where having a baby is becoming something of a lockdown trend. we begin in the us, where president biden has pledged to rebuild america's alliances and re—engage with the world, in his first major foreign policy speech. it's a markedly different tone to the "america first" approach of the trump administration. mr biden said solutions to problems such as armed conflicts and climate change could be solved only by working with other nations. we are stepping up our diplomacy to end the war in yemen, a war that has created a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe. i have asked my middle east team to ensure our support for the united nations—led initiative to impose a ceasefire, open humanitarian channels and restore long dormant peace talks. we can now speak to gerald 15, the senior vice president at the senior vice president at the middle eastern institute who previously served as us ambassador to yemen during the obama administration. thank you forjoining us. how much involvement has the us had in yemen up to now.— yemen up to now. since the beginning — yemen up to now. since the beginning of— yemen up to now. since the beginning of the _ yemen up to now. since the beginning of the civil - yemen up to now. since the beginning of the civil war i yemen up to now. since the l beginning of the civil war and then the saudi intervention in early 2015, the us has supported both the legitimate government of yemen, the government of yemen, the government of yemen, the government of the president and the saudi—led coalition and has provided limited technical and other kinds of support to the coalition in carrying out its military activity in yemen and thatis military activity in yemen and that is what the president has said he wants to end. the war in yemen _ said he wants to end. the war in yemen is a proxy _ said he wants to end. the war in yemen is a proxy war- said he wants to end. the war in yemen is a proxy war and l said he wants to end. the war l in yemen is a proxy war and the saudi—led coalition, as you mentioned, back in the official recognised government and iran backing the houthi rebels. what reaction has this us announcement had? it reaction has this us announcement had? , ., ., announcement had? it should not be a surprise _ announcement had? it should not be a surprise to _ announcement had? it should not be a surprise to anyone. - be a surprise to anyone. president biden said, even on the campaign trail last year, that he would take this step if he were elect it and so it was anticipated and the secretary blink and in his confirmation hearings in the senate last week reiterated that the united states would take steps to end its support for the saudi military intervention. and so thatis military intervention. and so that is something that we expected and the fact that he took the step today is not a surprise. took the step today is not a surprise-— took the step today is not a surrise. ,, ., , surprise. the state department has also announced _ surprise. the state department has also announced a _ surprise. the state department has also announced a new - surprise. the state department has also announced a new us l has also announced a new us envoy to yemen, an experienced diplomat. what do you make of that? the two parts of the announcement, the cut—off of support for offensive saudi operations and the appointment of tim as the us special envoy for yemen, the appointment of tim in my view is the more important step.— important step. that will hepefully _ important step. that will hopefully help _ important step. that will hopefully help martin - important step. that will. hopefully help martin griffith to revitalise and push forward on the political resolution of the conflict, something that martin, as you know, has been working on for several years. we have got a joint declaration that martin has been trying to negotiate with the houthis and with the government that call for, among other things, a ceasefire. if the us, by lending its way to the un effort can help to push that forward, i think that will be an extremely important and positive step.— an extremely important and positive step. and yemen has been described _ positive step. and yemen has been described as _ positive step. and yemen has been described as the - positive step. and yemen has been described as the worst l been described as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. what can the us do now to help civilians in the country?— to help civilians in the count ? . , ., country? there are several thins country? there are several things they _ country? there are several things they can _ country? there are several things they can do - country? there are several - things they can do immediately. one is to reverse a decision by the trump administration to end our support for humanitarian operations in the northern part of the country, the northern part of the country that is controlled by the houthis. we can also press the saudis and the immoralities to step forward and restore their assistance. and then the other extremely important step is to reverse an unfortunate decision by the trump administration at the very end of its tenure to impose sanctions on the houthi is an s as a foreign terrorist organisation that has made it much more difficult and much more complicated to get humanitarian relief supplies into the part of the country where the vast majority of yemenis live. where the vast ma'ority of yemenis live._ where the vast ma'ority of yemenis live. ., ., , ., yemenis live. for me ambassador to yemen. — yemenis live. for me ambassador to yemen, thank _ yemenis live. for me ambassador to yemen, thank you _ yemenis live. for me ambassador to yemen, thank you for - yemenis live. for me ambassador to yemen, thank you for being - to yemen, thank you for being with us. let's get some of the days of the news now. donald trump has said he will not testify at senate impeachment trial next week. a statement from his lawyers dismissed the request for him to appear as a public relations stunt. immigrants the former president of inciting insurrection. the brazilian mining firm, vale, has agreed to pay $7 billion in compensation after the collapse of a dam two years ago. 270 people died, when the brumadinho dam gave way, unleashing a torrent of toxic mud. residents in yangon have banged pots and pans for the third night in a row in support of aung san suu kyi who was ousted by myanmar�*s army on monday. military rulers have also blocked access to facebook — the main source of online information for many in the country. uk residents returning from coronavirus hot spots abroad will have to quarantine in hotels from the middle of this month. they're expected to be set up near airports including heathrow and gatwick. hotel owners will be asked to provide rooms for more than a thousand people a day. the french government says it is not considering imposing a new national down even though the coronavirus situation remains fragile according to the country's prime minister. the authorities hope to have given more than 4 million people there first shot of the astrazeneca jab by the end of february. there's been international condemnation of china after the bbc reported claims that women in so—called re—education camps for the uighur muslim minority are being raped and tortured. presidentjoe biden and the british government are now calling on beijing to allow independent investigators into the camps. china has denied the allegations and accused the bbc of making a "false report". matthew hill has spoken to several former detainees for his report — and you may find some of their accounts distressing. two days ago, we broadcast the story of tu rsunay ziawudun. she described how she was held in this re—education camp in xinjiang for months and was the victim of repeated rape. translation: they were three men. not one, but three. they did whatever evil their mind could think of. and they didn't spare any part of my body, biting it to the extent that it was disgusting to look at. they didn't just rape. they were barbaric. they had bitten all over my body. we also heard from gulzira, now living in the relative safety of istanbul, having fled china. she's a kazakh who says she was forced to be complicit in the rape that goes on in the camps. translation: my '0b is to remove * their clothes completely and then handcuff them on their beds so they cannot move. reaction to our story has been global. the australian foreign minister says the united nations should be given immediate access to the region. the uk foreign office minister told lawmakers in parliament that the bbc�*s report was chilling and said china needed to be open about what's happening in xinjiang province. the evidence of the scale and the severity of these violations is now far—reaching. it paints a truly harrowing picture. if china wishes to dispute this evidence, then it must allow unfettered access to the region for the un high commissioner for human rights or another independent fact—finding body. and there's been this from the us state department... it's estimated that a million uighurs and other muslim minorities are held in camps in xinjiang. china has responded to our report insisting that its camps are vocational training centres, designed to stop muslims living in the region from turning to extremism. and it denounced the bbc report as lies and misinformation. translation: there is no so-called - systemic sexual assault and abuse against women. china is a country ruled by law. our constitution guarantees and protects human rights, and it is embodied in our legal system and the government's work. now we can show you new testimony. a former inmate who describes how regular rape was in the camp she was in and how it was used as punishment. translation: one day, they assembled - many people in a large hall. then they brought a young girl, 20 or 21 years old. she was forced to confess a bogus crime in front of everyone. she pleaded guilty to the made—up crime in flood of tears in her speech, in which she was forced to confess. after that, in front of so many people, the police raped her in turns. despite the huge international outcry that these women's testimonies have provoked, it's unlikely that china will act and allow independent scrutiny of what's going on inside their re—education camps. matthew hill, bbc news. the us house of representatives has voted to strip a republican member of her position on two key congressional committees. democrats argued the newly elected congresswoman was not fit to serve due to remarks she made after being elected such as saying september 11 was staged. at the start of the debate, marjorie taylor greene said she regretted her past remarks but stopped short of apologising. you see, school shootings are absolutely real. i also want to tell you 9/11 absolutely happened. i remember that day, crying all day long. these were words of the past, and these things do not represent me, they do not represent my district and they do not represent my values. that was marjorie taylor greene trying to distance herself from some of her past remarks, saying that they were made before she ran for office. what did she say to deserve the punishment? while she has supported the cure non— conspiracy theory that donald trump is waging a secret war against satan what worshipping paedophiles, she has encouraged false conspiracy theories on issues such as the september 11 terror attacks and claimed that school shootings in the past have then staged and that justice ruth bator ginsberg was replaced by a body double before her death. she has also claimed the 2018 california wildfires were ignited by a jewish space laser. anthony circo said taking away her committee seats will reduce her influence in the lawmaking. committees are aware the nuts and bolts of policy—making take place where legislation is introduced and wrangled over and legislators have input on the shape of legislation before it gets to a full vote in the house of representatives. so by stripping marjorie taylor greene of her committee seats, taking away her ability to have any kind of influencing committee hearings and in markup of bills, that is significant even for a relativelyjunior member of the relatively junior member of the house relativelyjunior member of the house of representatives. we are not surprised by this, and are we? ~ ., ., are not surprised by this, and arewe? ., ., , .,, are we? we are not. democrats have been — are we? we are not. democrats have been outspoken _ are we? we are not. democrats have been outspoken in - are we? we are not. democrats have been outspoken in their. have been outspoken in their condemnation of taylor greene and votes indicated that the democrats were sticking together. i think that because of what happened on capitol hill injanuary six with the insurrection, i think her comments and likes on social media that threaten democratic politicians, i think that hit home with them and they felt as if they had to do something here. the house republicans did not police their own, essentially, and discipline her themselves and they did not. kevin mccarthy, the house republican leader, said he did not want — republican leader, said he did not want to punish her because the remarks she made were made before _ the remarks she made were made before she — the remarks she made were made before she was elected and that made _ before she was elected and that made a — before she was elected and that made a difference to him. and there are rules about how one would govern oneself when you are a member of the house of representatives and house republicans including kevin mccarthy are saying well if we go back and look over past comments of this particular member of congress, what is to stop us from doing that with democrats and they have said controversial things before they join the controversial things before theyjoin the house of representatives. going back over their entire previous career. so it does set a dangerous precedent for that as well as a precedent where a simple majority in the house of representatives can step in the minority party, which traditionally has been able to decide who sits on the committee as a representative, to tell them who to not to have on the committee.— to tell them who to not to have on the committee. stay with us on the committee. stay with us on bbc news. _ on the committee. stay with us on bbc news, still— on the committee. stay with us on bbc news, still to _ on the committee. stay with us on bbc news, still to come, . on the committee. stay with us on bbc news, still to come, a i on bbc news, still to come, a special delivery. the uk street where having a baby is becoming something of a lockdown trend. 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. and the anc leader, nelson mandela, is to be set free unconditionally. three, two, one. a countdown - to a critical moment. the world's most powerful rocket ignited all 27 - of its engines at once. and apart from its power, it's this recycling of the rocket, l slashing the cost of a launch, l that makes this a breakthrough in the business| of space travel. 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 yachtswoman 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 bbc news, the latest headlines: in his first major foreign policy speech, president biden promises america will re—engage with the world, including stepping up efforts to end the war in yemen. let's stay with that story now. president biden also said he would formally end the planned withdrawal of troops from germany ordered last year by trump. he said he would confront china on various fronts, including human rights in china. in speaking of the military coup in myanmar on monday, he said the military should relinquish its power. he said they will continue to co—operate with russia on areas of mutual interest but also had a warning for moscow. at the same time, i made it clear to president putin, in a manner very different from my predecessor, that the days of the united states rolling over in the face of russia's aggressive actions, interfering with our elections, cyber attacks, poisoning our citizens, are over. we will not hesitate to raise the cost on russia and defend our vital interests and our people. famous names including rhianna and greta thunberg have show their support forfarmers in their support for farmers in india demonstrating their support forfarmers in india demonstrating over new policy in the company, country. farmers are protesting against the new law that exists, the government assess will lead them to be better off. it led to violent clashes last week. fighting for their future. the people who help feed this nation. more than half of indians are farmers. tens of thousands have been camped here for months. a busy road into the capital... now, a place of resistance, as they protest new laws they fear will destroy their livelihoods. as this site has grown, so, too, the police presence. farmers accuse the government of trying to silence them. for two months, this man has been sleeping on the back of this truck with seven others. translation: we are fighting for our land, l we are fighting for our rights. we won't go back until these laws are repealed, even if we have to give our lives for the cause. and he believes those new laws will drive him out of business. he took me to his farm to explain why. at 30 years old, he's the future of indian farming, but the government says that for farming to have a future, the industry needs to be reformed. it says its new laws will benefit farmers by allowing them to sell directly to supermarkets and online retailers. translation: we get a fixed price _ from the government for our crops. i'm worried once the big corporations enter the market, we will have to sell at a price they want. passions are running high. last week, hundreds of police and protesters were injured after a march into delhi turned violent. demonstrators scaled the city's iconic red fort, leaving many wondering whether the country's prime minister has lost control on this issue. known as india's strongman, he has weakened his resolve, offering to suspend the laws for 18 months. what started here at the end of last year has now grown into a mass movement, one that has become about more than just the agriculture laws. many farmers i have spoken to here who voted for prime minister modi say they're now increasingly concerned about his government's handling of other issues, including freedom of speech, high unemployment and the right to protest. the farmers remained defiant, even after officials suspended internet access at protest sites, social media accounts were blocked and journalists were detained. the farmers say they're not going anywhere until the laws are scrapped. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, delhi. days of torrential rain have caused rivers across france to burst their banks. some roads and parts of villages are underwater with many others put underwater with many others put under high alert. areas under the countries south—west are the countries south—west are the worst. south—western france emerged, riverbanks reached, vastness waves under up to 10 metres of water. translation: the fact that the water has risen so high up on the trees like that, you don't realise it but it is really something. in 34 years, i have never seen anything — 34 years, i have never seen anything like this, this is really— anything like this, this is really exceptional.- anything like this, this is really exceptional. the deputy ma or really exceptional. the deputy mayor surveys _ really exceptional. the deputy mayor surveys the _ really exceptional. the deputy mayor surveys the damage - really exceptional. the deputy| mayor surveys the damage the only way he can. some have nowhere to go. a shop front now a waterfront. this tomato producing town normally hosts an internationally renowned pot festival, now it welcomes in rescuers to help overcome this road to nowhere. translation: no—one is missing or hurt and the residents expect this kind of event. but this flood is actually exceptional as we haven't had one of this magnitude since 1981. because many people off guard as they evacuated homes.— evacuated homes. storm 'ust dean has fl evacuated homes. storm 'ust dean has sent i evacuated homes. storm 'ust dean has sent rivers �* evacuated homes. storm justj dean has sent rivers between this area between bordeaux and to lose to levels not seen since the 1870s. paris was affected too. the river senate burst its banks, proving quite an eyeful for even regular river watchers. more than 40 vehicles have been involved in a pileup in the us state of iowa. police said there were no serious injuries in the state is the region. officials have advised people to stay at home as winter storm peggy has brought white out conditions. when the first lockdown came into force almost a year ago, there was speculation it could lead to a baby boom. there's no official data yet but it looks like lockdown may have had the reverse effect. however one street in the uk is bucking the trend, as jon kay reports. first it was jenny. then catherine. then caroline. followed by victoria, then ellie, and now ailey. it started with just a couple and then we found out we were due and then i was speaking tojenny... maybe i started a trend. every time i speak to someone else, it was like, the number basically increased. there is something in the water! four and then five and then six. there are just women popping up every day it felt like. _ it's been fantastic. myjaw hit the floor! really? yeah, iwas, like, i can't believe it. this street, this little street. notjust on the same street but all on the same side of the street. i dared to ask how many are pregnant on the other side, if it matches this side! because we are all friends as well. everybody is feeling i a bit nervous i think, all the people - who aren't pregnant. the first lockdown, lots of people went out and got dogs! um... you didn't want a dog! we've been going running, we've been baking bread. and we've been making babies. you can't go out, you can't really see people as much so maybe it's time to settle down. we are kind of supporting one another. ailey set up a yoga class which is fantastic. it is so nice to connect - with other women who are going through a similar experience at the same time. _ particularly as a first—time mum, not having any of the kind of baby groups and things that would normally be happening. but so much for the rule of six. want to go public yet, but there will be more announcements on this street very soon. but hang on — five? where'sjenny? tonight, some breaking news. jenny and rick have a baby daughter — summer. born this afternoon. they have a new lockdown baby yes, my due date was yesterday. could happen at any moment. best of luck to all of them. before we go, german scientists have found what could be the world's smallest reptile. take a look at these pictures, it is so small it can fit on your fingertip. it was discovered in madagascar. it is the nano chameleon and it is less than 30 millimetres long, making it the smallest of all of the roughly 11,500 known species of its kind. scientists say the nano chameleon's natural habitat is under threat due to deforestation but have now placed the area under protection in the hopes that the species will survive. great stuff, that is it from me for now. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @richpreston. from me and the team, thank you so much for being with us. we will see you next time, take care. hello. cold and snow on the way. for now for many of us, it's just yet more rain with an ongoing risk of flooding. but as you know, in northern scotland, the snow has arrived. heavy snow, at that, where the met office has an amber warning in force throughout friday. still snowing here, and even into the weekend within that amber zone — so significant disruption as a result, as those snow totals mount. now all the wet weather, snow or rain, is from this area of low pressure only very slowly moving away over the weekend. as it does so, rain turns to snow as an increasingly strong and bitterly cold easterly wind sets in across the uk. and as that continues into next week, we will continue to see some snow coming in, particularly but not exclusively to eastern parts of the uk. this is how we start off on friday morning — most of us are above freezing. most of us seeing rain rather than snow, but the snow very much still there across northern scotland. wet, too, in northern ireland, especially to the eastern parts of northeast england — both areas with the risk of flooding from the persistent rain. showers moving into wales, southwest england, the west midlands as we go through the afternoon. east midlands, east anglia, southeast england, and parts of northern england away from that rain towards the far northeast. drier and brighterfor a time, a few sunny spells, and still that big range of temperatures from north to south across the uk. now the overall pattern doesn't change very much as we go through friday night into saturday morning. still the showers or bands of rain circulating around an area of low pressure, and still very wet for some of us in northeast england, along the east coast of scotland with that snow further inland, and especially into the hills — still snowing, perhaps for some of us, even into the start of the weekend. for all this weekend, it turns much colder and that snow becomes more widespread. plenty of cloud around on saturday, showers or spells of rain especially in the east with the wind starting to pick up, as well. i think deeper on into saturday, more of that rain turning into snow in northern england initially on the hills. looks to be a drier day though in northern ireland. overnight and into sunday, the cold air really starts to dig in. rain turning to snow across eastern parts, could be a prolonged spell of snow across parts of east anglia and southeast england, then further snow showers in the east — some may push further west. regardless, though, for all of us, it is much colder by then. it this is bbc news, the headlines - in his first major foreign policy speech, president biden has said it is necessary to engage with america's adversaries diplomatically — pointing to the extension of a nuclear arms control treaty with russia. he also said he would stop support for saudi arabia's offensive military campaign in yemen, the us state department has called for "serious consequences" for china after a bbc report alleging women were systemically raped and tortured — in so called "re—education camps" for the uighur muslim minority. china has denied the allegations and accused the bbc of making a "false report." the us house of representatives has voted to punish a republican lawmaker over incendiary remarks she made — by expelling her from two committees. theories and showed support for violence against democrats. 11 republicansjoined the entire democratic caucus in the vote. now on bbc news: the week in parliament.