18/02/2017 BBC Weekend News

The US gives its full backing to Nato but calls on Europe

At a meeting of European leaders, Vice-President Mike Pence warns

the military alliance risks being damaged if they fail to do so.

We strongly support Nato, but the President's also made it

clear that we expect our allies to keep their

word, to live up to the commitments that they've made for our common

The Prime Minister will meet the boss of Peugeot to discuss

its proposed takeover of Vauxhall UK, a move that could

At least two people are killed after California's hit

And the art exhibition that's created a gold rush in Scunthorpe.

The US Vice-President, Mike Pence, has used his first major foreign

policy speech to reassure allies that Donald Trump does support Nato.

Just weeks after the President called the military alliance

obsolete, Mr Pence told a security conference in Munich that America's

He did make it clear though that the White House

expected Nato members to increase their

From Munich, our chief international correspondent,

Nato exercises in Poland - a show of strength to counter

what many see as a growing threat from Russia.

The massive deployment of US military might

in Europe underlines how America has been the predominant

power in Nato since the end of the Second World War.

Now, there's a US president who's called this alliance obsolete.

So, at this Munich Forum, anticipation and anxiety over what

message President Trump's deputy would bring here.

What we were most looking for were the messages

coming out from the leading members President Trump's team, including

Everyone says they've been reassured by what

he had to say about the transatlantic alliance and the

There's so much relief here about what you had to

say, doesn't that make you worry that Europe was worried

about your commitment to the transatlantic

I think President Trump has made it clear that the

United States stands strongly with the North Atlantic alliance.

But the president has also made it clear

that we expect our allies to keep their word, to live up to the

commitments that they've made for our common defence.

There was a strong message to Russia, too, a

warning it would be held accountable for its actions,

despite President Trump's talk of a warmer

Moscow's top diplomat accused the West of being stuck in a

TRANSLATION: The historic period that can be called

the post-Cold War order has now come to an end.

The main result, in our view, has been the failure of

Then, within hours, Mr Lavrov announced a new

truce in Ukraine between Government forces and Russian-backed

There is scepticism a ceasefire will hold, but

Washington's message is now clear: without progress, there'll be

Tonight, as the Vice President headed out, he left behind some

But there's still that uncertainty whether what's been said here is

So, how reassured will Nato members be by the Vice

Welcomer thereupon are still no detailed policies -- there are still

no detailed policies in place to answer that, so the only measure is

the words. On that basis, the words have been more reassuring here, and

they bring President Trump's policies back in line with more

traditional American approaches when it comes to key areas such as the

relationship with Nato and with Russia, but judging by the reactions

in the corridors of power here in Munich, they are also asking how far

this charm offensive really went, and assessing not just the message

but the messenger too, asking questions tonight - how much power

does Mike Pence really have? Is he in President Trump's trusted inner

circle? And why, in a 20 minute speech, did he feel it necessary to

mention President Trump at least 19 times? So, Europe's leaders here are

saying that for all these carefully crafted messages, which we

understand had to be run by President Trump, they are still left

wondering, what will they read on Donald Trump's Twitter account

tomorrow? Thank you.

Theresa May will meet the head of the French car-maker Peugeot

to discuss its proposed takeover of Vauxhall in the UK.

There's concern any takeover may have an impact

on thousands of jobs at plants in Ellesmere Port and Luton.

From Luton, our business correspondent, Joe Lynam, reports.

Will the next generation of Vauxhall Astras be made in Britain?

Vauxhall employs 4500 people, with thousands more

This week, General Motors said it was in talks to sell Vauxhall

PSA will almost certainly want to cut costs if there's a deal.

And that might mean closing down factories.

After all, Britain will be up against Germany, where Opel

employs 35,000 people, in what is increasingly set to be

If the takeover goes ahead, it's inevitable there

The crunch point comes in 2018, when a decision will be made

on where to locate the next Astra model.

At that point, if the Government wants to keep investment in the UK

and keep plants open, it's going to have to pull out

all of the stops in terms of offering an attractive

The meeting between these two could decide that.

The boss of Peugeot and Citroen, Carlos Tavares, will want at least

the same concessions from Theresa May that she gave

to the Nissan boss, Carlos Ghosn, last autumn, to persuade him to stay

in Sunderland after Britain quits the single market.

Nissan was promised more investment in locally made components,

electric batteries, and free and unencumbered access

The meeting between the PSA boss Carlos Tavares

and the Prime Minister Theresa May will be watched very carefully

by the people who make the Vivaro vans here at Vauxhall in Luton.

They will know that Britain is leaving the single market

and probably the customs union, which means cars made

here could face a tariff being sold on continental Europe,

and that could make their factory potentially unviable.

Joe Lynam, BBC News, at the Vauxhall factory, in Luton.

We will return to matters in America, then.

He's been in office for less than a month, but tonight

Donald Trump launches his 2020 re-election campaign

It follows a tumultuous week for the US President,

which has seen him lose his national security advisor and launch

Our correspondent Laura Bicker is at the rally.

Laura, is this an unusual step for a president

Why now? Candidates usually get to the end of

a campaign and say, thank heavens that is over, but not Donald Trump.

He loves the business of campaigning will stop perhaps more so than the

tricky business of governing. He may be here to feel the adoration and

energy of his fans after quite a rocky start. Already this week, he

has seen the resignation of his national security adviser, Michael

Flynn, and the man he asked to replace said no. He is holding

interviews this weekend. And Kate, one other reason why Donald Trump

wants to hold this rally - he has already tweeted again today,

decrying what he calls the fake news media. He has described us as the

enemy of the American people. He doesn't trust us to put across his

message, so is in just a few moments, he will get on that podium

and do it himself. -- so in just a few moments.

The Government's to propose new laws aimed at tackling domestic violence

Victims will get greater support under legislation that will be

Rachel Williams felt failed by the state

when she finally worked up the

During a six-week period, he bombarded me

And then, on the 19th of August, 2011,

while I was in work, he came into my hairdresser's

where I was working, with a sawn off shotgun, and shot

Experiences like that are shattering, according to Theresa

May, who's asked ministers and experts to clarify laws that are

applied unevenly across England and Wales.

It's estimated there are 1.3 million female victims of domestic abuse

each year, with around 600,000 men being affected too.

Very few come forward, and there were just 75,000

convictions in 2016, although that's more

It's something Theresa May tried to grapple with

charge here at the Home Office, introducing legislation which

criminalised emotional abuse, and giving people the right to find

out if their new partners had been violent before.

But as Prime Minister, she's decided the whole of

the Government needs to look at the whole issue.

She's pointed out that there are big inconsistencies in the

police response, and that will be covered through the Home Office and

But four out of five victims of domestic

abuse don't go to the police, so we need the health service

and schools and others to really take this

Rachel's son took his own life after so much violence at home.

Labour say proper funding of services

just as important as any legislation that emerges.

A huge storm that's hit California has left at least two dead

and caused chaos to parts of the state, opening up sinkholes,

Meteorologists say it could be the strongest storm to hit

the southern part of the state for over 20 years.

It looks like California's drought is ending in dramatic fashion.

In the suburb of Studio City, a woman

was pulled to safety from the roof of her car moments before a second

Turned around for one second, and the second car

The rate of the water that's moving, it's undermining the soil underneath

the asphalt, so it's starting to crumble the street.

Believe it or not, this is the desert town of

This man had to be rescued by helicopter.

Another motorist could not be saved, drowning in his car.

On the main motorway from Los Angeles to Las

Vegas, a fire crew had a lucky escape, abandoning their engine just

While in the hills, this is the result of years of wildfires

which have left the ground slick, scarred and unable to absorb

The storm has been deadly, but the clouds do have one silver

lining - reservoirs in this parched state are at last filling up.

In LA, it seems it never rains but it

Hundreds of people have been searching to find

five solid-gold objects that have been hidden

across Scunthorpe as part of an arts project.

Clues to their location are contained in a series of paintings,

But the first figure, worth more than ?2000,

was discovered by someone who hadn't even seen the artwork.

Phillip Norton's report does contain some flashing images.

In the town of Scunthorpe, steel has always been its precious metal,

This was a gold rush unlike anything before.

We've taken five objects from the local museum,

and we've scanned them, and 3-D printed them, then made

Those objects are then hidden across Scunthorpe

and the region for people to find and keep.

500 people came to try and crack them within an hour of opening.

But the first bit of treasure was found by pure chance.

We were just looking around, and then we see

And we put our hands in, and out come a bag of treasure.

We come past here sometimes when we go shopping, and I

And I just thought, yeah, one's got to be in here.

The clues have been created by a goverment code breaker

The gold was hidden amid top secrecy.

People have been getting very excited.

We had some people trying to sneak in this morning.

We've had people come in all week, saying, oh, can I have a

quick look at them, just a quick look at them?

For Rachel, seeing the clue wouldn't have been much help.

Would you know where to start with solving this?

There are still four figurines remaining.

The artist admits some may never be found.

You can see more on all of today's stories on the BBC News channel.

Good evening. It's been a springlike day across many parts of the

country, with temperatures as high as 15 Celsius. Not sunshine

everywhere, but here is this seen as the sun set over new key in

Cornwall. Thanks