welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: as president trump rallies support for his border wall in texas, republican and democrats say they've reached a possible deal that could avoid another government shutdown. back home — the bahraini footballer freed from a thai jail arrives back in australia, where he has refugee status. one of brazil's best known political journalists, dies in a helicopter crash. small creatures, big problem — why the threat of insect extinction could have catastrophic results for us all. hello. in the us congress, republican and democratic negotiators are saying they have reached

an agreement in principle on border security that might avoid another shutdown of the us government. the current funding agreement runs out on friday, but talks had previously stalled on questions about the detention of undocumented migrants and funding for president trump's promised wall on the southern border with mexico. mr trump has been speaking to supporters at a rally in el paso, texas, where there already is a partial border wall. he's still insisting on more than $5 billion from us taxpayers to fund a full—length wall. i have to tell you, as i was walking up i have to tell you, as i was walking up to the stage, they said progress has been made. we at building a wall anyway. just now. just now. i said,

wait a anyway. just now. just now. i said, waita minute, anyway. just now. just now. i said, wait a minute, i have to take care of by people from texas. i've got to go. i don't even want to hear about it. i don't want to hear about it. sol it. i don't want to hear about it. so i don't know what they mean, progress has been made, significant. now, what did happen is the democrats were being hit really hard on the concept of releasing criminals into our society. that has not been playing well. so maybe progress, maybe not. so i had a choice, i could stay here and listen oi’ choice, i could stay here and listen ori choice, i could stay here and listen or i could come out to the people of el paso and texas. i chose you. mrtrump giving a mr trump giving a version of reality that many would dispute. let's get some of the day's other news. a malaysian court has postponed the first trial of former prime minister najib razak, who faces multiple charges of corruption. his lawyers appealed on tuesdayjust as the high court in kuala lumpur was due to start hearings on seven counts of criminal breach of trust,

corruption and money laundering. the case concerns $10.5 million from a state development fund allegedly transferred into his personal account. britain's prime minister theresa may is expected to update members of parliament on tuesday with the latest on the uk leaving the european union. the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, held what he called constructive talks with the uk's brexit secretary in brussels on monday evening. tonight we followed up on the meeting between theresa may and jean—claude juncker last week and we had with the secretary of state constructive talks. it is clear from oui’ constructive talks. it is clear from our side that we are not going to reopen the withdrawal agreement, but we will continue our discussion in the coming days. horse racing in britain will restart on wednesday after a six—day shutdown because of an outbreak of equine flu. the british horseracing authority has been advised by vets that race meetings can go ahead,

with strict bio—security controls. the virus is generally not life—threatening, but limits a horse's competitive capability. one of brazil's best known political journalists, ricardo boechat, has died in a helicopter crash. the helicopter came down onto a motorway in sao paulo around midday on monday, crashing into a lorry. it had taken off from the nearby city of campinas earlier in the day. caroline rigby has more. lines strewn across the road, the wreckage of the helicopter which had been carrying one of brazil's best—known political journalists. ricardo boechat died along with the pilot when at around midday on monday eyewitnesses say the aircraft crashed into this lorry on a sao paolo ring road after appearing to be out of control. translation: when it crashed, it exploded. the pieces are all over the place. it caught fire. after 15 minutes, firefighters arrived. the lorry driver was rescued

by paramedics and escaped with only minor injuries. an investigation is now under way to determine the cause the crash. ricardo boechat was an award—winning news anchor for band tv, one of brazil's biggest media groups. he hosted a morning radio programme and presented the evening television news. having entered journalism in the 1970s, the 66—year—old gained prominence through his critical analysis of politicians accompanied by a healthy dose of good humour. a rare stance in an environment so often characterised by formalities and a deference to the authorities. the news anchor was twice voted brazil's most admired journalist by his peers. following news of his death, tributes from colleagues described him as a journalist's journalist and praised his impactful reporting and legacy. ricardo boechat dedicated his working life to journalism.

a life he lost shortly after recording his latest show. caroline rigby, bbc news. bahrainy footballer hakeem al—araibi has arrived back at melbourne airport as a free man. mr al araibi boarded a flight early on tuesday after bahrain dropped its bid to have him extradited from thailand, bringing to an end a case that has drawn international criticism. hakeem al araibi fled bahrain in 2014 and received refugee status in australia. he was arrested in thailand last year while on his honeymoon. a short time ago i spoke to the bbc's hywel griffith in melbourne. i asked him for the latest. hakeem has now landed back in melbourne and is on his way home in a taxi to see his wife for the first time in more than 10 weeks. he was given a hero's welcome here and incredible really considering when he left here back in november, no—one really knew much about hakeem al araibi. however, his case has made headlines around the world, being detained in a thai jail for more than ten weeks after an extradition request from bahrain.

when his spoke to us very briefly, he was clearly overwhelmed by the response. he thanked australia and all australians for bringing his case to international attention. he thanked the australian government for advocating on his behalf. he said that he felt australian. he's a refugee here, he has refugee status, he's hoping soon to be an australian citizen. he said this is his country, this is where he belongs. he's so grateful to be back here now. it's not entirely clear why bahrain and thailand gave ground on this unless it is to do with the international campaign. i know a lot of the footballers who got involved are saying it doesn't end here? absolutely. we've been speaking to craig foster, former captain of the australian socceroos team who really advocated on his behalf, flew to thailand, flew to zurich to try and get fifa involved. he says while he's overjoyed to be back and see hakeem safely back in australia, he feels fifa and particularly the heads of fifa have let down our player. he is only a semi—professional

player, certainly not famous for his footballing skills, but nevertheless, he is someone that should have deserved the protection of the football fraternity and he believes the football authorities have answers here, they have a human rights policy that they didn't stick to. they didn't threaten sanctions against thailand or bahrain so it's only within the last week, really, that fifa have become involved. he says that the world game and the governance of the game needs to be looked at and their campaign for that to happen and for human rights to be upheld through the game and through the pressure that it brings, that campaign will continue. human activity could drive the earth's entire insect population to extinction within a century, according to a major new scientific study. insects are vital pollinators, so any decline threatens food production and the latest warnings suggest 40% of species could be gone within a few decades. pesticides, agriculture and climate change are being blamed. more details from our environment correspondent victoria gill. they're the planet's smallest,

most essential workers, producing ourfood, cleaning up our waste. but changes we are making to the environment threaten the very existence of earth's insect population. that's according to scientists, who analysed dozen of insect surveys that were carried out all over the world over the last 13 years. it revealed that many species are now sliding towards extinction at a dramatic rate. overall, 41% of the world's insect species are in decline, and that includes some very familiar creatures. 49% of beetles are declining, 37% of mayflies, and 53% of butterflies and moths. so that is one of the groups that is troubled 7 absolutely, moths and bees and beetles are all massively in trouble right now... those losses, scientists say, could jeopardise our way of life. so much of our atmospheric carbon,

which is linked to climate change, that's stored in the soil, and that's cycled through the soil by insects. our food is grown in the soil, that's made by insects. and then our food is then pollinated by insects. every single step along that has an insect associated with it, that's doing an importantjob. and without that, we would lose the ability to produce food, wouldn't we? but, as much as we rely on insects, it is primarily our activities and our food production practices that have been driving these declines. there are three key things that this study highlights as threats to our planet's insect diversity — climate change, invasive species, and critically, how we use our land, the increasing intensification of agriculture. around the world, suitable habitat is being consumed by farming and urbanisation, and the study says widespread use of synthetic pesticides is a major driver of insect loss. bug lovers can help by making gardens more pollinator—friendly. but researchers say food production

will have to change to stop our most important pollinators becoming collateral damage in the battle against pests. more than 4,000 people in the philippines have been infected with measles this year, a significant increase. health officials say 70 patients have died across the country, but doctors on the ground say that number could be much higher. our philippines correspondent howard johnson has more. this is tondo, one of the poorest areas in the philippine capital manila and one of the most vulnerable to the country's recent measles outbreak. the nearby san lazaro hospitalfor infectious diseases has been inundated with patients. the stifling paediatric ward, beds are

being shed to accommodate newcomers. according to a hospital records we we re according to a hospital records we were shown, at least 59 children have died of measles related illnesses here since the start of the year. defeated for the same period in 2018 was five. tondo‘s nine—month—old son has been suffering from fever and coughing for a week. he hasn't been vaccinated against measles because erica is concerned about safety. translation: it is normal for a erica is concerned about safety. translation: it is normalfor a nine month to one—year—old to be vaccinated, i really don't let my children have those. low vaccination is coverage has been a historical problem for the philippines, but public confidence in vaccines fell at the end of 2017 when the government cancelled a nationwide dengue programme, citing safety concerns. the manufacturer disclosed the products posed risks to children who hadn't previously been infected

by the disease. doctors say in accurate social media pose around the situation created fear about vaccines, a problem not exclusive to the philippines. we do see that globally, fast access to social media and faster circulation of rumours and not evidence —based opinions about things that have an impact about how parents think about vaccines, so there are parents who are more sceptical with regard to the value and the effectiveness and the value and the effectiveness and the safety of vaccines and that does have an impact. with public hospitals stretched to the limit, the philippine red cross arm now appealing for more volunteers to support patients. doctors say the outbreak could take weeks to contain. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: not so much grand prix, but grass prix. how lawnmower racing has gone international. there's mr mandela.

mr nelson mandela, a free man, taking his first steps into a new south africa. iran's spiritual leader ayatollah khomeini has said he's passed a death sentence on salman rushdie, the british author of a book which many muslims say is blasphemous. the people of haiti have flocked to church to give thanks for the ousting of their former president, 'baby doc' duvalier. because of his considerable value as a stallion, shergar was kept in a special secure box in the stud farm's central block. shergar was driven away in a horse box the thieves had brought with them. there stepped down from the plane a figure in mourning. elizabeth ii, queen of this realm and of all her other realms and territories, head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith. this is bbc news.

the latest headlines: as president trump rallies support for his border wall in texas, republican and democrats say they have reached a possible deal that could avoid another government shutdown. the bahraini footballer freed from a thai jail arrives back in australia, where he has refugee status. the united nations is urging the warring parties in yemen to give it access to a vast store of grain that is desperately needed in a country on the brink of famine. the red sea mills, on the frontlines in the port of hudaydah, hold enough grain to feed 3.7 million people for a month, but the un says it is now at risk of rotting. earlier i spoke with fatima alasrar, a senior analyst for the arabia foundation. i began by asking how the situation can be remedied. i think that all parties need

to take responsibility, but the houthis definitely have to grant access to critical roads where you can get the food in and out. otherwise, as the un has warned, this truly is in risk of spillage, and it being spoiled, and it could affect basically the food supplies for millions of people for months to come. so we definitely don't want to see this aid being spoiled, and you know, it has to go to the right people. so hopefully, more sustained international pressure to get access to these mills. you know, of course, yemen has suffered so much from the civil war that's become a proxy war, from desperate hunger, from disease. i think many people would have thought this kind of thing was sorted out by the stockholm agreement, but no. yeah, the stockholm agreement was overly optimistic.

it was really dubbed as the first step to peace. but we've come to realise hence that it was just overly ambitious in what it was trying to achieve, and in the timeline that it tried to achieve it. so we now have a significant delay, it's almost an indefinite delay since the un envoy has announced that, and this is a major disappointment because it has really severe consequences on the lives of civilians on the ground who are impacted by this conflict. the agreement was not, of course, supposed to solve all of yemen's problems, or bring us on track to peace, but it was essentially engineered as a confidence—building measure between both warring parties in order to move on, and to have the first step to peace talks. and what we have seen since then is really, you know, no progress on this agreement, as both parties

are bickering over small details. the ceasefire in hodeidah has had several violations. we see the brutal oppression of people in taiz, who this agreement was supposed to look after, in terms of a statement of understanding in taiz that would lift the houthi blockade. and furthermore, we saw that the houthis would not open a humanitarian corridor between sana'a and hodeidah, which are the two areas they control. and they also refuse to de—mine that road, in fear of the coalition forces coming over and taking these areas easily, if these landmines weren't there. so we're not really seeing, you know, any — this implementation taking place with teeth. so far there has been, you know, just — it's perhaps more on paper than on the ground.

the campaign is growing for african art seized in the colonial era and displayed in european museums to be returned to the continent. a recent report commissioned by president macron of france suggests 90% of africa's cultural heritage is still held outside africa. here is the bbc‘s africa editor fergal keane. the past is alive, but to whom does it belong? to the descendants of the empire builders, or the people from whose lands it was taken? in the old imperial capitals, art that was stolen by colonial conquerors is now the focus of a growing campaign for restitution. these are the benin bronzes, at the british museum, looted by british forces in nigeria at the close of the 19th century. those pieces, that art, represents the essence of us. i need to be able to explain certain things about my being,

certain things as to why i'm who i am, and do things the way i do, and think the way i do. and that's why art is important. on one level, this is a debate about priceless pieces of art, and where they really belong. but it's part of a much larger movement in africa and the african diaspora to reclaim a stolen cultural heritage. it's about the right of africans to possess their own history. perhaps nowhere is the debate so haunted by past cruelties as here, at the grand museum erected outside brussels by king leopold ii of belgium. it was built on the profits of forced labour in rubber plantations. those who failed to collect their quota had hands chopped off. african art was carted back here in vast quantities. but the museum has undergone a major revamp, to reflect the reality of colonial history. if you look there, you know,

there's a monogram of leopold ii, about six times here, and in total about 45 times throughout the building. he wasn't a man for understatement, was he? no, he was really... but, as for restitution, there are reservations about capacity and the dangers of corruption. do you trust the authorities in congo... no. ..to treat anything that is brought back with the care it deserves? at this moment, no, absolutely not. i wouldn't trust any of the people that are currently in charge. not that they are of bad will, but just they don't have the facilities. there is no security system. a lot of these objects are worth a lot of money. people are paid very badly. what would you do if you were paid, you know, not even $100 a month? but african voices are insistent change must come. in the democratic republic of congo, we visited a fledgling museum in kinshasa that combines old colonial sculpture with this storehouse of congolese art.

professor bwatshia acknowledges the worries about corruption in congo, but a new national museum has been built, with south korean help, a place that could provide a congolese home for looted treasures. translation: during colonisation, belgium, england, and america unfortunately took a lot of the art. this is only a small portion of what can be found in europe, so we should claim them back. it's better that it is here, for the good of the congolese people. there is, in africa and the west, a growing view that collaboration is the way forward. exhibitions rotating between continents. like the benin bronzes of the british museum. it's a debate defined by reasonableness. not least on the part of africans, still willing to share what was stolen from them. fergal keane, bbc news.

a court in the netherlands is due to hear the first arguments later in a historic civil case brought by nigerian ogoni activists against the hague—based oil company royal dutch shell. the firm is accused of having been complicit in the executions of nine ogoni men during a nigerian military crackdown in 1995. four of their widows are suing shell for compensation and demanding an apology. shell denies any wrongdoing, saying it never colluded with nigerian authorities or advocated any act of violence. lawnmower racing is a rather niche sport that we have told you about before here on bbc news. the premise is simple — convert your gardening equipment into a small vehicle, and then drive as fast as you can. but, as the bbc‘s tim allman reports, lawnmower racing has gone international. this has been described, not always with a straight face, as the lawnmower le mans.

teams with names like mow for it and pain in the grass career around this frozen lake in southern finland. you will notice that, despite this being a lawnmower race, there wasn't a single blade of grass in sight. i thought about what should be a quite cheap motorsport. and then i think about it, and how i tried to do a race with lawnmowers. that's the thing when it started from, here in finland. this is a test of both speed and endurance. the racers were supposed to be out on the track for up to 12 hours, but conditions were not conducive to high—velocity mowing, and the race was abandoned. believe it or not, this can be a dangerous sport. 2017, i came off in a sprint race. unluckily, i smashed eight ribs,

broke a collarbone, and broke my neck in two places. i'm out here again, racing again. i raced it last year, so i had six months off. despite the early finish, there were still winners and losers. this may be more grass prix than grand prix, but everyone wants to get theirfingers, green or otherwise, on a trophy. tim allman, bbc news. apologies if you are a bit squeamish. either about hygiene or about fox news. tvjournalist peter hegseth of fox news has raised eyebrows after admitting he hasn't washed his hands in a decade, because he says he doesn't believe infectious micro—organisms are real. that is because he can't see them. the centers for disease control and prevention says regular hand—washing is one of the best ways to avoid getting sick and prevent the spread of germs. hello there.

we may well be heading towards the final few weeks of winter now, but actually, the weather is feeling almost springlike, some slightly milder conditions certainly on the cards over the next few days. this was the scene taken near eastbourne by one of our weather watchers on monday. some blue sky, a bit of sunshine around too. now, as we head through the course of the next few days, still quite a lot of dry weather. there'll be a little rain across northern and western parts of the uk. things turning mild by day, but we've still got a few chilly nights to come, could be the odd spot of frost, and perhaps a bit of mistiness around too. but you can see the yellow colours moving in from the south—west gradually over the next couple of days, introducing that milder air. the blue colours, the colder air, kept at bay for now. so through tuesday morning, then, it will be quite a chilly start across much of england and wales, particularly in the south and the east. we've got more cloud from the word go further north and west. a few spots of rain for parts of northern england, but also for scotland and for northern ireland as well,

as a frontal system just moves its way gradually south—eastwards through the day. it should brighten up for scotland and for northern ireland during the afternoon, as those south—westerly winds help to break up the cloud. a bit of rain lingering for north—west england, but central and southern and eastern england should stay dry through the day. now, temperatures up to between around 10—13 degrees, so a little above—average, really, for this time of year. now, as we move through tuesday night and on into wednesday, high pressure sits towards the south. we've still got this frontal system, which is just pushing its way gradually further north—eastwards moving on into wednesday morning. so, through the day on wednesday, still quite cloudy across northern and western parts of the uk. a few spots of rain, particularly for parts of scotland. england and wales certainly staying dry through the day, and there'll be a bit more sunshine on wednesday, i think, compared to tuesday. so temperatures will be doing reasonably well once again, around 10—13 degrees or so, could see 1a celsius in the warmest spot. so, we've got that mild air with us into the middle part of the week, with high pressure sitting across the continent. we're drawing in these south—westerly winds. they stay with us through

into thursday, as well, as weather fronts clear off towards the north. so i think thursday not a bad day, should be quite a deal of sunshine, especially across england, wales, northern ireland too. perhaps a little bit more cloud for scotland, with one or two showers in the far north. but a largely dry day, and with those southerly winds, again temperatures will be up in double figures after a bit of a chilly start, 12 or 13 the warmest spots on thursday afternoon. looking towards the end of the week then, and we keep that mild theme to the weather. but it will turn a little bit more unsettled towards the end of the week, as those winds strengthen, with some rain particularly in the north and the west at times. bye for now. this is bbc news. the headlines: president donald trump has been addressing a political rally close to the mexcian border at el paso in texas. before he got there, democrats and republicans in washington announced they had reached an agreement in principle on border security that they hope will avoid a second government shutdown. bahrainy footballer hakeem al—araibi has arrived in melbourne, in australia, as a free man.

mr al—araibi boarded a flight early on tuesday after bahrain dropped its bid to have him extradited from thailand. he was arrested in the country while on his honeymoon. one of brazil's best known political journalists, ricardo boechat, has died in a helicopter crash. the aircraft crashed on top of a lorry in sao paulo's busy ring road. the pilot has also died. the driver of the lorry was rescued by paramedics and suffered minor injuries. you're up to date with the headlines. now on bbc news, it's hardtalk.