a very warm welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's 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. five decades of sesame street. the muppets have now been helping children learn for 50 years. how do they do it? hello.

a group of latin american countries, along with canada, have urged the venezuelan military to support opposition leaderjuan 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. translation: now is the time to act. no more fruitless dialogue. we support a constitutional roadmap which will promote a peaceful immediate democratic transition through free, fair and transparent elections in venezuela with the participation of all venezuela's political actors. we have also urged the national

armed forces of venezuela to recognise their 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. major 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 countrymen. "i think it's very bad that the government won't accept help", sastose, "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. let's bring you this just coming into us. the paris fire service is saying that seven people have died

inafire saying that seven people have died in a fire in a building in a wealthy neighbourhood on monday night, this from the afp newsagency. they are reporting the blaze took hold in an eight story block in the 16th arendt —— arrondissement. according to the fire crew won half hours ago at 3am local time, fire crews had finished evacuating the block, but were still fighting the flames. several surrounding buildings were also evacuated. more on that as soon as we have it. the head of the un mission in yemen has warned that the seven—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 ten 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. yemen's continuing nightmare. a story of course we will be back to. let's get some of the day's other news: the special american envoy for north korea, stephen biegun, will meet with north korea's envoy later this month. stephen biegun, will meet with north korea's envoy in pyongyang on wednesday. he said the aim was to map out "a set of concrete deliverables" for the second summit between donald trump and kimjong un later this month.

the berlin—based airline germania has announced that it has filed for bankruptcy and cancelled all flights with immediate effect. the airline with 37 aircraft had flown mainly mediterranean, north african and middle eastern holiday routes on package trips. the airline blamed the financial difficulties on high fuel prices last summer. 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. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake has the latest. theresa may will acknowledge that this is a concerning time in northern ireland, but pledge to find a way to honours the government's commitments to people there, commands broad support across the community

and secures a majority in parliament at westminster. the question of how to keep an open border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland has become the major sticking point in the brexit 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 if a trade deal couldn't be done. mrs may will meet leaders of the main political parties in northern ireland who remain at odds on 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. jonathan blake, bbc news, westminster. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: for 50 years, children and their parents have been loving sesame street.

l—0—v—e, what's that say? love! 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 world news. the latest headlines: 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. earlier, i spoke to danish freelance journalist magnus boding hansen in caracas. i asked him how he saw this whole crisis playing out in venezuela. people have been talking about this

and the majority of venezuelans and the international community seem to support majuro, it is also worry about the risk of civil war and they spent the last couple of days talking to opposition leaders and also opposition supporters about how they plan to avoid ace of award because we are begging basically, the army to change sides and go with you, there is a real risk that some of them won't respond and that is how a civil war could start. they are asking their supporters to be peaceful even if the soldiers will go with them against maduro. they should just start date disobeying him, that's the plan of the

opposition to avoid it the war, whether that's enough, who knows? with that worry about violence, if the opposition to bring in this humanitarian aid, that is a potential flashpoint, humanitarian aid, that is a potentialflashpoint, isn't it? yeah, black hawk down in somalia, that was the us trying to bring in humanitarian aid, that went wrong. the moment you try to bring in humanitarian aid against the voices of the maduro government a potential conflict for our country right there. and yet people are desperate for it? yeah. as it has been known for it? yeah. as it has been known for a while, there are extremely high numbers of malnourishment, basically outright hunger, not enough lead to feed everyone is so its popular amongst venezuela ns enough lead to feed everyone is so its popular amongst venezuelans to have humanitarian aid. at the same time there's a risk and a realisation among the opposition bringing in humanitarian aid could

be the persistent subversion of the famous programme that maduro runs where he gives food for free to the poon where he gives food for free to the poor. it is to be managed in a very smart way if you want to avoid the first conflict and second, because something that runs out of control ina very something that runs out of control in a very practical local government when uk feed a lot of poor people. briefly, if you don't mind, when you see the military going with this, there is talk of access to weapons being restricted by the maduro administration. the president can't be that confidence of the loyalty. —— their loyalty. be that confidence of the loyalty. -- their loyalty. is very worried they do. it's good for him, and it might even be good for the country as well to restrict the access to weapons. when you have the uprising, not too long ago were soldiers — low ranking soldiers went against him,

that was exactly because of their lack of access to weapons, they had to go from army barracks and basically steal weapons from there. the fact it's so difficult for them to have weapons means a lot of them how to rise up at the same time if it is to be effective stop that the disadvantage to those who want to oust mid— euro but an advantage to eve ryo ne oust mid— euro but an advantage to everyone else —— maduro, but it makes civil war less likely. police in belgium are hunting thieves who tunnelled into sewers to get into a bank vault in antwerp. it's thought they squeezed through pipesjust a0 centimetres 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 tunnelled 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's a 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 "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. that painting by the anonymous street artist banksy that shredded itself during an auction in october is back on display in germany in its new form. but the museum has been careful to make sure the rest of it is preserved.

kathryn armstrong has the story. this was the moment that sent shock waves through the art world in october. a painting by the mysterious british artist, known as banksy, suddenly self—shreds in its frame, after being sold for more than $1.3 million. the transformed piece, which was originally called girl with a balloon, was then given a new game, love is in the bin. —— new name. banksy has admitted that he was behind the stunt or was it a statement? now the artwork is going on display in germany, but this time it has been thoroughly checked for batteries and live wires to try and ensure there are no more surprises. translation: banksy has a particular sense of humour. we are definitely wanting to avoid a situation where a certain visitor would show up and, as happened in london, press a hidden button and set the shredder going again. however, the museum says it is keen to display the work in a way that is in keeping with

the spirit of the artist. translation: at the end of the day banksy is a street artist which means people can see his art on the street without having to pay entry, so we wanted to display his art for free. love is in the bin will be on display for four weeks, before being moved to another museum in stuttgart, where it will also be free to view. kathryn armstrong, bbc news. 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 forthe 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. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @bbcmikeembley.

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. the latest headlines for you from bbc news: 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. you are up—to—date with the headlines. it is