hello. this is bbc news, the headlines: british mps have proposed alternative plans for brexit, after voting to take control of the process from the government. they're set to stage a ballot on wednesday on which options they would accept. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. our top stories: meanwhile, there are signs british mps are set to vote on a range of alternative plans theresa may's deal is winning over some critics, depite for brexit, but can theresa may continue as prime minister? questions about her future. survivors of the kurdish authorities in northern syria are calling for an international tribunal to try so—called caliphate. we report from syria, members of the islamic state group. last week, forces retook the last on the families stranded in camps piece of territory from is, and shunned by the world. bringing an end to their self—declared caliphate. the longer it goes on, the more prosecutors have dropped all charges against us actor there is a risk that something could jussie smollett for allegedly staging a racist and go wrong, they could be instability homophobic attack. the reasons behind the decision remain unclear. in the region again. unless a plan is put in place soon, this really is a ticking time bomb. now on bbc news, it's tuesday in parliament.

claims of a "whitewash ofjustice", as us prosecutors drop charges against us actorjussie smollett for allegedly staging a racist and homophobic attack. and the power behind the pyramids: how ancient egypt's queens put the pharoahs firmly in the shade. hello, welcome to the programme. british mps are preparing to embark on a series of votes to explore other ways forward in the brexit process. some 16 options have been tabled and the process could last several days. some leading conservative brexit supporters have suggested they could now support theresa may's withdrawal agreement to prevent the risk of a long delay in the brexit process. here's our deputy political editor, john pienaar.

parliament has shown its power. we know who is in control, and the answer is no—one. mps are getting ready to talk and vote their way through their ideas for brexit. but then what? brexiteer ministers especially insist mps taking control won't work. it's a negotiation between ourselves and the european union, and if parliament expresses a view, it may be entirely undeliverable. but the cabinet is split. there is amber rudd — she is backing mrs may's deal, but wants freedom for tories to vote as they choose. some junior ministers are saying privately they'll rebel and resign if they have to. mrs may kept them all guessing. one, who quit the government and voted to give mps a choice between brexit plans, stood by his decision. i think brexit should happen in the right way, which is leaving, but leaving on good terms, with the best possible opportunity of a good future with the eu. so what'll be the choices? there's the pm's deal, twice defeated already.

or a brexit deal closer to eu customs and market rules than mrs may's, maybe comparable to norway's. a fresh referendum is another option. and a brexit with no deal. mps insist they'll never support that, but it still seems possible. all of these proposals will be put forward. the speaker will select them. they will then be put on a ballot paper, and that will be handed to mps, and we'll be asked to indicate yes or no to each one of them, and mps can vote for as many of the ideas as they're prepared to support. still, the battle over mrs may's deal goes on. some rebels have backed away, but not enough. the chances of the prime minister getting her brexit plan approved by parliament at the third time of asking look slim. talk to any tory mp or minister, and her own chances of surviving long after this crisis, whether her plan goes through or not, look even smaller. reporter: are you risking no brexit. .. boris johnson wants her job, but would he support her deal? earlier, he kept us guessing. tonight, though, people queued to hear a hint of a grudging shift

towards mrs may's plan, if there is a change of brexit policy, and did he also mean a change of prime minister? what i want to hear is that, if this withdrawal agreement is to make any sense at all, then there's got to be a massive change in the uk's negotiating approach. another potential candidate is reluctantly backing her plan. well, it's not a good deal, but the alternative is a complete cascade of chaos. that's what i said a week ago, and now you're seeing it. you're seeing proposals being put up which are all worse than her proposal. and do you think, with your help, theresa may might get this deal over the line? she's got to get the dup onside, and i have some sympathy with them, because i want northern ireland to be protected inside the united kingdom. but i think she's got a decent chance. but the democratic unionists were sounding tough as ever. is there any chance of us changing our minds on it? unless there are significant changes

to the agreement itself, no. no—one is predicting the future of brexit, or mrs may's, with any confidence. no—one can, and in brussels, the eu's chief negotiator spoke for many. all eyes on the british parliament. unusually for any comment on brexit, no—one is disagreeing with that. john pienaar, bbc news, westminster. if british mps manage to come up with an alternative plan for brexit, it will have to be put to the european union. so what is brussels expecting from wednesday's series of votes? here's our europe editor, katya adler. right from the beginning of this brexit process, the eu has cajoled, pleaded, even threatened the uk not to just say it does not want from brexit that what it does want, but the eu is not holding its breath, even though we heard there from its chief negotiator that all eyes are known westminster. by now, eu leaders are known westminster. by now, eu leaders a re pretty known westminster. by now, eu leaders are pretty well versed in all the comings and goings in the

house of commons and they know that those indicative votes may start no more clarity at all on the backs of landscape, and even before the votes ta ke landscape, and even before the votes take place, and told that jean—claude juncker, european commission chief, will stand up in front of the european parliament tomorrow and again that for the eu negotiator here, it is her majesty's government, led by theresa may, not parliament. so for all these reasons, the eu worries there's still a of uncertainty ahead, eu's preference remains to avoid a no deal if possible, to get the brexit withdrawal agreement past sooner rather than later comment on the other side after backs, have as close a relationship as possible with the uk. the you see is calling off brexit as rather unlikely, they call nuclear option here and they are worried that a second referendum could prove indecisive, so they think that in order to help theresa may get a deal past and mps find a way forward, the eu is thinking of

two options, one having a longer extension to brexit, conditional on the uk taking part in european parliamentary elections, or to lengthen an unconditional brexit delay from the 12th of april till the 22nd of may. moving on now. kurdish authorities in northern syria are calling for an international tribunal to try members of the islamic state group. last week, forces retook the last piece of territory from is, bringing an end to their self—declared caliphate. now officials say they're struggling to cope with the thousands of men and women they captured. the bbc‘s aleem maqbool has been given rare access to one of the camps — roj in northern syria — where many of those captured are being held. what should be done with the captured men and women of the islamic state group? it's one of the most urgent issues, now the last enclave has been won back from is. hundreds of women who joined the group from around a0 countries

are in this camp in northern syria. they include ilham, from the netherlands, who admits to having joined is, but as yet has no idea where she might face trial. we are asking the government to take us back, but i'm still here, awaiting. if you did go back to holland, what do you think would happen? i'll go to prison, my children, i hope, to my family. that's what's going to happen. and you could accept that? yeah. because i know i made a mistake. well, you'll understand there are people around the world who will be watching this and they will say, well, leave her there. if she wanted to go there, leave her there. yeah, but it's not a matter of what people are thinking about me. with few countries taking back their is group nationals, dealing with them has been left to the ill—equipped kurdish administration. this isn't a prison. it is, as you can see, a camp in a war zone.

the longer it goes on, the more there is a risk that something could go wrong, there could be instability in the region again. unless a plan is put in place soon, this really is a ticking time bomb. people in the kurdish region of syria have already suffered living under is, then losing so many lives fighting is, and here, countries like britain revoking the nationality of citizens who joined the group has gone down badly. the kurdish head of foreign relations, abdulkarim omar, says it has created a huge problem. "unfortunately, the international community has disappointed us", he says. "we can't hold and try these people alone. if the world doesn't help us, they'll be a problem again, and the islamic state group will once again be a danger for all of us." after the final offensive to wipe the so—called islamic state from the map, we saw trucks that carted away, we were told, hundreds

of is families. an ignominious end for the militants, but a reminder that children had been caught up in it all too. the administration here is urging countries to at least do something to help rehabilitate these young, foreign victims, to try to stop the ideology into which they were born re—emerging through them in the future. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in north—eastern syria. the maker of the medication oxycontin, purdue pharma, has reached a $270 million settlement in a lawsuit which claimed its opioids lead to the deaths of thousands of people. the state of oklahoma brought forward the suit to the drug maker, which is owned by the billionaire sackler family. the settlement is the first from a wave of lawsuits that accused the company of marketing painkillers and helping to create the opioid epidemic in the us.

here's john sopel with more. oxycontin came to the market in 1996 and it was seen as a major breakthrough in chronic pain management. it was massively over prescribed, but its addictiveness was underestimated, it is alleged. and nowadays, drug opioids is accounting for 150 deaths a year, 50,000 a yearand accounting for 150 deaths a year, 50,000 a year and in the richest country in the world, astonishingly, the death rate, the life expectancy of eight, is actually falling because so many people are dying from opioids. we're going to stay in the united states. a new york suburb has banned children not vaccinated against measles from public spaces, such as schools and shopping malls, as it fights the state's worst outbreak in decades of the potentially deadly disease. rockland county has declared a state of emergency, saying the ban will remain in place

for 30 days or until the children it affects get the appropriate vaccination. the announcement follows measles outbreaks in other american states and is part of a global resurgence of the viral infection, according to the us centers for disease control and prevention. laura haefeli is a reporter for news 12 hudson valley, she's in rockland county now. so just sojust explain so just explain how the spanner is going to work. so we spoke with the cou nty going to work. so we spoke with the county executive for rockland county earlier today and he did explain to us earlier today and he did explain to us they can't exactly go around and ask, he has asked people for vaccination records and they do not plan to. how they are planning on handling this situation is that if you are found to not be vaccinated against the measles and you did go to one of those public spaces you mentioned, schools, shopping malls, houses of worship, then you will be

referred to the district attorney's office. now in the declaration, it is outlined that there are punishments involved if you do get caught being unvaccinated in one of those public spaces and that can amount toa those public spaces and that can amount to a $500 fine or even jail time. those punishments though will not be given to those under the age of 18 who are not vaccinated, they will be handed to their parents. so again, they do not plan on going around and asking for vaccination reports, they will not be doing that but it is something that they plan on dealing with after—the—fact.m is such a drastic step, isn't it? just explain to us how big this outbreak is there. so this is the longest measles outbreak in the united states since 2000, which is when the cdc declared it officially eradicated. right now, there are 153 confirmed cases of measles in rockland county and that number seems to just be going, which

rockland county and that number seems tojust be going, which is rockland county and that number seems to just be going, which is why the county executive is taking this so seriously. the people who are most at risk right now are people who for medical reasons or for age reasons can't be vaccinated. —— growing. so if you are an instant, let's say, you obviously can't get those vaccinations, so if they are exposed to the disease, they are at a much higher risk. the county executive explained today that that is why they're taking this so seriously, we have to come together asa seriously, we have to come together as a community to protect those people. right now, more than a quarter of the population of rockland county is not vaccinated and that has caused a big of them and that has caused a big of them and is why this number has gotten so high. what are people there thinking? first of all, are they worried for their children? and two, is it causing any tension in communities that some parents are not getting their children protected ? not getting their children protected? you know, it is definitely on both sides of the aisle right now. there are a number of pa rents aisle right now. there are a number of parents and parent groups that

have gone as far is to sue the cou nty have gone as far is to sue the county for not allowing their children to go back to school. some of these kids have been out of school for as long as 26 weeks and their parents are looking for way to get them back class, but refusing to vaccinate their children. green meadows waldorf school in rockland county, just went up against the rockland county department of health in court for that exact reason. so pa rents a re in court for that exact reason. so parents are definitely finding issue with this, but the county is standing strong and saying you need to vaccinate your kids and now with this state of emergency, taking it one step further, not only is your child not allowed in school if they are not vaccinated but now they are not allowed in any public space for 30 days. 0k, thank you very much for that update. let's get some of the day's other news. algeria's army chief of staff has demanded president abdelaziz bouteflika be declared unfit to rule after weeks of protests against him. the president has already agreed not

to stand for a fifth term in upcoming elections, which have been delayed. there are frantic diplomatic efforts to install a ceasefire between gaza and israel after the worst escalation of tensions in months. israel has sent tanks to the border, while palestinian militants fired a rocket from gaza into israel on tuesday, breaking a lull following a day of cross—borderfighting. the united nations has called for calm. a southwest airlines boeing 737 max aeroplane has made an emergency landing in florida, after experiencing an engine problem shortly after take—off. there were no passengers on board, as all planes of this type have been grounded from commercial service in the wake of two deadly crashes. officials say today's emergency landing did not appear related to the software problems suspected of causing the two crashes.

stay with us on bbc news, still to come: why the internet will never be the same again. europe's controversial new copyright law. let there be no more war or bloodshed between arabs and israelis. very good. applause so proud of both of you. applause with great regret, the committee have decided that south africa should be excluded from the 1970 competition. chants

streaking across the sky, the white—hot wreckage from mir drew gasps from onlookers on fiji. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: british mps have put forward a range of alternative brexit plans as speculation mounts about theresa may's future. syria's kurds have called for the creation of an international tribunal to try thousands of suspected members of the islamic state group. in a dramatic legal u turn, all the charges against the american actorjussie smollett have been dropped. he had been accused of staging a hate crime against himself. to the anger of chicago's mayor and police chief, prosecutors now say they're dropping the charges

because they don;t see the tv star as a threat to public safety. a warning — laura trevelyan's report has flashing images at the start. jussie smollett was a red carpet regular, a tv actor who is now at the centre of the real—life drama with a surreal script. back injanuary, mr smollett claimed he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack in chicago. but when the police investigated, they found the two men who supposedly attacked the actor claimed they'd been paid by him to stage the incident, as a way for him to get publicity and increase his tv salary. the star was indicted for filing a false report to the police but today came the shock news that prosecutors had decided to drop all the chances againstjussie smollett, citing his volunteer

work and his agreement to forfeit his $10,000 bond to the city. the actor claims he's been nothing but honest throughout. i've been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one. i would not be my mother's son if i was capable of one drop of what i've been accused of. chicago's police chief, stunned, had this reaction. do i thinkjustice was served? no. what do i thinkjustice is? i think this city is still owed an apology. while chicago's mayor fumed that his celebrity clearly played a part in the decision to drop charges against him. this is, without a doubt, a whitewash ofjustice and sends a clear message that if you're in a position of influence and power, you will get treated one way, other people will be treated another way. there is no accountability in the system. as forjussie smollett‘s acting career after all this, the makers of his tv show, 20th century fox, say

they were gratified to see the charges against him dismissed. laura trevelyan, bbc news, chicago. the european parliament has passed a controversial new law designed to protect copyright on the internet. its supporters say the legislation will guarantee fair payment for artists, musicians and writers whose work is shared on networks such as google or facebook. but opponents argue the law will stifle internet freedom. our media editor amol rajan has been investigating. recognise that tune? well, no wonder, this is probably the most watched video in human history with a mere 6 billion views on youtube. great marketing, but who picked up the bill? not youtube, that digital narnia containing millions of videos, most of them free to view.

as host platforms, companies like youtube don't generally pay artists or publishers for their work. today's ruling could change all that and return cash to the creators or owners of the content. it's based on two clauses within the eu copyright directive. article 11 says search engines and news aggregators will have to pay to use links from news websites. article 13 says large tech companies will be responsible for content they use without copyright. they will have to apply filters to content before it is uploaded. this potentially changes their very nature of the web. many artists and publishers have campaigned strongly for the changes demanding payment for ideas and content which they created. but campaigners for the open web and tech giants themselves who spend huge sums lobbying against the changes say this is a dark day for civil society across the globe. they add that these rules could be unworkable. there are important caveats here. the reforms have already been deleted and they remain short on vital detail. if approved by eu member states,

each country will have two years to make the changes and of course britain's future relationship with the eu is still unclear. this is really about competing visions of the world wide web. the internet model we have in the west today is dominated by a few mostly californian giants. the coming iteration of the internet will probably be more regulated and less literally of a free—for—all while stopping short of the walled garden users occupy in places like china. whether it is on competition rules, new data protection is or now copyright, it is europe that is clipping the wings of big tech. the future of silicon valley is being reimagined in brussels and the laws governing our global digital community are about to get a whole lot tougher. amol rajan, bbc news. the pyramids and the pharoahs of ancient egypt have long been a source of fascination and wonder. but how about the royal women. a new exhibit in washington is turning the spotlight onto the queens of egypt — and how they ruled. the bbc‘s jane o'brien

has this story. one of the most lavish tombs ever discovered in ancient egypt. this 3d recreation shows just how beloved queen nefertari must have been. more than 3,000 years and many looters later, it's probably as good as we will get to seeing what it was like. this sarcophagus is so important because it is the only thing that remains of the funerary set of queen nefertari. made from pink granite, nefertari's sarcophagus was discovered in 190a along with what may be the queen's knees. these knees are kind of a mystery that we are trying to solve. first we can say they belonged to a woman who died around the age of 40, who lived in the new kingdom. so this seems to fit perfectly wth queen nefertari, but we can't say exactly it's her. tracing the story of egypt's

queens can be tough. although many ruled in their own right, they still lived in a man's world and their history was often manipulated or even erased. the tales told in stunning hieroglyphics can't be trusted because they're also symbols of authoritarian rule. it is a very strange thing in a patriarchal society to allow a woman to step to the highest rung of the ladder and to lead her people so we know very, very little. we know the perfected image. there were many queens of egypt — this exhibition looks at six, spanning more than 1,400 years of ancient history. it's hard to know exactly how they lived but there is plenty here to show how they died and how their memories were perfected. prince charles and the duchess of cornwall have met the cuban president on the first full day of their trip to the caribbean island. it's the first time members of the royal family have made an official visit to the communist state. the prince dnd duchess were treated to a dance performance,

before meeting the president at the palace of the revolution. hello there. don't expect any major changes in our weather over the next few days. there is more dry weather to come, some spells of sunshine and patchy cloud as well. one subtle difference, it is going to turn a little bit milder for a time at least. high pressure then sitting to the south of the british isles. the winds allowing cloud to feed in over the top of that area of high pressure so we will continue to bring areas of cloud from the north—west towards the south of the uk through the first part of wednesday. best of the clear spells as we start off the day across southern and western parts of england and wales, that's where we have the lowest of the temperatures. a touch of across parts

of the west country. south—east wales, the south—west of england. further north, not as chilly because there is more cloud. through the day, we continue to bring these areas of cloud south—eastwards. a mixture of patchy cloud and sunshine for many. the best of the sunshine across wales in the south—west. equally the cloud across the far north and far north—west of scotland. temperatures generally 11—14 degrees, may be 15 in aberdeen if we get some sunshine and shelter to the east of high ground. as we move through wednesday night and into thursday, not as much cloud potentially by this stage but that could allow some mist and fog to form. again, some pockets of frost, temperatures widely holding up between three and six degrees. thursday, once again dominated by high pressure sitting just to the south of the british isles. the winds around high pressure moving in a clockwise direction

so introducing something of a south or south—westerly flow of air for most of us as we move towards the end of the week which will lift the temperatures a little bit. those day, areas of low cloud and some mist and fog patches as well. should get to see some spells of sunshine. away in the far north—west of scotland, more cloud and breeze. temperatures 1a, 15, 16 degrees — somewhere we could get up to 17 degrees. similar temperatures could be achieved on friday, particularly in the central and eastern parts of england and scotland. further north and west, for northern ireland and scotland, we'll see thickening cloud. outbreaks of rain creeping in. a frontal system approaching, and that is going to change the weather a little bit as we head into the weekend. as we move through friday and saturday, that front will slowly, painstakingly slowly slide south—eastwards, taking some cloud and rain with it but behind, the winds round to northerly. so things are looking a little bit cooler for the weekend week, those temperatures are expected to drop further — we may even see some wintry showers.