Hello. The United States plans to start withdrawing troops from afghanistan before next yea rs president ial election. Secretary of state mike pompeo describes his directive from President Trump as unambiguous end the endless wars. The afghan war is americas 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. Peter bowes is our north america correspondent. Peter, what is behind this, would you say . 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 a lwa ys 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 americas longest war. He would rather be taking troops out and putting troops in all living with the status quo. And i think the key in terms of the phrase, what mike pompeo was talking about today, he was asked whether us forces would begin to come out before the next president ial election. And i think that is 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 next november. 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 asa afghanistan, it could only be seen as a positive for the president , or indeed, as mr pompeo put it, it is job enhancing. Peter, ending the war is quite a vague phrase, isnt it . There would be a lot of resistance in the us military to pulling troops out altogether. In afghanistan, the government would see it as the 02 to 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 doorfor the 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. Peter, thank you very much for that. 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 americas notoriously overcrowded jails. Here is our reporterjulia carneiro. 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 the fire asphyxiated the other ones who were locked inside to death. It is a shocking case. We are hearing a response now from the government. There was a meeting held just now between the minister ofjustice 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 theyre kept isolated. Now, its important to understand that in prisons in brazil you have criminal factions who still manage to exert control and give out orders. So when theyre transferred to maximum security units, thats an attempt to shut them down and make them quiet, as would be expected of them in prison. Lets get some of the days other news 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 ao year old man suspected of pushing a mother and her son in front of a high speed train. The eight year old boy was killed and 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. The police chief of the californian town of gilroy has said 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 bbcs dave lee is in gilroy, california. Whats going on . as the shots rang out, there was at first confusion, and then panic, and then eventually disbelief. Theyre shooting for most of the weekend, this was the scene of a happy, popular Food Festival, with 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, and we just 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 wasnt. 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 thats 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. Police said he used an ak 47 like rifle. There would have been more bloodshed, i believe. With the number of people, in the small area they were in, i think it is very fortunate that they were able to engage him as quickly as they did. Six year old Stephen Romero was 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 californian gun laws, the strictest in the country, by travelling to the state of nevada to buy the weapon legally. Dave lee, bbc news, in gilroy, california. Russias most prominent opposition activist, a severe critic of vladimir putin, is recovering after what his doctor says, could be a deliberate poisoning. Alexei navalny, was sent to jail for 30 days last week, after calling for street protests against a ban on opposition candidates running in local elections. But while in jail he fell ill, the authorities said he had an allergic reaction. Mr navalnys call for protests saw thousands take to the streets at the weekend, leading to hundreds of arrests. Sarah rainsford reports now from moscow. Led out of the hospital and back to his cell, these are the first images of Alexei Navalny after he fell ill suddenly in police custody. His own doctor films as the opposition activist is discharged, against her wishes. Mr navalny has long been Vladimir Putins sharpest critic. Now, he suspects he may have been poisoned. He was in custody because of this a mass rally in moscow on saturday over a local election that protesters believe is being rigged. Many were battered as riot police swooped. Well over 1,000 were arrested. Alexei navalny was detained before it even began, though, locked up for a month for calling people to the protest. They came anyway. The next morning, mr navalny was rushed to hospital, his skin stinging, he says, eyelids swelling to the size of ping pong balls. Doctors diagnosed an allergic reaction, but his own Political Team dont buy that. Translation he really was poisoned by some unidentified chemical substance. What it was and where it was, nobody can tell. It has not been determined at the moment. The activist was serving his sentence here. He says he has no allergies, but he hasnt ruled out an innocent medical explanation. Mr Alexei Navalnys team, though, do have reason to worry. Two years ago, he was attacked twice with dye. The second time, he almost lost the sight in one eye. So, after this latest incident, his doctor has collected tissue samples to be sent for independent analysis. Alexei navalny has now been returned to this detention centre. The mystery over whatever caused his sudden illness, still unresolved. But, while his medical team and supporters push for answers, russias most prominent opposition figure is now back where hes spent so much time in recent years behind bars. Sarah rainsford, bbc news, moscow. Stay with us on bbc news. Still to come we meet an African Pioneer finding a place for people with disabilities in africas innovation boom. 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 ones own, in a private house, not doing any harm to anyone, i dont really see why people should wander in and say, youre 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. Theyre lovely, yeah. Really sweet. Yeah, they were cute. This is bbc news, the latest headlines a day after the start of afg hanistans president ial election campaign, the Trump Administration has said it intends to begin withdrawing american troops from the country by the end of next year. More than 50 prisoners have been killed in fighting between rival gang factions in a jail in northern brazil. Live now to washington dc and dr seth jones, from the center for strategic and international studies. Drjones, i know you specialise in afghanistan. What do you make of this announcement from the us secretary of state 7 announcement from the us secretary of state . Well, two things. One is i think it does indicate an interest by the us president to downsize the number of forces. However, iwould just cautioned people in noting that, just as we saw with any president ial 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 to completely walk away and withdraw a ll forces. To completely walk away and withdraw all forces. Do you think it is largely aimed at a domestic audience, and 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 yea rs, publicly over the last several years, that he does not understand why us forces have to be there. But ido 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 pulled out of American Forces would be a gift to the taliban, wouldnt it . Well, i think at this point it is highly unlikely there are going to be successful peace negotiations in which the taliban decides not to continue to fight. So i think decides not to continue to fight. So ithink any decides not to continue to fight. So i think any major withdrawal of us forces will be a gift to the taliban. They are going to try to ta ke taliban. They are going to try to take that opportunity to increase their control of territory. So do you think one way or the other, either in the long term or the medium term, afghanistan is lost once again to the taliban . Well, i think what is likely to happen is taliban control is going to increase. Whether its entirely lost will be subject in part to how many us forces stay and whether anyone else decides to increase support to the Northern Alliance and other forces battling the taliban. Still 14,000 forces battling the taliban. Still 111,000 american troops there. Is there something the us could be doing differently there, that would be effective . Well, i think one of the things that has been consistent from 2001 is that the talibans sanctuaries and Leadership Structure and its three major regional committees are all based in pakistan. The us has failed year after yea r, pakistan. The us has failed year after year, as with other allies, to severely weaken a 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 is unlikely to happen. So one way or another, the m essa 9 es happen. So one way or another, the messages just happen. So one way or another, the messagesjust get happen. So one way or another, the messages just get out at any cost. Yes, i think thats 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. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Borisjohnson has pledged to, as he put it, hold out the hand and go the extra 1,000 miles to strike a new brexit deal. During a visit to scotland, the Prime Minister said the existing Withdrawal Agreement negotiated with european leaders was dead and had got to go. After their meeting, scotlands first minister said she believed he was pursuing a dangerous path to no deal. Sarah smith reports. For borisjohnson, coming here to the Scottish First ministers official residence in edinburghjust days after becoming Prime Minister is a carefully choreographed piece of diplomacy that was not 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, he is supercharging preparations but says he will go the extra mile to get a new deal. It is right we should go for a deal and there is every chance we will get one. With goodwill and with common sense, that is what we will achieve. Are the odds 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, would not satisfy Nicola Sturgeon, who says that no deal would be catastrophic and should never been considered. This government and the path that is pursuing i think is dangerous. It became clear to me that this government, the new Prime Minister, has set that the uk is on an inevitable path to no deal. I think that would be catastrophic. For scotland and the whole of the uk. The scottish tory leader and mrjohnson clashed over brexit three years ago, and they still dont 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 thats going into no deal planning, going into trying to get a deal. I want to see the sort of shuttle diplomacy required if we are going to see changes brought back to the house of commons, and i received assurances that i was looking forward. Borisjohnson has some fans in scotland and the snp are also delighted he is now Prime Minister are convinced he will inevitably increase the appetite for scottish independence. Sarah smith, bbc news, edinburgh. Meanwhile, 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 Car Company Says it could move production out of the uk if brexit makes its business there unprofitable. In june, the carmaker announced plans to manufacture the next generation of the astra, its best selling car, in the uk and at another factory in germany. It warns that its decision would depend on the final brexit terms. 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 its 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 overjust 12 over 350 million planted in ethiopian over just 12 hours. Over 350 million planted in ethiopian overjust 12 hours. The government say thats a ne