welcome to bbc news. i'm kasia madera. our top stories: two, one, zero... scientists in britain make a major new advance in the quest to generate energy from nuclearfusion. what we have managed to demonstrate is we can create a mini sun, hold it there for a sustained period and get really good performance levels. protests spread across india and beyond, against a ban on the muslim headscarf in some colleges in one southern state. canadian police threaten to arrest lorry drivers who've shut down central ottawa, as anger at mandatory vaccines spreads. and two years of covid restrictions are set to end in england.

rules are also eased in parts of europe and the us. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. a laboratory in the uk has smashed the record for generating energy from a nuclearfusion reaction, an important breakthrough in the world of clean power. it's a big step towards harnessing the stars as a source of energy. nuclearfusion is the holy grail of energy production, because it might lead to a virtually unlimited source of low carbon power. our climate editor, justin rowlatt, reports. two, one, zero... this is the record—breaking reaction. it is more than 150

million degrees celsius — ten times hotter than the heart of the sun. and it happened here, the world's most powerful fusion plant, jet fusion, in oxfordshire. it is, says the team here, a landmark for this technology. these results are really significant because what we have managed to demonstrate insidejet is that we can create a mini sun, the right kind of mini sun, hold it there for a sustained period and get really good performance levels, which is a major step forward in terms of our quest to get to fusion power plants. most nuclear reactors use fission. that's when big, unstable atoms like uranium are split in two. the reaction releases lots of energy and radiation. fusion is different. it involves forcing two atoms of hydrogen together, fusing them to create one atom of helium. once again, you get lots of energy and this time, just a tiny bit of short—lived radiation.

creating mini stars inside reactors like this is one of the greatest technological challenges humanity has ever faced. get it right, and it holds out the potential for producing almost unlimited supplies of energy pretty much forever. that's because the hydrogen fuel fusion uses is so readily available. the key part of this reaction only lasts for five seconds and only generated enough power for 60 kettles, but it is an important proof that scientists are on the right track. there is still lots of work to do, and athina kappatou is one of a new generation of physicists who plan to do it at a scaled—up version of the uk reactor being built here in the south of france. do you think you'll see commercialfusion in your lifetime? yes, i am confident — i want to believe in it. so, answer me this, why

is it taking so long? it is hard, it is really hard, very complex, but it's worth it and we just have to do it for the future. fusion energy is carbon—free, but it is not going to be ready in time to get us out of the climate crisis. that shouldn't stop this research, say supporters. the enormous promise fusion holds means we have got to keep working on it. justin rowlatt, bbc news, oxfordshire. we can now speak to saskia mordijck, who's an assistant professor in the department of physics at william & mary research university. sazski has been working with labs throughout the world to solve the complicated problem of refueling fusion reactions. in terms of what we have been hearing today, we are talking about assured space of time, a small amount of energy that has

been created but put this into context, the equivalent of powering 60 cattle, just how significant his these for our futures? ., , , ., , ., futures? for us, this was a hue futures? for us, this was a huge advance. _ futures? for us, this was a huge advance. five - futures? for us, this was a | huge advance. five seconds futures? for us, this was a i huge advance. five seconds is short and, as you can tell, thatis short and, as you can tell, that is not enough to make sure your house keeps power all day long. however, the plasma itself decayed much faster than those five seconds so for us it is really a way that we can show we are sustaining this reaction and that we do it well and that we have control of it, which is a first step. so that is really important. an example i have seen today is that it would be the same or twice the kinetic energy of a full leiden semitrailer truck travelling in 160 kilometres per hour, i

think that is 100 miles per hourfor nonmetric think that is 100 miles per hour for nonmetric people. thank you very much, for nonmetric people in need, plenty of us out there stop we are talking about this creation of a mini sun. when you have that explained, it is difficult for a layperson like myself to buy them. one on earth does that mean because it sounds extraordinary. it that mean because it sounds extraordinary.— extraordinary. it is. what is even more _ extraordinary. it is. what is even more extraordinary i extraordinary. it is. what is even more extraordinary is| extraordinary. it is. what is i even more extraordinary is the temperatures in the mini sun we create have to be ten times hotter than the actual son. you can imagine that creates quite a lot of problems and it is not easy to contain. touching the son is already something we can do let alone something hotter. the way that this device has achieved that as it uses magnetic fields to do that and so the fuel under sticks to these magnetic fields and as a

result it only leaks out fairly slowly through the walls and then we have to control what kind of heat heads the while, the devise. it kind of heat heads the while, the devise.— the devise. it is completely sci-fi, this _ the devise. it is completely sci-fi, this machine. - sci—fi, this machine. realistically we will not have one of those in our homes. how and when in the future can we expect something practical from these? ., ., ., these? you will not have them into your _ these? you will not have them into your homes. _ these? you will not have them into your homes. the - these? you will not have them into your homes. the idea - these? you will not have them into your homes. the idea is i into your homes. the idea is more they are about the size of a fish and power plant, able to provide long, stable large amounts of energy. —— fission. the idea is not to have them in your home or car. technology wise, you will find very different predictions. you will find companies stop a lot of start—up companies that will promise very short time scales and then you have the

scientific community looking at the longer timescale just because we are doing a lot of risk mitigation which a private company or start—up might not do because they have a certain path they want to go. the other thing is then there is a commercial aspects even if we build a prototype that will work, the question is naturally if it is economically interesting or feasible for the world to invest and an these are question the world would have to answer. my goodness, ou and have to answer. my goodness, you and honour _ have to answer. my goodness, you and honour question. - have to answer. my goodness, you and honour question. we l you and honour question. we sent you enthusiasm. a fantastic day for size. thank you very much forjoining us. thank you so much.- you very much forjoining us. thank you so much. much more on our website. _ thank you so much. much more on our website, of _ thank you so much. much more on our website, of course. _ protests are spreading across india against a ban on the muslim headscarf in some colleges in one southern state. the controversy began when hijab—wearing students were denied entry to their schools in karnataka.

all high schools and colleges in the state have been shut down for three days. protests have now spread to other cities, including kolkata and chennai, two of the country's largest cities, and hyderabad. the pakistani government has criticised the ban, and summoned the indian ambassador to formally express its concern. anbarasan ethirajan reports. the anger against some colleges in karnataka state refusing to allow students to wear the hijab has spread to other parts of india. hundreds took part in the rallies in the cities of kolkata, chennai and hyderabad. the controversy has rocked karnataka, where high schools and colleges have been shut for three days. muslim women say wearing the hijab is part of their faith and their right. imposing dress code should be compatible with the fundamental rights. the fundamental rights state in article 19—1

the right to speech and expression, and we have the religious freedom, which gives us the right to practise, profess and propagate religion. all chanting. the hijab issue has taken a communal twist. here, hindu students arrive at schools with saffron hats and shawls — this colour seen as a hindu symbol. they oppose their student colleagues for wearing the islamic headscarves. a place of learning has now become a battleground for the two communities. the hindu nationalist bjp government insists that they are only trying to implement uniform rules. karnataka is following a uniform dress code in the schools, and it is a discipline in the education interest and every student to follow the discipline. they cannot come as they want to the schools. the global education activist malala yousafzai says... critics say minority muslims in india are already feeling marginalised

and discriminated against in the hindu—dominated india. but the government denies the allegations. for now, the uneasy standoff over the hijab continues. anbarasan ethirajan, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news: footballer kurt zouma has had two cats removed from his home after a video emerged of him mistreating them. the player has also been fined around £250,000 by his club, with the money being donated to animal welfare charities. sportswear firm adidas have dropped their sponsership deal with him. anti—vaccine protesters clashed with police outside of new zealand's parliament on thursday. dozens were arrested after demonstrators, who have laid siege to the legislature over the past three days, were ordered to move on. the protest began tuesday

in solidarity with the freedom convoy in canada. the american singer, betty davis, whose music has influenced generations of artists, has died at the age of 77. davis enjoyed little commercial success during her career but her raw, sexually candid songs from the sixties and early seventies won a cult following and paved the way for later artists, such as prince and madonna. canadian police have warned truck drivers they'll be arrested if they continue their blockade of the capital, 0ttawa. automobile companies either side of the canada—us border say production is being hit by the blockade. hundreds of trucks are lining the streets as drivers protest vaccine mandates for a second week. from 0ttawa, samira hussain reports for the third consecutive day, truckers furious at vaccine mandates have blocked

the busiest land border crossing in north america. the economic impact could be serious. 25% of all trade between canada in the united states happens here — or it did, until angry truckers decided to intervene. in canada, rage seems to have spread as fast as 0micron. which seems strange, in a country where politics used to be a pretty civilised process. now, police in the nation's capital are calling for reinforcements as they work out how to dismantle an occupation. hampering their efforts, reports that a quarter of trucks have children living in them. for now, the tactic is to slowly starve the convoy of cash and fuel. if one of the aims of this week's long protest is to eliminate vaccine mandates for truckers crossing the border, well, that hasn't happened yet.

but as covid—i9 cases begin to recede here, as it is across north america, some of the restrictions that protesters here despise are disappearing anyway. the western province of alberta is ending vaccination requirements to dine indoors and mask mandates for schools. other canadian provinces have indicated they will follow suit in the coming weeks. canada's attempts to control one global threat, covid, seems to have stirred another — an angry populism that rejects government control. and, as the threat of covid starts to wane, the question for political leaders is, how much of that anger will remain? samira hussain, bbc news, 0ttawa. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: not so modern man — the discovery in france that shows homo sapiens may have arrived in europe a lot earlier than we thought.

there's mr mandela, mr nelson mandela. a free man taking his first steps into a new south africa. iran's spiritual leader, ayatollah khomeini, has said he's passed a death sentence on salman rushdie, the british author of a book which many muslims say is blasphemous. the people of haiti have flocked to church - to give thanks for the ousting of their former president, - 'ba by doc' duvalier. because of his considerable value as a stallion, shergar was kept in a special secure box in the stud farm's central block. shergar was driven away in a horse box the thieves had brought with them. there stepped down from the plane a figure in mourning. elizabeth ii, queen of this realm and of all her other realms and territories, head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith.

this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: scientists in britain make a major new advance in the quest to generate energy from nuclearfusion. protests spread across india and beyond against a ban on the muslim headscarf in some colleges in one southern state. coronavirus restrictions in england could end earlier than expected, according to the prime minister, borisjohnson. the rules are due to expire in march, but mrjohnson told mps the restrictions could be lifted by the end of this month as long as the data remained positive. the announcement took many by surprise and the opposition labour party have suggested the move was an attempt to divert attention away from the controversy over downing street parties.

it's notjust england where restrictions will be eased. denmark became the first country in the eu to lift nearly all of its virus restrictions last week, with norway quickly following. and now sweden has alsojoined them. vaccine passes will no longer be required for indoor events and limits on indoor crowds will be scrapped. i am so happy, finally the day has come. i am so happy, finally the day has come-— i am so happy, finally the day has come. ~ ., has come. we feel freedom, we can no has come. we feel freedom, we can go places — has come. we feel freedom, we can go places and _ has come. we feel freedom, we can go places and do _ has come. we feel freedom, we can go places and do things. - has come. we feel freedom, wej can go places and do things. we hope _ can go places and do things. we hope it— can go places and do things. we hope it will work 0k and no backlash. hope it will work 0k and no backlash-— hope it will work 0k and no backlash. , ., , ., backlash. people should be more careful. backlash. people should be more careful- the _ backlash. people should be more careful. the virus _ backlash. people should be more careful. the virus is _ backlash. people should be more careful. the virus is still - careful. the virus is still here _ careful. the virus is still here and _ careful. the virus is still here. and get— careful. the virus is still. here. and get vaccinated. there have been similar moves towards opening up in the us, where some states are scrapping mask mandates. one of those is new york, where there has been a steep decline in covid cases.

here's the governor. we had a mask requirement for businesses. it was an emergency temporary measure put in place two months ago, and at this time, we say that is the right decision to lift this mandate for indoor businesses and let counties, cities and businesses to make their own decisions on what they want to do with respect to masks and the vaccination requirement. staying in the us, a new bill that would ban discussion of sexual orientation in primary schools in florida has been criticised by the white house. people who oppose the parental rights in education bill have dubbed it the "say no to gay" bill. they warn that it will stigmatise lgbt people and those issues. supporters of the legislation, including governor ron desantis, say it's about preserving the rights of parents.

we have seen instances of students being told by different folks in school, oh, you know, don't worry, don't pick your gender yet, do all this stuff, they won't tell their parents about all these discussions that are happening. it is entirely inappropriate. schools need to be teaching kids to read, to write, need to do science, history.— do science, history. every parent. — do science, history. every parent. as _ do science, history. every parent, as one _ do science, history. every parent, as one myself- do science, history. everyl parent, as one myself too, do science, history. every- parent, as one myself too, hope that they— parent, as one myself too, hope that they are leaders. today conservative politicians in florida _ conservative politicians in florida rejected those basic values _ florida rejected those basic values by advancing legislation that is— values by advancing legislation that is designed to target and attack— that is designed to target and attack the kids who need the suaport_ attack the kids who need the support the most. kids from the lgbtio — support the most. kids from the lgbtiq plus community. reaction there. let's get more on this from scott galvin in miami. he is executive director of safe schools south florida, which is a non—profit organisation focusing on providing safe space for lgbtq young people.

this bill, it has two more committees to go through. it is believed it will sail through these two more stages. what will it bring from your understanding? well, it is auoin understanding? well, it is going to _ understanding? well, it is going to have _ understanding? well, it is going to have a _ understanding? well, it is going to have a chilling i understanding? well, it is. going to have a chilling effect on all school lgbt you activities, it explicitly prohibits any discussions on the primary grade levels, but it also has an additional line that can easily be interpreted to expand the bannings at the middle and high school levels as well. we will see a lot of things we are used to in the classroom go away. taste things we are used to in the classroom go away. we heard the governor of _ classroom go away. we heard the governor of florida, _ classroom go away. we heard the governor of florida, ron - governor of florida, ron desantis, say he has seen instances of students being told by different folks in school don't worry, don't pick your gender yet.

school don't worry, don't pick your genderyet. he school don't worry, don't pick your gender yet. he is concerned about talking to young children in primary schools about these kind of issues a little bit too early. what say to that? we issues a little bit too early. what say to that?- issues a little bit too early. what say to that? we work a lot, south — what say to that? we work a lot, south school— what say to that? we work a lot, south school say - what say to that? we work a lot, south school say florida j lot, south school say florida is in school classrooms across several counties, never have i heard and incident or complaint about somebody telling a student not to pick their gender yet. student not to pick their genderyet. so student not to pick their gender yet. so i don't know where the good governor is coming up with that insight. i guess he is speaking on, he is saying or suggesting that he is defending the rights of parents and what children are being, what discussions are taking place within the classroom, especially at such a young age. do you have any concerns that, potentially, not having this bill could be, could have a negative impact on young children, i wonder? negative impact on young children, iwonder?- negative impact on young children, iwonder? no, not at all.

children, iwonder? no, not at all- here _ children, iwonder? no, not at all- here is— children, iwonder? no, not at all. here is the _ children, iwonder? no, not at all. here is the thing. - children, iwonder? no, not at all. here is the thing. if- children, iwonder? no, not at all. here is the thing. if a i all. here is the thing. if a parent is not accepting at home, how do you refer students to parents to talk about sensitive lgbtq issues? middle school and high school kids are going through a lot of things and when they don't have a support network at home a teacher, a classroom is where they most often will feel comfortable. we can't take that security blanket away from kids and expect the parents to be the person at home who deals with it and since we're talking about paris peoples rights, what about the rights of the parents who are lgbtq and who do want their kids to learn about our history? i do want their kids to learn about our history?- about our history? i 'ust wonder. i about our history? i 'ust wonder, you i about our history? ijust wonder, you express i about our history? i just i wonder, you express your about our history? i just - wonder, you express your doubts about it, but like i said at the beginning, this bill is going to be sailing through the next stages. briefly, if you would, why is there so much support for it if you are so concerned?— support for it if you are so concerned? , ., ., ., ., concerned? the state of florida is very unique- _

concerned? the state of florida is very unique. we _ concerned? the state of florida is very unique. we are - concerned? the state of florida is very unique. we are not i concerned? the state of florida is very unique. we are not as i is very unique. we are not as liberal in the north end of the state as we are in the urban areas of the state and miami and fort lauderdale, and orlando, this is not something 0rlando, this is not something that would have half a leg to stand on. but because there are a lot of people in the northern part of the state to our conservative in their beliefs, elected officials will often play to their base to get votes to win an election and i feel, unfortunately, that is what is happening here.— happening here. scott galvin from safe — happening here. scott galvin from safe school— happening here. scott galvin from safe school south i happening here. scott galvin i from safe school south florida. thank you. a discovery in a cave in france shows that modern man arrived in europe some 12,000 years earlier than previously thought. 0ur science correspondent pallab ghosh has the story. sifting through ancient remains, archaeologists have been scrabbling in the french summer heat, looking for clues to our own history. and they've discovered

that the very first modern humans to have arrived in western europe came thousands of years earlier than previously thought. we are now able to demonstrate that homo sapiens arrived 12,000 years before expected, and this population were then replaced after that by other neanderthal populations, and this rewrites literally all of our books on history. neanderthals had been living in europe for hundreds of thousands of years. the current theory is that homo sapiens arrived from africa around 42,000 years ago, and shortly after that the neanderthals went extinct. but now, it appears that some of our species arrived 5a,000 years ago — that's thousands of years earlier — and it means both homo sapiens and neanderthals may have lived on the same continent for much, much longer than previously thought before modern humans eventually gained the upper hand.

scientists have been studying fossils for more than 100 years to find out why neanderthals went extinct and we survived. until now, the view was that we came along and quickly overwhelmed them. but the new evidence suggests that the two species lived in europe for thousands of years, suggesting the relationship wasn't that brutal and there were more complex reasons for why the neanderthals died out. well, the neanderthal�*s got these typical neanderthal features — a longer, lower brain case, big brow ridge over the eyes. the interaction of the two species, published in the journal science advances, are an important part of our own history. it wasn't an overnight takeover by modern humans. so, in some cases, neanderthals had the advantage. at other times, modern humans had the advantage. so, it was more finely balanced. was there a single thing that our species had that meant that the neanderthals didn't survive? we don't know the answer, but i think it's organisational, probably more than anything, that we were networking better, our social groups were larger, we were storing knowledge better and we built on that

knowledge more effectively than the neanderthals were doing. to think networking pulled us through. thanks for watching. hello. a colder day for all of us on thursday, but across the northern half of the country, quite a wild day to come — all due to this amazing swirl of cloud we saw to the south of iceland on wednesday. it's an area of low pressure which, as we start thursday morning, will have moved in across the western half of scotland in particular. to the south, we still have a weather front set to clear that will be sweeping away the last dregs of the milder air. to the north of it, a chilly start, a risk of ice in places, a few wintry showers — but as i said, a particularly wild start to the day in parts of scotland 60—70 mph gusts across the western isles and those northwestern coasts, big seas, as well, and blizzards on the mountains. we'll see wintry showers across northern england, northern ireland, and parts of wales, but sunshine in between those and a blustery wind. strongest of the winds in scotland transfer eastwards through the day. winds always lighter further south and, once you've got rid

of the morning cloud and patchy rain, it should be a bright and sunny day. the winds, though, will be a key feature — strongest through the afternoon in eastern scotland with gales. and it's here and across northeast england where it will feel substantially colder than the thermometers would suggest, made to feel well below freezing as we go through the afternoon. so a cold end to the day, rain, sleet, snow showers and strong winds clipping eastern parts of england for a time during thursday night, then skies clear, winds fall light. coldest night of the week, coldest commute of the week as we go into friday morning — temperatures could be as low as —10 through some scottish glens, a widespread frost and some ice to watch out for. but a lovely, crisp day to come for many on friday — a few wintry showers in the west, building amounts of cloud, as well, but most staying dry with sunny spells, the best of which in the east. temperatures actually a degree so lower than normal for the time of year. but after a cold start to friday night, if you go into the weekend, it'll turn milder — and with it, some wet and windy weather. on saturday, especially in the west, outbreaks of rain coming and going all day long, more persistent through the afternoon in parts of northern and western england and wales. some parts of north east scotland may get away largely dry,

staying largely dry to east anglia and the southeast, but even here we will see rain and strong winds sweep through as we go through into saturday night. and then for sunday, we just have to watch the potential development of this area of low pressure. a bit of uncertainty attached, keep watching the forecast, but it could bring some more persistent rain later in the day and strong winds around the english channel. further north, though, something a bit brighter sunshine and showers, but feeling a little bit chillier. that's how it's looking, see you soon.

this is bbc news, the headlines: scientists say they have made a significant breakthrough in nuclear fusion, significant breakthrough in nuclearfusion, bringing the possibility of an almost unlimited source of carbon free power a step closer. experiments at a laboratory in britain produced 59 megajoules of heat during a five second burst of fusion. in india, protests are spreading across the country and beyond against a ban on the muslim headscarf in some colleges in one southern state. hundreds of demonstrators came out on the streets of calcutta and chennai, two of the country's largest cities. canadian police have threatened to arrest a lorry drivers and other protesters who have shut down central 0ttawa the two weeks, protesting about covid. they wander blocking streets and the federal capital may amount to a criminal offence. —— they warn that.