this is bbc world news today. i'm tanya beckett. our top stories — is iran's nuclear deal at risk? the new us secretary of state uses his first diplomatic trip to the middle east to accuse tehran of destabilising the region. if we remain deeply concerned when he ran‘s dangerous escalation of threats to israel in the region and iran's a mission to dominate the middle east remains. south korea says the north has promised to close its nuclear test site next month, and invite the world to watch. tonight i'm going to try to make fun of the president in a new way. a us comedian is facing a backlash over her controversial remarks at the prestigious white house correspondents‘ dinner. also in the programme... australia pledges hundreds of millions of dollars to restore and protect the great barrier reef. the new us secretary of state, mike pompeo, has used his first

diplomatic trip to the middle east to accuse iran of destabilising the region. following meetings in saudi arabia and israel, mr pompeo said washington would not neglect what he described as the "vast scope" of tehran‘s links with terrorism. mr pompeo was speaking in tel aviv alongside the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. he reiterated president trump's threat to abandon the iran nuclear deal unless it can be strengthened. president trump has been pretty clear. the deal is very flawed he has directed the administration to fix it and if we can't fix it he will withdraw from the deal. it is pretty straightforward. unlike the past administration trump has a comprehensive strategy designed to counter the full array of threats

emanating from teheran.” counter the full array of threats emanating from teheran. i appreciate the president's and your position on stopping iran's aggression in the region, that aggression has grown many fold since the signing of the deal. the people thought that you run's aggression would be moderated asa run's aggression would be moderated as a result of signing the deal, the opposite has happened. and iran is trying to gobble up one country after another. iran's president hassan rouhani has said that the nuclear deal his country reached with international powers was "not negotiable". according to the iranian presidency‘s website, he told his french counterpart emmanuel macron in a phone call — that iran will not accept any restrictions beyond its commitments. a short time ago i spoke to our correspondent injerusalem, tom bateman. i asked him what mr pompeo's middle east trip meant for the iran nuclear deal. i think the speed with which he made

this trip just i think the speed with which he made this tripjust a i think the speed with which he made this trip just a couple of days after being sworn in is telling. he made the point that he hadn't even seen his office in washington before he made this hastily arranged trip to america's key strategic allies in the middle east. the message he delivered was what we heard there. he said it was simple that president trump would withdraw from the iran nuclear deal if its terms could not be expanded. he has met those leaders. we now have two weeks to go until president trump makes that decision, that self—imposed deadline about whether oi’ self—imposed deadline about whether or not to reimpose the sanction wines that were removed as part of the deal and as you said, remember

just last week european leaders were lobbying the white house, trying to keep the deal alive as far as american involvement is concerned, they want the terms broadened, some kind of renegotiation. willie iranians go that? they have said any attempt to do would be unacceptable and they have even threatened that if america pulls out of the deal that they could start what they call peaceful nuclear activities with renewed complexity. north korea says it will close its nuclear test site within weeks, and wants us weapons inspectors to verify the shut down. the news follows the historic meeting between the leaders of north and south korea on friday. the us secretary of state, mike pompeo says washington has an obligation to pursue peace, as preparations continue for a possible meeting, between president trump and north korea's kimjong—un. from the south korean capital seoul, laura bicker reports. from this momentous show of unity... laughter. comes an apparent display of sincerity. president moon is making his conversation with kim jong—un public.

and it seems the north korean leader is willing to go further than simply stepping over the border. he has pledged to close an atomic test site, something his father did before him. this was the yongbyon nuclear cooling tower being blown up in 2008, but still north korea continued to build weapons in secret. this time, the promise is to close the punggye—ri test site, the last six nuclear tests were carried out here. it has been slightly damaged, but kim jong—un says it still works and he's prepared to close it while experts and the media watch. they are masters of propaganda. we have to put aside emotions and collect ourselves and concentrate on the conversation, which is dismantling north korea's weapons. but the south korean government believes its relationship with the north has to start somewhere. trust goes in two directions, build trust in the process

of implementing agreements. kim jong—un is also turning back time... literally. in 2015, he changed pyongyang's clocks and since then, they've been 30 minutes behind seoul. korea will become one time zone once again. and it does seem that some in the south are reassessing their view of kim jong—un. translation: i used to think of north korea negatively, but now, little by little, i've realised we want people and touched by it. —— we are one people. translation: this time, kim jong—un speaks with conviction. i think that is why this time it will be different. kim jong—un seems to be saying all of the right things, and changing the clocks is a good sign of unity. he has also said through

the south koreans that the south poses no threat to the us or to them. -- his —— his missiles pose no threat. but it kind of misses the point. the us do not want them to have those weapons in the first place. south koreans have to wait and see if the us president can do a deal on denuclearisation. history has taught them to be wary of the north, but there is hope here that this could be the start of a new era. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. some members of a migrant caravan have scaled the mexican—us border fence to protest on top of it. the group of around 400 hondurans, guatemalans and salvadorans angered president donald trump during their month—long journey across mexico. he repeatedly called on mexico to stop them before they reached the border. they were met by a demonstration on the us side in support of the migrants. many of the travellers say they intend legally to seek asylum in san diego.

the leader of armenia's protest movement nikol pashinyan has told a rally that he's ready to become prime minister. he's been leading a non—violent resistance for the past two weeks. the opposition wants him elected interim prime minister to oversee snap elections. parliament votes on tuesday and the republican party of the former leader, who has stepped down, says it will not field a candidate. the marvel studios superhero movie, avengers: infinity war, has set a new record for global box—office sales on its opening weekend. industry observers say it took in $630 million even though it has yet to open in china. the takings in north america alone amounted to 250 million dollars , a record for the region. the white house correspondents' dinner is seen as one of the great dc traditions. it's an event attended by political journalists in the us capital and normally the serving president goes along to be mocked

in person by a top comedian. but some feel this year's headline act michelle wolf was too scathing in her satire. on twitter president trump — who made a point of not attending — said he'd heard the so—called comedian had bombed. from washington here's our correspondent chris buckler. it's a night when journalists, white house staff and even some politicians get dressed up for a get—together, and for almost a century the president's appearance has been a tradition, specifically for the purpose of having fun poked at them. but donald trump doesn't play by the usual rules, and for the second year in a row he refused the invitation. good evening, good evening. here we are, the white house correspondence' dinner. like a porn star says when she's about to have sex with trump, let's get this over with. laughter 0nstage, the comedienne michelle wolf let rip with raunchy, risque and no holds barred jibes at all of washington's politicians.

but particularly the absent president. referencing, among other things, the money donald trump's personal lawyer paid to the adult film star stormy daniels as part of a nondisclosure agreement. its 2018 and i am a woman, so you cannot shut me up. unless you have michael cohen wire me $130,000. instead of listening to those very pointed jokes, president trump was at a rally full of his own supporters with his own harsh comments for members of what he calls the fake news media. heard i was invited to another event tonight, the white house correspondents dinner. but i'd much rather be in washington michigan, than in washington dc right now. that i can tell you. however, members of the trump administration were dining with the journalists. and some members of the press

were among those who felt michelle wolf's jokes went too far in attacking those staffers. including advisor kelly anne conway who looked less than impressed, and the white house press secretary sarah sanders, who was mocked for, among other things, her appearance. and i'm never really sure what to call sarah huckabee sanders, you know? is it sarah sanders, is it sarah huckabee sanders, is it cousin huckabee, is it auntie huckabee sanders? like, what's uncle tom but for white women who disappoint other white women? it was uncomfortable and that was the intention. michelle wolf's jokes were designed to divide opinion. and they have probably made it less likely that the president will struggle to decide whether to attend next year. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come... we meet a thirteen year old boy who's just become one of the world's youngest

professional gamers. this is bbc world news today. i'm tanya beckett. the latest headlines: the new us secretary of state, mike pompeo has expressed "deep concern" at what he called iran's ambition to dominate the middle east. south korea says kimjong—un has promised to invite the world to witness north korea closing its nuclear test site next month. australia is promising to spend 400 million us dollars to help restore and protect the great barrier reef. the world's largest reef system has been damaged by warming sea temperatures and pollution. phil mercer reports from sydney. the great barrier reef is australia's greatest natural treasure. but this world heritage listed wonderland is under siege. for two years running it was hit by major coral bleaching, which scientists blame on warmer sea temperatures. then there was the assault by coral eating crown of thorns starfish.

these predators will be targeted by the new multi—million dollar plan to revive and restore the reef. farmers near the queensland coast will be encouraged farmers near the queensland coast will be encouraged to change their ways, to reduce the flow of fertilisers and pesticides into the sea. it is part of a pledge that the australian government says is the single largest investment ever in the great barrier reef. we will be providing money for scientific research, particularly to build more resilient coral, and to deal with heat stress and life stress. we will be putting the money towards better data management so we better understand what is happening to the reef so we can deal with the challenges. we are spending money in terms of working with local indigenous communities, the traditional owners who have such a big role to play. ministers say there will be efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change, but they gave

no specific details. critics accused them of being hopelessly unable to tackle the climate emergency facing this underwater paradise that snakes down north—eastern australia. the government in canberra has previously set an ambitious target to cut the nation's emissions by 2030. but this is a country heavily dependent on cheap supplies of coal for its power. conservationists argue that until this reliance on fossilfuels is broken, there can be no real hope of preserving the great barrier reef. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. now the sport. barcelona are on the cusp of wrapping up the la liga title leaving just a point to win with four rounds still to come. that is how the find themselves at the

moment. they are currently drawing 2-2 moment. they are currently drawing 2—2 and their opponents will be relegated if they don't purport points on sunday. the catalan giants have lead but have been pegged back. second—place atletico madrid caps the place to live for a few hours. arsene wenger‘s final trip to old trafford as arsenal manager ended in defeat as manchester united won 2—1. paul barber got his third goal in a0 games. a draw locks on the cards for arsenal but fellaini gave the win. the worst record across the top five

leagues and england's top four divisions for the team. it was a very nice gesture and i would like to thank them. it is very nice, very classy. good things sometimes in life, finish well. meanwhile manchester city have already been found premier league champions but are now set on being record breakers as well. they are within two goals are setting a new scoring record following that a—1 win over west ham in london. they should overtake chelsea's record—setting 2010 and they still have three games left to play. we are an honest team, had the ball still running to the end, tried to bring chances and everybody

fights and everybody plays. that is why you have these numbers and the way we play. think it is a big compliment for the you right, after you - usually you -..-.-. ergeerregbflz. 7.5;«< n—u .»..-..~—r ,, — — ,, 7—— the 1... 1111114111. ...-111 1141.11.11 1. 1 — 1. 1—— the when 1.1.1. 111.111.1111. 1.111 1111.11.11. 1. 1 — 1. 1— the when pushes ” '$ behind ’ ts win ” '$ behind a win to be and achievef . — .anfiachieve records. . f % achieve records. when = % achieve records. when a! champion and achieve records. when a 56 games left and still going there. now we are going to at home against huddersfield in brighton to achieve as much points as possible, after that the next thing. lewis hamilton has won the azerbaijan grand prix. it's his first win of the season in an incident packed race. not too many warm words between the red bull team—mates after the australian hit his team—mate forcing them both to retire. that handed the race to another opponent. but then that ryder hits daybreak and lewis

hamilton passed him and took the chequered flag. sebastian prodl finished fourth. world one and number one rafa nadal was at his best winning the barcelona open for the 11th time. a straight sets win over a greek teenager. it was medale's 113th tour final, for his opponent it was his first. the match lasted just 77 minutes. the dell now has 19 wins on the bounce and an incredible a6 consecutive sets on clay. and there's all the sport now. a small solar power plant is in the process of opening at chernobyl — about 100 metres from the sarcophagus that covers the old nuclear plant. at the moment it's enough to power a small village but the ukrainian authorities are hoping it's the start of something bigger — making use of land that can't be farmed and is effectively abandoned but there are doubts

about whether it's safe for people to work long term, as jonah fisher reports. why are you putting a solar powered station on probably the world's most famous radioactive site? news report: in the soviet union, the aftermath of the chernobyl disaster was given prominence on the news bulletins tonight... let me give you a sense of where we are. that metal structure is a hundred metres away, covering chernobyl‘s reactor which exploded catastrophically in 1986. does it worry you being so close to the nuclear reactor?

not really. first of all we are fans of solar and we want to bring back this territory to the people, currently it has been uninhabited for the last 32—years and this land cannot be used for anything else and we should be thinking about the development of solar plants. we are inside the arch of the new safe confinement, the area we are in is relatively safe, we wear these respirators simply to keep out contaminated dust particles and what you see in front of you is the shelter that was built over the damaged reactor. a ship reportedly dubbed, russia‘s ‘nuclear titanic‘ by environmental activists, has set sail from st petersburg on its first sea voyage. the akademik lomonosov is the world‘s first floating

nuclear power plant. constructed by the state—controlled nuclear energy firm rosatom, it‘s due to go into service in the summer of 2019. some critics have branded it a ‘floating chernobyl.‘ as the ship was launched the director in charge was keen to reassure its critics. translation: this floating power unit brings together the best characteristics we have amassed at oui’ characteristics we have amassed at our regular nuclear power plants. it has protection against all natural impacts including man—made issues. gaming, is increasingly big business, creating celebrity players, and even tipped to become a new olympic sport. well now a 13—year—old from kent, has become one of the world‘s youngest professional gamers, and kyle jackson is so good, he‘s on course to earn serious money. jo lynam has been to meet him. for many of us, fortnite is the length of time

you spend on your holidays. but for young people, it is the hottest game on the planet right now. for this 13—year—old, it is potentially a lucrative future career. kyle has been signed to play with a team of professional gamers. i started playing competitively when i was around nine or ten. i got into halo, call of duty. i realised that i could probably go to a pro—level if i kept playing at that scale. gaming is no joke. it is a big business. thousands of people pay to watch experts at play around the world. there are even celebrities. it is becoming a multibillion—dollar industry. just games, the production of games and the electronic sports scene. it is notjust one thing, it is a hull industry that is wrapped in a bow. it is a hull industry

in the game community materials to build. kyle has not been paid anything yet, and can‘t of course have a job until he is 16. for those parents who suspect his schoolwork may be suffering, kyle is reassuring. i am doing well in every subject. they are not worried about me playing as much as i do. for now, kyle is doing something which millions of boys dream of. pursuing a career by playing games. —— millions of teenagers. don‘t forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i‘m at bbc tanya beckett. were going to focus on the weather across eastern england for a moment because tomorrow is going to be a thoroughly miserable day. wet weather works in, we will see strong winds, gale force around eastern coast and it will feel really quite cold to the time of year as well.

normally would expect temperatures around 15 but tomorrow there will be large stretches of the day where temperatures are struggling around three or a degrees. add to that they‘ll be some strong winds that will make it even colder. this weekend the pressure has been rising across scotland and as this low pressure m oves across scotland and as this low pressure moves northwards from france it is that that pinches the isobars and brings us the strong winds, the wet weather working in across east anglia and south—east england. further north and west clearing skies overnight will allow things to get very chilly once again, some patches of frost, not just in the country, it might get down to zero or so around edinburgh. looking at whether the monday, windy conditions with gales around eastern coastal areas and heavy rain working in as well. this time yesterday i was suggesting the rain could be a bit further east than we were and it is, about 100 miles further east.

that could continue so the likely areas to see heavy rain will be east anglia and south—east england where some areas will pick up that 25 to 35mm is but with up to 80 in playa places. it will be a very wet month. this temperatures will struggle to rise as well. the north—west, sunny spells and temperatures in double figures. through tuesday, the low pressure still with us but the rain will ease and we can, clearing out through the morning, then pressure rises so we soon through the morning, then pressure rises so we soon see through the morning, then pressure rises so we soon see sunshine for scotland, england and wales, then later in the afternoon the cloud thickens as the next weather front moves into northern ireland and scotla nd moves into northern ireland and scotland to bring afternoon rain. that rain will pushed eastwards as we go through tuesday evening and overnight and wednesday sunshine will follow and showers so we don‘t need to worry about any style but they will be heavy and thundery coming through and temperatures rise

a little but still below par for the time of year, highest between 11 and 14. this is bbc world news, their headlines. mike pompeo is touring the middle east with the future of the middle east with the future of the iran nuclear deal looking increasingly fragile. he has used his visit to warn that huron faces a threat to the region. north korea says it will close its nuclear test site within weeks and wants un weapons inspectors to verify the shutdown, the news follows the historic meeting between the leaders of north and south korea on friday. rohingyan refugees in bangladesh have held a protest demanding justice and the right to return to myanmar. the demonstration came during a visit to refugee camps by officials. australia is planning to