this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. our top story: armenia's opposition leader calls for a general strike, after parliament blocked him from becoming prime minister. police in rome insist they can guarantee the safety of football fans ahead of tonight's champions league semi final. it follows violence at the first leg in liverpool. and vatican treasurer cardinal george pell is expected to face two separate trials in australia on sexual assault charges. not a bruise in sight. apple earnings beat expectations on sales, profits — even in china there was a nice surprise for investors. also, restoring trust. facebook‘s mark zuckerberg unveils a new way for users to wait history and find love. —— will wipe history.

—— wipe history. a warm welcome to the programme. briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. today, we want to get your views on facebook‘s move in to online dating. mark zuckerberg says this is notjust for "hook ups" but building "meaningful relationships". tell us what you think, just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. the leader of armenia has insisted that peaceful protest will carry on.

in the coming hours, crowds are expected to take to the streets again in the capital. nikol pashinyan has called for a general strike. they had gathered here to watch what they see as democracy done. instead, thousands of supporters of nikol pashinyan were left stunned and disappointed, as parliament voted against the popular opposition leader as prime minister. he gotjust 45 of the 53 votes he needed. for many, it is an attempt by the ruling republican party to block the people's choice. we will fight until the end, we will fight until nikol pashinyan becomes prime minister. people are upset, but this is not the end, this is only the beginning. people will unite, more people willjoin in.

mr pashinyan is now calling for a campaign of civil disobedience. the general strike from wednesday morning, with roads and airports blocked. it is a far cry from last week's celebrations on the streets of the capital, yerevan. scenes ofjoy after the unpopular prime minister was forced to resign. it was called the "velvet revolution", change won without a bullet fired and it followed weeks of protest, demanding the prime minister step down. nikol pashinyan was the man many wanted in thatjob, earlier he warned mps of major unrest if they failed to vote him in. translation: armenian people are reviving. we are in an awakening period, this is national and is unstoppable. mr pashinyan is now urging supporters to stay on the streets

to stop the ruling party from stealing the people's victory. he says a revolution of love and tolerance continues. lebo diseko, bbc news. we will be live there later in the show. police in rome have insisted they can guarantee the safety of football fans heading to the city ahead of wednesday nights champions semi—final. an attack on a supporter before last weeks first leg in liverpool marred the game and heightened concerns that trouble could happen in the italian capital. but police say fans have nothing to fear as long as they stay within the italian rules. david ornstein reports from rome. calmness in the italian capital, a city awaits. later today, calmness in the italian capital, a city awaits. latertoday, rome calmness in the italian capital, a city awaits. later today, rome will become the centre of the footballing

world, the buildup has been dominated by security concerns after the first leg of this champions league semi—final at anfield last week was marred by pre— match violence. a liverpool supporter, sean cox, left critically injured having been attacked by roma fans and yesterday their players showed support for sean cox, as the authorities worked to avoid a repeat of such disturbing scenes of. tonight it is hoped that focus will shift to events on the pitch. liverpool arrived here with a glorious chance to reach the champions league final and move a step final, closer to club football ‘s biggest prize. however, roma overturned a similar deficit in the previous round to stun barcelona, so liverpool have been warned to. we deserve to be here tonight and tomorrow night. if we have the result we need, whatever it it will be, what we deserve to be in the final. if not, then rome has a very

good campaign as well, if they can get a result then they deserve it. that is part of the game. that we are here to fight for our dreams. passionate but. liverpool beat roma at the same venue to lift the trophy in 1974, at the same venue to lift the trophy ini974, in at the same venue to lift the trophy in 1974, in what is the biggest gain in more than a decade, they hope the game will prove a scene of celebration on and off the field of play. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. senior brexiteers have delivered what's described as an ‘ultimatum' to number 10 downing street, demanding the prime minister drop one of the british government's preferred options for customs arrangements after brexit. senior ministers meet for a key meeting on wednesday. during the annual may day protests in paris, police have arrested nearly 200 masked demonstrators. reports suggest anarchist groups broke away from a peaceful rally to set fire to vehicles and smash shop windows, in protest at president macron‘s economic reforms.

four people, including a police officer, were slightly hurt. meanwhile, emmanuel macron has attended a commemorative ceremony —— gates have been installed in venice to help control the flow of tourists at key attractions. the city is a unesco world heritage site and attracts about 30 million visitors a year. that means large queues and clogged streets. the city's mayor says he's just trying to ensure the safety of visitors and residents. it was apple's turn to tell us how they do it —— how they are doing. profits have surged at the world's most valuable listed company, as consumers continue to splash the cash on apple's most expensive iphone. the firm had revenues ofjust over $61—billion over the past three months, that's a 16% increase on last year. jonathan charles is

the director of communications at the european bank for reconstruction and development. every which way you look at these results this time, it is give these. and derek is a massive share buyback and a big increase in dividend. and derek is a massive share buyback and a big increase in dividendm isa and a big increase in dividendm is a typical apple story, which is that it is a typical apple story, which is thatitis is a typical apple story, which is that it is actually solid. 52 million in phones. not bad at all. generally a week quarter, all of the sales come in the christmas period. a solid performance, clearly they have lots of money and they want to buy back shares and spend $100 billion on that. should be lots to rejoice in, but here is a company thatis rejoice in, but here is a company that is doing phenomenally well but on the other hand, the question is what about the future? the fact that they are spending 100 billion on buying back shares raises questions on other other things they could buy

out there to secure their future? there doesn't seem to be a big ta keover target there doesn't seem to be a big takeover target that they can buy to help diversify their business. it is very clear in these results that they are diversifying in other ways, things like apple payee, apple services, they are making money out of that. some diversification going on but it is still diversification around the court apple themes in what investors want to see is what is the strategic future? what you do beyond that and what comes next?“ you break down the numbers, some of the areas they were concerned about in china, some significant growth which people do not anticipate. it would seem there is an appetite in china for the expensive apple phones compare to chinese rivals. the market is clearly they're still to sell smartphones to people who don't have them, in what of emerging markets in particular, where china where it is seen as a cachet. could

buy local alternatives but it is clear that there is no evidence at all that apple is being affected in all that apple is being affected in a negative way i tensions between the us and china. has quite an u pta ke of the us and china. has quite an uptake of the iphone x and the iphone eight, but we hold onto the stones, at longer. it is notjust that. i think we should be a little bit worried about softening growth in europe, that means consumers will have less money to spend on these luxury. thank you for now. -- luxury goods. and jonathan will be back in about half an hour to review the main stories being covered by the global media. cardinal george pell will face two separate trials over allegations of historical sexual offences. at a hearing in melbourne, the defence and prosecution teams agreed that the 76—year—old should face one trial over allegations dating back to his time as a priest in ballarat in the 1970s, and another relating to his time as archbishop of melbourne twenty years later. the bbc‘s hywell griffith has more. every stage of this case has drawn a

huge amount of media attention, once again when cardinal pell arrived at the court there was a police escort to guide him through the cameras into the court. the hearing inside was pretty brief, mostly setting out the timetable for what used to come. 0ne the timetable for what used to come. one key agreement between the prosecution and defence councils is that he should actually faced two separate trials. amongst the allegations, some of them relate to his time as a priest in the 1970s, involving his time in the community and specifically the location of the swimming pool in the town. it was agreed that those allegations should form a separate trial relating to his time in melbourne in the 1990s when he was the archbishop. both trials we understand will take about

five weeks each, we don't yet have a timetable for when they will actually begin. inside court, cardinal pell remained silent and was asked to stand at the end simply to be told by the judge to return again in two when we may learn more about the timetable. clearly this is about the timetable. clearly this is a case that will continue to draw to huge attention. we were reminded by the vatican that he is still officially on leave from his role as the vatican's treasurer and therefore what ever happens eventually in this trials will have repercussions ruckus the catholic world. stay with us on the briefing. also on the programme: eighty years after her first single, dame vera lynn's set to scoop at least one award at this year's brits. nothing, it seems, was too big to withstand the force

of the tornado. the extent of the devastation will lead to renewed calls for government help to build better housing. internationally, there have already been protests. sweden says it received no warning of the accident. indeed, the russians at first denied anything had gone wrong. only when radioactive levels started to increase outside russia were they forced to admit the accident. for the mujahideen, the mood here is of great celebration. this is the end of a 12—year war for them. they've taken the capital, which they have fighting for for so long. it was 7:00am in the morning, the day when power began to pass from the minority to the majority, when africa, after 300 years, reclaimed its last white colony. you're watching the briefing.

0ur headlines: armenia's opposition leader has warned that protests will continue, after parliament blocked him from becoming prime minister. he is calling for a general strike today. to the philippines now, where the main jail in the capital manila is full to bursting, and disease is spreading. the severe overcrowding is a result of long delays in the legal system but also a large influx of people arrested as part of the philippine president's war on drugs. 0ur correspondent in manila, howard johnson, has been to investigate. manila city jail was built in the time of spanish rule in the 1800s. it was designed to hold 800 inmates, but there are currently more than 5,500 people inside. it is 4:45 here in manila cityjail,

and just to give you an idea of the conditions, have a look through here. hundreds of people sleeping side—by—side, barely any room to move in the night. cramped and humid cells have triggered a tuberculosis outbreak. infectious diseases are up 40% on last year. the overcrowding is the product of a struggling legal system, where court hearings proceed at a snail‘s pace. dennis garcia is the jail‘s longest serving inmate. he has been inside 16 years on two counts of robbery. translation: i've attended 20 hearings for my cases. it's like a dream i can't comprehend. so much time has been wasted. the judges keep changing.

i don't know if i'm going to die here or what. how many people in here, do you think? according to the management of the jail, the number of inmates has increased more than 30% since the government launched its war on drugs in 2013. but despite this, the budget for running the jail has only increased marginally. we need about 12 billion from our national data just to lessen congestion rate on a national level. but we have been allocated, i think, 1.5 billion only for infrastructure for this year. and it's only dedicated to the other jails, not in ourjail. manila city jail reflects a justice system where countless people fall through the cracks. but the irony is, given the alternative, with people being caught up in the punitive war on drugs, many in the jail say they feel safer inside. howard johnson, bbc news, manila, in the philippines. hoser people have from their homes

in the eastern uganda. —— punters are people. we recently travelled to the region to meet villagers who have lost so much but refused to move. this mountain gives the people your life. to them, this is notjust home. they called the amount and their mother. but these slopes can also bring death. in 2010 this mountainside collapsed. —— call the mountain. it varied an entire village, killing over 300 people. amongst the dead were a number of children. my pupils, nine of them.

it was very hard for me. nine of them. i was teaching infants. although it was the most deadly, 2010 was not the first or last. landslides happen regularly on this mountain, caused by heavy rains and lose volcanic soils. but those are the very things that make it so good forfarming. when i came here are expected to find a gaping hole in the side of the hill where the landslide happen, only to find very last looking gardens. that is because the lancia, the soil is very personal, even though the people know that this is dangerous, and a landslide could happen at any time, they still use it for farming —— lead here. that is something the

government is trying to deal with. they are studying a four kilometre crack running through five districts in the region and want people to move to safer areas. the challenge is less pressure. this mix people go into the sensitive areas which would not be suitable for settlement. we tried to offer them something else. evenif tried to offer them something else. even if a landslide occurs, we don't lose life. but clearing the heels of families who have lived here for generations is not easy —— hills of families will stop elizabeth this is not just families will stop elizabeth this is notjust home, but only sort of livelihood. translation: this is our land. we have nowhere else to go. this is where my children were born. it is from this land that my husband and i get money for school fees for our

children. we have 12 children. even with mudslides happening in the last few days, life continues. this home is being built meters away from the epicentre of the 2010 disaster. this beautiful, fertile land is the only home that people here have ever known. they have a connection to it thatis known. they have a connection to it that is hard to break, despite the pain it has caused them. the isle of man is set to radically change women's reproductive rights by decriminalising abortion in what the doctor spearheading the reform is calling a "major step forward". if a new bill is passed by the parliament of the self—governing british crown dependency it will go to the queen for royal assent, before coming into law later this year. dave guest has more. when jane fell pregnant to a violet

ex— partner, she knew she could not go through with the pregnancy. but to have sought an abortion in her hometown would have been illegal, because jane elissonde the isle of man —— violet. because jane elissonde the isle of man -- violet. ijust felt lost, because there was no advice. what does it mean to you that you could not get a termination in the place you live, it had to go across?“ was a loss of sneaking around and either just not telling was a loss of sneaking around and eitherjust not telling anyone i was going away for a day, but if i did, making out that it was a shopping trip or something. those in favour please say i. now the manx government has moved a step closer to ensuring in future women went out to ensuring in future women went out to sneak around or travel elsewhere if they want an abortion. the island's abortion reform bill has passed its latest stage. the bill was introduced by local doctor and politician alex allinson. as a doctor i have seen the consequences of women not having access to

abortion services and certainly it was one of the main points of my ma nifesto to was one of the main points of my manifesto to bring this forward. but during the debate, more and more women were coming to me with their own experiences of hardship. the bill proposes that any woman should be allowed an abortion up to 40 weeks into her pregnancy. that would extend up to 24 weeks if there are problems with the fetus or serious social reasons. a termination after 24 weeks would be possible if the life of the mother was at risk. what this reform bill will be doing will be making abortion safer for women, easily accessible for women up to 14 weeks. but pro-life campaigners have done everything they can to block the changes. we believe that abortion is the unjustifiable killing of an innocent human being. but we are talking about elective abortion, very specifically about elective abortion. we are not talking about those are very, very rare circumstances when the life of

a mother is in danger. however, the manx government has now approved the bill's third reading. the bill will now be scrutinised by the legislative council before being passed on for royal assent. 0nce thatis passed on for royal assent. 0nce that is given it becomes law. dave guest, bbc news, on the isle of man. now she's been in showbiz for over 80 years and turned 101 in march. and now the legendary dame vera lynn could be about to win two major awards. she's been nominated forfemale artist and album of the year at the forthcoming classic brits awards. she'll also get a lifetime achievement award as our entertainment correspondent colin patterson reports. # we'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when... dame vera lynn has received awards throughout her career. in 1945 she was given both the war medal and the burma star for entertaining the troops. but now at the age of 101 she finds

herself nominated in two competitive categories at the classic brit awards. it is on the back of the success of the album vera lynn 100, released last year, and featuring re— orchestrated versions of some of the best—known songs and digitally created at us with the likes of the host of pointless, alexander armstrong. # balbi bluebirds over... the album will only scaf off number one by ed sheerin and drake. the classic routes say that what she has achieved in her 100 years more than worthy of nominations. she is a legend, an icon, she spent a whole century, nearly, of entertaining the uk. 0bviously what i most famously. but even as recently as 2009 she topped the charts. the oldest person

ever to top the official charts. yes, she was the forces sweetheart and now almost 80 years later vera lynn is the darling of the classic brit awards. colin paterson, bbc news. absolutely amazing at 101. we have plenty more ahead for you. including the latest business news. we are looking at facebook, apple, tesla. we have it all. and tell me what you think about our talking point today. we want to get your views on facebook‘s move in to online dating. it isa it is a very lucrative industry. some people are saying maybe they have done this for years but not making money from it. some think it isa making money from it. some think it is a good idea. an expansion of their business model. some of you are very concerned about privacy. more on that in a minute. i will see you soon. good morning.

unusually there is something drier and warmer on the way as we head towards the bank holiday weekend. we start on a fairly wet note in many parts the west. it is an improving kind of day. sunshine will come out, later for many of you. it will have clear from western scotland, northern ireland for the morning commute. a little brighter. but chilly. by and large, compared to what we saw in there tuesday morning, a bright start. a wet start in past is of scotland. 0utbreaks a wet start in past is of scotland. outbreaks of rain across many parts. heaviest rain to begin with. it will work is way eastwards. you might escape some wet weather for a tight across east anglia and the south—east until late morning onwards. then it will be a miserable afternoon for a time. in sunshine an engine was developed in its wake. many will have a fine afternoon. lovely blue skies in between the showers and clouds. al and vern the most frequent in the north and west.

any rain lingering, east anglia, far south—east of england, it will clean through. just one or two showers in the north. we will see some cold air in place, but thisjet the north. we will see some cold air in place, but this jet stream pushing towards us and moving further north will bring a change late in the day. we start thursday morning, a chilly start, could see the return of frost east of scotland and eastern england in particular. bright and sunny for the most part. cloud will increase in the west. sunny spells in the morning giving way to great conditions. patchy rain and result and heavier bursts is potentially towards 0rkney and shetland. england and wales clouding over. sunny spells here and there. the temperatures are of a —— a little bit up on wednesdays values. there could be the odd spot of rain or drizzle. a largely dry day. the best of any breaks in the cloudy further east you are. temperatures

continue to move up. we'll see that widely across england and wales and parts of scotland in the mid—to—high teens. with the jet stream pushing to the north of the uk into the start of the bank holiday weekend, that helps warm at push its way in and for high pressure to build. for most of you, a dry weekend in store. dave richards will go up a little bit. there will be cloudy moments. —— averages. sunshine as well. this is business briefing. i'm sally bundock. not a bruise in sight. apple earnings beat expectations on sales, profits — even in china there was a nice surprise for investors. restoring trust. facebook‘s mark zuckerberg unveils a new way for users to wipe their history and find love. and on the markets the big focus is the federal reserve meeting in washington. right now in asia, it's a mixed picture with apple suppliers on the up.