides for this. although certainly the democrats making the point that businesses at the middle end and the low end, as they put it, are calling for immigrant workers. they want more workers. absolutely, and that raises the question, of course, who is going to help out doing all those sorts ofjobs that really ordinary americans tend to — tend to be shy of, if you like. but president trump says this will bring the american immigration system into the 21st century. he is proposing a "build america" visa programme that recognises what he calls extraordinary talent. now, currently about two—thirds of the roughly1 million or so people who are allowed

into the united states every year are admitted here based on their connections to people who are already in the united states, family members, if you like, and about 12% are allowed in based on their skills. the trump plan would effectively reverse those totals, and would put the emphasis very firmly on people who are young, people who are skilled, and of course, crucially, perhaps, people who can speak english. and, indeed, applicants who do not speak english will be required to learn the language before applying, and if necessary, pass a civics test. china is threatening retaliation against the latest american sanctions, which effectively block companies in the us from using products made by the chinese tech giant huawei. the white house says the order is to protect national security. in a moment, the perspective from beijing with our correspondent john sudworth, and the uk perspective from frank gardner.

but first, nick bryant from washington. a global battle is underway over 56, the next—generation wireless technology, superfast networks connecting our phones, workplaces, cars — every aspect of our lives. and it is pitting against each other the two countries that will likely shape the rest of this century, america and china. here in washington, the fight has produced that rare thing, bipartisan agreement, on the threat posed to us national security if the chinese technology giant huawei is ever allowed to run american networks. huawei is definitely a bad actor. i think it certainly sends a strong message, and helps shore up the integrity of our infrastructure, by not including them in our networks. from the trump administration has come a double—barreled assault. not only is it stopping the company from establishing a foothold in the united states, it is threatening to block american companies from supplying essential components to huawei, such as semiconductors and optical cables.

that will make it hard for the company to operate anywhere. coming in the midst of an angry trade war with china, the trump administration's attempts to cripple huawei make this look increasingly like a commercial cold war. so what is the view in beijing? china is rattled. technology is at the heart of what once looked like an unstoppable economic rise, and it is all suddenly under threat. cutting one of its prize companies off from the us supply chain would be a massive blow. translation: we are against other countries‘ unilateral sanctions that abuse export control measures. we urge the us to stop this practice. huawei, which had yet another new product launch in beijing this week, has repeatedly said it would never allow its equipment

to be used for spying. it is the us that is undermining trust, it claims. the problem for huawei is that it is much easier to say it is not a pawn of the chinese government than it is to actually prove it. and this latest escalation from america is clearly meant as a signal, notjust to china but to the rest of the world, to take its warnings seriously. here in britain, gchq, one of the national spy agencies, has warned of industrial—level cyber espionage by china. little wonder then that some, like the former defence secretary gavin williamson, have raised concerns about a company allegedly too close to chinese state security. today in westminster, a major report came out arguing against using huawei. huawei have made a series

of claims this week, that they don't spy for china, that they are not a high—risk vendor, that there is no record of poor behaviour, that they're a private company. and what's new in our report is that we show that these claims are essentially dubious at best and inaccurate at worst. for many, that won't be a problem. huawei is a popular global brand, and it is competitively priced. but can it be trusted? you need to be able to trust, in cyber security, whoever it is that's going to be providing your network, right, and building your kit. huawei right now is an open question. because it is compelled by china's cyber security law to work with chinese cyber security agencies, that's a risk. the view of britain's intelligence community, including mi6 here, is that, yes, there are risks about huawei's technology, but those risks can be managed and mitigated. but the problem with mobile phone technology is that it is moving at such a fast pace that a managed risk today could well be a national security threat tomorrow.

let's get some of the day's other news: the legislature in missouri has taken the first steps towards restricting access to abortion. the republican—led senate has passed a bill which would ban nearly all terminations after eight weeks of pregnancy, even in cases of rape or incest. there have been similar votes recently in alabama and georgia. the former us army intelligence analyst chelsea manning has been ordered back to prison for again refusing to give evidence before a grandjury. it is thought the jury is investigating the wikileaks co—founderjulian assange. a spokesman for her legal team said she had been remanded in custody for contempt of court. she was only released from jail last week, after a two—month sentence for her earlier refusal to testify. britain's prime minister has agreed to discuss a timetable for her replacement after the next vote on her brexit plan, which has already been rejected three times. theresa may's deal is expected to go before parliament again early next month. her main rival for the conservative leadership, borisjohnson, has now formally announced

he will be seeking to succeed her. taiwan looks about to become the first place in asia to legalise same—sex marriage. an historic declaration was actually made back in may 2017, when parliament was given two years to enact the changes. lawmakers will vote on three draft bills, each with a different view of what equality looks like. one is presented by the cabinet and two were put forward by anti—lgbt groups. the bbc‘s cindy sui, who is in taipei, says it is a very divisive issue. he well, there are 20,000 people gathered outside parliament. people taking time off from theirjob to come out here, and not all of them are from the lgbt community. some of them simply have friends in the community, and they really, really support people's rights for the lgbt community. one woman i spoke to said she has a friend from high school

who has been very afraid of coming out to his friends and his family for years, and is living in fear. and she believes that this bill must be passed, the one proposed by the government, to give these people equal rights, but also to educate the public that it's ok to be gay, that it's an illness, that it's not a crime, that they are not weird. and cindy, i know that parliament has been told by the top court it must pass a law. two of these laws at least, they may respect the letter of the law, but they are very restrictive. yes, only one of the laws, the ones proposed by the government, actually gives same—sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples. and that is the one that the lgbt community wa nts the one that the lgbt community wants the parliament to pass. the other two laws actually restrict their rights. they don't allow for adoption, they don't allow for inheritance, they don't even allow the partners to make medical decisions on each other‘s behalf.

now, one of the laws even allows family members to annul the same—sex unions if they consider them to be a sham. so there's a lot at stake here. the people here really want to lobby the parliament to vote the bill they like, the one that was proposed by the government. at the same time, there are people who are opposed to same—sex marriage you are gathered nearby who are also pressuring the parliament to not treat same—sex marriages the same as heterosexual marriages. they believe that this would encourage young people in taiwan to experiment with being gay, and they believe that this would actually harm the traditional values of family and marriage. scientists now say there are hopes that, within the next ten years, drugs will be available to stop cancer cells becoming resistant to treatment. now, that could mean tens of thousands of people living much longer, and cancer becoming a chronic rather than fatal disease. 0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh has the story.

it has been called the survival of the nastiest. it takes just a few rogue cancer cells to adapt and develop resistance to drugs for a tumour to survive, and reappear perhaps years later with greater force. but scientists are beginning to learn how they may be able to stay one step ahead of the hundreds of cancers which affect us. cancers evolve because their mutated dna is unstable. every time they divide, more genetic errors occui’ and the disease changes, so when drugs are sent to destroy them, this natural selection can mean some cancer cells are able to evolve and survive. scientist here at the institute of cancer research hope to exploit this process of darwinian evolution to herd mutating cancer cells into a state that makes them more vulnerable to particular drugs, and perhaps a combination of different treatments. they predict that new treatments

could be available in around ten years which help further extend patients' life expectancy. we think we can predict what the cancer is going to do next and so we know how to treat you next, therefore we are turning it into something you can live with longer, instead of something you die from. something that helps me get through cancer, it's my escape... christine was diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago, and found out last year it had spread to her brain. she knows she can't be cured, but is doing well on a new treatment which targets her tumour‘s ability to spread. at some point my cancer will develop resistance to it, it will re—occur and i'll have to be on a new form of treatment. and i think with new research coming out, hopefully it means by the time i need that next new treatment, there'll be something even more

innovative and new available to patients. one in two of us will get cancer, so advances in our understanding of tumour dna matters to every family. new drugs will cost billions to develop, but should ensure more patients survive cancer for longer. fergus walsh, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: vamp)environmental benefit or urban menace — germany becomes the latest country to debate the pros and cons of the e—scooter. the pope was shot, the pope will live. that was the essence of the appalling news from rome this afternoon, that, as an italian television commentator put it, terrorism has come to the vatican. the man they called the butcher of lyon, klaus barbie, went on trial today in the french town where he was the gestapo chief in the second world war.

winnie mandela never looked like a woman just sentenced to six years injail. the judge told mrs mandela there was no indication she felt even the slightest remorse. the chinese government has called for an all—out effort to help the victims of a powerful earthquake, the worst to hit the country for 30 years. the computer deep blue has tonight triumphed over the world chess champion, garry kasparov. it is the first time a machine has defeated a reigning world champion in a classical chess match. america's first legal same—sex marriages have been taking place in massachusetts. god bless america! this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: president trump says he wants a radical overhaul of the immigration system to favour skilled workers who speak english. us—china relations reach a new low as washington blocks the tech giant huawei from american markets. the sanctions come

into effect immediately. airstrikes from the saudi—led coalition in yemen, which is backed by the us and uk, have targeted the capital sana'a. six people are dead. the strikes are said to be retaliation for drone attacks by houthi rebels, on a key oil pipeline inside saudi arabia. for four years yemeni government forces have been battling the rebels, who are linked to iran. un officials say all this has been a disaster for millions of civilians. this report from nawal al—maghafi, special correspondent with bbc arabic. another tragedy hit the heart of the capital, sana'a. neighbours in a desperate search for survivors. ii airstrikes in a single morning. 0ne of the most populated residential areas was hit. this little girl the only survivor in a family of seven.

translation: they were sleeping peacefully, a family with their children. it is always a civilians that pay the price. the coalition say they were aimed at ammunition stores as revenge. despite a decrease in coalition air raids over the last month, the civilian death toll keeps mounting. weeks before, a series of explosions right beside the public school. children's daily routines punctured with the horrors of this conflict. the injured brushed to hospital. in yemen, it is the children who suffer the most. even going to school is dangerous. mothers desperately searching for family among the dead. their worst

fears realised. 15 children were killed and over 48 injured. the blast came from a houthi revealled controlled side. it is unclear what caused the explosion. this man lost his 13—year—old son in the blast. they had fled to the capital to escape violence in the village but in yemen there is no safety. translation: i have lost the most important thing in my life. he was not just my important thing in my life. he was notjust my son, he was my friend, my brother. he was everything to me. i cannot put in words what i have lost. translation: we heard an explosion and we ran away from the windows. i went to look for my cousin but then there was a second

attack. the classroom now lies empty. another blow to yemen's hope for the future. on saturday, australians go to the polls, deciding whether they want a fourth prime minister in four years. and it's climate change that has become the defining election issue, with concerns over carbon emissions pitted against the coal industry. 0ur correspondent hywel griffith has been in queensland, where a handful of marginal seats could decide the result. chanting: no more coal, no more oil! keep your carbon in the soil! fired up over fossil fuels. for these young voters in brisbane, this election is a chance to demand action. they want whoever wins to cut carbon emissions and bring an end to australia's huge coal industry. all governments everywhere need to stop digging up fossil fuels. you can't have any action on climate change if you are still mining coal, oil and gas, and it's ridiculous that governments will claim they are taking action on climate while simultaneously approving new coal mines.

after australia's hottest summer on record, which saw both bushfires and floods hit queensland, concern over the climate has become the front—line election issue. but travel inland and you'll hear the other side of the argument. blackwater sits on the bowen basin, the country's biggest coal reserve. they've been mining here for 50 years, and reckon there is enough left for another 50. half of the people who live here work in coal mining, many others depend on it to keep money moving through the town, and what voters decide here will really matter in the election. the government holds this seat byjust i%. coal itself, it's. .. doug is a retired miner who now volunteers at the town's coal museum. his two sons and his son—in—law all work in mines. he is not convinced the politicians are listening to them. they need to get out and have a good look at the countryside.

i think there's — they're listening to too many people from the city. a lot of the city folk, i don't think they really realise, at some stage, coal is being used to make their everyday living stuff. advert: in the central highlands, we think big. coal remains one of australia's biggest exports. the governing coalition and the opposition labor party know its economic value, and the environmental concerns, but they can't have it both ways. it's a huge dilemma for the parties to maintain a faith with constituencies that are so fragmented. and we have fragmentation notjust along economic lines, jobs versus climate transition, or the environment or whatever, but we actually have generational tensions. we have gender tensions. so the parties are having enormous challenge responding to these different groups. chanting: no more compromising! whoever wins this election will have to bridge those divides, with voters expecting

action rather than words. hywel griffith, bbc news, queensland. four people have been killed in a plane crash, the architect behind some of the world's best—known buildings, including the glass pyramid outside the louvre in paris, has died. tributes are pouring in for im pei, who was chinese—born, and is remembered for his forward—thinking, unique designs. he died at 102, and carried on working well into old age, creating one of his most famous pieces — the museum of islamic art in doha in his 80s. they've become an ever more common sight in many cities across the globe — e—scooters are meant to help with congestion and be kinder to the environment. 0ne country that's resisted them is germany, but on friday the upper house of parliament may vote to let e—scooters on the roads. the bbc‘s tim allman has the story. don't fancy riding a bike? well, how about trying one of these? electric, or e—scooters, are all the rage these days. nippy little things that can weave

in and out of traffic, or pedestrians for that matter. they're being sold as a flexible and environmentally—friendly alternative. so we're spending 10—15% of our time a car, and for me, this is no goal. we need to find ways to find ways to reduce c02, to reduce pollution, to reduce the contamination and also to enjoy our cities. but they do have their critics. this is paris, where some complain e—scooters have been left abandoned in the street. 0thers point out that inexperienced riders have helped cause accidents. but the companies that make them say they're offering potential solutions. so the first thing is this brings order to the chaos. if you see a lot of deployments with scooters, you'll notice they get scattered scattered around and they can oftentimes be a negative view to the community. what this does is it gives it a place to actually park, but then it charges. these things all have to charge. it's expected that germany's

bundesrat will give e—scooters the green light. another country where increasingly it's a case of four wheels bad, two wheels good. tim allman, bbc news. to keep you up—to—date on other crucial things... the last ten acts have been selected for the eurovision song contest final, with switzerland, albania and malta in the mix of qualifiers. excitement was running high for the last of the semi finals, with 18 acts in total. the winners in this round go up against another ten countries, including germany, france and host nation israel. and to add to the party fever, madonna has confirmed a performance for the tel aviv event on saturday, ending weeks of speculation over whether she'd make an appearance. much more on all the news any on the bbc website. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @bbc mike embley. thank you very much for watching.

hello. after what has been a largely dry and pretty warm week for many of us, things are about to change as we head through friday and into the weekend, turning a little bit more unsettled. but this is how we ended the day on thursday, a beautiful, serene sunset there in topsham in devon. during the day on friday, there's going to be more cloud across the country, and that cloud will bring with it a few spots of showery rain. we've still got some spells of sunshine on offer, but as we head through the day on friday, what we're going to see is this week frontal system moving its way in on this easterly breeze, so that will bring some cloud and outbreaks of rain too. now, during friday morning, the areas most likely to see the rain are across central and southern england, through wales as well. further north, perhaps the odd shower across parts of scotland but there will be plenty of sunshine

once again in the bulk of scotland. more cloud working in across eastern parts of england during the day on that easterly breeze with one or two spots of rain. i think northern ireland should stay mostly dry, with a bit of sunshine. temperatures still 17 to 19 across northern ireland and scotland, but england and wales, you're more typically 13 to 16, so cooler than it has been. so as we move through friday evening and overnight into saturday, we'll see more persistent, heavier rain working in from the east, particularly affecting scotland and northern england too. so quite a murky start to saturday here with that drizzly rain and low cloud too. further south, we're going to see some brightness to start off your weekend. but in general, the weekend is looking slightly cloudier and cooler than we've seen through this week. there will be some showers but it won't be a washout, a bit of sunshine on offer through the weekend too. so let's look at some detail then for saturday. what have we got? we've got low pressure sitting across central parts of europe, the winds rotating around that area of low pressure bringing us quite a bit of cloud off the north sea and some outbreaks of rain. the rain much of northern england and scotland

through saturday morning. a few of those showers will push into northern ireland through the day. i think the southern half of england and much of wales should see some sunny spells through the morning, but a chance of showers breaking out almost anywhere during the afternoon. now, temperatures around about 14 to 18 degrees — cooler than it has been — but there should be some brighter spells in the south. it will still feel quite pleasant. moving on into the second half of the weekend, and there's not much change in the pressure set—up so not much change in the weather. sunday, another fairly cloudy day, particularly in the north. there could be some sunshine in southern and eastern england in particular, but again, there'll be some showers. they'll be heaviest and most frequent in scotland, where we could have the odd rumble of thunder. a few showers further south too, but warming up a touch compared to saturday, so highs of around 13 to 19 degrees. bye for now.

this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump has outlined plans to toughen border security and refocus the us immigration system. he said younger, well educated, english—speaking workers who already have job offers should make up more than half of all legal immigrants. his plans look unlikely to make it through congress with the current political balance. china is threatening retaliation against the latest american sanctions, which effectively block companies in the united states from using products made by the chinese tech giant huawei. the white house says the order is to protect national security. taiwan is expected to become the first place in asia to legalise same—sex marriage. the declaration was actually made in may 2017. parliament was given two years to enact the changes. legislators are voting on three draft bills,