welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: the world's worst humanitarian crisis deepens. yemen's war leaves millions on the brink of famine — now disease threatens many more. many in yemen are dying needlessly because they cannot get the most basic treatment. after more than two years of war, half the health facilities in the country are not functioning. the us orders the families of its embassy staff to leave venezuela ahead of sunday's controversial election. critics say the country is sliding towards dictatorship. open warfare in the white house. donald trump's new communications director launches a foul—mouthed attack against two of his senior colleagues. and swapping the skies for a life of royal service. prince william quits hisjob as an air ambulance pilot. hello, and welcome to the programme.

war has been raging for two years inside yemen with devastating consequences for its people. the un is calling it the world's worst humanitarian crisis with the country on the brink of famine. cholera has swept through yemen with nearly 2000 deaths since the outbreak began in april. access for international journalists is very rare but our middle east correspondent, 0rla guerin, with her producer nicola careem and cameraman nico hameon, have got in. they've sent this report from aden — and a warning, there are distressing images throughout. we cross the red sea to reach yemen, past the sunken wreckage of a hidden war. this was the only way to the port city of aden. the saudi—led coalition, bombing the country,

grounded the un plane due to fly us in. this is the kind of suffering they don't want the world to see. rassam is 11. he is one of many children wasting away across the country. since the war, malnutrition rates have soared. hunger is menacing this nation, from the very old... ..to the very young. like hussain. his mother showed us how he fights for every breath. the united nations says an entire generation is being starved and crippled and famine is looming. in a ward nearby, another threat, a desperate rush to save abdullah mohammed salem,

who came in with no pulse. they tried to squeeze fluid and life back into his veins. he's one victim of an epidemic ravaging yemen — cholera, and it's the worst outbreak in the world. there is now a perfect breeding ground for disease, because sanitation services have broken down. abdullah's son, ahmed, has a message for those in power who are busy waging war. "deal with the sewage", he says, "and clean the streets". "mosquitoes and flies are everywhere causing illness. "we are demanding that everyone who claims to be our leader should just care about the people." instead, they are dying of cholera at the rate of about one every hour. another outcome of a brutal conflict. this hospital alone receives

about 100 new cholera cases every day. those who get help recover quickly, within hours. but many in yemen are dying needlessly, because they can't get the most basic treatment. after more than two years of war, half of the health facilities in the country are not functioning. like much else in the arab world's poorest nation, in these streets, scars of battle. the presidential guard mans the checkpoints in aden, but the yemeni president is seldom seen. he was forced to flee by the houthi rebels, that's when his allies, the saudis, stepped in. their bombing campaign has not restored his authority. but it has destroyed hospitals, schools and homes, like that of this family.

their house was hit by two air strikes as the coalition targeted houthi fighters nearby. senaad tells us two years on, the extended family of 30 are among the forgotten victims of this war. some of the family still live right here in the ruins, with no help, they say, except from god. but civilians here have been under fire from both sides. we met this woman and her children waiting forfood aid. ten—year—old imad used to love football, before he was hit by a houthi shell. "i brought the kids into the house", she told us, "and asked them to stay inside. "they went into the living room and that's when they were hit.

"he lost both legs immediately." since then, she says, imad and her other children have never been the same. they have deep psychological wounds, as well as physical ones. most of all it is yemen's children, like ten—month—old ahmed, who are paying the price here. the conflict has reached a stalemate. international diplomacy has failed and nowhere in the world are more lives as stake. that exclusive report came from aden in the south of yemen. for much more analysis and detail online on the cholera outbreak and the war, just go to our website at bbc.com/news. 0r download the bbc news app. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news.

reports from nigeria say more than a0 people were killed in an attack on tuesday by boko haram militants on an oil exploration team in maiduguri. the local university confirmed that some of its staff had been killed. soldiers and members of a local vigilante group also died in the ambush. there've been further clashes at a sensitive holy site injerusalem, despite a decision by the israeli authorities to remove controversial security apparatus. metal detectors and security cameras were introduced at the sacred al—aqsa mosque compound — which is known tojews as the temple mount — after two policemen were killed two weeks ago. police in london investigating the grenfell tower fire say there are "reasonable grounds" to pursue corporate manslaughter charges. the announcement means that senior executives from kensington and chelsea council, and the tenant management organisation running the building, are likely to be questioned under caution. at least 80 people died in the fire. iran says it has successfully tested a rocket that can put satellites in orbit. the united states criticised

the launch and described it as a provocative action, saying it was an example of iran's continued ballistic missile development. the phoenix rocket was launched from a new space centre in northern iran. the political crisis in venezuela has prompted the us state department to order family members of its staff at the embassy in caracas to leave the country. it also warned american citizens against travelling there. venezuela is banning protests that could disturb or affect sunday's controversial election for a new constituent assembly. the opposition sees it as a move towards dictatorship. sarah corker reports. in this deeply divided nation, running street battles have become the norm. forfour months running street battles have become the norm. for four months there running street battles have become the norm. forfour months there have been mass protest is over president nicolas maduro‘s turned to rewrite

the nation's constitution. —— protests. 0pponents say it is a move towards dictatorship. this crisis appears to be intensifying. the government banned protests ahead of a controversial election on sunday, and those who defy the ban risque prison sentence of up to ten years. yet opposition leaders have called for another nationwide rally. despite a vast oil reserves, venezuela's economy has collapsed. this week, businesses closed, roads we re this week, businesses closed, roads were blockaded, as millions went on a two—day strike. translation: were blockaded, as millions went on a two—day strike. translatiosz people haven't noticed, the constituent assembly will destroy life, and if that happens, more venezuelans will have to leave the country because this will turn into a war, civil war. country because this will turn into a war, civilwar. since country because this will turn into a war, civil war. since april, country because this will turn into a war, civilwar. since april, more than 100 people have died in protests. thousands more have been arrested. president of euro remains

defiant, insisting a new constitution and a new assembly are the only way to bring peace. —— president maduro. translation: the only way to bring peace. —— president maduro. translationzlj propose to the opposition that it abandoned the road to insurrection, that it returned to the constitution, and that in the coming hours, before the election and the installation of the national constituent assembly, we begin a round table dialogue. but international pressure is mounting. this week the united states imposed sanctions on senior venezuelan officials, and amid escalating violence, some us embassy staff in caritas are preparing to leave. —— caracas. but with the army still loyal to the government, president maduro has vowed to defend the socialist revolution at all costs. the head of the us military says there'll be no change to its policy on allowing transgender people to serve until it's instructed by the president. that's despite donald trump tweeting that transgender troops will be banned from service. it's as disagreements between senior

white house officials are being aired in public, instead of within the oval office. our north america editor, jon sopel, has more. it is said the president likes a lot of drama and a lot of noise. he has got it in cacophonous levels at the moment. you just talked about the military chiefs saying he is not quite going to obey the orders that came down from the tweed, saying there will be no modifications to there will be no modifications to the current policy until the president's direction has been received. —— either tweet. president's direction has been received. —— eithertweet. in president's direction has been received. —— either tweet. in other words, they don't take direction from twitter. then we have the most extraordinary knife fight in the white house, which should be accompanied to the music of westside story as the jets and accompanied to the music of westside story as thejets and the sharks battle it out. the committees and is director is going after the chief of staff, accusing him of leaking information. "if reince priebus

wa nts to information. "if reince priebus wants to say he is not a leak, let him do that". this photo has been released, showing them not exactly one—on—one. meanwhile, the new yorker has shown a quote from the director of limitations, anthony scaramucci, some of which i cannot use because i cannot say it now. but he called reince priebus a schizophrenic and a paranoiac. that is not to mention the battle going on over the chief law officer, the attorney—general. he is in aid the league at position. republicans say to him that they will be holy hell to him that they will be holy hell to pay if the present fires him. and the chief executive of the boy scouts association has had to issue a statement today saying, "i want to extend my sincere apologies to those in our scouting family who were offended by the political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree". the man who did that? the president. from the white house to capitol hill, the us senate has voted overwhelmingly for new sanctions on russia, iran and north korea, despite president donald trump objecting to the legislation. the house of representatives approved the bill earlier this week, also by an overwhelming majority.

having passed through both chambers, it will be sent to president trump to veto or sign into law. and one other point to note: the house of representatives has approved a big increase in military spending for next year. packaged with that bill is $1.6 billion — specifically for the us—mexico border wall. later in the programme, we'll be asking what that means for one of donald trump's high—profile pledges. stay with us on bbc news. we'll be taking you away from the washington bubble to mt rushmore. donald trump jokes he should join america's greatest presidents on the famous monument. but do visitors to the site agree? i think he was the right guy at the time to shake things up and move things forward, but he is causing too much chaos and not bringing in a

ford into government. —— bringing enough order. cheering the us space agency, nasa, has ordered an investigation after confirmation today that astronauts were cleared to fly while drunk. the last foot patrol in south armagh. once an everyday part of the soldiers' lot, drudgery and danger, now no more after almost four decades. if one is on one's own, in a private house, not doing any harm to anyone, i don't really see why people should wander in and say, you're doing something wrong. six rare white lion cubs are on the prowl at worcestershire park and, already, they have been met with a roar of approval from visitors. they're lovely, yeah. really sweet. yeah, they were cute.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: after two years of war, yemen is facing the worst cholera outbreak in history. one person every hour is dying from the disease. the us has ordered the families of its embassy staff to leave venezuela ahead of sunday's controversial election. critics say the country is sliding towards dictatorship. now let's get more now on the new funding for president trump's controversial border wall with mexico. phillip molnar is senior business reporter with the san diego union—tribune. hejoins us from california now. philip, $1.6 billion, assuming this passes the senate, do we know what it's going to pay for? year. it's at surely going to start

about 7k miles of border wall, which isn't a lot when we're talking about a 2000 mile border —— year. about 1a miles in san diego where i'm at and the rest of the miles they are planning on building in texas in the rio grande valley. is this going to mirror the kind of border wall donald trump is talking about or is it repairing existing fencing? it's kind of a mix of both, repairing fencing and also what donald trump is talking about. we actually haven't got a lot of details out of custom and border protection about what they're planning down there. it's been a really difficult process ever since donald trump took office to find out what exactly their thinking about down there and what they plan to build. we heard a lot during the campaign about donald trump saying that mexico would pay for the wall. how do you think donald trump's base is going to react given this is taxpayer money

at this time? well, i'm always surprised on how his base reacts. to an outside observer it might look like, hey, look, obviously this is taxpayer money, it's not what you promised us, but there's a lot of people out there who say what he's going to find is a way some day to make mexico pay for it and don't worry, he's got a plan. we haven't really seen that yet. there's been some proposals floated. also there's been a plan to use solar panels on the wall, which is based really enjoys because they think it will pay for the walk, but unfortunately a lot of analysts have looked into that and they think basically there's no way you can generate enough solar energy at the border wall to pay for it. sketchy detail. i believe there's been reaction from the relevant states about this $1.6 billion, can you tell us about that?

definitely. especially here in california we have a lot of left—leaning politicians that are really not happy about the border wall. we have a state senator in los angeles, ricardo lora, he has a senate bill right now that would actually stop companies that build the border wall from getting any contract in the state of california. it's kind of intense. are those people going to be anybody that walks on the jobsite? he said no, these changing that but it's pretty intense, and after today's announcement of the $1.6 billion, he pronounced in strong words condemning it, as well as other california politicians here. we'll have to see what happens and whether this the senate. thank you very much. thank you. six months into the trump presidency, americans have perhaps got used to the sometimes chaotic goings—on at the white house.

earlier this week, mount rushmore hit the headlines after donald trump joked about whether his face should be added to the famous granite wall depicting past us presidents. the monumental sculpture is in south dakota, that's solid trump territory. so how is his unconventional presidential style going down with supporters there? nick bryant travelled to mount rushmore to find out. what better place to talk presidential stature than mount rushmore in south dakota? carved into the rock are sculptures of washington, jefferson, teddy roosevelt and abraham lincoln. four presidents who truly made america great. donald trump continues to boast he'll be the most presidential person ever, other than possibly abe lincoln. but even people who voted for him take a very different view. i'm a bit disappointed and the reason is because i think he was the right guy at the time to shake things up,

to move things forward, but he's causing too much chaos and not bringing enough order to government. i think his ego is getting in the way so i'm hoping he's going to take a step back and take a look at himself. i think he can do the change, if he gets rid of his ego. i don't think he's been as presidential as i ideally want. but i think he's getting used to the job, as well, and i think you'll get there. donald trump has described his use of social media as modern—day presidential. he clearly believes he's communicating in ways which meet the requirements of the twitter age. but that has meant upending tradition and rejecting long—held norms. in terms of behaviour, this presidency marks a break from the past. i'd ask whether or not you think i will some day be on mount rushmore. at a rally in ohio early this week, donald trump joked about one day having his own famous features memorialised in stone.

but here's the problem. if i did it, totallyjoking, having fun, the fake news media will say, he believes he should be on mount rushmore. of course, if you travel through the american heartland, you'll find many trump supporters who regard him still as a presidential antihero, and a fellow outsider. someone like them who's long been sneered at by east and west coast elites. people like the members of the freedom motorcycle church, a short ride from mount rushmore. we're considered outsiders at times. but so is he. and he's coming into a place where he makes people uncomfortable. we have been there, we know what that is like and we understand that. we understand when he talks about stuff. man, that's us, you know. and so yeah, we like that,

we relate to that. presidential reputations change over time. mavericks become mainstream, divisive figures become unifying. but for now, donald trump remains deeply polarising — a national treasure to some, a national embarrassment to others. nick bryant, bbc news, south dakota. let's round—up some other stories now. two women charged with murdering the half brother of north korean leader kim jong—un have appeared the malaysian high court for pre—trial hearings. vietnamese dwahn tee hoo—ung and indonesian siti aisyah are accused of smearing kim jong—nam's face with the vx nerve agent. firefighters are warning fires in southern france continue to burn. thousands were forced to leave their homes and campsites around the town of tom lehman moser.

at least ten people were injured when a violent thunderstorm struck istanbul on thursday, bringing hailstones the size of golf balls. the storm lasted just 20 minutes but paralysed peak hour traffic and caused flash flooding that submerged cars in some streets. flights from the city's ataturk airport were also suspended. it's a job he really doesn't want to leave, but prince william has been working out his last day, as an air ambulance pilot, a role he's carried out, for the last two years. he's now taking up his royal duties, full—time. the duke of cambridge says he's been "proud to serve". our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. a team photograph at the start of his final shift. a picture from his working life which is likely to mean more than most for william wales since it will remind him of the role he's played as a member of the emergency services doing a job largely out of public sight in which he's been able to prove himself solely on the basis of ability.

his colleagues say they'll miss him. he's a hard—working member of the team, always keen to get his hands dirty and help out, whether it's just cleaning the aircraft or actually at scene, helping out with patients that are critically ill. from the moment william took up his air ambulance duties more than two years ago, it's clear how much thejob has meant to him. it's kept him grounded, he said, working as a member of a highly committed team. when i put my air ambulance hat on and i come here and fly, i'm one of the team. i just want to get the job done and at the end of the day feel like i've made a difference and a contribution. he's flown on scores of emergency call—outs and seen tragedy at close quarters. there are some very sad, dark moments and we talk about it a lot but it's hard. you try not to take it away with you but it can be quite difficult. but for all the difficult moments, william says he's hugely grateful for the experience. he says it's instilled in him: after tonight's shift, william will turn to the profession to which he was born and from which he's known there could be no escape.

that's to be a full—time working member of the british royalfamily, supporting his grandmother and preparing for the day when he will be king, but sustained by the knowledge that once he did have the freedom to do a valued job of his own choice. nicholas witchell, bbc news, cambridge airport. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter, i'm @bbcregedahmad. i'll be back shortly with the headlines and there's more on the website. see you shortly. hello, good morning.

yesterday was one of those days where there was sunshine and it clouded over and there was quite a bit of rain. in mid—afternoon in london, atrocious weather for a time. there was quite a lot of rain in many parts of the uk, but some sunshine in between. those showers when they came along started turning heavy and thundery in the afternoon and into the evening. they tend to fade away for many eastern areas overnight. we keep showers going in northern and western areas, temperatures dipping to about 12 degrees in aberdeen, 13 in london, 11t—15 for cardiff and plymouth. showers from early on in scotland, northern ireland. northern england too. brighter weather for a time in east anglia and the south—east but showers in the south—west merging in the afternoon. sunny spells and showers again in scotland. always heaviest in the north and west. lighter further east. some spells of sunshine here. about 17 degrees, but breezy. dry in the northern england for a time. wetter weather developing in the south and west. the wind picking up here as well. turning increasingly cloudy in the south—east. temperatures getting up to 19—20, but the rain is likely to hold off until later on. so good news at the oval.

a bright start, but clouding over. the breeze will be quite noticeable and eventually the risk of some rain through the early part of the evening. that rain will creep in from the south. there will be rain pushing into northern england for a time, some of that will be heavy. through the small hours of the morning it clears to the north sea, although it may linger towards kent and sussex and all the while showers keep going across western scotland and northern ireland. dry in between and by dawn on saturday about 13—11t. most of the showers in the north—west are closest to this low pressure which will be a key thin over the next few days. it will be breezy and there will be cloud and outbreaks of rain. always wettest on saturday towards kent and sussex and some rain later on towards the south—west of england. a lot of cloud ahead of that,

but brighter weather in northern england and north wales and all the while showers keep going across western scotland and northern ireland. 17—18 here, maybe up to 21—22 in the south—east. unsettled again on sunday. low pressure to the north—west of the uk, where the heaviest showers will be. showers fewer and further between the south—eastern corner, but one or two. temperatures 21—22. so through the weekend on the cool side, breezy too, a bit of sunshine and also showers and some of those could be quite heavy. this is bbc news. the headlines: aid workers say seven million people in yemen are one step away from famine. two years of war between the government and houthi rebels have led to a dire humanitarian situation. it's being exacerbated by an outbreak of cholera which has affected hundreds of thousands of people. venezuelan president nicolas maduro has banned protests, ahead of sunday's controversial election for a new national assembly. opposition groups have vowed to defy the ban. they claim the country's sliding towards dictatorship. the us has ordered the families of its embassy staff to leave ahead of the vote.

following a vote in the the house of representatives, the us senate has also overwhelmingly backed new sanctions on russia, iran and north korea, despite president donald trump objecting to the legislation. the bill will now be sent to the white house for the president to sign into law or veto. now on bbc news, another chance to see an episode of hardtalk first broadcast in february. stephen sackur talks to singapore's prime minister lee hsien loong.