this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh. the headlines at 6pm. thousands of people march through london to demand a vote on the final deal on the uk's departure from the eu. the will of the people is to have a proper, informed referendum where we know what a brexit deal means. we can't keep going into this absolute disaster without stopping and thinking if we really want to do this. senior cabinet ministers stress the uk is still prepared to walk away from brexit talks without a deal. the prime minister has always said that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed and that no deal would be better than a bad deal. also ahead this hour, an explosion at an election rally attended by zimbabwe's president. he was unharmed in the blast, but at least two senior government officials were injured. new evidence of the devastating impact of plastic pollution on sea birds — with scientists going to extreme lengths to save chicks. and in half an hour,

sportsday has all the action from the world cup — including belgium's 5—2 win against tunisia. good evening and welcome to bbc news. two years after the uk voted to leave the eu in a referendum, thousands of people have been protesting in central london to demand what they are calling the "people's vote", on the outcome of the negotiations with the eu. it all comes as the german engineering firm siemens, which employs 15,000 people in the uk, called on the government to remain closely aligned with the single market. senior cabinet ministers have again said the uk is prepared to walk away from the negotiations, rather than accept a bad deal.

th§f§§ §l§fi [fiiéfi i efiefiffifzfifififi z demonstrating in support of a no—deal brexit, in what's being called a uk unity and freedom march. here's our political correspondent nick eardley. two years to the day since the brexit vote, visions of the future are still very different. campaigners in central london today calling for a vote for any final deal the government reaches with brussels. there has been two years since the referendum. the government is no clearer about what it wants. it is internally divided, let alone in argument with the european union, the country is very likely to end up in a bad place. we have got to stop the mess and the best way of doing it is that, when we know what the outcome is, that the public have the final say. businesses are expressing views as well. yesterday, airbus said it would reconsider its future

in the uk if there is no deal. bmw called for more clarity. and today, there was this reaction to borisjohnson‘s call for a full british brexit. it is time to get away from slogans for british brexit going into combat with europe. it is incredibly unhelpful, and what we need to do now is to get closer with our european partners and work out what a realistic, pragmatic brexit is. the foreign secretary says the government needs to get on with it and avoid a deal that is soft, yielding and infinitely long. others say to get that the pm must be prepared to walk away if she does not get the right deal. the prime minister has always said that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed and that no deal would be better than a bad deal. i think it is essential that, as we enter the next phase of the negotiations, that european union understands that and believes it. labour says no deal would be catastrophic and, as campaigners say the electorate should make the final decision, a reminder, if ever one was needed,

that different people see brexit very differently. nick eardley, bbc news. 0ur correspondentjon donnison went to the peoples vote rally this afternoon and sent us this. the organisers are saying that there think that there are at least 100,000 people here. i was assuming the tens of thousands. and i would make it the biggest anti—burst in march since the referendum two years ago. —— anti—burst at march. they're due to be the european union in nine months‘ time. but people here saying it is not a done deal. we‘re talking to helen here from best of britain. he supported the march. what do you want? we need a people's phone. it should not be for the politicians to decide the biggest decision of our generation. —— people‘s vote. that‘s

a weak demand today. another referendum? it would be the first time with would look at what another look at what price it means... people‘s vote means another referendum but not the same one. people‘s vote means another referendum but not the same onem isa referendum but not the same onem is a form of vote. but basically it is a form of vote. but basically it is really important to understand that it is really important to understand thatitis is really important to understand that it is the first time that people would be looking at what give the government brings back and what oui’ the government brings back and what our current terms are. and the only benefit this process has been is we are certain to have a conversation we should‘ve had two years ago. what does it actually mean for people? with airbus yesterday, that‘s 111,000 families waking up that their future is not compromised. we need to understand how much of that is going to go on and whether that is the right path for our futures. --.. there was months and months of discussion leading up to this. it was close, but the 40% whilst. discussion leading up to this. it was close, but the 40% whilsti would say that number needs an update. —— 48% loss. we had a poll

saying that 52% of people want to see in now. that‘s either or both of the parties staying in. this country is not daft. they can see what is going on. they know theirfuture is being compromised and we say the only thing that is fair is what the people started, the people need to and. and if anyone make people started, the people need to and. and ifanyone make —— people started, the people need to and. and if anyone make —— was adjudged the will of the people, bring it on. bring on. news -- views from the people‘s vote march this afternoon. and remember you can keep up to date with every twist and turn of the brexit negotiations, and the political ramifications by going to bbc.co.uk/politics. the french president emmanuel macron has said he favours financial sanctions for eu states which refuse to take migrants that have proven asylum status. he was speaking on the eve of summit on immigration in brussels tomorrow, on the migration dispute that is still troubling europe. mr macron said countries should not be allowed to "massively

voice their national selfishness on migrant issues" — as he put it. while benefiting from eu membership. meanwhile, the maritime authorities in malta have asked the charity—run rescue ship, aquarius, to help a boat in trouble off the coast of tunisia. last week neither malta nor italy would allow the vessel to dock, after it rescued 630 migrants off the coast of libya. italy has since banned charity and foreign flagged ships docking, if migrants are onboard. an explosion at a political rally in zimbabwe has injured the country‘s vice president and a senior member of the governing party, zanu—pf. the blast struck close to the president, emmerson mnangagwa, who had just finished speaking to supporters at a stadium in the opposition stronghold of bulawayo. he was unhurt and described the explosion as a "cowardly act" in a facebook post. but these pictures show zimbabwean vice president being shielded from the blast — and a member of the zimbabwe national army who was injured

being stretchered away. a short while ago, we got this update from our correspondent in harare shingai nyoka. there is little information about the explosion itself. but a little while ago emmerson mnangagwa showed up on state television and essentially said he was unharmed and he blamed this explosion on the people he says have previously tried to assassinate him. he said six times before. but he says there will be no witchhunt as a result of this. but that the government will try to get to the bottom of what has happened. really at this stage there is little information about what exactly happened. what type of explosion was used and it is onlyjust the president believing it came from his enemies within the party. the presidential spokesperson

of emmerson mnangagwa himself has said that one of his vice presidents has sustained leg injuries as a result of the explosion. we understand that the other vice president‘s wife also sustained some form of injury. emmerson mnangagwa was at the hospitals to visit them a short while ago. it is not clear how many people have been injured as a result of this. but there was some serious injuries and many of them, and those allies close to him. shingai nyoka reporting from harare. the two main candidates in turkey‘s presidential elections have drawn large crowds to their final rallies, on the last day of campaigning before sunday‘s vote. the centre—left opposition candidate, muharrem ince, is challenging president recep tayyip erdogan, who has dominated turkish politics for the past 15 years. from istanbul mark lowen reports. turkey‘s opposition has finally found its voice.

for 15 years it has been fractured, unable to challenge president erdogan, but then came muharrem ince, a fiery centre—left man of the people reaching beyond his party‘s elitist image and drawing enormous crowds. this man is giving a powerful turkish president the battle of his political life. he told supporters he would fight for the working class, challenging mr erdogan to a tv debate which he has so far refused. polls suggest mr ince could force the president into a second round run—off after the election tomorrow and with other opposition parties, win a majority in parliament. this is the half of turkey that feels mr erdogan has destroyed democracy with his clamp—downs and hostility to the west. confidence is growing despite the fear of vote rigging. but the pro—erdogan side

still passionately believes in him. conservative, pious turks revere him as their saviour in once secular—dominated turkey. they vaunt the bridges and hospitals he‘s built and they talk about western plot to ruin their country. the odds are still stacked in mr erdogan‘s favour, 90% of the media is pro—government. the kurdish presidential candidate is in prison and opposition posters are vastly outnumbered and torn down, but for the first time in 15 years, turkey mightjust decide that the erdogan magic has run out. mark lowen, bbc news, istanbul. new evidence of the devastating effect of plastic pollution on wildlife has been recorded by the bbc. a team filming on a remote island for the bbc one documentary drowning in plastic revealed sea birds there starving to death because there stomachs were so full of plastic that there was no room for food.

0ur science correspondent victoria gill reports. flying through the ocean in search of food, but these sea birds are all too often finding and eating pieces of plastic. tens of thousands of flesh—footed shearwaters nest on this remote island hundreds of kilometres off the east coast of australia. but even here plastic is killing them. and another. scientists are finding young birds with so much of it in their stomachs that there is no room for food. these chicks have starved to death. but the researchers stepped in to save them and this bbc documentary crew filmed up close as the birds had their stomachs flushed out. 0h! it was shocking to see just how much would come out a chick. i mean, we saw 90 pieces come out of one of the chicks on the second night but the scientists were telling us they sometimes pull out as much as 200, 250 pieces of plastic out of either dead birds orfrom the regurgitation.

it is just one example of how our discarded plastic is damaging marine wildlife around the world, an issue that was thrown into sharp focus by the bbc series blue planet ii. efforts are under way to stem the tide of plastic. here in england‘s south coast, sea bins have been installed that can suck up half a tonne of plastic waste per year. there‘s a plastic bottle there, that‘s fairly obvious, and a coffee cup lid. but there‘s also some smaller pieces of plastic. i think that‘s the lid off an aerosol and there‘s two cigarette butts there. there are also plastic fibres. but some parts of the ocean now contain more pieces of plastic than plankton so scientists say we all need urgently to change how we use and dispose of what has become a floating menace. victoria gill, bbc news. earlier i spoke to richard harrington from the marine conservation society.

he said there were easy changes that members of the public can make to their daily routines to reduce plastic pollution. we‘ve run our service on beaches for 24 we‘ve run our service on beaches for 2a years now, this is our 25th coming this september. your pioneer we have seen that quantities and density of rubbish building up our beaches. and it does get pretty demotivating. we do hope and we do see positive signs that blue planet ii, and defective blue planet ii was a real watershed moment for us and let‘s hope that for now on with the see a decline in all that material getting into the ocean. more programmes like this will really help that cause. what are those positive signs that you‘re seeing, can you give us positive signs that you‘re seeing, can you give us an positive signs that you‘re seeing, can you give us an example? bringing ina can you give us an example? bringing in a small charge of plastic bags just a couple of years ago. the data had been collected to show with the problem was over the many years.

that led to the charge or contributed. we has seen a decline in the number of plastic bags washing up now on our beaches within the year of the charge coming in. that is a positive sign that you can make a difference. there has been in consultation recently by government that looks at whether you can perhaps use taxes or levies or other charges on other materials as well. and we think that plastic, the single use plastic, the stuff that euterpe one and go away but in the pin straightaway and only goes to landfill has no other use. it is far too cheap. if there was some way to make that excessive to the manufacturers so make that excessive to the manufacturers so they invested in other ways of providing your food to you, that would make a real difference. the bbc has washed its plastics watch campaign today. what sort of impact do you think following on from blue planet ii, something like this could make? it certainly does seem to have made a big momentum building up trying to get people to increase their awareness for the plastic in their lives and what they need to do about

it. these overly simple things that the bbc is suggesting that people do. little things like, you know, forgoing that ready meal or that meal dealfor lunch forgoing that ready meal or that meal deal for lunch and take your own pack lunch with you without wrapping it up in vast swathes of plastic. simply using —— reusable bottles as opposed to buying lots of models. congratulations to the bbc isa models. congratulations to the bbc is a public service broadcaster is —— for putting that message out and lead the way in showing its own business. i know now that you don‘t have still used copy cubs within the organisation. congratulations for that. —— coffee cups. blue planet ii was a real example of really good public service broadcasting. it is remitted difference and we have moved on from that now. do you think this is having any influence in other countries where the debate has not evolved as much? yes, it really is. there are real signs and

countries as far afield as kenya to america, to australia and to many others where real action has been taken to reduce the availability of free single use plastic adjustably becomes a problem to deal with rather than a solution to help people in their daily lives. i think things are happening. i do think we do as things are happening. i do think we doasa things are happening. i do think we do as a western nation need to help out other countries that might not have waste collection infrastructure. maybe invest in better recycling facilities. there is more that the united kingdom can do from a leadership position. richard harrington. the time is a 17 minutes past six. the headlines on bbc news. thousands of people march through london to demand a vote on the final deal on the uk‘s departure from the eu senior cabinet ministers stress the uk is still prepared to walk away from brexit talks without a deal. and an explosion at an election

rally in zimbabwe injures at least two senior government officials. the president escaped unharmed. the pentagon has cancelled two joint marine—training exercises with south korea. it follows the decision earlier in the week, to suspend a majorjoint—military exercise between the two countries which was planned for august. the pentagon said the move was part of the agreement reached between president trump and the north korean leader, kim jong—un, in singapore earlier this month. 0ur correspondent sophie long is in seoul. when donald trump announced he would be stopping joint military exercises in his press conference after the june 12 summit, it came as a surprise to some people and particularly the language used. he called them "provocative, expensive war games." these joint military exercises have always been referred to by the us and south korea in the past as defensive measures necessary to maintain military preparedness.

in terms of the statement we heard from the pentagon today, we heard that the us defence secretary james mattis had decided to postpone indefinitely two korean american marine exchange programme exercises due to take place over the next few months. this comes after of course last week we heard that operation freedom guardian had been cancelled. that‘s one of the three majorjoint military exercises which takes place in south korea every year. in terms of south korean reaction, i‘m actually standing outside the former north korean labour party building, a number of young south koreans were here today for a music festival called the dmz peace train festival and many of them we spoke to are full of hope. and hope concessions like this and events like this cultural event which took place so close to the demilitarised zone will help to maintain this momentum we seem to have currently towards proper lasting peace. however, older people, more conservative leaning people,

are much more sceptical. for them, they say we have been here before and they want to see some proper concessions from north korea. in terms of official south korean reaction, we heard a statement from the south korean defence ministry earlier this afternoon and they said they confirmed this announcement from the pentagon and also went on to add there will be additional measures should north korea follow suit with productive cooperation. i think certainly at this stage, the ball now is very much in north korea‘s park. thousands of gallons of crude oil have leaked into a river in the united states after a train came off the tracks. more than 30 train cars were derailed in iowa — forcing residents to evacuate. clean—up crews are working to contain the spillage. it‘s thought the tracks were weakened by recent flooding in the state. the ethiopian prime minister, abiy ahmed, has condemned a grenade

blast at a political rally he‘d been addressing in the capital, addis ababa. he called it an unsuccessful attack by forces who did not want to see a united ethiopia. one person has been killed and more than 130 others injured. the bbc‘s emmanuel igunza was at the rally when it happened. these are the chaotic scenes as people scramble for safety moments after the explosion. the attack was just metres away from the podium where the prime minister had moments ago addressed thousands of his supporters. emergency services rushed to help dozens of people, injured as the full scale of the blast sank in. this angry mob is seen beating up a woman, who they claim was carrying an explosive. some of those who had been injured in the explosion have been brought to this health facility. they are being taken care of by emergency staff, who are scrambling to take care of those in need.

what we know so far is that the explosion happened just immediately after the prime minister had finished his speech. i was right behind him, the podium, where he was. he was safe. he was quickly taken away by security officers. in the last few hours he has given an address to the nation. he has said he is safe. the prime minister has described this as well planned attack, even as the police announced they had arrested several people in connection with the attack. no—one has yet claimed responsibility. earlier, thousands turned up at the city‘s main square in support of the new prime minister who has brought unprecedented reforms and promised freedoms in the country. after more than three years of deadly anti—government protests, the premier has inspired millions with his message of love and reconciliation. but, today‘s attack showed he still has more work to do to heal a deeply divided country. emmanuel igunza, bbc news, addis ababa.

british troops have arrived in mali this week, ahead of three raf helicopters which willjoin a growing international military presence in the sahara desert, to counter the increasing threat of terror groups linked to so—called islamic state and al-qaeda. human trafficking across the southern stretch of sahara known as the sahel, is funding the islamists who are growing in strength. mali is now home to the un‘s most deadly peacekeeping mission and the us recently lost troops in neighbouring niger. 0ur africa correspondent alastair leithead travelled to the region and sent this special report. the sahara used to be a big empty space on the map. but now this desert the size of america is being filled up by foreign armies and jihadist terror groups. convoys are coming under attack from both al-qaeda and islamic state fighters. roadside bombs are being used to deadly effect. this is what‘s left

of timbuktu airport after the french and united nations base there was hit in april by three suicide car bombs, mortars and foot soldiers strapped with explosives. a foreign military presence creates a target, as it did in afghanistan, but this is about fighting a war abroad rather than at home. other european drones and aircraft are in mali, part of the world‘s most dangerous un peacekeeping mission. the raf is coming to a place where both germany and holland have lost helicopters. britain already has a presence in the sahel. this training exercise taught african nations how western armies work and, for the visitors, it was a chance to find partners who will fight foreign terrorfor them. with little will to send ground troops, our special forces are training local soldiers to be

the boots on the ground facing the enemy. a stable and secure africa really does have importance to us in europe and particularly in the uk. there is a direct link with increased demographics, lack ofjobs, that will affect the migration issue and, therefore, the security bit. the many migrant trails heading through the desert are firmly linked to the islamist groups, making them money and giving them cover to travel freely. and america is rolling out resources across africa. this multi—million pound runway is one of many bases often secret that project us power across the sahara. islamist fighters ambushed four us soldiers in niger... many americans didn‘t even know their troops were here untilfour were killed by islamic state in niger.

the argument is it‘s better to fight here and now before the groups grow and spread. certainly, with the collapse of the physical caliphate in iraq and syria, the load of foreign fighters that have moved to the caliphate are likely to go somewhere and, if they come here, that could be devastating to the security situation across north africa. and into this mess step thousands of un peacekeepers, struggling to find a peace to keep. a heavily—protected convoy risked roadside bombs to go and meet community members. blue helmets give far less protection these days. but the elders can‘t speak openly. the islamists are already here. the kids don‘t play football, radios are silent and secular schools have been forced to close. radical extremist groups are operating in this whole area, but it‘s much more

complicated than that. there are centuries of tension between different ethnic groups, unemployment is high, the economy is failing and there‘s no government in these areas because of the violence. that is the space that the regional and international forces are stepping into. for centuries, mali‘s mud mosques and rich history brought tourists to a place known for its religious tolerance. that‘s all changed. a fast—growing population, worsening poverty and climate change are all playing into the extremists‘ hands. britain has joined a tough new front of the war on terror. alastair leithead, bbc news, the sahel. for some children with chronic conditions such as asthma and cancer they can miss months of their education. that could start to change, thanks to the help of a high tech robot. 0ne school in oxford is the first in the uk to provide students with the technology allowing them to live stream lessons into their home or hospital bed.

louisa currie reports. adam, what number did you choose? i chose 521. first lesson on wednesday, maths. plenty of kids would groan at the thought but for those with severe illnesses, school can be the normality they need in their lives. you begin to get a bit bored, really, with computer games all day, as strange as that may seem. and i reallyjust missed seeing my friends. i became a bit socially disconnected from everybody so it was really nice to go in and see everybody. 13—year—old adam hasjoined his classmates from home today. he was diagnosed with bone cancer in december. it would be really nice if everyone in my situation could have a robot to go in for them when they can't go in. it kind of seems a bit strange, this is the first time it's really being tested. it feels like a bit more

of normality for him and it‘s quite exciting, the kids like it, they like to see him in class, the teachers have enjoyed having him back in the class so he feels now like he‘s more part of school life again. these robots allow their users to see, hear, move around and interact in real time with classmates and teachers, despite not physically being there. they are thought to be the first in the uk. we are teaching adam in hospital when he is there for his treatment and also teaching him at home as part of our outreach service and this is a supplementary extra to help maintain the link. you forget it's a robot and you just go, no, it's adam, we can talk to him, he can be in my lesson and that is what we want. adam has been trialling the first robot. the second will be given to a pupil from a local primary school. a california black bear had to be freed by police after finding itself

trapped inside a car during a hunt for scraps of food. the footage released by the placer county sheriff‘s office shows the creature stuck inside a vehicle near a campsite at california‘s lake tahoe. an officer broke a rear window so the animal could escape without suffering any major injuries. if you go down to the woods tonight. time for a look at the weather with helen willetts. it's it‘s been a lovely warm day for many. rather hazy sunshine. 25 degrees we‘ve seen in the south and you can see the high court here