live from london. this is bbc news. president trump suspends migrants�* entry into the united states from mexico, as over 1,000 us troops are sent to patrol the southern border. this was a gross miscarriage of common sense to allow people to come in, and i believe the number is 21 million people, and a large percentage of them are criminals. 18—yea—old axel rudakubana is due to be sentenced later today. he pleaded guilty to murder after he stabbed three girls to death in southport. thailand has become the first country in south—east asia to allow same—sex marriage. a fresh wildfire has taken ablaze north of los angeles, strecthing to an area of more than 9,000 acres.

coming up in business. talking trade, donald trump is set to address world leaders at davos today with the threat of further tariffs looming for america's economic rivals. hello, i'm catherine byaruhanga. us president donald trump is sending 1,500 troops to the mexican border to boost security, as he moves to crack down on illegal immigration. the news came after mr trump gave his first television interview since re—entering the white house. 0ur north america correspondent merlyn thomas has the details. mr president. thank you. welcome back. thank you very much. donald trump began his interview with fox news speaking about his favourite topic — immigration. this was a gross miscarriage of common sense to allow people to come in. this is notjust south america.

this isn't, you know... we talk venezuela. that's a big abuser. but these are countries from, these are... iran, syria. countries that you don't even think of. the congo has emptied their prisons out into the united states. for him, it was an opportunity to repeat many of the unverified claims he's made before. it follows an announcement that the pentagon is deploying more than 1,500 troops to the us—mexico border to beef up resources, as well as providing air support to help deport undocumented migrants from states like california and texas. while he's going full speed ahead with the executive orders cracking down on illegal immigration, the president has also been on the defensive — standing by his decision to pardon nearly 1,600 of the january 6th rioters. why did they get a pardon? a number of reasons. number one, they were in there for three and a half years, a long time. and, in many solitary confinement, treated

like nobody�*s ever been treated, so badly. they were treated like the worst criminals in history. and you know what they were there for? they were protesting the vote because they knew the election was rigged. despite the attention his own pardons received, he was quick to turn the tables on president biden, who controversially pardoned his family members on his last day in office. the precedent that he set on pardons is amazing. that's a much bigger story, but people don't like talking about it. he pardoned everybody, but he didn't pardon himself. aside from issuing executive orders and pardons, trump is also considering what to do about tiktok. the social media platform's time is running out as it faces a ban in america over alleged national security concerns because of its chinese parent company. but donald trump doesn't seem so worried. we have our telephones made in china for the most part. we have so many things made in china, so why don't they mention that? you know.

the interesting thing with tiktok, though, is you're dealing with a lot of young people. they love it. is it that important for china to be spying on young people, on young kids, watching crazy videos, on things? trump's first week has been incredibly busy and he's not done yet. in a few days, he'll visit california, a state deeply affected by wildfires that are still raging. some of the wealthiest, most powerful people lost their homes, and it looked like our country was helpless. this fire was just raging. and then it would catch to another area. another area, another area. there was nothing. it took a week and a half and i've never seen anything like it. we looked so weak. trump supporters have been pleased with their president's actions so far, and they're not done hearing from him yet. as fox tv presenter sean hannity revealed, there's a part two of this interview still to come later on thursday. interview still to come with me is our reporter, mimi swaby.

mimi, what do we know about what is happening on the board at the moment, and there are some 30,000 migrants who have seen appointments seeking asylum in the us cancelled? the border is closed, _ asylum in the us cancelled? tue: border is closed, there asylum in the us cancelled? tte: border is closed, there is a state of emergency and no one has crossed yet, but thousands of migrant are stranded over president trump close down the entry programme, an app where hundreds of thousands of migrants could schedule an appointment to make their asylum case. now they are stranded with uncertainty. this is as 1500 troops are making their way to the border to put up their way to the border to put up as a goal barriers, as well as mass deportation flight looming, so a lot of panic and uncertainty at this border with many people unsure where to go yet next. many people unsure where to go et next. �* ., _, , many people unsure where to go etnext.�* ., , ~ yet next. and of course mexico is effected _ yet next. and of course mexico is effected itself, _ yet next. and of course mexico is effected itself, what - yet next. and of course mexico is effected itself, what is - yet next. and of course mexico is effected itself, what is the l is effected itself, what is the response from the government there? ~ .., response from the government there? ~ .. ., there? the mexican government has not taken _ there? the mexican government has not taken this _ there? the mexican government has not taken this measure - has not taken this measure particularly well. however talks between mexico and the us have already begun with

immigration being a central point. mexico's president claudia sharon bown said on wednesday that the foreign affairs minister and the secretary of state in the us marco rubio have had a phone conversation which largely focused on immigration and security matters. it was supposed to be cordial and part of an on going conversation however the mexican president has said that they will collaborate with the us but not subordinate to it, this is the key point that she has emphasised many times, it's important to note that asylum seekers waiting in mexico while their claim is processed, for this to work like many other of trump's policies, mexico needs to be in agreement and playable but at the moment that is still in question. but at the moment that is still in question-— in question. mimi, later on this week. _ in question. mimi, later on this week, we _ in question. mimi, later on this week, we expect - in question. mimi, later on this week, we expect to i in question. mimi, later on | this week, we expect to see in question. mimi, later on i this week, we expect to see a visit by marco rubio to panama.

this is coming as donald trump has threatened to take back the panama canal. what can we expect from such a meeting? the key focuses _ expect from such a meeting? the key focuses of — expect from such a meeting? tte: key focuses of this trip expect from such a meeting? tt9 key focuses of this trip in general and this meeting is the curtailing of illegal migration, the darien gap is between the border of panama and colombia and seen as a key starting point for many thousands of migrants getting to the us. but also to push trump's claim of regaining the panama canal. he says that panama canal. he says that panama is charging american ships and excessive fare and that china has influence on this key cornerstone in maritime transportation. however this is not going down well in panama, there have been protests and the panamanian president has said that this was not a gift or concession by the us, from the us, and that the us, from the us, and that the sovereignty of this canal is a non—negotiable, it will not give up the canal. the tariffs, the prices for passing

through it a very fair and china has no influence on it. so a very strong rebuff from panama but it will be interesting to see where that conversation goes.— conversation goes. yes, that tri - conversation goes. yes, that trip could — conversation goes. yes, that trip could happen _ conversation goes. yes, that trip could happen in - conversation goes. yes, that trip could happen in the - conversation goes. yes, that i trip could happen in the coming days. thank you, mimi. the 18—year—old who pleaded guilty to murdering three young girls in southport last summer will be sentenced later today. axel rudakubana also pleaded guilty to attempting to kill eight other children and two adults when he appeared in court earlier this week. some of the families of the victims are expected to be at today's hearing at liverpool crown court. 0ur correspondent nick garnett reports. six—year—old bebe king, elsie dot stancombe, who was seven, and nine—year—old alice aguiar. murdered in southport last summer in a tragedy which led to a wave of sympathy and sadness. southport is a small seaside town. everyone here has a connection to someone who was at the dance class at the beginning of the summer holidays. sarah was hoping her daughter would be there. it filled up very, very

quickly as of course it would do, so niamh was down on the waiting list, but she wasn't there. and you know, i guess i'll be forever grateful for that, but also absolutely devastated that there are young people who are not here. and thatjust doesn't seem fair. axel rudakubana was arrested with the weapon in his hand, but refused to admit he carried out the attack. but then, this monday, with the trial about to start, he told his lawyers he was changing his plea. as well as the murders, he admitted trying to kill eight of the children and two adults, possession of a knife, manufacturing the biotoxic agent ricin and downloading an al-qaeda training manual — a terror offence. it is clear that this was a young man with a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence. he has shown no signs of remorse. us, as a community, and, of course, the families had psyched themselves up for the trial, which

was going to be really, really challenging. so relief. but anger and, of course, obviously, we've now got to sit and wait for the sentencing. and then the real shock. he was known to the services, ithink, has really hit us as well. there's some anger around that for sure. whether rudakubana could have been stopped will be the focus of a public inquiry. finally unmasked. we wait to hear what sentence he'll serve for his crimes. nick garnett, bbc news. we will have much more from liverpool crown court when that sentencing happens later today on bbc news. hundreds of same—sex weddings have been taking place in thailand this morning after the country's long—awaited equal marriage law came into effect. the legislation gives members of the lgbt community the same rights as heterosexual couples to share assets and adopt children. let's speak to our south east asia correspondent

jonathan head. jonathan, give us a sense of what has been happening there in bangkok with these weddings. i am in essentially an enormous conference room in a shopping centre, which seems an unlikely place for romantic events like weddings but the city government organises with lgbtq activists to accommodate more than 100 couples who wanted to come and get married at the first possible opportunity. very much in the public gaze here but this is meant to be a celebration marking this legal milestone and an import of these many couples, some of them have been togetherfor a long time, sometimes more than two decades and finally they are able to get legal status as any other couple, to pass on property they own together, to make health decisions, and plan families, all these things are possible. thailand is in many

ways a pioneer, only the third country of the and taiwan to offer equal marriage, and is the only one in southeast asia —— after nepal. many people thought that this was always going to happen in thailand because of its easy—going approach for a long time towards diverse sexual identity but it has been a difficult legal battle to get this law through so there is a sense of achievement and celebration today that they had got there. what do you think this means for thailand itself, including the culture and the relationships among extended families with these new legislation and these marriages taking place? for legislation and these marriages taking place?— taking place? for many of the cou - le taking place? for many of the couple is _ taking place? for many of the couple is the _ taking place? for many of the couple is the fact _ taking place? for many of the couple is the fact that - taking place? for many of the couple is the fact that they . couple is the fact that they can now have the state sanctioning their relationship does help, sometimes at their immediate families, even in thailand where there is broad acceptance, it's sometimes difficult for family to accept same—sex marriages. 0ften parents have got hopes for

conventional heterosexual marriages so that is difficult. but also wider communities as well, the point has been made that while there is broad tolerance, full acceptance is much easier when you can say, the law respects my relationship as it does anyone else's. it also shows that thailand is now broadly accepting of this kind of diversity, and it was not always. there was a huge political consensus for this law to pass, very little opposition to it. it's the reason it has now come through, political parties know that this is popular, the public at large now broadly accept that this is a right that everybody should have. and it is an outlier in this region will stop other countries in southeast asia have religious prohibition, particularly islamic countries, orjust islamic countries, or just because islamic countries, orjust because they have very conservative official cultures. china and vietnam both run by communist parties, in theory have no objection to this but in practice, there is very little progress on equal

marriage. activists are not allowed to campaign there so thailand still in many ways a beacon of hope for those in the lgbtq community and the broader region. lgbtq community and the broader reuion. :, ~' ,, lgbtq community and the broader reuion. . ~ ., ., let's cross over to bangkok to speak to paisarn likhitpreechakul, a lgbtq+ rights activist in thailand. so, paisarn, tell us how you feel seeing these wedding ceremonies taking place in this country, you have been campaigning for same—sex marriage for many decades now. well, this is one of those days that makes me feel proud to be thai and i would like to congratulate the couples that will be tying the knot in the days coming and months and years, i hope this legislation will be good for them in terms of equal right treatment and respect and non—disco nation so congratulations. congratulations indeed for the

happy couples as well. thailand has faced many challenges when it comes to human rights generally, what do you think has changed when it came to lgbtq rights?— has changed when it came to lgbtq rights? well, after the coup d'etat — lgbtq rights? well, after the coup d'etat of _ lgbtq rights? well, after the coup d'etat of 2014, - lgbtq rights? well, after the coup d'etat of 2014, a - lgbtq rights? well, after the coup d'etat of 2014, a lot - lgbtq rights? well, after the coup d'etat of 2014, a lot of l coup d'etat of 2014, a lot of human rights have been suppressed, including the freedom of expression and freedom of expression and freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. however, lgbtq rights were an exception, because they were not seen as a threat to the power. however, even though there were efforts to try to pass this marriage equality law during that time, it didn't come to fruition effectively the coup d'etat setback thailand's lockport nine and also derailing this marriage equality until now. it was only at the return of democracy two years ago that

the efforts have been built up again, and the huge political consensus that came to fruition today. so there is a lot of work that has been done in the past decade or two that paved the way to today's momentous moment. but also i would like to congratulate all lgbt activists and allies, also politicians who have made this possible. but even though this marriage equality has become reality, there is still a lot to be done especially in terms of passing the gender recognition law, reaffirming the rights of transgender is who have always been part of thai society. who have always been part of thai society-— thai society. paisarn likhitpreechakul, . thai society. paisarn i likhitpreechakul, thank thai society. paisarn - likhitpreechakul, thank you likhitpreecha kul, thank you very likhitpreechakul, thank you very much for sharing your analysis and your views on bbc news. :, ~ analysis and your views on bbc

news. . ~ , :, around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

the first three days of donald trump's second term as us president have been marked by a high—profile signal of political intent. he's issued executive orders on everything from deploying troops to stop immigrants crossing the southern border, scrapping government equality and diversity programmes and withdrawing the us from the world health organization. john sudworth has been to the town of kenosha in wisconsin to find out what americans make of it all so far. the county of kenosha helped send donald trump to the white house. like elsewhere in america, his victory here, fuelled by economic grievance, was a narrow one. a divided town in a divided nation. in frank's diner, some won't even talk about politics. we're a few days into

a trump administration. what do you think, casey? about what? trump so far. 0h, let's not go there. let's not go there. i don't really have much of an opinion on that one. we're going to leave it at that one. residents here know the cost of division. in 2020, the police shooting of a black man triggered three nights of violent protest. and i guess this was instrumental in getting... scott carpenter's furniture store was burned down. five years on, he thinks it's no accident that the black lives matter movement seems like ancient history, as president trump orders the closure of federal diversity programmes. i'm not corporate america, so destroying our store did absolutely nothing for your cause. so this picture here is when at the time 1542 00:19: