this is bbc news. welcome if you are watching here in the uk, on pbs in america, or around the globe. i'm mike embley. our top stories: as the afghan presidential election gets underway, the trump administration announces it will start withdrawing american troops before the us election next year. at least 50 prisoners are killed in fighting between rival gangs in a brazilian jail. two children are among the dead in the california festival shooting. police say swift action prevented many more killings. 350 million trees — that is what officials say ethiopians have planted in a single day, to help preserve the environment.

hello. the united states plans to start withdrawing troops from afghanistan before next yea r‘s presidential election. secretary of state mike pompeo describes his directive from president trump as unambiguous — end the endless wars. the afghan war is america's longest, with about 1a,000 us troops still there. two were killed on monday in an apparent insider attack by an afghan soldier, and although peace talks continue with taliban militants, the chances of real progress look uncertain. here's our north america correspondent, peter bowes. this appears to be a sign that president trump is becoming increasingly impatient over a lack of progress in afghanistan over the last couple of years. and he has always made it well—known that he prefers to, as he puts it, to end these endless

wars, and of course, this is currently america's longest war. he would rather be taking troops out than putting troops in, or living with the status quo. and i think the key, in terms of the phrase of what mike pompeo was talking about today, he was asked whether us forces would begin to come out before the next presidential election. and i think that's significant, that that is what donald trump has focused in on, because it has been a long—time promise of his. it is sure to win him votes or solidify votes on his base come next november. if people are going to the polls to decide if he gets a second term, and they see that us forces are beginning to come out of afghanistan, it could only be seen as a positive for the president, or indeed, as mr pompeo put it, job—enhancing. peter, ending the war is quite a vague phrase, isn't it? there would be a lot of resistance, wouldn't there, in the us military

to pulling troops out altogether. in afghanistan, the government would see it as the cue for a taliban takeover. yes, it is very, very complicated. more negotiations taking place this week with us envoys and the taliban — these are very delicate negotiations, so the timing of this is interesting. much to discuss, and of course, it could be seen as a potential weakness if the us is, if you like, showing its hand by indicating it wants to pull troops out of afghanistan by the end of next year. perhaps this could open the door for the taliban to reach an agreement, with that knowledge that perhaps they will have things a little bit easier in the future. so delicate times all around. let's get some of the day's other news: a pakistani military aircraft on a training flight has crashed in a built—up area in the city of rawalpindi, killing all five crew and 12 civilians, according to a statement from the army's communications wing. rawalpindi is in pakistan's punjab province, next to the capital city, islamabad. officials say another 12 civilians

were injured as the crash set off a fire in the city. rescue teams extinguished the flames as they arrived. four children and one adult have been shot dead in protests in sudan. the main opposition coalition says security forces fired on a student protest against a shortage of fuel and food. protest leaders and the ruling military council are to hold another round of talks on tuesday about forming a power—sharing transitional government. police in frankfurt have arrested a man suspected of pushing a mother and her son in front of a high—speed train. the eight—year—old boy was killed. the mother is in hospital. passengers ran after the suspect and helped to arrest him. reports from brazil suggest police have decided to drop rape allegations against the footballer neymar. he was accused of the attack on the woman in a paris hotel last month and was questioned by police in sao paulo for more than five hours. he has always denied

the allegations. at least 52 prisoners have been killed in fighting between rival gangs in a jail in northern brazil. reports say 16 people were decapitated. many others were asphyxiated by smoke when the building was set alight. the deadly riot at altamira prison in the state of para is the latest unrest in latin america's notoriously overcrowded jails. here is our reporterjulia carneiro. so this riot lasted around five hours, and it started in the early hours of the morning, when breakfast was happening in the prison. prisoners managed to invade an area where inmates from a rival criminal faction were detained. they held two prison wardens hostage and the riot started. they decapitated these 16 prisoners and they set fire to whatever they could find. the smoke from this fire asphyxiated the other ones, who were locked inside, to death.

so it is a very shocking case. we're having response now from the government. there was a meeting held just now between the minister ofjustice, sergio moro, and other local authorities, and they decided to transfer ten inmates that were carrying out these attacks to maximum—security prisons in other states of brazil, where they're kept isolated. now, it's important to understand that in prisons in brazil you have criminal factions that still manage to exert control and give out orders. so when they're transferred to these maximum—security units, that's an attempt to shut them down and to make them quiet, as would be expected for them — of them in prison. the police chief of the californian town of gilroy says the speedy reaction of officers prevented greater bloodshed at a food festival on sunday. three people including two children were shot dead by a gunman. he was also killed. the bbc‘s dave lee is

in gilroy, california. what's going on, what's going on?! as the shots rang out, there was at first confusion, and then panic, and eventually disbelief. they're shooting! for most of the weekend, this was the scene of a happy, popular food festival, with around 80,000 people in attendance. but by sunday evening, it had turned into the latest american mass shooting, the 246th in this country, in this year alone. pop, pop, pop, pop, and wejust went behind some tents and took cover. and we knew right away when we saw a lot of people just running away from there. we thought it was a firecracker. and then, when i looked to the side, we knew it wasn't. we both turned at the same exact time and saw him standing right there. he was within, what, ten feet of us? yeah, he shot one shot. he was just going back and forth. and then he put the clip in, and he just started moving back and forth, walking towards our tent because that's where most of the people were in that area, and he just started shooting.

police said they took less than a minute to shoot dead the man once he opened fire, but even with that rapid response, the gunman was able to cause carnage with what police described as an ak—47—like rifle. there absolutely would have been more bloodshed, i believe. with the number of people, in the small area that they were in, i think it's very, very fortunate that they were able to engage him as quickly as they did. six—year—old stephen romero is the first victim identified. he had been visiting with his mother and grandmother, who were both wounded. also among the dead, a man in his 20s and a girl aged 13. police confirmed the killer to be santino legan, a 19—year—old man who was able to evade security by cutting through the perimeter fence. he was also able to avoid california's gun laws,

the most strict in the country, by simply travelling to the neighbouring state of nevada to buy the weapon legally. dave lee, bbc news, in gilroy, california. russia's most prominent opposition activist, a severe critic of vladimir putin, is recovering from what his doctor says may be a deliberate poisoning. alexei navalny was sent to jail for 30 days last week because he called for street protests against a ban on opposition candidates running in local elections. injail he fell ill — an allergic reaction, according to authorities. his call for protests saw thousands take to the streets at the weekend. there were hundreds of arrests. borisjohnson has claimed he will, as he put it, "hold out the hand" and "go the extra thousand miles" to strike a new brexit deal. visiting scotland, the prime minister said the existing withdrawal agreement negotiated with european leaders was dead and had got to go. after their meeting, scotland's first minister said she believed mrjohnson was actually pursuing what she called a dangerous path to a no—deal brexit. sarah smith reports.

jeering for borisjohnson, coming here to the scottish first minister's official residence in edinburghjust days after becoming prime minister is a carefully choreographed piece of diplomacy that wasn't universally popular. but borisjohnson meeting nicola sturgeon face—to—face will not help them see eye—to—eye over brexit. not even close. visiting a vanguard—class nuclear submarine on the clyde, borisjohnson wants the eu to know he is ready to go to battle, yet, despite supercharging no—deal preparations, he is also saying he will go the extra mile to try to get a deal. it is absolutely right that we should go for a deal, and there is every chance that we can get a deal. and i think, with goodwill and with common sense, that is what we will achieve.

so are the odds still to a million to one we will leave with no—deal? provided there is sufficient goodwill and common sense on the part of our partners, that is exactly where i would put the odds. any chance of a no—deal brexit, even at a million to one, wouldn't satisfy nicola sturgeon, who says that no—deal would be catastrophic and should never been considered. this government and the path that it is pursuing, i think, is dangerous. it became clear to me that this government, the new prime minister, has set the uk on an almost inevitable path to a no—deal brexit. the position it's taken makes it difficult to see how any deal would struck with the eu, and i think that would be catastrophic for scotland, and indeed for the whole of the uk. that is not good enough... the scottish tory leader and mrjohnson clashed over brexit three years ago, and they still don't agree. she says she will not support no—deal. they met again today. i said i wanted to see the same

level of energy and vigor that's going into no—deal planning going into trying to get a deal. i wanted to see the sort of shuttle diplomacy required if we're going to see changes that can be brought back to the house of commons, and i received the assurances that i was looking forward. hi, boris! borisjohnson has some fans in scotland, and the snp are also delighted he is now prime minister, convinced he will inevitably increase the appetite for scottish independence. sarah smith, bbc news, edinburgh. the carmaker vauxhall has warned of the impact brexit could have on around 1,000 jobs at its factory here in the uk. the french—owned company says it may move production out of the uk if brexit makes its business here unprofitable. injune, the carmaker announced it would make the next generation of the astra, its bestselling car, in the uk and at another factory in germany. it warned the decision would depend on the final brexit terms. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: death threats return

to the streets of northern ireland. dissident republicans are enforcing a renewed code of silence. cheering the us space agency, nasa, has ordered an investigation after confirmation today that astronauts were cleared to fly while drunk. the last foot patrol in south armagh. once an everyday part of the soldiers' lot, drudgery and danger, now no more after almost four decades. if one is on one's own, in a private house, not doing any harm to anyone, i don't really see why people should wander in and say, you're doing something wrong. six rare white lion cubs are on the prowl at worcestershire park and, already, they have been

met with a roar of approval from visitors. they're lovely, yeah. really sweet. yeah, they were cute. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: a day after the start of afg hanistan‘s presidential election campaign, the trump administration says it intends to begin withdrawing american troops from the country by the end of next year. more on that now. dr sethjones is a counter—insurgency expert specialising in afghanistan, and he told us what the us troop withdrawal is likely to mean. well, two things. one is i think it does indicate an interest by the us president to downsize the number of forces. however, i would just caution people in noting that, just as we saw with the president — any presidential announcement with the removal of us forces

in the area, this one is likely to be contested by officials in the us department of defence and the intelligence community, who are not going to want to completely walk away and withdraw all forces. do you think it is largely aimed at a domestic audience, i mean, specifically 2020 voters in the us? well, i do think it reflects the views of president trump. i mean, he has said repeatedly, both privately and publicly over the last several years, that he does not understand why us forces have to be there. but i do think the timing here, highlighting 2020, before the elections, indicates that it is partly a political issue. surely a major pull—down of american forces would be a gift to the taliban, wouldn't it? well, look, i think at this point it's highly unlikely there are going to be successful peace negotiations in which the taliban decides not to continue to fight, so i think any major withdrawal

of us forces will be a gift to the taliban. they're going to try to take that opportunity and increase their control of territory. so do you think, one way or another, either in the long term or the medium term, afghanistan is lost once again to the taliban? well, i think what's likely to happen is taliban control is going to increase. whether it's entirely lost will be subject in part of how many us forces stay, and whether anyone else decides to increase support to northern alliance and other forces battling the taliban. still 14,000 american troops there. is there something the us could be doing differently here, that would be effective? well, i mean, ithink one of the things that has been consistent from 2001 is that the taliban's sanctuaries, leadership structure and its three major regionaljirgas, or committees, are all based in pakistan. the us has failed year after year, as with other allies, to severely weaken

the sanctuary in pakistan. that is one thing that potentially it could do. but i think, as we saw with the president's recent discussions with imran khan in washington, that's not likely to happen. so one way or another, as you read it, the message isjust get out at any cost. yes, i think that's where the president is going right now. obviously if trump loses the 2020 election, that may reopen the possibility of what us force posture would look like. three months after the journalist leera mckee was shot dead —— three months after the journalist lyra mckee was shot dead during rioting in northern ireland by the republican group the new ira, still no one has been charged with her murder. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy has been back to the londonderry estate where lyra was killed. she reports now on the tensions with the paramilitary groups, the dissidents pushing new anti—police campaigns —

and the threats to the local community. in the area of derry known as the creggan, normality belies an undercurrent of violence. this mainly catholic housing estate remains one of northern ireland's last strongholds where banned irish nationalist groups or dissident republicans still hold some sway. that is saying to people, just you keep quiet and we'll do what we like here. since the death of lyra mckee, ira signs have appeared in the main street warning people not to speak to police. this one here says informers will be shot, with a picture of a rat on it. that actually is a very dehumanising poster. these people claim to be fighting for some form of human rights, where they treat people like animals if they don't agree with them. police believe the ira gunmen who shot lyra mckee was a teenager who was known locally. but warnings like these outside of schools make the threat to potential witnesses clear. why can't they be taken down?

who's going to take them down? fear creates a culture of silence. the school here and plenty of parents i've spoken to have told me they don't think there's anything that they can say publicly about these signs, and the sense you get is, as much as they don't want it, it's just something that has to be accepted. the new ira claims to be continuing a long—standing armed struggle to end british rule in northern ireland. this year, the group has said it was behind a bomb outside derry‘s courthouse, explosives sent in letters to train stations and airports across the uk, and a bomb found under a police officer's car in belfast. on friday, another dissident organisation tried to murder officers in craigavon, luring them towards a deadly booby trap. since lyra mckee's death, what police say are new ira's political wing have launched a fresh

drive to rally support. mirroring struggles past, this is saoradh taking part in a picket line supporting ira prisoners — many of whom have been jailed for acts of violence and possession of weapons and explosive. police say members of saoradh are also in the leadership of the new ira. your sign over here says, salute the men and women of violence, what does that mean, exactly? this is a pretty public demonstration. can you explain to people what you stand for? you put your posters up on the lamp post. one of their key messages in a new poster campaign is a call for a complete rejection of the police service of northern ireland, or psni, who they refer to as the crown forces. and to help with these campaigns, saoradh also recruit teenagers into its youth wing, eistigi.

your campaign encourages people to reject police, what exactly are you calling for? do you support violence against authorities? put it down. 0ur camera is pushed away. bleep. neighbourhood officers in derry face a constant threat. so how do you police a community then where there is an active campaign to destroy any trust in policing? we're basically trying to get people to understand that we're doing a job, we're there to help them without any favour. we are independent. we do our best, get out and speak to them, speak to them on their normal terms. let them see that we're willing to engage with them and we are open and willing to help. 0fficers normally patrol the creggan in armoured land rovers but we accompany them for their first patrols on bikes. that's all a show,

it doesn't happen. it attracts attention. but the team say they want to do more face—to—face patrols in future. during the 30—year conflict in northern ireland known as the troubles, derry saw some of the worst of the violence, between the british army, pa ramilitaries and police. today those historical tensions live on. the troubles began here in this city in ‘68, and they've never really gone away. there is some support for that message, then, you think? there is in derry, yeah. there would be. but the most extreme views of violent dissidents are opposed by the vast majority of those who live here. these groups need to know that they are not representing the people of this town when they're putting up posters like that and speaking like that. some community workers who say they cannot appear on camera have told us that behind the scenes there are negotiations taking place with the people responsible for the signs

to try to get them removed. but so far, with little success. and neither the council or police show any sign of taking them down. paramilitaries cast a shadow here that many believe only the community of creggan can resolve within itself. emma vardy, bbc news, derry. swedish climate activist greta thunberg has accepted a ride across the atlantic by boat to attend two key climate conferences. thunberg refuses to fly because of the environmental impact of air travel. the teenager will make the journey aboard a high—speed18—metre yacht built to race around the globe so she can attend the un climate action summit in new york. the government in ethiopia claims it's helped its people plant more than 350 million trees in a day, claiming what they believe is a world record. prime minister abiy ahmed led the project, which aims to counter the effects of deforestation and climate change in the drought—prone country.

ramzan karmali reports prime minister abiy ahmed getting stuck in as he launched his green legacy initiative — just one tree of over 350 million planted in ethiopian over just 12 hours. the government say that's a new world record. it means, on average, over three trees were planted per person in the country. the previous best took place back in 2016, when 800,000 volunteers helped plant 50 million trees in india. it comes as no surprise that the prime minister is leading this project to counter the effects of deforestation and climate change in the drought—prone country. according to the un, back in the early 20th—century, the country's forest covered 35% of ethiopian, but by the early 2000s, that figure was dramatically lower, atjust 4%. translation: the environment

is a major concern at a global level but more so for this country. most of the problems and famine we see in this country could be linked to the lack of protection of our environment. around 1,000 sites across the country were set up, and some public offices where shut down to allow civil servants to take part. even workers at the un, the african union and foreign embassies got involved. the aim is to plant a total of 4 billion indigenous trees. but the prime minister's critics say he is using this project to distract the public from challenges his government is facing, including ethnic conflicts which have forced some 2.5 million people from their homes. ramzan karmali, bbc news. we've covered the young winners of the tour de france and the fortnite world cup over the last couple of days. they look absolute veterans compared to this young athlete rayssa leal, from brazil, is 11 and hasjust won a leg of the street league skateboarding world tour.

with this win in los angeles she became the youngest skater to claim a victory in this competition. hi there. the heatwave of last week seems like a distant memory now, but i just want to draw your attention to that provisional 38.7 degrees celsius that was recorded at cambridge university botanic gardens. the met office actually confirmed this temperature on monday as being genuine, so this now stands as the new top temperature ever recorded in the uk. now, the next few days are going to feel more like autumn than summer because of this area of low pressure. pretty deep feature for the time of year, bringing strong winds and plenty of heavy showers. in fact, some of the showers are likely to be torrential in places, with the risk of some localised flooding. and those winds very gusty, especially across england and wales. now, this morning, those strong winds and heavy showers will be affecting the south—west of england,

south wales, continuing to move northwards and eastwards as the day wears on. you can see the bright colours indicating torrential downpours affecting wales, england's south—west and the midlands and parts of northern england too. those winds gusting to 50mph along the south coast. 30—a0mph in other areas. so these in their own right could cause some disruption, and maybe even bring some branches down, as the trees, of course, are in full leaf. temperature—wise, not that great really, certainly cooler than monday, with temperatures reaching 19 to maybe 22 or 23 degrees. best of the sunshine across the northern and eastern areas, but as we head on into tuesday evening and overnight the showers will continue to move northwards and eastwards and again, some of them will be heavy in places and still windy in southern areas. but not a particularly cold night, but drawing up some warm air from the near continent. that area of low pressure pushing on towards the eastern side of the country. still quite windy, but not maybe as windy as we're expecting to see today. the focus of the showers will shift northwards, affecting parts of scotland, into northern england, perhaps in towards the east of england and maybe

the east midlands as well. whereas for northern ireland, i think wales, down into the south—west, southern england, probably a better and a drier day here, maybe a little bit warmer, 22 or 23 degrees, but cooler further north where those showers are. that low pressure system then moves out into the north sea on thursday, still affecting the eastern side of the country, and the winds will be lighter as well, so where the showers turn up, and i think again across parts of scotland and northern and eastern england, then they will be slower moving, some areas seeing a bit of rain in a short period of time. again, the best of the dry weather across the southern and western areas with lighter winds temperatures will be a little higher, maybe the mid—20 celsius. still high teens in the north. it promises to dry up a little bit as high pressure begins to build in for friday and the start of the weekend, and it will feel a little bit warmer as well.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, says washington plans to start withdrawing troops from afghanistan before next year's american presidential election. the comments came a day after the official start of the afghan presidential election campaign. two us service members were killed on monday by an afghan soldier. more than 50 prisoners have been killed in fighting between rival gang factions at a jail in northern brazil. 16 of the victims were decapitated after inmates invaded a building occupied by rivals. brazil has the world's third—largest prison population, and gruesome violence is rife in the overcrowded facilities. in his first public comments since he was rushed to hospital from prison on sunday, the russian opposition leader, alexei navalny, has said he does not preclude the possibility he had suffered an allergic reaction. however, his doctor said it was definitely a toxic reaction to a chemical.