this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at seven. celebrations in dublin — now the focus shifts to the north — and abortion laws that are far more restrictive than the rest of the uk. our policy is the same from the north of ireland right through the bottom of ireland. we want to see the same policy. we need to show care and compassion towards women. i think it is a popular opinion throughout northern ireland that we should not have a liberalised abortion regime. the us sends a delegation to north korea aimed at reinstating a possible summit between the countries‘ leaders. organisers cancel the mutiny festival in portsmouth after two people die at the event. voters head to the polls in colombia, for the first presidential election since a peace agreement ended 50 years of civil war. also ahead... chris froome makes cycling history in italy. he becomes the first brit to win the giro d'italia after a final race through the streets of rome. and cash or credit?

london launches a contactless payment scheme for buskers —— in what's been seen as a world first. but will it catch on? good evening and welcome to bbc news. there have been calls for reform of northern ireland's strict anti—abortion laws —— following the referendum in the irish republic, which overwhelmingly backed change there. sinn fein said a way now "had to be found" to "deliver rights" to women in the north. however, the democratic unionist party said northern ireland" should not be bullied into accepting abortion on demand". our ireland correspondent, emma vardy reports. this was a seismic moment,

marking a shift away from the country's once—strict conservative beliefs. two thirds of irish voters backed repealing the ban on abortion and the reverberations of the decision are bein felt elsewhere. this has very much been a national debate, people all over ireland have been talking about how we need to support women and our policy is the same from the north through to the bottom of ireland, we need to show care and compassion towards women. ice cream! in belfast today, a sense that the debate moves here. northern ireland remains the only part of the uk where abortion is illegal, unless it is a risk to a woman's life. i would love to see a referendum up here. again, political parties, probably will never happen.

but hopefully it will start a conversation going. i would love to see the same sort of vote up here. could it happen? i don't know. not with our government! northern ireland's devolved government collapsed 16 months ago and the largest party here does not want restrictions on abortion to change. the dup leader, arlene foster, has said her party will keep its pro—life position and that friday's referendum in the south will have no impact on the law up here. i think there is a lot of people who would never vote for the dup, who would share my analysis of life and when life begins and the need to protect life. so, i think it is a popular opinion throughout northern ireland that we should not have a liberalised abortion regime. we should not have the 1967 abortion act, here. as i say, in the absence of the devolved assembly, there's no possibility for discussion on those issues. the priority is to restore devolution, say number ten, so northern ireland politicians can decide. but a number of mps, including some

from within the tory ranks, believe westminster should pass more liberal legislation for northern ireland. compassion does not equal abortion, so now that the eyes are turning to belfast and westminster, we would say that because both lives matter, there is a better story and we would ask our politicians to respect democracy and devolution to give the people of northern ireland a chance to decide what goes forward and do not impose anything on us. but the resounding yes votethe south means there's growing political pressure for those who see northern ireland as drastically out of step. our political correspondent eleanor garnier is in westminster. downing street's view on all of this is itan downing street's view on all of this is it an issue for northern ireland and northern ireland only. they say

they're focused on getting the stormont executive up and running again and they want to avoid any impression of direct rule. i think the feeling is that this is not the time for politicians here to be dictating policy there. but what is clear is that there are many westminster m ps clear is that there are many westminster mps who believe passionately that women in northern ireland should have the same rights, the same choices as women in the rest of the uk. and i think their support for that among labour mps, among liberal democrat mps, but also significantly among conservative mps and some senior conservative mps also like they're williston who is the chair of the health select committee. —— sarah. well, my view is that it's not right that women in northern ireland can't be able to access the same rights as women in the rest of the united kingdom. and if an amendment is allowed by the speaker, during the domestic violence bill that has come to parliament that put that right, i will be supporting it.

i think there would be a majority in the house of commons to support all of this if there were going to be a vote on it, and we are not sure if oi’ vote on it, and we are not sure if or when that vote might take place. but until then, i think the pressure will continue to increase on theresa may, who is in it has to be said and extremely tricky situation because remember, she relies on her alliance with the socially conservative dup for her parliamentary majority here. she needs them to get the tricky legislation through like all that brexit legislation, and what is clear tonight is the dup has said they do not want in any circumstance is the abortion laws in northern ireland to be liberalised in any way, and they say this is an issue for northern ireland and will —— we will not be bullied into making our minds up, we will not be bullied into changing our minds. so at least theresa may in it —— it leads to

theresa may in it —— it leads to theresa may in the tricky bind on the one hand that is supporting a slowing of change in northern ireland from mps here but equally there is the dup whose support she relies on so much. thank you very much. and we'll find out how this story —— and many others —— are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are rob merrick, who's the deputy political editor at the independent, and the author and broadcaster, natalie haynes. i hope you canjoin us for i hope you can join us for that. talks between us and north korean officials about a possible summit are being continued close to the korean border. this is despite president trump three days ago, publicly cancelling a planned meeting between himself and kim jong—un due to take place in singapore in weeks' time. laura bicker reports from south korea. embracing for a second time. the two korean leaders looked much more like new friends instead

of decades—old enemies. the meeting was called by kim jong—un, who seems eager to salvage his summit with president trump. translation: kim jong-un reaffirms his strong will for denuclearising the korean peninsula. that's what the white house wants to hear. and they have sent a team of officials to the northern side of the demilitarised border for talks about the summit. so, is it all back on? we're looking at june 12th in singapore. that hasn't changed. and it's moving along pretty well. at the border, tourists from the south come to catch a glimpse of a land they have never known. it often feels like the razor wire and landmines don't exist. and when their leaders meet so easily, at such short notice, it makes them feel that one day that might be possible.

each one of these ribbons tied to the barbed wire fence represents a hope for peace. and if they were looking for signs that this time might be different, they got it. kim jong—un is showing that he's willing to engage on a level that his father and his grandfather never were. fundamentally, one problem remains. is he willing to give away his nuclear weapons? people here are eagerfor the us and north korea to at least try, as this is the closest they've come to peace in decades. laura bicker, bbc news, paju. joining me now is matthew kroenig who helped develop the us strategy for addressing iran's nuclear program. he now works as the principal investigator for nuclear security issues at the national bureau of asian research. thank you forjoining us here. first off, what do you make of affairs at

the moment? it's very confusing. yes, it is confusing. i think there are two things that account for that. one is we have two unpredictable leaders, donald trump and kimjong—un, so i think that helps to explain why the summit is off again and on again. second, i think it is that some objective factors here come on one hand both sides would very much like a deal because it could be a political win. 0n the other hand there are some real obstacles to getting a deal, so i think both of those things explain the uncertainty about the summit on june 12. the uncertainty about the summit on june12. you said getting a deal, it's all about the deal. we have heard donald trump going on and on about this. who is in the strongest position when it comes to negotiating? both sides have some strengths and both sides have some weaknesses. the us strength is that the sanctions regime, this maximum pressure campaign against north korea which i do think has good

conduct and in a difficult place and driven him to negotiating table. 0n the other hand the united states, the other hand the united states, the international community are very threatened by kim jong and's rapidly advancing nuclear missile programme, and so that is putting pressure on the rest of the world to get a deal. both sides are feeling the pressure here, but solving either of those issuesis here, but solving either of those issues is going to difficult. what sends do you have of kim jong and really wanting this to go through? because it is unprecedented what seeing and in fact how fast it has happened, has he made promises to his people that he really does want to deliver? does he really care?|j think what he wants is to have his ca ke think what he wants is to have his cake and eat it too. i think he would very much like to keep its nuclear missile programme. at the same time as i pointed out i think the sanctions are starting to bite, and soi the sanctions are starting to bite, and so i think he does want relief from this pressure, and so he's seen

his father, he's seen his grandfather going back to the past 20 years into negotiations with the international community, pretend to deep nuclear eyes and get sanctions relief and that is my best guess as to what he's doing here —— denucliarise. he's playing negotiations, hoping to have his ca ke negotiations, hoping to have his cake and eat it too. and do you think that the world beneath him or are falling for that tactic then because we seen a lot of symbolic moves ? because we seen a lot of symbolic moves? 0bviously donald trump will go in there with his own desires and pa rt go in there with his own desires and part of that is that nuclear programme. yes. well, the united states, you know, national security advisorjohn bolton i think is a very savvy to what north korea is trying to do and that's why he said that north korea needs to take steps for working two denucliarise upfront and international communities maximum pressure campaign will stay on until denuclearization is achieved, because the danger is if

we believe sanctions too soon kim jong—un has every reason to stop. he has every reason to stop and keep his nuclear programme with sanctions relief, so i think it's important to keep the pressure on until he makes serious progress on denuclearization. thank you very much for your time. thank you. two people have died afterfalling ill at a music festival in portsmouth. the organisers of the mutiny festival cancelled the final day of the event, saying they believed a "dangerous high strength substance" had been brought onto the site. 0ur correspondent dominic casciani is there. last night, the site was heaving. today, you can see it's empty. it's silent and all because of the terrible deaths last night and 13 other people being taken to hospital. this afternoon, people locally named the dead woman as 18—year—old georgia jones. and her mother has apparently posted a message on facebook, paying tribute to her daughter, saying, "my little girl was full of life, ijust hope this stops at least someone else from ending up the same". festival organisers, today,

said they were also utterly devastated by what has happened and they are cooperating with the police. hence their decision to cancel the festival, today. they talked about this substance being on the site last night and issued a warning, whilst the festival was going on. we spoke, today, to some of the people who were here at the festival and they told us that while security is good, they still saw drugs coming in. i thought the security was a lot better than last year. there were dogs. you had to walk through the dogs, to get to the entrance and every single person was id‘d. the standard at a festival, you just get offered them inside the tent. people ask, do you need this, do you want this? were you offered drugs yesterday? yeah, quite a few times. inside? inside. the priority at the moment is for the police to try and work out whether this was definitely a drugs related incident affecting all 15 of those who were taken to hospital. one of the priorities for them, of course, is to establish whether or not there is a wider problem, a bigger batch of toxic

substances now in circulation across this part of england and perhaps wider beyond. as for the third person in hospital, no update. they are still believed to be in a critical condition. the headlines on bbc news: celebrations in dublin — now the focus shifts to the north — and abortion laws that are far more restrictive than the rest of the uk. the us sends a delegation to north korea aimed at reinstating a possible summit between the countries' leaders. 0rganisers cancel the mutiny festival in portsmouth after two people die at the event. voting is underway in colombia in the first presidential elections since the 2016 peace deal that ended 50 years of civil war. 0pinion polls suggest those most likely to go through to the second round injune are the right—wing candidate, who opposes the deal, and the former left—wing guerrilla,

gustavo petro, who favours it. katy watson has been watching developments from sao paolo in neighbouring brazil. this has been described as a pretty divisive election. just explain why, please. so, these as views that are the first elections to take place since a peace deal was signed in 2016 with the left—wing guerrilla group. no longer is conflict at the forefront of people's concerns. 0ther forefront of people's concerns. other issues like inequality, corruption, what a lot of candidates have been complaining for but nevertheless it's the peace deal in 2016 really divided colombians on half of them felt it was too lenient on the former guerrillas and they needed to be punished more for what happened. the other half feels flat

a peace deal is the only way to move forward and for columbia to move forward , forward and for columbia to move forward, so that's what we've got in these elections. ivan is sure to go through to a second round. he's right wing, also the protege of former president who's very inside a peace deal. he said if he comes into power he would make changes to the peace deal and ultimately that might change the way the peace deal work and the success of the peace deal. 0n the other hand. unless the moment is pulling second but other candidates are climbing in the polls, he's been much more pro—peace deal so that is really the division. it is very polarized election and a polarized society certainly in columbia. how have the balls, taking place. has that been quite quiet? saves? so far it yes and there has been expected to have a much bigger turnout than in previous years. certainly these elections, the way

they're being held the fact there is no conflict has made a big difference, the other big topics as well that might change the way the politics in columbia is the issue of venezuela. venezuela is the next—door neighbour and a lot of venezuelans are coming over to colombians fleeing the crisis there, and that's playing into the campaign, the right wing saying do you want another venezuela here in columbia's therefore do not vote for the left, it could be another situation, playing on the fears even though it would not be a fair comparison to say that gustavo or any left—wing leader could be like mr maduro. that is the concern with the regional situation in venezuela. another situation playing on voters minds certainly this weekend. thank you very much katy watsons. josh watson. flights at stansted airport have been disrupted, gunn following thunderstorms last night. a lightning strike disabled the aircraft fuelling system — leading to cancellations. the storms and torrential rain swept across southern britain overnight — with spectacular

displays of lightning. so a warning — as you might expect there are flashing images in sarah corker‘s report. bolts of lightning turned the night sky purple over parts of england, last night. oh, my god! wow! it was the frequency of these strikes that made this so unusual. described as the mother of all thunderstorms by meteorologists. thousands of spectacular flashes were recorded over four hours and this was the dramatic view 39,000 feet up, captured from the cockpit of a plane above london. while back on the ground, the storm caused major problems at stansted airport. a lightning strike damaged the airport refuelling system, leaving planes grounded for more than three hours. other flights were cancelled altogether. i am really upset. it's ruined my grand

children's holiday. my five—year—old has been up since five o'clock and has been incredibly patient, more than me. and we have lots of bags to check—in and we just don't know what is going on. while the initial fault was fixed by around 9am this morning, the backlog of planes needing to refuel has caused significant disruption to both inbound and outbound flights. weary and frustrated, some gave up and went home. elsewhere in essex, the roof of this house was destroyed, when it was struck by lightning and engulfed by flames. in wales, it was flash flooding that was the problem, this is welshpool, homes and the town's hospital under water. and there could be more thunderstorms in parts of wales and southern england over the weekend. the met office warns of possible power cuts and delays on the roads and railways. sarah corker, bbc news. bringing you some news coming to us

at bbc news. the reuters news agency is reporting that the former us president george h w bush has been taken to hospital in maine. he's 93 yea rs taken to hospital in maine. he's 93 years old. he was hospitalized after experiencing low blood pressure and fatigue. this coming from a family spokesman via twitter. you are member his wife barbara bush died in april. —— you remember. he's the old est april. —— you remember. he's the oldest living former us president and he's going to be at the southern maine health centre for a few days we understand for observation. so, former us president george h w bush has been taken to hospital in maine for observation. england could get more national parks as part of a review of the country's landscape. the environment secretary, michael gove, said the review would also look at whether to increase the number of areas of outstanding natural beauty. ben ando reports. the cpre are now fighting for great tracts of land to be used as national parks. between the wars, the battle raged for britain's open spaces and the right to roam.

there were mass trespasses, arrests and propaganda films, like this. but it wasn't until 1951 that the post—war government legislated to create britain's first national park, here in the peak district, a place where ordinary people could enjoy the extraordinary beauty of nature and that would be protected from overzealous developers. over the intervening years, others have been added. the lake district, dartmoor, snowdonia in wales and the cairngorms in scotland. now, there are 15 national parks. 70 years on, the environment secretary, michael gove, says it is time for a fresh look at the system. writing in the sunday telegraph, mr gove says a growing population and a decline in some habitats could not be ignored and he is ordering a review, with, he says, the aim of strengthening protection in the face of present—day challenges. challenges like new housing estates encroaching on the outer edges of national parks and britain's 3a designated areas of outstanding natural beauty. the government has previously talked

about a 25—year environment plan and a green brexit. mr gove knows it may be hard to balance demand for new homes with the desire to protect britain's open spaces, whether green and pleasant or wild and rugged. ben ando, bbc news. 0ur correspondent katy austin was at digley reservoir in the peak district — one of the 10 national parks currently in england. she told us how important the parks were. we be hearing more from her later in the programme. the sunny weather really shows off just the kind of spectacular scenery you can expect from some of britain's's national parks. yes, the peak district, right on the north edge, the peak district one of the first national parks ever created back in 1951. and, as you say, there are now ten of them across england alone, and 3a areas of outstanding natural

beauty, as well. all of those designations designed to protect the landscape, make sure they don't get overdeveloped, make sure people can enjoy them and preserve them forfuture generations. we were speaking to a lot of the people who come up to the peak district today to enjoy the scenery through walking and cycling, and what strikes you was that not only are these often farming areas, worked land, but there are a big draw for people from all walks of life. you don't have to spend a lot of money to drive here and go for a walk, it's free. and the people we spoke to were really keen to preserve these landscapes. they were very proud of them. and when we asked them if they thought that extending national parks would be a good idea they were broadly in support, and they also spoke to us about why they thought these were such a special part of england's countryside. very valuable. and to maintain them as well, because they're not as widely used as you would hope they would be. there's not as many

people as you see... you don't see that many people around. but they should be much better used and certainly should be well kept. i think it's really important that you've got space like this with good footpaths, with good access that people can, on days like this, can go for walks and go cycling. it would be a really good idea to increase the amount of national park for people to access. construction is giving you the sense of claustrophobia and you feel much more restricted, so it's important you get out and actually get into the countryside and get away from those things which make you feel pressured. somewhere for people to go, like, somewhere different because, obviously, i'm from huddersfield area. we've only been here a couple of times but we enjoy it. we come on a regular basis, now. there are lots of factors here in michael gove deciding a review needs to be done now of how we use our national parks, how they are operated and how areas of outstanding national beauty are handled. a lot of people thoughtjust extend them for example here, create a much bigger national park. we will simply have to wait see

what the reviewer suggests. we know thatjulian glover is expected to lead that review, he is a writer and a panel of experts advising him and they're expected to report back next year sometime next year. the man designated as italy's next prime minister, giuseppe conte, has abandoned attempts to form a government. it comes after the country's president reportedly vetoed his choice of economy minister. we will show you very quickly pictures of the italian leader speaking at the moment. that is the president speaking, and we will have more on any comment that he is saying that we will pass on to you that we think relevant. london has introduced a contactless payment scheme for buskers —— in what the organisers claim —— is a world first. instead of handing over loose

change, passers—by can use card readers to make contactless payments as caroline davies explains. # you only need the light when it's burning low # 0nly miss the sun when it starts to snow # 0nly know you love her when you let her go # not your normal busking gig, waterloo station, packed out to his chart—topping artist, passenger. it blows my mind. you know, used to bask on street corners to five people, if i was lucky. yeah, i don't think i'll ever forget that. he wasn't the only one performing today. charlotte has been busking for six years. john, for two.

it can be difficult, particularly when fewer people are carrying change. doing it for so many years, previously cash donations were so much more common. whereas, now, it is so much more common that people say i don't carry cash. but now there's a new way to pay buskers in london. contactless with a preset fee. will taking cash out become a thing of the past? currencies are becoming more digital. but experts say we need to be careful to make sure people aren't locked out of a cashless society. bank accounts need to be completely inclusive, that doesn'tjust mean that they're available to everyone, but it also means they are available to everyone in the way that is easy to view. people can manage their money in a way that easy for them to understand and have the confidence fully secure. # i don't need your coins, no # just need your ear # as more industries adapt to digital, going cashless is easier than ever. and means there's fewer excuses not to make a contribution. caroline davies, bbc news. thank you so much, it was lovely

singing for you. well, you saw charlotte there in that report, and shejoins me live here in the studio —— with, of course, her guitar. thank you forjoining us. how long have you been doing this? for about six years. how have you found it? really amazing. i would not keep doing it if i did not love doing it. it's a really great way for me to promote my music and share my music and makea promote my music and share my music and make a little bit of money to help support what i'm doing. is busking and means to an end or a love for the performance, the art? great question. i started off doing it as great question. i started off doing itasa great question. i started off doing it as a means to an end, trying to promote my music and share it, but now i realise busking it self is an art. it's a really wonderful way of sharing music and it's a surprise gig in the streets for people who we re gig in the streets for people who were not expecting it and that's what i love about a. paying with your card. are you comfortable with that? you have worked with this project, you are behind it. how do you feel about that sort of handing over the reader? i'm so used to come

back —— contactless payment, everything is contactless in london, on the tube, most coffee shops so i've been using it for personal use for a long time. for me even when i see people busking i see one and hugely appreciate busking as an art, andi hugely appreciate busking as an art, and i don't even carry cash myself and i don't even carry cash myself and i'm supposed to be one of the buskers doing it. gave us about 30 seconds. then you will hand over the reader to me and i will pretend, i just want to feel how comfortable that will be as a member of the public. have i got my reader? let's start with some music. this is a song i wrote about being a busker in london. # there's music on the streets of london # there's music in my heart #