nick thorpe has more.escu and her younger brother niki are students at the romanian music academy. they are also regular participants in the daily anti—government protests. i think i'm backing the protest because in 1989, in our revolution, a lot of people died from defending our democracy, and from being in our country, the democracy. and i don't want to think they died for nothing, and it is myjob to protect democracy in my country. both their parents were active in that revolution. their mother, maria, comes with them to the protests now. but their father, mircea, stays at home. he is suspicious of the new movement. translation: i am not against the protests, but i believe they cannot see the whole story. i'm afraid that the people on the streets are being manipulated. the truth has been distorted. setting out for the protests, niki bears the flag his parents carried in 1989. it is a family heirloom. they are trying to oust the new government. but, after some early successes, it is not proving easy. thi

let's talk now to nick thorpe in bucharest.s the government so determined to face the protesters down? well, james, this is part of a long battle, especially between the social democrats here in romania and the very powerful magistrates, the judiciary, which has been pursuing corruption cases very strongly over the past few years. the protesters are obviously very determined. and as we saw, the leader of the governing social democrats party have said really they have just been arrested and can pass the laws that they want. another reason being given by the government, of course, is that prisons are overcrowded, 24,000 people injail in romania at the moment with only 70,000 places. the new government has come in saying it can pass whatever laws it wa nts to. saying it can pass whatever laws it wants to. —— 17,000. saying it can pass whatever laws it wants to. --17,000. what saying it can pass whatever laws it wants to. -- 17,000. what is next in this battle? it goes to the courts and it also stays on the streets. basically, from

nick thorpe, bbc news, bucharest.tis, is holding a press c0 nfe re nce of defence, james mattis, is holding a press conference with his counterpart in tokyo. remain safe and secure, notjust now but for yea rs safe and secure, notjust now but for years to come. the 2015 defence guidelines and japan's peace and security legislation lay the foundation for us to do much more together to increase interrupter ability between our forces and to bolsterjapan‘s ability between our forces and to bolster japan's capabilities bromby is time to contingency if needed. i'm certain the coming years will see important strides on both sides to realise our mutual goal of a strong defence of japan and a stable regional environment in which all nations play by the broadly accepted international rules and can prosper free from fear. the united states had invested in the alliance by deploying our most advanced capabilities to japan and by maintaining a robust force structure. i also mention that the united states remains committed to mutuall

nick thorpe, bbc news, bucharest. stay with us on bbc news.f commons since an uncompromising message to president trump about his state visit to britain later this this is the moment that millions in iran had been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid. the ban on the african national congress is lifted immediately, and the anc leader, nelson mandela, after 27 years injail, is to be set free unconditionally. the aircraft was returning from belgrade, where manchester united had entered the semi—final of the european cup. two americans have become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to their spaceship. one of them called it a piece of cake. thousands of people have given the yachstwoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming in the cornish port of falmouth after she smashed the world record for sailing solo around the world non—stop. this is

nick thorpe, bbc news, you can rest.in malta for their first summit of the year. britain's prime minister, theresa may, used the meeting to press for more financial commitment to nato. but any scope for britain to be a bridge between donald trump and the eu seemed to get a rebuff in some quarters. here's our deputy political editorjohn pienaar. a stroll in the sun among europe's leaders, but soon theresa may will be walking alone after brexit, then she'll need all the friends she can get. friends, she believes, like donald trump. she took his hand last week and took home his promise of 100% commitment to the nato alliance. officials have their uses. 0ne high—ranking civil servant was suddenly appointed bag carrier today. she had work to do. offering to help the eu in future just as she'd helped the cause of nato. will that us relationship help in that? well, i think it's important that we got the 100% commitment to nato because nato has been so crucial in protecting the security, notjust of the uk but also of europe and

from bucharest, nick thorpe sent us this report.those whose job it is to keep the city running a matter what happens. focus of the protesters corruption and the vigilance of the public in exposing it. this is not going to go away. people in these streets are going to hold their government accountable. any government, notjust this government. and i think the times when the government can do whatever and the politicians can do whatever just because they have been voted prawn. today the protesters took their first scalp, the prawn. today the protesters took theirfirst scalp, the minister of justice, who introduced the controversial decree last week. he resigned, leaving unrepentant. translation: everything i have done, all the draft bills, are legal and constitutional. there was a debate, but that was not enough for the public, so i have decided to resign. first the protesters forced the government to revoke the decree. then they forced the justice minister to stamp down. but they are still not satisfied. now they want the whole govern

nick thorpe is in bucharest for us.the romanian government, and the focal point of these daily protests here in romania. the people here are angry and they are turning out in their thousands, there are tens of thousands, there are tens of thousands, to try to get the government to withdraw the degree which was passed very rapidly on tuesday night. one of the favourites chance of the crowd here is thieves. the government says it has every right to pass the laws it once too, that it was only elected two months ago, and it has that legitimacy. the people here say there are still eight days before that sticky comes into force and that they will stay on the street every day until that dignity is cancelled. —— before that decree comes into force. the remarkable stand—off between the government, and the public. the inquest into the tunisian beach terror attack in 2014 has been herding —— has been stealing —— has heard details. carly lovett, who was 24—years—old, had recently got engaged to her long—term boyfriend, liam moore.

in the capital bucharest, and there were rallies in 20 other romanian cities. 0ur correspondent nick thorpe the governing social democrats who have just returned to power and romania's very powerful anti—corruption agency. the agency accused by the government of targeting their social democratic mps. they say it's not true, that they are equally fair, but this strong anti—corruption fight in romania has been seen in the past as a threat by the social democrats. now they are in power, they have tried to clip the wings of the agency. all these people have come out to the streets in this remarkable situation, on the streets of this country, in support of prosecutors and their efforts to clear up romania of its corruption problem. the constitutional court, it's been taken to them by the magistrates and by the president, that is one of the legal obstacles. also the european union stepping in, putting pressure on this government to back down, but no sign at the moment that the social democratic government is willing to back down on this decree. although gene therapy has the potential to eliminate

but he told our correspondent nick thorpe that ministers are determined to stay firm. the parliament, we will go home. but until that moment, we will do ourjob. and let the others express their opinions. and try to take into account, to the best of our abilities, the opinions of those who are demonstrating. do you plan to introduce any similar legislation in future? we decided to abbrogate the ordinance and to come back to the previous situation, which does not mean that this issue is solved. it will be solved in the parliament in the period to come. and with a larger consultation, transparency and so on and so forth. that's why, from my point of view, practically there are no reasons for the continuing of the protest. maybe in this case we were wrong. and the second thing in which we were wrong, was the way in which we communicated with the population, with the citizens. how uncomfortable has it been for you and your government to face these massive protests over the last weeks. of course it's an uncomfortable position when people are demonstrating against you. you ca

the bbc‘s nick thorpe is among the crowds.e here are angry and turning out in their tens of thousands to try to get the government to withdraw the decree which was passed very rapidly on tuesday night. one of the favourite chance of the ground favourite chance of the ground here is "thieves." the government says it has every right to pass the laws it wants to, that it was only elected two months ago and it has that legitimacy. the people here say there are still eight days before that decree comes into force and they will stay on the street every day until that decree is cancelled. a remarkable stand—off, putting the protesters, the prosecutors and the president of the republic against the government. also making news today — a tokyo court has begun hearings in the case of a man who developed leukaemia after working as a welder injapan‘s damaged fukushima nuclear site. the 42—year—old is the first person to be recognised by the japanese labour authorities as having an illness linked to the radiation that leaked from the site,

earlier, our correspondent in bucharest, nick thorpe, gave us this update.ugh during the night on tuesday very suddenly and unexpectedly was probably a mistake, but it is standing by its original motivation, as it puts it, to pass it. the government is arguing and a leader of the government i spoke to earlier today explained this in the following terms, that basically, as he put it, the judiciary in romania, and these were strong condemnations, is not independent yet. he said the prosecutors, the judiciary and even secret services were running amok and all the government have been trying to do with this decree was to rein them in and rebalance the state institutions. of course that's not how these hundreds of thousands of protesters have seen it, and here tonight in bucharest more people are gathering once again, possibly for the last of this long series. possibly the last of a long series, you say, so does that mean we are talking about the end of these big protests? 0riginally this protest tonight was planned as the biggest of them all and it may yet prove

protesters say the true aim is to protect corrupt officials. 0ur correspondent nick thorpe is in thehis row over corruption just rumbles on and on. you can see in the pictures from last night, astonishingly cold, —3 but it felt like —10 with a strong wind blowing in the square in front of the government building, so large numbers for the conditions still turning out. the activists spent the afternoon clearing the square with shovels in order to create space for people to gather in the evening. there have been the first, smaller pro—government demonstrations, protesting against the president of the republic who has very much taken the side of the protesters. all eyes are on the constitutional court and on the government reaction to what the constitutional court does. the crisis, as it were, continues in romania. the protesters plan more big demonstrations against the government over the weekend. they want this government to fall, now. the government is trying to limit the damage and trying to survive this wave of protest and to stay in office. across the bbc this week we've been looki

our correspondent nick thorpe is in bucharest. be revoked this morning. it was passed i decree last tuesday night and they are calling another emergency government meeting this morning in bucharest. obviously an amazing effect of these huge protests. it is proving, in the maniac anyway, that this is a country where large demonstrations can not necessarily bring down the government but force it to change its decisions —— in romania anyway. there are a lot of organisations through facebook groups, but there are many mostly young, active ngos that have been at least involved in helping to get people out on the streets in the first place. president, petro poroshenko. they discussed the conflict in the east of the country involving government forces and russian—backed rebels. mr trump says he is ready to work with both ukraine and russia to try to restore peace. more affordable homes will be built specifically to tackle the high cost of renting, ministers have pledged. the reforms will be announced in full on tuesday as part of plans f

earlier, our correspondent nick thorpe in bucharest told ben brown about the impact the government's get news any time that the government has no revoked that decree. they will have to then engage in some kind of damage limitation, they will have to try to tell their own supporters, they were elected with about 5 million votes between the two parties, they will have to try to convince the voters that this is a setback and not a surrender. more importantly, they will have to try to persuade romanian society that this was not a simple black and white battle between corrupt politicians on one hand and the anti—corruption fight, as the protesters who have been flocking to this square have been saying, but this square have been saying, but this is more complicated, and battle between different branches of the legislature and the executive ranches of the government. they want to try to limit the damage that this public climb—down will cause them. this has been an example of people power. absolutely. romania is a country we're in the past protests have famously brought down the government,

parliament has been debating a vote of no confidence in the government this morning. 0ur correspondent nick thorpeinutes the romanian parliament has defeated that vote of no—confidence. so the government has survived. but this leaves the basic problem and what has brought these people onto the streets still very much on the agenda. the government certainly would like to move on, it was only elected two months ago and has only beenin elected two months ago and has only been in place for one month. it wa nts to been in place for one month. it wants to move on to its largely economic agenda. but let's take a look at those protests from the last few days. chanting. these have been the biggest demonstrations since the revolution of 1989. the people are angry about a government which would have softened the penal code and allowed many public officials jailed for corruption to walk free. the decree was cancelled at the weekend, but now the protesters want the government to resign. we will keep coming every night until they resign. we don't mind if the same parties that won the election appoint another go

our correspondent nick thorpe is in bucharest. on tuesday, during the night very suddenly, was probably a mistake. but it is standing by its original more than patient to pass it. the government is standing by, and a representative explained it to me in the following terms, the judiciary in romania is not independent, he said. he said the prosecutors, thejudiciary, even the secret service is, were running on mock and all the government were trying to do with this decree was rein them in and balance different state institutions. of course that is not how the thousands of protesters have seen it. tonight, more people are gathering once again, possibly for the last in this long series. does that mean that we're talking about the end of these big protests? originally this protest was planned as the biggest of them all and it may well prove to be very large, despite the fact that the government has now backed down. the mood the streets is that people do not trust the government, they did not like the way that the introduced this measur

let's speak to the bbc‘s nick thorpe in bucharest.'s right. i'm standing in victoria square he in front of the government building. if i haven't lost cou nt government building. if i haven't lost count already, the tenth consecutive day of protests. they began with the attempt by the incoming social democrat led government to pass a controversial decree. the road testers came out on the streets because they said that would have changed three paragraphs of the penal code in romania and would have weakened the anti—corruption fight here in rumania. it is a country that is perhaps often unfairly seen as a corrupt country. it has a very tough anti—corruption corrupt country. it has a very tough anti—corru ption directorate, corrupt country. it has a very tough anti—corruption directorate, an agency which has managed to prosecute 1200 people, convicted 1200 people in the last three years. that included ministers, even a former prime in a step. so many people have gone to prison, and the decree would have let them out. that has now been rev

our correspondent nick thorpe is in the capital bucharest.till turning out. the activists spent the afternoon clearing the square with shovels in order to create space for people to gather in the evening. there have been the smaller pro—government demonstrations, protesting against the president of the republic who has very much taken the side of the protesters. all eyes are on the constitutional court and on the government reaction to what the constitutional court does. the crisis, as it were, continues in romania. the protesters plan more big demonstrations against the government over the weekend. they want this government to fall, now. the government is trying to limit the damage and trying to survive this wave of protest and to stay in office. the headlines on bbc newsroom live: a&e waiting times in england hit their worst levels since targets were introduced 13 years ago. the government has rejected criticism after it ends a scheme to bring unaccompanied child migrants into the uk, saying that it is detrimental to the children's welfare.

our correspondent nick thorpe gave me the latest from bucharest.romania has been seen in the past as a threat by the social democrats. now they are in power, they have tried to clip the wings of the agency. all these people have come out to the streets in this remarkable situation, on the streets of this country, in support of prosecutors and their efforts to clear up romania of its corruption problem. the constitutional court has been taken to them by the magistrates and by the president, that is one of the legal obstacles. also the european union stepping in, putting pressure on this government to back down, but no sign at the moment that the social democratic government is willing to back down on this decree. new claimants with disabilities could be unable to meet essential living costs if government plans to cut unemployment benefit go ahead, a group of mps have warned. the work and pensions select committee is calling for a delay to the cut until there is clarification on how those most in need will be supported. sima kotecha reports. there ar

‘s nick thorpe was at sunday's protest in bucharest.protest because in 1989, in our revolution, a lot of people died from defending our democracy, and from bringing our country into democracy. and i don't want to think they died for nothing, and it is myjob to protect democracy in my country. both their parents were active in that revolution. their mother, maria, comes with them to the protests now. but father mircea stays at home. he is suspicious of the new movement. translation: i am not against the protests, but i believe we cannot see the whole story. i'm afraid that the people on the streets are being manipulated. the truth has been distorted. setting out for the protest, niki bears the flag his parents carried in 1989. it is a family heirloom. they are trying to oust romania's new government, but after some early successes, it is not proving easy. this government has no intention whatsoever to resign. we'll do ourjob. if we are... if we get a non—confidence vote in the parliament, we'll go home. but, until that moment, we'll do o

the prime minister says he won't withdraw the decree. 0ur correspondent nick thorpe is in the romanianst. these protests expected to grow over the weekend, remind us of the background? yes, a decree was passed on tuesday night by the new social democratic government, only in power for the last month. this decree would decriminalise some forms of corruption and in practice get out many politicians who are now in jail for corruption. romania has a strong national anti—corruption directorate, they have been very successful in tackling corruption in high places in the past years and remaining up perhaps the most successful in all of eastern europe. but there seems to be a feud between the incoming social democratic government and the anti—corruption agency. the social democrats accuse them of being political, a republic of prosecutors as a former prime minister called them and are u nfa i rly minister called them and are unfairly targeting the social democrats. that's the background to it but in practice the government tried to push this through quickly on tuesday night in an emergency dec

nick thorpe sent this report from bucharest on the wide range of groups now lined up against the government scenes in 2:17:71”

nick thorpe was at sunday's protest in bucharest.1989, in our revolution, a lot of people died from defending our democracy, and from bringing our country into democracy. and i don't want to think they died for nothing, and it is myjob to protect democracy in my country. both their parents were active in that revolution. their mother, maria, comes with them to the protests now. but father mircea stays at home. he is suspicious of the new movement. translation: i am not against the protests, but i believe we cannot see the whole story. ferriséfl'ertflgggrr * ~ 7 ”fl — ~—— ~ they are trying to oust the new government. but, after some early successes, it is not proving easy. this government has no intention whatsoever to resign. we'll do ourjob. if we are... if we get a non—confidence vote in the parliament, we'll go home. but, until that moment, we'll do ourjob. after days of dwindling numbers, they came here in their tens of thousands, to prove to the government that they are still a force to reckoned with. that they are still waiting fo