you welcome to newsday. i'm kasia madera in london. the headlines: tens of thousands of venezuela ns take to the streets, after a call from opposition leaderjuan guaido to topple president maduro. in, washington, senior officials urge president maduro‘s supporters to abandon him. this is clearly not a coup. we recognise juan guaido as the legitimate interim president of venezuela. i'm mariko oi in tokyo. a new era begins injapan. celebrations are underway — as naruhito becomes the country's emperor. one of the world's critically endangered animals — the sumatran orangutan — could be extinct within two decades — we report on the industry that's

fuelling their decline. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. welcome to newsday. it's midnight here in london, 8:00 in the morning in tokyo and 7:00 in the evening in venezuela's capital caracas where clashes are still ongoing between protesters and the police. authorities say they're dealing with an attempted coup, after the opposition leader juan guaido called on protestors to take to the streets in a final push to overthrow president maduro. our correspondent in caracas, guilermo olmo, has the very latest on this ongoing situation. it started this morning,

with tear gas fired at a thousand protesters on a bridge in caracas. opposition leader mr guaido calling on venezuelans and the military to back him to end president maduro‘s rule. translation: the call is for everyone to come out into the streets at this moment to get back into what we have built over the years. alongside him, leopoldo lopez, a prominent opposition politician jailed back in 2014 and released last night by security staff loyal to mr guaido. gunfire throughout the day, tensions rose. a growing crowd of protesters throwing rocks at the military in the capital. the situation now is quite unclear, quite uncertain. we have seen all around how protesters are throwing stones and anything they can use as projectiles against the national guard and the national guard is using all the means they normally use, they are throwing gas canisters and also pellets.

translation: the venezuelan people have taken to the streets because the president has called on us to support him. we were asking him to take the first step. he has taken it and now it's time for us to back him. and then, this. a national guard armoured car is set alight after it slams into the crowd. the flames are soon put out. juan guaido joined supporters at a rally this afternoon. thousands lining the streets. translation: the government called on its supporters to gather outside president nicolas maduro tweeted that the military commanders but at this point, uncertainty is the only thing the that can be

taken for granted in venezuela. but let's cross over to north america. the united states has continually been offering its support and there was even a suggestion from mike pompeo, the us secretary of state that the president was on the verge of leaving venezuela. this is the latest we are hearing, that mr maduro has not been seen since the latest rising and there have been questions about his whereabouts and mike pompeo saying that mr maduro had a plane waiting on the tarmac and he was prepared to leave the country to seek asylum in cuba. he was heading to havana but then, the plans changed when the russians stepped in and persuaded him not to do that. clearly, it's a very fluid situation. this is simply one report

from senior officials here in the us and we are not certain about the whereabouts of mr maduro but it does indicate that perhaps there are negotiations going on at a high level in the regime, perhaps they are linked to those on the streets, andjuan are linked to those on the streets, and juan guaido's attempt to seek the rightful leadership as the united states says it is, they com pletely united states says it is, they completely support him in that role and they say, as far as the us position is, it hasn't changed and they are still working towards a peaceful transition of power. exactly, because as you say, fluid situation but us has been constant in its support forjuan guaido, donald trump tweeting as such, john bolton also saying the same, that nicolas maduro essentially has to

go. president trump tweeting his views which simply haven't changed, saying the united states stands for the people of venezuela. donald trump has been very vocal, talking about venezuela, talking about the socialist tyranny as he describes the leadership in venezuela but as to absolute policy, that hasn't changed as a result of what's happened in the last 2a hours and perhaps by saying the president and senior us officials up following this closely, that is designed to put some pressure on nicolas maduro and his regime. we'll get the latest from caracas later. a new day has dawned here injapan — and with it a new era

and a new emperor, emperor naruhito is the 126th emperor of japan. he's part of an unbroken dynasty that spans more than 2000 years. the reign of his father, emperor akihito officially came to an end on tuesday when he became the first japanese monarch to stand down in more than 200 years. rupert wingfield—hayes reports. this was the moment emperor akihito formally relinquished japan's imperial treasures. the sacred sword, the mirror of the gemstone and with them, the imperial throne. after 30 years, his final address lasted just a minute and a half. translation: i think the people for supporting me, he said. i hope the new era will be peaceful and fruitful and i pray with all my

heart for peace and happiness for japan and the whole world. standing close by, the crown prince and princess, their faces perhaps betraying some of the apprehension of what now lies ahead for them. for japan, the ceremony taking place in the imperial palace behind me here isn't just about the end of the emperor akihito's rain, it is the end ofan emperor akihito's rain, it is the end of an era. tomorrow, japan will have a new emperor, a new name and a new calendar. outside the palace walls, people were enjoying the extended 10— day holiday, concerned too much about what was going on inside. translation: i say the emperor is the symbol ofjapan and he had devoted himself for the country. i didn't have much interest but now he's leaving, i'm going to miss him. inside the palace, the first emperor to abdicate into hundred years turned, bowed and quietly walked into retirement.

with me is analyst onjapan from temple university, based here in tokyo, james brown. what i've noticed, compared to the last transition 30 years ago, is that the entire country was mourning the death of the previous emperor where is this time, it's a bit of a party celebration. last time, when there was a change of emperors, the country entered a i— there was a change of emperors, the country entered a 1— year period of mourning this time around. the opportunity to celebrate the end of the error of emperor abby —— emperor akihito and the period of ten days of partying here injapan, so a celebratory mood. it was almost like a new year's countdown. how do you think young people relate to the imperialfamily?

think young people relate to the imperial family? overall, think young people relate to the imperialfamily? overall, the outgoing emperor is very popular, around 76% of japanese express their approval, across the age ranges, that young people have a lot of respect for their imperial family. it's a bit believe thatjust it's a bit hard to believe thatjust 70, 80 years it's a bit hard to believe thatjust 70,80 years ago, it's a bit hard to believe thatjust 70, 80 years ago, that soldiers were dying in the name of the emperor. the new imperial couple will bring a lot of first. they are university educated, lived abroad for many yea rs. educated, lived abroad for many years. what kind of new emperor will he make? it's interesting question and something we will only be able to a nswer and something we will only be able to answer after we've seen a little bit more of the new emperor but i'd actually expect to see quite a bit of continuity and that's in part because the outgoing emperor, emperor akihito was himself so revolutionary. he really redefined the role of the emperor. taking a

role in international diplomacy to rebuild japan's image and the image of the imperial house after the war. sol of the imperial house after the war. so i think that at least to begin with, we can expect the new emperor will do much the same. james will be with us throughout our special coverage here on the bbc but for now, back to you. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. democrat leaders in the us say they've reached an agreement with president trump to invest two trillion dollars in infrastructure projects. this will include funding to modernise roads, railway lines and water supplies as well upgrading the power grid to deliver greener energy. they also agreed that broadband should reach every american home. here's senate minority leader chuck schumer. first, we agreed that infrastructure is crucial to the future of america. we agreed it creates jobs, we agreed

it keeps us competitive. we agreed that for 25 years, this kind of big bold bill that we could pass would make america a better place, this is not just one make america a better place, this is notjust one or two years. we agreed ona notjust one or two years. we agreed on a number, which was very, very good. $2 trillion for infrastructure. we said we would meet in three weeks and he would present to us some of his ideas on funding so this was a very, very good start and we hope it will go to a constructive conclusion. president trump has sued two banks, deutsche and capital one, to prevent them handing over his financial affairs to a us government committee. the committee is investigating possible links between the president and russia. it says they're right to probe any dealings he may have had with the country. he's been joined in the lawsuit by his three eldest children and the trump organisation.

heavy rains and floods in northern mozambique have hampered aid effort in the country for the third day. this comes after cyclone kenneth make landfall on thursday. the death toll from the storm has now reached 41. around 35,000 houses have been completely or partially destroyed in the port city of pemba. who can forget the extraordinary rescue of 12 thai footballers and their coach from a cave last year? well, their remarkable rescue it to be turned into a drama series by the video streaming giant netflix. they signed an agreement which will give around $100,000 to each family in return for exclusive lifetime rights to their story. you're watching newsday on the bbc.

still to come on the programme: japan celebrates the begininng of a new era — we take a look at what all this change means for the country. also on the programme: vast tracts of indonesia's tropical rainforest are being cleared for palm oil plantations — threatening the survival of the critically endangered sumatran orangutan. we have a special report. nothing, it seems, was too big to withstand the force of the tornado. the extent of the devastation will lead to renewed calls for government help to build better housing. internationally, there have already been protests. sweden says it received no warning of the accident. indeed, the russians at first denied anything had gone wrong. only when radioactivity levels began to increase outside russia were they forced to admit the accident.

for the mujahideen, the mood here is of great celebration. this is the end of a 12—year war for them. they've taken the capital, which they've been fighting for for so long. it was 7 o'clock in the morning, the day when power began to pass from the minority to the majority, when africa, after 300 years, reclaimed its last white colony. you're watching newsday. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: tens of thousands of venezuela ns have ta ken to the streets following an appeal by the opposition leader, juan guaido, to topple president maduro. a new era begins injapan. celebrations are underway, as naruhito becomes the new emperor. let's return now to our top story where demonstrations

against venezuelan president nicolas maduro are continuing, after opposition leaderjuan guaido called on protestors to take to the streets. jounalist emiliana duarte is a freelance journalist based in caracas and has been at those protests in the venezuelan capital since this morning. give us a flavour of what you've experienced early on today. today was unprecedented for many reasons. the first of which is that there is a giant demonstration slated to happen tomorrow, may one which was called upon byjuan guaido. this is expected to happen tomorrow. this morning venezuela woke up to a message broadcast over social media wherejuan message broadcast over social media where juan guaido was message broadcast over social media wherejuan guaido was on the overpass of the main highway that crosses through caracas, flanked by thirtysomething military officers of

varying ranks and also flanked by probably the highest profile political prisoner in venezuela who was also an opposition leader and has been under house arrest for the better pa rt has been under house arrest for the better part of four years. for that he was in a military prison. it was called to action do the supporters tojoin the dissident called to action do the supporters to join the dissident military personnel that had come out to support him and slowly but surely, this happened at one. slowly but surely, thousands of people made their way over to the highway over pass and then there was an impromptu march that was led by these dissident national guardsmen. on a pickup truck followed by guaido and supporters, which was repressed by forces loyal to maduro. this

progress had been in at least 20 other states in venezuela, information is still very very difficult to come by, communications today have been terrible than they usually are. given that juan guaido had the support from the military initially, what do you think is happening to the support because obviously there is still a stand—off because the military is still overall supporting president maduro. what is happening in terms of what the military is thinking about this? ever since, it's hard to say what the military is thinking, but i can tell you since january 23, which is the day that juan tell you since january 23, which is the day thatjuan guaido swallowed to office as interim president and did so because according to the interpretation of the constitution but they are following, maduro is an illegitimate president and is usurping the office of the presidency. the plan has been

threefold. it has three steps, that he has consistently insisted upon. first, managing to get maduro to cease the usurpation of power and then completing a transitional government and calling on elections. in orderfor this government and calling on elections. in order for this usurpation disease, the military has to break and that is what many of the events we have been seeing happened in venezuela since january to third are aiming to do. the airlift that happened with humanitarian aid back in february sought to get the military to break and this was the same objective. yes, we did see, it was unprecedented and historic to see ashley guardsmen who are usually the branch of the armed forces that are chosen to repress, brutally repressed marches, today were protecting the demonstrators and loving teargas to other military officers who are still loyal to maduro. apologies for interrupting but were out of time, that's an interesting point on which to enter this interview. the support that

some of the military have shown for the protesters. now, we can go back to tokyo for more on the dayjapan's new emperor ascends to the throne. that's right. i've managed to pick up that's right. i've managed to pick up some of the newspapers this morning, it says that the new emperor takes to the throne and you can see the pictures of the outgoing emperor and the empress and the new emperor and the empress and the new emperor and the empress and the new emperor and new empress and this one has the new era reiwa begins. translated, it means a beautiful harmony. if you're wondering why that such a big deal, i wouldn't say i was born in 1981 if i was in japan, i would say i was born in the 56th year of a certain era. the change of the error is significant, not just the change of the error is significant, notjust the new emperor. that's

bring back in james notjust the new emperor. that's bring back injames brown to talk about this. it's quite interesting that when the new emperor attends the official ceremony, his wife, the new empress, won't be allowed to be in the room. that's right, one of the main things that has been focused on here has been the lack of gender equality within the imperial system. many people are very surprised despite the fact that the empress has had such a big role in the previous era, the female members of the imperial households have been excluded. that's very much how the imperial system works within japan. it can't in the current system be the case to have a female emperor, also when female members of the imperial house marry, they leave the imperial house marry, they leave the imperial family. at the moment, imperial house marry, they leave the imperialfamily. at the moment, it very much is an unequal system but there are debates now whether that might change under the new reiwa era. a fascinating topic we will get

back into as we continue our coverage of this imperial succession here on the bbc. we'll be bringing you all the live events which will be taking place behind us at the imperial palace later, but for now, back to you. one of the world's critically endangered animals, the sumatran orangutan, is being killed in growing numbers and could be extinct within two decades. that's the bleak warning from charities working to protect the animals, whose rainforest habitat is under serious pressure. vast tracts of indonesia's tropical rainforest are being cleared for palm oil plantations. from sumatra our correspondent mehulika sitepu sent this report. this rescue team has been told the wife of a soldier is keeping the young orangutan as a pet. it was keptin young orangutan as a pet. it was kept ina young orangutan as a pet. it was kept in a cage for three years, they have agreed to hand him over. it's ha rd to have agreed to hand him over. it's hard to watch. live with this family

is all this orangutan has known since his mother was killed. getting him toa since his mother was killed. getting him to a rehabilitation centre is his only chance of freedom. he is a victim of indonesians deforestation, this country is the world ‘s guest palm oil producer. in the past two decades, huge areas of rainforest have been destroyed. millions of indonesians now depend on the crop for a living. inside this there is a

this larger mail the shot 62 pets. this larger mail the shot 62 times by farmers. charities do what they can. i was going to spend the rest of his days as a captive animal. plantations will say, orangutans come out of the forest but will eat, with seedlings in the same way that a mariner will eat his shoes or his belt, it's not food it's just the only thing there. indonesia ‘s government says it is trying to limit palm oil expansion but also bobbies have been made for them industry which is dismissive of them industry which is dismissive of the needs of orangutans. this is the journey back to freedom for one lucky orangutan stopped but charities can only do so much. well

done, good luck. countless others are being lost. it's good to see a least one orangutan being released. japan is experiencing a historic day for a new emperor. it installed today? -- what is in store? in about two hours time at the imperial paris they will bea time at the imperial paris they will be a ceremony for the new emperor to inherit the churches of the imperial family. there is no end. crown but there are three items, the sacred mirror, the sword and the jam which he will inherit and then half—an—hour later, he will become officially the new emperor, it's really the mood to celebrate here in japan. my favourite was a guy wearing a t—shirt and taking it off

at midnight as it became reiwa. thank you so much forjoining us on the special edition of newsday. at the beginning of the week it was... it is getting cold everywhere. temperatures will be 18 01’ everywhere. temperatures will be 18 or19 everywhere. temperatures will be 18 or 19 degrees, at the same time got this band of claudia it's been moving very slowly eastward, some chari burst of rain still amongst all that cloud at the moment. ahead of it some clear skies towards the south—east of england, turning a little bit chilly but elsewhere this temperatures a bit higher than they we re temperatures a bit higher than they were the previous night. as we head into the morning, were going to expect more cloud across scotland, most of any chari ran it towards the southern areas for the time being. it should have moved away from

northern ireland, much drier, sunnier days and feeling warm as well. some pockets of showery rain coming across wales, perhaps into the west midlands, it should left in these areas, writer most of the day, we are likely to set up a few showers most anywhere really, some others could be on the sharp side, helped by the two bit of whiteness and sunshine perhaps. temperatures a shade lowerfor most and sunshine perhaps. temperatures a shade lower for most places than they were yesterday. norma in northern ireland, cool and northern scotla nd northern ireland, cool and northern scotland but we still have a few heavy showers around during the evening. a lot of those will tend to fade away further south and skies will tend to clear so we will see some mist and fog around as well. nothing too low in terms of temperatures. down to about five or six degrees and quite a few places. as you move into thursday, we've got some more of these shales, may showers, some sunshine but those jabs developing some places, may be heavy and thundery, moving into the

north—east of england. the wind direction changes as a sign of things to come. cold and air —— cold air arrived at things to come. cold and air —— cold airarrived at —— things to come. cold and air —— cold air arrived at —— arriving in scotland. is open to friday, we got more cloud moving danny and unveils overseas and heavy showers developing but the show was in scotla nd developing but the show was in scotland are going to be of a wintry flavour even to some lower levels. averages of six degrees on friday northern scotland. that notley went, the cold air is going to come sweeping down across all areas during friday night and into the start of the holiday weekend. we may start of the holiday weekend. we may start with a touch of frost around, quite chilly feel and that window down the eastern side of the uk, some showers around as well. on the whole, the bank holiday weekend looks dry for many places, this temperatures recovering by monday.

i'm kasia madera with bbc news. our top story: there have been more clashes in venezuela between protesters and the police. authorities say they are dealing with an attempted coup after the opposition leader, juan guaido, called on protestors to take to the streets in a final push to overthrow president maduro. the us president, donald trump, has said he stands with the people of venezuela. the white house has warned there will be consequences ifjuan guaido doesn't succceed. and this is our other main story across the bbc. celebrations are underway injapan as former crown price naruhito becomes the country's new emperor, a day after his father became the first emperor to abdicate in more than two centuries. that's all. stay with bbc news.