this is bbc news. the headlines at 11: polls close in ireland's referendum on abortion laws — one exit poll suggests a clear majority of the irish people have voted in favour of liberalising the law. harvey weinstein appears in court charged with rape and sexual abuse — his lawyer says the film producer will plead not guilty. he did not invent the casting couch in hollywood, and to the incident —— extent that there is bad behaviour in that industry, that is not what this is about. bad behaviour is not on trial in this case. the modesty of a 96—year—old d—day veteran — who fought off a hammer attack and was left for dead. i blame myself because i was special services, and i think i should really have known how to deal with this. is it off or on? president trump says the planned north korea summit could go ahead — one day after it was cancelled. good evening and

welcome to bbc news. polls have closed in ireland's abortion referendum. people have been asked if they want to keep or overturn the country's constitutional ban on abortion — one of the strictest in the world. an exit poll released by the irish times suggests a landslide margin for the ‘yes‘ side of the referendum, at 68% to 32% for ‘no'. a total of 4,000 voters were interviewed by research specialists ipsos/mrbi as they left polling stations. 0ur correspondent emma vardy is in dublin. it is early days, but what sort of picture is emerging? just over an

hour now since the polling stations closed their doors, and that first acted poll has been published from the irish times, which suggest a much larger lead for the yes vote than previously predicted. 68% for yes indicating 30% no. it has been an extraordinary day here in ireland, with votes coming from far as wide as thousands of irish people from around the world came home to vote. this report contains some flash photography. cheering. an emotional day for ireland. for some, casting one vote was worth travelling many miles for. i've come from amsterdam. i've come home because i think it's very important for irish women. hopefully it will be an historic day and we will vote yes and finally irish women will have the right to autonomy over their bodies. it has been really horrible to watch from away and not be able to do much except for tweeting and facebooking and i really wanted to come home and cast my vote. a yes vote in this referendum would pave the way to legalise abortions up to the 12th

week of pregnancy. i work in brussels and i am coming home to vote. i believe this legislation is far too extreme. i believe killing for convenience is terrible. ireland's traditional catholic roots have led to the country retaining some of the strictest abortion laws in the world. what is known as the eighth amendment of the country's constitution gives an equal right to life for a mother and the unborn. but leo varadkar, the country's first openly gay prime minister has been leading the call for change. i always get a little buzz from voting. it always feels like democracy in action. not taking anything for granted, of course, but quietly confident, there has been a good turnout so far. polling stations have been recording high turnouts all day, a reflection of the strength of feeling on this issue in ireland and also the result of the vociferous campaigns that have been fought in every part of the country. i think it is an important day,

especially for all generations, for young people to have their say, it has been important and it is us who will be affected as well. this referendum is the culmination of an intense debate over one of ireland's most emotive issues. its result will be a measure of the country's social and political change. i appreciate it is very early and we have one exit poll that may or may not be accurate, but representative lee, let's assume for the moment it is going to be the way it goes —— representative, how will things play out in the coming days and weeks? denied the irish government are saying they are hopeful of that result, but they are not taking anything for granted until those ballot doctors are open tomorrow. but if as you say this is a win for the yes vote in this irish referendum, things will happen pretty swiftly afterwards, because the government has indicated they

will bring forward legislation to effectively legalise abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. and then also allow access to abortion later than that in other types of circumstances oi’ that in other types of circumstances or $0 that in other types of circumstances or so they say they expect to change the law before the end of the year. they say this will take some time because this was not a vote on legalising abortion as such, it was a vote to repeal the eighth amendment of the countries constitution which allows that vote to be brought through. that is the legal side, there will be a structural side, they will need to be clinic set up, doctors and nurses trained to carry out these procedures, and a whole industry which had evolved in britain because irish women have been travelling aboard, flying to places like liverpool to access abortion is despite there being a ban in place here. so it is about the legal side of this, the legislative process that needs to take place, but then after that it will be a case of putting in place the medical

arrangements that will need to be there for women in ireland to access abortion in future. the disgraced hollywood film producer, harvey weinstein, has been charged with rape and sexual abuse, after appearing in court in new york. once one of the most powerful men in america, he paid $1 million in cash as bail and agreed to wear an electronic tag. the charges relate to two women, but dozens have made allegations against him since hollywood was shaken by claims of sexual misconduct last year. mr weinstein‘s lawyer said bad behaviour was not on trial, that his client denies the criminal charges and that he'll mount a vigorous defence. nick bryant has more from new york. new york city can often feel like a giant movie set, but this was the criminal justice system being put into action for real. and, as harvey weinstein arrived to be charged, i managed to confront him. this must be very humiliating, mrweinstein. mr weinstein, this must be very humiliating for you. he walked into the police station with three large

books under his arm, one about broadway musicals. but what mattered today, were words on his charge sheet, accusing him of two counts of rape and one count of a criminal sexual act for incidents involving two separate women. inside the police station, he was arrested, fingerprinted and formally booked. then, about an hour later, he was brought out flanked by two detectives, wearing handcuffs and what looked like a wry smile. harvey weinstein is now being taken to a criminal court, and this is the day his accusers longed to see. his demeanour had noticeably changed by the time he was led into court. the movie mogul, who once loved parading on the red carpet, forced to take what the americans call a "perp walk". he looked numb during the short arraignment hearing, as prosecutors outlined their case. ...due to his position, money and power to lure young women into situations where he was able to violate them sexually.

his lawyer claimed his client was innocent, and said he couldn't be prosecuted for "bad behaviour", just for criminal behaviour. mr weinstein did not invent the casting couch in hollywood, and to the extent that there is bad behaviour in that industry, that is not what this is about. bad behaviour is not on trial in this case. it's only if you intentionally committed a criminal act, and mr weinstein vigorously denies that. as news of his arrest and charges came out, the reaction on social media was swift and celebratory from some of those who have accused him of wrongdoing, and others who worked hard to see him in court today. to see him in cuffs on the way out, whether he smiled or not, that's a very good feeling. the actress rose mcgowan has accused him of raping her. this is a big strike into the heart of abuse of power, and it shows people worldwide, which is what i was hoping the whole time, that this cannot and will not stand.

harvey weinstein not only used to dominate an industry, he commanded almost every room. but to watch him today was to see his power drain away. a burglar who attacked a world war ii veteran with a claw hammer and left him for dead has been sentenced to 20 years. joseph isaacs was found guilty of attempted murder after the attack in taunton last november. 96—year—old jim booth was left with fractures to the skull, and cuts to his head, hands and arms — but insists he has not been left terribly ‘het up' by the attack. jon kay reports. when you've been recognised for outstanding bravery at d—day, when you've been praised by prime ministers and have even danced with a duchess, it seems nothing phases you. and then he started lifting the thing and all of a sudden, he pushed me backwards,

right up the... for the first time, 96—year—old jim booth is describing the moment he was attacked in his somerset home. by a bogus builder wielding a claw hammer. he hit me six times on the head, as well as more on the arms, with the claw side. each time between it, shouting, "money, money, money!" somehow, jim booth managed to stagger out of his house into the lane to alert neighbours, even though he had a fractured skull, he was concussed and was covered in blood. to suffer that level of abuse with a hammer, most people would expect that to be fatal. but as i said, it showed jim's strength of character and resilience which helped him pull through. maybe it was his military training, butjim reckons he did not go down without a fight and took on his attacker. i punched, i hit him, that's right. and i couldn't. ..

i think i probably defended myself. but i am saying, i blame myself, because i was special services, you know, and i think i should have really been able to deal with this, but i didn't. i was too old, obviously. two days later, joseph isaacs was arrested. i am not saying anything until i have seen my lawyer. thejury was told he had been traced after using the war veteran's stolen bank cards. 0ur father was subjected to a brutal and cowardly attack, inside his home. 0ur father has shown extraordinary courage and determination, as he has battled with the pain and the long—term effects of the injuries. jim hopes he will soon be cycling again and playing the church organ like he did before the attack. and as a veteran of the normandy landings, he is philosophical about what he has been through. worse things happen at sea, as they say, in the war. it was on, then it was off — and now it could be back on again.

president trump has suggested that the cancelled summit with north korean leader kimjong—un might take place next month after all. the us president took the world by surprise yesterday by announcing that he was the meeting was off because of what he called the "open hostility" shown by north korea. but today, he said both sides were in renewed negotiations. here's our north america editor, jon sopel. explosions. as the north koreans set charges to their only known nuclear test site, it seemed that all hopes of a summit went up in smoke at about the same time that these buildings were blasted to smithereens. the explosions taking place just as donald trump was pulling the plug on his planned meeting with kim jong—un, citing north korea's "tremendous anger and open hostility. " and that in turn provoked some open hostility towards the us

president in south korea. but that was a whole 2a hours ago, and a lot can change in that time. 0vernight the north koreans issued a conciliatory statement saying: and that was music to donald trump's ears. you remember the summit that was off? well, it might nowjust be back on. we will see what happens. it could even be the 12th. we are talking to them now. they very much want to do it. we would like to do it, we will see what happens. at the pentagon, the defence secretary, far from rattling sabres, was talking up the possibility, too. there is possibly some good news on the korea summit, if our diplomats can pull it off, it might be back on, even. today kim jong—un was striking an unusually relaxed pose, in pictures released

by the north korean news agency. a floppy hat, a white jacket, looking to all the world as though he was quite enjoying himself. and donald trump, who loves a drama as well, might be enjoying it as well. but for all that the atmospherics might have improved, substantial policy differences remain. a spokesman insisting that north korea must commit to the quick denuclearisation of the korean peninsula. who would bet on how this is going to turn out? pa rt part of a shopping centre in salisbury which has been sealed off since the nerve agent attack early 12 weeks ago has reopened to the public. barriers had been in place to protect the area where sergei skripal and his daughter were found slumped on a bench. 0fficials skripal and his daughter were found slumped on a bench. officials said the scene has now been decontaminated and it is safe for the public. that's a summary of the news, now it's time for newsnight with evan davis.

caught up in red lines. is theresa may's brexit in trouble? stuck in a tangle of inconsistent objectives it's seemingly impossible to escape. is this a case of eu entrapment? over the course of a week, there has been a marked shift in mood on brexit. it seems we might be asking for a second transition phase with no plan for where it goes after that. we'll ask a prominent brexiteer whether the dream of a clean break with brussels has now been all but abandoned? also tonight, harvey weinstein on trial. and now, it's not the court of public opinion. this defendant used his position, money and power to lure young women into situations where he was able to violate them sexually.