♪ >> this is "bbc world news." funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation. newman's own foundation, giving all profits from newman's own to charity and pursuing the common good. kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and aruba tourism authority. >> planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting and exciting is a lot easier than you think. you can find it here, in aruba. families, couples and friends can all find their escape on the island with warm, sunny days,

exciting is a lot easier than cooling trade winds and the crystal blue caribbean sea. crystal blue caribbean sea. nonstop flights are available from most major airports.

parameters of what a trade deal may look like? >> we are here working on day one. we are excited prime minister may is coming. i'm sure there will be a discussion of trade. the degree to which, i don't know yet. i'm sure we will have an opportunity to brief you. i'm not sure if we have any plans for a joint press conference.

that is one of the things our team will be working out with prime minister may. reporter: after a finger wagging lecture delivered to the media over their honesty when he might not have been truthful himself, this question -- >> is it your intention to always tell the truth from that podium, and will you pledge to never knowingly say something that is not factual? >> it is. it is an honor to do this, and yes, i believe we have to be honest with the american people. i think sometimes we can disagree with the facts. reporter: the president met with union leaders, but looked behind him. afterms mr. spicer, after criticism, was getting a vote of confidence from the counselor to the president. it's going to be a roller coaster ride. jon sopel, bbc news. katty: for more on president trump, i spoke with our north america shorter anthony zucker. it feels we've gone from a president obama who promise no drama to constant drama in this white house and almost a jekyll

and hyde from the white house spokesperson. on saturday, we saw a confrontational sean spicer. today, we saw he was much more restrained. the question is whether that is going to make a difference going forward. is it actually going to change relationships with the media? after saturday, but after an entire campaign that was very confrontational, were donald trump was telling the media they are dishonest, that is not going to change the relationship going forward. katty: let's look at the substance of the day. president trump was very busy. he promised he would hit the ground running, and he did with signings on the tpp and on abortion and on freezing government hiring. interesting, that one on abortion.

there he is, surrounded by men. reporter: his senior advisers, with the exception of kellyanne conway, are largely men. all the major cabinet positions for the first time in a long time are white men. the circus is going on with the media. the policies are getting rolled out. and tos is being done, some extent, there are republicans in congress who think donald trump can say what he wants and do what he wants as long as the legislation rolls forward to. he takes actions today on issues that are important to them, like this abortion ruling and the government hiring freeze. katty: imagine the combination of attacking the media and being seen to sign a lot of documents. let's see how those documents pan out. some of this stuff has to be still negotiated a.

frankly, attacking the press doesn't have great approval ratings. reporter: at this point, donald trump's presidency is geared towards his base. when he stood up there talking about the washington insiders and bashing them and getting criticized in the media, i think his supporters are going to eat that up. that was worth the price of admission for them, to see somebody get up there and give them a piece of their mind. the ongoing feud with the media, the semi. katty: will we see any pushback from americans -- republicans today on pulling back from the tpp? reporter: there are some people in congress who are historically free-trade supporters. it's been a rather dramatic shift within the party as far as this is concerned. maybe they thought he wasn't going to put his money where his mouth was. we are hearing support from elizabeth warren and bernie sanders on the left who are happy this decision was made.

katty: thank you so much for coming in. despite the flurry of activity by the trump team, we have yet to hear any action on so-called dreamers. those are the 750,000 young people brought to america illegally by their parents. former president barack obama gave them the right to work and study here legally, but mr. trump has promised to revoke that order. laura trevelyan went to meet some of them in new york. big.: ruben is dreaming taking the subway to his job in the office of a new york lawmaker, he plans a future as a politician. smuggled here from honduras by his mother, rubin came out of the shadows when the last administration granted him temporary legal status. >> i felt happy. i felt comfortable, and i felt, i am finally being accepted in this nation for who i am and what i am doing. this student has seized

the chance to work and go to college. he doesn't know what the future holds under president trump. what would it mean for you personally if your work permit was taken away? i woulde personally, say my voice will be taken away. my dreams will be shattered. laura: marie came to the u.s. from ginny as a child and lost her legal status as a teenager. she worries the new president might abolish or work permit, which enables her to be a barista in brooklyn and audition for acting roles. katty: what is it like now being in limbo, not knowing what president trump will do? it's ame personally, little scary. it's a little scary. i'm not a person who believes in giving in to fear. laura: what to do about rubin annemarie and the hundreds of thousands of people across america in their situation is one of the first big tests for donald trump? he was elected to take a tough stance on immigration, but after coming under pressure, he says

there will be a solution that will keep people happy and proud. what does that mean in practice? rubin hopes president trump will see how invested he and others like him are in this nation they consider their own. >> this is the country i call home. people.m not to deport i ask him to see the good in program, to see that we are the next generation in this country. we are the future of this country. we are leaders of tomorrow. laura: while marie who just auditioned for a hollywood movie longs one day to be a u.s. citizen. >> if there's a pathway to get there, i think a lot of us are willing to do the work that is necessary to get there. just give us that pathway, and we will show you. laura: all marie and rubin can do now is wait to learn their fate. dreaming of making it in manhattan, hoping not to be sent back into the twilight world of the undocumented immigrant.

laura trevelyan, bbc news. katty: a new round of peace talks started today to try to end the war in syria, this time in the capital of kazakhstan. for the first time, they are being brokered by russia, turkey, and iran instead of the united nations. that is not the only difference. tana.doucet is in as it sounds like the talks were pretty contentious, but at least the two sides were sitting together. it's not surprising that after nearly six years of an absolutely be little conflict -- brutal conflict that the warring sides are trading angry accusations and refusing to meet something talks, but new is at least starting to unfold. the fact that for the very first time in six years rebel fighters, syrian generals sat at the same table in public and didn't walk out is a small but very significant step in syria's

war. they both agreed that the first priority has to be to cement a shaky cease-fire that was also brokered by russia and by turkey. all of this is happening because what has been happening on the battlefield far away in syria. russia over the past year has emerged as the pivotal player, turning the tide of this war in president assad's favor. last year, teamed up with turkey to try to bring the rebels to the negotiating table. this doesn't mean that there is going to be any -- there have been a lot of fighting forces that haven't been brought here or don't want to be here. they want to continue the battles in syria. this at least has the hope of starting a process. there is also a parallel war in syria, which is across the so-called islamic state. that is where president trump is likely to join the battle. he said repeatedly that is going to be the priority for his

administration. katty: negotiations like this, having the military on hand gives you the upper hand at the negotiating table. is it the feeling that the syrian rebels are on the back foot and cannot make strong demands anymore? the rebel leaders who are here are making it absolutely clear this is not surrender. they did lose their last major urban stronghold last year when they lost the battle for aleppo, but there are still areas of syria where the rebel forces are still operating. they still have their key demands, most of all that a future political order in syria has to be in order that is not ruled by president assad. these are areas where russia and turkey do not agree. there are still some contentious issues that could make this all unravel. there, is a real sense when you talk to people here a tiredness and exhaustion and a sense that

syria that syria has lost so much. the time has come to start to move towards peace. katty: thanks so much. this has been going on for six long years, and so many people have died in that war. a quick look at other news from around the world. the world health organization has urged all countries to monitor closely any outbreaks of bird flu and affect -- report cases affecting humans. bird flu is usually spread to humans i direct contact with birds. scrapsays a decision to its one child policy has resulted in the birth of 1.3 million more babies in 2016 compared with the year before. that is the highest birthrate since the year 2000. china broadened the policy -- brought in the policy in the 1970's to limit population growth but now wants to replenish the country's

workforce. there is confusion in the capital of gambia after allegations of the former president jammeh went into exile with more than $11 million. the claims have not been verified, however. is incoming president barrow waiting in senegal for assurances on his security before he enters gambia. a-lister lee said is in gambia and has this report. reporter: it was the first mbians had to celebrate the first ever peaceful change of president in nearly half a century. at a gated statehouse, they gathered, knowing a new guard is on his way into power. the crowd welcomed foreign troops, a regional force led by the senegalese. ,he threat of military action removed as a president. extra security will smooth the

transition. they proudly wear their support for the new president. december like this was never allowed before. this musician also had to avoid the authorities as he and his crews spray-painted the city. over 12 hours, i was going to be one of those people that has been tortured or killed or missing or all of the, but i and my team didn't care about that. we just wanted to free our people. reporter: former president jammeh had many supporters who say he brought a great deal of development over his years in power, but gandhi a is still -- gambia is still one of the world's poorest countries. on new president has a lot his plate, and sorting out the economy is at the top of the pile. is still inrrow senegal. he says he will be back when it

is safe. as senegalese troops guard his safe house, his people are working out what, if anything, is missing, and they are preparing the path for his return. katty: a not so peaceful transition of power. you're watching "bbc world news america." still to come, how the world' mri is adding great relief for the parents of the world's tiniest premature babies. we will choose between the former prime minister and a staunch left-winger in the april presidential elections. lucy williamson reports, and there is some flash photography in this report. lucy: he was the liberal prime minister who divided the socialist party. now he wants to unite it as its candidate for president. his opponent for the runoff is offering voters a very different brand of socialism, including a monthly payment of 750 euros to

every french citizen, regardless of income. turnout was much lower than in the socialist primary five years ago. sign that few here believe they are choosing the next president. >> it's going to be very little chance for the left-wing. i think the people are so disappointed in francois hollande's presidency. there is still hope. reporter: when it comes to finding a left-wing candidate for the presidency, the socialist party is only part of the story. after five years of presidential hollande -- president hollande's government, interest in the primary is low, and two of the most popular left-wing politicians aren't even taking part. emmanuel macron left the government last year and is drawing big crowds to his independent presidential campaign. john luke mellinger, the leader of france's far left party, is running on his own ticket.

whoever wins the socialist nomination will lead left-wing voters with a choice, split their votes among three different parties or unite behind one of the candidates on offer. be celebrating now, but to stand any chance of keeping the far right from power, the socialist candidate may have to choose who they want to help, their opponents on the right or their rivals on the left. katty: doctors in the u.k. are pioneering the use of a small mri brain scanner, designed for use on premature babies. there are only two such machines in the whole world, and doctors say the equipment produces images that are far more detail than in -- than an ultrasound scan. reporter: isaac was severely premature and needed a scan to check the swelling on his brain.

howa sounds like this are all premature babies are scanned, but it doesn't always reveal what has gone wrong. another premature baby, alice rose, born at 24 weeks, is on her way to having an mri scan. newborns are usually too fragile to be moved, but here, the purpose-built baby mri is meters from the special unit. the mri confirms two bleeds on her brain but crucially shows no further damage. for her parents, it is comforting news. >> i think it's a lot easier to understand, as opposed to the ultrasound she had before. >> when you get a better look at it, you feel better. >> it's very difficult to make

out these structures low down. reporter: these two images prove the point. on the left is an ultrasound scan of alice rose's brain. on the right, and m.r.i. scan. it's much more detailed and gives doctors more diagnostic information. >> the brain and surrounding structures can be viewed very clearly. range of brain abnormalities that can result from hemorrhage or lack of blood supply to the brain are much more clearly shown. >> there are only two of these machines in the world. the other is in boston and the united states. they are still experimental prototypes, not yet cleared for routine clinical use but could represent the future for imaging newborns. after she was born, alex rose still weighs less than

three pounds. she's not out of the woods yet, but the m.r.i. scan has given her parents hope that for their tiny baby daughter, things are beginning to look little brighter. bbc news, sheffield. katty: those babies are so tiny. staple,imple breakfast but according to a group of scientists, toast could cause cancer, but only if you cook it too much. cancer research charities have questioned this evidence. here's dominic hughes. reporter: they are classic comfort foods, a nice slice of toast or a crisp roast potato, but do they carry the risk of causing cancer? concerns lie with the cancer caused by cooking starchy foods like breads, cakes, and biscuits. >> it's a probable carcinogen. reporter: now i'm major health campaign by the food standards agency, building on years of research, suggests that

acrylamide is linked to cancer. the fsa says while the risk in humans is hard to judge, it makes sense to think about how much we are exposed to. >> to enable people to help make decisions for themselves, there would be good reason for them to try to reduce the amount of acrylamide they are exposed to. reporter: what exactly is the danger posed by a acrylamide, and how does it compare to other factors known to cause cancer cancer? 5% of cancers in the u.k. are estimated to being obese. 19% of all cancers are caused by exposure to tobacco smoke. when it comes to acrylamide produced in burned toast, there is no proven link to cancer in humans, and that has led some experts to suggest there is no danger to public health. >> i think there is risk in public health advice like this that can't put a number on the

benefits of people changing their behaviors. it could be damaging to people's trust in that public health advice. it is important. obesity is linked to 18,000 cancers a year in this country. it would be a shame if people became skeptical about scientific advice about diet. >> skepticism from some cafe customers today enjoying their lunch. >> you get frightened of eating, because if you eat that, something else is going to happen. i think it is just going too far. >> i just think it is nonsense. i'm not worried about the risks when it comes to bird food. i will survive this one. reporter: a prudent precaution or an overreaction? the advice, if you want to take the burned toast. katty: it doesn't taste very good. the u.s. senate foreign

relations committee has approved a donald trump's choice of secretary of state, rex tillerson. it was on party lines, but it looks like he's going to be the next secretary of state. i am katty kay. thanks for watching. ♪ >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation. newman's own foundation, giving all profits from newman's own to charity and pursuing the common good. kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and aruba tourism authority. >> planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting and exciting is a lot easier than you think. you can find it here, in aruba. families, couples and friends can all find their escape on the

island with warm, sunny days, cooling trade winds and the crystal blue caribbean sea. nonstop flights are available from most major airports. more information for your vacation planning is available at aruba.com. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles. ♪

captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight... >> what we want to do is bring manufacturing back to our country. >> woodruff: president trump turns his focus to trade and the economy after a rocky start to his administration. then... >> if he works with us on our values, fine. if he doesn't we'll oppose him tooth and nail. >> woodruff: i sit down with senate minority leader chuck schumer to talk about where democrats can and can't see working with the new president. plus, our politics monday duo take on the trump administration's combative relationship with the press. and, feeling the trump effect overseas. how right wing movements across the e.u. are hoping to ride a global wave of populism to the polls.