welcome to bbc news, broadcasting at home and around the globe. my name is lebo diseko. our top stories: violent protests in paraguay, as senators vote in secret to allow the president to stand for a second term. venezuela's president maduro under pressure — a top government official condemns a court ruling side—lining congress. the white house says donald trump is not worried about possible revelations on russia from former adviser, michael flynn. and we have a special report from china, as the country brings to an end centuries of ivory trading. hello. good to have you with us. paraguay‘s president has called for calm after protestors stormed

the country's congress building and set it on fire. demonstrators in the capital, ascuncion, were angry after a secret senate vote was held to approve a bill that would allow the country's president horacio ca rtes to run for a second term. the country's constitution has prohibited re—election for the past 25 years. greg dawson has the latest. flag—waving and flames at paraguay‘s congress building. it was stormed by protesters hours after senators held a secret vote inside which could allow the country's president to run for another term of government. local media reports claimed some politicians who backed the plans had their offices ransacked and set alight. these people say they are defending democracy in their country, and fear the vote puts paraguay on the path to dictatorship. horacio cartes came to power in 2013. but paraguayan presidents have been banned from re—election since 1992. after days of tension ahead

of the vote, the stand—off between police and protesters led to tears and teargas on the streets. rubber bullets were also fired. translation: the people of paraguay can fight against these rubber bullets. they have installed a dictator in this country. the bullets against paraguayans will soon be metal. the controversial bill still needs further approval, with another vote in the congress. that was due to happen on saturday, but has now been postponed as lawmakers appeal for calm. greg dawson, bbc news. for more i am nowjoined by dr benjamin fernandez. he's a political analyst and former trustee of the constitution of paraguay. hejoins me on the line from asuncion. thank you forjoining us. what is the situation? there are a lot of

people still in the street and many of them are robbing an attacking buildings surrounding the congress. the situation is almost chaos. people are very mad, because we have a very long tradition of dictatorship and paraguay. and people do not want any real action orany people do not want any real action or any possibility to have a president who has powerful more than five years, as we drafted in because tuition in 1982. you are saying that things are chaotic, with people robbing, and just how angry people are. why did, or how did, the president think that he would be able to pass this without any reaction? this was very difficult to understand. it has blamed the system

and the media, because the possibility to be re—elected was not in the constitution. but the public reaction is about the possibility. i think it is not ready and the reality. the reality is he is not a well supported by the people. it is very difficult to run for re—election when you have very low opinion with the population. thank you so much. we appreciate you taking the time to speak with us, doctor benjamin fernandez join taking the time to speak with us, doctor benjamin fernandezjoin us from paraguay. ——joining. there have been clashes on the streets of venezuela's capital caracas, after a controversial supreme court ruling which strips the opposition—led congress of its powers. president nicolas maduro now says he will resolve the situation within hours.

but the attorney general, who's one of the president's senior aides, has condemned the decision. our latin america correspondent will grant. as the tangled political crisis worsens, there are signs of the frustrations bubbling over. so far, they have been limited to relatively minor skirmishes between protesters and police, but all of venezuela fears that the situation could escalate into violence is a solution is found. in a sign ofjust how controversial the supreme court's move was, the attorney general spoke out against it. 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. that prompted praise from some unlikely allies

in venezuela, the opposition. translation: the world recognises the move that the attorney general has taken to back the constitution. to all countries, the ombudsman, military ‘s and positions of responsibility, we call on them to assume the same tolerance. this is the moment to obey the rules of conscience. venezuela's neighbours are feeling the pressure as well. the colombian president called the ruling unacceptable and undemocratic. for his part, the liggett president nicolas maduro said he believed dialogue

would help solve the crisis. he also said the situation needed to be discussed with the opposition. translation: i call on the national security council to deliberate tonight in order to reach a resolution for the venezuelan constitution and to restore peace and order in venezuela. whether this is a coup, as the venezuelan opposition claim, or a legimitimate move by thejudiciary, it is yet to be seen. the constitutional crisis is getting worse in venezuela with each passing hour, and it is likely to continue to spill over into the streets. will grant, bbc news. president trump has signed orders to tackle the dumping of cheap

foreign goods in the us market and reduce the country's trade deficit. this comes after news that his former national security advisor, mike flynn, might be prepared to talk about russia's meddling in the election. 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. 0ur washington correspondent laura bicker has been keeping across developments in the white house, including president trump's apparent faux pas at the signing of the new executive orders. it has been a rather bruising week, another bruising week for the trump administration. and there he went on to try and sign two executive orders.

perhaps more comfortable territory for the businessman, and these two trade orders are aimed at reducing the half a billion — $500 billion deficit, and also to reduce the number of cheap foreign imported goods in america. but as he went to sign them, he went to the podium and said a few words, and then seemed to forget to sign them as he went out the door. so it seems that — and that was because a question was asked about michael flynn. so it seems russia is a scandal that he cannot shake. next week, they have president xi coming to the us. he will be treated to a few days at mar—a—lago. where donald trump has frequented his own golf course, there. they will be tough talks.

that is what donald trump acknowledged earlier today. he said these talks would be difficult. why? because out of that $500 billion annual deficit that i talked about, $357 billion of it — the source is china. part of the problem is goods can be made cheaper in china than in the us. but donald trump wants to stop both us companies making goods in china, and also china importing goods into the us that are cheaply made there in their own country. so the problem is if he puts a tariff, because of these goods coming in, onto these goods coming in, the markets are slightly concerned what effect that might have. so it will be interesting to see how far he pushes, and how far president xi pushes back. 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. 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 lebo diseko. the latest headlines: violence has broken out in the paraguayan capital, asuncion, after senators backed a bill to amend the constitution to allow president horacio cartes to stand for a second term. 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. the authorities in hungary are ready to start transferring asylum seekers to container camps on the border with serbia. the prospect of being held there has already put off some migrants and refugees from transiting the country — the camps have also attracted criticism and could be delayed by rulings in the european court of human rights. our correspondent nick thorpe reports now from the camp located on the hungarian—serbian border. this container camp is still empty.

the respray sport 250 asylum seekers. so far it is home to two families. it is locking them up to close the loophole, says of the government. but detaining asylum seekers automatically is illegal. they should never come illegal but they are treated as if they were illegal from the first moment so whereas european law requires two x that they have the right to say until the first assessment, and that they had not entered hungary. the hungarian authorities have issued a direct challenge to the international community by building it. no one can tell us how to deal

with asylum seekers, they say. just across the serbian border, volu nteers across the serbian border, volunteers provide food to refugees. that is the rest here on their way to hungary now they are looking for an alternative route. they are trying to see if there is any better route. many have come back to belgrade to get a rest. in a ruined brick factory, this group of pakistani refugees contemplate their next move. maybe i tried from the romanian side because this border is practically closed. they have put up another fence. hungary has a sealed its southern border. they plan to travel through romania instead. there will be tough and sometimes even confrontational talks ahead for britain and the eu,

as they try to negotiate the terms for brexit. that's the warning from the president of the european council, who says there's just no way around it. 0ur europe editor katya adler has more 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. 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. conservationists say its a "game changer, as our beijing correspondentjohn 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, where we see this decision rolled out in the field. 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, right? 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. 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. steam train hisses.

one of the most famous names in the world of steam on one of the most famous railway lines in britain. the settle—carlisle route runs through the beautiful upland countryside of yorkshire and cumbria. but for 16 months, there's been no through—traffic because of a landslip. today, the line reopened and hundreds of people came along to see the celebratory service and to breathe a sigh of relief. it's absolutely wonderful, because it's my lifeline to get from appleby up to carlisle. i'm a non—driver, but i do 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 that they've got their main transport link back, and that means a return of visitors and business. £23 million has been spent repairing the line. it's the biggest fix 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 much loved railway route is open again. a new era, celebrated old style. danny savage, bbc news, cumbria. a reminder of our top story: paraguay‘s resident has called for calm after protesters set on fire by government linked angry after a secret vote was held to allow the president to run for a second term. the constitution has banded for the past 25 years. keep in touch with me on twitter. hello.

this past week has seen some really varied weather across the uk, but this weekend we'll even out the differences. we're all pretty much in the same boat for saturday, in that there will be a fair amount of showers around, some of those 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 so into parts of the midlands as well, dotted about are some of these showers. more to come. much of eastern england will have a fine morning. the rain, more persistent compared with elsewhere in the uk to begin with. in north—west england, standing water. 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 the sunny spells, at 13—16, not feeling too bad. saturday evening, showers should fade away and 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 parts of scotland and northern ireland possible and a frost on the ground in the northern half of the uk. but we're rewarded on sunday with some cloud around, but some good sunny spells too and the very vast majority will have a dry day, with light winds. in that sunshine, feeling quite pleasant. again, those temperatures mostly at around 11—15. just a few spots getting warmer than that going

into sunday afternoon. boat races on sunday — 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 as they head further south later on monday and into tuesday, once they're gone high—pressure builds back in across the uk. so wednesday onwards, much of next week is looking dry and there will be some sunny spells coming through this cloud. the latest headlines from bbc news. i'm lebo diseko. violence has broken out in the paraguayan capital, asuncion, after senators backed a bill to amend the country's constitution to allow president horacio cartes to stand for a second term. reports say protestors set fire to the congress building. in venezuela, the attorney general has broken ranks with president nicolas maduro to condemn a supreme court ruling that stripped the opposition—led congress of its powers. luisa 0rtega expressed "great concern", describing the court ruling as "a rupture

of the constitutional order" in the country. the white house says president trump is not worried about what his former aide might reveal if he talks to investigators examining ties to the kremlin. former national security adviser, michael flynn, is seeking immunity from prosecution before testifying. mr trump says the inquest is a "witch hunt". hotels, restaurants and the tourism industry have warned they'll face a recruitment crisis if immigration from the eu is heavily restricted after the uk leaves.