welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: search teams find the wreckage of a small plane carrying the argentine footballer, emiliano sala, that disappeared between france and britain. president maduro appears on venezuelan television to deny that his country is facing a humanitarian disaster. anger and a search for answers in the brazilian valley engulfed by mining waste. and pope francis arrives in the united arab emirates for the first—ever papal visit to the arabian peninsula. investigators say they've found the wreckage of a light aircraft that crashed into the sea between france and britain, with argentine international

footballer emiliano sala and his pilot on board. the plane was travelling from nantes where sala previously played, to his new club, cardiff city, when the aircraft disappeared. sarah campbell reports. the search to find the plane was expected to take three days. but on the first morning, it appears to have been located. this vessel was commissioned by the air accident investigation branch to carry out a survey of the seabed over 4 square nautical miles and working close by was this boat, the morven, paid for by the family of emiliano sala after a campaign raised more than £300,000 to fund it. these pictures were taken yesterday as the morven, with the latest sonar technology, prepared to leave harbour, its crew hopeful of finding some trace of the craft. sala and the plane's pilot, david ibbotson,

went missing after their aircraft disappeared on january 21 en route from nantes in france to cardiff. the official search was called off, but almost a week ago, some seat cushions were recovered from a beach in northern france, with the sala family desperate for the search to resume. and this evening, the marine scientist, david mearns, who directed the privately funded search operation, tweeted that the wreckage of the plane carrying the footballer had been located early this morning. emiliano sala's club, cardiff city, played their first home game since his disappearance yesterday. they won, in a ground filled with tributes to the footballer, with tears from the manager who said his new star signing had been with them. sarah campbell, bbc news. the venezuelan president, nicolas maduro, has denied that his country is facing a humanitarian disaster, blaming the united states for instigating a political crisis. in a television interview, mr maduro didn't rule out the possibility of civil war and he rejected a deadline set by four major european powers of midnight local time for him to call presidential elections.

0ur correspondent, 0rla guerin, is in caracas, and has been assessing the level of support for nicolas maduro. today, no—one could answer the question of a civil war with uncertainty. it depends on the level of aggressiveness on the northern empire and its western allies. it doesn't depend on us. we live in our country and we ask that nobody intervened in our internal affairs. we prepare ourselves to defend our country. 0ur correspondent, 0rla guerin, is in caracas, and has been assessing the level of support for nicolas maduro. standing firm with the revolution. in the slum neighbourhood of petare, some cherish the memory of hugo chavez,

the firebrand socialist who ruled venezuela for years. for now, these people are sticking with his hand—picked successor, nicolas maduro, as the best hope for the poor. and if the revolution has run out of steam, they don't admit that here. local officials, saying they've come with a love for the people, and promising to sort out chronic problems, like getting the buses running again. joel, a jobless father of two, tells me he will be with mr maduro until death. but he admits that the country is now divided. what you see here is the other side of the story, staunch supporters of president nicolas maduro. they say that he is their legitimate president, he is the guardian of the revolution and they want him to stayjust where he is. they say chavismo has

brought lasting benefits for all. translation: take the universities - before, only one group in society could get educated. now, everyone can study. and the government provides medicines and food, not just for me, but for everyone. in among the crowd, officials from the colectivo, a pro—government committee that controls the neighbourhood, in particular, the distribution of government rations. we have been told by locals here that if you back to the opposition, you risk going hungry. the authorities keep a close eye on poorer districts like petare. president maduro can't afford to lose them. when some did protest here recently, the area was flooded with security forces. undoubtedly, president maduro has support here

in this cradle of chavismo. and it seems that, publicly, at least, he still has the backing of the army. the venezuelan leader appears well entrenched and if he is to be unseated, it could take time. 0rla guerin, bbc news, caracas. villagers living downstream from the mining dam, which collapsed in brazil last week, have spoken of their anger at never being told about the risks of the site. more than 300 people died or are missing after a massive mud slide in the south—east of the country, with the mine's owners accused of putting profits before safety. they had installed emergency sirens at the dam, but they never went off. 0ur science editor david shukman has this report from the site at brumadinho. mile after mile of mining waste surged downstream, killing and destroying on an unprecedented scale. a once—beautiful valley is now filled with sludge.

and even now, more than a week after the disaster, rescue workers are still finding bodies swept along in the deluge, provoking more anguish and anger. a crowd denounces the company that owns the mine, vale, for failing to keep people safe. this man lost a friend at the mine, who had said the dam was leaking before it collapsed. and these student volunteers told me this kind of catastrophe just shouldn't happen. i think brazil has to, like, do a law and start to work everywhere in brazil, to work with these companies. because it has happened again. people died there. so that's really stronger. that, like, hurt our hearts. when the dam broke, a warning system should have alerted everyone downstream, but vale now says the deluge was moving too fast for that to happen. so, there was no sound from this

siren near the home of mario fontes. last year, vale calculated the likely impact of the dam collapsing. this satellite image shows how the sludge actually spread. we don't know how accurately vale predicted this. but did the company share its conclusions? "no, there was never any alert or training," mario says. "no information, absolutely nothing about us being at such risk." at a meeting in one community, where everyone has suffered a loss, a public prosecutor accused vale of putting profits first and not investing enough in maintaining the dam. if you spend less in maintaining... how can i say, maintenance, you go up with profits. and they don't care about the risks. this is the problem. vale has sent engineers to see the damage.

but they did not want to talk. is it true that vale knew there were risks the dams would collapse? i can't, sorry. 0ur request for an interview with vale was turned down. instead, it said: amid so much death and destruction, the problem for vale is that so many people here now question everything it says. the company insists that it did everything required of it under brazilian law. but the fact remains that whatever safety systems were in place simply failed. and in the wake of what happened here, there are growing fears about the many other mining dams in brazil. there is an official system for rating how risky they are. but at the moment, few can trust it. david shukman, bbc news, in brazil. the british prime minister, theresa may, says she's determined to deliver brexit as scheduled on 29 march, promising to return to brussels with new ideas.

the backstop guarantee to keep the irish border open will be central to any fresh talks with the european union after uk members of parliament voted last week to seek alternative arrangements. here's our political correspondent chris mason. after a week when parliament had its say and mps voted to back theresa may's brexit plan if she could change one key part of it, the prime minister has said she's ready to do just that. but what are the new ideas? i asked border force months ago to advise me to look at what alternative arrangements were possible, and they showed me quite clearly you can have no hard

border on the island of ireland, and you can use existing technology, it's perfectly possible. the only thing that's missing is a bit of goodwill on the eu side. the sticking point is how to keep an open border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland under all circumstances after brexit. the existing solution, the so—called backstop, is deeply unpopular in parliament. its critics say it binds the uk and northern ireland in particular too closely to the eu. the government says it's working hard to find a solution it can take back to brussels. the prime minister could be back there by the end of the week. work is being done to find an alternative to the backstop, and in addition, the attorney—general, the government's most senior lawyer, is looking at legal changes that could be requested to put a time limit on the backstop or to find a mechanism where the uk could leave it

ata time of its choosing. but as things stand, publicly at least, the eu is opposed to all of these options. my concern is that when we talk about, or when they talk about, alternative arrangements, they're talking about revisiting things that have already been rejected. the british prime minister and the british government resiled from an agreement that they made with 28 other governments. it demonstrates exactly why we need a backstop. labour argue theresa may needs to shift her position and keep closer ties with the eu. you must get a deal through parliament that is acceptable. that means you must change your red lines about a customs union. it means you must look again at the way in which the future political framework is so vacuous. brexit is just over seven weeks away. there is no sign yet of a break in the deadlock. chris mason, bbc news, at westminster. and if you want to look at a useful

guide to help explain brexit and what some of the terms, like backstop mean, just go to our website bbc.com/news or download the bbc news app. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the floods threatening families in the australian city of townsville caught up by monsoon rains. this is the moment that millions in iran had been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid. and the anc leader, nelson mandela, is to be set free unconditionally. four, three, two, one... a countdown to a critical moment. the world's most powerful rocket

ignited all 27 of its engines at once. and apart from its power, it's this recycling of the rocket, slashing the cost of a launch, that makes this a breakthrough in the business of space travel. two americans have become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to their spaceship. one of them called it a piece of cake. thousands of people have given the yachtswoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming in the cornish port of falmouth after she smashed the world record for sailing solo around the world non—stop. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: search teams find the wreckage of a small plane that disappeared between france and britain carrying the argentine footballer emiliano sala and his pilot. president maduro has appeared on venezuelan television to deny that his country is facing a humanitarian disaster. pope francis is in the united arab

emirates on the first—ever papal visit to the arabian peninsula, the birthplace of islam. during the trip, that lasts less than 48 hours, he will meet leading muslim clerics and hold an open—air mass for some 135,000 catholics in the region. eliza philippidis reports. making history, the pope's plane touched down on the tarmac at abu dhabi's presidential airport. during the flight, he told journalists he was hopeful the visit would prove to be successful. translation: this will be a short trip, but this morning i received news that it was raining in abu dhabi, and in this place, one thinks of this as a sign ofa place, one thinks of this as a sign of a blessing. i hope it will all be like this. he was greeted by abu

dhabi's crowned prince, who escorted him to meet the grand imam of egypt, al azhar mosque and university, one of the mains seats of learning of sunni islam. before leaving rome on sunday the pope held mass in saint peters square. he made his strongest condemnation yet of the war in yemen, where the united arab emirates has a leading military role. he said the yemeni population is exhausted by the long conflict. translation: i follow with great concern the humanitarian crisis in yemen. a great many children are suffering from hunger but no access to food supplies. brothers and sisters, the cry of these children and their parents rises up to god. i call on the concerned parties to reach agreement to ensure the distribution of food, and to work for the good of the yemeni people. but the aim of the visit is for the

pope and islamic scholars to send a message of tolerance to the world. in 2016, the uae appointed a minister whose portfolio is to develop cultural awareness in the region. translation: why a minister of tolerance? because of the conflict, destruction and was wet religion is sadly dragged into it. we need to respect everyone while keeping the same time our own traditions and belief. the foreign workers and expats of all nationalities and beliefs make up 80% of the population in the uae. many of them have been lining up for tickets for the papal mass on tuesday. thousands of residents in the australian city of townsville have been warned of unprecedented flooding as monsoon rains continue. about 20,000 homes are at risk of flooding in townsville, in northern queensland, after the gates to the city's dam were opened on sunday. briony sowden reports. monsoon rains have been unrelenting, and filled this dam beyond capacity.

as water levels quickly rose on sunday, officials were forced to open the dam gates, deliberately flooding several neighbourhoods. at one point, about 2,000 cubic metres of water were spilling out every second, enough volume to fill about 48 0lympic—sized swimming pools every minute. residents had been told to move to higher ground as officials warned of dangerous levels of floodwaters threatening property and lives. but these streets are already rivers. homes are already under water. record levels of rain over the past week have dumped more than a metre of water in this coastal town, 20 times the average for this time of year. the waters rose with little warning. these residents were stranded as they waited for firefighters on boats to rescue them. livestock and cars have been swept

away, while even dangerous predators have washed onto the streets. we have seen about a couple of hundred homes now that have been inundated. we have nearly 10,000 residents without power. we've got about 200 people in oui’ evac centres. townsville is in tropical northern queensland, and often experiences monsoon during the summer months, but not to this level. local authorities are calling it a once—in—a—century flooding event, and they are urging residents still in their homes to be prepared to leave, with more heavy rain expected to fall over the next few days. briony sowden, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news: the united states is set to send an additional 2,000 soldiers to its border with mexico over the next three months. it will bolster the number of troops to 3,750.

the pentagon says they will carry out surveillance work and install 240 km of razor wire. president trump is still fighting congress for funds to build a wall along the southern border. a us negotiator has arrived in seoul for meetings with north and south koreans, ahead of a much—anticipated second summit between president trump and north korea's kimjong—un later this month. it is expected that, during the president's state of the union address on tuesday, he'll announce the date and location of his second summit with north korea. there has been an outcry from workers' unions in the united kingdom after nissan pulled out of plans to build its latest x—trail model in north—east england. the japanese car manufacturer cited a number of business—related reasons for the move, but also blamed brexit uncertainty. the manufacturing of the new model will stay in japan. poland's first openly gay politician, robert biedron, has launched a political party called spring to challenge

the socially conservative government in domestic and european elections this year. he told supporters in warsaw that poland needed positive energy to fulfil the legacy of pawel adamowicz, the mayor of the northern city of gdansk, who was stabbed to death on stage at a charity event last month. 0ur poland correspondent adam easton attended the party's launch. beethoven's's ode tojoy, the anthem of the european union, played over the loudspeakers as robert biedron walked on stage, in front of a crowd of many thousands of cheering supporters. mr robert biedron's pro—eu stance highlights the difference between his views and those of the eurosceptic and nationalist leaning government. translation: the republic of poland

is the republic of all citizens, with no exception. we can collaborate with the european union efficiently and get eu funds. we could introduce in vitro fertility treatment and reliable sex education, and we can separate church from state. the silver had 42—year—old set out a programme that puts him at odds with powerful vested interests, including the coalmining industry and the catholic church. he vowed to cut state funding to the church, legalise abortion, and close down all of the country's coal mines by 2035. mr biedron has been portrayed as poland's macron, but he has also adopted some policies from the government's generous and popular social spending programme. what sets him apartfor social spending programme. what sets him apart for some here is his commitment to progressive ideas. translation: i think that if we are to have a chance in the elections,

this party is our only chance. mr biedron is clearly a rising star of polish politics. the question is whether his party can achieve broad—based appeal. generations of women in coastal villages of the southern indian state of tamil nadu support their families by collecting seaweed. the women wear traditional saris while diving under the water. but experts say high demand is depleting seaweed stocks and affecting the ecosystem. take a look at this. the women in tamil nadu who died for seaweed. —— dive for seaweed. and here is an extremely rare weather phenomenon, a snow roller, created entirely by nature. scientists say that a combination of wind and the right sort of snow led to it rolling across a field in wiltshire, here in the uk, gathering size as it went. there are no footsteps or any other sign of human involvement in making it. hello.

after the coldest, snowiest week of the winter so far, there was only a gradual thaw over the weekend, but that is going to pick up pace in the coming days. but this is going to be disappearing away from the higher hills and mountains, as temperatures are heading up across the uk. but monday still starting on a chilly note across northern scotland, where there's some snow around. several centimetres into the hills here, above 150 metres or so, but a bit to even lower levels than that. it could be icy in places around this area of low pressure, which has also pushed this band of rain east across the uk through the night, though lingering for a time in the morning, particularly across east anglia and south—east england. so the snowfall in northern scotland could be causing a few problems as the day begins. that's slowly going to fizzle during the day. it's quite windy for a time in scotland, as well. the rain pulls away from the south—east. it's going to drag its heels, certainly, in kent. a lot of cloud behind this weather system, so we're not going to see much in the way of sunshine for east anglia and

south—east england. elsewhere, though, some sunny spells, one or two showers around, and already temperatures are going up, and towards parts of wales and south—west england, in particular, as high as 12 celsius. but, with the wind easing further under clear skies, there's another frost on the way on monday night and into tuesday morning. now, there could well be some fog developing, particularly through parts of southern england, that could be quite dense as tuesday begins. so here the temperature may not fall too far. but elsewhere, yes, there is that widespread frost, and we haven't had one of those for a while. so a frosty and in places foggy start to tuesday, but some sunshine around, before the next atlantic system start to feed in thicker cloud and outbreaks of rain moving north—east during the day, with a freshening south—westerly wind. it will be, the further north—east you are, you'll hold onto the drier, sunny conditions for longest on tuesday. so we will see outbreaks of rain spreading further east on tuesday night, and into wednesday, most of that clears.

but this weather front mayjust linger close to parts of east anglia and south—east england. still something to play for in the detail, but if it does, expect further outbreaks of rain. whereas elsewhere, there's a few days to come of sunshine and showers on a brisk breeze, but you'll notice the temperatures. they are at or even above normal for the time of year. and that is the big weather change for this week. it's the feel of the weather. as temperatures recover, it'll be much milder. still unsettled, with low pressure close by, so some rain at times, not all the time. there'll be some sunshine occasionally, too. 0ften windy, but mild south—westerlies. this is bbc news. the headlines: underwater search teams have found the wreckage of the plane, which was lost over the english channel 13 days ago, carrying premier league footballer emiliano sala to the uk. his family have been informed. the privately funded search of the seabed was launched after the official operation was called off. president nicolas maduro has denied that venezuela faces a humanitarian disaster, but blamed the united states

for instigating a political crisis. in a television interview, mr maduro didn't rule out the possibility of civil war and condemned what he called the "madness and aggression" of the us and its allies. villagers living downstream from the mining dam, which collapsed in brazil last week, have spoken of their anger at never being told about the risks of the site. more than 300 people died or are missing but the mine's owners are accused of putting profits before safety. those are the headlines. now on bbc news, the week in parliament.