hello and welcome to bbc news — i'm reged ahmad. 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. hodeida 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. today, fighters started pulling out from three key ports saying

a vital lifeline for a nation on the brink of famine. today, fighters started pulling out from three key ports saying all their men will be out within four days. they had been in charge here for nearly five years. now the coastguard will be running yemen's vital gateway. they put on a show today. the yemeni government says it is all a show. accusing houthi fighters of changing uniforms to keep their men in place. the houthis accused them and their saudi—led backers of blocking any progress. translation: now it is in the hand 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 as well. 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 would help move yemen towards peace talks and away from a looming famine. almost all of its crucial aid and imports come through here. we anticipate and expect that as the port becomes demilitarised that the united nations in the form of the delegation here will have unhindered access to carry out their responsibilities to support the port authority. this shocking starvation has come to symbolise yemen's plight. millions need aid but even more than that they need peace. lyse doucet, bbc news. 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 other foreign investors. our correspondent, secunder kermani has more details. 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 engaged 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.

let's get some of the day's other news. two french tourists — rescued from kidnappers in burkina faso — have been welcomed home by president macron. earlier, they paid tribute to the two french soldiers who died during the operation to free them. they were seized from a 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. 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. saturday's protest comes after three months of demonstrations demanding that the prime minister, edi rama, resign. don't forget you can keep up to date all with the latest news, business and sport on our website. there's reaction

and analysis from around the globe — including up—dated live pages — and reports from our correspondents in more than 80 locations. that's all at bbc.com/news — or you can download the bbc news app. labour has announced plans to introduce a ten pounds an hour minimum wage for all workers, including those under the age of 18. at present 16— and 17—year—olds get less than adults, with the labour leaderjeremy corbyn saying society shouldn't be "discriminating against young people." but some business leaders warn there's a risk employers may decide not to hire as many younger workers. here's our business correspondent katy austin. baristas, bar staff and fast—food workers are among those most likely to be on the lowest pay, and 16 and 17—year—olds can be paid less than their older colleagues. today, jeremy corbyn said

he would change that. we will abolish the youth rate of the minimum wage. workers should be rewarded fortheirwork, not theirage. equal rights for workers means just that, irrespective of age, gender, nationality, or ethnicity. that would be a big change for some small businesses, like this cafe in north london. workers under the age of 18 are currently entitled to a minimum wage of £4.35 per hour. just over half the amount of over 25s. labour has a plan for what it calls a real living wage of £10 per hour and it's now said that would extend to 16 and 17—year—olds, adding, it says, £2500 to the amount they earn on average every year. the owner here likes the idea, but fears it's not practical. it's nice, but i don't think many businesses will survive having a minimum wage at £10 an hour. i think 16 and 17—year—olds aren't experienced enough to be on £10 an hour. even though they'll probably be

enthusiastic they don't have the life skills and experience. small businesses say they are already facing mounting cost pressures and they'd need more details on a labour promise to support them through a rise. questions have also been asked about the kind of impact it would have on the young. nearly all 16 and 17—year—olds live with their parents at home. most are being supported one way or another, so do they need £10 an hour? mostly not. some no doubt would benefit from it, others would lose if they couldn't get the job in the first place because of the much higher wage being imposed. the conservatives told us under their government we've seen youth unemployment fall by half, the biggest increase in the minimum wage for under 25s in a decade, and the economy continue to grow, giving young people the security of a better future. at the moment the independent low pay commission advises the government on minimum wage levels. jeremy corbyn‘s proposal to shake up the system which governs the bottom rates of pay is one pitched

squarely at the young. katy austin, bbc news. a man who suffered "horrendous injuries" after being shot with a crossbow in north wales, has died in hospital. gerald corrigan who was 7a, was hit outside his home in holyhead last month. police investigations are continuing. two men have appeared in court, charged with rioting offences in londonderry on the night that journalist, lyra mckee was killed. 51—year—old paul mcintyre is accused of petrol—bomb offences, arson of a hijacked vehicle, and rioting. christopher gillen, who's 38, faces the same charges — plus another, of hijacking a truck. ms mckee was shot dead while watching disturbances in londonderry last month. our reporter, louise cullen, is in belfast and sent this update. two men appeared in court in londonderry magistrates court.

51—year—old paul mcintire from bella mcgowan part and 38—year—old christopher. both men are charged with riot and petrol—bomb offences. mcintire is also charged with arson ofa mcintire is also charged with arson of a hijacked vehicle and christopher is charged with the arson and hijacking of a tipper truck. both men refused to stand and acknowledge the court when they were brought into the dock. a detective said that the evidence against the men had come via mobile phone footage handed in and also from footage handed in and also from footage seized from a documentary being filled by mtv. which included filming rioting during which lyra mckee was shot. he also said he believed the two men were ringleaders. thejudge believed the two men were ringleaders. the judge said believed the two men were ringleaders. thejudge said he did not believe there was a safe address

in the city for them to be remanded to and they were both remanded in custody. the government has admitted that concerns over climate change, might restrict the growth of aviation in the uk. a senior civil servant says ministers may have to review their strategy — including plans to expand heathrow. it follows a recent warning from the ‘committee on climate change‘ which advises the government — that the planned increase in aviation would need to be curbed to control carbon emissions. our environment analyst roger harrabin, reports. flying is on the up and the government has been planning for it to continue to grow. what about climate change, you might ask? under current policy, industry will have to cut more greenhouse gases so aviation can expand. but the government is now considering a plan to virtually eliminate emissions by 2050. and a civil servant has admitted in a letter to a green group that it may have to

take note of advice from the independent climate change committee, saying that although people could continue to fly while meeting climate change targets, it was not possible for aviation to keep on expanding. in the end, i think the logic of this is completely inevitable. we know that we have to reduce our emissions urgently and radically and expanding them is going in the opposite direction. itjust does not make sense and i don't think the public want to see the government committing to a plan that is inconsistent with a safe and prosperous future for all of us. any policy change may affect controversial plans to expand heathrow. it definitely means the government will have to think hard about whether aviation can continue to grow at a time of what parliament calls a climate emergency. roger harrabin, bbc news. more than a0 states in the us have filed a lawsuit against twenty 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%. 0ur washington correspondent, chris buckler explains why over a0 states are filing these lawsuits. according to that investigation at times they seem to be doubling, tripling or as you mentioned, rising by over 1000%. sometimes with no explanation whatsoever. and that is why the states have been looking into this and have now brought the lawsuit. they suggest that 20 of these companies along with 15 individuals have been involved in some kind of conspiracy to try and manipulate prices and also to try and restrict competition. of course, extremely serious charges. what they say they want to do is bring this suit to try and force

change but also to claim damages and try to ensure that drug prices remain lower. there are 20 companies and 15 individuals so we do not have a response from all of them but it seems clear that the majority of them, if not all, will fight this suit. we had a response from teva, an israeli pharmaceutical giant of the biggest companies named in this suit. they have done nothing wrong. they insist they broke no rules, have broken no laws. and what is included in this lawsuit are a number of claims. in the official statement teva say they supply high—quality medication to patients around the world while maintaining commitment to all laws and rules and they say they will continue to examine the issue internally and there is nothing in their conduct that could lead to civilian or criminal accountability. but 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 all medication and they cannot understand the reason for it.

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 although they can't quite agree on what that should be. some democrats have suggested that they should try to tie the prices of these medications — and these are generic drugs that are much cheaper than some of the brand names but do the same job to tackle conditions and illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and the like. they feel if they tied those prices of those generic medicines to the costs paid in another part of the world that would ensure that americans were getting a fair deal. so far we have no proposals for legislation that will address this issue properly and i suspect it will be discussed a lot leading up to the 2020 presidential campaign. this is bbc news, the 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.

labour says it plans to introduce a 10 pounds an—hour minimum wage for all workers — including those under the age of 18. the iranian president, hassan rouhani, has warned of difficult times to come as the pressure on the economy grows from renewed us sanctions. they were re—imposed after president trump pulled the us out of an international nuclear deal with iran. washington is sending another aircraft carrier to the persian gulf to deter what the pentagon calls an increased threat from tehran. although, the us insists it doesn't want war with iran. 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 calls the claim american psychological warfare. the foreign minister with this message on twitter.

tehran has retaliated by threatening to cut off access to the strategic strait of hormuz, through which about a 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. briony sowden, bbc news. 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. rahuljoglekar reports. these are the faces of men who had seen death at close quarters. some too shocked to say anything. others are 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. this man from bangladesh is one of just 16 who survived. fighting for life, we fighting, swimming eight, eight hours. eight hours swimming. then people dying, one by one,

every minute people going under, down, every minute, one is going. i have lost my two brothers. italy doesn't want more migrants and is cracking down on those making this journey. this was the last voyage for the rescue ship. it is 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 is a 17% drop from last year. but the un's refugee agency says 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. as the arguments continue, on a long—term solution to complex problems, thousands gamble everything they have, including their own lives, to cross over to europe. the yellow vest movement in france is marking six months of weekly protests with a series of marches across the country. they hope the anniversary will re—galvanise support for the group. protest numbers have fallen from a high of 300,000 to less than 20,000 — so does this mean the end of the yellow vests? kieron merchindani reports. in november last year, the yellow vest protests saw thousands come out on the streets of paris. contrast with today's protest, and it is a very different scene. only a small group of protesters are taking part, their message still strong but their

numbers depleted. a lot has changed in france since the yellow vest movement erupted six months ago. president emmanuel macron was set to implement a fuel tax which many argued would unfairly target the poorest in france. week after week of anger saw the president finally relent in a televised address. translation: i've given the impression of giving constant orders, of being tough, sometimes unfair. i regret that because it is not what i'm like deep down, and i don't think it has helped my case. but perhaps what has hurt the yellow vest protests most is a sense of that most french of sentiments — ennui, from the surrounding businesses and residents. of course, this isn't to say the yellow vest protest won't spark the interest of the french public again. for now at least, whilst these protesters still wear their famous gilets jaunes, many have stayed at home, their yellow vests hung up for the foreseeable future. kieron mirchandani, bbc news.

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 artists, commissioned to represent the host country. 0ur 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. i mean, who can believe it exists? not far away, across a narrow canal, is a 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. voiceover: 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. if you go to the hairdressers for a trim, you'd expect to be sitting in front of a mirror — if nothing else to ensure they don't

chop too much off the top. in one london salon that's not an option. instead they offer a different experience — they want customers to engage with modern art. dougal shaw reports. this hairdressers in south london may look pretty normal but step inside and you will realise there is actually something a bit different about it. customers are getting their haircut without any mirrors in front of them you can't see the progress of your haircut. however, there is a good reason for this. customers are expected to contemplate modern art and design exhibitions instead because this place is plant —— part has salon, pa rt place is plant —— part has salon, part art gallery. led by a curator, they hold regular meetings to agree themes to talk about with customers. your first experience of getting your haircut is the wettest thing in the world. i was so anxious and

scared about what my hair would end up scared about what my hair would end up looking like. in fact, the headdresses themselves are finite graduates because another aim of the shop is to give struggling artists a steady income. its nice to be engaged in sort of conversation compared with the sort of typical chat you might have in a more conventional salon. the shop is the brainchild of this artist who also cuts have all stopped you get a lot of people coming to get a haircut that wouldn't normally come to an art gallery. it is this that has given them funding from the government. it was really nice actually to just sit there and stare for a really long time. like the paintbrush, the strokes. i never sit down for that long and stare at

anything. the business was a pop-up shop forfour years anything. the business was a pop-up shop for four years and in that time it is already hosted 50 small exhibitions. now in its new permanent home, it hopes it can entice more people to come in with an unusual —— for an unusual encounter with some art. time for the weather now with darren bett. hello there, good morning. sunday still looks like 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. as we head out towards the morning, we may have a frost in scotland, won't be too far away from freezing elsewhere across the uk and a colder night for east anglia and the south—east. given the earlier showers, there may be one or two mist and fog patches. high—pressure building and right around 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. a good deal of sunshine, as you can see, limited amount of convection, patchy cloud bubbling up, may get an isolated light shower over the peaks, the pennines and maybe 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. 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 as we head into next week. high—pressure, dry weather, more in the way of sunshine and as a result, it will feel warmer, much better than it has been over the last week or so. we still have 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 or so on monday. as we move into tuesday, we're going to find still very light winds for the most part across the uk. probably more in the way of sunshine this time. more of a breeze picking up towards the south east. warmer southerly winds for northern ireland and scotland as well. so it's mixed fortunes in terms of temperatures as we head

through next week. high—pressure sitting where it is. the air towards the south—east of the uk won't be as warm with the warmest air and the highest temperatures more towards the north—west. we are still better than we have been. 17 or maybe 18 degrees here in the south—east of the uk. we have more of an easterly breeze, whereas if you head the north—west of the uk, it is more of a southerly breeze so it will be warmer in the north—west of england, northern ireland, particularly 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. labour has announced plans to introduce a £10 an hour minimum wage for all workers, including those under the age of 18. at the moment, 16— and 17—year—olds get less than adults. jeremy corbyn said society shouldn't be discriminating against young people. masses have been taking place in catholic churches across sri lanka in memory of the victims of the easter sunday