a very welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: facing bankruptcy — the company at the heart of the facebook data scandal, cambridge analytica, announces it's shutting. we have the details. america's new top diplomat mike pompeo is sworn in and says he will be tough on iran and russia, and makes a pledge on north korea. is time to sell but once and for all. the american people are counting on us to get this right. —— it is time that the sort this out once and for all. a nation waits. armenia's opposition leader suspends protests and promises to get wider support for his campaign to be prime minister. hello.

the company at the centre of the privacy scandal about the use of private data from facebook is shutting down. cambridge analytica is accused of improperly obtaining personal information from tens of millions of facebook users on behalf of political clients, including the trump election campaign. the firm has denied any wrongdoing, but claims media coverage of its work means it can no longerfunction. investigations are likely to continue. our media editor amol rajan reports. it sold itself as the pioneer of a new kind of digital marketing, able to give companies and political campaigns unprecedented control over their message. but tonight, cambridge analytica bowed to the inevitable. —— but cambridge analytica bowed to the inevitable. the company, which denies wrongdoing, received the data of some 3.7 million users. it was the harvesting of that data which ultimately caused its undoing. in recent months, scrutiny of the company's practices has been remorseless.

the london offices were raided by the information commissioner. people see the work that we did in a negative light... erstwhile ceo alexander nix stepped down not long after a grilling by the culture, media and sports select committee. the committee's chairman said this wasn't the end of the matter. we've got to make sure that this is not an attempt to run and hide, that these companies aren't shutting down in order to avoid being vigorously investigated for the allegations made against them, the misuse of data, the ethics and legality of their practices. those investigations have to continue. we have to know what happened. in a statement, cambridge analytica said the scandal had driven away... fallout from the controversy is global and ongoing. the founder and ceo of facebook, mark zuckerberg, apologised in washington last month for his company's failure to control the british firm. we didn't take a broad enough you of our responsibility,

and that was a big mistake. —— view. and it was my mistake and i am sorry. many analysts believe this scandal will have a long—lasting impact. this whole affair has changed people's perceptions of social media. we've drifted into the way that we use these tools without really a clear understanding of the way that that data is used, and how it is targeted by advertisers. the company says it will honour its obligations to staff, but many think the company still has questions to answer. donald trump has made his first trip to the us state department since he became president to attend the formal swearing in of his new top diplomat, mike pompeo. the new secretary of state, former head of the cia, has a worldview very close to mr trump's own. so will it make for a more coherent american foreign policy? jane o'brien reports. mike pompeo became the 70th secretary of state in a ceremony

of political theatre a shot of pomp for a beleaguered department that for the past year has struggled with morale and direction. i want the state department to get its swagger back. we need our men and women out at the front lines, executing american diplomacy with great vigour and energy, and to represent the finest nation in the history of civilisation, we should be proud of that and i'm counting on you all to help communicate in every corner of the world. and true to type, mike pompeo got straight down to business. we are committed to the permanent, verifiable dismantling of north korea's weapons of mass destruction programme and to do so without delay. even before he was confirmed as america's top diplomat, mike pompeo made a secret visit to north korea over easter. he met with kimjong—un himself in a bid to pave the way for the highly anticipated summit with president trump in the coming month. the trip caught most people by surprise, like much of us foreign policy itself, and the president

hinted at more to come. and we'll be doing things that you don't even know about. right now, they're not even a glimmer in your eye. but... and we have a couple going, mike, right now that a lot of people don't know about, that are very, very encouraging. mr pompeo‘s predecessor, rex tillerson, was often at odds with the president, who frequently contradicted him in public, before unceremoniously firing him by tweet. i think rex will be much happier now, but i really appreciate his service. thank you. mr pompeo is clearly more in tune with mr trump — at least for now. less clear is whether that will translate into a more coherent foreign policy, particularly on contentious issues such as syria, iran and north korea. jane o'brien, bbc news. and another shakeup in the president's legal team —

a change predicted a short while ago by the new york times, though mr trump derided it then as "fake news." ty cobb, his main representative in the russia probe, is stepping down to be replaced by emmet flood, a republican defence lawyer who worked for president clinton during his impeachment proceedings. here's our north america reporter anthony zurcher on the significance of the cobb departure. the official line is that he's leaving to retire, to spend more time with his grandkids or something, but the reality is that ty something, but the reality is that ty cobb, over the pass make few months, has been preaching cooperation with robert mueller‘s probe. he wants to turn over all of the documents, he says that is the quickest way to get this behind him, he has been saying it is going to wrap up since last thanksgiving. the reality is that this could represent a more adversarial approach to robert mueller‘s investigation. sarah sanders described what emmet

flood is going to be doing, he is going to lead the defence against the russia witch—hunts, you cannot get more adversarial than that. they have indicted russians, they had presented evidence of russian involvement in the us election, but they are looking at if this is going to involve trump, pushback. anti—government protests that have brought much of armenia to a standstill have been suspended, now the governing republican party has indicated it will not oppose the protest leader nikol pashinyan becoming prime minister. that will still depend on a vote in parliament. the bbc‘s steve rosenberg reports from the armenian capital, yerevan. it was the day armenians made their voices heard louder than ever. the day people power appeared to be changing a country. tens of thousands of protesters had packed into republic square, in the centre of yerevan. they'd come here to accuse the ruling party of corruption, of trying to cling to power, and to demand a new prime minister. the man they want for the job

is nikol pashinya, once a journalist, now an opposition mp. revolution have won, and people's victory should be recognised. there can't be power or government that doesn't support their opinion and doesn't support the people. he is our new prime minister. he believe us that we are together, we are strong, and he can take our nation to the winning world. we believe in him. earlier, people power had brought armenia to a standstill. nikol pashinya had called on supporters to block roads and railways. a day of civil disobedience that felt more like a national holiday.

they're calling it here "the revolution of love and tolerance". on the road from yerevan airport into town, we hit a roadblock at every intersection. we managed to get through, along with some of the protesters. tonight, nikol pashinyan ordered a pause in the protests, after reports he may have won the backing of the ruling party to become prime minister. but he called on supporters to remain vigilant. the idea that power resides with the people and that those in power are beholden to the people, that idea is inspiring huge crowds across armenia. and these protesters say they will continue to take to the streets until they see real political change. and if change happens, the biggest challenge for any new leader of armenia will be living

up to the expectations of the people. steve rosenberg, bbc news, yerevan. let's round uo some of the other stories making the news. the us government is looking into unconfirmed reports that three americans detained in north korea have been moved from a labour camp to a hotel in pyongyang, possibly en route to release. it's ahead of the planned summit. the state department has been unable to confirm these reports, but said the safety of its citizens abroad is one of its highest priorities. the islamic state group says it carried out one of the worst attacks in the libyan capital, tripoli, for several years. suicide bombers stormed the headquarters of the electoral commission, killing at least 12 people and wounding a number of others. the lives of as many as 270 women in

england may have been cut short because they were not sent an invitation for their routine breast cancer check. patricia thinks she's probably a victim of the major errors with breast cancer screening which emerged today. she was due a routine mammogram in 2013 at the age of 70, but never got the invitation. two years later, she developed breast cancer. i look back now and think, you know, everything that happened since could possibly have been avoided or lessened. the whole journey i went on, the traumatic journey of all the treatment, could... may never have had to be happening. today, the government admitted there'd been a serious failure in nhs screening, caused in part by it problems, with sometimes tragic consequences. there may be between 135 and 270 women who had their lives shortened as a result.

i'm advised that it is unlikely to be more than this range and may be considerably less. however, tragically, there are likely to be some people in this group who would have been alive today if the failure had not happened. mr hunt apologised for what he called "administrative incompetence". the fact is that for many years, oversight of our screening programme has not been good enough. labour said a number of questions needed to be answered. eight years is a long time for an error of this magnitude to go undetected. did the department receive any warnings in that time? and is there any record of how many women raised concerns that they had not received appropriate screening? were there any opportunities to change this mistake which were missed? women between the age of 50 and 70 are invited every three years to come for a routine breast screening, involving a mammogram on an x—ray machine like this, but what's emerged is that some of them in their late 60s never got

the invitation to come for the final screening. about two million women a year take up the offer of screening. it's thought about 450,000 were affected by the failure. some have since died from a range of causes. 309,000 are still alive. in 2009, the national screening programme, up to the age of 70, was launched in england. in 2016, there was an it upgrade. potential problems became clear. in january this year, public health england was informed. i feel extremely sad for the women affected by this colossal administrative disaster, really. it's hugely significant. you know, we have to be concerned about generally about confidence in the screening service now, but we need to know how has this happened ? members of this breast cancer support group this evening said they were shocked. ijust think it's really

sad and ijust wondered what happened, you know? at what point was it picked up and why didn't people pick it up earlier? i thought if you were on the system, you know, you would just get called back regularly every three years. so to find out that some people hadn't been, quite shocking. women under 72 who were affected will receive a letter offering a new screening. those aged above that will be offered a chance to discuss whether a screening would benefit them. hugh pym, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come... meet the girl scouts of troop 6000. they are young, determined, and they are homeless. 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. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the company at the heart of the facebook data scandal, cambridge analytica, says it can't stay in business anymore and is to close down.

america's new top diplomat is sworn in. mike pompeo pledges to "change the course of history on the korean peninsula". after months of resistance, myanmar‘s leader aung san suu kyi says she will now allow un agencies to help with the return of some of the one million rohingya refugees in bangladesh. it's being seen as a significant softening of her position. here's our myanmar correspondent, nick beake. with around i million rohingya refugees stuck in makeshift camps in bangladesh, this is the biggest refugee crisis in asia, the biggest refugee crisis in the world today. but so far, the message from here in myanmar has been no, we don't want any help from the outside world. however, there has now been a change in tone and message from aung san suu kyi. she says that the time is right for the un to come in with their expertise and help her government. she says together they want to create the conditions whereby rohingya can come back and not live in fear,

as she puts it. the un seems to think they pretty near the signing of some sort of agreement with the authorities here. we will have to wait and see. speak to human rights groups though, and they are sceptical. they say look at the 500,000 rohingya people who have not fled for their lives still in rakhine state, they don't have access to education or healthcare and they don't have citizenship. they think that they should be the priority before other people are. so a change of message from aung san suu kyi but for now, it is a change in words, not in actions. the president and religious authorities in the central african republic have appealed for calm following a new wave of killings in the country's capital, bangui. the situation there is very tense after at least 16 people were killed in clashes in and around a catholic church.

estelle cornado reports. angry crowds marching through bangui with a body of a catholic priest killed at his church, alongside several other civilians. translation: we were in the church and everyone was running. one of my church sisters was shot in her feet and brought here, but others who we re and brought here, but others who were wounded stayed there. it is our brothers who surrounded us. according to the united nations, the attackers came from the nearby muslim neighbourhood of pk5, the un security force has launched an operation against armed militias in the last month, but had to withdraw. we are not inside but we are controlling the borders of these neighbourhoods to avoid the criminal gangs that were involved in yesterday ‘s attacks to move from

that area to another district of bangul that area to another district of bangui. with respect to yesterday, u nfortu nately we were bangui. with respect to yesterday, unfortunately we were not present and we were deployed immediately after the first shootings. the witnesses say our lady of fatima church was attacked with gunfire and grenades during a morning service celebrating the patron saint of workers. at least 16 people died and dozens are being treated in hospital for gunshot wounds. the attackers triggered retaliation against a nearby mosque, so this morning the president and religious leaders that to discuss the crisis and to appeal for calm. translation: muslims and christians, we are all one people. must work hand in hand to build the central african republic. must work hand in hand to build the centralafrican republic. but on both sides, bangui's residents are getting frustrated with the

government, the army and the united nations inability to prevent continuing violence in the heart of the capital. there are concerns that the capital. there are concerns that the country risks returning to the crisis that followed the overthrow of the former president in 2013, when interreligious violence broke out, leaving hundreds dead and many thousands displaced. two black men arrested in a starbucks restaurant have reached a legal settlement with the coffee chain and the city of philadelphia. donte robinson and rashon nelson were arrested while waiting at a philadelphia starbucks store last month. it came after a staff member called police, complaining that they had not made a purchase and refused to leave. the city of philadelphia has agreed to pay the pair $1 each and invest $200,000 in a fund for young entrepreneurs from state schools. starbucks has reached a separate compensation agreement with the men for an undisclosed amount. thousands of ancient artefacts that were

illegally imported to the us have been returned to iraqi officials in washington. the objects, described as "national treasures", were bought through dealers in the united arab emirates and israel. andy beatt reports. centuries of iraqi heritage here legally smuggled to the united states, is going home. nearly 4000 items dating back as many years represent one of the biggest repatriations of cultural property to iraq. a country heavily plundered in the 15 years since the invasion that toppled saddam hussein. officials from both countries are rated the return, saying it struck a blow against a black market in antiquities and militant groups such as so—called islamic states topic such actions can be noted, not only does it enforce the law, it says as a sense of historicjustice and helps the fight against cruel and

terrorist networks. tablets and clay labels are covered in scrips, one of the region is a list systems of writing. among them, ancient schoolbooks, religious text and records a day to day trade, all offering a unique glimpse into the past. the writing on these tablets describes life in ancient mesopotamia. contracts, messages about the distribution of rain, fish, even food for the palace dogs. in those times, professional scribes walked through marketplaces with clay ta blets walked through marketplaces with clay tablets the size of smartphones, recording agreements. the items were labelled as tidal sepals and brought to america by a chain ofart sepals and brought to america by a chain of art and craft stores called hobby lobby. official said the firm ignored warnings they may have come from looted archaeological sites, more than 1000 imported items remain unaccounted for. the hope is that eventually these will end up in the

restored museum in central african republic. —— mosul. pay a visit to girl scout troop 6000 in new york and you'll find what you would at countless meetings across the country — young women working hard to earn that next badge and yes preparing for the annual cookie sale. but this troop stands apart as the first for homeless girls living in the city's shelters. it's an attempt to build both community and skills. we went to meet those involved. on my honour, i will try. all: on my honour, i will try. to serve god and my country. all: to serve god and my country. i am proud of the first aid kit that we made. 67% of the children who come to us have already been in shelter or living on somebody‘s couch or floor. homeless children go to at least two schools are year. they come from a disjointed education.

all of this is trauma that the children internalise. and we saw what happened with veterans. if you don't provide an outlet, that trauma will just fester and fester, and what it does for homeless children is make them twice as likely to be homeless adults. have you ever changed your appearance or clothing, style, to please others? i have more than enough understanding of what the mothers of homeless little girls are going through, because i too was homeless for 3.5 years. when you're going through those kinds of things, you don't think about dressing up, or the little girl dreams that you had. you think they don't apply to you. but what we do, and what we've been able to do, is let them know that they can dream. i would start my own business, like, it would be a clothing business. what are some things that you think you need to have? how would you be successful?

i want to be a criminaljustice lawyer, to help people with crime and all that stuff, and i would hopefully want to win all the cases. the girl scouts are helping me become a lawyer by dealing with problems, and just being considering and caring about how people feel. often you think of shelters as places where dreams don't exist. but the girl scout troops create another place where dreams are fostered, and those will come to a reality someday for these homeless kids. scout troop 6000 in new york telling it like it is. watch more on that and all the news on the bbc website. —— much more. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @bbcmikeembley. thank you for watching. hello.

there's warmer weather on the way for the bank holiday weekend. for most of us, it's looking dry, as well, with increasing sunshine as the weekend goes on. we're not quite there yet, though, this weather front went through on wednesday, with some rain followed by showers. this weather front is coming in from the west thursday, though by no means all of us will get rain from it. but even from the word go, in the morning, that bit of patchy rain for parts of northern ireland and western scotland, whilst for many, particularly across eastern parts, it will be clear, it will be sunny once the sun is up, but it will be chilly, with low single figures in places, and that sunshine will be lost to increasing cloud as we go into the afternoon. from the cloud for northern ireland, western scotland, some spots north—west england, and a few in wales, there will be some patchy rain around, shouldn't amount to too much. and a brisk breeze blowing across the northern half of the uk, moderate to fresh west—south—westerly wind. around 10—14 degrees for most places, as high as 17 in south—east england. even into the afternoon, even into the evening, southern and eastern parts of the uk will see a few breaks in that cloud, allowing a bit of sunshine to come through.

now, as we go on through thursday night and into friday morning, a lot of cloud around away from east anglia and south—east england, but even here, under clear skies, not as chilly as it will be first thing thursday. so a milder start on friday. a lot of cloud around, misty, murky in places. some outbreaks of rain, particularly affecting the north and north—west of scotland. this little piece of energy runs away northwards. still a bit of drizzle, i think, parts of western scotland and northern ireland. but for many, friday will be a dry day, if not a particularly sunny day. but, when the sun comes through the cloud, occasionally it is going to feel warmer. notice those temperatures are starting to edge up. and that is the process that accelerates into the weekend, with high pressure for most of us, though the further north—west you are, you're still close to weather fronts. with breeze, it's going to be cooler here compared with elsewhere, especially north—west scotland. but, for most of the weekend, this includes the bank holiday, it'll be fine, it'll be dry, and it will be getting warmer.

just take a look at saturday and sunday for now. on saturday, i think some cloud to begin the day. rather misty and murky in places, and cloud could increase in northern ireland and western scotland. north—west scotland beginning to see some outbreaks of rain coming in. but for most it'll be dry, and a few spots start to get above 20 celsius. and then for part two of the weekend, on sunday, could be some rain affecting mainly the north of northern ireland, running through central parts of scotland for a time, whereas england and wales are looking dry. and again that sunshine starting to break out more widely, even more so by the bank holiday, along with that welcome, for many of us, warmth. the latest headlines: the company at the heart of the scandal over the handling of facebook users' data is shutting down. the company said it was starting bankruptcy proceedings.

britain's data regulator said criminal investigations into the firm's directors would continue. mike pompeo has been sworn in as the new us secretary of state in a ceremony in washington. the new secretary of state insisted north korea must immediately dismantle its nuclear programme. mr pompeo also said that he would help the country's diplomatic corps "get back its swagger". after leading a series of anti—government protests, armenia's opposition leader is set to become the next prime minister. nikol pashinyan told his supporters they should suspend their rallies as parliament prepares to hold a crucial vote. the governing republican party said it would not block his efforts.