charged with corruption. more than 200,000 people have been out on the streets against the measure. these are the biggest protests in the country since the 1989 fall of communism. the bbc‘s greg dawson has more. this latest protest they have lacked the teargas and the trouble of the night before but it didn't like the numbers. in freezing temperatures about 80,000 gathered outside the parliament in bucharest for a third night, chanting "hot seat". 0nce again this protest happened across romania, with more than 200,000 believed to have taken part in 20 towns and cities. people from different backgrounds and generations accusing the government of turning a blind eye to corruption. translation: i came to express my dissatisfaction with the laws which they have passed like thieves. the decision has been made, contrary to people's will. that decision was in order to decriminalise several offences, including corruption, if the costs involved are including corruption, if the costs involved a re less including corruption, if the costs involved are less than $48,000. but the government, elected just two months ago, says these people are misled and misinformed. they claimed the new law is needed to ease prison overcrowding. the party leader, who faces charges of defrauding the state $25,000, isjust faces charges of defrauding the state $25,000, is just one who would potentially benefit from the changes. translation: we are determined to exercise the executive and legal powers granted by the citizens. we consider any attempt to undermine the government's activity as an attempt to destabilise order in romania. both the eu and the us have already expressed concern and even romania's resident is opposed. ina even romania's resident is opposed. in a statement, he said he would challenge the new law in the country's highest court. the stand—off is unlikely to end soon. it is eight days until the new law can be enforced and before that the government is determined to face down opposition from romania's prosecutors, its president and tens of thousands of its people. the new us defence secretary generaljames mattis has issued a trenchant warning to north korea. general mattis is in south korea and was speaking in seoul at a ceremony at the south korean defence ministry. he warned the north that any attack on the united states or its allies would be defeated. and that any north korean use of nuclear weapons would be met with an "effective and overwhelming" response. general mattis is ending a two—day visit to south korea before going on to japan. president trump has again defended his controversial travel ban on people from seven mainly muslim countries and insisted that america was being "taken advantage of by every nation in the world". he said he'd had a series of "tough phone calls" with various world leaders, including a less than diplomatic exchange with the australian prime minister over a deal to bring a group of mostly muslim refugees to the us. our north america editor jon sopel reports. the trappings of office are impressive. the reality is burdensome. last night, the president trump and daughter ivanka left the white house to fly to an airbase where the remains of a us navy seal were being returned, killed after a military operation in yemen. the first one ordered by america's new commander in chief. at a prayer breakfast this morning in washington, that experience seemed to weigh heavy. greater love hath no man than this, that a man laid down his life for his friends. we will never forget the men and women who wear the uniform, believe me. but overwhelmingly, the tone of a foreign policy is abrasive. when you hear about the tough phonecalls i'm having, don't worry about it. just don't worry about it. they're tough, we have to be tough, it's time we have to be a bit tough, folks. we're taken advantage of from every nation in the world, virtually. it is not gonna happen any more. in the past day or so, we have seen a warning shot fired towards iran. we are officially putting iran on notice, thank you. details have emerged of what was apparently a shouting match between him and australia's prime minister. it was over an obama—era agreement that the us would accept mainly musilm refugees that australia would not take. and with mexico, a warning he would send troops across the border if the authorities didn't deal with the bad hombres, as he called him. the person who will be in charge of us foreign policy from now on, rex tillerson, took up his post today. what was striking was how much more conciliatory he was. no one will tolerate disrespect of anyone. before we are employees of the state department, we are human beings first. let us extend respect to each other. especially when we may disagree. it's too soon to say what a donald trump foreign policy will look like. yes, we've heard what he's said but we're yet to see what he will do. what we do know is that he will continue to take aim at anything or anyone who gets in his way. even arnold schwarzenegger, his successor on the apprentice. and i want to just pray for arnold if we can, for those ratings, ok? it brought a swift response from the former governor and terminator. hey, donald. i have a great idea. why don't we switch jobs? you take over tv because you are an expert in ratings. and i take over yourjob and then people can finally sleep comfortably again, hmm? and later we'll be hearing from a former us ambassador to nato on president trump's foreign policy options. in other news: the italian prime minister paolo gentiloni says he has signed an agreement with his libyan counterpart, fayez serraj, to try to stop migrants from setting sail for europe from libya. italy has pledged a substantial amount of money and equipment to help the un—backed libyan government. on wednesday, the italian coast guard rescued around 1,300 migrants off the libyan coast. eu leaders meet in malta on friday, for a summit aimed at finding ways to tackle migration. french prosecutors have widened their investigation into the financial affairs of the centre—right presidential candidate, francois fillon, to include payments made to two of his children. he's been under increasing pressure to step down over allegations that he paid his wife, penelope, a large salary as a parliamentary assistant, despite little evidence of any such work. 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 leaked from the site. it was of course hit by an earthquake and tsunami. he's suing the tokyo electric power company. the british government has published a document setting out more details of its plans for the brexit negotiations. the brexit secretary david davis told members of parliament that changes would be phased in gradually. and that the uk would not find itself on the edge of a cliff. a zimbabwean pastor who fled to the united states after launching a popular protest movement has been charged with subverting a constitutionally elected government. evan mawarire, founder of the this flag movement was arrested at the airport as he returned to the country on tuesday. he faces up to 20 years in prison. the us has blamed russia for the recent surge of "aggressive" violence in eastern ukraine. european monitors have reported to around 10,000 explosions. at least two people were killed after a heavy explosion in the kalininsky district of donetsk on thursday and rocket fire and shelling has escalated around the industrial town of avdiivka, cutting off power and water to thousands of civilians. the un secretary general called on the rest of the world to help revitalise peace negotiations between the government and the separatists. in february the special monitoring recorded 10,000 explosions in 24 hours. they were put —— reports of civilian casualties, including many deaths since january, and heavy losses among the combatants on both sides. the un monitoring mission also recorded damage to civilian houses and a school and populated areas of avdiivka, which raises serious concerns about possible violations of international humanitarian law by all sides. in the era of trump's america first, will china step up to become the global leader? with its rapidly growing economy and strengthening military, some see china taking on a new role of world leadership. the bbc‘s china editor carrie gracie gives her assessment. in the new donald trump era, strange things are happening. is the world is turning upside—down? this white house is in beijing, and this theme park a good place to ask whether china and the us are changing places. america once defined itself as a melting pot for immigrants. it forged alliances in europe and asia. it built the capitalist system. it was always china that was the prickly, protectionist power. but now the rhetoric is reversed. so what about the other pillar of the old world order, europe? brexit, refugee crisis, and before that, financial crisis. europe, according to some analysts, is in steep decline. is russia china's rival for global leadership? no. moscow is too busy with its economic problems, and its european borders, to trouble its giant neighbour in the east. india could be a problem. its population will soon outstrip china's, and it is making friends with other asian powers who are wary of beijing. but it is hard to compete on the money. china's economy is five times as big, and it is spending nearly $1 trillion to build infrastructure and influence around the world. so, if the way is clear, will china step up to lead? i don't think so. from outside, china looks rich, but at home it has problems. if president trump has the slogan "make america great again", then president xi has the great rejuvenation of the chinese nation, and that is exactly how far chinese ambition goes. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: aussies call it a bottle of shiraz and the french say syrah, but where does the grape really come from? this is the moment that millions in iran have 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 yachstwoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming after she smashed the world record for sailing solo around the world non—stop. this is bbc news. my name's mike embley. the latest headlines: thousands of people are protesting for a third night in romania, after the government pledged to release dozens of officials charged with corruption. after president trump and prime minster malcolm turnbull‘s difficult phone call, reports the australian ambassador has had a productive meeting at the white house. for more now on mr trump's brand of diplomacy, the bbc‘s katty kay spoke with kurt volker, former us ambassador to nato. and asked him what president trump's administration meant by stating to iran that all options are on the table. i don't think we have any specifics as to what that means. i think that is good. it is good to have options out there. we are holding the door open. i think, out there. we are holding the door open. ithink, what out there. we are holding the door open. i think, what you see with iran, there are three things of concern. we have an agreement on the nuclear issue. we will still try to develop a nuclear weapon. then you have the missile testing development, the long—range missiles programme, which can become a delivery system later on. and regional behaviour, including support for terrorist groups. these are things we have a great deal of concern about with iran. having the option is to push back on those, may be imposing sanctions, notjust on the missile, but the terrorist issue as. but having the national security adviser come out as he did in the white house and president trump come out today, it looks like it is in set up as a unilateral issue, america versus iran, as opposed to a multilateral issue, the p5 versus germany versus iran. wouldn't that be more useful? the more we have the better. what you are seeing here with this and a lot of things over the past few days has been the administration setting out its own position. if there's one common thread amid president trump's international disputes it's that, if you're on the receiving end of his attacks, it seems like the most important conflict in the world. take mexico. you'll remember that mr trump came out swinging at america's southern neighbour when he announced his candidacy, and the jabs keep coming. the bbc‘s will grant looks at how that is playing out. mexicans famously love their soap operas. the latest big release, the double life of estela carrillo, is a tale of cross—border immigration, the music business and money laundering. the past two weeks have seen more drama than even the most outlandish of telenovela storylines. when it comes to life imitating art, everything is there for a good plot. a powerful villain which for most mexicans is being played by donald trump. the dashing hero, a role coveted by the mexican president, enrique pena nieto. and of course, the criminal mastermind, in this story — joaquin el chapo guzman. in reality, us and mexican politics no longer follow a linear script. mexicans are deeply offended by president trump's order to extend the border wall and the idea of taxing mexican exports to pay for it. small businesses like this american—style barber shop in mexico city are already struggling amid the faltering economy. one of the barbers says he worked as an engineer with a state—run energy company until he was laid off recently. president pena nieto has long been criticised in mexico as a reality tv politician. married to a former soap actress, his approval ratings hover around single digits. but he might benefit from the conflict with the president trump. in the last week, there has been this rally around the flag type he is intelligent. we hope he knows it is not the way to go. prices will rise for 335 million americans. in the hours before president trump was inaugurated, the world's most notorious drug lord, el chapo guzman, was extradited to the united states. some have interpreted the move as a gift from the mexican government to the new us administration. a message they can work together on security issues. ironically, el chapo is exactly the kind of bad hombre that president trump says the wall is supposed to keep out. will grant, bbc news, mexico city. iran once had a thriving wine culture centred around the city of shiraz but it was forced underground with the creation of the islamic republic in 1979. bbc persian reporter, anahita shams, has been travelling the world to find out if there's a link between the ancient shiraz wine of iran and the shiraz wine the rest of the world drinks today. the wine culture of iran is an ancient one. through the centuries, tales of persian wine were spread by french travellers who worked for the persian kings. the wine culture of iran is an ancient one. through the centuries, tales of persian wine were spread by french travellers who worked for the persian kings. what is historically sure is that, from the 16th century, there started to be production of good wine, fine wine, with the name of wine of shiraz. and this prediction was well tested in documents, since the beginning of the 17th century. so where else to investigate? flying over the rhone valley, a few kilometres south of lyon. behind me, the vinyards, with their historical chapels. legend has it that it was created from a persian vine brought by a knight from the crusades. so could this wine come from iran? a dna test revealed the truth. it was done in 1998, by two different labs. it ended in the discovery of the parents of shiraz, because grapes, like humans, have a mother and father. it was a surprise to find that syrah is a natural and spontaneous crossing between two local vines from this area. so there is no persian link to france. but there is to the napa valley, in california, where syrah grapes are grown. this man from shiraz calls his wine shiraz. i remember my father wine—making, you know, for a hobby, not for a profession. and i remember the grapes. i put them in a big clay vat. i was going to put it on top of that clay vat, and smelling and enjoying that wine. sometimes i stole a sip of that wine. he left iran. he recreated the persian culture in his adopted homeland, an ancient tradition that lives on. anahita shams, bbc news, california. now, the job of a translator is never an easy task. you want to make sure to get both the words and tone just right. the pressure is even higher when it's a world leader you're speaking for and just imagine translating president trump into farsi. that's the job of our colleagues at bbc persian and recently they spoke to us about the tall order. i want great deals. i don't care if they're free, i don't care if they're fair, i don't care if there are good, i don't care if they are horrendous, i just want great deals. you thought trump was hard enough to understand in english, imagine putting his words in another language. i find the best way to translate president donald trump is to become trump and speak his words the way he says them. i am a journalist with the bbc‘s persian tv service. and part of myjob is doing live translations of world leaders, like the new us president, from english to farsi. i know nothing about russia. translating the unscripted word is what i find difficult. i've brought in richard newman, the speech and body language expert, to explain how donald trump often veers from subject to subject. he's always aiming for the final punchy phrase. he will start a sentence to reply or respond to something and if he thinks i'm not going to get there, he will abandon it and just shift off somewhere else. and then think, is this going to work, now i'll abandon this and shift off somewhere else, until he finds his final driving message and then he'll go all the way home and always end on a strong emotive word, which he does in his tweets. he'll end on sad or huge. sad. huge. sad. president trump's words can easily get lost in translation. being a journalist as well as a live translator, i understand how this can have significant consequences in terms of how people and policymakers in iran perceive the american president. you almost need somebody who is an actor because unless you embody them and almost physically embody the gestures as you see the words, the meaning is going to get lost in translation. so for those impersonating donald trump, there are a few gestures to look out for. you know when he thinks he's got it, he'll start doing this threading the needle gesture and bashing the air, which is where he is being precise about hitting home with a strong, hard message. when he is dismissive, and this is where, for translating things you might think, now i need to change my tone because he doesn't necessarily mean this, he will go into a palms up gesture, just like a throwaway comment. why... of course. of course i'm going to give you all my financial statements. it seems interpreting donald trump as he speaks live, it takes more than just a straightforward word by word translation. a reminder of our top story: it is estimated 200,000 protesters have staged a third night of demonstrations across romania against a government agreed that would decriminalise some corruption. it would likely see many criminalised for corruption release from jail. the prime minister has said he will not withdraw the motion. romania's president has said he will challenge it in the constitutional court. watch more on that and all the news on our website. you can reach me and the rest of the team on twitter. thank you for watching. good morning. more wild and windy weather to come for some of you. these are captured on the northern ireland coast by one of our weather watchers. that is the low pressure responsible, that is pushing its way towards iceland. and we turn our attention to this in the bay of biscay, which is going to have an impact across southern areas, and already as we start friday you see some rain across devon and cornwall. most others stay dry. a little bit colder than recent mornings. quite breezy across western scotland, but most light winds to begin with. rain quickly spreads into south—west england and wales through the morning, into the midlands and the south—east of england through lunchtime, and then for the afternoon in the northern portion of the irish sea, some heavy bursts of rain around. there will be some dry moments as well. some of the driest weather throughout will be in the northern half of scotland. sunshine here throughout the day, and a fine day for much of northern ireland. to the east of antrim and across durham we could see rain spread in through the afternoon, and still some rain around across parts of north—west england, the midlands, the south—east. some in the east of england may stay dry throughout the day, and the rain on and off towards the south—west and wales, but consistent in the afternoon around cardigan bay, and it is across the english channel where the strongest of the winds will be. now, not as strong as they were through yesterday across the far south—west. 50 mph gusts possible here, but strengthening somewhat through the latter stage of the afternoon and evening, english channel. channel islands, 70 mph possible, that will cause some disruption. towards the south—east corner we will see 40 and 50 mph gusts to end the evening. the strong winds quickly ease as that area of low pressure pushes its way northwards into saturday morning. chilly start for england and wales, lots of dry and bright weather sandwiched between one area of low pressure across northern france, another one to northern scotland. here, after a cloudy and fresh start, some of the showers will be wintry over the hills. some rain potentially in the south—east corner of england. keep a close eye on that one. that might just be a bit further east. most will have a fine end to saturday. a chilly night will follow, an area of low pressure pushing into the north sea, a few showers spreading in across the english channel once again. so for sunday, probably one of the wettest spots will be here, and maybe to the north—east of scotland. but most will have another fine day, and a chilly one, with temperatures around five or six degrees for the most part. following that will be a cold night, with a frost developing across many rural parts of the country, and a bright but chilly start to monday. but, before the day is through, there is yet more wet and windy weather spreading in from the west of the atlantic. bye for now. the latest headlines from bbc news. my name's mike embley. an estimated 200,000 protesters have staged a third night of demonstrations across romania against a government decree that will decriminalise some types of corruption. thousands gathered to voice their anger in the capital bucharest and there were rallies across the country. the white house says australia's ambassador to the us had a productive meeting with senior officials from the trump administration. it follows the president's stormy telephone call with prime minister, malcolm turnbull. mr trump is unhappy with a deal to take people from australian refugee camps. the us has said it will deliver an effective and overwhelming response if north korea chooses to use nuclear weapons. speaking at the end of his two—day visit to south korea. the new american defence secretary, james mattis, said any attack on the united states or its allies would be defeated. now on bbc news: thursday in parliament.