welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: international condemnation of venezuela after the arrest of two opposition leaders. the un says the escalating crisis makes a peaceful solution more difficult. 50 times stronger than heroin: growing fears fenta nyl after dozens of deaths in the uk. a message to north korea from the us secretary of state — america is not seeking regime change but dialogue with pyongyang. we are not your enemy, we are not your threat, but you are presenting an unacceptable threat to us and we have to respond. and turkey puts almost 500 people on trial — they're accused of taking part in last year's failed coup. hello.

we begin in venezuela, where the security services have taken two opposition leaders off to a military prison, a move that's been widely condemned. after months of violent protests and deaths, the un secretary general has said rising political tensions are making it harder to find any peaceful solution to the current crisis. venezuela has some of the world's largest proven oil deposits but 82% of venezuelans live in poverty. former president hugo chavez, who died in 2013 after 1a years in office, styled himself a champion of the poor and poured billions of dollars of venezuela's oil wealth into social programmes. his successor, nicolas maduro, has struggled to cope with inflation running at more than 50% a year, plummeting oil prices and accusations of corruption. the bbc‘s katy watson sent this report from caracas.

antonio ledezma screams for help as he's taken away in his pyjamas by the venezuelan intelligence service. there's panic, while someone else yells that venezuela is now a dictatorship. he wasn't the only one to be taken away, officers also seized leopoldo lopez, an opposition leader who was released from prison a few weeks ago but placed under house arrest. tensions are running high in venezuela after the election of a new assembly that will effectively rewrite the constitution. there have been violent protests in recent months and on monday former mayor mr ledezma released a video on social media criticising the weekend's vote. he called the vote a fraud, saying public powers had become a political machinery at the service of a totalitarian regime, a tyranny. leopoldo lopez also made his voice heard while under house arrest. the supreme court said on tuesday it had revoked their house arrest because they'd made political statements and they'd also received

intelligence the two men were trying to flee. but one of the men's lawyers said they hadn't broken any restrictions. at a press conference, mr ledezma's wife warned of what was happening in venezuela. translation: be assured that what is happening in venezuela is nojoke. the fact they've seized two fundamental opposition leaders, the events of the last three months, let that be a message to the entire world that venezuela is experiencing a massacre. it's a huge attack against human rights and human rights abuses are being carried out openly in our country. the un also weighed in, saying it was concerned about the escalation of political tensions. in this critical moment for the future of the country, the secretary general urges all venezuelans, especially those representing the powers of the state, to make all possible efforts to lower tensions, prevent further violence and loss of life as well as find avenues for political dialogue. but this is a country divided. avenues for political dialogue seem

to have been exhausted. with these rearrests, just like the vote, the maduro administration is clearly doing what it once without outside pressure. it is, as they say, venezuela's issue, and nobody else‘s — but the concern is a global one. katy watson, bbc news, caracas. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. explosions at a mosque in the western afghan city of herat have killed at least 29 people and injured many more. police said the attack, during evening prayers, was carried out by a suicide bomber. another attacker threw a grenade at worshippers. the mosque is in a mainly shia area. russian authorities say three suspected gang members have been shot dead at the moscow regional court, after they managed to overpower guards and take their weapons. police say two others were wounded

in a shootout in the courthouse lift. 56 retired american generals, admirals and other senior officers have signed an open letter denouncing president trump's ban on transgender people serving in the military. they say it will deprive the military of talent or force people to live a lie. it's estimated there may be nearly 7,000 transgender people on active service. a federaljudge in brazil has confirmed new corruption charges against former president lula. prosecutors claim two construction companies paid for extensive work at a country house in exchange for contracts with the state oil company. luiz inacio lula da silva denies the allegations. britain's national crime agency says at least 60 people have died in the uk over the past eight months from an overdose of a powerful painkiller, which at street level dealers often mix with heroin. fentanyl is usually given to cancer patients, and it was linked to the death of the rock star, prince. june kelly reports. the rock legend prince died suddenly last year at the age of 57. 12 months on, medical examiners

concluded his death was due to an accidental overdose of fenta nyl. now the drug which killed this showbiz a—lister and has taken the lives of addicts across america is responsible for an increasing number of deaths in the uk. fentanyl is a painkiller used to treat cancer patients. it's 50 times stronger than heroin. it's been linked to the deaths of 60 people in the uk and there's an even more powerful substance, carfentanil, which can be up to 10,000 times stronger than street heroin. we talk about people playing russian roulette with these type of drugs. it's becoming an extremely dangerous game now with the carfentanil addition into the heroin. sean, who does not want his face shown, lost his sister to a suspected fentanyl

overdose a few months ago. she's gone and bought some and she knew what it was because of the dealer, as i said. she's gone back and gone into the toilet, she's gone over and they found her two days in the toilet. in most of the deaths, fentanyl had been mixed with heroin for a biggerfix. they are that far gone on heroin and other drugs and the lifestyle they lead, nothing matters to them. all they're bothered about is that relief, getting out of their head and getting away from world for an hour or two. fentanyl is so lethal that this is how police were kitted up when they raided a suspect‘s house. officers had to be protected against breathing it in. so why is it coming onto british streets? we believe this is partly down to the ongoing need for dealers to be trying to compete with each other and sometimes introducing

drugs into the marketplace that they believe might give them a competitive edge and might enhance their profits. fentanyl is what is known as the synthetic opioid. most of the uk deaths have been in yorkshire and the north—east of england. police are highlighting the dangers but have addicts got the strength to heed the message? june kelly, bbc news. the us secretary of state, rex tillerson, has been speaking in some detail about north korea's nuclear and missile tests. president trump has already stated he's very disappointed in china for not putting more economic pressure on its neighbour and ally. secretary tillerson has now softened that line. he's also said the us wants dialogue with north korea, and doesn't want to topple the government in pyongyang. the bbc‘s suzanne kianpour has more from washington. we do not seek a regime change, we do not seek the collapse of the regime. we do not seek an accelerated reunification of the peninsula or an excuse to send our military north of the 38th parallel. we are trying to be clear

to the north kopreans, we are not your threat, but you are presenting an unacceptable threat to us. we're not trying to blame china, but we do that because of economic and citizen activity, they have ways to influence north korea that nobody else can. that is why we call upon them to influence north korea to create the conditions where we can have a dialogue. the bbc‘s suzanne kianpour has more from washington. we have seen tweets from the president expressing his disappointment towards china, saying that they are effectively all talk and no walk. we also had a senator known traditionally as a foreign policy hawk saying that the president told him that the threat of war with north korea is very real. on top of that, rex tillerson has been secretary of state for six months now, so it was a good time

to address the multiple foreign policy hotspots kicking off right now. in north korea, that is accelerating the quickest. he reiterated his policy, what he has been implementing, which is working with china and building the relationship with china. he has said that china is in a unique position to keep the pressure on north korea, but that is not necessarily their responsibility to do that. there is no specific policy change at the moment. what rex tillerson said today he has said before, that he wants north korea to come to the table. the stipulation is to get rid of their nuclear arsenal. those talks are not going to happen unless the nuclear arsenal is no longer an issue. the white house has confirmed reports that president trump did

help draft a misleading statement on his eldest son's meeting last year with a russian lawyer. donald junior initially issued a statement saying the meeting was about russian adoption, before acknowledging he was actually offered damaging material on hillary clinton, to help his father get elected. the white house press secretary has now said the president weighed in on the statement, giving suggestions as any father would. according to the washington post, which broke the story, some trump advisers fear the president's intervention could put him in legaljeopardy. the us senate has voted to confirm christopher wray as the new director of the fbi. he's a former senior official in thejustice department who served under president george w bush. after his confirmation hearing last month, he received unanimous cross—party support from the senatejudiciary committee. the post had been vacant since may, when james comey was sacked by president trump over the russia investigation. for more on events in washington and across the americas — head to our website. you can also download

the bbc news app. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: can a bit of beyonce save this australian bowls club from oblivion? the question was whether we wanted to save our people, and the japanese as well, and win the war, or whether we wanted to take a chance on being able to win the war by killing all our young men. invasion began at 2:00am this morning. mr bush, like most other people, was clearly caught by surprise. and we call for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all the iraqi forces. 100 years old, and still full of vigor, vitality and enjoyment of life. no other king or queen in british history has lived so long, and the queen mother is said to be quietly very pleased indeed that she has achieved this

landmark anniversary. this is a pivotal moment for the church as an international movement. the question now is whether the american vote will lead to a split in the anglican community. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: venezuela is facing international condemnation after the arrest of two opposition leaders. the un says the escalating crisis makes a peaceful solution more difficult. there are growing fears about the painkiller fenta nyl, after dozens of deaths in the uk. there have been dramatic scenes outside a courthouse near the turkish capital, ankara, where the trial has started of nearly 500 people accused of plotting to overthrow the government in last yea r‘s attempted coup.

a0 of the plot‘s alleged leaders were booed and heckled as they were marched into court. the bbc‘s middle east analyst sebastian usher reports. one by one, the alleged leaders of the coup were marched up to the court. an angry crowd, including both relatives of those killed during the coup and some of those wounded during the violence, chanted demands for the return of the death penalty, which was abolished in turkey years ago. for some in the crowd, the treatment of the accused was already too lenient. translation: it is not normal that the state is feeding these assassins. we want to see them with chains around their feet. they shouldn't even come with civilian clothes on, but instead with their prison clothes. the last time some of the suspects, like the air force commander ak n 0zturk, were seen in public was in the immediate aftermath of the coup, when their faces were bruised and bloody.

there is no doubting the anger the attempted coup provoked, notjust amongst president erdogan‘s supporters, but many other turkish people as well, with the streets of ankara and istanbul coming under attack, and more than 250 people killed during the night of 15 july last year. the first anniversary of the defeat of the coup was celebrated just two weeks ago, with a huge rally in istanbul that was addressed by president erdogan, who inaugurated a monument to those who died. his position has been strengthened by the coup. his critics say that he has used it to target all his opponents. some 50,000 people remain in detention in connection with the coup. but the man the turkish government accuse of being behind it, the muslim cleric fethullah gulen, remains in the united states, despite ankara's repeated demands for his extradition. he is being tried in absentia, in this, the biggest trial so far of coup suspects.

for now, they face life imprisonment if convicted. but the calls for them to receive the ultimate punishment are only likely to grow as their trial continues through the rest of this month. sebastien usher, bbc news. the eight—time 0lympic gold—medallist usain bolt is due to run his last race this weekend at the world athletics championships in london. since his first gold, in beijing in 2008, he has been an unstoppable force. he was described by the international 0lympics committee as the greatest sprinter of all time. so what next for the world's fastest man? you we are going in the right direction. i think we have made changes and the sport has hit rock bottom last season, a couple of seasons ago. now it is moving forward. i think it is going on the right direction, and as long as athletes understand that if they

keep this up sports will die, and they won't have a job. so hopefully at least they understand that, they will help the sport move forward. 150 years ago, the us bought alaska from russia for about two cents an acre, which looks like a bargain today. the territory became the nation's 49th state, revered for its beauty and wildlife. newly uncovered images reveal not only the splendour of the landscape, but also early experiments in panoramic photography. jane o'brien has more. when america bought alaska from russia, in 1867, many people thought the vast territory was quite literally a waste of space. but, by the turn of the century, gold and other minerals had been discovered, and maps were in demand. short summers meant the topographers didn't have time to produce conventional drawings, so they photographed the land instead. it was revolutionary. the photographs would be shot in the field, to exact specifications. they would be processed

in the field. and once that season was over, they would take the negatives back to washington, print them up, and they were able to produce numerous maps of the alaskan interior, that was useful for the railroads and everything. richard schneider discovered these previously unseen photos when the national archives took custody of the negatives. unlike the bulk of the images from the us geological survey, which were used to gather data, these were more like snapshots, albeit on a grander scale. a lot of times they would shoot the test roll, and then they'd process that test roll to make sure that the camera was working right, the chemicals are fine. that's why you'd find, in a lot of these pictures, almost like candid shots of the men in the field — oh, there's a guy hiking or posing, or there's a camp.

and he discovered something else. the images were also an early attempt at panoramic photography. let's say i had this as a single image. i found out that maybe the next one in the series also had this mountain in it, except it was on the left—hand side in the second picture, but it was on the right—hand side on the first picture. so i put them up to the light table, and it's, like, son ofa gun, they go together. i only discovered that after the fact, what they were even used for. and that's why, in a sense, it was dumb luck orjust serendipity that i was able to piece together so many of these into panoramas, because who knew? the survey team was led byjames baggely, whose pioneering work didn't end in alaska. from panoramic data gathering, he moved to aerial photography, joining the allies in world war i to map enemy positions. and his work is still useful. some of the glaciers he photographed in alaska 100 years ago have since receded, visual evidence

of the impact of global warming. british vogue has a new editor, the first man at the helm in the magazine's history. edward enninful has taken over from alexandra shulman, who was the editor for 25 years. the uk fashion industry is worth £26 billion a year to the economy, so people will be watching closely to see how mr enninful shapes the magazine. he has already made some staffing changes, as our arts correspondent david sillito reports. he looks very eccentric, and that is going to be be perfect for vogue. how did i get into fashion? i was spotted on a train when i was 15 years old. it is a massive change. edward enninful is today in charge of one of the most important names in british fashion, vogue. it does not happen very often. the last editor of british vogue

was in place for 25 years, and from day one, change is afoot. they've gone on to snapchat, and there is a more diverse team. he has 500,000 instagram followers. he has appointed steve mcqueen, all these independent professionals who to a certain extent rely on social media to keep building their brands. vogue is the top of the fashion tree, and features clothes only a few can afford. it has, though, been a pretty torrid time for the magazine business over the last few years, because of, well, the new competition. fashion on your phone. newsagents have been closing. sales of glossy magazines have been dropping. people like whitney have been shaping the business. this is my blog. she is a fashion blogger.

everybody wants everything right now, fashion today, what is cool right now. that is why social media is so important. do you still read the magazines? i do. i myself — i do, yeah. indeed, people have been predicting the death of print for a good few years now, and it hasn't happened. for me it's flicking the page, is the excitement. waiting for the shoot to come up, for the new trend. it's everything. it is a new era, and a new name in charge, for a business that is changing fast. for many single ladies out there, that beyonce song has become an anthem. and now three women from australia, in their 70s and 80s, have become an internet sensation by creating a unique version of their own. sarah corker reports. there is flash

photography coming up. what does the queen of pop, beyonce, and the genteel sport of lawn balls have in common? well, nothing, until this. meet terri, janine and wyn, from melbourne. their parody of beyonce's single ladies has been watched at least a million times online. the trio are kicking up a song and a dance to try to save their beloved bowls club from demolition. they're hoping the video will persuade the council to rethink plans to build an indoor stadium on this site, and for some of the ladies, it was a bit of a musical education, too. one of our younger members, denise, she'd obviously been in pr, just cottoned on to the song, beyonce's song. and two of us had heard of beyonce, but two of us had not any idea about that song.

and wyn says the club, founded in the 1950s, has 600 members, and is like a big family. most of the ladies are older than i am, i'm 72. it's their second home. the council says no final decision has been made, but it is struggling with demand for sports facilities. the ladies, though, hope theirfancy footwork may just catch beyonce's attention. ariane's vega rocket has successfully launched on its tenth mission. the 98—foot—tall rocket had a perfect lift—off, racing into the evening sky, breaking the speed of sound over the guiana space centre. it is placing the 0ptsat 3000 and venus, two earth observation satellites, into orbit. they will monitor the health of vegetation and test an experimental plasma

thruster system. the satellites will also provide dozens of images daily from vast areas around the globe, with each of them covering approximately 760 square kilometres. a reminder of our top story: the un secretary general has said he is concerned rising political tensions in venezuela will make it difficult to find a peaceful solution to the crisis. there has been widespread condemnation of the arrest of two opposition leaders, and the us has announced economic sanctions on president maduro, who wants to rewrite the constitution. the uk crime agency says 60 people have died after taking the painkilling drug fentanyl. it was connect it with the death of the rock star prince.

hello, there. most of our rain over the last couple of days has come in the form of showers, drenching downpours, that bring a lot of rain in a short space of time and then clear away. but the day ahead is looking a little bit different, because we have a more organised area of cloud that has been working its way in from the atlantic, associated with an area of low pressure, frontal systems moving in, which will bring rain. and notice the tightly squeezed isobars, as well. some pretty windy weather, especially around the coasts of the south—west, as we go on through the morning. so through south—west england and other southern counties, through wales, parts of the midlands, northern ireland, northern england and southern scotland, there will be some outbreaks of rain. the further north you are, that rain quite patchy, with brighter spells in between. across the far south of england, though, that rain will be on the heavy side. close to english channel coasts, we could see a lot of rain through the day.

could give some fairly poor travelling conditions, and a lot of cloud and mist and murk across the south—west, with some quite humid air in place, despite temperatures only getting up to 17 degrees for plymouth. across wales, we'll see some patchy rain into the afternoon, but northern ireland brightening up through the afternoon. sunshine, yes, the return of some showers, but not the persistent rain. at this stage, that'll be moving across southern parts of scotland. northern scotland having some of the best of the weather through the day. some spells of sunshine, 15—16 degrees. we're back into patchy rain across northern england, albeit with something a little brighter showing its hand in the north—west later on. east anglia seeing a fair amount of dry weather. into the south—east the rain sets in through wednesday evening. in fact, further pulses of wet weather pushing across the south—east and east anglia as we go on through the night. and our weather front still hanging back across northern scotland. so here we will see some persistent rain through the first part of thursday morning. but across much of the country, by the start of thursday, we're back to square one, we're back to that mixture of sunny spells and showers.

the closer you are to this area of low pressure, so across northern areas, that's where we'll see the heaviest showers, the most frequent showers. quite slow—moving across scotland and northern ireland, so they could give a lot of rain in a short space of time, with some thunder and lightning possible. some showers in northern england, parts of wales and the midlands, towards the south—west. the further south—east you are fewer showers and more sunshine. in fact, many parts of south—east england will get away with a completely dry day on thursday, and perhaps again on friday. again, most of the showers up towards the north—west, where some could be heavy and thundery. quite a cool and a blustery day for many. and more of the same as we head on through the weekend. plenty of showers, particularly towards the north. a little bit drier towards the south—east. the un secretary general has said he's concerned rising political tensions in venezuela will make it difficult to find a peaceful solution to the crisis. there's been widespread condemnation of the arrest of two opposition leaders, and the us has announced economic sanctions

on president maduro, who wants to rewrite the constitution. britain's national crime agency says 60 people have died in the uk in the past eight months after taking the painkilling drug fentanyl. dealers often mix it with heroin but it is 50 times more potent. it was linked to the death of the rock star, prince. the american secretary of state, rex tillerson, has insisted the us is not seeking to topple the north korean government and wants dialogue with pyongyang. now on bbc news, hardtalk.