welcome to bbc news. broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: wife of one president, mother to another. the former first lady of the united states, barbara bush has died. she was 92. president trump admits high level talks are already underway with pyongyang, there are unconfirmed reports that a senior us official met the north korean leader over easter. syria says international weapons inspectors are at the scene of the suspected chemical attack in douma. american officials say the experts are still being kept away from the site. the former first lady, barbara bush has died. she was 92, the wife of president george bush, and mother of president george w bush. she was married to george senior for 73 years, and during her years in the white house set up

a foundation for family literacy, helping parents and children of disadvantaged americans to read and write. in her early years she also spoke out against segregation and backed a more liberal view on abortion rights. laura trevelyan looks back at her life. barbara bush was a commanding matriarch. only the second woman in american history to be both the wife of a president and the mother of one. she was married to the 41st occupant of the white house and raised the a3rd. born barbara pierce, she met george hw bush at a school dance and they were married in 1945 after his service as a navy pilot in world war ii. barbara was credited with helping his political career by keeping a cardfile of everyone he ever met. it all paid off when george hw bush was elected, first vice president to ronald reagan and then president. the office of president of the united states... barbara wore her

trademark pearls at his inauguration, confiding they hid the wrinkles in her neck. it was this honesty that helped endear her to the american public. as first lady she focused on promoting literacy, helping the most disadvantaged americans. if more people who can read, write and comprehend, we would be that much closer to solving so many of the problems that plague our nation. during the first gulf war in 1990, barbara bush spoke for the nation in calling for a speedy end to the conflict. we are all wishing for peace. we want our people home. when her son george w bush decided to run for president, barbara was back in the spotlight once again. after his two terms in office, she was regretting the lack of civility in public life. i just hate it. i hate the fact that people think compromise is a dirty word. it is not a dirty word. by the time her sonjeb made his unsuccessful

run for president in 2016, barbara bush was a national icon. barbara bush was smart, tough and often plainspoken. an influentialfigure in a political dynasty. our north america correspondent peter bowes in los angeles says barbara bush shares a particular place in history. only the second woman to be married to a us president and to be the mother of a us president. abigail adams, many years ago, the wife ofjohn adams, the second us president. barbara bush quite a unique character and i think she certainly epitomised the notion of a family matriarch, a strong woman at the heart of the bush family. she was really a rock in that family, advising her husband,

her son, other members of theirfamily. and i think by many accounts, getting her own way — often times she was the person who laid the law down in that family and was very much respected for it. family insiders reporting that she decided to decline further treatment and spend her last bit of time at home. she was still having conversations and bourbon, apparently — on sunday night. yes, she had a final tipple, apparently. she declined further medical care, she wanted to focus on comfort care in the final few days and really that also epitomises the woman — that was what she was all about. she wanted to be in control, she made that decision and that's how she wanted to spend her final few days. there have been a lot of tributes already, as you might expect, to this great woman. president trump leading those tributes, he said, issuing a statement on behalf of himself and the first lady, "joining the nation in celebrating the life of barbara bush as a wife, grandmother, military spouse and former first lady, she was an advocate for the american family."

amongst her greatest achievements was "recognising the importance of literacy as a fundamental family value that requires nurturing and protection. " "she will be long remembered," he says, "for her strong devotion to country and family, both of which she served unfailingly well." a statement coming in from bill clinton, he says "barbara bush was a remarkable woman, she had grit and grace, brains and beauty, she was fierce and feisty and supported her family and ans her country and her causes. she showed us what an honest, vibrant person is full of life, hillary and i mourn her passing and bless her memory." on the line isjohn miller from cary north carolina. he met barbara bush. and president george bush. was this

when you were about 11 also? yes, backin when you were about 11 also? yes, back in 1991. how did that come about? it started because i am blind, i was attending public school andi blind, i was attending public school and i was speaking with an orientation teacher of the person who shows you around and i once said i went to washington, dc. she said write a letter and i will send it to president wash. she sent it and they accommodated us and gave us a behind—the—scenes tour of the white house and i met barbara bush and we talked for a while. we got to see george hw bush get on the helicopter. this random thing worked

out pretty well. you spend sometime in the office as well? yes, we had drinks in there, got to sit on the couches and chat. how were they with you? couches and chat. how were they with you ? obviously they couches and chat. how were they with you? obviously they are busy people, we re you? obviously they are busy people, were they running in and out or spending time with you? it was pretty quiet. we didn't actually meet george hw bush. but i spend a lot of time with barbara. and how did she strike you? she was really nice. it was a while ago, so a little ha rd to nice. it was a while ago, so a little hard to remember, but i think she was pretty kind and gave us her time. very good to talk to you, thank you for sharing that with us. you're welcome. high level talks are already underway between north korea and the united states — according to president trump — although contrary to earlier reports it now seems the president himself has not spoken with kim jong—un. the washington post is claiming that mike pompeo — current head of the cia and mr trump's nominee to be

the new us secretary of state — made a secret visit to pyongyang over the easter weekend, and did meet the north korean leader. the reuters news agency reports confirmation of that from a senior american official. barbara plett usher reports from palm beach, florida. us media are reporting that mike pompeo, the director of the cia paid a secret visit to north korea on the easter weekend to lay the groundwork for this summit. he has been nominated to become secretary of state and during that visit he met directly with kim jong—un and it was a week later that the white house said it had directly confirm that kim jong—un was willing to negotiate about possibility of giving up his nuclear weapons. so it seems to be this meeting that mr trump was referring to when he said that

contact referring to when he said that co nta ct ha d referring to when he said that contact had happened at the highest level. we have had talks at the highest level. let's leave it a little bit short, we have had talks at the highest level. it is going very well but we will see what happens. all of this has come to light as mrtrump happens. all of this has come to light as mr trump is hosting the japanese prime minister at his resort in west palm beach. the prime minister was quite taken aback when he heard that he was meeting injump on and on the back of that he asked for this visit to find out his views and what donald trump was thinking and what donald trump was thinking and that he could be assured that japan's security interest we're would not be downplayed during the meeting. he seems to be fairly satisfied with how things have gone so satisfied with how things have gone so far, especially mr trump was mac to raise at any summit about the japanese citizens which have been at the edge, which is a very important subject. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the us drug enforcement administration is to limit the amount of opioids that can be

manufactured by drug—makers each year, in a further attempt to tackle a deadly epidemic that has plagued the country. it follows legal action taken by the state of west virginia over drug manufacturing quotas. there was a 30% rise in opioid overdoses in the us in 2017. it's been revealed that the nerve agent used in the poisoning of former russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter was delivered in a "liquid form". the uk's department for the environment said only a "very small amount" of the nerve agent was used. a massive clean—up operation is underway in the city of salisbury to decontaminate nine sites — it's likely to take several months and cost millions of dollars. starbucks is to close 8,000 of its cafes in the us for a day next month to train 175,000 staff members in racial awareness. the move follows protests over the arrest last week of two black men at a cafe in philadelphia. they were waiting to meet friends but staff called in the police, alleging trespass when the pair refused to leave. syrian state tv is reporting that an international chemical

weapons inspection team has arrived in douma — the town east of damascus, where it's alleged a gas attack killed dozens of people. western powers believe president assad's forces were behind the attack, which triggered missile strikes by britain, france and the us, in response. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in aleppo, where official celebrations for syria's national day are underway. aleppo's ancient ramparts now a monument to president assad's staying power. once in rebel hands, once the scene of the war‘s worst fighting, which divided the city and cost so many lives. now, for the government, a site of celebration, chosen notjust to mark syria's independence, but to show the world the war is going its way. i could not stand here, you could not stand here,

we would have been sniped or beheaded. and this is... look, look, it became, you know, normal again. tonight, inside this fortress, soldiers strike up national anthem to a crowd of syrian elite and invited guests, some from abroad. entertained by songs and dance of a syria gone by. a syria from before the war. stirring old emotions and defiance too. translation: it's a big celebration for aleppo and all syria. we are very happy and celebrating this day. you can see the people around here, we are the winners. god protect the president. translation: we are celebrating two things, our independence and surviving the air strikes, through the leadership of bashar al—assad. tonight, government supporters rally around theirflag, their president.

in a city where so many have lost so much, and for those forced to flee, even the city they once called home. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: stormy daniels speaks out again. the porn actress reveals a sketch of the man she says threatened her, to keep quiet about having sex with donald trump. pol pot, one of the century's greatest mass murderers, is reported to have died of natural causes. he and the khmer rouge movement he led were responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million cambodians. there have been violent protests in indonesia, where playboy has gone on sale for the first time. traditionalist muslim leaders have expressed disgust. the magazine's offices have been attacked and its editorial staff have gone into hiding. it was clear that paula's only

contest was with the clock, and as for a sporting legacy, paula radcliffe's competitors will be chasing her new world—best time for years to come. quite quietly, but quicker and quicker, she is seenjust to slide away under the surface and disappear. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the former first lady of the united states, barbara bush, has died aged 92. she was the wife of one president and mother to another. president trump's admitted high level talks are already underway with pyongyang. there are unconfirmed reports that a senior us official met

the north korean leader over easter. us transport authorities are saying one person has died on a southwest airlines plane, after an engine exploded. a relative of one of those on board said a woman was "partially sucked out" of a window, which was pierced by debris from the engine. lebo diseko has the story. this is the southwest airlines plane forced to make an emergency landing after one of its engines exploded mid—air. flight 1380 was on its way from new york to dallas when passengers described hearing a loud bang as the left engine blew up. moments later, shrapnel from that engine smashed a window. eyewitnesses say one woman was partially sucked out of it. crew members eventually managed to land the plane at philadelphia airport. an investigation is now under way. there were 144 passengers and five crew members aboard, and certainly, we do know that there have been injuries and we would like to offer our condolences to all of those who've been affected

by this — by this event. seven people were treated at the scene by emergency services. our members went on board the aircraft and went into service, and again, our medics did what they do many times a day, in treating the people on board that aircraft, and one of those folks was transported to the hospital in a very rapid manner. southwest airlines has confirmed that one person has died. it says the entire southwest airlines family is devastated and extends its deepest, heartfelt sympathy to all of those affected by this tragic incident. lebo diseko, bbc news. the porn actress who says she had an affair with donald trump 12 years ago has said she hopes that by going public, she can convince other women to confront those who've bullied or intimidated them. interviewed on abc television,

stormy daniels said she, her husband and young daughter were tired of being threatened. katty kay reports. i'm sorry, i'm done. i'm done being bullied. meet stormy daniels, a porn star, allegedly an erstwhile mistress of donald trump, and now prime antagonist of the 45th president of the united states. she was composed, articulate and confident. stormy went on mid—morning talkshow tv today to explain her 2006 relationship with mr trump. that's the other thing i want to, like, make very clear, there was — it was not prostitution, because there was absolutely no solicitation, no agreement and no money exchanged. this woman is now in the eye of an almighty legal storm over whether mr trump's personal lawyer, michael cohen, violated campaign finance laws when he paid her $130,000 shortly before the 2016 election. and because this colourful cast of characters wouldn't be complete without a tv host, enter the news that one sean hannity, fox news anchor and number one trump supporter,

has now also been revealed as a client of mr cowen. —— cohen. michael cohen never represented me in any legal matter. i never retained his services, i never received an invoice. i've never paid michael cohen for legal fees. i did have occasional brief conversations with michael cohen, he's a great attorney, about legal questions i had or i was looking for input and perspective. it's all very cosy, except that ms daniels claims she and her young daughter was threatened by a man she says looked like this, threatened not to reveal her affair with donald trump. and he looked at my daughter and ijust remember him saying, like, "oh, it's a beautiful little girl, it would be a shame if something happened to her mum." we don't know the legal implications of this appearance, but mr trump would be wise not to underestimate this woman. this week, raul castro will stand down as president of cuba, bringing an end to almost 60 years of castro rule.

in 1959, his brother fidel nationalised big land holdings and returned them to the rural poor. today though, agriculture on the communist—run island is stagnant. cuba's economy is now turning to tourism instead, as the bbc‘s will grant reports. for its cold mountain air, the locals call this place the north pole. in these temperate hills are the ideal microclimate for coffee production. in the late 1950s, fidel castro's rebel army hit out here, protected by the local peasants. among them, this man. translation: ? ? forcewhite we among them, this man. translation: 7 7 forcewhite we love among them, this man. translation: ? ? forcewhite we love the among them, this man. translation: ? ?forcewhite we love the dell as he promised us the land titles after the revolution one, he explains, and he kept his word. under the strict economic rules, the family must sell

their entire coffee harvest to the state. but president raul castro has eased some restrictions to allow cooperatives limited private enterprise. the way of thinking is different now, the economic changes under the revolution, work has evolved from my parent's era. things used to be very strict in the regime, now there is more flexibility. there is still almost no mechanisation in the mountain. everything done by pickaxe or machete and brute force. that has held the economy back, so cuba has moved to tourism. they can be little doubt that cuba intends to make tourism the driving force of the island's economy in the decades to come. but now, even the most revolutionary locations, like the iconic beach at the bay of pigs,

cannot avoid tourists. it is a popular spot for snorkelling and diving. the state maintains a monopoly on dive shops, though locals are eager to open some of their own. there are many diving instructors who want to go private. we think that we could do it well but we are not allowed to try. the private sector employs around one third of the labourforce but for almost a year, the cuban government has not issued any new licences and some say the renewed hostility with washington has affected business. we are not worryjust washington has affected business. we are not worry just yet but we hope tourism picks up again next year. are not worry just yet but we hope tourism picks up again next yeahm would also help with president trump changed his decision to let americans visit cuba again. tourists remain captivated by cuba's past. as

in on it castro takes power for the first time since 1959, literally the course is set. economically viral, the island still has no clear direction. —— though. they are photos of war and peace, triumph and tragedy, success and disaster. for 75 years, the pictures of the year international award has celebrated the world's best news photographs. now, the newseum here in washington dc has taken on the colossal task of sorting through seven decades of the iconic photos to select the best. from 40,000 photos, they selected just over 100, and we went to take a look. whenever you look here in the exhibit, you will see something that you know, that you have seen, that the story is familiar but right next to it, you will see something that is powerful, that is impactful, that you will say wow, is that when that happens? is that the photographer

that actually captured that moment? and this is beautiful. the selection process is very interesting, it is sort of like choosing amongst the most beloved children. we started with 40,000 images that have won the contest with 40,000 images that have won the co ntest a nd with 40,000 images that have won the contest and have cold this down to 208 images. so, this image right here is one of the most famous images, at least one of the favourite ones with the visitors because they come here and what i have heard time and time again is is that real? and with this new photo shop and manipulation and just wanting things to be better and bigger, the visitor is always wondering did theyjust grab that i am just put him in there and make it look... it is absolutely amazing and impressive note, it is real. —— but

no. ican impressive note, it is real. —— but no. i can tell you that there are themes throughout the 75 years, there is unfortunately always a war, a lwa ys there is unfortunately always a war, always a conflict. a lot of times, the news are not very uplifting. but what i do know is that there is a lwa ys what i do know is that there is always a cost that people —— cause that people will stand behind and therefore we see the tiananmen square man in front of the tanks, you see people protesting the vietnam war, and you see a woman standing in front of the police officers. it is almost the same image that the body language and all of them is different. what is the same is their spirit, someone that is willing to stand for what they believe, and it is uplifting to see that people willjust do what they need to do to stand behind their causes. i would likely visitors to come away thinking photography, still photography is alive as well,

it is beautiful, in this world of lots of video, lots of social media, lots of video, lots of social media, lots of video, lots of social media, lots of things that move really fast, there is still a great and obvious value injust fast, there is still a great and obvious value in just being able to just go and take in the message, try to see how that fits into your life, and will something you can do to help the people that i may be in a situation that is not ideal, to do your part, to stand behind the cause and just be disciplines in history. —— bea and just be disciplines in history. —— be a participant. much more for you any time on the bbc website. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @bbcmikeembley. that is it for now, thank you so much for watching. hello there. tuesday was a windy day

across the uk, some areas had reins as well but over the next few days, that rain is going to push the way. with much more sunshine, it will get warmer and warmer, temperatures into the mid— 20s. this is the cloud we had earlier on that moved into england and wales, whistles and cloud earlier on the cloud has been thinning. this is where the cloud has been coming from, long way south, it is going to push rain across the north—west of the uk. rain clearing the irish sea, moving into western scotland for a while, clearing the way to the far north—west, allowing more and more to develop. the winners will be lighter, and those temperatures will be higher. that rain at those still not far away from northern ireland and western scotland overnight, tending to peter out later in the

night, leaving us with a band of cloud and misty weather in the irish sea. a weakening weather front, otherwise clear skies and temperatures of nine or 10 celsius. the heat a little bit disappointing around some of these western coast, where it stays a bit misty. more sunshine breaking through in scotla nd sunshine breaking through in scotland and northern ireland. temperatures in the afternoon widely into the high teens. inland in england and wales, the 20s, high 20s in the south. breeze is developing during the day. the really warm weather that we have on the day will probably get squeezed into central europe on friday, we will start to get this influence on the atlantic. that is already happening on the north—west, where we are getting these west to south—westerly winds. again, watch out for some misty, murky conditions, this time through the english channel and around some north sea coast. temperatures still not far off those on thursday, another warned then sunshine. the

sunshine looks like it will continue into the weekend, we have this area of high pressure moving across the uk. keeping the weather front at bay for the time being. again, another dry day on saturday, some good sunshine, some pockets of misty, low cloud, tending to burn off. the winners will be lighter but the air is not quite as warm so temperatures will be a shade lower but it looks like it is going to be warm on for the london marathon. this is bbc news. the headlines: the former first lady of the united states, barbara bush has died. she was 92. mrs bush was the matriarch of a political dynasty — only the second woman to see her husband and son sworn in as american president. she had been in failing health for some time and had declined further medical treatment a few days ago. president trump has admitted high level talks are already under way with the north koreans — there are unconfirmed reports that cia director mike pompeo, mr trump's nominee to be the next us secretary of state, met kim jong—un on a secret visit to north korea at easter. it's possible there may be a summit byjune.

syria's ambassador to the un has said a team of chemical weapons inspectors will be going within hours to the site in douma where western countries say president assad's regime carried out a chemical gas attack nearly two weeks ago. you are up—to—date with the headlines. time now for panorama. tonight on panorama. north korea's modern—day slave trade. you are treated like a dog and you have to eat trash. you have to give up being human, that is what working here means. 150,000 workers sent abroad to raise billions for the regime. at the moment, everything goes to our captain. hidden cameras capture korean work gangs in china, russia and even europe. they are very hard—working.

daytime, night—time, allthe time. so we have to have them. much of their earnings ploughed into north korea's nuclear weapons.