welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is duncan golestani. our top stories: theresa may's forced to form a minority government after a bruising night in britain's general election. the prime minister's back in downing street, but to stay there she'll have to broker a deal with northern ireland's democratic unionists. with brexit talks due to begin injust ten days, mrs may insists they will go ahead as planned. in other news: president trump calls the sacked fbi directorjames comey a liar and says he's willing to testify under oath. hello. the british prime minister theresa

may is trying to construct a new government and face the challenge of the imminent brexit process, having lost her majority in the house of commons. the conservatives emerged from thursday's election as the largest party, but with no parliamentary majority. they're hoping to rely on northern ireland's democratic unionists to stay in power. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports on a night and day of intense political drama. is this strong and stable, prime minister? she who dares doesn't always win. the most votes, the most seats but, under this stinging glare, no iron gates nor police protection can shield theresa may from the accusation she looks a political loser. the trappings of power, the visit to the palace, help from northern irish mps mean she can gather enough support

to stay on. but having believed herself to be on the brink of a sizeable majority, going backwards seems like defeat. i have just been to see her majesty the queen and i will now form a government. a government that can provide certainty and lead britain forward at this critical time for our country. not a single mention of the result. it is clear that only the conservative and unionist party has the legitimacy and ability to provide that certainty by commanding a majority in the house of commons. this will allow us to come together as a country and channel our energies towards a successful brexit deal that works for everyone in this country. still prime minister but damaged, diminished, a smallerfigure. young people and old people all came

together yesterday, a huge turnout, an increase in the labour vote and they did it because they want to see things done differently and they want hope in their lives. because what was surprise at the start... bell tolls and what we're saying is the conservatives are the largest party. note that they don't have an overall majority at this stage. ..gradually, seat after seat, was glorious shock for labour. loss after loss for the conservatives. no obvious pattern or geography to start with. cheering but a hung parliament. # we'll keep the red flag flying here...# with no overall winner becoming clear. what had seemed her unassailable lead at the startjust melted away. personal as well as political loss written all over her face. the tories and labour in scotland dragged the snp down

from their high point. the bubble pricked even for alex salmond. cheering other parties took heavy fire. the lib dems adding seats but losing their biggest household name, nick clegg, perhaps loved and loathed. nuttall, paul andrew, ukip. .. and, in reverse, another ukip leader took his leave. no party, though, can govern alone. meet the ten—strong democratic unionist party, northern irish mps who will prop theresa may up. the prime minister has spoken with me this morning and we will enter discussions with the conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation. others, though, calling for her to go. we will work with others if it is at all possible to keep the tories out of government. but only late this afternoon did the prime minister acknowledge that

anything had gone wrong. i had wanted to achieve a larger majority, but that was not the result that we secured and i'm sorry for all those candidates and hard—working party workers who weren't successful. she won more votes, more seats, she keeps this address, but her gamble failed. the electorate can damn with faint praise. laura keunssberg, bbc news, downing street. as we heard, the politics of northern ireland are now more significant than usual at westminster. theresa may's decision to rely on the support of the democratic unionist party has far—reaching implications, not only for the brexit process, but also for the future of devolved government in northern ireland. so who are they and what do they stand for? here's our ireland correspondent chris buckler. if last night's count revealed any winner, it was the democratic unionist party.

the dup now hold more than half of northern ireland's seats at westminster, and their ten mps could offer theresa may what she wanted most from this election, some stability. although arlene foster has indicated... what we want to see happening is a recognition of the particular circumstances of northern ireland, recognising our history and geography. we've always said we want the best deal for northern ireland and that's certainly what we'll be pushing for. along with money for northern ireland's economy, the dup is thought to want influence in the upcoming brexit negotiations. questions about what will happen to northern ireland's land border with the republic have become a major talking point. the party has always seen itself as british rather than european. we say never! founded by the protestant ian

paisley, the dup's religious roots are deeply important. stormont, stormont... it has clashed with campaigners over the decision to block the introduction of same—sex marriage in northern ireland. the other big beasts of politics here are sinn fein. they won seven seats but, as irish republicans, they won't sit in the british parliament, actually helping theresa may by reducing the numbers she needs for a majority. remember, history will show alliances between ulster unionism and british unionism has always ended in tears. what might bring stability to westminster could end up causing real problems here at stormont. power—sharing collapsed at the start of this year and talks to try to restore it had been organised by theresa may's government. but if they're being propped up by the dup, it's difficult to see how sinn fein could accept them as honest brokers

in those negotiations. among those concerned is jonathan powell. as tony blair's chief of staff, he helped negotiate the good friday peace agreement and he is warning decades of progress could be undone. i don't think it is worth undermining everything we have achieved in northern ireland. there is a reason northern ireland are no longer on the news pages. do we want to put it back? we stand the risk of doing so. arlene foster and theresa may both have much to gain from this friendship. everything going well? yes, thank you. but it is likely to be tested. the british prime minster‘s decision to call the election was, of course, to bolster her hand in the brexit negotiations. so what effect does this outcome have on the government's brexit approach and the all important timetable? our chief correspondent gavin hewitt has been looking at the impact of the election result on the future of the brexit process. theresa may's authority diminished just when the start of brexit negotiations are days away. complex negotiations have suddenly become more challenging. i think it has made it more difficult for whoever is going to be negotiating with the european union

because they will look and say, well, hold on, it's not such a clear message from your general election, it's not clear that you can get everything through the house of commons, so i suspect the negotiations have become that little bit more tough. some of those who campaigned to leave the eu fear momentum will be lost. this is the brexit timetable. negotiations begin on the 19th ofjune, a week on monday. they have to be completed in two years. the 29th of march, 2019, is the leaving date. pro—eu campaigners out today claimed the election sent a message. i think what the country has just said is we don't want a hard brexit, we don't want to leave the single market, so i think it's about going ahead with putting the country's interests first, which is finding a package which means the uk isn'tjumping off a cliff.

others are arguing that what some call a hard brexit, which involves leaving the european single market, is now less likely. there is a greater chance now that we will get a softer brexit than there was before this election, but whether or not we definitely will, we'll have to wait and see, because there are still many members of the parliamentary conservative party who are committed to a hard brexit. others were insisting today the election results changed nothing. when the european union faces theresa may or david davis across the negotiating table, they will be facing the prime minister of the uk and the secretary of state for brexit and they will deal with them on that basis. so i don't really think this makes the task more difficult than it otherwise would be. the reaction from europe, a reminder that a clock is ticking. there's no time to lose, we are ready, they said today. i do strongly hope that britain is ready to open negotiations. as far as the commission is concerned, we can open

negotiations tomorrow morning at 9:30am. those who know the workings of brussels well say the negotiations will be tough. money is never easy in this sort of discussion, everybody knows that. the fate of people stranded on either side of the new border, everybody agrees that has to be sorted out as quickly as possible. and then there is ireland. theresa may's motivation in calling this election was to strengthen her hand, to make her less vulnerable to pressure from committed brexiteers within her own party. but, with a hung parliament, she is now more exposed to trouble from all sides. among those who will expect their voices to be heard are theresa may's new allies, the democratic unionists of northern ireland. the prime minister has promised the brexit negotiations will stick to the existing timetable and leaving the single market remains the government's position. if you want more on the british

election you can get a full break down of the results and anything else you want to know. just visit oui’ else you want to know. just visit our website. some other news now. president trump says he is 100% willing to testify under oath to give his side of the story over leaked conversations with james comey, the former fbi director he fired last month. mr trump said he rejected mr comey‘s assertion that he had urged him to drop an investigation into his presidential campaign's links with russia. laura bicker has more. this press conference was supposed to be about strengthening nato alliances, especially with a country like romania, who is prepared, they say, to pay their dues. but the only thing, the one thing, looming large over the trump administration is the testimony from the former fbi director, james comey. yesterday, he told the senate intelligence committee

that he did not trust the president not to lie about their meeting. so much so that he kept memos, he kept notes of their meeting. he talked about a meeting with the president where donald trump is alleged to have turned to him and said, could you see your way to letting the investigation into michael flynn, his former national security advisor, who had to be fired because of his contacts with russia, could he let that investigation go? well, from the podium, president trump says that account is not as he remembers it. and he says he's prepared to go under oath and talk to the special counsel, who is now looking into this whole russia investigation, is prepared to tell him his version of events. he did say under oath that you told him to let... ..you said you hoped the flynn investigation... i didn't say that. so, he lied about that? well, i didn't say that, and i will tell you i didn't say that. and that he asked you to pledge...

and there would be nothing wrong if i did say that, according to everybody that i read today, but i didn't say that. and did he ask for a pledge of loyalty from you ? no, he did not. so he said those things under oath. would you be willing to speak under oath to give your version? 100%. i didn't say under oath. i hardly know the man. i'm not going to say, i'm going to ask you to pledge allegiance. who would do that? think of it. i hardly know the man. this is rapidly becoming a case of "he says and he says", a case of "who do you believe?" do you believe the former fbi director, james comey, who talked under oath about a president trump who defamed him and who he said lied about their meetings? and now, when it comes to the president, it is an account he says is entirely untrue. and then there is the question of tapes. do any tapes of those meetings exist?

that is the one thing that could clear all this up. when it came to the mention of the tapes, reporters clamoured, and they asked, when will we see them? he said, all in due course. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: meet the gardener — a new approach to weed control in new york's woodlands. the day the british liberated the falklands and by tonight british troops had begun the task of disarming the enemy. in the heart of the west german capital, the crowd packed to see the man with great hopes for the division of europe. michaeljackson was not guilty on all charges.

the screams of the crowd testament to his popularity and theirfaith in his innocence. as long as they'll pay to go see me, i'll get out there and kick 'em down the hill. what does it feel like to be the first man to go across the channel by your own power? it's pretty neat. feels marvellous, really. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: theresa may has been forced to form a minority government after losing her parliamentary majority in britain's general election. president trump has called the fired fbi directorjames comey a liar and said he's willing to testify under oath. an inquest into the deaths of the 22 people killed at a concert in manchester last month has heard the explosive carried by salman abedi was designed to kill

and maim indiscriminately. investigations are continuing in the uk and libya to try to establish if abedi was linked to other extremists who may be planning further attacks on british soil. the bomber himself was in libya untiljust days before the attack. our correspondent orla guerin has visited the family home, on the outskirts of the capital. well, this area on the outskirts of tripoli is where the manchester bomber, salman abedi, was staying with his family for about a month before the attack. the family home is nearby, it's just around this corner. we got a glimpse of it but we have been prevented from filming outside by a relative. now, a neighbour here has said that salman and his brother, hashim, went to the local mosque to say their daily prayers but otherwise kept themselves to themselves. the authorities have told us that salman and hashem arrived here in the middle of april.

they say they had both men under surveillance during that time along with their father, ramadan. the reason for this was hashim was suspected of being a member of the so—called is. hashim is still being held with his father by the special deterrence force, that is a tripoli counterterrorism unit. the spokesman for the force, ahmed bin salem, told us that hashim has admitted he and salman were members of is, he said theyjoined in 2015 after going on a pilgrimage to saudi arabia. he said investigators here are still trying to establish if the men are linked to other cells in the uk planning attacks. they said they had important information to share with the british authorities but they wouldn't say if they had been asked to provide that or if there was any direct cooperation between the two sides. he told us that the bomber had left here without the knowledge of his family and had angered his mother, samia.

he said he had placed a call to his mother shortly before the attack, he said that she had been angry, he had said forgive me, those were his last words, but at that time she did not know what he had in mind. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the united nations peacekeeping mission in mali says that three of its troops have been killed, and eight wounded, in an attack in kidal, in the north of the country. the mission‘s camp came under heavy fire from mortars and rocket—propelled grenades. shortly afterwards peacekeepers outside the camp were attacked. a jihadist group linked to al-qaeda said it was responsible. austria has introduced a law banning full—face islamic veils in public. from october, anyone breaking it will face a fine of up to $160. the new legislation includes measures against distributing extremist islamist literature and obliges asylum—seekers to undergo a year—long

integration course. brazil's top electoral court have thrown out a case which would have stripped michel temer of the presidency over alleged corruption during the 2014 election. the trial had been looking into allegations of illegal campaign donations. us president donald trump has accused qatar of funding terrorism warning the gulf state to stop it immediately. that message came just hours after his secretary of state, rex tillerson, urged saudi arabia and other countries in the region to ease the blockade against qatar, which he said was hindering the fight against islamic state and creating a humanitarian crisis. barbara plett—usher has the story. the dispute between america's arab allies got unexpected billing at the white house on friday. donald trump had already tweeted support for the

decision to isolate qatar by siberia beer and others. he repeated that forcibly from the podium, calling out doha as an historic supporter of terrorism. nations came together and spoke to me about confronting qatar over its behaviour. so we had a decision to make, do we take the easier of order we finally take a ha rd easier of order we finally take a hard but necessary action? —— easy road. we have to stop the funding of terrorism. the unprecedented blockade of qatar has exploded a history of regional differences into a full—blown crisis. hours before trump spoke the secretary of state called on doha's neighbours to ease the embargo, he said it isn'tjust causing food shortages but... his tone and approach were strikingly different. we have called for calm and thoughtful dialogue with clear

expectations and accountability among the parties in order to strengthen relationships. we ask that there be no further escalation by the parties in the region. we call on qatar to be responsive to the concerns of its neighbours. in a nuanced message, tillerson also urged all parties to take action against extremists. few hands are clea n against extremists. few hands are clean when it comes to a history of terrorist financing in the gulf but trump's embrace of saudi arabia on a recent trip to riyadh seems to have influenced his thinking and raises questions about the direction of any us mediation. barbara plett—usher, bbc news, washington. general elections are clearly a serious business. a huge amount of effort goes into making sure every vote is counted correctly so that nothing can go wrong when the results are declared. or at least that's the theory. rob sissons reports now from a north of england constituency where a slip of the tongue led to the wrong person being declared the winner in thursday's uk election. joseph alan meale has duly been elected... that oscars moment.

they read out the wrong result, but then again mansfield has always been labour, sir alan meale has been voted time and time again since 1987. not last night. i should have voted conservative! crikey! i'm a socialist at heart, it sticks in your craw to vote conservative. margaret, a retired nhs cleaner, hadn't voted tory before either. it's better the devil we know and we should give theresa may a chance, she hasn't had a chance yet. lifelong labour supporter and i can't believe that mansfield has gone to conservative after all these years. i can't believe it, i can't. it's a miners' town so i'm surprised. last night's winner, ben bradley, is 27 and thinks he'll be the second youngest mp in parliament. he believes brexit won it. mansfield is changing, demographics are changing and locally people have been crying out for a change. defeated for labour, sir alan meale predicts the party will win the seat back. anybody who wins an election

like that will be in for one term, i suspect we will have another very soon. in mansfield many people say it feels like a new political era. a park in america has recruited some new talent to help restore its forest. hurricane sandy tore down the trees in prospect park in brooklyn and left it with a weed problem. now they've found a chemical—free solution. caroline davies reports. this is a rather different side to brooklyn in new york. prospect park is the area's last forest and it has some new visitors. max, cinnamon, swirland unicorn. these goats are helping to clear the weeds here without using herbicides. hurricane sandy came through and knocked down around 30 big trees. big gaps of light were opening and weeds flourished.

so we wanted to do invasive removal but we did not want to use chemicals. people in the community like it when we reduce the use of chemicals. once the weeds are eaten, new trees can be planted. these goats are not picky — they will even eat poison ivy. locals brooklynites have welcomed their new neighbours. i love that there are goats in prospect park. it is awesome. i love goats and seeing more wildlife... well, i guess it is not really wild, but seeing more animals here is great. i think i remember they used to chomping plants. yum, yum. and there is plenty more for goats to get through — saving this patch of green one weed at a time. caroline davies, bbc news. that's the way it's looking for the moment. stay with us on bbc news. hello there.

it's felt a little more like autumn for some this week and although high pressure will build into next week and we'll hopefully see more of these skylines, this was sent in late in the day on friday, before that we will have yet more rain, strong and blustery winds with some sunshine, warm sunshine dispersed, so not a great weekend for heading to the mountains or a small boat. after the rain there will also be more showers following on. this is the area of cloud, the area of low pressure that will bring that disturbed weather through the weekend. not a washout for all but certainly quite a bit of rain to come. the north—east of scotland may start quite chilly with a bit of fog around, the south and east brightening up quite quickly but with the south—westerly wind pushing that rain into the welsh mountains and cumbrian fells, we could see the wettest weather here, 20 to a0 millimetres. once it clears away, northern ireland will have a warm and bright afternoon, warmer and brighterfor the northern isles and northern scotland than yesterday, perhaps 20 here and even with the rain,

not especially cold, quite grey with murky low cloud and hill fog. while we come out of that cloud and back into the sunshine in central and eastern areas and we could see 2a or 25, so some very warm and muggy airaround. touch and go for the cricket at edgbaston, england—australia, just because you're close to that rain band, hopefully we will get some play and bad light won't spoil the affair. through the evening that rain will advance further eastwards so eventually we will see patchy rain in southern and eastern areas and then the wind will push the showers into the north and west of scotland, so again not a cold night but particularly warm stuck under that weather front in central and eastern england and here it is on sunday. although the main rain is clearing on sunday with low pressure sat to the north—west, it does means it won't be a particularly settled day, tightly packed isobars indicating strong winds at times, gusting winds with those showers,

northern ireland, scotland, north—western parts of england and wales could be heavy with thunder. the cloud is meandering south and east so after a bright start some patchy rain before the rain returns in the evening and not as warm as a result across the south and east, fresher air following on behind that weather front. into that fresher air on monday, still a blustery breeze with showers around, especially in the north, not so much in the south but nevertheless not ruling out the risk. gradually the azores high will be just building northwards, pushing more warmth and sunshine north, keeping these weather fronts at bay and keeping them to the north and west. as ever, more detail on the website. this is bbc news. the headlines: the british prime minister, theresa may, is forming a new minority government, a day after losing her majority in a snap election. her party will work with northern ireland's democratic unionists who won ten seats. she's said she'll keep her most senior ministers.

mrs may said crucial talks on britain leaving the european union will begin as planned in ten days' time, but she'll enter brexit negotiations in a much weaker position. european council president donald tusk says time is running out and there's a real risk of a "no deal" outcome. president trump has said he's100% willing to testify under oath about his talks with the sacked former fbi director, james comey. mr trump rejected the allegation that he had urged mr comey to drop an investigation into his presidential campaign's links with russia. now on bbc news, hardtalk.