m ps vote mps vote overwhelmingly in favour of giving theresa may the power to begin the formal process of leaving the european union. and don't forget, if you have any questions, get in touch through the hashtag #bbcos and we will try to and them for you the next hour. in the last hour, the united states senate has voted to confirm rex tillerson. it means that the former exxon mobil ceo can now be officially sworn in. let's go straight to barbara plett at the state department in washington. he passed with a 56—15 vote. was it expected to be so close. it is quite an unusual vote for a secretary of state because the tradition is that both sides of the aisle tends to overwhelmingly support him. he is the face of the united states to the world and they want to show support for that and most candidates, broccoli, follow traditional lines of us foreign policy. but rex tillerson‘s case has been unusual for a number of reasons. democrats have been criticising him, questioning him on a number of issues. he will not promote american values in the same way as somebody with a different background, is their concern. they are concerned about his business ties with the kremlin, and they have raised issues about conflicts of interest. that has been going on during the negotiations. his actions over the last couple of weeks have disrupted things, including the spat with the mexicans, and this executive order dealing with the ban on refugees, limiting immigration from several majority muslim countries, that has really riled the state department and because of that, you have an even more contentious feeling about rex tillerson‘s confirmation, because some of the speeches, very strong speeches saying that this is the kind of reckless and unstable foreign policy that we're seeing from mrtrump, but foreign policy that we're seeing from mr trump, but we need a strong secretary of state who can stand up to him and promote, take a strong stand for american values. we're just not entirely sure that he can do that. nevertheless he has been confirmed and in this building there will be a sense of relief because for some time, there has been all this uncertainty about what direction things will take. a former senior diplomat here told me that mr tillerson was honourable and was hoping he would be a good leader. at least in this building, they are hoping that there will be a direction set that they can follow. stay with us. we are already getting a sense of the challenges that rex tillerson will be facing because he comes in at a time where tensions between the us and other countries are on the rise. we got this from donald trump's national security adviser, giving this response to a recent missile test. president trump and severely criticised the various agreements reached between iran, the obama administration, as well as the un, as being weak and ineffective. instead of being thankful for the united states, iran is feeling emboldened. as of today, we are officially putting iran on notice. thank you. iran is on notice. rex tillerson will have to hit the ground running. most certainly. it looks as if iran will be one of the first tests. general flynn was referring to the ballistic missile tests that iran has recently carried out. these are a constant source of friction tweener us, the un, and iran on the other hand. there is a un resolution that says that iran should not conduct ballistic missile tests with nuclear weaponry. iran continues to carry out tests which they say are defensive and not offensive, and do technically not violate the un resolution because they are not related to nuclear weapons. in the past, these tests have been referred to as provocative rather than violations of the un resolution and i do not think that general flynn went beyond those words, really. he said it was in defiance of the un resolution but the tone was sharper, threatening some kind of consequence. he said we will put iran on notice and right about now he is going to be giving the background briefing about what that might mean. in congress, we know that there are moves afoot from many people who feel that iran has been given a soft ride under president obama. they want a bit more sanctions on it, not related to nuclear issues, because they have been already put in place, but other things, like ballistic missiles. that would be one option that this administration has to follow. although it would not technically violate that nuclear agreement, it would certainly increase tensions which could affect the agreement. tank you, barbara. barbara plett—usher at the state department, who will soon confirm rex tillerson as secretary of state. donald trump's immigration restrictions have caused mass protests in some of america's big cities. but support is stronger than some might think. 10% more people support the ban and do not. the state of tennessee is one place the donald trump enjoys strong support. nick bryant has visited the city of chattanooga to find out why. the hills of eastern tennessee, a landscape that reminds us that it was not just landscape that reminds us that it was notjust the rust belt that landscape that reminds us that it was not just the rust belt that won the presidency for donald trump, but the presidency for donald trump, but the bible belt as well. chattanooga is the buckle of that belt and at this bible study group, praise for his social conservative supreme court nominee and thanks for god for putting him in the white house. you can see it in the people he surrounds himself with, god has changed him. i believe he has brought a seriousness that people did not think would come out of donald trump. i think god has led this country to put donald trump in office. i was very opposed to him. mark started out as a never trump republican. he is an evangelical christian who looked upon the new yorker as a philandering playboy, but he has become a convert. social conservatives have been so fed up of washington for so long, for decades, that we wanted someone to go to washington and blow it up. whether i was a trump supporter or not, so many of us are looking for him to do exactly what he has been doing so far, to completely change the landscape, blow up, figuratively, washington, and give us a new american revolution. it has been the pace of the trump presidency that has felt like a final furlong gallop that has impressed kelly and todd floyd. we are excited to see what he will continue to do. you think he is making good on his promises?” will continue to do. you think he is making good on his promises? i think the implementation of the immigration policy showed that he is not a career politician. that is why he got voted into office, because we do not want career politicians any more. there is no sign of buyers remorse here. to travel from coastal cities like new york and los angeles into these heartland communities feels like crossing into a parallel universe. there are two america's right now, and how you react to donald trump determines which one you inhabit. the cannons from the american civil war that dot the landscape here can be viewed as relics of the past and reminders of how conflict and divisiveness is almost written into this nation's dna. and once again it feels like the people of america are sharing the people of america are sharing the same continent, but not the same country. let's turn to the uk. it has just got country. let's turn to the uk. it hasjust got one country. let's turn to the uk. it has just got one step closer to leaving the european union. the house of commons, the lower house of parliament, has improved a law —— has approved a law that gives the prime minister the power to formally trigger the departure process. mps voted by a majority of 384 to allow theresa may to get negotiations underway. she has promised to trigger article 50 by the end of march. the vote presented a challenge for some opposition labour mps, most of whom are against brexit. many labour voters want to leave the eu. nearly 50 went against the orders of their leader and voted against the bill. here is their spokesman for brexit. this is the real battle, because the mandate, there was a mandate to leave the eu, but the terms by which we leave, thatis but the terms by which we leave, that is the battle but we have to have. that is why the labour party has put down amendments to say that you must give us your white paper before we start and that has been conceded. you must report back within two years so that we can check out you are getting on, and we must have a meaningful vote at the end, we must be able to see the deal that you have reached to make sure it is the right deal. let's get some analysis from our political correspondent. rob, is this the point of no return? that is certainly what the brexiteers up. i think it is the point of no return in this sense, that what parliament has taken a step towards doing in the last few hours is basically saying, yes, theresa may, you can trigger the process for britain's departure from the european union. and of course that is hugely important and historic and that is why a lot of mps have campaigned for britain to leave and are utterly ecstatic. but of course in many ways for theresa may and the government, i think this is the easy bit. the really difficult that for her and for the government is going to be that two year negotiation with the eu 27. to see how that goes, to see how businesses react and how the economy relaxed. i do not think that politics will end with this vote. —— see how the economy reacts. politicians still have a lot of foreboding about brexit. this is the easy bit but the difficult bit is to come once parliament has authorised theresa may to go and do those negotiations. dallas about in the lead up to this. how many of those mps would have gone in favour of this bill who would not have wanted this bill who would not have wanted this in the first place? the problem that some mps have struggled with, the majority of them of course in the majority of them of course in the opposition parties, what do you do about the fact that you represent an area where the majority of people in your constituency voted to remain, but you also accept that the country remain, but you also accept that the cou ntry voted remain, but you also accept that the country voted to leave nationally, and the labour party in particular has struggled with that problem. as have all mp5, because and i go back to this point, the vast majority of mps personally voted to remain. it is just that most of them now accept that they do not want to be on the wrong side of the people, as they see it, and of the referendum results. rob watson in westminster. still to come, this iconic image highlight a the zika treasury. one year after the virus was declared a global emergency, we find out how this little boy is doing. —— highlighted the zika emergency. here in the uk, train operators have announced an overhaul of the ticketing system which they emit is baffling customers. —— which they admit. a new trial will make sure that passengers pay the cheapest fa res that passengers pay the cheapest fares and will start in may. currently it costs more for one return ticket than two separate single ones but critics say that this will continue to be a problem under the new system. as you say, it is about buying multiple tickets for one journey so is about buying multiple tickets for onejourney so imagine is about buying multiple tickets for one journey so imagine you are going from london to durham and it takes to li na costs £146. if you bought a ticket from york to london and then durham to york, it will come in cheaper. if you are going from scotla nd cheaper. if you are going from scotland to cornwall... we are seeing that it will not get rid of the problem that if you are buying one ticket and staying on the same train, you should be given the cheapest fare, not having to find a combination to stay on that same train. live from the bbc newsroom. our top story. the us senate has voted to confirm rex tillerson, former chief objective of exxon mobil to be president donald trump's secretary of state. other stories from around the bbc right now. three russian cyber security experts have been charged with treason for betraying their country to the united states. there is no information about what prompted the arrests but the respect elation that they might be linked to cia intelligence on russian hacking during the election. more on that story at bbc russia. more than 1000 german police have carried out raids on homes and mosques in the central state of can't be met. the man detained is alleged to have worked with an isl. and trending online, beyonce announced that she and husband, jay—z, are expecting twins. we would like to share our love and happiness, they said. beyonce posted on her instagram page that they have been blessed two times over and they are incredibly grateful that the family will be growing by two. we thank you for your well wishes. the us is one step closer to having a new treasury secretary after former banker steven mnuchin was proved by —— was approved by a senate committee. while we await senate approval, let's learn a little bit more about him. a little information about steven mnuchin. let's talk to simulate hussein in new york. her controversial a figure is he? well, if you ask democrats they say that he is absolutely too close to wall street. he is a former banker himself. but if you ask the president and republicans, they say he is the right person to guide american growth. some of the criticisms that came from democrats have to do with the fact that some of his ties to failed banks during the financial crisis. he took a bank and rated a bank that was very profitable but the questions have to do with how they dealt with closures. and those that had those underwater mortgages. other criticisms have to do with some of the disclosures that came with the nominations. democrats still have a lot of questions. they felt that went unanswered. in terms of his financial knowledge and business sense, how safe pair of hands is he seemed to be? well, he is someone who didn't necessarily to the party line. in fact, when it came to some of the banking regulations, he actually said things that were not necessarily in line with one of these senior banking committee members on the republican side, with what has been said about those banking relations. it shows that he certainly has a clear understanding of some of the issues and will not necessarily to the party line. but what has left a bad taste in the pa rty‘s what has left a bad taste in the party's mouth is the difficult process that he has made. river lea, tell us about the federal interest rates today. how much of the surprise was that? not a surprise. pretty much everyone expected that. the question is when are we going to see a the question is when are we going to seea hike? the question is when are we going to see a hike? it is expected that we will see two or three this year. not this time. thanks very much. some of donald trump's controversial decisions have led to protests in the us and other capitals. but it is not the same in other parts of the world. president romp, he has policies that are good for the oil industry is a and he has steered away from being excessively and i fossil fuels, and he has steered away from being excessively and ifossilfuels, and unrealistic policies, by well—intentioned environmentalists. he wants to rip up the climate pact. is that well—intentioned?|j he wants to rip up the climate pact. is that well-intentioned? i don't know about this. i think he once in mixed energy portfolio that includes oil, gas, renewables. —— he wants a mixed energy portfolio. he wants to make sure the american economy is competitive. we want the same in saudi arabia. he wants to lift regulations. his regulation authority is headed by somebody who does not believe in climate change. when he looks at the energy sector, asa when he looks at the energy sector, as a candidate he said he wanted to block all imports from saudi arabia. he said it repeatedly. the white house energy policy talks about working closely with the united states' gulf allies, saudi arabia is the leader of that group. so i believe... you do not believe the campaign promises? at the end of the day, i believe that the trumpet ministration will do the right thing for the united states. and rightly so. “— for the united states. and rightly so. —— of the trump administration. we wa nt so. —— of the trump administration. we want to do the right thing for saudi arabia and there are areas of alignment. the united states is the biggest energy market. in the first weeks of trump's administration we are seeing that he is putting america first so they must be a worry here when he talks about energy independence, when he looks at the us shale oil market, when he talks about huge natural resources, that he will move in that direction, which would mean cutting imports. we have no problem with the growth of american indigenous oil supplies. we have said that repeatedly. as long as they grow in line with global energy demands, we welcome them. we have millions of dollars invested in the united states and we aim at increasing that investment on the back of proindustry, pro oil and gas policies of the trump administration. i think you are over exaggerating a concern that in my opinion will prove to be nonexistent. donald trump said, we wa nt com plete nonexistent. donald trump said, we want complete energy independence from our foes want complete energy independence from ourfoes in the oil cartels. want complete energy independence from our foes in the oil cartels. we are not foes. but you are the cartels. i think the trump administration recognises that saudi arabia is a force for good. it has been 12 months since zika was declared a health emergency. scientists say that many more babies could be suffering from health obligations other than microcephaly or abnormally small heads. camilla coste has been to recipe in brazil to find out the latest. this is zika's devastating consequence. these babies will need help for the rest of their lives. here is the best place for them to get the specialist care that they need. but there is not enough money to help all of them. one of those on the waiting list isjoe wesley. he became the face of zika after this photo went viral. one year later, he is still very small for his age. he has breathing difficulties, trouble swallowing and cannot walk. the only way his mother can feed him is through a tube. they travel two hours almost everyday to try to get him help that he needs. translation: i come here three times a week on tuesday, wednesday and friday. i wa ke tuesday, wednesday and friday. i wake up at four in the morning and arrived here at six because there is no other transport available. then i wait for the doctor. it is very difficult but it is not impossible. if it is for my baby's health, then nothing is impossible. one year after zika was declared a global emergency, doctors believe the number of babies affected could be much higher. this baby is 15 months old, and she is one of those kids the doctors are studying. she was not born with microcephaly but later on she showed signs that she, too, was affected by the zika virus in her mother's women. her mother thought she had escaped the devastating impact of zika but after a few months, something did not seem right. translation: when the doctor said it was zika, i was surprised but also believed because i had noticed she had motor problems. i wondered why she was not developing like the other kids. from then on, i knew what was wrong and i could treat her with accuracy. this doctor is one of the scientists looking into this. they call it congenital zika syndrome. even if these babies are born with a normal sized head, they can have provision from hearing loss, and other this ability is later in life. —— they can have poor vision, hearing loss. for every child with microcephaly, ten others could develop these problems. we expect to determine the risk of early and late symptoms related to this. this child is now getting the help she needs. doctors are rushing to identify the thousands of babies like who require treatment. but the brazilian health system is already struggling to cope with zika's legacy. and there is more on the zika ad break and the consequences of it on the bbc website and through the bbc news app. stay with us, we will have more on the controversy over donald trump's choices. this time, his choice for the vacancy on the supreme court. stay with us. good evening. if you have been keeping up—to—date with the world weather forecast recently you will know that wildfires have been causing big problems across central chilly. let's get an update on that situation. the weather has certainly not been upping. it has been warm and dry with cloud on the satellite picture. and i have to say, it is not going to change much in the next few days. 30 degrees in santiago. the wind has eased off a little bit. just a potential cherub on —— shower on saturday but not enough to alleviate those problems. to north america, it has been pretty quiet recently, but this swirl of cloud in the specific is changing all of that. tomorrow, we will see wet and windy weather sliding towards california, so rain and turning here. good news for the ski resorts in this part of the world. still cold in the us and canada. cold as well across eastern europe. the call there has been holding on for many days and weeks. ed west, weather systems running in from the atlantic bringing cloud, rain and slightly milder air. call there is very hard to budget this time of year. —5 in minsk tomorrow afternoon and we could well see some icy conditions, and the potential for some sleet and snow and perhaps freezing rain. compare that with the situation out west. gale is running into the coast of france, spain and portugal. outbreaks of heavy rain and temperatures in double digits. further east, the temperature struggling below freezing in bucharest and sofia. the cold air not just affecting bucharest and sofia. the cold air notjust affecting eastern europe where you might expect it at this time of year but also diving down into the middle east. it is probably obvious that a degrees in baghdad is below par. at this time of year, they should be getting 18. it is because we have this call from sinking southwards, with strong north—westerly winds behind it. that will put up dust and sand. during friday, cold a moving further south to places like to have and dubai. not impressive at all for that part of the world. but back across western europe, we have some travel plans. on the way, areas of low pressure piling in from the atlantic. the could be some disruptive weather. more details on weather that could affect the british isles in half an hour. hello, i'm karin giannone, this is outside source. let's look through some of the main stories here in the bbc newsroom. the former boss of exxon mobil rex tillerson has been confirmed as president trump's secretary of state by 56 votes to 43 in one of the most contentious votes in recent history. here in london it's been a landmark day for the brexit process. mps vote overwhelmingly in favour of giving theresa may the power to begin the formal process of leaving the european union. it didn't seem real to me. it didn't seem it didn't seem real to me. it didn't seem real.