this is bbc news. the headlines: in an unprecedented statement, iran's supreme leader has said there will be no war with the us. but the pentagon insists the threat level has been raised because of what it describes as an escalation in iranian activities. earlier, contradicting the american welcome to bbc news, line, a senior british officer broadcasting to viewers in north america played down the risk from fighters, and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: backed by iran, in iraq or syria. in tehran, the supreme leader rules out going to war with the us, in sri lanka, a second overnight but the pentagon raises the threat level against iran. nationwide curfew has just ended. authorities want to put a stop increased security and a second to violent attacks on muslim—owned overnight curfew in sri lanka, in response to a wave homes and shops in areas north of the capital colombo. of anti—muslim violence. they're thought to be reprisals we speak to a lawyer for the easter bombings that killed who was a victim of the whatsapp more than 250 people. cyber attack, and track down the company that developed the software in israel. sudan's military rulers and protest leaders have agreed on a three—year and why san francisco is banning transition period to the use of facial recognition ensure civilian rule. there were violent protests technology by police in the capital khartoum which left four people dead and dozens injured. sudan has been ruled by the council since president 0mar al—bashir was toppled last month. and local agencies.

you are up—to—date on the headlines. now on bbc news — panorama. in an unprecedented statement, iran's supreme leader has said there will be no war with the united states. his story was broadcast rapidly growing tensions around the world. between the two countries have been the little boy almost fatally burned cited by american officials as justification for by saddam hussein's forces. a us military build—up. like a beam of light flash, blinded by it. he's now a complete orphan, but, in another extraordinary move, he's lost everything. his mother, his home, his family. a top british general in the us—led coalition against islamist extremism has declared there is no increased threat from forces backed by iran, there is nothing more important either in iraq or syria. than feeling you belong to someone that directly contradicts assertions and are loved by someone. from the white house, and his view has now been disowned alone but watched by millions, by us central command. such a public rebuke of a senior he was brought to the uk for life—saving surgery. allied officer is also very unusual. now, 30 years on, mysterious here is what major general christopher ghika said in a videolink briefing messages from iraq that could change everything. to the pentagon from baghdad. iran is no part of our mission. we are here at the invitation of the iraqi government to defeat daesh, not to have anything to do with iran. there's been no increased threat

from iranian—backed forces in iraq and syria. we're aware of their presence, clearly, and we monitor them, along with a whole range of others. the us secretary of state has been briefing european and russian leaders on what the us sees as the threat from iran. mike pompeo has said the us fundamentally does not seek war, but will keep applying pressure. we will hearfrom him in a moment. the new york times has reported the white house is considering a plan to send 120,000 troops to the middle east to counter iran. the president was asked about that. i think it's fake news, 0k? now, would i do that? absolutely, but we have not planned for that. hopefully we're not going to have to plan for that, and if we did that, we'd send a hell of a lot more troops than that. the united states will continue to apply pressure to the regime in tehran until its leadership is prepared to return to the ranks of responsible nations, that do not threaten their neighbours or spread instability or terror. and here is north american

correspondent peter bowes. it's these contradictions between a senior commander, british commander, and what us officials are saying that are difficult to explain. they seem to be telling very different stories, and this apparent rebuke by us officials, saying that what the british commander had said run counter to the identified, credible threats, is certainly, i think, confusing a lot of people. because we've been hearing, haven't we, over the last week or so, mike, about the perceived threat as far as america sees it from iran. but that clearly isn't the kind of threat that at least chris ghika, who has been talking at some length, sees on the ground. and the thing that makes people rather nervous about the possibility of war is that mr bolton, who is now national

security advisor, has for a long time — he has been on the record as saying that he favours war with iran. he was one of the architects of the iraq war as well, of course. yes, he was. he's a very hawkish character, and of course he is very close to the president. so often — sometimes you've got to weigh up the weight of individuals that are surrounding the president, and how much significance they have in terms of what the president is saying and what the administration is voicing. and it is sometimes a case of two stories, and it is — i think this is a classic example of it being a little bit difficult to assess which way the united states is going, and how to read the message that we've been getting. it's also mike pompeo, as well, who's been travelling frantically around the world, changing travel plans at the last minute sometimes, which has i think disturbed quite a few people, because in itself that is unusual. but this issue always seems to be central to what he is doing, so as to the next step, and of course we heard just now

the president referring to "fake news" of moving further troops to the region, the next step really is unknown. let's get some of the day's other news: sudan's military rulers and protest leaders have agreed on a three—year transition period for handing over power to a full civilian administration. there were violent protests in the capital, khartoum, on monday which left four people dead and dozens injured. sudan has been ruled by the council since president 0mar al—bashir was toppled last month. vladimir putin has told the us secretary of state he would welcome another meeting with donald trump. the russian president said he hoped full relations between moscow and washington would be restored. but differences remain on subjects including iran, venezuela and ukraine. downing street says parliament will vote on legislation to implement any brexit deal early next month. theresa may will urge the house of commons to back the withdrawal agreement bill, in an attempt to ratify the uk's exit from the eu before the summer.

mrs may's brexit deal has already been rejected three times by mps. in sri lanka, a second overnight nationwide curfew has ended. the authorities want to put a stop to violent attacks on muslim—owned homes and shops in areas north of the capital, colombo. it is thought they are reprisals for the easter bombings that killed more than 250 people. shuba krishnan has the details. mobs of men armed with sticks take to the streets. they're part of a growing number of anti—muslim rioters causing havoc in towns north of sri lanka's capital, colombo. this mosque had its windows smashed, while this one was ransacked, its furniture destroyed. this man says his house was torched, and he feared for his safety. translation: they came suddenly. they went down the road throwing rocks at houses, then they returned and set

fire to the place. we couldn't go out because we were scared they would kill us. tyres were set alight and thrown at this pasta factory. its owner says his staff were trapped inside. meanwhile, witnesses say this halal grocery shop was petrol—bombed. in the wake of the violence, sri lanka's prime minister appealed for calm, saying security forces were working tirelessly to apprehend terrorists and ensure the security of the country, but unrest would hinder investigations. sri lankan cricket legend kumar sangakkara also took to twitter. he called for unity. a state of emergency has been in place since the easter sunday bombings, as investigations continue. shuba krishnan, bbc news. a cyber attack exploiting a vulnerability in whatsapp is thought to have been carried out using software developed

by an israeli company, and there are attempts in israel to stop the firm exporting abroad. the company maintains, while it sells the software, it doesn't operate it. 0ur middle east correspondent tom bateman has been speaking to a lawyer who says he was specificially targeted by the cyber attack. as somebody who's a lawyer, i'm used to being the person who defends people's rights, not being the victim myself. this uk—based lawyer has spent months representing people who claim their phones were targeted using nso's software. now, speaking anonymously to protect his privacy, he believes the spyware has been used against him. on sunday, i received two whatsapp video calls, and i managed to capture the log. so these were hacking attempts, you think? yes. the attempts were passed to whatsapp, who started their investigation. nso says its software is to track terrorists, but it is accused of selling it to countries who want it to spy on dissidents.

the lawyer helped alleged victims from saudi arabia and mexico. it is scary, in the sense that now we can see that it feels like the wild west, so any rogue actor or a rogue state, or a state with questionable human rights records, can very easily acquire this system. secrecy surrounds the sale of the spyware abroad, with no public oversight. that's why this israeli lawyer wants nso stripped of its export licence. they don't want the israeli public to start a movement against this export licence. so there's a total secrecy, even in israel, and the total secrecy brings us to total — there's no accountability. there is total impunity. israel is a world leader in cybersecurity exports. start—up firms sold their wares at this recent gathering — a tech boom fuelled by experts fresh from army intelligence.

it is a source of strength, says one former general. we are helping some other countries to acquire similar capabilities, and i personally about know about dozens of events that terrible terrorist attacks were intercepted only due to the availability of such an intelligence capability. nso claims its software has saved countless lives, and they take every precaution to avoid abuse. this kind of spyware has the power to watch us all. the debate now is over who is watching its creators. tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem. the un says houthi forces have pulled out of three key ports on the west coast of yemen, in partial implemention of a peace deal agreed six months ago. the un is urging parties to finalise negotiations for a full implementation of the next stage of the deal. it was agreed in december between the yemeni government, backed by saudi coalition forces, and the houthi rebels. san francisco has become the first american city to ban the use of facial recognition technology by police and other agencies. federal facilities such as san francisco international airport

would be exempt, as well as private businesses. here is our technology reporter dave lee in san francisco. well, the thinking here from the people backing this measure is that the technology simply isn't good enough right now to reliably do its work, and that the wider implications of what it would mean to have facial recognition used across the city are yet to be fully explored. now, when it comes to reliability, research has shown that of the technology that exists today that could be used, it's less effective when trying to recognise women accurately. it's also less effective when trying to recognise people of colour accurately, and for that reason, campaigners say, it's simply not ready to be used, even though they admit there are some benefits to agencies that are trying to keep the public safe or fight crime. it's simply a case, i think you could say, of weighing up the benefits against the risks.

and yet i guess a lot of companies would say, hang on, it is on almost every smartphone you buy now. well, yes, although i think there's an important distinction, isn't there, between public agencies making use of this technology and people deciding to buy a smartphone that has that feature. this is something that, if you're a citizen of san francisco, you have no choice but to adhere to whatever policy the city puts in place. i think one of the other interesting parts of this new legislation is that, as well as facial recognition, there's also going to be tighter controls on every type of technology that can be used for any type of surveillance or any type of data gathering. if an agency wants to buy a new system of cameras, for example, they will have to go to the city administration and say, this is what we plan to do, this is what we're going to do with the data, and here's how we plan to use that data or pass it on to various agencies. so i think it's transparency which is set to be at the core of these calls. and when you speak to those that

have backed these new measures, they say that's what it's about — making sure people know what is being collected, how it's being used, and how that impacts their lives. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: from sweet to sour. how an instagram post left singer ariana grande facing a $50 , 000 copyright lawsuit. the pope was shot, the pope will live. that was the essence of the appalling news from rome this afternoon, that, as an italian television commentator put it, terrorism has 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 tonight triumphed over the world chess champion, garry kasparov. it is the first time a machine has defeated a reigning world 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: as iran's supreme leader rules out going to war with the united states the pentagon raises its threat level assesment. sri lanka's security forces have enforced a second overnight curfew in response to a wave of anti—muslim violence. hundreds of millions of people across india have been voting in the general election, with results due next week. divisions between the hindu majority and india's 172 million muslims have

grown under the current prime minister, narendra modi, who leads the hindu nationalist bjp. the united nations is concerned about a rise in attacks on muslims. it's become a key election issue, as our south asia correspondent rajini vaidya nathan reports. these are the muslims of the nomadic bakarwal tribe. they're outcasts, treated with resentment wherever they go. when they tried to settle in the majority—hindu town of kathua, in northern india, some locals wanted to teach them a lesson so severe they'd leave forever. what happened in this sacred hindu temple last year sent shock waves across the country. asifa bano was eight when she was held captive for a week, drugged, gang raped, then murdered. "when we found her body, it was black," her mother, naseema, tells me.

"she had been electrocuted, hit with rocks and strangled. she was only a child." her grieving father, mohammed yusuf, believes his little girl was targeted because of their faith. what followed was just as shocking. eight hindu men were charged. these people took to the streets, not in support of the victim, but in solidarity with those accused. two bjp politicians were among the protesters — it took weeks of pressure before they were forced to resign. tensions are growing in many parts of the country. one of the latest cases, in a north—eastern state of assam. it's left this market trader terrified. shaukat ali was brutally beaten last month. stripped of his dignity, he was force—fed pork bya hindu mob. "i had to eat it because i was scared they'd kill me.

it was an attack on our entire faith." this community is worried, every face in this room wondering if their very existence now leaves them vulnerable. the attack on shaukat ali, in this usually busy market, was brazen. instead of stepping in to try and stop it, crowds filmed it on their mobile phones. india has had a long history of religious violence, with victims of all faiths. but human rights organisations say that, in the last five years, there has been a sharp increase in hate crimes against muslims, and what they describe as a rising tide of islamophobia. a bjp spokesman told me the party completely rejects claims that its policies have led to the rise in crimes against muslims. he said the bjp represent all faiths. but faith is being used as the hindu nationalist party chases

a second term. in a thinly veiled attack on illegal muslim immigrants from neighbouring bangladesh, its president, ahmed shah, calls them termites and infiltrators. he is promising to remove every single one of them from india. it is notjust the leaders that we have to look to, but what is happening to the mind of people who are being constantly drip fed this sort of hatred. the right for all religions to coexist is enshrined in this country's constitution. but there is concern that, if the bjp wins a second term, that basic secular principle could be eroded. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, assam. some breaking news: the alabama

state senate has approved a bill to outline all abortions, including rape. it will now go to the governor for approval who is known to be a strong opponent to abortion. this would be the strongest anti—abortion legislation. the supreme court is pushed to reconsider the woman's right to abortion. six states have successfully enacted new laws. we will have more as soon as we have it. and accuse rise against the government. the government of president madero is said to shut

down power. the national assembly, run by the opposition, preventing a session to be held. the former manager of comic book co—creator, stan lee, has been charged with elder abuse against the late writer. kyle morgan is facing five counts of abuse against lee — including false imprisonment, fraud and forgery — all stemming from an incident last summer. stan lee died in november last year, aged 95. the singer ariana grande is being sued for copyright infringement by a photographer, who claims she posted two of his pictures on her instagram, without permission. robert barbera, who's based in new york, took pictures last year of ariana grande carrying a bag that read "sweetener." she shared the photos with her 154 million followers on the day she released her album ‘sweetener‘ captioning it "happy sweetener day". kj matthews is a freelance entertainment reporter in los angeles. she told me why the photographer

is sueing grande. what it boils down to is money. isn't it always the case? it's about money. and these are photos — you know, ariana grande was sued this week, before that it was gigi hadid, before that it wasjennifer lopez. what is happening is this photographer is saying, look, you did not have the rights to use this photo. i took this photo of you and i am not profiting financially at all so why should you? so photographers are saying, you know, we are losing money, then we're going to take you to court. as you say, this is a specific instance but it is an illustration of a wider topic? absolutely. you know, before the advent of social media, really the only place to see these pictures were either on line or you had to buy your tabloid magazine to see them. now photographers are fighting with celebrities — a—list celebrities that is — with their social media accounts. a lot of social media accounts have over 150 million followers.

so you have the] lo, you have will smith, you have kevin hart, you have the kardashian clan, who can speak to their fans directly and tha'ts what thye'd rather do. who can speak to their fans directly and that's what they'd rather do. and so they are cutting out the middleman, which is the tabloid magazine or the tabloid sites that are used to posting these pictures, where the photographer licensed these photos to these agencies and then they make money that way. well, if the celebrity is going to repost all those pictures and they are being cut out of it, they're saying the only way they can make up that difference is to take them to court. social media is not going away. what is your betting, they will be some kind of a deal? i definitely think there'll be some sort of a deal. look at the people that they are hitting — they are multi— multi— millionaires. gigi hadid,] lo, the kardashian west family and especially ariana grande — they have way too many followers and my instinct is, he will probably settle. he's only asking for $25,000 for each photo she posted.

or some of the profits. it is easier to pay them off because of social media is not going anywhere and, guess what, neither are the papparazzi photographers. a town in canada's western province of british columbia is being plagued by a rather cocky menace. wild peacocks have flocked to the area in such large numbers some residents say living with them has become unbearable. authorities have taken steps to remove the birds, but some locals question the effectiveness of the measures. caroline rigby has more. with this tonnage plumage, peacocks are with this tonnage plumage, peacocks a re often with this tonnage plumage, peacocks are often seen as symbols of vanity and pride but for one community in british columbia, these noisy birds are increasingly seen as pets. rumoured to have escaped from a rural property more than a decade ago, they now overrun the community. in the next two or three weeks you will see lots of eggs everywhere around the house. that is what happens at this time of year. at

times more than 100 have been spotted and with spring they appear to be on the march again. last year, the city council agreed to trap and remove the birds. we have had success with residents who offered up success with residents who offered up the garages. we wait for the birds to enter, shut garaged. but many continued to evade capture. they are really smart. that has led some locals to question the effectiveness of the plan and even ta ke effectiveness of the plan and even take matters into their own hands. 0ne resident faced fines for cutting down the street because it got tired of taking down bird nests. noisy, messy and at times aggressive, for some they are a nuisance but others account them as feathered friends and as long as they continue to

divide opinion, they are sure to continue raffling feathers here. this is a game between two amateur afl teams. a little girl, two years old, makes an appearance. she could be simply flattened but a man ignored the bowl and carried her to safety. he has now become a bit of a social media hero. 17 acts have now become ten in the first semi—final of the eurovision song contest in israel and they include san marino, which has qualified for the final for only the second time in its history. it joins nine other countries, including the bookies'—favourite greece, as well as iceland's leather—clad anti—capitalist hatari and australia's kate miller—heidke. the second semi—final will be on thursday and the successful acts will compete in the grand final on saturday.

that's it for now. thank you for watching. hello again. we have got another fine sunny day coming up today before the weather begins to change. now, on tuesday, the warmest spot in the country was again scotland, where we had temperatures of 2a degrees celsius in drumnadrochit, which is by the shores of loch ness, in highland. but by the time we get to the end of the week those temperatures are on the way down. by by friday we will be looking at highs of 18 degrees although many players will see temperatures lower than that. after a warmer kind of days, those temperatures are falling slower so not as chilly as it has been. still cool for parts of east anglia on wednesday. the area of

high—pressure holding firm and that means we have more dry and sunny weather to come. the high—pressure drifting further northwards and the isobars are pulling apart so the winds not quite as brisk in east anglia and south east anglia. a little bit cooler delete during tuesday. plenty of sunshine and with went ina tuesday. plenty of sunshine and with went in a clockwise sense, across the north and west of the uk, the days highs peaking at around 2a degrees. most of us keeping sunshine all day. a little bit of patchy cloud across scotland and the pennines. into thursday, we start to see signs of change. high—pressure moves further northwards. low pressure in central europe starts to move. an easterly breeze picks up and it is a combination on the thursday of those easterly winds

strengthening along with more cloud being able to develop in the atmosphere. it will make things a field cooler as we go through the day. many are areas staying dry. highs between 15 and 18 degrees. not the 20s on the chart anymore and that trend of cooler weather continues on to friday. quite a bit of cloud around. england and wales with the best of the temperatures. it looks like it will stay pretty 00:28:35,939 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 cloudy into the weekend.