this is bbc news. our top stories: veneuela's crisis deepens as president trump demands the immediate release of two of the country's opposition leaders. he describes them as political prisoners. facing corruption claims and a vote of no confidence. the problems mount for south africa's president jacob zuma. and calling time on his career. the 96—year—old duke of edinburgh is set for one last official royal engagement before retirement. apple takes yet another giant bite out of its competition, making a profit of over $11 billion in the third quarter of the year. up up and away. us shares hit a record high for a fifth day in a row, we tell you what's driving the astonishing growth. hello and welcome to the programme.

president trump has warned venezuela's leader nicolas maduro that he holds him personally responsible for the safety of two top opposition politicians who are being held in a military prison. after months of violent protests and deaths, the un secretary general 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. our correspondent, katy watson, reports 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. the charity save the children says more than a million children in yemen are at higher risk of dying from cholera because they are severely malnourished and are living in some of the areas worst—hit by the disease. more than 430,000 people have been infected during two years of civil war in yemen. is

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. the british government has published plans to ensure it is still able to apply international sanctions after britain leaves the european union. the uk currently has more than thirty sanctions in place, including travel bans, asset freezes and trade embargos. those targeted include russia, north korea, the islamic state group and al-qaeda. tightened security checks at some european airports are leaving holidaymakers waiting in queues for more than four hours. the european commission has defended changes to eu security procedures that have been blamed for the queues. the enhanced checks were introduced in april. a trade body representing some of the uk's biggest airlines calls the situation shameful, with reports that some passengers had missed their flights. south africa's ruling party, the anc, is facing a crisis. the country is in recession and its

leader, president jacob zuma, is accused of rampant corruption. it's a charge that has divided the party, between those who stand with him, and those against. he faces a vote of no confidence next week, and the party's general secretary says those who want to vote against zuma, should leave the anc. 0ne mp who has openly called for the president to resign has even been receiving death threats. andrew harding has been to meet her. she looks nervous, and with good reason. all sorts of strange... makhosi khoza, a member of parliament here in south africa, has been receiving death threats. "you have 1a days to live," says one text. then, ten days. now she travels with an armed guard. her crime, to speak out in public against south africa's president jacob zuma. yeah... the stress is showing. dr khoza is an mp for the governing

anc but she's broken ranks, calling for the president to step down. if we get threatened, our lives get threatened because we express particular political views, that begins to tell you that you are actually officially in a dictatorship. in public, the anc‘s leaders still pretend they're united. but president zuma himself admits a ferocious power struggle is under way. there is a war that is silent, eroding the very existence of the african national congress. that war is about power and money. mr zuma and his allies are accused of looting the state, of monstrous corruption, it's a charge they deny but leaked e—mails are fuelling new allegations and alarming many. i think every south african is very,

very worried about what is happening and we are hoping for a miraculous solution. some believe that solution could take the form of an upcoming vote here in parliament on whether to remove president zuma from office. but there's no guarantee that disillusioned mps like dr khoza have the numbers to get rid of him. these are alarming and invigorating times for south african democracy, so much to fight for, so much at stake here right now. the fate of president zuma, of the economy and of africa's oldest liberation movement. many, perhaps most south africans, still hope the anc can self—correct. when good people keep quiet, then the evil prevails. and we want to make sure our people

do not lose faith in us, simply because we have taken one or two missteps. we want to correct that. we are going to correct that. but dr khoza, in hiding now and threatened with expulsion from the anc, believes her party has sunk too far. it has not been easy to confront the reality that maybe as a liberation movement, maybe we have reached the dead end. a bleak warning from a defiant woman. andrew harding, bbc news, south africa. this week we have had big earnings results from massive multinationals, hsbc, bp and now it is the turn of apple. sally is here with all the business news. apple doing extremely well. the world's most valuable tech company has published it's latest set of results and they show revenue growing to $16.1

billion for the three months tojuly. that combined with a prediction that it will bring in as much as $52 billion in the next quarter saw shares rise by up to 6% in after—hours trade to hit a record high. apple made a pretax profit of $11.3 billion in the three months from april to the end ofjune, a solid rise on the previous year. this year the iphone is ten years old, but it's not been performing so well in china, where sales this quarter were flat and total chinese revenue for the company actually fall by 10% compared to the same quarter last year. and apple increasingly trails its arch rival samsung in the smartphone market in terms of share right across the globe,

which some analysts say is a problem for a company so reliant on handsets for its profits. one way apple has tried to decrease its reliance on iphone sales is its growing range of services. those grew by 22% year on year in 03, with the company raking in $7.3 billion from things like it's app store and apple pay payment system. so, as i've already mentioned apple shares did really well in the us on tuesday as did the dowjones industrial average closing at a record high again. this is now the fifth day in a row the dow has done this, creeping closer to the 22,000 mark and is the 48th record high closing since the 2016 presidential elections. we'll be looking at whats behind the trend in world business report. let's look at the markets right now:

in asia, gains across—the—board and the company is doing well are the technology stocks. a lot of suppliers to apple are based in this pa rt suppliers to apple are based in this part of the world and listed on markets in asia so they're doing rather well right now. see you later for wbr. the us secretary of state, rex tillerson, insists that america is not seeking to topple the north korean government and wants dialogue. but mr tillerson warned pyongyang that its ballistic missile tests were presenting an unacceptable threat to the us. 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. 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're trying to convey to the north koreans, we are not your enemy, we are not your threat, but you are presenting an unacceptable threat to us. 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 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. for more on events in washington and across the americas, head to our website at bbc.com/news. or you can also download the bbc news app.

the duke of edinburgh will make his final solo appearance on royal duty later today. prince philip, who's 96, is to attend a parade by the royal marines at buckingham palace. he announced in may he would be retiring from official functions after supporting the queen for more than 65 years. 0ur royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, reports. he has been a familiar and sometimes forthright feature of national life ever since his marriage to the then princess elizabeth in november 19 47. and although his robust approach to people and events has sometimes got him into trouble few can criticise his devotion to royal duty, most often in support of the queen and also insert pursuit of his own programme with issues like the environment and the development of the awards programme for dunbeg which he created and which is named after him. but this afternoon it will come to an end. the duke, 96 in

june, will attend his last solo engagement, a parade by the royal marines on the forecourt of buckingham palace. it is not a com plete buckingham palace. it is not a complete retirement from public life. the duke may accompany the queen to certain events but after more than 22,000 solo engagements and 600 solo overseas visits since the queen came to the throne it marks a significant moment for the duke and for the queen. no longer will she have her husband at her side for most of the public appearances, other younger members of the royal family will take his place, as the self declared leading plaque unveiler in the world finally ta kes plaque unveiler in the world finally takes things a little easier. 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: as venezuela's political crisis deepens, president trump has demanded the immediate release of two opposition leaders. the duke of edinburgh is to carry out his final official public engagement today before he retires. 29 people have died after a suicide bomber targeted a mosque in a mainly shia area of western afghanistan. another attacker threw a grenade at worshippers during evening prayers in the city of herat. the bbc‘s auliya atrafi joins me live from kabul. just bring us up—to—date with the

latest on the casualties and the situation as it now stands. that's right. so far the government spokesperson told us in iraq that 65 people are injured and ten people are critical, and 29 have died. this number may rise. and do we have an update on the condition of those injured? (inaudible). the death toll may still rise. at the moment we expect demonstrations to happen in iraq because the city is in to happen in iraq because the city isina to happen in iraq because the city is in a state of shock and this was a place of worship and herat is a peaceful city.

(inaudible). some have died, accompanied by screaming relatives. 0k, thank you very much indeed, and a sorry about the poor sound quality on the line, but i think we sort of got the sense of the situation. it's been criticised as the symbol of a council which prioritised the needs of its richer residents over their poorer neighbours. but last night an opera company, which has received millions in funding from the royal borough of kensington and chelsea, gave a special performance in aid of those affected by the grenfell tower tragedy. alice bhandhukravi reports. singing. is often used in memoriam and last

night it was used for those who lost their lives couple of miles up the road in grenfell tower. the disaster was more than geographically close to this opera company, it directly affected one of their own, a member of staff, debbie, who lived on the 16th floor, missing presumed dead. it is difficult for me to talk about it because last time i saw her was sitting at this bench on the night of the fire. we were listening to the end of the opera we were performing that night and we say good night at the end of it, wasn't it lovely, and that was it. so, yes, that helps the feeling why we wanted to make such an impact, why we wa nted to make such an impact, why we wanted to do something. grenville is to the north of kensington, the part of the borough the council has been accused of neglecting, all the while

amassing a huge budget surplus. until two years ago the opera was a council service, the same as any leisure facility like a gym or swimming pool and that has led to criticism from those who have questioned the priorities of those of the royal borough of kensington and chelsea. the philistine council would rather spend £30 million on opera for a minority in holland park over 20 years — why is it relevant to the debate today? —— philistine. kensington and chelsea council has misspent government and council taxpayer funds on countless vanity projects and handouts, as we have heard, and underfunding essential services. singing. but those who run the operating system that theirs is the most accessible opera company in the country and have long contributed to north kensington through fundraising and direct involvement with the community. when you pick it as opera is not as important as homes and living standards in the borough, then that is not an argument i would ever have with you or anybody else. but they spend millions of lots of other services and i think it is the word opera that is clearly a problem for people. perhaps if we were a

straight theatre company it wouldn't be as controversial. i don't know. but in this country opera generally has this stereotype that people tend to hold. stereotype or not, last night's one—off performance was a sell—out with all proceeds going to help the victims of grenfell tower. the eight—time olympic champion usain bolt has told the bbc that —— he's been described as the finest racing driver of his generation. the polish driver robert kubica was amongst the fastest in formula one until his arm was severely injured in a rally crash in 2011. he thought he'd never race at the top level again. but he's fought back. earlier this year he drove an old formula one car. later today he'll get behind the wheel of a current renault in a test in hungary to see if he's got what it takes to return to the sport. i was hoping to get the chance to try the 2017 car and i think, you

know, to have the opportunity in the official test post the hungarian grand prix is special, and i really appreciate and, yeah, renault gave me such a big opportunity. this may be the most charming thing you will see today. for many single ladies out there — that beyonce song has become an anthem. and now three women from australia, in their seventies and eighties, 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 least1

million times online. the trio are kicking up a song and 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 had 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 she says the club, founded in the 1950s, has 600 members and is like a big family. we don't want to lose it because then where would we go? we'd have to travel and most of the ladies are older than i am, i'm 72. it's their second home. the local council

says it is listening. no final decision has been made, but it is struggling for demand for sports facilities. the ladies, though, hope theirfancy footwork may just catch the attention of their new favourite singer. destined to top the charts at some time, iam destined to top the charts at some time, i am sure! and finally, who hasn't dreamed of being a rock star, or maybe looking like one? well, here's a new twist on that. a baby cow in texas has become an online sensation because it looks like gene simmons of the band kiss. the black—and—white face, the tongue, the resemblance, is uncanny. local tourism officials posted the image on facebook, joking that simmons himself could be the father. the cow's name? genie, of course. udderly incredible! don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team

on twitter, i'm @benmbland. 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 —— over the last few days we have become quite used to mix of sunshine and showers. but through the day ahead, things are looking a little bit different. there is more persistent rain on the way for some of us. you can see on the satellite picture this area of cloud has been hurtling its way in from the atlantic, an area of low pressure, with a frontal system being thrown before it. and it is this which is going to bring some outbreaks of quite heavy rain in places. with that, some strong and blustery winds. could see gales for a time around coasts of the south—west of england. that rain crosses southern counties of england, through wales, parts of the midlands, northern ireland, northern england and southern scotland. these northern areas will see fairly patchy rain, even with the brightness in between. but down towards the south, especially close to the english channel, the rain will be quite heavy and quite persistent through the day. could give some big puddles, surface water and spray on the road. and there will be a lot of low

cloud, mist and murkiness across the south—west, with some humid air in place. 18 degrees in cardiff, some patchy rain moving across wales. but for northern ireland, into the afternoon things will be brightening up, with some sunshine, the return of some scattered showers. more persistent rain edging in across southern scotland. but from aberdeen to inverness, and up into caithness and sutherland, the northern isles, it should stay dry for most of the day. some spells of sunshine here. a bit of brightness, perhaps, for north—west england. most of northern england saying cloudy, with some patchy rain. dry for much of the day in east anglia, but that will change into the evening, because rain will really set in across south—west england and east anglia during wednesday evening, wednesday night and into thursday. at the same time, you can follow our weather front into northern scotland. once the rain arrives here, it will hang around for quite some time. but for most of us, first thing on thursday morning, we are back to square one. low pressure in charge, a mixture of sunshine and showers. the showers during thursday will be heaviest when you are closer to the centre of the area of low pressure, so parts of scotland and northern ireland.

here, we will see heavy showers, with hail and some thunder. quite slow—moving, as well, because winds will be light. so for northern england, the midlands, further south and east, rather more in the way of dry weather, and that is where we will have the highest temperatures, as well. the sunshine and showers then continues on to friday. the best of the dry weather towards the south—east. most of the showers in the north—west. this is bbc world news, the headlines: president trump has demanded the immediate release of two venezuelan opposition leaders. they were arrested after calling for protests against president maduro, who wants to rewrite the country's constitution. save the children says more than a million children in yemen have an increased risk of dying from cholera because of severe malnourishment. the charity says a fifth of those affected are at imminent risk of starving to death. 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. he said, "we are not your enemy," but maintained that north korean

missile tests presented an unacceptable threat. the duke of edinburgh is set for his final official royal engagement before retirement. the 96—year—old has been a familiar feature of national life since 1947.