welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: tens of thousands of venezuelans take to the streets — after a call from opposition leader juan guaido to topple president maduro. a new era begins injapan. celebrations are underway — as naruhito becomes the country's emperor. i'm mariko oi — live in tokyo — where a formal ceremony will take place — confirming his ascent to the throne. hundreds of people are gathering, hoping to catch a glimpse of the new imperial couple. and we report on one of the world's critically endangered animals — the sumatran orangutan — and the industry that's

military leaders in venezuela appear to be standing behind nicolas maduro as president, despite the latest — and boldest — opposition attempt to unseat him. juan guaido, who's declared himself interim leader, appeared on social media at the start of the day with a group of soldiers and another opposition leader, who'd been under house arrest, and announced an uprising. protesters took to the streets and there've been gunshots. but military leaders have since appeared on tv, asserting their loyalty to president maduro. james clayton reports. venezuela has become used to these kind of scenes in recent years. but even so, images of an armoured van ploughing into a crowd of protesters

which we have chosen not to show has proved shocking. this was not supposed to happen. two men claim power in venezuela. nicolas maduro, supported by russia and china and this man, juan guaido, supported by the west. today, flanked by soldiers, he claimed to have the support of the military. q rumours that occur was under way. the freeing of this man, petition politician lopez previously under house arrest was seen politician lopez previously under house arrest was seen as politician lopez previously under house arrest was seen as proof that the military had finally turned. how big a gamble is this 41 matt? the military had finally turned. how big a gamble is this 41matt?m the military had finally turned. how big a gamble is this 41 matt? it is a big gamble in the sense that up till now two has not gone afterjuan guaido in terms of arresting him.

obviously his mental, lopez, who we saw on the streets today was already under house arrest but nicolas maduro has not gone afterjuan guaido himself. and now this direct provocation and calling for an up rising in the centre of caracas, this could change things. in caracas tonight, it is not at all clear that that gamble has paid off. certainly the strength of force against the protesters suggests that nicolas maduro still has military support. venezuela's economy has fallen apart. years of hyperinflation has taken its toll apart. years of hyperinflation has ta ken its toll and apart. years of hyperinflation has taken its toll and hundreds of thousands of people fled the country. for many, even basic healthcare is no longer available. the uk and the us wants to see the back of socialist nicolas maduro. many in the west blame him for taking the country to the brink of ruin. as our principal objective we wa nt ruin. as our principal objective we want the principal transfer of power but i will say again, as the

president has said from the outset, that nicolas maduro and those supporting him, particularly those who are not venezuelan, should know that all options are on the table. and it is perhaps that strong support that keeps juan and it is perhaps that strong support that keeszuan guaido from being arrested. both nicolas maduro andjuan being arrested. both nicolas maduro and juan guaido know the military holds the key to power. tonight, at least, it appears that most of the military still support nicolas maduro. let's show you now what is coming out on venezuelan tv at the moment. nicolas maduro is speaking. we have seen two people with him, including the defence minister. interesting in that he is one of the men alleged by the us national security adviser to be involved in three months of negotiation with the opposition. he has since appeared on

television himself surrounded by soldiers and asserting their continued loyalty to nicolas maduro. so as soon as we continued loyalty to nicolas maduro. so 3s soon 3s we have more so 3s soon 3s we have more translation on this we will bring his words to you. he is there with the socialist party vice president. more on that to come. let's get some of the day's other news. senior democrats in the us are saying they've reached agreement with president trump to invest $2 trillion in infrastructure projects. this will include modernising roads, rail lines and water supplies and upgrading the power grid to deliver greener energy. they've also agreed that broadband should reach every american home. for a third day, heavy rains and floods have hampered aid efforts in northern mozambique. deaths from cyclone kenneth, which made landfall on thursday, have now reached 41. in the port city of pemba, around 35, 000 houses have been completely or partly destroyed. it's just 6 weeks since cyclone idai hit mozambique. a former minneapolis police officer has been found guilty of murdering an unarmed australian woman, who approached his patrol car to report a possible rape.

mohammed noor told the court he shot justine damond because he feared he and his partner were being ambushed. the killing led to protests and the city's police chief lost hisjob. a new day has dawned injapan — and with it a new era and a new emperor. naruhito, the 126th emperor ofjapan, part of an unbroken dynasty that spans more than 2,000 years. the reign of his father, akihito, officially came to an end on tuesday when he became the first japanese emperor to stand down in more than 2 centuries. a special law had to be drafted to make it legalfor him to do so. let's go live to tokyo and the bbc‘s mariko oi. injust under 30 in just under 30 minute there will be an official ceremony taking place behind me inside the imperial palace

where the new emperor will inherit the three sacred objects. 30 minutes later there will be an official ceremony for him to become the 126th emperor of japan. as you ceremony for him to become the 126th emperor ofjapan. as you mention, sit rectally speaking at midnight japan time the era of reiwa has begun. there were parties across japan to mark this transition which is an marked difference to the last time and emperor was crowned. there are people behind me hoping to get a glimpse of the new imperial couple. the bbc‘s laura bicker joins us now from outside the imperial palace — where large crowds are

gathering for celebrations. it is great weather today and people have been encouraged to come and join. you can see from my cameramen who will come into the crowd is here that of people have gathered, hoping for a glimpse of the new imperial couple. hello. they have been gathering for a few hours now and we know the crowd will get pushed back as the imperial couple leave the palace after the enthronement ceremony. onto that ceremony. what they will do as they will place the sword and the jewel in front of the new emperor and then he will give his first few words to japan as emperor of the country. and that is when we will get an idea of what he may stand for, of what his rain may stand for. there were a few hints in the past where he has spoken of how the past where he has spoken of how the winds of change when it comes to the winds of change when it comes to the changing of the ways of imperial

japan should continue. he has spoken about the winds of change. he may be looking to change certain things. we know that the new emperor ‘s will not be there. no women are allowed in this ceremony. she is a harvard graduate, a diplomat and she could have been a high—ranking career diplomat, many thought, instead she is now empress ofjapan. she has found the spotlight difficult and has stepped back from her duties as crown princess. however now she and her husband will be firmly in the spotlight for the next few months as they meet the people of japan. we will not see much today but they hope to see anything they can. on saturday the new emperor and empress will read the crowds but for today, anything you can see is a glimpse well worth it. and his father,

emperor akihito broke a lot of traditions and the new emperor and his wife also bring a lot of firsts for the imperial couple as well. when it comes to the previous emperor, akihito, when it came to him being a more human emperor we saw that over his reign, he knelt with those who had suffered tragedy and disaster, especially after the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. that is something that the people of japan had never seen before. he married a commoner, again another first. he reached out to the international community. healed japan's wartime image. when it comes to his son, it is hoped that he will continue in that legacy with a more international feel. japan faces a number of challenges. it has not

returned to the economic power that it was before the crash in the 19905. it it was before the crash in the 1990s. it has a demographic challenge with a rising elderly population and a gender issue challenge. today, for instance within the imperial palace, no women are allowed although one female cabinet member will be allowed. it faces many challenges. and although the emperor is not a political figure, some wonder exactly what he will do and say and what signals he will do and say and what signals he will give us to the kind of challenges he is prepared to face. and this abdication has reignited debate about the issue of succession, why only a man can be an emperor here in japan. succession, why only a man can be an emperor here injapan. but for now, laura, thank you. back to you, mike. protesters in sudan have accused the military of not being serious about giving power to civilians. as demonstrators call for a million—strong march, the military council has suggested that its leader should head a future

government, and is trying to get protesters to remove barricades in the capital, khartoum. catherine byaru hanga is there for us. could this sedan's popular protest come under threat? thousands continue to stream in that there are tensions. this railway bridge has become a symbol for sedan's sit in. instead, the soldiers want the demonstrators to leave and open it up demonstrators to leave and open it up to traffic. they refused and built up even more barricades in case the army tried to get in. the ruling military council took over in a coupa ruling military council took over in a coup a few weeks ago. negotiations for them to hand power to civilians are ata for them to hand power to civilians are at a stalemate. now they say protesters are a security threat.

translation: do you expect me to let people keep controlling what is happening? that is a strange question. my answer is we reject that. the army says it won't use force against the people here. but the opposition says this threat shows it is not ready to hand over power. the protesters remained determined. it is really not fair and all people are mad and furious and all people are mad and furious and they are coming here to have a say on this. translation: of course we do not want to remove the barricades until they allow was a walford civilian government regardless of political parties. the generous call for the barricades to be removed could remove also some of the trust between them and their people making it harderfor sedan the trust between them and their people making it harder for sedan to transition into a democracy. —— for

sedan. —— for sudan. at least 17 houses have been destroyed by a landslide in the city of la paz in bolivia. this footage shows the moment homes began to disappear in the suburban area known as the "mountain city". houses built on hilly areas of la paz often have very fragile foundations. authorities evacuated many families and no deaths are reported. stay with us on bbc news — still to come: we'll have more from japan as the country marks the beginning of a new imperial era. 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. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: 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. mercy and the president appearance date to be an apprentice whaler alongside the defence minister and the socialist party vice president. that is significant. mr maduro giving and defiant tv address after a day of mass protests, he says he will be victorious in what he says isa will be victorious in what he says is a coup attempt backs by what he called american imperialism. he saluted the loyalty of the venezuelan armed forces. that is significant because the start of the day, juan guaido who lives the natural —— leads the national assembly appeared on social media with a group of soldiers at another opposition leader and announcing uprising. we're also hearing area —— earlierfrom uprising. we're also hearing area —— earlier from the uprising. we're also hearing area —— earlierfrom the us uprising. we're also hearing area —— earlier from the us security adviser that venezuela is a defence minister

on state tv just that venezuela is a defence minister on state tvjust now had involved in three months of negotiations with the opposition. we have no proof of that, that's what mr boulton has said, us secretary of state mike pompeo had also alleged president maduro had been prepared to leave and fly to cuba having been talked out of that by russia. he's offered no evidence of that claim so as we haveit no evidence of that claim so as we have it at the moment, one guaido has made another appeal for an uprising, appearing to have some support from soldiers but the military leaders including the defence minister and the socialist party seem to be standing with president maduro at the moment. charities working to protect the orangutan in sumatra are warning the species could become extinct within two decades. its habitat in indonesia is under serious pressure as vast areas of tropical rainforest are cleared to make room for palm oil plantations. from sumatra, our correspondent mehulika sitepu. this rescue team has been told

the wife of a soldier has been keeping a young orangutan as her pet. bom bom was kept in a cage for three years. they have agreed to hand him over. it's hard to watch. life with this family is all bom bom has known since his mother was killed. getting him to a rehabilitation centre is his only chance of freedom back in the wild. bom bom is a victim of indonesia's deforestation. this country is the world's biggest 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 kernel, like this. this is where biofuel comes from.

orangutans have been pushed aside. many are killed by farmers as they search for food on the fringes of plantations. the babies are captured and sold as pets. this large male was shot 62 times by farmers. he was shot, two in one eye, one in the other. charities do what they can. so yeah, he's going to spend the rest of his days as a captive animal. the plantations will say, oh, orangutans come out the forest to eat our palm oil seedlings. but they'll eat palm oil seedlings in the same way that a shipwrecked mariner will eat his shoes or his belt. you know, it's not food, it's just the only thing there that they can try and survive with. indonesia's government says it is trying to limit palm oil expansion, but also lobbies heavily for the multibillion—dollar industry, which is dismissive of the needs of orangutans.

this is the journey back to freedom for one lucky orangutan. but charities can only do so much. well done. good luck, harry! countless others are being lost. bye, harry. good luck. mehulika sitepu, bbc news, sumatra. let's return to events injapan where a new era is about to start — the reign of emperor naruhito following the abdication of his father. mariko oi is there for us. in less than ten minutes they will be an official ceremony inside the imperial palace behind us for emperor naruhito to inherit the three treasures which represent japan's imperial family. 30

three treasures which represent japan's imperialfamily. 30 minutes later we will then have an official ceremony for him to become 126th emperor of japan. remember, japan has had a the longest continuous monarchy in the wild, lasting more than 2000 years since 660 bc when the emperor was believed to have taken to the throne. with me now is james brown, he is from temple university japan, thank you james brown, he is from temple universityjapan, thank you for joining us. we have hundreds of people gathering hoping to get a glimpse of this new imperial couple. it goes to show how the japanese public feel about the imperial family. that's right. perhaps a comparison with the royal families in other parts of the world, where there is more mixed views within japan, there is an honest support and they are seen as very, very seen as very, very popular. it's a

stark comparison to 30 years ago when the emperor took to the throne because back then i remember back as a child the entire country was mourning the death of the emperor. a child the entire country was mourning the death of the emperorlj think it's an argument in favour of abdication rather than waiting until he passes away because this time around, there isn't a sense of morning, the emperor will enjoy a long retirement, that means a start to this new era can be really and —— a moment of celebration. thank you by now, we can bring you a digital editor of the japanese website who joins us from her office. your member the day when emperor akihito

took to the throne, overnight we had parties. my favourite was a man taking up his t—shirt at midnight when it became reiwa. it was so different, as you've been saying, 30 yea rs different, as you've been saying, 30 years ago the country was in deep, deep morning. i quite remember that it was a very long protracted illness the emperor was suffering from, the country was literally holding our breath for many, many months. once the succession occurred, we went allowed to cheer, nothing was open. cinema, shops, everything came to a standstill and so everything came to a standstill and so it was unheard of for people to go out into the street or to dance and cheer and where crazy t—shirts so and cheer and where crazy t—shirts so yes, it's a very, very cheerful, festive thing that's been going on. we are all enjoying it, it's

wonderful. indeed, and i've noticed that the change of the era that we are seeing these live events from inside the imperial palace of three youtube channel of the japanese government as well. it does make quite a difference doesn't it? government as well. it does make quite a difference doesn't mm really does blow my mind that the ceremonies were on youtube. so, yes, i hope that it's a slow, gradual process that yes, the times are changing and the country is changing. and i hope i am allowed to mention that you have the new emperor, emperor naruhito and he was a crown prince as well as his wife. that was a long time ago and i'm sure they don't remember but it was a very casual, relaxed, social gathering. we attended the same

universities and it was very nice to see them there are relaxed because there were no cameras. and you could see that they were enjoying themselves they were glad to be mingling and not been very official or anything so yes, they were very human, relaxed, likeable couple. joining us from our tokyo office, we have all the details of the detailed coverage from the live events and wa nt to coverage from the live events and want to spend happening, some of the historical background of the imperialfamily historical background of the imperial family of japan is historical background of the imperial family ofjapan is within saying, a lot of celebrations across the country. it has been quite a difference compared to 30 years ago, of course, it's not without challenges. the imperial family of course, it's not without challenges. the imperialfamily is running out of mail as we will

discuss that later. for now we will say goodbye to viewers joining us in america on pbs. you watching bbc world news, we bring you special coverage from outside the imperial parrotjust like palace in tokyo. you can see a lot of people behind me, they are hoping to get a glimpse of the new imperial couple. emperor naruhito, who became the emperor at midnight who became the emperor at midnight who will be holding an official ceremony to inherit the three treasures of the imperial family. and then they will be an official ceremony for him to become the emperor, we are expecting to hear from him, the first public address as the emperor. but we can bring in another guest for us, doctor lauren richardson joining another guest for us, doctor lauren richardsonjoining us another guest for us, doctor lauren richardson joining us via webcam. thank you forjoining us, professor.

you have taught injapan, have been here and you have been writing a lot about the diplomatic role that japan's imperial family players, emperor akihito was a known passive rest, heat travelled across the region which was affected by the wartime aggression, do you expect the new emperor to continue that? yes, i think that's a reasonable expectation. lease not because his wife was formerly a diplomat, his helper was a diplomat, and also naruhito has shown or indicated that he would like to carry on his father's legacy in many ways. i do think we can expect they will play quite a national role in reconciliation efforts with japan's neighbours. of course we have to

emphasise that japan's constitution bands or doesn't allow the emperor to make any political statement. but you think that the emperor can play a very crucial dogmatic role as well? yes, even though they may not be able to make statements, the former employer did visit a number of historic conflict sites where japan was engaged in conflict and he paid his respects to both domestic casualties but also foreign casualties but also foreign casualties and so there are those symbolic gestures that mean a lot to the countries that are victims of japanese imperial policies. and of course, every time they travel, every time there is an anniversary, war anniversary, the comments, their visits, do get a lot of

international attention. yes, that's right. and of course, akihito made the unusual move of sometimes being quite critical of the japanese prime ministers apology statements or anniversary statements at the end of the war. that's also been an interesting development. thank you so interesting development. thank you so much for that, doctor richardson from australia national university joining us via webcam. we are now showing you the live pictures from inside the imperial palace where we are expecting the official ceremony for the new emperor, emperor naruhito to inherit the three treasures are about to begin. let's bring back in, james brown. i think people always asked me, personally,

wears the crown? where is the japanese imperial crown? i guess it's very different, isn't it? there are three that nobody has seen but treated with respect, three treasures of the imperial family. there is no crown. that something which they don't have but in the similar way of the crown playing, you have this other parts of the imperial regalia which essentially pay a imperial regalia which essentially paya similar imperial regalia which essentially pay a similar role. as a symbolic role, of course. with japan, doesn't additional element of mystery because these three objects have a p pa re ntly because these three objects have apparently such an old history, also there are location, their details are shrouded in mystery, people don't see them. it is a bit more mystical to the whole imperial family. i was helping my online colleague was writing an article about the treasures, whether speaking to experts, there are very careful and wording about how they