this is bbc news, i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: could this be a moment of hope for the people of yemen, as rebel and government forces, begin to withdraw from several key ports? an attack on a luxury hotel in south west pakistan ends with three gunmen killed. a militant group says it was targetting foreign investors. migrants who survived when their boat capsized off the coast of tunisia have given their account of the disaster in which at least 60 people drowned. dozens of us states join a lawsuit against major drugs companies accusing them of price—fixing and trying to reduce competition. it's known as the olympics of the art world, artists descend on venice for its biennale

international art festival. the united nations says houthi rebels trying to topple the government in yemen are honouring a pledge to withdraw troops from key ports in the country but the withdrawal has also been met with skepticism and mistrust from the yemeni government. hudaydah and a number of other smaller ports are crucial for the distribution of international aid in a country where millions are on the verge of starvation. this report from our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, contains some distressing images. the first signs of life in a deal that was almost dead.

today, houthi fighters started pulling out from all key ports saying they would be out in four days. they had been in charge here for nearly five years. now, the coast guard will be running yemen's vital gateway. they put on a bit of a show today. the yemeni government says it's all a show, accusing houthi fighters of changing uniforms to keep their men in place. the houthis accuse them and their saudi—led backers of blocking any progress. now the ball is in the court of the un and the so—called government and the people of yemen who will pressure those who are trying to obstruct this agreement. we cannot move forward unless other countries keep their promises. un vehicles were on the move today, too. it is up to them to monitor this fragile process. if this first step succeeds,

both sides are meant to withdraw their forces from this strategic area. it could help move yemen toward peace talks and away from a looming famine, almost all of its crucial aid and imports come through here. we anticipate and we expect that as the ports become demilitarised, the united nations in the form of mission here, will have unhindered access to carry out their responsibilities to support the port authorities. the shocking starvation has come to symbolise yemen's plight. millions of yemenis need aid but more than that they need peace. we are joined now by yemen analyst hisham al—omeysi in cairo.

thank you for your time. first of all, there is some scepticism towards this houthi withdrawal. why is there scepticism? because we in the past. houthi announced they would withdraw but changed uniforms and redeployed in the same positions. there is a precedent. and right now with a lot of pressure on the houthi, this is seen as a pr stu nt, the houthi, this is seen as a pr stunt, nothing more than that. and with the move being unilateral, without the un observers on the ground, there is no way we can verify the veracity of the claim that they actually did withdrawal. the un believes this is a genuine withdrawal but that aside, could this at least be a first step towards trying to get aid into the

many people? because the situation there is dire. the situation is indeed dire but you have to remember that aid still goes through who died, and it also goes through a lot of other ports as well, notjust who died. the other thing, you are right in saying to a lot of observers, it isa in saying to a lot of observers, it is a good step towards the peace process. you have to understand it has been a stalemate for the past few months says the stockholm agreement. but it needs to be a step in the right direction, acting unilaterally without approval from the or any government, without observers. there is a reason why in stockholm it is notjust the un that needed to observe this, it was also the yemeni government needed to be there. the many government agreed to withdraw as well. they are not opposing this. they are not opposing it but they are also criticising the fa ct it but they are also criticising the fact that they are not there observing the withdrawal. what is

there to lose? because of the houthi aren't genuinely withdrawing from hudaydah and other ports, the stockholm agreement will collapse. surely this is at least a possible step in the right direction. surely this is at least a possible step in the right directionm surely this is at least a possible step in the right direction. it is a possible step, if indeed true. we still have three days to see if they do withdraw. but the scepticism arises from the fact that there is a precedent from when they did the same stunt before and nothing changed on the ground. this is why everybody is sceptical. where do you see, briefly, the future going, to try and finally resolve this conflict? especially given how bad things are for the yemeni people. the un needs to stop taking unilateral actions and condoning it. they need to bring everybody else to the table. you are not talking about the table. you are not talking about the houthis alone here. there are multiple factions, the many and —— government and the macro are just two sides. —— and the houthis. we

are not just two sides. —— and the houthis. we are notjust talking about hudaydah. that does not resolve the many conflict, is only the beginning of resolving the conflict. we need to look at the bigger picture. there are many factions. i'm sure many will be watching over the next three days. thank you so much for your time. let's get some of the day's other news. two french tourists who were rescued from kidnappers in burkina faso have been welcomed home by president emmanuel macron. he greeted them at a military airfield near paris. earlier they paid tribute to the two french soldiers who died during the operation to free them. they also thanked the burkina faso and french authorities and their guide who was killed by the kidnappers. the hostages were seized from a remote national park in neighbouring benin last week. a well—known former afghan television journalist, mena mangal, who became cultural adviser to the afghan parliament, has been shot dead. according to the interior ministry, she was killed by unknown gunmen

in the capital kabul on saturday as she made her way to work. ms mangal had worked as a presenter for a number of television networks. thousands of supporters of the albanian opposition have held a protest in the capital tirana, with some hurling petrol bombs at the prime minister's office and outside parliament. riot police responded with stun grenades, tear gas and water cannon. saturday's protest comes after three months of demonstrations demanding that the prime minister, edi rama, resign over allegations of electoral fraud and corruption. officials in pakistan say an attack on a luxury hotel in the port city of gwadar in balochistan has ended with the deaths of all three gunmen. at least one security guard at the pearl continental hotel was killed. a militant separatist group, the balochistan liberation army, said it carried out the attack, saying it was targeting chinese and otherforeign investors.

our correspondent in islamabad, secunder kermani, explained how the attack unfolded. well, what we know is that three gunmen, we believe, entered the heavily guarded pearl continental hotel in the port city of gwadar, killing a security guard who was attempting to stop them. security forces then surrounded the gunman inside the hotel and engage them in a gunfight. the balochistan liberation army is a separatist militant group, they have claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it was targeting deliberately chinese and foreign investors. now, this group is part of a long—running nationalist insurgency in the south—western province of balochistan. it is pakistan's most deprived province. militants claim its natural resources are being exploited by outsiders. the port city of gwadar, where the attack took place, is the focal point of the huge chinese infrastructure project

which aims to cut import and export times to china from the middle east by moving goods through pakistan so it is probably why the militant groups have decided to target this city. these same separatists have targeted chinese interests in pakistan before. the same group last year attacked china's consulate in the city of karachi. i've been inside that hotel myself on a trip a few years ago, i know that it is quite heavily guarded. indeed, the whole city has quite a strong military presence, security force presence there, so there will be concerns about how this breach took place. christine fair is an associate professor from georgetown university in the us specialising in south asian political and military affairs. she told us more about the background to the attack. i think for the reason that your correspondent said. the balochistan have a very big set of grievances. their primary concern is that the resources of the state

are being exploited by a condominium of the pakistan army and the chinese. when they talk about other investors, the primary investors that that really irritate them are of course the chinese. if you think about the chinese pakistan economic corridor as having two hinges, the first is the north and the border of zhing zhang, there is a lot of unrest there as locals are also displeased about it but there is not an act of insurgence. but the entire project in balochistan exacerbates grievances about periphery relations, unfair distribution of resources, enduring negligence to invest in balochistan. this is the most recent issue that exacerbates things that are much more enduring in the relationship

between the balochistan of the state. migrants who survived when their boat capsized off the coast of tunisia have given their account of the disaster in which at least 60 people drowned. initial reports said those on board were from sub—saharan africa. but the survivors say most of the passengers were from bangladesh. with more here's rahuljoglekar. these are the faces of men who have seen death at close quarters. some too shocked to say anything. others devastated by what they saw. they all set off to start a new life in italy. a dream interrupted by the harsh reality of death at sea. emmett from bangladesh is just one of just 16 who survived. fighting for life. we were fighting and swimming

for eight hours, swimming. then people were dying, every minute, people going under. every minute, one is going. we lost him. i have lost my two brothers. one is cousin brother, one is brother—in—law. in front of my eyes. another survivor recounts the horror of what happened on board. translation: our boat, the zodiac, started filling up with water. then it sunk and capsized. this was at 12 o'clock, midnight. we kept floating in the water until eight o'clock in the morning and then a small tunisian boat came to our rescue. along with the tunisian army, they came and took us. thank god we are here in tunis. thank god. italy doesn't want people like emmett and is cracking down

on those making this journey. as 30 migrants were being brought to the coast of lampedusa in italy on friday, the italian interior minister declared that this was the last voyage for the rescue ship. it's a stance that wins elections in italy and has brought down the number of migrants making the journey. 15,900 migrants arrived in europe from the mediterranean this year. that's a i7% drop from last year. but the un's refugee agency the unhcr looks at the numbers differently. they say that while the number of deaths at sea has halved, the rate of deaths per number of people attempting the journey has risen sharply. we were shocked that 250 people died crossing the berlin wall during a generation of cold war. and now we seem to accept 2500 or more people dying per year in the mediterranean.

again, it's a damning verdict of the so—called european civilisation. it cannot have that happening. as the arguments continue for a long—term solution a complex problem, thousands still gamble everything they have, including their own lives, to cross over to europe. rahuljoglekar, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we'll find out why there's big crowds, big money and some big names in venice. the pope was shot, the pope will live. that's the essence of the appalling news from rome this afternoon. that, as an italian television commentator put it, terrorism had come to the vatican. the man they called the butcher of lyon, klaus barbie, went on trial today in the french town where he was the gestapo chief in the second world war.

winnie mandela never looked like a woman just sentenced to six years injail. the judge told mrs mandela there was no indication she felt even the slightest remorse. the chinese government has called for an all—out effort to help the victims of a powerful earthquake, the worst to hit the country for 30 years. the computer deep blue has triumphed over the well chess champion garry kasparov. it's the first time a machine has defeated a world reigning champion in a classical chess match. america's first legal same—sex marriages have been taking place in massachusetts. god bless america. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: the un says houthi rebels trying to topple the government in yemen are honouring a pledge to withdraw troops from key ports in the country.

the security forces in pakistan say a militant attack on a five—star hotel in the south west of the country is over. all three gunmen were killed. more than a0 states in the us have filed a lawsuit against 20 pharmaceutical companies. they are accusing them of price—fixing and conspiring to reduce competition. this follows a five—year investigation into why prices have sometimes suddenly increased and in some cases by over 1000%. chris buckler, our correspondent in washington, explained why over a0 states are filing these lawsuits. according to our investigation, at times they seem to be doubling, tripling, or as you mentioned there, rising by more than 1000%. sometimes with no explanation whatsoever. that is why the states had been looking into this and have now brought lawsuits. they are suggesting 20 of these companies, along

with 15 individuals, have been involved in some kind of conspiracy to try to manipulate and inflate prices and also to try and restrict competition. of course, extremely serious charges. they want to bring the suit to try to force change but also to claim damages and try to ensure drug prices to remain lower. what have the pharmaceutical companies in question said in response to these allegations? well, obviously, there are 20 companies and 15 individuals. it seems clear that the majority of them, if not all, will fight the suit. we had a response from one pharmaceutical giant, teva. they say they have done nothing wrong, they insist they have broken no rules, they have broken no laws and that really what is included in this lawsuit are a number of claims, and the official statement — they say they provide high quality medication to patients around the world while retaining a commitment to they say they will continue to examine

the issue internally and there is nothing in its conduct, it insists, that could lead to civilian or criminal accountability. yes, if you listen to any politicians here, including president trump, they say time and time again that americans are paying more than people in other parts of the world for their medications and they cannot understand the reason for that. it is one of the rare issues in the us at the moment that unites republicans and democrats, they both want something done about it, though they can't quite agree what that should be. some democrats have suggested they should try to tie the prices of these medications and we are talking about generic drugs here that are much cheaper than some of the brand names but do the same jobs, to tackle conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and the like. they feel if they tied the prices of the generic medicines to the cost paid in other parts of the world, that would ensure americans were getting a fair deal, but so far we don't have any

proposals for legislation that will really address this issue properly and i suspect it will be talked a lot about in the 2020 presidential campaign. the us insists it doesn't want war with iran, after sending a second navy ship to the middle east amid growing tensions. another aircraft carrier is already heading towards the persian gulf to deter what the pentagon calls an increased threat from tehran. briony sowden reports. as america's carrier strike group moves closer to the gulf, the pentagon sends more firepower to the region in a show of military force. a navy ship and an air defence missile system are also heading to the middle east, just days after the uss abraham lincoln and b—52 bombers were deployed. washington says it is sending a clear message to iran, because they had warnings about an unspecified attack.

it released this statement but did not go into detail. the us patriot missile defence system can counter ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and advanced aircraft, and had been scheduled to go to the region, but at a later date. last week, john bolton, america's national security adviser, said any iranian attack would be met with unrelenting force. iran swiftly dismissed that, and claimed american psychological warfare. the foreign minister with this message on twitter. "if the us and clients do not feel safe, it is because they are "despised by the people of the region — "blaming iran will not reverse that." tehran has retaliated by threatening to cut off access to the strategic strait of hormuz,

through which about one—fifth of all oil consumed globally passes. but tensions are not just at sea. this week, iran's president threatened to restart his country's nuclear activities within 60 days if his country is not shielded from the effects of sanctions. the move risks killing a landmark nuclear deal which america pulled out of a year ago. but this is what the iranians call us intimidation. one of america's powerful military assets has now passed through egypt's suez canal as it steams towards the persian gulf. it's been called the olympics of the art world, attracting big names, big money and big crowds. the venice art biennale opened on saturday with 90 national pavilions, each featuring the work of an artist, or artists, commissioned to represent

the host country. our arts editor, will gompertz, has been checking them out. if a city could ever be called a work of art, surely it is venice? that man—made masterpiece rising out of a salty lagoon, with its magnificent palazzos, shimmering canals and napoleonic gardens. at the end of which is the british pavilion. a neoclassical building that plays host to a disturbing and, at times, brutal installation by the artist, cathy wilkes, whose display of eerie mannequins and household objects is representing britain at the 2019 venice art biennale. she trained in belfast, as did the sculptor eva rothschild, who has filled the irish pavilion with an array of materials and shapes that create a sort of landscape of art to wander through — and to climb on. to talk about the biennale's founding idea, dating back over 100 years, an artist representing a country. is there an argument against it? that it's an anachronism? i think there could be, if it happened everywhere. i think it's the fact that it is anachronistic

and it is the only thing. i mean, if every major art exhibition was themed around national identity, i think that would be deeply problematic. but this is the only one. and venice itself is an anomaly. who can believe it exists? not far away, across a narrow canal, is the welsh pavilion, where the cardiff—based artist sean edwards has created a forest of art. it's based on woodlands on the estate where i grew up in llanedeyrn in cardiff. and how these woodlands where the boundary of the estate as you grew up... so there was this idea that what is actually a boundary suddenly becomes an open space that leads you on to somewhere else. i've come from the welsh pavilion, which is just down the canal there, walked over this wooden bridge and arrived at this spot, which is the scottish pavilion. up until a couple of months ago it was a working boatyard. but the vessels have moved out and art has moved in, with charlotte prodger, the turner prize—winning artist, showing the third in her trilogy of films, which is a memoir or love, loss and queer identity.

and it's in this space, which is a rather disorientating black hole. you have visited what that meant, don't you? idid. and after that, it was like a switch went off and i didn't go back. there are 90 national pavilions competing for this year's prestigious golden lion. every one is fascinating in its own way, revealing not only how a country sees itself but also how it wants to be seen. will gompertz, bbc news, venice. just before we go, a huge waterspout surprised singapore residents on saturday. videos were posted on social media showing the waterspout swirling off singapore's southern shore with witnesses saying it lasted for around 20 minutes. the local environment agency say waterspouts usually happen up to three times a year. they form when strong winds occur over water.

hello there, good morning. sunday still looks like being the best day of the weekend. quite a few showers around on saturday, a good day for chasing rainbows. mind you, here in yorkshire, some of the showers earlier on were heavy and thundery. pretty much everywhere is dry now mind you and as we head towards the morning, we may well have a frost in scotland. won't be too far away from freezing elsewhere across the uk and a cold night for east anglia and the south—east and given the earlier showers there may be one or two mist and fog patches. high pressure is building in right the way across the uk limiting the chance of catching a shower on sunday. that weather front approaching the far north—west may turn the sunshine a little bit hazy at times — western parts of northern ireland, later in the north—west of scotland. but a good deal of sunshine, as you can see. limited amount of convection, patchy cloud bubbling up. may get an isolated shower over the peaks, the pennines,

and may be the downs in the south—east. but more dry weather around more widely and for most of us, temperatures will be higher than they were on saturday. mind you, as we head into the evening, it gets chilly very quickly as the sun goes down. not so much across northern ireland with a southerly breeze and it won't be as cold in scotland either. much more cloud coming in overnight so maybe escaping a frost here this time. maybe not quite so lucky across east anglia, temperatures won't be far from freezing in some rural areas. but this is the story really as we head into next week. high pressure, dry weather, more in the way of sunshine and as a result it's going to feel warmer, much better than it has been over the last week or so. we have still got some patchy cloud around i think on monday. the sunshine probably a little bit hazy in places, cloud coming down from the north—west. so it's not blue skies everywhere but for many of us those temperatures are continuing to rise, helped by the southerly breeze in northern ireland and in scotland temperatures could be close to 20 degrees also on monday. as we move into tuesday, we are going to find still very

light winds for the most part across the uk. there will be more in the way of sunshine this time. more of a breeze picking up towards the south east. warmer, southerly winds from northern ireland and into scotland as well. so mixed fortunes in terms of temperatures as we head through next week. high pressure setting where it is. the air towards the south—east of the uk won't be quite as warm with the warmest air and the highest temperature is more towards the north—west. but we are still better than we have been, so we are 17, may be 18 degrees here in the south—east of the uk. but we've got more of an easterly breeze. whereas if you head towards the north—west of the uk, it's more of a southerly breeze so it'll be warmer in the north—west of england, northern ireland. typically scotland temperatures could get as high as 23 or 2a celsius.

this is bbc news, the headlines:

the united nations says houthi rebels trying to topple the government in yemen, are honouring a pledge to withdraw troops from key ports in the country. it marks the first significant step in a ceasefire agreement brokered by the un last december. an attack on a luxury hotel in pakistan has ended with the deaths of all three gunmen. at least one security guard at the pearl continental hotel was killed. a militant group said it carried out the attack, saying it was targeting chinese and other foreign investors. more than a0 states in the us have filed a lawsuit against 20 pharmaceutical companies. they are accusing them of price—fixing and conspiring to reduce competition. it follows a five—year investigation into why prices have sometimes suddenly increased and in some cases by over 1000%.