this is bbc news, the headlines: the un fear is a major military conflict could take days in libya. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america it comes after talks between the and around the globe. i'm lewis vaughan jones. secretary general and the country's our top stories: most powerful warlord broke down. fears of a major military forces from the general khalifa confrontation in libya. hafta r‘s forces from the general khalifa haftar‘s self—proclaimed libyan un talks with the country's national army are advancing on the most powerful warlord fail capital. president trump is visiting as his forces advance on the capital. the border with mexico after backing after threatening to off from his threat to shut it down. close the border with mexico, president trump pays a visit. he has praised mexico for stepping he claims america has no up he has praised mexico for stepping up security in recent days but left more room for migrants. open the possibility of car tariffs if the flow of drugs is not stopped theresa may asks the eu for another delay to brexit, within a year. british prime but will european leaders agree? the prime minister requests another minister theresa may has asked the brexit extension until the end ofjune and says the uk will make european union for a further delay preparations for european parliament in the brexit process untiljune 30. elections, just in case. european leaders have responded coolly to the request, asking britain to provide more clarity. all 27 leaders would need to agree to the move.

welcome to bbc news. let's start in libya. the un security council has called for an immediate end to fighting in the country. the forces of libya's most powerful warlord, khalifa haftar, are advancing from the stronghold of benghazi closer to the stronghold of benghazi closer to the unity government in tripoli. clashes has been reported just 50 kilometres from the capital. ramzan karmali reports. he was meant to find a solution to an escalating problem, but the un secretary general‘s mission to tripoli appears to have failed for now. the united nations remain available to facilitate any political solution able to unify the libyan institutions. libyans deserve peace, security, prosperity and the respect of their human rights.

he was there for talks with general khalifa haftar from the self—styled libyan national army, but they broke down. khalifa haftar‘s troops are under orders to get to tripoli in order to overthrow the internationally recognised government. in fact, there were some reports they had moved further north, coming as close as a0 kilometres from tripoli, by taking the village of suq al—khamis. since 2011 and the fall of colonel gaddafi, libya has experienced violence and division, as various groups try to take control of the oil—rich country. based in tripoli is the national unity government, led by prime minister fayez al—sarraj. he has urged militias to defend tripoli. in the east of the country, based in benghazi, is the libyan national army,

backed by egypt and the uae. but the uae, along with france, italy, the uk and the us have called for a de—escalation, and fear any conflict will propel the country back into a state of chaos. jonathan winer is a former us special envoy for libya and currently a scholar at the middle east institute. jonathan, thank you for joining east institute. jonathan, thank you forjoining us. we have seen the picture of that military advance. is this, do you think, a full on attempted coup? well, the general first announced a coup back in february 2014 on television. nothing followed, he did not succeed. he went east, he secured foreign sponsors and foreign money, counterfeits dinars from russia. he usedit counterfeits dinars from russia. he used it to build patronage networks and cobbled together what he calls libya's national army. it had

imported successes —— important su ccesses imported successes —— important successes in fighting terrorism, it also came to rule several cities. he wa nts to ru n also came to rule several cities. he wants to run libya the way mohammed —— colonel gadhafi did, with a mix of conquest and propaganda. that is what he is trying to do. in november 2016 as military advisor and two sons told me he would capture tripoli by december 2016. he has been working to do that now four yea rs. been working to do that now four years. now he has decided to make his move. he is letting loose the dogs of war and a lot of people are going to die as a result. how serious do you think his chances are of overall success? well, it is one thing to take libya, it is another thing to take libya, it is another thing to take libya, it is another thing to hold it. this is a country obviously independent people. they don't want foreigners telling them what to do and they don't even want other libyans telling them what to do. it is likely to lead to tremendous chaos, bloodshed, misery, human rights violations. it is a very bad thing for the country and

it is going to hurt the libyan people a lot. so what does the international community need to do now? well, when his sons and military adviser told me he was intending on taking tripoli by christmas of 2016, i said, red light. not greenlight. we will do everything possible to stop you. the us government called up every other government we were talking with about libya, they all agreed to send haftar the message, don't do this. enter into negotiations, find ways of compromising, ways to create inclusion. libya needs to be one country, one government, that is inclusive, in which every group in the country has a stake in libya's future and libya's well. that is what needs to happen. conflict will not end well. as far as i can tell from what you are saying, you are absolutely convinced that conflict will happen before anything else? some conflict will happen. so far libya has not been syria. libya has not looked like syria, we have not

seen millions of refugees, we have not seen massive bloodshed. i am concerned about both, i am concerned about resurgence in terrorism as people go underground to fight general haftar. he is putting everything at risk. and it is very dangerous. when i was in myjob i talked to governments throughout the region, including some of the governments that have provided him with support, and they agreed it would be reckless, dangerous and destructive, including self—destructive, for him to try to do what he has apparently decided to do what he has apparently decided to do now. 0k, a crucial couple of days coming up. jonathan winer, thanks for your expertise and your thoughts. let's get some of the day's other news now. boeing is to cut the rate at which it produces its bestselling 737 passenger aircraft by nearly 20%. this follows the two fatal crashes which led to the 737 max model being grounded worldwide. boeing has carried on manufacturing them since the disasters but has not been able to deliver them to

customs. —— customers. vice president mike pence as the united states will impose sanctions on 34 vessels owned or operated by the venezuelan state—run oil firm in a new blow against the government of nicolas maduro. sanctions will also be imposed on two additional companies that transported venezuelan troops to cuba. the board of the world bank has approved an economist from the us treasury as its new president. the organisation says the selection of david malpass followed an open and transparent process in which citizens from all member countries were potentially eligible, although he is the 13th american in a row to be given the job. staying in america now. president trump is visiting the southern border after backing off from his threat this week to shut it down. he's pledged to build another 400 miles of barriers in the next two years. earlier he praised mexico for stepping up security in recent days but left open the possibility of car tarriffs if the flow of drugs

isn't stopped with a year. sophie long has more. the southern border of the united states. it runs from the gulf of mexico to the pacific ocean. donald trump said he wanted to build a wall along its entire 2000—mile length. it was the rallying call of his campaign. it is one of the most controversial issues of his presidency. today, president trump flew to el centro in southern california to view a section of newly replaced barriers. despite his claims to the contrary, no new wall has yet been completed. we're going to have to tariff the cars coming in from mexico this is the san ysidro border crossing. it is the busiest land port of entry in the world. but president trump's determination to keep unwanted migrants out has led him to consider closing the border completely. this is just one of many ports of entry. imagine the chaos even a short closure could cause.

so the products are received, they're unpackaged in another area of the shop... barry sonhen runs an electrical refurbishment factory in tijuana in mexico. he lives in los angeles in the united states. he and his business are dependent on the border remaining open. it would be a disaster, 0k? it would be as if we had a horrible earthquake. it would be as if the power supply went down to our plant — no difference. it's foolish, so we hope it doesn't happen. right? same way i would never hope to have a power outage, or an earthquake, or horrific floods. but this is right up there with natural disasters. this is an unnatural disaster. how about that? 2020, trump! but those gathered to welcome their president today say the benefits of closing the border would be worth the disruption. there is already chaos at the border, and congress is not doing theirjob. so since they are not taking action, something needs to be done to protect the borders and protect, notjust americans but the people that are being used, politicised, and that is, are — are illegal aliens.

carmen rivera has been living in a makeshift shelter in tijuana for three months. a closed border would not have stopped her coming here. she says a gang in el salvador gave her 24 hours to choose whether to leave or die after she reported them to police. she chose to live, but had to leave her five children and her sick mother behind. she says she hopes the us president will be more humane and grant people who need it asylum. while carmen waits, cars continue to queue and president trump forges on with his fight to fund the wall. as you heard in my report there, the people who live and work along the uk prime minister has asked to delay the brexit process, this time until the 30th ofjune. eu leaders, however, have voiced a reluctance to grant any extension without a clear plan

from the british government. meanwhile, after three days of discussions designed to break the impasse, the oppostion labour party has criticised the government's approach saying they've not come up with any changes to the current brexit deal. 0ur deputy political editorjohn pienaar reports from westminster. it's a race against time, brexit. just not enough time. the pm's deputy still talking to labour today. not saying much though. lovely weather today, isn't it? some tories hate even talking to labour, though it's all going nowhere fast. here was labour's chief whip. what could break the brexit deadlock? we've received something from the government which we're looking at now. really? what was that then? a piece of paper. a while inside, then out again. you know i can't say anything and i don't want to speculate about it. he'd be talking some more to his own side. this could drag on. and today, the prime minister's had to accept that. she wrote a letter to donald tusk, the eu council president, requesting a leave date extension tojune the 30th if needed.

it also requests an option to leave earlier if a deal‘s agreed in parliament. but the letter accepts no agreement means the uk prepares for the european parliament elections on may the 23rd, something mrs may has been desperately trying to avoid. but brexit‘s a work in progress — and not much progress. mps could vote to set their own limit on any extension — potentially tough for the prime minister, since she'll have to hammer out an agreement in brussels next week. to get the delay, the pm needs to tell the eu she's hard at it, trying everything to build a consensus at westminster. what i think they will see from the actions that theresa may has taken over the last week is that she is leaving no stone unturned to do that, so britain is not dragging its feet in trying to solve this, but we are a democracy with a hung

parliament so it's not easy. three rounds of talks this week, and negotiations between team corbyn and team may look barely alive tonight — no sign of any breakthrough. while team may is saying they'll rework the plan for the future, labour says the tories are offering zero change in the brexit deal and much the same plan for the future. 0bviously that's disappointing. compromise requires change. we want the talks to continue and we've written in those terms to the government, but we do need change if we are going to compromise. some brexiteers as they leave with no deal and maybe change prime minister. the prime minister herself has made it clear she's not going to be leaderfor much longer. we will have a new leader, we will have a new prime minister. that new prime minister will not want to be tied into the withdrawal agreement with the option of an extension. he or she will be in a much stronger negotiating position to get

the right deal for the united kingdom, and that seems to me in the national interest. even if mrs may strikes a deal with mr corbyn, and that looks doubtful, mps on both sides could mutiny. some tories hate the idea of delaying brexit, or staying close to the eu, or even talking to mr corbyn. many labour mps want a new referendum, whatever deal is struck. and jeremy corbyn has never much liked that idea. both leaders might be privately relieved if their talks come to nothing and it's left to mps to choose their ideal outcome — if they can. mrs may's next trip is to brussels, where a 12—month delay has been suggested, maybe with enough flexibility to allow an earlier exit, but where some eu leaders may want to make britain'sjourney tougher, not easier. john pienaar, bbc news, westminster. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, childhood classics. the 11—year—old composers having bad pieces played by the new york philharmonic. —— having their

pieces. 25 years of hatred and rage as theyjump up on the statue. this funeral became a massive demonstration of black power, a power to influence. today it's about the promise of a bright future. a day when we hope a line can be drawn under the bloody past. i think that picasso's works were beautiful, they were intelligent, and it's a sad loss to everybody who loves art.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines: there are fears of the major confrontation in libya. president trump has visited what he says is the first part of his southern wall. earlier he wrote back a threat to pose sanctions on mexico. the jury at the inquests into the birmingham pub bombings 44 years ago, has found that a botched ira warning contributed to the deaths of 21 people. two massive explosions tore apart two pubs in the city centre in november 1974. the jury also found that there were no failings, errors or omissions in the police's response to the call. sima kotecha reports.

the one thing that will always stick with me for the rest of my life is the smell — flesh, hair. that will never ever go from me. kevin burgess, one of more than 200 people who were injured on the night of the bombings. two explosions in two pubs, killing 21 people. the city was in shock. destruction and debris everywhere. these men, who were known as the birmingham six, were then falsely imprisoned for the crime. almost two decades later they were acquitted. and then some of the families of those killed campaigned forfresh inquests. today, the jury concluded a botched warning call from the irajust minutes before the bombs went off led to the death of 21 people and meant the police weren't able to evacuate the pubs in time. it's been 44 years. 44 years it's took us to have an inquest, let alone a murder trial.

it is now time — way, way past time, for a murder trial. the jury deliberated for almost five hours and unanimously concluded there was not sufficient evidence of any failings or errors by the police in their response to the bomb warning. well, this used to be the tavern in the town, one of the pubs that was bombed on that evening. now, a significant moment during the inquests was when an ira bomber, witness 0, told the jury who he suspected of being behind the bombings. four men were named. he claimed mick murray, who had been tried and acquitted in 1975, was involved, along with the unit's commander, seamus mcloughlin, former british soldierjames gavin, and michael hayes, the only one who's still alive. now there are calls for the police to investigate. as we say to, i think,

any family when we investigate a death or a murder, we can't promise of course that we will result in a prosecution orjustice. we can promise that we'll do our best and we will do our best. nobody has clearly been convicted of the atrocity at the time. that has led to a lot of frustration in me, personally. we know it was the ira, but who were the actual people? and it's really a case of closure and i don't think we're ever going to find closure. in his final remarks, the coroner sir peter thornton qc said, "the dreadful events will never be forgotten because the people of birmingham will never forget the 21 lives that were tragically lost". sima kotecha, bbc news. the england and spurs defender, danny rose, says he can't wait to end his career as a footballer

because of the failure of the authorities to tackle racist abuse. racist chanting was directed at rose and other england players during the recent euro 2020 qualifier in montenegro. he says the way the problem is being tackled is a farce. here's our sports correspondeent, joe wilson. today's question for football — what can make a player at the height of his powers decide he's had enough? well, danny rose has endured racism, most recently at england's game in montenegro. he doesn't believe football is taking the issue seriously. a country can only get fined a little bit of money for being racist, it is a bit of a farce. i have had enough. how i programme myself now, ijust think i have five or six more years left in football, and i can't wait to see the back of it. this weekend, the fa cup semifinals are played at wembley, where raheem sterling grew up, and a group of children from his old school will be the guests of the player and manchester city at tomorrow's game. they spent this morning at the bbc and told me their role models are footballers. what the sport displays

really matters. it is disheartening to certain players of colour. you may be very good on the pitch, but due to the colour of your skin maybe you get criticised for that. i also think that what harry kane has come out and said, if the england squad receive any more racial abuse he will walk them off the pitch, i think that is a good idea. if there is racism at a game would a manager lead a team of a field of play? that question was put to the boss england's women's team. if we have the courage and we have the backing, more importantly, to bring the team, stop the game, say this not good enough, if we do punish the supporters causing the problems, then i would hope i would have the courage to do that. something needs to be done, that is accepted. who leads a process is not so clear. danny rose has made his point several times. will it take individual players turning away from football

to motivate a response? uefa is due to announce its sanctions against montenegro next month. the 75—year—old mick jagger has reportedly undergone heart valve replacement surgery. the band postponed their tour of the us and canada when the singer was advised by doctors that he needed medical treatment. in a tweet he thanked hospital staff for doing " a superbjob" and his fans for their support, saying he is "on the mend" and "feeling much better." new york's philharmonic orchestra has down the years performed works from some of the greatest composers of all time. we're talking about the likes of beethoven, mozart and bach. well, two new names can be added to that illustrious list, but these composers are putting youth before experience,

as the bbc‘s tim allman explains. this piece of work is called rising. and the finger is 11—year—old paloma dineli chesky. this is not herfirst appearance with the new york philharmonic. she is practically a vetera n philharmonic. she is practically a veteran but this time she composes the song, every lyric and every note. you know how it is, you wait ages for a musical prodigy and then to come at once. both children part of the young composes programme, open to children between the ages of

ten and 12, it aims to promote talent and instill a love of music. every child in this room has an create at least three or four pieces during the course of this. unedited. the child rides every note so we get the actual voice of the child. the prospect of seeing that voice on stage in front of a full house can be pretty daunting. first time ever. never done this before. playing you have so many different emotions in your hand. after the performances, the plaudits. quite an experience for such a young talent. it is incredible just to have my composition here and have me on stage singing, it is amazing. after hugs from the family, one last question. will you keep composing?

yes. that's pretty much a given. very impressive stuff. a track from avici will be released to celebrate his life. the 28—year—old took his life 12 months ago but was close to completing an album. producers have sent been working together to get the album finish. proceeds from the sales will go towards a mental health foundation set up in his honour. the un security council has urged the libyan warlord khalifa haftar to hold his advance. that is it. you're

watching bbc news, by buyer. hello there, it's looking like a pretty mild weekend across most parts of the uk, but, as i'll show you in a moment, sunshine amounts will vary. now, the last few days have been characterised by heavy downpours, areas of cloud circulating around an area of low pressure, but as we start the weekend, that low is retreating southwards, taking a lot of the rain with it and leaving us with easterly winds. where you are exposed to that easterly wind, parts of eastern england, a good part of scotland, we will have cloud and patchy rain at times. the further west you are with some shelter from the easterly wind, that is where we will see the driest of the weather and the best of the sunshine. the rain associated with that low pressure continues to pull away south—westwards through the early part of saturday. more patchy rain pushing into the north—east of scotland. in between some clear spells, most temperatures holding

above freezing, but some areas starting with a touch of frost. through the day there will be some spells of sunshine but generally more cloud coming in from the north sea into eastern parts of england. cloud spinning across scotland, some outbreaks of rain sometimes, in the north sea coast the wind coming off the sea. elsewhere, particularly where sunshine further west, it will be a mild day, 11—14 degrees, and at aintree for the grand national, blue skies overhead and a bit of patchy cloud here and there. temperatures as the race gets going, and around 5:15, around 13 degrees. it will be western areas that hold onto the clearest of the skies as we go through saturday night, so much so that parts of northern ireland could see a touch of frost. elsewhere, more and more cloud feeding in from the north sea, a spot of drizzle and blanket of cloud holding temperatures between 5—7.

it does mean a grey start on sunday for many of us, and still a bit of patchy rain across north—east england and scotland. moving through the day signs things will brighten up down towards the south, but that could just serve to kick off one or two hefty showers, particularly to the south of the m4 corridor. some hit and miss thunderstorms by the end of the day. 17 degrees in london, a little bit cooler further north and east. next week gets off to a mild start, but it looks increasingly likely that cold air will come back in from the north—east as the week wears on. the forecast looks like this. showers towards the south on monday and tuesday, a mild start to the week, but from the north—east things are expected to turn cooler, temperatures beginning to dip away.