hello. this is bbc news. my name is ben bland. the headlines: donald trump says he hasn't ruled out military action against north korea — but he issues a warning about the consequences of conflict. north korea is maybe more important than trade. trade is very important, but massive warfare with millions, potentially millions of people being killed, that, as we would say, trumps trade. tornadoes rip through texas, leaving at least nine people dead and nearly 50 in hospital. emergency services say they fear the death toll may rise. mosul‘s christians still waiting to return home — seven months after iraqi forces liberated their town from so—called islamic state. hello. i am sally bundock with business. it is the final week. the french presidential election goes into overdrive, and we compare the remaining two candidate's economic programmes. and we hear from the "green boss" who's been quietly donating millions

to environmental causes, but says he's now spending the money to take on trump. hello and welcome to bbc news. president trump has warned that a conflict with north korea, which is trying to develop nuclear weapons, could kill millions of people. he argued that getting chinese help to deal with north korea was more important than becoming involved in a trade dispute with beijing. in an interview with cbs news he also described the north korean leader, kim jong—un, as "a pretty smart cookie". sarah corker has the latest. so far, mounting diplomatic pressure has not stopped north korea accelerating its weapons programme. pyongyang has launched two failed missile tests in the last two weeks,

the latest one on saturday. and in a wide—ranging interview on us television, president trump stepped up the rhetoric. if he does a nuclear test, i will not be happy. and i can tell you also, i don't believe that the president of china, who is a very respected man, will be happy either. you mean military action? i don't know, i mean, we'll see. but he also warned of the consequences of conflict. massive warfare, with millions, potentially millions of people being killed... and a reminder of america's military might, the arrival of uss carl vinson in waters off the korean peninsula this weekend. more signs tensions in the region are intensifying, with both north

and south korea conducting military exercises. and when asked about north korea's young leader, mr trump questioned this sanity, but also had these surprising words of praise. at a very young age, he was able to assume power. a lot of people i'm sure tried to take that away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else. and he was able to do it. so obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie. mr trump's comment came as he marked 100 days in office, at a rally in pennsylvania. in that time, he is hosted china's president xi, who he says is now putting pressure on north korea, its ally, to scale back its nuclear ambitions. meanwhile, the us is installing an anti—missile system in south korea, activity that's attracted some protest from local people. and it sparked this reaction from pyongyang. its state—run news agency urged the us to... and so, for president trump, the question of what to do about north korea remains his toughest foreign policy test. sarah corker, bbc news.

our north america editorjohn sopel has more on donald trump's latest interview and the possibility of a new "special relationship" with china. i think the one thing you have to accept is that with president trump, you can go in and and out of favour quite fast. i mean, during the campaign, president xi was responsible for the terrible trade deals that were hitting america. he was responsible for manipulating chinese currency to the disadvantage of the americans. but now, he is seen as a needed ally in the attempts to rein in north korea and their nuclear programme. and so you're seeing lavish praise being heaped upon president xi from donald trump. i thought something else came out over the weekend that i thought was interesting. he put out a tweet saying that kim jong—un had shown disrespect to president xi by trying to hold another missile test. and i thought that all spoke to one thing: "i want to hold president xi

very close, because any success in north korea has to go through china." donald trump respects people who are strong, who have shown themselves to be resilient, and i think he looks at kim jong—un, this young man who came to power when there would have been an awful lot of generals jockeying for position, and said, "you know what, he is a pretty smart cookie." i think he is also hoping that one day, maybe, he will be able to negotiate with kim jong—un. so there might have been some flattery there, maybe offering something that kimjong—un could bite on, to de—escalate the tensions on the peninsula right now. us congressional negotiators have reportedly reached a deal on a spending plan. the bi—partisan agreement should keep the government running for the next five months, easing fears of a government shutdown. the agreement comes after weeks of talks between democrats and republicans. tornados that hit texas on saturday evening have left at least nine people dead and more than 50

in hospital according to the authorities there. neighbouring states missouri and oklahoma are now in a state of emergency. the american midwest has been struck by an intensive weather system that has caused damage across several states, as tiffany wertheimer reports. this was one of the killer tornadoes that hit the city of canton, 80 kilometres east of dallas, on saturday afternoon. the funnel crosses a major road. cars pull over, not knowing which way it will turn. there is a tornado crossing the road right in front of us. sights like these are not uncommon. this area is called tornado alley because of its frequent twisters. but they still pack a deadly punch. this storm brought with it a rare late—season blizzard further north in kansas, colorado, and wyoming. there has also been flash flooding in some states,

with the fear that the death toll could rise. among the victims, a 10—year—old girl, swept away by rushing waters in arkansas, and a fire chief, who was hit by a car. a number of people are still missing. we were all sitting in the hallway, and our roof collapsed on us. and by the time it was all over, we went outside — we had a three level house, we were down to the last level, and half that house was down. the roof came down on some of us. me and a buddy of mine shielded the kids with the roof. from the sky, the devastation is clear: cars strewn across fields, houses flattened. the trail of destruction is massive. 2a kilometres wide and 56 kilometres long. there's no power here. the tornado ripped up three transmission stations. it's prompted the governors of missouri and oklahoma to call for a state of emergency. first thing on sunday morning, cleanup crews swung into action. but many people have lost their homes don't

where to start. any buildings too dangerous to enter have been branded with red paint by emergency crews. a tornado warning is still in place in texas, where strong winds of up to 95 kilometres per hour and heavy rain is set to continue. tiffany werthheimer, bbc news. right, sally is here with a look at all things french and all things democracy. indeed. the last week of campaigning for the french presidential election is underway. voters are being wooed by the frontrunner and centrist emannuel macron and by the far—right‘s marine le pen. so the economy and prosperity are among the issues in the world's sixth biggest economy. so what are the competing visions they're trying to sell?

one of france's biggest problems is its unemployment rate remaining stubbornly high at io%. mr macron‘s plan is to invest in training and apprenticeships, particularly for the young. but also by giving employers more flexiblitiy on the 35—hour working week. to bring down thejobless rate, marine le pen wants a tax on foreign workers, so that french citizens get priority for newjobs, but she says she won't tough the 35—hour working week. when it comes to tackling the high levels of public spending, macron says he'll save $65 billion with various measures including not replacing 120,000 retiring government employees and big savings on unemployment insurance. ms le pen wants to cut public spending by leaving the euro, which she says would give france more flexibility to boost its economy. she also promises tax cuts for companies who are innovative. so who has the most popular

standards and which are the right ones? will be getting a full review in world business report. —— we will. —— the most popular stance. yvon chouinard is the founder of the billion—dollar outdoors sportswear company patagonia. he started out as a rock climber, making first ascents of some of america's biggest mountains. in his own words, he "never wanted to be a businessman" and even encourages his staff to surf and climb whenever they want. in a rare tv interview he told us about the decline of the outdoors sports business and why he's picking a fight with us president donald trump. you can hear that interview and the other business stories in 20 minutes. we will see you then. let's round—up some of the other

stories making news this: —— this hour. the former italian prime minister, matteo renzi, has been re—elected as leader of the governing democratic party. his rivals conceded before all the votes were counted. mr renzi resigned two months ago following a crushing defeat in a referendum on proposed constitutional reforms. former british prime minister tony blair has said he's plunging back into domestic politics in order to fight against brexit. he won't be standing in thejune 8 election, but he said he wanted to build a political movement to shape the policy debate as britain starts its negotiations to leave the european union. a group of mothers in argentina is marking a0 years of their campaign to find out what happened to their children who disappeared during a period of military rule. the mothers of the plaza de mayo, now an influential human rights organisation, still gather every week in front of the presidential palace in buenos aires. one of the world's most accomplished mountaineers, ueli steck, has been killed in an accident on mount everest. known as the swiss machine, he was climbing alone,

in preparation for a new route up the mountain. he'd won numerous awards, and was celebrated for the speed of his climbs. andrew bryson reports. mount everest, dangerous and daunting — even for the most experienced of climbers. ueli steck, also known as the swiss machine, knew its dangers. he climbed everest without oxygen in 2012. three years later, he reached the summit of all 82 alpine peaks, over 4000 metres, injust 62 days. and he conquered the northern face of the eiger in less than three hours. ueli steck was on everest to acclimatise. he died preparing a new route on the summit. his body has now been recovered, and fellow climbers are paying tribute. if he'd been successful in this, it would have pushed him into another sphere. you know, first ascent like that on everest. it is just sinking in at the moment. i must say.

he was known as the swiss machine. you know, really fit guy, lovely guy when you meet him. a petite guy, really, a bundle of energy. when reaching summits, ueli steck was known for his speed and ruthlessly methodical approach. the climbing community says it has lost a pioneer. andrew bryson, bbc news. you are watching bbc news. stay with us you are watching bbc news. stay with us if you can. still to come: are there still nine million bicycles in beijing? why the bike is back in fashion in the chinese capital. nothing, it seems, was too big to withstand the force of the tornado. the extent of the devastation will lead to renewed calls for government to build better government housing. internationally, there have already been protests. sweden says it received no warning of the accident. indeed, the russians at first denied

anything had gone wrong. only when radioactivity levels began to increase outside russia were they forced to admit the accident. for the mujahideen, the mood here is of great celebration. this is the end of a 12—year war for them. they've taken the capital, which they've been fighting for for so long. it was 7 o'clock in the morning, the day when power began to pass from the minority to the majority, when africa, after 300 years, reclaimed its last white colony. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: president trump says the north korean leader kimjong—un is a ‘pretty smart cookie' while also warning that a conflict involving pyongyang could kill millions of people. tornadoes hit texas, leaving at least nine people dead

and nearly 50 in hospital. emergency services say they fear the death toll may rise. in iraq, the battle for control of mosul grinds on, with iraqi forces gradually encircling the old city to try to remove fighters loyal to so—called islamic state. but seven months after nearby christian towns were liberated from the grip of is, their inhabitants still haven't returned. the area east of mosul known as the nineveh plains was once home to around 200,000 iraqi christians, but they fled when is arrived in 2014. many live in camps in kurdish—controlled erbil. some have gone abroad. our correspondent paul adams has been to the largest christian town, qaraqosh, once home to 50,000 people but which remains almost entirely empty. we meet these two at the door to

their cramped to do a room cabin. they have agreed to take us back to qaraqosh to see why it is so hard to return. the area was liberated in october. isis have gone. it is a ghost town. his father is the only person here. this is where the whole family once lived. 30 people. when they returned last year they found a burned—out looted wreck stop if no—one cares burned—out looted wreck stop if no—one ca res about burned—out looted wreck stop if no—one cares about us how can i come back? it is a disaster. six months after liberation, there is no water or electricity and no plans to replace the damage. as the battle

rages on in nearby mosul, the people of qaraqosh feel ignored and vulnerable. translation: we are christians, the original people of this place. we want our own christian province here on the nineveh plains. to run our own affairs by ourselves. to guarantee a future for ourselves and our children. these two were married in the church of st mary. one of the biggest in the middle east. but faced and burned by iaf fighters. in the courtyard, signs of target practice. and from the roof, a lifeless panorama. this really does bring it home. up here on the roof of the church you look around and in every direction there is no sign of movement. no—one hanging out washing, no—one walking in the street. before isis arrived there

we re street. before isis arrived there were at least 50,000 people in qaraqosh. now there is almost no—one. on the edge of town, a small unit of mostly christian troops at guard the entrance to qaraqosh. but people remember how quickly isis swept in before could it happen ain? swept in before could it happen again? this man runs the only cafe in town. translation: it is up to the iraqi government whether iaf comes back or not. it is all about security. we hope that they won't come back. but if the security forces to withdraw there is a chance that iaf will return, maybe even stronger than before. —— iis will return. qaraqosh is an overgrown haunted place. the christians who lived here have scattered. some live abroad and it is hard to see them

coming back any time soon. the world's biggest social media companies have been accused by british mps of what they call "a disgraceful failure" to tackle illegal and extremist online material. a parliamentary committee has highlighted what it sees as repeated instances of such material not being removed even after it had been reported. jonathan blake reports. twitter, facebook and google. the brands and household names used by millions online every day. but accused, and again, of doing nowhere near enough to tackle illegal, abusive or extremist posts. near enough to tackle illegal, abusive or extremist postslj near enough to tackle illegal, abusive or extremist posts. i think the richest biggest companies in the world have both the ability and a responsibility to make sure that this kind of illegal and dangerous material is removed. i don't think they are taking this seriously enough and i think they need to. politicians are so just finds the social media companies failing to

remove both live and is quickly enough. they also recommend that the firms pay for police time to investigate potentially illegal com ten. all three companies that criticised in the report defended their approach to online safety and say they are committed to doing more. facebook, twitter and google all have ways of allowing us to report things with the online which may be illegal or inappropriate. but the mp's report criticises the companies were relying too much ideasis companies were relying too much ideas is on thursday are effectively outsourcing the role of policing at zero expense. this is not the first time social media companies have been criticised for not tackling extremism and abuse. they continue to try to balance providing a platform for reef beach with stopping those who abuse it. —— platform for free speech. in venezuela at least 29 people died in april as a result of the political unrest,

many due to gunshot wounds. spiralling inflation, food shortages and a call for new elections have brought thousands out onto the streets. president nicolas maduro has announced a 60% increase in the minimum wage — the third increase this year. this comes ahead of more pro—government and opposition marches planned this week. we take a look back at a month of protests. sport now. chelsea moved another step closer to securing the english premier league title following a 3—0 win over everton — a match which was considered their toughest remaining fixture this season. it didn't look that way as they remain four points clear, with four matches remaining. all the goals came in the second half. manager antonio conte is closing in on a trophy in his first season in england. tottenham are hot on their heels, should the league leaders slip up. a 2—0 win over rivals arsenal in the london derby keeps them in touching distance. tottenham are guaranteed to finish ahead of their north london rivals for the first time in 22 years. until very recently,

bicycle manufacturers in china were struggling for survival amidst the seemingly endless rise of the car. but that could be changing and it's all thanks to the rise of bike share schemes. harvey biggs reports. air pollution is notorious in china's major cities, a problem the country's government is waging a high profile war against. one of the driving factors behind the smog has been cars. but it hasn't always been that way. china was once regarded as the kingdom of bicycles, and for decades, two wheels dominated the streets. but as the country began opening up to the world in the ‘80s and ‘90s, cars began to take over. today, less than 12% of commuters cycle to work, but the wheels of change are turning once again. at this factory in tianjing, a new bicycle is produced every 15 seconds, 2,000 bikes per day. the first time in decades,

china is producing large numbers of bikes of the same model, colour and size. and these won't be bought by individuals, but willjoin the ranks of one of a number of growing bike share schemes. the simple concept isn't a new one but is growing, driving an industry that were struggling for survival just months go. translation: back in 2015, we realised that this new model could have an impact. but the speed of growth has been beyond imagination. with china intent on dramatically reducing its air pollution levels, the change is a welcome one. a target of 18% of people riding to work by 2020 should help keep producers like this one on the track to grow. harvey biggs, bbc news. don't forget, you can get in touch

with me and some of the team on twitter, i'm @benmbland. hello there. good morning. big contrasts yesterday in the southern half of the unit case of some cloud. this is the view yesterday afternoon and further north there was a different day. good spells of sunshine and a bit of a breeze to contend with but a decent day. we will see similar contrast through the day today because we have low pressure and got across the southern half of the uk and there will be a focus for clouds and there will be a focus for clouds and outbreaks of rain. isobars wrapped around the system, a breezy start today but the breeze helps keeps temperatures. 5—6 in the western side of scotland where we will see the highest temperatures

come this afternoon. possibly an early shower or two for northern england but northwards of northern england, at the saint david, dry, bright and breezy. in the southern half we will see a lot more cloud and outbreaks of rain with rain on the heavy side with the rumble of thunderfrom some the heavy side with the rumble of thunder from some of those showers. maybe a few brighter drier into levers wobble when the showers, long temperatures at their best only 11 or 12 degrees. across the north of england, dry weather. it was carl oil and it is 14— 15 degrees. —— towards carlisle. in the sunshine further west as high as 18 or so. through the evening still some showers rumbling on but they tend to move away towards the south and then we fool ‘s and then we see this low cloud drifting its way in from the north sea. the picture is not dropping weight to other far by dawn on tuesday. 8— nine degrees for my bum and most of the lower than that in rural spots. a great start to the

day—long eastern sides. low pressure moving away towards the south on tuesday and that allows a higher pressure a cross tuesday and that allows a higher pressure across scandinavia to become the driving force of our weather and that will be with the three good few days. an easterly wind dragging in low cloud. call up and down the coast with the odd spot of rain. further west we have much brighter skies and higher temperatures and the north—west scotla nd temperatures and the north—west scotland will do very well once again. maybe a little bit brighter for some eastern areas on wednesday but still quite cool lot of cloud further south and the odd spot of rain, again, the north—west will do quite well. light winds and pleasa ntly warm quite well. light winds and pleasantly warm in the sunshine. looking towards the rest of the week, a lot of dry weather in the forecast. call in cloudier in the east. further west, forecast. call in cloudier in the east. furtherwest, particularly in the north—west that is where it will be the warmest. hello. this is bbc news. i am ben bland. the headlines: president trump has praised his chinese counterpart, xijinping, as he tries to build international support for the us effort to halt north korea's nuclear programme. mr trump says he hasn't ruled out military action. in the united states, tornadoes have ripped through texas, leaving at least nine people dead

and nearly 50 in hospital. emergency services say they fear the death toll may rise. high winds and floods have also affected neighbouring states. tributes have been paid to ueli steck, one of the most famous climbers in the world, who's died on mount everest. the 41—year—old is believed to have fallen from a rock—face whilst spending time acclimatising at altitude. ten years after the disappearance of madeleine mccann, her parents have told the bbc they'll do "whatever it takes"