welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: a group of latin american countries, along with canada, call for a change of government in venezuela as its crippled economy teeters on the brink. if you buyjust this much, you've spent a third of the average monthly wage and prices are skyrocketing. they've doubled in a month. as theresa may heads to northern ireland she says she's determined to find a way to deliver brexit and avoid a hard border with ireland. and the outrageous heist through the sewers of antwerp‘s diamond district. 5 decades of sesame street — the muppets have now been helping children learn for 50 years. how do they do it?. a group of latin american countries, along with canada,

have urged the venezuelan military to support opposition leader juan guaido as interim president. the lima group is calling for a peaceful change of government, and immediate deliveries of humanitarian aid. i do also want address the issue of outside military intervention and an important point in our communique is point 17, where we have agreed and i quote, finally, they, this is the countries of the lima group, re—iterate their support for a process of peaceful transition through political and diplomatic means without the use of force. revelation that now is the time to

act. —— revelation that now is the time to act. -- translation: the revelation that now is the time to act. —— translation: the one free, transparent and fair elections in venezuela with the participation of all venezuelans and political actors. we have also urged the national armed forces of venezuela to recognise that commander—in—chief juan guaido. the president of venezuela. nicholas maduro has suggested the political and economic crisis could lead to civil war — depending, he said, on the "madness" of washington and its allies. mr guido has dismissed that. orla guerin reports from caracas: all eyes now on venezuela, where it's not hard to find scenes like this. the embattled president, nicolas maduro, insists his people are not paupers. 19—year—old anders would beg to differ. he only eats what he can find. translation: people don't throw things away anymore. before, they threw out everything — food, clothes, shoes. sometimes i don't find a thing.

so i don't eat. right across the street, at the neighbourhood fruit and veg stall, plenty on display, but few customers. they talk here about the maduro diet, enforced weight loss due to hyperinflation. what can you not afford to buy any more, what things did you eat before that you can't eat now? "meat, chicken, milk," says irene. "thank god there are no toddlers in my house. anyone who can is leaving the country. " i've got a handful of potatoes here. if you buyjust this much, you've spent a third of the average monthly wage. and prices are skyrocketing — they've doubled in a month. food is a key battleground here for president maduro and for the opposition. it's a top priority forjuan guaido, the opposition leader swarmed by cameras and looking like a head of state. the european union, the latest

to recognise him as such. he's promising to bring in food aid if the venezuelan military will allow it through the border. "lives are at stake," he says. this would be the gateway, the border with colombia. today, as every day, venezuela ns streaming out. more than three million have fled. but president maduro is refusing all offers of aid, angering some of his countryman. "i think it's very bad that the government won't accept help", says jose, "they are scared that people will realise the hospitals aren't working, that nothing

is working in venezuela. thank god the border is open so that we can buy food". but on venezuelan state tv, no hunger in sight, just military theatrics. president maduro making almost daily appearances now with his troops. front and centre, as commander—in—chief. he needs to keep them onside. so far, it seems he has. he's sending a none too subtle message to opponents at home and abroad — i've got the big guns, remember that. orla guerin, bbc news, caracas. the head of the un mission in yemen has warned that the 7—week ceasefire, in the key port city of hudaydah, is fragile. there have been more talks between the two sides in yemen's civil war, president hadi's government, internationally—recognised and backed by a saudi led coalition, and houthi rebels, who are accused of being allied with iran. but un officials says yemen is still the world's

worst humanitarian crisis. it's estimated 10 million people are suffering from extreme hunger. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet has been speaking to people in khokha, in hudaydah province. in yemen, even the sea is a war zone. the morning's catch in kokha. shark for sale at the main fish market, as big as abdu, the littlest fishermen. it's a dangerous business here. men of the sea come under attack. "the houthi scared us when they were here", abdu says. he remembers apaches too, the helicopters of the saudi—led coalition. some of these men lost friends. translation: they attacked them with air strikes. they thought they were the enemy. some of them got compensation, 30,000 saudi riyals.

and they gave them new boats and engines. 30,000 saudi riyals — that's about £6,000. some say they received much more. for now, the sea is safer with the ceasefire. we're in kokha with emirati forces. they helped yemen's military and its militias recapture this city from the houthis a year ago. families are now fleeing here from front lines nearby. there's danger here too. a grenade was thrown at a camp for the displaced. seven—year—old hamed among the injured. yemen's war is a war on childhood. haled lost part of his hand to a landmine, in one of the world's most heavily mined countries. his fingers are shredded. do you think the ceasefire is going to hold? i don't think, because every day, gun shot in the head,

shrapnel, explosion, shrapnel from landmine, every day. but if the ceasefire collapses, it will get worse in yemen. is that what you fear? yes. i fear the ceasefire, if it not — if it will stop, it will be catastrophic for the citizens. it's already been catastrophic for so many, caught between coalition bombing and blockades and houthi abuses. nabia and her two sons are all malnourished. "baby yiyad was vomiting, vomiting", she tells me. he had diarrhoea too. five—year—old hassan has had multiple operations. drinking milk for adults made him severely ill. the baby milk was too expensive to buy.

everywhere you go in yemen, you feel the crushing weight of this war, this poverty. in markets like this, there is food to buy, but yemenis can't afford it. they don't have jobs, they don't have money. and you see the evidence of that in every hospital, every clinic you visit. a ceasefire, however imperfect, in this small sliver of yemen, makes a difference, but it's just onepiece in a much bigger plan to try to end this war. all of it so fragile. lyse doucet, bbc news, kokha. let's get some of the day's other news. the us special envoy for north korea, stephen biegun, will meet with his north korean counterpart in pyongyang on wednesday. he said the aim of the meeting was to map out "a set of concrete deliverables" for the second summit between president donald trump and the north korean leader kimjong un later this month. two men are missing

in the australian city of townsville, where thousands of homes have been flooded by unprecedented rainfall. emergency crews have been working through the night. hundreds of people have been moved to evacuation centres. more storms are approaching, with more heavy rain forecast. two senior executives of a hungarian aluminium plant have been sentenced to jail over a dam burst that sent a wave of toxic red sludge through two villages and a town, in october 2010. ten people were killed and hundreds injured. eight other officials of the plant got lesser sentences for negligence. here in the uk mps on both sides of the brexit divide have been meeting for the first time, to discuss how they'll try to ensure there'll be no need for border controls between northern ireland and the republic of ireland once the uk leaves the european union. prime minister theresa may is due in northern ireland on tuesday. our political correspondent jonathan

blake has the latest: theresa may will acknowledge that this is concerning time in northern ireland. to pledge a way to honour brexit that honours people ‘s commitment is there an broad support across the community and secures a majority in parliament at westminster. the question about how to keep an open border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland has become the major sticking point in the process. there is no agreement yet on what alternative arrangements could replace the backstop which would see the uk remain in a customs union with the eu is a trade deal could not be done. mrs may will meet leaders of the main political parties in northern ireland and remained at odds at the issue. sinn fein are supportive of the backstop but the dup leader arlene foster said it was toxic and must be dealt with. the former first minister of northern ireland david trimble has said he intends to take legal action against the government over the

backstop claiming it breaches the terms of the good friday agreement. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: for 50 years — children and their parents have been loving sesame street. we celebrate the anniversary with a little help from its residents. 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 news, our main headline: a group of latin american countries and canada have called for a change of government in venezuela without force and have urged the army to end its backing for president maduro. let's stay with that story now. magnus boding hansen is a danish freelancejournalist. he's in caracas now. thank you for your time. how do you

see this playing out? people in caracas have been talking, these last days, especially the opposition of president majuro, to support this but there is a worry for the escalation and at the risk of civil war. i have spoken to opposition leaders and supporters about how they plan to avoid a civil war because when you are backing to the army to change sides, there is a risk that some will and some will not and that is how civil wars start. they are asking supporters to be peaceful, even if soldiers will go with them against maduro they

should not shoot but support them peacefully, the army. if the opposition do bring in humanitarian aid, that is a potentialflashpoint? for sure. black hawk down in somalia, that was the us trying to bring in humanitarian aid and that went wrong. the moment you try to bring in humanitarian aid, they could be seen as that. yet people are desperate for it? yes, venezuela, as it has been known for a while, have high numbers of our nutrition, basically outright hunger. there is not enough food to feed everyone. it is popular with

venezuelans, feed everyone. it is popular with venezuela ns, humanitarian feed everyone. it is popular with venezuelans, humanitarian aid. at the same time they realise there is a risk that bringing in humanitarian aid could be the opposition ‘s version of the famous programme that maduro runs when he gives food to the poor. but it does not become something that runs out of control when you try to feed a lot of poor people. where do you see the military going with these? if there is talk axis to weapons is limited now? he cannot be confident in their loyalty? it is clear that he is scared of a coup. it is smart and good for him and the country maybe, to restrict the axis to weapons. when you had the uprising not too

long ago, where soldiers, low ranking soldiers, went against him, that was exactly because of the lack of axis to weapons. they had to go from army barrack to army barrack and basically steal from them. the fa ct and basically steal from them. the fact that it is so difficult for them to have weapons means it is ha rd to them to have weapons means it is hard to be effective and that is a disadvantage to those once to oust maduro but an advantage to others who see it as making a civil war less likely. police in belgium are hunting thieves who tunneled into sewers to get into a bank vault in antwerp. it's thought they squeezed through pipes just 40cm across, before making their escape. andy beatt has the story. in the heart of antwerp, a stone's throw from the famous diamond district, a heist worthy of hollywood. translation: it is like a movie. in the small hours of sunday,

the thieves are thought to have tunneled from this building, four metres to the neighbouring sewer. in cramped and toxic conditions, they then crawled 300 metres on their stomachs. at the bank and another short tunnel took them into the bank vaults. inside they forced open at least 20 deposit boxes, then vanished without trace. while one resident said she heard a lot of banging, the alarm was not raised until nearly 12 hours later. translation: i do not know whether my safe has been opened. we cannot go downstairs. the police are there and are investigating. translation: a lot of people are not only keeping money orjewels, but also emotive family pieces. the bank can't give any information right now. the police can't yet confirm what was stolen, and admit they have no idea who the perpetrators might be. the robbery all the more remarkable because of the risks the thieves were prepared to take.

translation: digging this tunnel could have caused a collapse. if it rains, the sewer‘s quickly filled with water and there'sa danger of drowning, and there are other hazards such as gases from the waste water. it is not the first time this wealthy neighbourhood has been targeted. antwerp boasts the world's largest diamond quarter, with an annual turnover of more than $50 billion. 15 years ago, just a few streets away, $100 million of diamonds, gold and jewellery was stolen in the so—called "hiest of the century". in the so—called "heist of the century". this is unlikely to be on anything like the same scale but while the search is underway for the criminals, so far police, the bank and its customers remain in the dark. andy beatt, bbc news. a painting by the anonymous street artist banksy that was shredded during an auction in october is back on display

in germany in its new form. banksy has suggested that the entire canvas was supposed to shred— notjust two thirds of it so the museum has been taking extra steps to make sure the rest of the piece is preserved. kathryn armstrong has more. this was the moment that sent shock waves through the art world in october. a painting by the mysterious british artist known as ba nksy mysterious british artist known as banksy suddenly saw shredded after being sold for $1.3 billion. the piece was then given a new game, love is in the bin. banksy has admitted he was behind the stunt or was a statement? the artwork is now going on display in germany but this time it has been thoroughly checked for batteries and live wires to make sure nothing will happen again like that. translation: banksy has a

particular sense of humour. we want to avoid a situation where someone could press a button and set it going again. however, the museum says it is keen to display the work ina way says it is keen to display the work in a way in keeping with the spirit of the archers. / and in a way in keeping with the spirit of the archers. /and mac —— artists. translation: at the end of the day banksy is a street artist which meant people could see his art on the street without people paying for it so we wanted to display his art forfree. for it so we wanted to display his art for free. it will then go to stuttgart, also free to view. you just no he will have something else planned. this week sesame street turns 50 years old. for half a century, this groundbreaking tv show has been entertaining kids, and managing to educate them all at the same time. whether it's learning your abcs or understanding autism, say, or bullying, generations have grown up with sesame. now, it's helping kids around the world displaced by conflict. laura travelyan reports.

the recording of sesame street is a serious business. we're on set in new york city with the cast, where 50 years after the first episode, the mission is the same: learning through play. l-o-v-e. what that say? love! the creators of sesame street, back in 1969, had a radical idea: using puppets and humour to engage parents watching tv with their kids, to make the learning experience deeper. it started, really, as an experiment. sesame street was created to see if less advantaged children could benefit from early education through media, to arrive at school ready to learn. and of course, it was an overnight success. like millions of others, i grew up watching sesame street, and so did my kids. so meeting elmo and abby was quite the moment. now, i know that you two are very good with your words. elmo, what's your favourite word? supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

i like that one, too! that's a good one! abby, do you have a favourite word? yes, it'sjoy! that's good! i'm going to be an artist when i grow up. sesame street has always embraced diversity, which has led to controversy over the years. mississippi's education board tried to ban the show in 1970 because the cast included black and white actors. the big and difficult issues in life are tackled here head on. big bird, when people die, they don't come back. long before the importance of preschool education was widely recognised, sesame street was teaching kids their abcs. the pioneering puppets have made learning fun, notjust here in america but across the globe. at a refugee camp injordan, elmo is playing with kids who've fled syria's civil war. sesame street is developing a new production in arabic to help families across the region displaced by the conflict. so, who's zeerak?

well, zeerak is a little boy in our afghan production, baghch—e—simsim... sherrie westin of the sesame foundation says it's a natural evolution of the show. one of the things that sesame has always done is to look at pressing issues around the world that are affecting young children and see what sesame could do to help. because we have a unique ability to address tough issues from a child's perspective. so in terms of refugees, the sheer number of children displaced today really made us want to step up. back on set in queens, the tradition of make—believe is alive and well. you are an honorary sesame street chicken! can i have a cuddle? of course! good job! i'm going in fora hug. from the bronx to bangladesh, half a century on, the impact of the playful puppets has spread far and wide. laura travelyan, bbc news. laura gets the dream gig. a 70th

anniversary of four the snow festival in japan. one anniversary of four the snow festival injapan. one celebrates naomi or osaka, the winner of the us and australian tennis open. a group of south american countries and canada support the opposition leader juan guaido as into ram president. they ask for a peaceful change of government and the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid. maul for you any time on the bbc website. —— interim. hello.

monday saw a transition to much milder weather across much of the uk. tuesday though will start off on a pretty chilly note, at least first thing. this picture was taken on monday evening, by one of our weather watchers, in hertfordshire, showing that the fog's already been forming. so i think we are likely to start with quite a bit of mist and fog around, also some frost here and there, first thing tuesday morning. rain will move in from the west later on in the day, so we'll see those skies clouding over. a clear start for many of us. you can see the the blue colours indicating where the lowest of the temperatures and the frost will be. there's also going to be some fog problems, particularly through the vale of york, also through parts of southern england, perhaps east wales as well. through the day, we do start with that sunshine for much of scotland, northern england, eastern england too. but you can see the cloud rolling in from the west, ahead of the arrival of some wet weather. so later in the morning, there'll be some rain for northern ireland, wales,

the south—west of england too. that rain pushing its way eastwards through the day. eastern scotland and eastern england should stay mostly dry, although skies will cloud over and temperature will range between around 6—12 degrees on tuesday afternoon. now, we'll keep all the cloud and the outbreaks of patchy rain overnight tuesday into wednesday. still quite a breeze too. so for many of us it will be a reasonably mild night but where we do see those skies clear, particularly in the north, could just be a touch of frost, but generally a frost—free and a mild start to your wednesday. now, through the day on wednesday, showers from the word go across the north—west of the country. initially some rain in the south—east too and that's down to this weather front that you can see on the map here. it is clearing its way off towards the south—east and then we're all left with this westerly flow of air. so quite a showery scene for northern ireland, western scotland too. and through the day, we'll see some of that rain in the south just pushing back in, so a bit of a soggy afternoon, i think, for south—east england, the london region and east anglia too, but elsewhere actually some sunny spells coming through and temperatures not far off what we'd expect for the time of year. between around about 8—10

degrees for most of us. looking ahead now towards the end of the week and things will turn increasingly unsettled. we could see a spell of rain, perhaps even a bit of snow over the hills, moving through into the early hours of thursday morning. so overnight wednesday into thursday, chance of seeing a little bit of hill snow here and there. through the day on thursday, then the worst of the rain and hill snow should clear away. and then again we're left with a westerly flow, a mix of sunny spells and a few scattered showers but it could turn quite stormy, quite windy and unsettled as we look towards the end of the week. that's it for now. bye— bye. this is bbc news. the headlines: a group of latin american countries along with canada have urged the venezuelan military to support the opposition leader juan guaido as interim president. the 1a—nation lima group called for a change of government without the use of force and said president nicolas maduro's administration should lose access to venezuela's international assets. theresa may is heading to northern ireland, where she'll tell business leaders that she's determined to find a way to deliver brexit and avoid a hard

border with ireland. on wednesday she'll hold talks with the different political parties. police in belgium are hunting a gang who used the sewers to break into a bank in antwerp. it's thought they tunnelled from sewage pipes, boring into the vaults and making off with the contents of at least 20 deposit boxes. the sewerage company said the risk from gas and flash flooding made the heist extremely dangerous.