this is bbc news, the headlines: the anti—corru ption candidate, zuzana chaputova, has won the presidential election in slovakia, making her the country's first female head of state. ms chaputova defeated welcome to bbc news. a high—profile diplomat, marosh sebjovich from i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: the governing party. the anti—corru ption candidate, zuzana chaputova, wins it's slovakia's first major poll the presidential election since the murder of an investigative in slovakia, making her the country's first journalist, which plunged the country into political crisis female head of state. palestinians in gaza hold a day of protests to mark the first anniversary of weekly demonstrations on the boundary with israel. hello and welcome. —— hello and welcome. slovakia has its first female head

of state after the anti—corruption candidate, zuzana chaputova, won the presidential election in slovakia. ms chaputova defeated experienced and high—profile diplomat maros shepjovich, from the governing party. the contest is slovakia's first major political poll since the murder of the investigative journalist yan kutziak and his fiancee plunged the country into political crisis a year ago. rob cameron in bratislava gave us this update about the result a little earlier. this is really a remarkable achievement by a political novice. zuza na achievement by a political novice. zuzana chaputova has almost no experience in politics and he/she is elected this evening ‘s of our care is the country's first female president. the man she beat with a post is a man who has vast diplomatic and political experience, he is one of six vice presidents of the european commission but it was a

message that change is possible and is luckier, that she wanted as the lucky of humanism, humanist, liberal, tolerant values and also as the luckier that value truth, that really struck a chord amongst voters here that really struck a chord amongst voters here. —— here in slovakia. palestinian authorities say four people have died, including three 17—year—old boys, as tens of thousands of palestinians protest at the perimeter fence between israel and gaza. some demonstrators threw stones and burned tyres, with israeli soldiers returning tear gas and live fire. israeli forces also say rockets have been launched from gaza. it's the first anniversary of weekly protests backing the declared right of return of palestinian refugees to homes that are now in israel. our middle east correspondent tom bateman sent this report from gaza. a warning: his report does contain distressing images. he throws a rock, an israeli sniper fires back, a bullet at the leg.

another palestinian joins the thousands with wounds, from a year of protests at gaza's boundary fence. week after week, they have come back here. this pair got engaged after meeting at the protest last year. we palestinians have the right to live. we here in gaza, we are oppressed people. we want to live our life, we want to feed our children. the process began over the palestinian right to return to ancestral homes in the land that is now israel, but they've become about much more, a venting of anger over the crippling state of life in gaza. nearly 200 people have been shot dead since last march. last year, an israeli soldier was killed by a palestinian sniper. the protesters are currently less than 100 metres from the perimeter fence. the israelis, so far, they've mostly been firing tear

gas at the protesters, and you can see people here who are throwing rocks back, some have been burning tyres. from the snipers‘s nest, they watch. israel deployed thousands of extra troops today, and explosives and petrol—bombs were thrown at them, they said. they feared attempts to breach the fence and hurt civilians. in this event today, we've had approximately 40,000 demonstrators and rioters but the key difference being is hamas obviously making a choice here, deploying people on the ground and making sure that there were less rioters coming towards the fence. hamas is the militant group which controls gaza. its leaders were in the crowds today, its security men controlling the protesters. part of an arrangement with israel to calm tensions, after fears a military flareup earlier this week could slip out of control. the stakes are high. hamas is under pressure, israel has closely fought elections in ten days hinging on security.

the tension shows few signs of abating, just yet. let's look at some other stories in brief. in mozambique, the authorities say the number of cases of cholera in the port of beira has doubled over the past 48 hours. 271 people have now been infected with the disease since cyclone idai struck beira two weeks ago. government and aid workers are seeking to contain the spread of cholera and the environment minister said no deaths had been reported at beira's hospitals so far. an anti—stall system has been blamed for the fatal crash of a boeing 737 max aircraft in ethiopia this month. —— 737 max. sources involved in the investigation say the black box shows the nose of the plane was pushed down by the system, before it crashed outside addis ababa, killing all 157 people on board. facebook chief mark zuckerberg says regulators and governments should play a more active role in controlling internet content. in a washington post article, he's written that the responsibility for monitoring harmful content

is too great for firms alone. he's calling for new laws to cover harmful content, election integrity, privacy, and data. it comes two weeks after a gunman used facebook to livestream his terror attack on a mosque in christchurch. the venezuelan opposition leader juan guaido has been leading another day of demonstations against the government and its failure to prevent the repeated energy blackouts across the country — some lasting days. pro—government marches have also taken place in the capital, caracas, with thousands protesting against what the government has described as a foreign—led attempted coup by the opposition. will grant reports from caracas. every day in venezuela seems to start with the same basic question at the moment — is the electricity back? more often than not in recent days, the answer has been no.

this city, caracas, the capital, as well as swathes of the country have been hit with rolling blackouts, and that has prompted supporters of the opposition leader, juan guaido, to take to the streets on saturday. not only are they protesting the ongoing power cuts, they want the president nicolas maduro out of office, they want the self—declared interim president, juan guaido, installed in the presidential palace, m i raflo res. mr guaido said president maduro was keeping people in darkness. quite the opposite. —— of course, the supporters of the president say quite the opposite. they also turned out, saying that anything that's going on with the electricity grid in venezuela at the moment is the result of acts of sabotage carried out by the opposition or by washington. in the meantime, the red cross has said that it will try to bring in, in about two weeks‘ time, supplies of aid and much—needed medicines. they estimate they may be able

to help about 650,000 people, and with it a tacit acceptance by the maduro government that there is indeed a humanitarian crisis taking place in venezuela. you're watching bbc news. the british prime minister is understood to be considering asking mps to vote for a fourth time on the withdrawal agreement she negotiated to leave the european union. on friday, her deal was defeated by 58 votes. on monday, the house of commons will test whether there's support for alternative brexit plans, in a second round of what are called indicative or advisory votes. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth reports. there is clear frustration in westminster. still on show the day after mps rejected theresa may's brexit plan — again. the question now is what happens next? as yet, members of the government can't give any real clarity. i think what we have to do is to make sure that we deliver on the will of the people at the referendum. we have to keep trying. some still argue the prime minister's brexit deal

is the best option. it's obviously very disappointing that the government lost yesterday. i think that's, you know, put the country in some difficulty and i think the best way forward is the prime minister's deal, but we'll see what the options are. so will she put her deal back again? well, we'll see, obviously the cabinet will need to consider what the next steps forward will be. the ayes to the right, 286. the noes to the left, 344. yesterday's rejection of the brexit plan was smaller than the two previous efforts, but still substantial. on monday, mps will vote on alternatives to the prime minister's plan. last time, parliament could not agree on any one option, but having another public vote or keeping close to the eu in a customs union proved most popular. the government's waiting to see if mps can agree a way forward, but isn't clear if that will change its direction. the customs union doesn't actually reflect or respect what was in our own manifesto

but we've got to look at what parliament coalesces around next week. but i think the best way to go forward is to be looking at getting that withdrawal agreement approved. but the labour leader, campaigning in newport today, is holding firm against the prime minister's plan, calling for further compromise or an election. the absolute priority at the moment is to end this chaos that this government has brought us to by their endlessly running down the clock and basically bullying and threatening people. the bullying hasn't worked, the threats hasn't worked. it's time now for the sensible people to take over. today there were protests along the irish border by those concerned about brexit and what it might mean there. at the same time, elsewhere, others are pressing the government to walk away with no deal. two weeks until the uk's new planned exit date and finding a solution seems as hard as ever. alex forsyth, bbc news. meanwhile, senior conservatives

have rallied around the former attorney general and high—profile remain campaigner, dominic grieve, after his local party made moves to deselect him. mr grieve, who has called for a further referendum on eu membership, lost a vote of confidence by his local conservative association. -- eu. he blamed what he called an "orchestrated campaign" by pro—brexit figures in his beaconsfield constituency. it's no suprise that brexit and conservative party infighting is dominating the sunday newspaper front pages here in the uk. let's take a look at a few. the sunday times is focusing on the split within the cabinet — they say both leave and remain supporting ministers are set to abandon theresa may over brexit. the observer is reporting that may is also facing a rebellion over a potential snap election. the sunday telegraph front page follows that thread — their headline reads ‘snap election under may would annihilate tories‘.

and again the mail on sunday, ‘no ten at war over suicidal election" — also reporting the results over their own polling, which now givesjeremy corbyn‘s labour a five point lead over the conservatives. earlier, we spoke to james rampton, features writer for the independent, who broke down some of those headline stories. the one that has the most chance, two or three will be brought back in by the speaker at his behest which ones are allowed through. whichever has most chance, that is the customs union. that only fell by eight votes last week. and i think if they have another have at that, that might well go through. again it is only an indicative vote, an advisory to the government. if parliament wants to make it law, it will have to legislate through a longer, more byzantine process. however, there will be fierce opposition from hardline brexiteers,

who have proven so difficult for the government in this process. it is interesting that the tories seem to be in terror of a general election, many with marginal seats, really, really worried that they would be wiped out if there were general election. i think there is a backlash against what is seen as the self—indulgent psychodrama that has been gripping the tory party and many electors are fed up with the way that the conservatives have seemed so self—absorbed about that. the mail on sunday saying that some within the party are saying that it would be suicidal to call an election, that they would be com pletely election, that they would be completely annihilated and the irony is that there is way of mrs may getting an election unless she asked labour to bring getting an election unless she asked labourto bring in getting an election unless she asked labour to bring in a vote of no confidence against her and asked her party to vote for that. and that is a completely bizarre, unprecedented situation. it shows the completely uncharted waters that we are in now.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the anti—corru ption candidate, zuzana chaputova, has won the presidential election in slovakia, making her the country's first female head of state. in an effort to overcome the brexit deadlock, the uk's prime minister considers bringing her proposed deal back to parliament for a fourth time, as mps debate alternatives to her deal on monday. the state department has said it is ending foreign assistance programmes to el salvador, guatemala and honduras as directed by president trump. democrats have criticised mr trump's decision to cut aid to the three central american countries over what he called their failure to stop immigrant caravans heading for the us mary beth sheridan is the mexico and central america correspondent for the washington post. she's in mexico city now. thank you so much for your time.

firstly, can you explain what these aid programmes have done for these countries? the aid programmes are basically aimed at trying to improve conditions in these countries so people do not leave. they focus on trying to improve the security situation, creating job opportunities and education so that people will not feel like they have to go to the us to improve their lives. now that we have heard that these aid programmes will be cut, what do you think the effect will be? it is difficult to say because there is quite a lot of uncertainty about exactly what is going to be cut. the announcement took many people by surprise, even in the us government. the concern of people who run these programmes and some diplomats is that if they do not exist, people will feel more compelled to leave the countries and go to the us so it could have a

boomerang effect. could there be a big rush now to go to the us if things deteriorate without these aid programmes? that is a good question. i'm not entirely sure that things will deteriorate dramatically but there is some concern on the part of some former diplomats who know the region who say that the smugglers will use announcements like this to say to people better leave now because the us is cracking down on immigration. and at times that sort of propaganda has encouraged people to flee in larger numbers. el salvador, what a mile and honduras are the three countries in donald trump's sites. —— guatemala. do you think they will protest? they have been quiet. in the past week we saw official saying they thought they would be no change to the programmes and they would be fine. so i think

they were taken by surprise. we spoke to one salvadoran official who said that in his country the number of migrants leaving has gone down and he attributed that to salvadoran funded programmes and the us programmes. i think there will be a great deal of unhappiness but these are countries that do depend, economically to some extent on the us and they will want to retain a cordial relationship but i am sure they are not happy about it. have any of these countries had anything to say about why they think donald trump and the state department might have made this decision? any further reasoning on that front? the thing is that president trump argues these countries are not doing enough to stop illegal and irregular migration and particularly the large caravans. many of the official say that they do what they can under their laws. they really cannot pick event people from leaving, no country can. ——

cannot prevent people from leaving. but they are trying to take steps to improve conditions in their own countries. at any rate, many of these programmes are us programmes. the money is not given to governments so they feel that this is something that will, you know... have a harmful effect but may not ultimately slow the flow of people. thank you so much for your time. pope francis is in morocco to promote inter—faith dialogue in a country that projects itself as a bastion of moderate islam. the pope has met king mohammed and visited a school for imams — said to be a first for a pope. the trip is a follow up to last months historic visit to the united arab emirates. bbc arabic‘s mouna ba is in the capital rabat. hundreds of people have lined up here to get a glimpse of the pope, who arrived earlier at this institute.

it is institute mohammed vi to teach imams from morocco, other african countries, and from europe as well, tolerant islam. an institute that is backed by king mohammed vi. earlier, the pope had praised morocco's efforts to promote peaceful islam and rejects extremism. he also talked about cooperation in building a world of greater solidarity to promote inter—religious dialogue. translation: i am grateful that my visit offers a significant opportunity for advancing inter—religious dialogue and mutual understanding between followers of our two religions. the courage to encounter one another and extend the hand of friendship is a pathway of peace and harmony for humanity, whereas extremism and hatred cause division and destruction. also on the pope's agenda is the meeting with a group

of migrants in a centre that was established by a catholic humanitarian organisation in the capital, rabat. also a mass that will be attended by about 10,000 people. afghan officials say the country's vice president, abdul rashid dostum, has escaped unhurt from an attack that killed one of his bodyguards. they said the attackers ambushed mr dostum's convoy in northern afghanistan. several others were wounded in an hour—long battle. the taliban said it carried out the assault. the latest assassination attempt comes eight months after mr dostum avoided injury in a suicide bombing at kabul airport. mr dostum, a powerful ethnic uzbek leader, is a controversial figure who is accused of torturing and abusing a political rival. at least thirty—two people have been killed in flash floods

in western afghanistan. the national disaster management authority said heavy rains have destroyed hundreds of homes and floodwaters swept through makeshift shelters housing displaced families. seven provinces have been affected, with faryab, badghis and herat worst hit. the floods have worsened the plight of tens of thousands of people in the region who had to move last year because of severe drought. a bbc investigation has discovered rogue traders are selling tens of thousands of pounds worth of receipts and invoices in a black market trade to cheat uk taxes. the dealers — who advertise online — sell authentic documents to enable others to fraudulently claim back vat and reduce the amount of income tax they pay. colin campbell has the story. he wants to sell me £10,000 worth of construction

material receipts for £800, and boasts they can be used as a way to work around paying income tax. an illicit black—market trade, i contacted dealers posing as a self—employed builder, seeking to use the receipts to evade tax and fraudulently claim back vat. with a ring binderfull of construction material receipts, this polish builder wanted £2,500 for £30,000 worth of receipts. pay cash? another rogue trader, this time decorating receipts.

these guys are essentially committing tax fraud. i showed the footage to a tax expert. it's a crime because what it's doing is enabling people to reduce their tax bill and their vat bill illegally, because they haven't actually incurred the expense that they're going to claim for. i found more than a dozen dealers advertising the receipts on uk—based polish classified ad sites. hmrc says it's committed to ensuring all companies and individuals pay the right tax at the right time, and will pursue those who fail to do so. all the dealers we spoke to had a ready supply of receipts. i'm actually a journalist from the bbc. but none wanted to discuss their illicit trade. what you're doing is criminal. it's fraudulent.

you're helping people cheat the tax system, aren't you? no. vat? self—assessment? you're helping people cheat their tax. i don't know. you've got £30,000 worth of receipts here. a previously hidden crime, now a brazen illicit trade that's hard to combat. another form of tax evasion, cheating the country of much—needed revenue. colin campbell, bbc news. sir mickjagger says he's devastated to disappoint fans after the rolling stones announced they were postponing a tour of the us and canada while he receives medical treatment. the 75—year—old said he will be working hard to get back on stage as soon as possible. no details of his condition have been released. the tour was due to begin next month. all across the world, famous landmarks have descended into darkness — albeit only for sixty minutes — as part of a global call for action on climate change. ‘earth hour‘ takes place every year and nearly 200 countries and territories take part. the bbc‘s tim allman has more.

hong kong is renowned for its iconic skyline. but even here they sometimes have to turn out the lights. victoria harbour suddenly a lot less illuminated than normal. in the fight against climate change was the fight against climate change was the inspiration. we need to find a balance with this planet. it has finite resources and we believe that there are things that people can do, that cities can do, to help us achieve a sustainable future. earth hour began over ten years ago in australia. so it was no surprise to see sydney taking part. both the city's famous harbour bridge and the 0pera city's famous harbour bridge and the opera house cast into darkness. big switch the off taking place at 830 in the evening local time. dozens of countries, thousands of cities. this

is more by‘s main railway terminus. 0r here in moscow. the kremlin, for an hourat 0r here in moscow. the kremlin, for an hour at least, becoming a place of shadows. in greece, the acropolis, which long predated electric light, an island of darkness in the centre of athens full and darkness in the centre of athens fulland in paris, darkness in the centre of athens full and in paris, the eiffel tower celebrating its 130th birthday was briefly extinguished like a candle. so many places, one special hour. but as the swedish teenage activist tweeted, earth hour is every hour of every day. i will be back shortly with some headlines and then we have datelined london. but first, the weather. hello again. we've got quite a change in our weather compared with yesterday, when temperatures reach 20 celsius in kew in greater london.

the wind of change is blowing, and that is going to be blowing cooler air across england and wales, such that temperatures will drop by about nine degrees in the capital, highs of 11 degrees or so. the change is brought about by this area of cloud, this cold front that continues to journey southwards, still bringing the threat of perhaps a little bit of patchy rain over the next few hours across wales, the midlands, east anglia, and into south—east england. further north, if you are heading outside, where there is certainly a chill in the air with a widespread frost developing in the countryside, particularly in scotland, where we are looking at temperatures getting down to about —4 degrees celsius. if you are heading out the next two hours also wrap up warm, it will be cold. plenty of sunshine across northern areas of the uk, through scotland, northern ireland and northern england. that is probably where the best of the weather will be. across wales, the midlands, east anglia and southern counties of england, more cloud than we had on saturday and a chill easterly wind as well, temperatures of 11 celsius in london compared to the 20 we had yesterday. you will notice that

change for sure. looking at the weather picture through sunday evening and overnight, the skies will tend to clear, and the wind will fall. a recipe for things turning cold once again. patchy frost developing in the countryside, so a chilly start to the new working week. on monday, a lot of dry weather to come across england, wales and eastern areas of scotland. there will be some change in the weather to the north—west where cloud will thicken, outbreaks of rain moving into northern ireland and western scotland and turning progressively heavier as we go through the day, cold enough even for some snow over the hills in scotland. moving southwards, the wind coming up from the south, 13 or 14 celsius, probably not feeling too bad. but things get colder as we had to tuesday, a cold front swinging eastwards across the uk, taking a band of rain with it and introducing bitterly cold north—westerly winds. the rain will clear to a mixture of sunshine and showers on tuesday, the showers could be heavy, thundery and potentially wintry.

we could see some snow across some of the hills, particularly in the north and west of the uk. and it will be cold, just 6 degrees celsius for the north of scotland, factoring in the wind it will feel like quite a cold april day. just a reminder, if you haven't already done so, the clocks go forward to british summer time on sunday.