welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is gavin grey. our top stories: exit polls in ireland's referendum on abortion suggest a big win for the campaign to liberalise the law — the official count begins later. hollywood mogul harvey weinstein is charged with rape and sexual abuse — his lawyer says he'll plead not guilty. 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 on, it's off — and now it could be back on again as president trump says he is having very productive talks with north korea. we're talking to them now. they very much want to do it. we would like to do it. we will see what happens. after five days of protests by striking truckers, brazil calls in the military to try to unblock the nation's roads.

and south africa prepares to capture spectacular images of space as it links—up its telescopes in a unique project. exit polls released after the republic of ireland's referendum on abortion, suggest a landslide in favour of liberalising the law. the forecasts suggestjust under 70 per—cent voted to amend the constitution to allow terminations. the irish leader, leo varadkar, who supported the changes, says it looks like history could be made. official counting is due to begin later. emma vardy reports from dublin. 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 no. 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 just feels like democracy in action. not taking anything for granted, of course, but quietly confident, there has been a good turnout so far. 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. and you can keep up to date with the latest news on ireland's abortion referendum on the bbc website — you'll also find a timeline of events leading to the vote, and a feature on ireland's ‘day of reckoning' — that's all at bbc.com/news. 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 hollywood,

he paid a million dollars — 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 he denies the criminal charges and will mount a vigorous defence. nick bryant reports from manhattan. new york city can often feel like a giant movie set but this was the criminaljustice 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. this defendant used 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. donald trump has raised the possibility that his summit

with the north korean leader, kimjong—un , could go ahead next month after all. the us president said both sides were in renewed negotiations. here's our north america editor, jon sopel. explosions. as north korea 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. overnight the north koreans issued a consolatory statement saying, a consolatory statement saying: ——conciliatory.

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? brazil's president michel temer says that he plans to send in the army to clear roads that have been blocked for five days by lorry drivers protesting against high fuel prices. the country's largest city sao paulo has declared a state of emergency. from there, our correspondent daniel gallas reports. this is a strike that has gone far beyond the transport sector — it has threatened to bring the entire economy to a standstill. for five days now, lorry drivers have blocked roads in brazil, protesting against rising fuel prices. the strike is causing chronic shortages very quickly, sao paolo has declared a state of emergency,

and in big cities, most petrol stations have run out of fuel. on thursday, officials accepted demands made by drivers, including subsidies to bring down the price of diesel, but that was not enough. translation: we are independent truck drivers and those that spoke yesterday have said silly things. the trade unions have made bad propositions. they made up rules for them. they aren't ours. translation: we have been devalued by the government. they said brazil would not stop if the lorries stopped — we have proved that is not the case. on friday, as the strikers were still protesting, president michel temer changed his tone. translation: we are going to implement a security plan to overcome the serious effects of the shortages caused by the paralysation. i am communicating that i have mobilised the federal security forces to unblock the streets.

the next few hours will be crucial. brazil needs to get its lorry drivers and its economy moving again. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. president putin has dismissed dutch and australian claims that russia was responsible for bringing down an malaysia airlines flight over eastern ukraine. the dutch government said there was a ‘direct link‘ between the russian army and the missile that hit flight mhi7 in 2014, killing all 298 people onboard. a committee of british mps say a government scheme, set up to help protect afghan interpreters who worked for the british military, has been a "dismalfailure". the commons defence committee says the scheme has so far failed to relocate any afghan interpreters to the uk, even when they've faced threats to their life from the taliban. the spanish prime minister mariano rajoy has ruled out holding

snap elections, after his people's party was fined for corruption. on thursday, the high court in madrid convicted 29 people of funding the party by taking bribes. mr rajoy insisted that no member of the current government was implicated. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the lucky fans arrive for the champions league final in kiev — but who will come out on top? in the biggest international sporting spectacle ever seen, up to 30 million people have taken part in sponsored athletics events to aid famine relief in africa. the first of what the makers of star wars hope will be thousands of queues started forming at 7am. taunting which led to scuffles, scuffles to fighting, fighting to full—scale riot as the liverpool fans broke out of their area and into the juve ntus enclosure. the belgian police had lost control. the whole world will mourn

the tragic death of mr nehru today. he was the father of the indian people from the day of independence. the oprah winfrey show comes to an end after 25 years and more than 4,500 episodes. the chat show has made her one of the richest people on the planet. geri halliwell, otherwise known as ginger spice, has announced she has left the spice girls. argh! i don't believe it! she's the one with the bounce, the go, the girl power. not geri — why? this is bbc news. the latest headlines: exit polls suggest the republic of ireland has voted strongly in favour of liberalising its abortion laws. the film producer harvey weinstein has appeared in court in new york charged with rape and and other sexual offences. charged with rape and other sexual offences. his lawyer says he will plead not guilty.

staying with that story, jonathan handel is an entertainment lawyer, and as a contributing editor to the hollywood reporter has been following the events. i asked him whether harvey weinstein is likely to get a fair trial following all the publicity. i think this is something of a defence attorney's nightmare because there is pervasive publicity. but not everybody listens to the news, unfortunately, reads the news or watches the news, listens to the news. and there are people, believe it or not, who are more distant from the situation than it may seem to many of us. so, yes, i think he can get a fair trial. very difficult to get the jury in place? well, that is the issue, of course — to find people who have not made up their mind, who are not focused on the publicity. but, you know, this is a difficult situation. i mean, if the law had been sufficient to protect women from sexual assault and from sexual harassment in the workplace,

then we wouldn't be seeing these sorts of incidents and we wouldn't be seeing the court of public opinion supplanting the law. and taking the place of what has been, unfortunately, an ineffective legal system notjust for women in the entertainment industry, not just in the united states, but let's be direct and honest about this, the way that men treat women and the lack of equality of opportunity and safety in the workplace and the home has been an issue for tens of thousands of years and i think women have finally taken hold of the cultural moment and said this is as good a time as any to change that. what did you make of the comments from his defence lawyer saying that he didn't invent the casting couch? well, you know, "casting couch" is just a cute way of saying sexual harassment or in some cases sexual assault. it is not unique to the entertainment industry but it certainly it is and has historically been a severe problem

in this industry. i think his defence attorney is trying to carve a line and acknowledge that harvey weinstein may have committed sexual harassment while denying that he committed any form of nonconsensual sexual activity or sexual assault. what the jury ends up believing, what the evidence ends up showing, of course, remains to be seen. and i know that you believe this trial will be a cultural moment. can you explain a bit more about what you mean by that? yes, absolutely. this is going to be — assuming this gets to trial, by the way, because his lawyers say they are going to challenge the charges in constitutional terms and try to prevent this from even going to a jury, which is what you would expect a responsible defence attorney to do — but assuming this does go to a jury, the eyes of the country and beyond are on this. and the question is, can the legal system step up and be sufficient to actually bring out the evidence and reach a fair

verdict that people can have confidence in? that also remains to be seen. south africa is making new strides into space research with the unveiling of a new automated telescope. the meerlicht, or ‘more light,‘ was revealed in the northern cape province where the country‘s space exploration project is based. it‘s part of south africa‘s ambitious plans to became a hub of space exploration. lebo diseko has more. deep in the desert of south africa‘s northern cape, scientists launch a world first. this optical telescope is linked to a radio one, letting astronomers both see and hear the secrets of the skies. we want to study explosions in the universe.

and explosions are stars that are at the end of their lives. and all of a sudden, they light up for a short while, maybe for a day or a maybe for a week. we have a limited amount of time to gather the information and learn what really happened in the universe. in the past, scientists had to wait for incidents to be picked up by a radio telescope and then look at them afterwards. now, they will be able to both listen and look at what is happening and in real time. this project‘s been six years in the making by a joint team of south african, dutch, and british scientists. it‘s part of the square kilometre array, which will be the world‘s most powerful radio telescope system. under the clear skies of the karoo desert, the meerlicht allows astronomers to see an area 13 times the size

of the full moon and scientists hope it will give studying the universe is a whole new dimension. lebo diseko, bbc news. one of picasso‘s most famous paintings, the golden muse, has appeared in public for the first time in 20 years. it‘s been unveiled in hong kong ahead of an auction in london next month and, like a growing number of great works of art, could be finding a new home in south—east asia. russell trott reports. at first glance it does not appear to be the most flattering of images. but as far as romantic gestures go, for public picasso, this is as good as it gets. a portrait of his mistress and model, maria to raise walter, by one of the 20th century‘s greatest artists. the painting, called golden muse, being shown in public for the first time in 20 yea rs, public for the first time in 20 years, is estimated to be worth as much as $50 million. 1932 is the

golden year in which he really has a profoundly intimate relationship with marie—therese. so paintings from that era in particular are much more calm, tender, sleet, and as his relationship of her became a little more staid and slightly more antagonistic, his depictions of her became a bit more aggressive. there isa became a bit more aggressive. there is a reason the painting is being exhibited alongside a collection of dutch and flemish works in hong kong. art lovers here and in mainland china and taiwan cannot get enough of these old masters. collectors in asia for all the masters have tended in the past to come from hong kong. more and more we see them coming from mainland china, from taiwan. and we have also got more and more collectors coming from japan as well. it will head off to london to be sold next month.

weather this is a real loveletter it and paint is destined to return, well, that is in the hands of southeast asia‘s art lovers. australia may be in the grip of winter but one city‘s bathing in an unseasonally warm glow. sydney‘s playing host to the vivid light festival, an annual celebration of colour, culture and art. andy beatt reports. the sydney night escape, lit up like never before. some of the city‘s most iconic images illuminated by a kaleidoscope of colours. it is so well done it almost looks like a big tv, you can‘t tell it is a projection or anything, it is very fluid. it is the 10th time the light festival has been staged here. this year, may be the biggest and brightest yet. ijust year, may be the biggest and brightest yet. i just think the lights are spectacular, the characterisation is phenomenal, and they are using the architecture of they are using the architecture of the building isjust perfectly. 90

installations have magically transformed landmarks, with visitors urged to enter a world of childish delight. organisers say the displays draw on australian culture and the local environment. the inspiration was really the creative act in a kind of cosmic sense, and also in an individual sense as an artist. and beyond that came the australian flora and fauna and nature and geology and all the things that make it such a unique place. last year nearly 2 billion people enjoyed the events, bringing $100 million to the economy. with the spotlight remaining on sydney for the next three weeks that could soon be outshone. thousands of football fans are converging on key for saturday‘s champions league final. this was the scene as some of real madrid‘s most dedicated fans left for ukraine.

hugh woozencroft is in the ukrainian capital ahead of the game, soaking up the atmosphere. welcome to keogh of, where the atmosphere is building nicely ahead of the champions league final between liverpool and real madrid. —— kiev. fans have been having a great time here at the centre of the city, taking in the sights, enjoying new cuisine, new drinks, having a great time, generally seen some liverpool and real madrid legend ‘s alia as well. i‘ve got a couple of liverpool fans here. alia as well. i‘ve got a couple of liverpoolfans here. i alia as well. i‘ve got a couple of liverpool fans here. i have come from south africa. how have you found the booking of the travel, the infrastructure, getting yourself a visa? it has been a nightmare! but we are we are here for five days, we have made it. how much does the law means you? cameras did you spend on this trip? a lot of money, about 110 cate, in south african money. we are

deepin cate, in south african money. we are deep in this game. how much does liverpool means you, how long have you been a fan? over 35 years, of liverpool. stephen is a former liverpool. stephen is a former liverpool legend, starting his career with the club but he also won two cups with real madrid as well.|j think defensively they have to be strong. we know they can score goals. we know that they have conceded some. certainly in the semifinals. so of course they have to outscore real madrid, real madrid will want to attack, they will be defensively frail as well, because they lacked a pile forwards. it is probably whatever team makes the least mistakes, to be honest. another former player who has a huge reputation in spain is clarence stayed, the former netherlands midfielder. i spoke to him earlier, going into what could be a crucial game for madrid, who are seeking a third straightjeff riseley title. it is just third straightjeff riseley title. it isjust a third straightjeff riseley title. it is just a feeling that this is an opportunity to make the season right. and then it isjust opportunity to make the season right. and then it is just this

energy. going into matches with a lot of confidence, you have of course the players, which is obviously the most important thing. so those are the predictions from the legends. guys, really quickly, what do you think, if you can give mea what do you think, if you can give me a score prediction? liverpool, 4-1. some confident liverpool fans. i think the madrid players will at some think say about it on saturday. we will see a bacon make history in the champions league and window third straight title. if you‘re a bit of a wine connoisseur and have some money saved up then you might want to consider putting a bid in for one of these. three bottles of what‘s considered one of the oldest wines in the world. the bottles of arbois vinjaune or "yellow wine", which date from 1774, are each estimated to be worth between $17,000 and $23,000. hello again.

we are all going to see some warm spells of sunshine this weekend but it won‘t be dry for all of us. we are going to see some pretty big storms which initially affect parts of southern england, wales and the midlands before gradually spreading further north over the next couple of days. quite a misty start to the day round the downs and the chilterns. low cloud and fog patches extending in from east anglia, and across parts of the midlands as well. high pressure in charge across the north, so it will be dry. further south, the risk of some showers. showers will work in early in the morning across southern england, probably the heaviest of these just to the south—west of london. working towards wales in south—west england before fading away during the morning. in the afternoon the cloud will gradually start to break up for many of us with warm spells of sunshine coming through. in the sunshine, highs of 22 in edinburgh, 26 towards london and the south—east of england. it is during saturday evening that things start to get pretty lively. a clump of thunderstorms working into central and southern england, south—west england, probably wales

in the south was midlands as well. these storms are capable of bringing 30 millimetres of rain in the space ofjust one hour, so that could bring localised flooding issues. then the storms will gradually push further north overnight. they will probably weaken at the same time. through the night time it will be another mild and muggy night. temperatures falling no lower than 15 or 16 in the capital. cooler and fresher further north. on into sunday‘s forecast. another day of sunshine and showers. if anything the showers will work a bit further north across wales, the midlands, some heavy downpours across southern england, largely speaking both saturday and sunday will be dry across most of northern england and scotland. for the most part, northern ireland as well. things will begin to change more on monday as we start to see those showers going further north. we have got a little weather front enhancing the rain as it works into northern england and across the midlands as well. some wetter weather across northern areas of the uk for the holiday monday. further south, probably a bit dry. a few showers. more in the way of sunshine and maybe a slightly fresher feel to the weather as well. still warm, temperatures

climbing up to 2a, 25 or 26. a bit cooler and fresher around some of the coast. this holiday weekend, watch out for the risk of localised flooding from these lively, thundery downpours. this is bbc news, the headlines: exit polls in ireland‘s referendum on abortion suggests a substantial majority support liberalising the country‘s strict laws. with the votes still to be counted — taoiseach leo varadkar — who supported the campaign — says it looks like ireland "will make history". the film producer harvey weinstein has appeared in court in new york charged with rape and sexual abuse.

the prosecutor said mr weinstein used his position and power to violate young women. his lawyer says he intends to plead not guilty. president trump says he‘s having very productive talks with north korea to reinstate the summit talks. in his latest tweet he said the meeting with kimjong—un might take place next month after all. the summit had been called off because of what he called the "open hostility" shown by north korea. the bbc‘s ‘biggest weekend‘ is under way with four days of performances across the four nations.