welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. our top stories: farewell to the mooch. afterjust ten days in the job, president trump fires his director of communications, anthony scaramucci. los angeles is formally chosen to host the 2028 summer olympic games after striking a deal with paris. venezuela's president is accused of undermining democracy as the us imposes direct sanctions on nicolas maduro. and sam shepard, the acclaimed actor and playwright, has died at the age of 73. well, it was another day of changes at the white house. this morning john kelly was sworn in as the new chief of staff, replacing reince priebus, who departed on friday. then came the bombshell. anthony scaramucci, tapped as white house communications

director less than two weeks ago, is leaving as well, saying he wants to give mr kelly a clean slate. our north america editor, jon sopel, has been following all the action for us. i'm going to be brief, i'm going to make my remarks informal... well, he was right about that, wasn't he? it is day one on the job, and certain things are instantly clear. anthony scaramucci does not lack for self—confidence, swagger or bravado. but i love the president, and i'm very, very loyal to the president. this would be his first and last appearance at the white house podium. ten days later, the new communications director is gone, the white house blowing him a kiss goodbye. but let it not be said it was an uneventful ten days. he told the bbc he would be straight—talking. you know, one of the things i cannot stand about this town is the backstabbing that goes on here, 0k? where i'm from, where i grew up, we're front—stabbers. we tell you exactly where we are from, and what we are doing. turbulent does not

begin to describe it. in a foul—mouthed tirade, he went to war with the two most senior people in the west wing who are not the president. in his conversations with the new yorker magazine, mr scaramucci said of the ex—chief of staff... and of steve bannon... by last friday, the chief of staff had been fired, left abandoned at andrews air force base. a scalp to scaramucci. but now, irony of ironies, generaljohn kelly, on day one as new chief of staff, had changes he wanted to make, as the president lavished praise on him. so i want to congratulate you on having done a fantasticjob, and we look forward to, if it's possible, an even betterjob as chief of staff. i'll try, sir. the general had demanded the head of scaramucci,

and the president served it up on a platter. after a dizzying few days, the president's press secretary tried to sound calm. the president certainly felt that anthony's comments were inappropriate for a person in that position, and he didn't want to burden general kelly, also, with that line of succession. before all this unfold at the president tweeted. .. well, actually, still quite chaotic, as the president went to a ceremony in the east wing to honour those who were prepared to lay down their lives for their comrades and their country. paul farhi is media reporter with the washington post. many people retweeted this. do you

think a former marine general can steady this ship and make a more effective white house? so much must depend on whether president trump wa nts to depend on whether president trump wants to bring more disciplined. that is right. —— discipline. he has shown he likes to be his own pr man. kelly has his work cut out for him. pa rt kelly has his work cut out for him. part of that work was getting rid of anthony scaramucci. he has some more to go to get rid of other factions, including jared kushner and others. there is a wonder in washington about whether these factions could come together. could there be a real

crisis? that is the fear. all of this chaos is occurring when the international scene is relatively calm and there is no terrorism, no disasters. things can change in an insta nt. disasters. things can change in an instant. the question is will they be prepared when it does. the real fear could be that some actor somewhere realises that the white house is vulnerable at this point, ta kes house is vulnerable at this point, takes advantage of that chaos. that would be a great disaster for the world. anthony scaramucci may not be mourned by some people but there is a genuine personal car crash in that situation. he sold his company in expectation of a white house job, was sued for divorce by his pregnant wife, missed the birth of his second child, and then is replaced in ten days. who will replace him? no names are being floated. but you are

correct, this is a tragic human story. it reminds everyone of icarus, the man who went too high. a few days ago he was at the top of the world. now he has had a great crash and still very far. it is amazing how fast things turned around for him. is this really chaos? are there people in the white house working rather effectively at things we are allowing ourselves to be distracted from? well, this is a great soap opera that we in the press get to fix on. their reason certainly managerial chaos at the top. —— there is. in washington, there are many people you will never hear about to do theirjobs every single day. the agencies themselves run quite well. of course, they take their orders from the top. and if they perceive their wrist disorder, that could affect how they work. but

so that could affect how they work. but so far we have seen no signs from the rest of the government that it is not functioning well. it appears to be doing 0k still. thank you so much. thank you. los angeles has formally been chosen to host the twenty 28 summer olympic games, in a deal that virtually assures paris will hold the games in 202a. they were to the final two cities vying for 2024 games. the actual announcement is expected to come when the international olympic committee meets in september. here's the mayor of los angeles — on what the decision means for his city. the 2028 games will give us the seed of a new olympic legacy in la and around the world. we can build it right now instead of waiting until the olympics are over. simply put, what we are able to negotiate, this deal was too good to pass up. our los angeles correspondent, peter bowes, has more details on the announcement. well, it is confirmed as far

as los angeles is confirmed. it is not absolutely confirmed, as you indicated. the international olympic committee needs to meet in a few weeks' time to absolutely rubberstamp this. but los angeles is confirming this. it is all but confirmed. it is very good for los angeles. everyone is celebrating. a few people are wondering what will happen in a few years' time. it is an unusual deal, isn't it? it is an unusual deal. when it became clear there were two cities in the running for 2024, the international olympic committee made the unusual decision to announce two successive olympic cities and dates, 2024 and 2028. initially, paris, infact, both cities, said they did not want to give up 2024. and then los angeles relented and got into negotiations with the international olympic committee, making a deal to bring millions of dollars of extra money into loss angeles. this is what the mayor

was referring to, saying it was too good to pass up. that money will be spent for a large part on education and sporting programmes across the whole of the city of los angeles. and paris gets to host the olympics on a significant date. yes. very significant. exactly 100 years since the last time they hosted the event the games. they had that in their mind when they bidded for it. in fact, it has been nearly 100 years since la hosted it, that was back in 1932. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news.

china has hit back against claims by donald trump that it is to blame for not reining in north korea. the us president said he was "very disappointed in china" after pyongyang tested another intercontinental ballistic missile. beijing said the nuclear issue "did not arise because of china." a man has been left with facial injuries after two people on a moped threw an unknown liquid at him in central london. police said the 47—year—old man was attacked in knightsbridge. the man has been taken to hospital but his condition is not yet known. the family of a 12—year—old girl, who died in the grenfell tower disaster, have been paying tribute to her. jessica urbano ramirez, has now been formally identified, as one of the victims. in a statement, her family said she was "loving, kind—hearted and caring, and brought joy to everyone she met." they say they won't rest, until they getjustice for her. at least 80 people died in the blaze last month. venezuela is looking increasingly isolated,

under widespread international condemnation for this weekend's vote which could give president maduro sweeping new powers. hundreds have died in months of anti—government protests. opposition parties boycotted the ballot, claiming it was rigged. the us government today imposed direct sanctions on president maduro, accusing him of being a dictator. mr maduro claimed that showed mr trump's "desperation and hate." from caracas, the bbc‘s katy watson. viva la patria! for president maduro, this was a big win. state tv ran his victory speech at length but for the millions of people who boycotted the vote, it was a hollow victory - if that. this morning, caracas felt like a normal city, people getting back to work after a difficult weekend, but still venezuelans are divided. agustin has been managing this taxi rank for 17 years. he says people here are fed up with food shortages and spiralling inflation.

he didn't want to be identified but he said he voted out of fear. i had to vote, he tells me, worried about rumours the government would remove his subsidised food if he didn't. the late hugo chavez is still an icon here, his face a constant reminder that he was the leader who started venezuela's socialist revolution, but high oil prices helped support him. with an economy now in crisis, president maduro is losing friends at home and abroad, not least in the us which today announced it would impose sanctions on the president. but maduro is defiant. the government of the emperor, donald trump, has taken decisions against the president. this shows his weakness, desperation, and hate. it shows the qualities of a madman, one who is president of the united states. hector rodriguez is a rising figure in the government and the man who led the campaign for the new assembly. he, like maduro, blames the opposition for the violence in the past few months, but says foreign powers have meddled in venezuela too.

translation: we said before that the problems of venezuela are venezuela's alone. it's for our people to choose what happens in their country. but that's the problem — millions of people boycotted this vote. president maduro said turnout was 8 million but many doubt this figure and accuse the government of voterfraud. they want to show they are powerful but the only thing they have is fear, is repression and is violence, and when a government has only fear, repression and violence, it's very weak. but as the political wrangling continues, people try and live their lives as best they can. the government has hailed this as a triumph for peace, as the only way to move the country forward but with so much anger and uncertainty about where venezuela is headed, for many the vote has only made things worse. this country has seen four months of violent confrontations. 17—year—old neomar lander was killed injune during a protest. every day he used to head to the streets. now his mother tells me she's doing the same. for me, the bestjustice for him

and for everyone who's died is to achieve what we're asking for, she says, for the government to go. the family says fear isn't something they think about. it's about ensuring his memory lives on. stay with us on bbc news. still to come. ceremonies have been held marking a 100 years since the beginning of the battle of passchendaele, one of the bloodiest of world war one. 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 armargh, once an everyday part in the soldiers' lot, drudgery and danger, now no longer 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 all these people should wander in and say you're doing something wrong. six rare white lion cubs are on the prowl at worcestershire zoo. already they've been met with a roar of approval from visitors. they're lovely, really sweet. yeah, really cute. this is bbc news.

the latest headlines: president trump has fired his director of communications, anthony scaramucci, afterjust ten days in thejob. los angeles has formally been chosen to host the 2028 summer olympic games, in a deal that virtually assures paris will hold the games four years earlier. prime minister nawaz sharif was stripped of office by pakistan's supreme court last week, over corruption allegations. an interim prime minister is expected to be appointed on tuesday. political rivals are seeing an opportunity, as our south asia correspondentjustin rowlatt reports. it is a cross between an election rally and a victory celebration, and it marks the greatest triumph to date of star cricketer imran khan's political career. and he is making the most of it. "we've laid the foundations of a new pakistan,"

he tells the crowd. khan led the campaign to bring corruption charges against former prime minister nawaz sharif, and now he has got the interim prime minister and sharif‘s brother, his chosen successor, in his sights. the plan is to use the same tactic used with the former pm. he is bringing actions in pakistan's supreme court, using provisions that say anyone who has behaved dishonestly can be judged unfit to hold office. today, the supreme court is hearing another case of political wrongdoing, another case in which a senior politician could face disqualification. but today, the accused is imran khan himself. what authority does this letter have? who signed this letter? it's imran khan, these are his signatures. the central point of my case is that imran khan has collected money

from the foreigners, and from the foreign multinational companies, which is explicitly forbidden by the law and the constitution. hi, mr khan. very good to meet you. thank you for finding time to talk to us. imran khan says he is confident he will win the case. i think it's good that they should ask me to be accountable. you expect any person, a member of parliament, a minister, a prime minister, you expect them to be honest, i mean, if someone, a leader, a prime minister, lies, and he's caught lying, you would not, you know, you would not trust him after that. few people would disagree with that. but it does mean that, increasingly, politics in pakistan is being played out not at the ballot box, but through the courts. ceremonies have been marking 100

years since the beginning of one of the bloodiest battles of world war i. over three months, in nightmarish conditions, british and allied troops clashed with german soldiers in what became known as the battle of passchendaele. in all, around 500,000 soldiers on both sides were killed, wounded, or were simply never seen again. robert hall reports. # in flanders fields, the poppies grow... there are few more peaceful places than the gentle slope of tyne cot. today, among its white headstones, families look back across the years, to another big push. the battle we know today as passchendaele would last for over 100 days. we remember it not only

for the rain that fell, the mud that weighed down the living and swallowed the dead, but also for the courage and bravery of the men who fought here. tyne cot overlooks the rolling farmland, streams and woods that were once no man's land, a scar of liquid mud and stagnant, stinking craters. bert ferns fought at passchendaele. he joined the lancashire fusiliers atjust 18. bert ferns began his attack here, beside the german bunker that now lies within tyne cot cemetery. the lancashire fusiliers made their way uphill towards passchendaele village, and a spot which bert later said he would never forget. we came across what'd be about 100 yards square of bodies that had been caught in an artillery

shrapnel attack. they were absolutely massacred. private edward michael batten, 13th platoon, d company, 45th battalion, australian imperial force. private james monroe, 1 south african infantry regiment. my great—great—grandfather, rifleman stanley durra nt of the king's... my great—great—uncle, private walter stevenson, 4th battalion grenadier guards. voices and stories that inspire acts of remembrance, like the story of captain noel chavasse, surgeon and olympic athlete, who was awarded the victoria cross twice for rescuing men underfire.

when you start to understand the man behind the medals, i think you start to grow an attachment. heroism which brought his great—great—niece here for the first time. perhaps we won't have such big, government—funded events as this today, but what we will have are stories we can pass down generations, in a way that i don't think should stop for something that was so significant. flanders means endless endurance. flanders means blood, and scraps of human bodies. flanders means heroic courage, and faithfulness unto death. the horrors of passchendaele have been passed from family to family for 100 years. flanders is likely to remain a place of pilgrimage for generations to come. robert hall, bbc news, tyne cot. the playwright and actor sam shepard has died at the age of 73. according to his family,

he passed away at his home in kentucky from complications caused by motor neurone disease. in a long career, he won the pulitzer prize for drama, and was nominated for an oscar for best supporting actor. the bbc‘s tim allman looks back at his life and work. so when do we go? well, how about tomorrow morning? i'll be there. if you wanted rugged good looks, combined with a certain enigmatic charm, sam shepard was your man. here his is playing test pilot chuck yeager in the right stuff, in 1983, a role which earned him an academy award nomination. you'll never catch me. i believe i will. he appeared in dozens of films, starring opposite dolly parton in steel magnolias. ifeel sorry for them, you know? i mean, especially jackson, losing shelby like that. and here, in blackthorn,

a fictional account of the final adventure of wild west outlaw butch cassidy. but he was also a director, writer, and dramatist. well, i'm a very gentle person, myself... this a production of his play, fool for love, staged at the national theatre in london. he wrote 44 plays, winning the pulitzer prize in 1979. sam shepard was born in fort sheridan, illinois, in 1943. his father was an alcoholic, and he had a nomadic childhood, before moving to new york when he was 19. it was there he started writing plays, essays, novels, short stories, and memoirs. he has been described as one of america's most significant voices, who wrote of what he saw with fearless, tireless honesty. sam shepard, playwright and actor, who has died at the age of 73.

and one of french cinema's biggest stars, jeanne moreau, has died at her home in paris. she was 89. she rose to fame in the 1960s as a stalwart of french new wave cinema, including the classicjules etjim. her career spanned more than 50 years, and included awards for best actress at cannes and a bafta in 1967. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @bbcmikeembley. hello, good morning, and welcome to august.

but, if you were hoping the new month would bring a new type of weather, well, actually, we're just going to continue with the sort of theme we had at the end ofjuly. a mixture of sunshine and showers. the earlier satellite picture shows clumps of cloud circulating around an area of low pressure, and with that, we will continue to see some showers as we go through the day. some places starting off dry, particularly for northern scotland and towards the south and east of england, but for wales, certainly not starting off dry. in fact, here, through the first part of the morning, showers likely to gang up into a longer spell of rain. that then extending across merseyside, up into northern england and southern scotland, so could be a soggy start to the day in edinburgh and glasgow. brightening up for a time, though, in northern ireland, and the north of scotland actually getting off to a fairly decent start, with some spells of sunshine. 14 degrees there in inverness. and then, across parts of eastern england, east anglia, the east midlands, down into the south—east, here should be a fine start, good spells of sunshine, temperatures are around 15 or 16 degrees at 8:00am in the morning. central, southern england in fine shape, and a lot of sunshine

across the south—west of england, too. but a few showers even at this early stage, and as we go on through the day, those showers will become quite widespread right across the map. some places will see more showers than others. some places could see shower after shower after shower, perhaps with hail and thunder. other places might well avoid the showers, and stay dry, that most likely down towards the south—east of england. here we'll see the highest temperatures, as well, 23 degrees in london. a much cooler, fresherfeel further north and west. as we go on through tuesday night and into the early hours of wednesday, most places will turn dry, with some clear spells. but then another change out west, this band of rainjust beginning to work into the south—west of england, the south—west of wales. with that, some strong and gusty winds. could see gales for a time across the far south—west, because this next area of low pressure will be pushing its way in from the west, with this frontal system bringing outbreaks of rain. tightly squeezed isobars, that shows that we'll have some pretty strong and gusty winds.

eastern areas will start off wednesday dry, and some parts of eastern scotland, eastern england will stay dry all day. but the rain migrating its way eastwards, and some of that could be heavy across southern parts of england later on wednesday afternoon. now, for thursday, we're back to where we started. again, it's a mixture of sunshine and showers. our area of low pressure still with us, sitting across scotland at this stage. a fairly cool, fresh feel in blustery winds, and for the end of the week, you guessed it, again that mixture of sunshine and showers. fairly cool and fresh, particularly in the north—west. the latest headlines for you from bbc news: president trump has fired the communications chief he appointed less than a fortnight ago. the white house said anthony scaramucci had made inappropriate comments in a magazine interview last week, in which he attacked mr trump's then chief—of—staff, reince priebus, who's been replaced by john kelly. los angeles has formally been chosen to host the 2028 summer olympic games in a deal that virtually assures paris will hold the games four years earlier. the president of the international olympic committee said he welcomed

the decision of los angeles to accept hosting the later games. president nicolas maduro of venezuela has said that personal sanctions imposed on him by the us are a sign of desperation and hate. mr maduro said he refused to take orders from foreign, imperialist governments. the sanctions were imposed after sunday's controversial vote for a new constituent assembly.