14/03/2018 BBC World News America

This is BBC World News America.

Reporting from Washington,

I'm Laura Trevelyan.

A return to the Cold War chill.

Britain's Prime Minister expels

23 Russian diplomats,

in retaliation for the poisoning

of a former Russian spy in the UK.

They have treated the use of

military grade nerve agent in Europe

with sarcasm, contempt and defiance.

Across this nation, US students make

the case for gun control -

walking out of their classrooms,

one month after the

Parkland shooting.

I discovered that black holes are

not that black after all.

I discovered that black holes

are not that black after all.

And, remembering

a scientific genius.

How Stephen Hawking's

discoveries changed our

understanding of the universe.

Welcome to our viewers on public

television here in America,

and also around the world.

In the biggest expulsion

since the Cold War, Britain

is to kick out 23 Russian diplomats.

Theresa May has pointed the finger

at Moscow over the poisoning

of a former Russian double agent

and his daughter in England.

In response, she's going to crack

down on Russian spies,

criminals and corrupt elites

who are sheltering in Britain.

It's the most dramatic action

against Moscow in 30 years.

Here's our political

editor, Laura Kuenssberg.

It was right to offer Russia

the opportunity to provide

an explanation, but their response

has demonstrated complete disdain

for the gravity of these events.

The midnight deadline came

and went, leaving a morning

with no new answers.

Theresa May went prepared

to Prime Minister's Questions,

ready to announce the biggest

diplomatic action against Russia

since the Cold War.

They have treated the use

of a military-grade nerve agent

in Europe with sarcasm,

contempt and defiance.

Mr Speaker, there is no

alternative conclusion other

than that the Russia State

was culpable for the attempted

murder of Mr Skripal

and his daughter.

This represents an

unlawful use of force

by the Russian state against the UK.

So, the UK will retaliate.

The United Kingdom will expel

23 Russian diplomats,

who have been identified

as undeclared intelligence officers.

They have just one week to leave.

This was not just an act

of attempted murder in Salisbury,

nor just an act against the UK,

it is an affront to the prohibition

on the use of chemical weapons

and an affront to the rules-based

system on which we and our

international partners depend.

So, 23 diplomats suspected of being

spies have seven days to leave,

all high-level contact

between the UK and Russia

is suspended, and no minister

or member of the Royal Family

will go to the World Cup.

And some Russian State

assets could be frozen,

with possible new laws to crack down

on hostile states.

In a tense Commons,

Jeremy Corbyn was not quite ready

to accept the culpability

of the Russian State.

Our response must be both

decisive and proportionate

and based on clear evidence.

But listen to rising anger,

as Jeremy Corbyn turned some

of his fire on the Tories.

It is - as we have expressed

before - a matter of huge

regret that our country's diplomatic

capacity has been stripped

back, with cuts of 25%

in the last five years.

It is tradition for the two

main parties to stick

together on foreign policy.

Not these two.

This is not a question

of our diplomacy, of what diplomatic

support we have around the world,

this is a question of the

culpability of the Russian State.

But does this bother the Russian

strongman, but Amir Putin,

campaigning in Crimea? Apologetic. A

spokesman claiming on Russian TV,

written does not understand

diplomacy or the law and is full of

liars, fully fledged liars. This is

not just a straightforward foreign

policy clash, but a fight with a

country that explores the norms.

Number 10 knows this may only be the

start.

That was Laura Kuennsberg

reporting there.

At the United Nations,

US Ambassador Nikki Haley sided

squarely with Britain in saying that

Russia was responsible

for the poisoning.

She was speaking at an emergency

meeting of the UN Security Council,

called at Britain's request.

Earlier, I spoke with the BBC's

Nick Bryant, from the UN.

Russia must boycott operate with the

UK's investigation and come clean

about its own chemical weapons

programme. Russia is a permanent

member of the Security Council. It

is entrusted in the United Nations

Charter with upholding international

peace and security. It must account

for its actions.

Nikki Haley

speaking there. Earlier, I spoke

with the BBC's Nick Bryant from then

United Nations. Very tough words,

tougher than her boss in the White

House, what is the reaction from

Russia's Ambassador?

What we heard

from Nikki Haley is the first time a

Trump administration official has

explicitly blamed Moscow for this

attack. The former Secretary of

State Rex Tillerson said earlier in

the week it was likely Russia was in

bold. Donald Trump says he probably

agrees with the British binding that

had not concluded yet that Russia

was to blame. Nikki Haley did say

that and she said Russia's crime had

to be met with immediate and

concrete measures from the Security

Council and the international

community because they did not do

something here, it would, Salisbury

would not be the last time we saw a

chemical attack and it could happen

in New York. The Russian Ambassador

was very angry this meeting was even

held. The British called it this

emergency session and the Russians

tried to hold it up with procedural

wrangling and they've failed, the

Russian Ambassador saying it should

not be dragged before the Security

Council. You and made a bizarre

observation that we need Sherlock

Holmes to solve this case.

Can the

UN Security Council do anything

given that Russia has a beta and it

can block any concrete action?

Nikki

Haley said that because she knows

that Russia will veto any move to

take concrete measures that she was

proposing. And the bishops -- the

British in calling this meeting had

ambitions. They wanted to provide a

forum, the biggest politics stage in

the world, that horseshoe table at

the Security Council, so that the

international community could show

solidarity and condemn Russia's

actions. For the most part, that

happened today at the United Nations

in New York.

What does the UN

Secretary General say himself about

the poisoning?

He said it is

unacceptable. The use of chemical

weapons is a violation of

international law. What Antonio

Gutierrez stop short of doing was

pointing the finger of blame at

Russia and he said it was not his

job to assign blame. But clearly,

most members on the Security Council

this afternoon was -- were prepared

to do that, pointing the finger of

blame at Moscow.

From the United

Nations, thank you.

Here in the US, students

across the country took part

in a National School Walkout,

to mark one month since

the Florida School shooting.

The event lasted 17 minutes -

one minute for each life lost,

when a gunman opened fire

on students and teachers.

The walkout comes ahead

of a major march on Washington

later this month.

Our North America editor,

Jon Sopel, reports.

The last time we saw children

pouring out of school,

it was with their hands up in terror

after the Florida shooting.

Today, they came out across America

- but this time, with their fists

clenched, demanding

change on gun control.

In Washington, at ten o'clock

on a bracing cold morning,

with their backs turned

on the White House,

fell silent for 17 minutes,

one minute for each of the people

who died at the Marjorie

Stoneman Douglas school

in Florida last month.

There's no doubting extraordinary

success these young people have had

in changing the whole terms

of debate on the subject

of gun control.

Their problem is that the man

who lives on the other side of that

fence seems to have got cold feet.

When Donald Trump met youngsters

from the Florida School

at the White House, he seemed

to offer his support for tougher gun

control measures like raising to 21

the age at which you can

buy a rifle.

And he later chided lawmakers

for being frightened

of the National Rifle Association.

Some of you people are

petrified of the NRA.

You can't be petrified.

But he's now backed off those

proposals and so the end people

are intensifying their campaign.

We want them to pass common-sense

gun reforms and ban assault rifles.

We don't want to be

scared in school.

We are tired of being scared.

We want actual change.

We want it with this actual protest.

This is a curtain-raiser

to a mass demonstration

in Washington in ten days' time.

They are a long way from getting

what they want, but the power

of youth protest has got them

further than anyone could have

imagined and they're not

in any mood to surrender.

Never again! Never again!

In other news...

Donald Trump has tipped a cable news

commentator to be his top adviser.

Larry Kudlow has been a fixture on

US TV for more than a decade. He

also served in the Reagan

administration. He replaces Gary

Cohen who stepped down last week in

protest against the steel and

aluminium tariffs.

After six months of coalition talks,

Angela Merkel has been sworn in for

it though term as German Chancellor

leading a coalition of Conservatives

and Social Democrats.

In Italy, 23,000 people had been

evacuated from a town on the East

coast after an unexploded World War

II bomb was found. Officials say 225

kilograms bomb was British made and

there was panic when it was

accidentally activated during the

construction of a drain. The device

was removed and dropped into the

sea.

From June, Google says the

cryptocurrency Bit coin will be

banned from being advertised on its

platforms. BBC understands Google

decided to act because it felt there

was a lack of consumer protection

for highly speculative and complex

trades.

Democrat Conor Lamb has claimed

victory in a Congressional race

in Western Pennsylvania that's

virtually a dead heat.

The strong showing by the former

Marine in a district Donald Trump

won by nearly 20 points has both

parties re-thinking their approach

to the November midterms.

Josh Kraushaar is the political

editor for the National Journal,

and he joins me now.

You know about the special

elections. The seat was in the heart

of Trump country, why could

Republicans not convincingly hold

onto it?

Number one, the Democratic

base is so energised in the country

even in very Republican districts.

You have an energised Liberal base

so angry at President Trump they are

willing to show what to every

election from dog-catcher to a big

congressional race. Conor Lamb ran

as a very centrist candidate,

winning over a lot of Republican and

independent voters who worry about

going too far to the left, but his

message was reassuring on a lot of

key issues.

But only in January,

Republicans were feeling good about

their tax cuts, hoping they could

sell it in an area like this, what's

changed between then and now?

Trump

and his daily controversies which

drive the new cycle and distract

Republicans from talking about what

they want. Namely, the state of the

economy. One reason why this race is

so significant is it is taking place

in the middle of an economic boom

when people in this district say

they are very happy about the state

of the economy, but a Republican

seat Trump won by 20 points was won

by a Democrat even during the good

economy.

So what does this mean if

you are a vulnerable Republican in a

seat, got ahead of November's

midterm elections?

There are over

100 house seats more competitive

than this Pennsylvania congressional

district.

This map is going to be

huge in November. Democrats only

need to win 24 house seats to take

back the majority and only need to

win maybe half, a third of the races

in play. The odds of Democrats

taking back the house have never

looked greater after this election.

Democrats to face hurdles of their

own. Not least, the Senate.

The

Senate is much tougher because the

big battle grounds for the Senate

are in very Republican states like

North Dakota, West Virginia, the

most Trump friendly states on the

map. It is not like Pennsylvania, it

is more in suburban battle grounds

where Donald Trump has lost

significant ground. What made this

so significant, this isn't Trump

country and Democrats still want to

raise enemy lines.

What lessons will

Democrats learn from it, that they

can track right and do well with the

right candidate or do anything and

win regardless?

The former is a much

more important lesson and if

Democrats can nominate moderate

candidates, not necessarily Liberal

on guns and economically Liberal,

Conor Lamb did not support the $50

minimum wage for example, if they

appeal to the business friendly

centrists who do not care for Donald

Trump and his presidency, that is

the ticket to winning a lot of key

suburban districts.

Thank you so

much for joining us.

Thanks.

You're watching BBC

World News America.

Still to come on

tonight's programme:

Finding the Stephen

Hawking of tomorrow.

We visit a science fair in the UK,

to hear from students how

the physicist influenced them.

30 years ago, the crew of the Maiden

became the first all-female team

in a round-the-world yacht race.

Now a new Maiden project is aimed

at promoting girls' education.

Here's John Maguire.

Almost 30 years since she was first

converted into a yacht ready to race

around the world's oceans,

Maiden is back.

She's in the same boatshed

as her first refit and with

the same man in charge.

We didn't know what we were letting

ourselves in for until we blasted

all the paint and it fell off

the boat inside and out, and then

we could actually judge

what it was and there

was a lot more.

Once you get into it,

you find other jobs.

In 1990, Tracy Edwards and her team

sailed around the globe -

and into the record books -

as the first all-female crew

in the Whitbread race.

Last year, Maiden was rescued

from the Seychelles and brought back

to her spiritual home.

She made a sorry, but

very welcome, sight.

A bit emotional, really.

I haven't seen the boat since 1990,

when the race finished.

Right.

And then all of a sudden,

last summer, she reappeared again.

Duncan also worked back on the yacht

in the '80s and has a very

personal link with her.

One of the girls from the first

crew never actually did

the round-the-world trip because I

separated her from the rest

of them and married her.

She was the first

of the two doctors.

Maiden has been restored to embark

later this year on another

round-the-world adventure,

this time taking three years

as the crew promotes

education for girls.

With so much being refurbished

or replaced, when she returns

to the water in the summer,

it will feel like her maiden

voyage but, in many ways,

her mission will be the same -

to once again promote challenge,

adventure and opportunity

for women and for girls.

Tributes have been pouring

in for Stephen Hawking,

who re-shaped the way we see

the universe, and brought

theoretical physics to the masses.

The scientist died peacefully

at his home in Cambridge,

England, early on Wednesday.

His work on black holes

and relativity made him a household

name, as he overcame

his physical challenges.

Our science editor,

David Shukman, looks back

on his extraordinary life.

There is nothing like the Eureka

moment of discovering

something that no-one knew before.

Stephen Hawking had a gift

for inspiration, a powerful spirit

overcoming an ailing body to allow

a mind to roam the cosmos.

Earning him a place as the most

famous scientist in the world.

It has been a glorious time to be

alive and researching and doing

theoretical physics.

Who else could draw

crowds like this?

The man who gazed at the stars

became one himself.

His story poignant and uplifting,

his career involved concept

so alien and complicated that for

most, it was a struggle to keep up.

But he explored the strangest

of features of the universe,

black holes, drawing together

the science of the largest things

in space with the science

of the very small - part

of a quest to come up with a single

theory for the universe.

He made these incredibly original

insights that set up the modern

theory of black holes.

And made great

contributions to cosmology.

And so

he was a huge figure.

I was devastated, really upset.

I only met him a couple of times,

but he had a real impact on my life.

It is the passing of a great

scientist who will be truly missed.

As a student, his intelligence

stood out but, at that

moment, he was given

a warning that motor neurone disease

would cut his life short.

When I was diagnosed at 21,

I was told it would kill me

in two, three years.

Somehow, he kept going.

In a high-tech wheelchair

and with a synthesised voice.

Communicating first by touch,

then by twitching a single

muscle in his cheek -

a daunting burden for anyone.

His children saw him as an example.

People who live in really extreme

circumstances seem to find something

very inspirational in his example

of perseverance and his ability

to rise above his suffering

and still want to communicate

at a higher level.

Life was never straightforward -

his first marriage ending

in divorce, as did a second to one

of his nurses.

Claims that he had been physically

abused, the case dropped

because of lack of evidence.

His book sold at least ten million

copies and everyone wanted

to meet him - from the Pope

in the Vatican, to the Queen.

To President Obama,

who awarded him a medal of honour.

His fame reached beyond

the world of science.

Your theory of a doughnut-shaped

universe is intriguing.

Even appearing in The Simpsons.

I didn't say that.

Yes, I did.

In an episode of Star Trek, he had

the chance to tease Isaac Newton.

Not the apple story again!

Astounding to think the Lord created

this in just seven days.

Incorrect.

It took 13.8 million years.

Let's not get robbed down in all

that again!

More recently, he was happy to play

along for Comic Relief.

He saw himself as an ambassador

for science and in this interview,

told me of his hopes

for the Large Hadron Collider.

He had a sense of adventure.

I am very excited.

I have been wheelchair-bound

for almost four decades

and the chance to float

free in zero G will be wonderful.

Even braving a zero-gravity flight.

No surprise his death

prompted tributes.

Tim Berners-Lee tweeted...

Nasa said...

If you reverse time and the universe

is getting smaller...

Eddie Redmayne played him

in the film The Theory

of Everything and today

said, 'We have lost

a truly beautiful mind.'

A scientist who delved

into the realm of black holes

offered an incredibly engaging story

that achieved something remarkable,

it touched a global audience.

Professor Hawking was clearly

an inspiration to scientists

the world over and, in particular,

to young people.

And the UK is actually in the middle

of British Science Week,

and thousands of kids and young

adults have been attending a Science

fair at the National Exhibition

Centre, in Birmingham.

Some of them have been talking

to Jon Kay about Stephen Hawking.

Stephen Hawking would

have loved this.

20,000 young British scientists

experimenting together.

Do it again!

Do it again!

He told young people

to be curious and, today,

as they studied trajectories...

and force, many were thinking

of their scientific superhero.

How would you describe him?

Genius, pioneer, brilliant,

inspirational, motivationally

engaging, phenomenal.

I read A Brief History Of Time.

I thought it was very interesting.

Did you read all of it?

I did actually read all of it.

And it got me into black holes,

and I went on to a series

of lectures about them.

So, yeah, it fuelled a lot for me.

On display at the Big

Bang Fair, inventions

from the scientists of tomorrow.

These A-level physicists from

North Wales regard Professor Hawking

as a modern-day genius.

He's the intellectual follower

of Einstein and Newton.

These amazing, amazing figures

that we read about in physics books,

he was getting to that level.

He was incredible.

His legacy will live on.

Forever.

Inside an inflatable black hole,

teenagers studied Hawking's

space and time theories

while taking selfies.

It's a lot in one

lifetime for anyone.

I think he's encouraged

science as a field as well.

I think more people are more

invested in science

nowadays because of him.

At 15, this boy has invented an app

which could help people

escape a tower block fire

using virtual reality.

He admires Hawking's

personal courage.

He was only one man who did such

great things and I was really

inspired by that, because usually,

you see people follow the same paths

and try and do the same things.

But Stephen Hawking was really

unique, in the sense that he wanted

to do things differently

and he wanted to contribute things

in a different sense.

And I was really inspired by that.

Perhaps the next Stephen Hawking

was in this room today.

Jon Kay, BBC News, Birmingham.

How Stephen Hawking is inspiring the

next generation.

I'm Laura Trevelyan.

Thank you for watching

World News America.