the headlines: the us is reimposing all sanctions on iran that were lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal. the measures — which the white house say are the toughest ever imposed — target the country's energy, shipping and banking sectors and will come into effect on monday. with just four days to go until the us midterm elections, former president barack obama has warned against rhetoric he said was designed to sow fear. president trump repeated his hardline anti—immigration message. control of congress and many state governorships are at stake. pakistan authorities have reached agreement with protesters who've been demonstrating against the acquittal of asia bibi, a christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy. under the agreement, asia bibi will be barred from leaving the country — but it's unclear for how long. now on bbc news, some of the world's most important news stories in 2018 have been brought to us by freelance journalists, often working in difficult and dangerous places. the rory peck awards recognise their work — and our presenter yalda hakim has been finding out more about this

year's nominees. you may find some of the scenes in the firing line upsetting. the white race is under a full assault. some of the most powerful images of this year. often filmed in difficult and dangerous places. but who are the people who bring as these pictures? why do they do it? how do they do it? and what impact as it have on them personally. —— and what impact as it have on them personally? —— does it. each year, we step behind the camera

and speak to the men and women who bring some of the most important stories about time. often under extremely difficult circumstances and under great personal strain. these freelance radio journalists are honoured by the rory peck awards, named after a freelancer killed in moscow during the october coup in 1993. his memory lives on with the rory peck trust. this year the films chosen by the judges reflect the troubled world we live in. racism, war, and the refugee crisis, which made headlines in 2018, are all part of the final entries. first up, the rory peck awards for news that capture the immediacy of the story. since last

year, hundreds of thousands of rohingya muslims have poured into bangladesh, fleeing persecution and violence in the northern rakaia province of myanmar. this has become one of the world's was refugee crises. this free letter from bangladesh has been covering the plight of the rohingya muslims for many years. it is our duty to keep a keen eye on the incidents taking place around us. i understood the problem and empathise with the suffering. i feel that the only way i could help was to capture what i knew and saw. his footage it ca ptu red knew and saw. his footage it captured the displaced men women and children risking their lives crossing the sea and muddy rivers to safety. exhausted and uncertain, they carried whatever they could on

them backs. but some did make it. this woman said the monks killed her husband and her younger son went missing as they crossed the border. the journalist found it difficult not to get emotional while filming the current scenes. i have seen much blood and fire in the line of duty. but i really have not witnessed anything on this scale before. i was struggling to hold back my tears and hold my camera still. the only thing they could my focus is that i can only help these people if i can film. the judges said you think you know everything about a story can be no about what caused the rohingya exodus, but what is striking about this piece was the individual moments, the attention to detail is incredible. the rohingya muslims are

selling prices. it is not over yet. from the beginning, they demanded citizenship, security, and safety in myanmar. i think the world needs to act. freelancer humam husari lived under the siege in ghouta perfive yea rs, under the siege in ghouta perfive years, document in the tragic toll on the citizens caught between the rebels and government forces. during the height of the conflict, humam filmed the conditions in an underground shelter. because of the nearby shelling, we had to go underground into the tunnel. i witnessed so many tragic stories of

people trapped in the random bombardment and siege. actually led the fear with them under shelling andi the fear with them under shelling and i start with them. humam footy show is the plight of the families, often through the stories of the children. one of the most heartbreaking stories was that of three—month—old korean. —— karim. his mother was in the local market tried to get through for her children. karim was in her arms when an airstrike children. karim was in her arms when an air strike targeted the people there. karim was badly injured and his mother was killed. i was in the field hospital and imap with the doctor that treated karim's injury. the doctor was growing out in sympathy. -- i met. despite the cows

around him, humam managed to meet characters he revisited in later pieces. it is difficult to do, especially in this circumstances. in doing so, it put a human face of the conflict. i will always run to the people that i lived with in ghouta. i feel that i have an obligation to give back to them in the future and see how life treats them. how will they continue their lives with all they continue their lives with all the tragedies they have been through? in july 2017, a spanish and geo whose main mission is to rescue refugees from the mediterranean sea faced the most dramatic and collocated rescue operation ever been involved in. when the news

award was with the rescuers in rough seas 50 miles north of a libyan city. they received a call that there was a vessel in need of help with over 160 migrants from africa on board. minghella and the rescuers we re on board. minghella and the rescuers were confronted with a desperate scene. one of the things which shocked me the most was the conditions of the woman when we started to take them from the boat. -- mikel. started to take them from the boat. —— mikel. most of them were naked, nearly naked, have clear evidence of violence, some of them. they were raped in libya. some were of them we re raped in libya. some were of them were in shock. i will never forget the faces of these women. they space cleared, it became evident that the floor was covered in bodies. five men in eight women, two of them pregnant. but when the rescuers start to take the survivors of the

raft in the body start to appear, then we realise the situation has —— is worse than we imagine. were was that the bodies to reach a boat. one of these bodies are the mother of four kids that we rescued just before. it was divine and destiny. overall, the rescue took ten hours to co m plete overall, the rescue took ten hours to complete and despite this harrowing experience, mikel view he had to keep filming. i also think my job will remain for future generations. they will look back and see what we allowed to happen. the judges thought that this entry really stood out as mikel‘s footage was never mechanical. this was one

snapshot in time yet it revealed so much more about the migrant crisis in the mediterranean. ten hours, told in just in the mediterranean. ten hours, told injust ten minutes. next, the rory peck awards were news features for films that look beyond the immediacy of the news. in august 2017, hundreds of far—right protesters descended on cha rlottesville protesters descended on charlottesville virginia to voice their anger against the removal of their anger against the removal of the statue of a pro— slavery civil war leader, it described as one of the largest white as events in recent us history, hundreds of counter demonstrators were out in force to face them. orlando gausman teamed up with zach coble to cover

this story. shot over 72 hour their footage captured the escalating violence. we really wanted the audience to feel what it was like to stare at haight in the face, to have a completely unflinching look at what it is like to feel this unleashed hatred that has been stirred up by our very own president. as the violent clashes spiralled out of control, a car driven by one of the neo—nazis ploughed into the crowds, killing one person and injuring several others. we told city council we don't want them here. they let them come. we told the police we did not wa nt come. we told the police we did not want them here, they let them come. thejudges thought want them here, they let them come. the judges thought this was top gear journalism, covering a story of great magnitude. and for a lender himself, his coverage of the events throughout that weekend has had a

deepening disturbing effect. the other weekend, i was watching slightly‘s film black lansman. what they didn't realise was that the film ends with my footage in charlottesville. and looking at that span of racial history in the united states from the civil rights movement to last year. and watching my footage at the end of that film, i felt like somebody had thrown a spear right into my chest. i felt despondent by this problem here in the united states which i don't think we will really be up to get rid of. this film captured the last

days of the fight against islamic state in airla. days of the fight against islamic state in air la. this will make us we re state in air la. this will make us were abetted with several units of the iraqi military in their efforts to root out is from the northern city of mosul. this is as far forward as they had been so far. thousands of civilians were still trapped in the city under siege. traumatised by their ordeal, they ran traumatised by their ordeal, they ra n towards traumatised by their ordeal, they ran towards the government positions scattered around the city. women and children screaming and begging for a way out of a desperate situation. despite the huge risks, they ca ptu red despite the huge risks, they captured at all. the cows as the civilians fled their homes, and the confusion of the soldiers locked in close combat. filmed under constant fire and in intense heat, harvey and his team full of what was happening around them, revealing the true

turmoil of war. forjavier, what stood out most in covering this conflict was the level of violence in fitted on the civilians by the islamic state fighters. they would explode themselves among civilians 01’ explode themselves among civilians or when civilians were trying to flee, to government—controlled parts of the city, typically rank their lives from islamic state sniper fire, it was very brutal to witness somebody doing that to there, allegedly their own muslim brothers and sisters. the judges thought even though this was front—line filming, he still managed to show some of the real human moments. let's not forget that civilians were

under siege by the islamic state militants, and at the same time starving, suffering from malnutrition, first, no access to medicines a year and a half. we as journalists always had figured out, we could leave whenever we wanted, they did not have that luxury, that is who we should remember at the end of the day. the long—standing civil war in the nuba mountains of saddam has claimed many lives. herejournalists nuba mountains of saddam has claimed many lives. here journalists are readily imprisoned for reporting the violence and human rights abuses. news of the atrocities in the nuba mountains rarely reach sedan's capital khartoum. winner of the news

features award roopa gogineni's unique film takes a very different approach to telling the story of war and human suffering. rather than using footage of violence and bloodshed, roopai used humour to sell this important story. she met the team behind satirical puppet show bisha tv, the writers, and mix of journalists and members show bisha tv, the writers, and mix ofjournalists and members of a comedy group use comedy to mock the sudanese president and his government. i am always drawn to him,i government. i am always drawn to him, ithink government. i am always drawn to him, i think it is a really good way to create empathy, especially in places where you are used to seeing a lot of imagery of violence and war, and it can be really hard to relate to people in places like that. so i wanted to use the comedy

that. so i wanted to use the comedy that bisha tv was so good at creating to draw audience who were not familiar with the conflict into this place. roopai film to puppet show under the threat of daily aerial bombardments, at this did not deter her.|j threat of daily aerial bombardments, at this did not deter her. i was taking cues from people around me who were really experienced in dealing with the aerial bombardments, they knew had a protect themselves, they seemed very confident and calm despite the fact that they were bombs dropping. people had learnt to cope. they have coffee and then they run into a foxhole and then they continue having coffee. it isjust foxhole and then they continue having coffee. it is just sort of co nsta nt having coffee. it is just sort of constant weed interruption. the judges were particularly impressed with this entry as it showed true originality through the use of grassroots media. and finally, the sony impact award

for current affairs, for long form films that examine a single issue. during the war in yemen, the youngest and most vulnerable had been paying a terrible price. besides food and medical shortages, a deadly cholera outbreak has taken its toll. the un says this is the world's largest humanitarian crisis with 7 million people facing famine and disease top mohammed al—mekhlafi's film documents the cat had to —— has unfolding in his own country. while the scale of this tragedy has been reported by media across the world, muhamed and

reporter nawal al maghafi remain one of the very few teams to have reported from both rebel held at north and the government held south. muhamed filmed inside the general hospital where he witnessed heartbreaking scenes of severely ill and dying children. one of them was three—year—old —— this three—year—old. thejudges said the the judges said the pictures that mohammed filmed were so powerful, it isa mohammed filmed were so powerful, it is a story of urgency that people need to know about. rampant inflation has brought

venezuelans to seek desperate measures. the country is on the brink of collapse. the economic crisis has caused severe food shortages are cross the country. rather than reporting on the widely documented caracas and colombian venezuelan border, alexander houghton's film covers the smuggling trade. there are so many areas in venezuela where there was a complete blackout, so one particular spot was the golf of pario, only eight short journey from trinidad & tobago. local is in trinidad & tobago spoke of piracy, a fleet of fishermen seeking to buy basic food supplies. but no one was really talking about what was going on in venezuela society, so that is what we wanted to do. through a local, alexander and his team at this fishermen desperate for food and medical

supplies for his daughter and diabetic father. the family had expected the government to help but nothing had arrived for months. despite the dangers, he decided to join the smuggling trade. just before he could short —— or the boat, he had to abandon the trip in fear of the local mafia working with the national guard. alexander and his team were first to ——. a ladder the town fearing arrest by the intelligence services who have a history of detaining journalists for covering stories which the government being counterrevolutionary. alexander hopes that his film has highlighted the plight of the poor and forgotten venezuelans. i was trying to show how in the face of such misery,

there is still so much resilience. i hope those who view the documentary, people particularly in trinidad & tobago who are seeing these fishermen coming over to trinidad, begin to feel for these people and not just see them begin to feel for these people and notjust see them as refugees, as bandits, but see them as real people who are trying to provide the most asic food items for their families. thejudges praise asic food items for their families. the judges praise alexander's camera work and thought this was a unique choice of story. in ourfinalfilm and the in our final film and the winner in ourfinalfilm and the winner in the current affairs category, deeyah khan comes face—to—face with some of the merit‘s neo—nazi leaders. deeyah

khan and her colleague darin prindle spend time with america's largest neo—nazi organisation. spend time with america's largest neo-nazi organisation. we feel the white race in general, western civilisation in general is under a full assault will not i know what neo—nazis think and how they view somebody like me but i wanted to understand why they believe the things that they believe, and if it was possible for me to find their humanity. and if it would be possible to them to recognise my humanity. the 14 words is "we must secure the future of our race... " and 88? 88. which stands for? this is our pr director... good to meet you. having spent several days with

another member of the national socialist movement, deeyah khan questioned him about his extreme views. what i would be doing is insuring the preservation of our race, not my race and my nation —— my race and my nation. that is what it comes down to and that is the only way forward, i would ensure that everyone would have to leave. including me. including you. i do not want to just come in and shout at them and put myself on the back feeling as if i really change them. i wanted to have —— challenge them. i wanted to have —— challenge them. i want to have a real conversation and see if i could get into a place where they might be able to listen. thejudges praised where they might be able to listen. the judges praised deeyah where they might be able to listen. thejudges praised deeyah khan's unbreakable personality and her extraordinaire interview technique in what must have been an

emotionally very difficult circumstances. they felt although the topic had been covered extensively, rwanda under the skin of every one of the ‘s in a way —— deeyah khan got under the skin of every one of the characters. two months after the interview with deeyah khan, bryan resigned from the national socialist movement. now that you have left, do you think you would give me a different answer to that question? so today you would not deport me? and why not? that's it for this year's edition of the firing line, a year in which civil war, the rise of racism around

the world and the human cost of the refugee crisis all featured in the winning entries of the 2018 rory peck awards. goodbye. after a fairly quiet and chilly end to the working week, the weekend is looking at little bit different. it will be much more mild and quite windy and we will see some rain at times, not all the time though. as we look at saturday morning, you can see a lot of rain across northern ireland and western scotland, that rain eventually sinking its way down into north—west england on the western side of wales full top with that it will be windy, the strongest across the far north—west, but for north—east scotland, central and eastern england it will stay dry with some sunshine, it will be windy but will also be mild, temperatures of 14— in degrees. through saturday

night this rain continues to limp its way further east and fizzling away in many areas into the early hours of sunday morning. some clear spells for the south—east and north—west, but a very clear night in prospect. some rain across the south—west of the country, not as windy saturday but still miles. —— mild. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is martin stanford. our main stories: presidents past and present hit the campaign trail ahead of the us midterm elections. polls show the race in many states is too close to call. donald trump warns iran to prepare for sweeping new sanctions, sounding the death knell for diplomacy and the 2015 nuclear deal.

hello. next week america goes to the polls and the vote could help define the rest of donald trump's presidency. both the president and his predecessor, ba rack obama,