welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: venezuela closes its embassy in the united states as nicolas maduro accuses donald trump of trying to overthrow him. the us senate votes down two proposals to end the government shutdown. donald trump says he's willing to consider a "reasonable" deal. warmer weather means a less salty sea in the arctic. why has that got climate scientists worried? and the health workers putting their own lives at risk as they try to tackle polio in pakistan. hello to you. venezuela's embassy and all its consulates in the united states are being closed on the orders of the president, nicolas maduro, a day after the us officially recognised the opposition leader,

juan guaido as interim president. in response, the us state department has ordered all its non—emergency staff to leave caracas. at least a dozen countries, including canada and the uk, have nowjoined the us in backing the venezuelan opposition. mr maduro accuses them of attempting a coup. russia, china, turkey, mexico, bolivia and cuba are supporting him. here's our north america editorjon sopel. last night in caracas, and, much like a lot of recent nights in the venezuelan capital, gunfire, violence, protests against the government. a cycle seemingly without end as the economy of this oil—rich country collapses. but there was one crucial difference. it came after mass rallies as the leader of the national assembly, 35—year—old juan guaido, declared himself the interim president as thousands took to the streets — a move that brought immediate backing from the americans and demands that nicolas maduro, who has presided over venezuela's

economic collapse, steps aside. the regime of former president nicolas maduro is illegitimate. his regime is morally bankrupt. it is economically incompetent and it is profoundly corrupt. in light of these facts, we call on venezuela's security forces to ensure the protection of interim president guaido‘s physical integrity and his safety. a number of other latin american countries have followed suit, so too canada. and britain as well, with the foreign secretary in washington today. this regime has done untold damage to the people of venezuela. the people who — 10% of that population have left venezuela, such is the misery they are suffering. but in venezuela, defiance from the president. translation: i think there is no doubt in the world that donald trump himself wants to impose a de facto government, unconstitutional, a coup

d'etat in venezuela against the people and democracy. there is no doubt. russia, a long—standing ally and supplier of weaponry and economic assistance to the venezuelan government, has warned of the dire consequences if the us intervened. translation: it is another flagrant interference into international affairs of a sovereign state. as you know that have been several attempts to oust maduro from power, including attempts of his physical liquidation. the president's national security advisor was asked why single out venezuela when there are plenty of other brutal dictators that donald trump doesn't do anything about. the answer came that america has a responsibility, it is in their hemisphere and it is an issue that donald trump cares deeply about. new sanctions will be targeted at venezuela's oil industry. donald trump says no option is off the table, including a military one. he has made his statement of intent. the world now watches to see

how america's commander in chief follows through. with its huge oil reserves, venezuela should be one of the world's richest countries. but a collapse in oil prices and a series of economic missteps have left much of the population desperately poor. food and basic goods are in short supply and inflation is predicted to reach 10 million per cent this year. our correspondent vladimir hernandez has been following the crisis in venezuela for some time. the clean up the day after. when there is chaos at a political level, that is normally followed by chaos on the streets. at least a dozen people were killed in anti—government protests yesterday. many more, likejesus, were injured. translation: last night, a battle broke out between armed local boys on the security forces. —— local boys and the security forces. they came into the slum and people started shouting at them,

telling them things like, "do you not struggle to get food, too?" translation: it was horrible. there were bullets fired, and rubber bullets, too, over here and there, waves of people coming and going. but what is really going on in this country? i have been to venezuela several times in the last two years to report on the gravity of the humanitarian crisis. i have met some of those that are the most vulnerable and see how more and more people are living off the streets, sometimes even chasing rubbish trucks to find something to eat. the venezuelan government took almost full control of the food supply in the last two years. but amidst claims of mismanagement and a simultaneous crash in oil prices, most supermarkets were left like this. no food. in my last visit to venezuela a few months ago, i found something even more shocking — rotten beef is also sold here in this market. it smells strong. it has got flies all over it. how did it all come to this?

the government blames us economic sanctions, but they were imposed after the economy fell into recession. many believe instead that this is the result of an influx of cash, a historic oil revenue, being badly managed by the ruling party. this is why many venezuelans elected hugo chavez almost 20 years ago as an alternative to the traditional but widely perceived as corrupt parties. but under him is when things may have started to unravel. today, with international pressure rising, the risk of a popular revolt against president maduro has never been higher. we'll be going live to caracas to speak to a political expert there. that's in about ten minutes. the us senate has voted on two plans to end the partial government shutdown but both failed to get the support they needed. on day 3a of this stalemate, the parties are still far apart and it's furloughed federal workers who are paying the price. another casualty has been

the president's state of the union address, which he's now conceded won't happen until the impasse is resolved. our correspondent chris buckler is in washington. you see any end in sight? the president is talking about a reasonable deal being accepted. that word reasonable, how do you interpret that? it means he gets money from his border war with mexico. that is how the president sees it. now we should be said democrats and republicans have been talking tonight, there have been some kind of negotiations is probably too strong a word for it but certainly, they have been talking which they see is a step forward to there are glimmers of hope that potentially they could come up with a compromise but the key thing here is they need president trump's agreement to any deal and as things stand and those comments were he said he would not agree to a reasonable deal, he also

made very clear that it was the wall that was important to him, the border wall with mexico that he says will tackle drugs, crime, gangs, these things that he continues to talk about and for the minute, democrats simply are not prepared to give it the gig that the sense that the stalemate is going to continue and of course that is affecting hundreds of thousands of government workers. with tomorrow i think another day without a pay cheque, of course. yes, and each week that goes by where they do not get a wage, it is really leading to them becoming more angry and more frustrated with the way this has been handled and there are huge dangers of this for both the president and also for the democrats. in that they are watching these pictures that are on the nightly news here in america every single evening of what people have been told they are either undertake live and they will not get money or alternatively they will have to wait until some unknown date to get their pay cheque, they are talking about the frustration that they have, also

being seen going to food banks in order to get food to feed their families, they are having to rely on help to frankly pay their bills. and that hasn't been helped by the fact that hasn't been helped by the fact that the commerce secretary will the ross, a multimillionaire, said today he could not understand why many of them were going to food banks and why they simply didn't get bank loa ns. why they simply didn't get bank loans. if they accepted they would have to be some interest but surely it would be something they could do. it is given the sense that perhaps some in the administration perhaps going further than that sum in washington are not really aware of what's on government workers are paid and what they are going through and asa paid and what they are going through and as a result, i think there is growing pressure on both sides to come to some sort of conclusion that will end this shutdown but the minute the president seems determined to continue until he gets money for that wall. chris, thank you for that. let's get some of the day's other news. one of brazil's few openly gay congressmen has announced he won't serve a new term in office because of death threats. jean wyllys, of the socialism and liberty party, now plans

to live abroad. in a newspaper interview, he said violence against lgbt people in brazil had worsened since the election of jair bolsonaro. brazil's new president has made many insulting and divisive comments about homosexuality. authorities here in the uk have ended the search for the plane carrying the footballer emiliano sala, saying chances of survival in the english channel are now "extremely remote". sala, newly signed to cardiff city, vanished along with pilot david ibbotson on monday. the striker‘s sister has made a plea to emergency teams. translation: i'm asking you, please, don't stop looking for them. it has been three days and i still have hope they are alive. a us senate panel has issued a formal request for testimony from president trump's former lawyer, michael cohen. yesterday, mr cohen postponed a public appearance before the house oversight committee, claiming that mr trump had threatened his family. it's not yet clear how mr cohen will respond to the new subpoena from the senate

intelligence committee. mr cohen is due to begin a prison sentence in march after being convicted of campaign finance violations. the doomsday clock is to remain at two minutes to midnight for the second consecutive year. its creators, the us—based bulletin of the atomic scientists, say that the major existential threats of nuclear weapons and climate change leave the world dangerously close to an apocalypse. climate change is redrawing the map of the arctic, according to scientists meeting in norway. in what researchers claim is the first sign of a major modern climatic shift, they say the barents sea, which has been part of the arctic ocean for 12,000 years, is being swallowed by the atlantic. from the norwegian arctic, our environment analyst roger harrabin reports. sea ice, formed in the high arctic. it helps create a cold, fresh surface layer that acts as a cap on warm, saltier waters beneath.

but with climate change, there is less sea ice getting to norway's barents sea. the north barents sea has been dominated for 12,000 years by sea ice flowing down from the high arctic. but now, that flow is diminishing and the character of the sea is changing fast. soon, researchers say, the region will have no sea ice at all, so it will no longer be part of the arctic. it had an arctic type of climate for the last 12,000 years. we are probably witnessing the first modern example of a rapid climate shift event where the arctic shrinks in response to global warming. scientists say the barents sea could effectively become part of the atlantic in as little as a decade. let's imagine this is the north barents sea. this blue layer here represents the cold, fresh water flowing in from the high arctic.

it is forming a cap on this layer of clear, warmer, saltier water coming in from the atlantic. but now the high arctic is changing, look what's happening. we are going to use this to give you a very simplistic demonstration. that, in a sense, is what's happening. and it is having a profound effect. research from ships over 50 years in the barents sea shows that the cold surface layer has been steadily mixing with the warmer layer beneath. the more it mixes, the warmer it gets. and the warmer it gets, the more it mixes. but what does the warming mean for creatures that live in the barents sea? lisjorgensen says species like this brittle star could struggle to survive in warmer waters. these creatures may also be sensitive to warmth. it is a snail giving a piggy back to an anemone. this sea slug loves cold water, too.

so does this remarkable squid. if too many species are lost to the ecosystem, no—one knows what will happen. everything is depending on each other. so if you pop the ecosystem in one place, there will be a cascade of effect all through the ecosystem. this is a special part of the world where the sun is just returning after a two—month absence. the profound changes here may be influencing the uk's weather. scientists can't be sure yet. but they say they are struggling to keep up with the human impact on the planet. roger harrabin, bbc news, in the norwegian arctic. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: fake or fuhrer — the watercolours that may or may not be the work of adolf hitler. the shuttle challenger exploded

soon after lift—off. there were seven astronauts on board, one of them a woman school teacher. all of them are believed to have been killed. by the evening, tahrir square, the heart of official cairo, was in the hands of the demonstrators. they were using the word "revolution". the earthquake singled out buildings and brought them down in seconds. tonight, the search for any survivors has an increasing desperation about it as the hours pass. the new government is firmly in control of the entirely republic of uganda. moscow got its first taste of western fast food as mcdonald's opened their biggest restaurant in pushkin square. but the hundreds of muscovites who queued up today

won't find it cheap with a big mac costing half a day's wages for the average russian. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: venezuela's president nicolas maduro has accused the united states government of trying to stage a coup in his country. let's get more on our top story now — the political crisis in venezuela. phil gunson is a senior analyst for the international crisis group, and joins me from caracas. i suppose the big question is whether you see this crisis going next and how do you see it ending? much will depend on which way the military goes. right now, they are notjumping military goes. right now, they are not jumping at all military goes. right now, they are notjumping at all but staying firmly behind nicolas maduro. there are hints, if you read behind the lines, the military are not happy

with the way things are and they may be open to some kind of negotiation and indeed, nicolas maduro himself, just a couple of hours ago, has said that he is open to some form of negotiation as proposed by countries like mexico and uruguay who are taking a more neutral stance on this. which way do you think the military might move if they move was to mark suppose it may not be entirely helpful that one kool—aid oh has the backing of the united states ? oh has the backing of the united states? —— juan guaido. oh has the backing of the united states? -- juan guaido. it makes it easierfor nicolas states? -- juan guaido. it makes it easier for nicolas maduro to say this is an imperious plot to take over venezuela and it's not really that. much of the hemisphere and most of the biggest government is, biggest countries in latin america, are behind juan guaido. even the european union who has not exactly come out as recognising him as

interim president, is backing him. the president's isolation is increasing and he is being pushed against the ropes but the question is, is there a way out for him because if there isn't, he has no incentive to negotiate. how much help does he need? russia and china interfering in independent state. help does he need? russia and china interfering in independent statelj don't interfering in independent state.” don't think they can be of much use. they could be of use at the security council. the security council debate on saturday. it is not a bad thing to have two permanent members on your side. but don't think, for example, if it came to any kind of military conflict, but the russians, the chinese or even the cubans, closer at hand, would put any roots on the ground or put any kind of military assistance. given the suffering of so many people they

are, from the outside we could look at this is a crisis of economics. but it is more than that? it's a political crisis in essence. although it is clear that the nicolas maduro government has handled the economy extraordinarily badly. millions of% of impatient, production collapsing, the economy size has halved since he came to power. but the issue really is political. if nicolas maduro had not closed off all democratic ways out of the crisis, we would have new government by now and the new government by now and the new government would undoubtedly have begun at least to put things right on the economic front. most immediately, what you expect to happen? are there particular things we should be looking for? the crunch 01’ we should be looking for? the crunch or at least one immediate crunch may come over the issue of us diplomats. nicolas maduro has broken relations with the us and has called on, or demanded i should say, that all us diplomats leave the country. washington has refused to remove its key diplomats saying that they are

110w key diplomats saying that they are now a predator to the government —— accredited the government ofjuan guaido. the us may invade —— nicolas maduro may invade the embassy and forced them to go but when it comes to the hour that they haven't gone, he will look much weaker than he looks now. good to talk to you. thank you. authorities in pakistan have begun a mass vaccination campaign against polio, which can lead to severe paralysis. it most commonly affects children. they're hoping to reach at least 30 million of them. secunder kermani reports. two small drops which could help prevent a devastating disease. 260,000 polio workers are going door to door vaccinating children across pakistan this week. the open sewers in this poor neighbourhood of peshawar are exactly the kind of environment the virus can be found. police escorts accompany the teams.

dozens of polio workers have been killed by militants opposed to the vaccine in recent years. translation: in 2012 and '13, so many people were killed. we were told if we continued working, it would be at our own risk. i carried on. death and life are in the hands of allah. now, things are much better. resistance to the vaccine has centred on rumours it's a western conspiracy to harm muslim children. misinformation is now spread through videos like this on social media. and a small minority still refuse immunisation. translation: no, these children are so naughty. they say it's because of this vaccine. i asked if he knows about the dangers of polio. if something happens, it's our problem. we'll deal with it. to change his mind, a polio team member shows him a religious decree

on the vaccine. he agrees to discuss it with his family. improvements in campaigning and security in pakistani mean that from over 300 polio cases in 2014, the number fell to 12 last year. authorities here are now able to protect the vast majority of children. they are hoping this year can be the first in which no new cases of polio are reported. but one of the biggest challenges in achieving that, particularly in areas like this close to the border, is vaccinating children moving between pakistan and afghanistan, where rising insecurity is making it harder to reach vulnerable families. the head of the world health organization told me the situation in afghanistan is alarming. there are areas that are not accessible and more than 800,000 people, children, are not covered. and all players, including taliban,

has to be involved to mobilise the communities and make sure that no child is missed. child coughs. back in peshawar, these squalid conditions desperately need improving if the children here are to have a chance of a healthy life. coughs. but it's hoped, at least in the fight against polio, progress can continue. secunder kermani, bbc news. police in germany have seized three paintings that were claimed to be the work of adolf hitler. they are now being examined to see if they are forgeries. the paintings were due to go on sale at an auction in berlin. the bbc‘s tim allman has more details. at first glance, this watercolour looks fairly unremarkable but take a looks fairly unremarkable but take a look at the signature. three paintings, said to be the work of one of history's greatest villains.

adolf hitler may well have been a significant figure on the global stage but when it comes to art, not so stage but when it comes to art, not so much. translation: in my opinion, they have no artistic value. they are basically proficient. there were different opinions that it has been done well but the value of the objects and the media interest comes solely from the names in the impost on it. it has nothing to do with any sort of artistic value. the paintings were due to go under the hammer at this auction house in berlin but then local police announced on twitter that officers had confiscated three watercolours are allegedly painted by adolf hitler and that officials were now investigating attempted fraud and forgery of documents. hitler was a prolific artist in his youth. in his book mein kampf, he claims to have produced as many as three paintings and day. much of his work he had

destroyed during the second world war but some of it survived, including these latest paintings? translation: i can't really say that it doesn't seem worth it to fake it based on the artistic value. if you walk along the seine, and c 100 walk along the seine, and c100 artists, 80 will be better than this. —— see. artists, 80 will be better than this. -- see. either way, now they are being examined. hitler's shadow looms large even when it comes to his paintings. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter — i'm @bbc mike embley. thank you for watching. hello there.

today's the day that our weather is going to turn significantly milder. if we look at the kind of temperatures we had thursday afternoon, low single figures fairly widely, but this afternoon, we will see temperatures pushing up into double figures. for some, it will be a jump in temperatures of around 10 celsius, perhaps even a little bit more than that in one or two places. or two places. and the only thing that has the power to lift temperatures so quickly so far at this time of year is a warm front. and there it is, pushing its way eastwards. now, along with the warmer air that will be coming with that warm front, we will see extensive cloud. quite low cloud with some mist and fog patches around at times, particularly across eastern areas of england and around the coasts and hills in the west as conditions continue to get that bit milder. so as we go through friday morning, certainly a lot of cloud around. there will be a little bit of light, patchy rain pushing its way eastwards across eastern england, followed by extensive cloud

with some bits and pieces of light rain and drizzle around our western coasts and hills. some wetter weather getting into western scotland and perhaps at times into north—west england too. now, the far north of scotland in some cool—ish air but central and southern scotland, northern ireland, england and wales all having a mild afternoon — temperatures into double figures. those mild conditions will continue through friday night and into the early hours of saturday as well, but rain will start to move in and turn heavier across northern scotland. so, not a cold night — for most of us, temperatures 7—9 celsius. so it will be a mild start to the weekend as well. we are in a warm sector for saturday, starting behind the cold front, so a lot of cloud around once again. a westerly breeze and through the day, we will see the cloud thickening in the west to bring general outbreaks of rain into northern ireland and the rain at its heaviest in western scotland. it's probably not a bad thing, to be honest, that we see this wet weather because january has been a very dry month so far. it will be another mild day then with temperatures typically around 8—11 celsius or so, but it is turning colder across the far north of scotland. now, through the second half of the weekend, as our low pressure pushes eastwards, we start to draw down these winds all the way from the arctic so it will be really

quite chilly, particularly across western areas where we'll have gales and severe gales bringing in plenty of showers which will turn increasingly wintry across the hills in scotland, potentially also down to some lower levels late in the day. all the while, outbreaks of rain will continue to affect eastern coasts of england, eastern parts of scotland, so a blustery kind of day. and turning noticeably cooler as well — temperatures in the north just around four degrees or so. that's your latest weather. bye for now. this is bbc news. the headlines: venezuela and the us are locked in an escalating diplomatic confrontation a day after washington recognised the opposition leader as interim leader. venezuela has said it is shutting down its diplomatic missions in the us. washington has responded by ordering all its non—emergency personnel to leave venezuela. the republican and democratic leaders in the us senate have been

holding private talks to try to negotiate an end to the partial government showdown. they are trying to agree a deal which would fund federal agencies for three weeks. president trump says he will support a "reasonable" agreement. authorities in pakistan have begun a mass vaccination campaign against polio, which can lead to severe paralysis. it most commonly affects children. they're hoping to reach at least 30 million of them. this year, officials say they're hoping to end transmission now on bbc news, thursday in parliament.