welcome to bbc news. our top stories: a warning of tough times ahead. the talks which are bound to start will be difficult, complex and sometimes even confrontational. there is no way around it. michael flynn sacked over his links with russia and donald trump says he should ask for immunity of prosecution. and china tries to bring an end to a century of ivory trading. hello and welcome.

the president of the european council has talked of calf negotiations ahead as two years of brexit negotiations at start. the eu refuses theresa may request to have parallel talks on future trade deals. the chiefs of eu institutions are usually little known outside the brussels bubble. but brexit has changed all that. this is my first divorce... donald tusk, president of the european council, today presented the draft brexit guidelines. the mood music — polite but steely. the talks, which are about to start, will be difficult, complex, and sometimes even confrontational. mr tusk was the recipient of the prime minister's brexit

letter this wednesday. why him? because he represents all eu countries here in brussels and they call the shots on big eu political decisions. the eu says it doesn't want to punish britain. it wants to keep the uk close with trade and security ties. but gone are those words of sadness and regret that poured out of brussels after the brexit vote. now that the formal process of leaving has begun, the eu's message today: we're ready for you. the eu is committed to a phased approach to brexit. phase one — the divorce. top priorities for the eu — safeguarding the rights of eu citizens in the uk and of britons across the eu. agreeing a one—off exit fee for the uk to cover outstanding financial commitments. and resolving ireland's land border issue without harming the good friday agreement. phase two — discussing future eu—uk relations, but only once significant progress has been made on the divorce.

phase three — making traditional agreements, if needed, to bridge the end of article 50 talks and start a new era in eu—uk relations. but there are bumps in the road aplenty, british and european ones even before negotiations start. today there was a surprise row over gibraltar. the eu draft guidelines say no future agreement with the uk can apply to gibraltar without a nod from spain, which disputes britain's sovereignty over the territory. while the foreign secretary had to defend the prime minister's brexit guidelines, the eu perceived a uk threat to withdraw security cooperation if it didn't get a good trade deal. the uk's commitment to the defence and the security of this region, of europe, is unconditional and it is not some bargaining chip in any negotiatiations.

but eu countries are wary. if we see the letter that has been sent by the british prime minister, some would say it was a little bit aggressive. and that's not the attitude that we will be having around the table. i mean, yes, we are willing to come to an agreement, but if you ask too much, then maybe there is no agreement, and i'm not sure if that's a good thing for the british. picking and choosing is fine, in belgian chocolate shops. but brussels says britain can forget having a bit of this and none of that when it comes to the single market. there is goodwill on both sides, but having cake and eating it will be one of britain's brexit challenges. katya adler, bbc news, brussels. nicholas majuro said he could

resolve widespread progress within hours. a senior aide of the president cranks to condemn the decision. the attorney general of venezuela described the ruling as a violation of the constitutional order. translation:. those rulings show evidence of various violations of the constitutional order and ignorance of the state model established in our constitution. it is my obligation to manifest to the country my highest concern regarding this event. the controversial decision by the supreme court has effectively made the president assumed the powers of the national assembly. but criticism of the move has echoed across the water. the colombian president called for the international community to intervene. translation: what happened yesterday when the legislative assembly was stripped of its powers of the gates was stripped of its

powers obligates us to lift our protest voices as well as our voices of solidarity with venezuelan democracy. the bodies, such as organisation of american states, and the united states, must address the situation and propose ways to get out of it. will grantjoined us on the line to give us the latest. he has been addressing the nation on state television, he sort of suggested that he could turn this situation around. he said he believed in dialogue and the use of the shoe shin to resolve controversy. and apparently he has called a meeting of the state's security council to discuss the situation further. specifically, that coming off the scathing criticism by the attorney general, which we heard a moment ago. bear in mind that she is traditionally a staunch

supporter of chavez. and there was no sign that she was anything but loyal to nicolas maduro. it was clearly a very controversial move by the supreme court for her to come out against it. it sounds like her comments might have gotten through. the supreme court has essentially taken on congress' powers, can you expand what that means on congress' powers, can you explain what that means and how we got it? be how we got here is very convoluted, but it actually dates back to the election of three legislators, three parliamentarians, and there were suggestions from the government's side that there were election irregularities in the vote. and as those were being investigated, they were sworn in anyway. that was a very controversial moment and created a situation that, broadly speaking, has got us to this impasse, today, in which we see a supreme court effectively trying to pull rate over

the parliamentarians. bear in mind, this is now an opposition led national assembly. and those three were key because that would give majority to the opposition. but this is really about a much broader narrative of opposition to nicolas maduro. a facing off of powers in venezuela that has been going on for almost two decades, but certainly with mr maduro, for the last three yea rs. just when you thought there could not be another twist in the investigations into russian interference in the us election, think again. mike flynn, who lasted less than a month as national security adviser, now says he has a story to tell that will only attract but will only give evidence if offered immunity. this from a man who in the past who said striking such deals made you probably committed a crime.

donald trump said he had been a victim of a witch—hunt on twitter. jon sopel reports. the allegations that just won't go away — that there was collusion between the russian government and the trump team during last year's election. and much of the attention is now focused on this man, general michael flynn. until a few weeks ago, he was the national security adviser, and one of those closest to the president. but his fall from grace has been swift, after he was found to have lied to the vice president over his contacts with the russians. michael flynn held conversations with the russian ambassador in washington, which, among other things, discussed the lifting of us sanctions against russia — which he denied. he was paid $45,000 to attend a dinner in moscow, hosted by the tv station russia today, and was seated at the same table as vladimir putin. he also lobbied on behalf of another foreign government, turkey, although that wasn't disclosed at the time. today, donald trump rallied

to his side with this tweet: "mike flynn should ask for immunity, in that this is a witchhunt, excuse for big election loss by media and dems of historic proportion." but this is what donald trump and michael flynn said during the campaign, when it emerged that clinton aides had sought immunity over disclosing information about her use of a private e—mail server. if you're not guilty of a crime, what do you need immunity for? when you're given immunity it means you've probably committed a crime. so is there worry at the white house that his information could implicate the president? no — he believes that mike flynn should go and testify. he should go up there and do what he has to do to get the story out. in the meantime, the russians are again dismissing as fake news suggestions that they've been up to no good. lots of americans, they do think that yes, russian hackers are everywhere, russian hackers are in every fridge, russian hackers are in every iron and so on and so forth, but this is not true. but the defence secretary james mattis, who's in london

at the moment, expressed about russia, stretching beyond their involvement in the most recent presidential election. russia's violations of international law are now a matter of record, from what happened with crimea, to other aspects of their behaviour in mucking around inside other people's elections and that sort of thing. 0n capitol hill, investigations into russian activity go on, but sources are saying it's unlikely that michael flynn will be given the immunity he seeks. laura bicker is in washington and says donald trump has already moved the conversation onto trade. yes, he has been talking about industry, bringing backjobs, and that is exactly what he has tried to do in the last few hours. after a bruising week, another bruising week, he is trying to move it back to his own kind

of comfortable territory. and he tried to do that by signing two executive orders on trade, trying to stop the cheap import of foreign goods and also reduce that half $1 trillion trade deficit. but as he was signing those orders, i think you can see from the pictures, here, as he was signing those orders, a reporter shouted out a question about michael flynn, and donald trump seems to have got a rather distracted and forgot to sign those executive orders. in fact, the vice president, mike pence, had to take them off the table, and they eventually signed off camera. but russia really is the scandal donald trump cannot shake. but he's got to have two shift focus very quickly, because he needs with the chinese president. he did not quite move the conversation on the way that he bought. that he thought. but these meetings with the chinese president are going to be quite crucial.

what do we think will come out of them? when he was on the campaign shall, donald trump made it very clear that he wanted better trade deal. he feels he is in a good position as a businessman to do that. he is looking to negotiate better deals with regards to china and to stop american companies going to china to manufacture cheap goods. that is not really going to be in china's interest. there is every problem there, as well. one of those executive orders that he has been signing looks at the rules and regulations. it is a 90 day study to look at the various world rules and regulations that might, and donald trump's view, be harming american workers and manufacturers. so he is going to be looking at all this global trade. but let me tell you, when it comes to the trade deficit in the us, it is sitting at $504 million. 350 of that comes from china. so when it comes to the trade deficit, and it comes to making those deals, donald trump

to take a hard line, and the chinese president will not be a walkover. stay with us on bbc news — still to come... a blast from the past — the famous steam train — the flying scotsman — makes a rare reappearance. so we spent the morning helping to give the give the give the we should give the babies are bath, the accident that happened here was of the sort that can at worst produce a meltdown. in this case the precautions worked, but they didn't work quite well enough to prevent some old fears about the safety features of these stations from resurfacing. the republic of ireland has become the first country in the world to ban smoking in the workplace. from today, anyone lighting up in offices, businesses, pubs and restaurants will face a heavy fine. the president was on his way out of the washington hilton hotel, where he'd been addressing

a trade union conference. the small crowd outside included his assailant. it has become a symbol of paris. 100 years ago, many parisians wished it had never been built. the eiffel tower's birthday is being marked by a re—enactment of the first ascent by gustave eiffel. this is bbc news. i'm reged ahmad. the latest headlines: the president of the european council, donald tusk, has warned of tough talks ahead, as britain and the european union start two years of brexit negotiations. a senior aide of venezuelan president nicolas maduro has broken ranks with him to condemn a widely criticised supreme court ruling that stripped the opposition—led congress of its powers. in south africa, there's growing criticism of president zuma

from within his own party, after a reshuffle in which he removed some key figures from government. there's been particular anger and protests held in the street over his decision to sack the widely—respected finance minister pravin gordhan, who's clashed with mr zuma over the economy. 0ur correspondent milton nkosi was asked how much pressure he is he under. well, he is under a great deal of pressure tonight as his comrades are calling for him to resign. he has been under pressure before, for his lavish lifestyle, for example for spending public funds while renovating his private home. at the sacking of the finance minister pravin gordhan is seen by many here as the last straw. this has also affected the currency, the rand,

which has devalued by about eight cents since the reshuffle drama began. there is also the wider implication politically for him, because opposition parties are threatening a vote of no—confidence in. others are saying that they will institute the impeachment proceedings as soon as they can. president zuma himself has got factions within the african national congress that he is trying to manoeuvre around. he is, through this reshuffle, paying some of the loyalists in the party and also punishing his opponents. there is a leadership contest later this year for the leadership of the party and he wants his wife to take over. the current deputy president is very keen to take over the post as well. it may be one of the most significant steps ever taken in the fight to save the african elephant. china has closed down almost half of its official ivory carving factories and shops and by the end of this year will force the remaining legal businesses to shut.

conservationists say today's move is a game changer, as our beijing correspondent john sudworth reports. chinese ivory carving dates back hundreds of years. but these craftsmen will be the last. the un's top wildlife official is on hand to witness the shutdown. this is a momentous day in china. we see this rolled back. we are here in the marketplace, we have seen a shop closed. this is a momentous decision and is worthy of attention. china's move comes not a moment too soon. the african elephant is teetering on the brink of extinction. is that another one? and the majority of this slaughter, perhaps as much as 70%, is done to feed chinese demand. this business is one of those being forced to close today.

the markings and certifications show that the tusks come from authorised stockpiles — ivory that china was allowed to buy under international law in the hope it would suppress demand for smuggling. translation: i feel sad. i love this art and even if you abolish it it will not stop the illegal trade, it is likely to encourage it. but campaigners, including prince william who has personally lobbied china's leaders on the issue, disagree. factories like this one, they argue, send a signal to consumers that ivory is ok to buy and they provide criminals with an opportunity. certifications for pieces like this one can, in fact, easily be forged and the reality is, however inadvertently, china's legal ivory trade has acted

as cover for a much larger illegal black market smuggling operation. that is why this step taken here is so important — the complete closure of china's officially sanctioned domestic trade. they all look like they are ivory products, bright? it is true that the criminals will not be stopped entirely. it is already illegal to sell ivory in china over the internet and yet it took us just a few clicks to find it. where's it from, we ask. the ivory is from africa, comes the reply. nonetheless, it is a bold and important step. china is sacrificing this ancient art in order to save an ancient species. john sudworth, bbc news, beijing. the first troops from four nato battalions have started to arrive in poland in an attempt to reassure

eastern european countries dealing with increased tensions with russia over crimea and the ukraine. the thousand strong us—led battle group will be based in northern poland and new troops will rotate through every six months. 0leg boldyrev reports. 0n time in planning major deployment is finally on the way. here in the north of poland, the first of four new battalion is finishing a journey from germany. 1000 soldiers, mainly americans but also from uk and romanian forces, will spend six months here before being rotated. it is called atlantic result, designed to reassure eastern members of the alliance who are alarmed by russia's actions in crimea and the south—east of ukraine. the new battalion arrived close to an important point on the polish— with waimea border. the so—called slough are key

corridor is between belarus and the russian enclave of leningrad. as you know the gap connects the baltic nations to poland and is very important for those lines of complication that we have. to keep the alliance continuous and to allow freedom of movement of goods and services and the alliance as those countries have and that we all enjoy as part of nato. they are no stranger to military. for decades poland held a large garrison here. the locals need more protection. poland held a large garrison here. the locals need more protectionlj think the locals need more protection.” think enemies. i don't know who is our enemies and i don't know who will be our enemies. translation: the closest adversaries in the east, russia, putin. in russia, the sequence russia, putin. in russia, the sequence of events is the reverse.

politicians in moscow are convinced nato was planning to militarised eastern europe way before the annexation of crimea and the war in south—east of ukraine. they say russia has defended golf. translation: -- russia has defended golf. translation: —— defend itself. translation: —— defend itself. translation: when soldiers are right this is the last signal that the atmosphere in poland and the baltic countries is militarised. russia has to react by creating two infantry and one tank division in a western military district. we show we are ready to act to such militarisation on our borders. both sides hope for dialogue that there is very little hope that this neutral demonstrations will stop any time soon. “— demonstrations will stop any time soon. —— military. in september russia will hold massive military manoeuvres on the western flank, just a couple of 100 kilometres away from here. and there are enough forces in eastern europe to say nato must continue to build up its military capability here. it was full steam ahead for britain's most famous locomotive

the flying scotsman as it celebrated the re—opening of the scenic settle—to—carlisle rail line in northern england. the route was closed by a landslip a year ago. danny savage's report contains some flashing images. 0ne one of the most famous names in the world of steam on one of the most famous railway lines in written. the settle to ca rlisle famous railway lines in written. the settle to carlisle route runs through yorkshire and cumbria. but for16 through yorkshire and cumbria. but for 16 months there's been no free traffic because of a landslip. today the line reopened and hundreds of people came along to see the celebratory service and breathe a sigh of relief. it is absolutely wonderful because it is my lifeline to get up to carlisle. i don't drive but i love to escape to the shops at least once a month. although this

wonderful old locomotive is attracting all the headlines today, the big issue for the more remote communities along this line is they got their main transport link back and that means a return of visitors and that means a return of visitors and business. £23 million has been spent repairing the line. it's the biggest fixed network rail has ever undertaken, which is why it took so long. built in the 1870s, threatened with closure in the 1980s, this old—fashioned but with closure in the 1980s, this old —fashioned but much with closure in the 1980s, this old—fashioned but much loved railway route is open again. a new era celebrated old style. some beautiful scenery. a reminder of our top story: president of the in council donald tusk warns of tough talks ahead as britain and the eu start two years of brexit negotiations. this is bbc news. hello.

this past week has seen some really varied weather, but this weekend will even out the differences. we are all pretty much in the same boat for saturday, in that there will be a fair amount of showers around, some quite heavy. quite a chilly night to come on saturday night. then the vast majority will have a fine and dry sunday, with some sunny spells around. this is what the start of saturday looks like for early risers. looks pretty wet across north—west england. it will take much of the morning before that begins to ease. already through western parts of the uk the showers are getting going, so out and about through parts of south—west england this is the picture at 9am in wales. increasingly, into parts of the midlands as well, dotted about are some of these showers. much of eastern england will have a fine morning. the rain, more persistent compared with elsewhere in the uk to begin with. standing water and showers around in northern ireland through the west and north of scotland. dry to begin within in eastern scotland.

it will take much of the morning before this rain in north—west england eases to showers, going into the afternoon. look at the showers breaking out elsewhere. some of them will be heavy. the risk of hail and thunder. fairly slow—moving too. some bright and sunny spells in between. it looks like an improvement gradually through the afternoon in northern ireland, western parts of scotland, western coastal fringes of england and wales. in sunny spells, 13—16. not bad. showers should fade away into sunday morning. looks mainly dry. a ridge of high pressure building in for the second part of the weekend. it means quite a chilly start on sunday morning, compared with recent mornings. a touch of frost in scotland and northern ireland possible and a frost on the ground in the northern half of the uk. we are rewarded on sunday with some cloud around. some good sunny spells too and the very vast majority will have a dry day, with light winds. in that sunshine, feeling pleasant.

again, temperatures mostly about 11—15. a few spots getting warmer than that going into sunday. the races on sunday, so looking fine and quite calm too. the weather shouldn't be causing too many dramas. enjoy the action. as we go into the start of next week, there are some weather fronts to come through and here they come. but once they push their way through they will be weakening further south later on monday and into tuesday and once they are gone high—pressure builds back in across the uk. wednesday onwards, much of next week is looking dry and there will be some sunny spells coming through this cloud. the latest headlines: the president of the european council donald tusk has warned of tough and sometimes confrontational talks as brexit negotiations at start. a refusal of theresa may's request of having

parallel talks on future trade deal. a combination of the supreme court ruling to strip powers of the congress. it has been called a ru ptu re congress. it has been called a rupture of the constitutional order. president trump says he's not worried about what his former aide might reveal. former national security adviser michael flynn is seeking immunity before testifying. now it is time for click.