welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: america's secretary of state visits iraq, following warnings iran may try to attack us forces in the region. venezuela's supreme court opens a criminal investigation against six leading opposition lawmakers, accusing them of treason. as south africa prepares to go to the polls, claims of corruption continue to dominate the campaign. free at last. the queen she has in the delight of the news of

the us secretary of state has paid a brief visit to baghdad to assure the iraqi leadership of american support. mike pompeo also told the iraqi prime minister his government must ensure it is able to protect americans in the country, and suggested baghdad should become less dependent on iran. washington is deploying an aircraft carrier and b—52 bombers to the region because of what it claims are indications iranian forces may be preparing to attack american troops in the region. iran's foreign minister has dismissed the claims. mr pompeo spoke to reporters on the plane out of iraq, have a listen: the message we have sent to the iranians, i hope it does in a position we can deter those who think twice about attacking americans. behnam ben taleblu is a senior fellow focusing on iran at the foundation for defence of democracies, a foreign policy think—tank in washington. hejoins me live.

what you make of this? it's great to be with you. iraq is currently contested territory. it is contested in the political sense between washington and tehran. washington is trying to make sure that iraq is strong and stable. it's capable of rejecting radiant influence. it is designed to offset and pre—empt the puncturing of the state and society and economics. iran is trying to subvert a rock. there is an argument that it is more entitled to be that of the united states is. iraq is in brown's backyard. you don't do things in your neighbours backyard the new wouldn't do in your own. there is a fence, this cultural ties, this business ties but there is also

ethnic and strategic amity. there are 12 with each other and if washington is invited —— being invited in by other powers in the gulf, they would act accordingly. the long—term american policy has strengthened iran. tim three mike has exploited many missteps especially the persian gulf. vacuums seven filled and iraq is in the business in saying that america is not a trustworthy partner that is something that is likely to step up. but other secretaries trip to iraq was so but other secretaries trip to iraq was so important. how to feel about the policy? it doesn't work too well so the policy? it doesn't work too well so far, has it, do you expect it to work better in the future? why would it? tomorrow the administration 's maximum pressure campaign against iran enters you to. the policy has

been defined by tough economic sanctions, hopefully military posturing and diplomacy could lead to something here. the ultimate goal of all the pressure is to drive three mac back to the group —— negotiating table. they are looking to strike american assets in the middle east and the deployment of the carrier strike group not only cause corrects for the eight months of having zero carriers in the persian gulf and it also offsets and advises iran to back down from some of its regional activities and terrorist activities in the middle east. and i think tank has the air of many in the administration behind it. when you expect american policy to go on this next? or, it needs to make sure that accident pressure means maximum pressure. testifying before congress on a bipartisan basis, the bush administration go back over a decade, but with respect to year 2 of max pressure, that

means they throw in the kitchen sink when it comes to sanctions that the states are able to co—ordinate to off—site the missile and military threats —— offset stop they need to make sure that something is being done about rolling back the attempt to create a land bridge to project power into the eastern mediterranean. thank you very much. venezuela's supreme court has ordered the criminal prosecution of 6 leading opposition assembly members, on allegations they took part in last week's attempted military uprising. the plot apparently failed because key maduro loyalists — who'd been expected to back the opposition — stuck with the president. but the us has now lifted sanctions on the head of intelligence, who did turn against president maduro. the bbc‘s barbara plett usher has this update from caracas. it isa it is a week now since the failed uprising of the supreme court and they have taken action. as a body thatis they have taken action. as a body that is controlled by the supporters

of president madero. the court has accused six leading opposition lawmakers of treason, of inciting insurrection, of conspiracy and it said its opening criminal investigations against them. and that the parliamentary immunity will not protect them. however, the leader of the opposition is not on the list even though he's the one who called for the uprising. his allowed to enter the national assembly to address members of parliament that is not outside, a small group of supporters of president madero called the law as traitors as they entered. he has been putting on shows of strength, visiting military bases throughout the bait —— past week. there are cracks in his inner circle. the head of intelligence broke with him and has since left the country. the us vice president has given a speech trying to entice others to do the same was not in recognition of his recent actions, and support of democracy of the rule of law, i am announcing today that the united states of america is removing all

sanctions on the general, effective immediately. as president why don't build a brighter future for venezuela, we have the action that our nation is taking today will encourage others to follow the example of the general. distractible map. the us will send its navy hospital ship back to provide care for venezuelan refugees. let's get some of the day's other news. seven prisoners have been killed in a shootout at a prison in guatemala. police and rescue workers are still trying to enter the prison to remove weapons and take control. 20 injured prisoners have been taken to hospital. an 18—year—old student has died and at least 8 people have been injured in a school shooting in the us state of colorado. police have arrested two pupils from the school which is located just eight kilometres

from columbine, scene of one of america's deadliest school shootings, 20 years ago. hungary's plans to repatriate three afghan families after their asylum applications were rejected have been challenged by a civil rights group. but despite that, this footage filmed by the bbc shows hungarian police pushing one of the families through a border gate into serbia. the other two families remain in hungary for now. south africa goes to the polls on wednesday for its sixth democratic election since nelson mandela became the first black president in 1994. but the party he led, the african national congress, is under pressure because of corruption. former president, the anc‘s jacob zuma was ousted last year, accused of looting state funds and awarding contracts for cash. his successor, cyril ramaphosa, has promised dishonest officials will be jailed. our africa editor, fergal keane, reports from the campaign trail. tropical durban, south africa's tourist playground,

is a political battle ground, where the party of mandela is fighting a bitter internal struggle in the midst of a presidential election. this man, president cyril ramaphosa, is promising to clean out endemic corruption in the anc. they sing. first stop of the president's day, a tourism conference, and the national anthem of a people longing for a moral revolution, ramaphosa humorously reminding them whose legacy he's claiming. coming to durban, i thought i should wear a madiba shirt, the type of shirt that nelson mandela used to wear. and they said, "no, no, no, that wouldn't be appropriate, wear a suit and look presidential". ramaphosa is in a hurry to undo an entire system of official corruption. on durban's streets,

workers protest over anc misrule. across south africa, there's fury over what's been stolen. billions have been lost in bribes paid to top officials, lucrative tenders, profits from state enterprises, handed to cronies of the former president, jacob zuma. all this with unemployment running at 27%, and deepening disillusionment in the slum—like foreman road, where they wait forjobs and proper homes. this woman is a mother of three who runs a roadside stall. how long have you lived in this place? 20 years now. 20 years? yeah. 20 years, you've lived here? yeah. will you ever get out of here? she laughs. mqapheli bonono was a long time anc activist here,

but quit in disgust over the growing corruption. the worst thing about corruption is when you see the conditions people are living in getting worse. we blame the government because the government are the ones who were supposed to be responsible. the anc can still rally the crowds, this near durban, and is expected to win, but has lost support to more radical alternatives. and when president ramaphosa arrived at the rally, i put to him the question i'd heard from numerous south africans. can you save this country from the crooks trying to destroy it? well, the anc‘s going to win this election, and as we win the election, we are going to proceed with a process of renewal. we've got to go now, because the people have been waiting. for renewal, read purge and prosecutions. but look at who's leading the welcoming party to see mr ramaphosa's challenge. durban's mayor, zandile gumede,

denies numerous allegations of corruption against her, and this official was recently forced to deny he'd ordered the killing of a party comrade. cyril ramaphosa is the popular leader of a party that's losing popularity. that's because he has pledged to defeat corruption. but can he do it, given how pervasive the rot is within his own party and almost every level of government? winning the election may be the least of his battles. fergal keane, bbc news, durban. two journalists from the reuters news agency, who'd been imprisoned in myanmar in an attack on press freedom, have been released. wa lone and kyaw soe oo had been investigating the murders of io rohingya muslims by government soldiers when they were arrested. ethnic violence against rohingyas in myanmar have forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. our correspondent nick beake was there when the journalists

were released in the city of yangon. they've endured 500 days in prison for exposing a massacre. now — freedom. the outside world hailed them as heroes, but myanmarjailed them as traitors. the treatment of wa lone and kyaw soe oo gained global media attention — the journalists imprisoned for doing theirjob. just a word in english, please, today. i'm really happy now, and i also wanted to thank you for everyone who helped us inside in the prison and also around the world, people who wishing to release us. so i wanted to say thank you very much for everything. i'm really happy, excited to see my family and my colleagues, and i can't wait to go to my newsroom now. this was the story they were covering — the rohingya crisis. their investigation forced myanmar‘s

army to admit they murdered these ten rohingya men in western state of rakhine, but the journalists were jailed as enemies of the state. this has been a traumatic time for the friends and family of the two reporters, but it's also had a chilling effect on fellow journalists here in myanmar, and it also has raised big questions about the direction that aung san suu kyi is taking this country. the nobel peace prize winner's government has been accused of targeting otherjournalists, as well as democracy activists. until now, all international pressure to release the reuters pair has been resisted. minister, just a word for the bbc, why have you decided to free wa lone and kyaw soe oo today? we got no explanation from this government minister. is this an admission that these two reporters committed no crime? this british advisor to aung san suu kyi is being credited with securing the pardon. he believes it could mark a turning point in myanmar‘s relations with the west.

what i've learned from all of this is dialogue works here. if we are to help rakhine, we need to engage with the international community, the myanmar government, to really bring peace and prosperity. tonight, thejournalists who inadvertently became global icons of press freedom finally embraced once again the roles they had been denied — husband and father. nick beake, bbc news, yangon. you can read more about the case and the journalists' fight for justice and freedom on our website, bbc.com/news. in the main article, if you scroll down, you'll find a link to the original reuters investigation entitled massacre in myanmar by wa lone and jaw soe oo and their team, which won a pulitzer prize. do check it out.

stay with us on bbc news, still to come. the smiling — dancing — survivor of war. we'll bring you the story of this brave young afghan boy. i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, do hereby swear to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterand. but the tunnel is still not yet ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and islam struggled for supremacy. now, the pope's visit symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister became the first man in the world to run a mile in under four minutes. memories of victory as the ve celebrations reach their climax.

this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in the future of peace and freedom. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: america's secretary of state visits iraq, following warnings iran may try to attack us forces in the region. venezuela's supreme court opens a criminal investigation against six leading opposition lawmakers, accusing them of treason. it's been confirmed that the uk will take part in european parliament elections, on the 23rd of may. the british government had hoped a brexit deal would be done before then. but the cabinet office minister david lidington, who deputises for prime minister theresa may,

says time has run out to avoid the elections. given how little time varies it is reg retta bly given how little time varies it is regrettably not going to be possible to finish that process before the date due for the european parliamentary elections. we hope to have everything sorted and the treaty concluded so those elections did not have to take place but legally they do have to take place u nless legally they do have to take place unless our withdrawal has been in effect so those will now go ahead but we will be redoubling our effo rts but we will be redoubling our efforts and talking to mps of all parties to make sure the delay after thatis parties to make sure the delay after that is as short as possible. ideally, we would like to be in a situation where meps in the uk never have to take their seats into the european parliament and to get this done and dusted by the summer recess. “—

done and dusted by the summer recess. —— certainly. the duke of cambridge has welcomed his brother prince harry into what he called "the sleep deprivation society that is parenting" after the birth of his son, on monday. it's understood the baby, whose name has yet to be announced, was born at the portland hospital in london. our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, reports. band plays: congratulations by cliff richard. the message from far and wide — congratulations, relayed to the queen, accompanied today by the duke of edinburgh at an official lunch. congratulations, another great—grandchild. wieder einmal. .. at a dinner tonight in berlin, the prince of wales, speaking in german, said he was particularly pleased to be there as the grandfather of a new grandson. applause. and from the duke and duchess of cambridge in greenwich... i'm very pleased and glad to welcome my brother to the sleep—deprivation society that is parenting. no, i wish him all the best and i hope... i hope the next few days, they can settle down and enjoy having a newborn in the family and all the joys that come with that.

outside windsor castle, the stalwarts who love these events were entertaining the tourists and the media. all that was missing, really, was a sight of the sussexes and their son. that will have to wait. harry and meghan remain determined that this is one event over which they want to have control. and that determination to control the message has yielded several, well, oddities. it now appears that baby sussex was not born at home, as everyone was left to believe, but at this exclusive private hospital in central london. whether that was harry and meghan's plan all along is unclear. but a baby's place of birth has to be recorded on its birth certificate. now what the sussexes may feel they need is a lullaby. this is the kingdom choir, which sang at their wedding, singing now as britain welcomes an anglo—american baby of mixed race as the latest member of its royal family. nicholas witchell, bbc news.

a conference being held in botswana on the future of southern african elephants is pushing for the re—opening of the trade in ivory. botswana, namibia, south africa and zimbabwe are asking the international regulating body to lift a ban, arguing that the sale of ivory can generate large amounts of money for conservation. botswa na's president presented furniture made from elephant feet to three african leaders at the summit, saying the issue of human—elephant conflict required action, as ramzan karmali reports elephants in botswana roaming freely. a high—level meeting of southern african leaders has called for the ban on the sale of ivory to be lifted. botswa na's for the ban on the sale of ivory to be lifted. botswana's president, mokgweetsi masisi, gave stills to his counterparts from to show his

support for the trade. up to now, international campaigns to ban all ivory sales, as a way of preventing illegal poaching, have gained momentum. but there is disagreement over how to manage these large and often destructive animals who can encroach on farmland. it is difficult. we have already given up 40% of ivory and the land we are supposed to be working, that is also now be invaded by wild elephants and... people who do not live with them, they cannot appreciate the challenges this brings. in total there are around 450,000 elephants on the continent. around a third are in botswana. but it is estimated that around 30,000 are killed every year a cross that around 30,000 are killed every year across africa. previously, there was a strict elephant

reservation policy in botswana but in election year, there is pressure from rural communities to lift the ban. this farm's recent harvest has been hit hard by elephants who have either eaten or destroyed the crop. an electric fence has helped she wa nts an electric fence has helped she wants further action. translation: hunting might help to control the number of elephants because they have increased enormously. they are out of control. they might be more under control with hunting. out of control. they might be more under controlwith hunting. critics say lifting a hunting ban would put off tourists. it has been a huge increase in tourism since hunting was banned four years ago and, as the country's second largest form of income. ramzan karmali, bbc news. for years afghanistan has been a country plagued by war. the taliban continues to wage a violent campaign against the government in kabul and,

more often than not, it's civilians that get caught in the crossfire. but, as the bbc‘s tim allman reports, the spirit of one injured boy remains strong. five years old, happy as can be, ahmad sayed loves to dance. this video got more than half a million views injust one video got more than half a million views in just one day after it was posted on social media. you see, ahmad sayed is no ordinary little boy. he is a survivor of war and an amputee. he was just eight months old when, along with his sister, he was seriously injured in a firefight between the taliban and the afghan army. he lost his leg just below the knee but this is a boy who never gives up. i am so happy for him, said his mother, that now he can be independent. according to the un,

last year nearly 4000 people were killed in afg hanistan's last year nearly 4000 people were killed in afghanistan's ongoing civil war — the deadliest year yet. of that number more than 900 were children and another 7000 people we re children and another 7000 people were injured. which means a medical centre like this one in kabul plays a vital role. translation: we feel proud when we see an amputee coming in in his mother ‘s arms but living ina in in his mother ‘s arms but living in a prosthetic leg. ahmad sayed keeps on smiling and dancing, proof that even in the most desperate of times they can be hope. — there can be. tim allman, bbc news. a massive dust on bearing down on the australian town of mildura. locals describe it as the worst dust storm they have seen that in 40

yea rs. storm they have seen that in 40 years. much more on all the news on the website. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. thank you for watching. hello there, good morning. with the benefit of some sunshine yesterday, temperatures reached 17 degrees at heathrow. but for the most part it remains chilly and that's the way it's going to stay through the rest of this week. and there will be some showers or some longer spells of rain. the weather is changing again. you can see how this cloud is sort of curling itself up into a knot. the thickest of the cloud is producing some rain and that is continuing to push its way up from the south—west. still quite chilly though, ahead of that. across some northern parts of scotland there may be a touch of frost. and we've still got some rain elsewhere across scotland, and that's going to be joined by this general wet weather that we've got moving up from the south—west, heading northwards across england and wales. following that, across wales, midlands and southern england, we should actually get some sunshine but the showers developing could be heavy and thundery as well.

the wind is turning to more of a south—westerly, lifting the temperatures, but with an easterly wind and that rain for eastern scotland and the north—east of england, it really is going to be a cold day. temperatures 6—8 degrees i think degrees in many places. not quite so chilly for western scotland because we've got that easterly wind. temperatures may make double figures in northern ireland, but rain is never too far away. a cold day with rain on—and—off across northern england, and perhaps north wales. some heavy, thundery showers heading towards norfolk, through the home counties, and towards the south—west of england. low pressure essentially in charge of our weather. that was that curl in the cloud. the low centre itself is just going to drift slowly eastwards across the uk on thursday. still got a weather front end of the north, producing rain and drizzle but that should be moving away from scotland. sunshine following on behind but still cloudy and damp across northern england. some showers for northern ireland. and some showers across parts of england and wales, especially in the south—east of england this time. those temperatures — there they are — still disappointing

for this time of the year, below average and quite chilly again underneath the cloud and rain in northern england. that low pressure though is going to pull away or take away most of that rain with it as well. we've got low pressure, low pressure, high pressure, high pressure — it's what we call a cull, and when we have that sort of weather pattern you're going to get some showers. there's going to be some sunshine. difficult to say exactly where the showers are going to be. that's where they're looking at moment for friday. and some of those could be on the heavy side once again. but large parts of the uk will still have a dry day. but again, those temperatures are below par — 10—15 degrees fairly typically. however, as we head into the weekend, we've still got some chilly air to begin with, but it is going to be warming up as the weekend goes on and into next week. much more sunshine and temperatures probably getting up to 19 or 20 celsius.

this is bbc news, the headlines:

america's secretary of state, mike pompeo, has paid a brief visit to iraq to reassure it of us support. after talks with the prime minister — mr pompeo said he didn't want iraq to be beholden to its neighbour — iran. there's growing tension between washington and teheran. venezuela's supreme court has ordered the prosecution of six leading opposition lawmakers for treason. the court said the prosecutor—general should open criminal cases against the mps. although the group does not include the current president of the country's national assembly — juan guaido. it follows an uprising last week. an 18—year—old student has died and at least eight people have been injured in a school shooting in colorado. police have arrested two pupils from the school — which is just about five miles from columbine — scene of one of america's deadliest school shootings — 20 years ago. now on bbc news, tuesday in parliament.