welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is gavin grey. our top stories: italy's populists call for the president to be impeached, following failed efforts to establish a coalition government. calls for change in northern ireland, after the republic overturns the ban on abortion. salvaging the summit. us and north korean officials try to get president trump and kim jong—un‘s historic meeting back on track. votes are being counted in colombia in a presidential elections crucial to the country's fragile peace deal. and decoding dolphins. we find out what makes the marine world's most charismatic mammals click. an attempt to form a new government in italy has

ended in failure. the man named as prime minister on wednesday, giuseppe conte, said he'd handed back the mandate during a meeting with the country's president. he made the decision after the president blocked the appointment of a finance minister who has questioned whether italy should keep the euro as its currency. james reynolds has the latest from rome. italy's president has begun a dramatic stand—off with the country's populist parties, five star and the right—wing league. the head of state vetoed the government lineup suggested by giuseppe conte. the law professor put forward by the populists as prime minister. translation: as you already know, i have declined the mandate that i've been given by president matarella to form a government of change. i'd like to thank the president for giving me this opportunity on may 23. i can assure you that i have put the greatest effort and paid the greatest attention

in fulfilling this duty. i can assure you also that i've done that in an atmosphere of full cooperation with leaders of both parties which appointed me. at issue was the appointment of paola savona to run the country's economy. the 82—year—old economist has said in the past that italy should prepare to leave the euro. to the president, the signal this sends out is unacceptable. translation: i agree with all the ministers, except that of the economy ministry. the nomination for the economy ministry delivers to the financial world an immediate message of trust and alarm. the five star movement‘s leader, luigi di maio, accuses the president of overstepping his powers. translation: it is pointless going to vote because the rating agencies, the financial and banking lobbies decide the government. in governments, the leadership is always the same. even when the citizens,

with over 50% of consensus between two political forces who want to change things and want to represent italians and their interests, in the end, a way to block this always seems to be found. the league party's leader, matteo salvini, is equally critical of the president's intervention. translation: we worked for nothing, we will have a technical government. i ask, are we a democracy? in italy, do the italians decide or do the germans or french? i am sorry i lost so much time, they could have told us before. as a stopgap move, italy's president may now appoint a non—populist prime minister, but the only lasting solution may be an early general election. james reynolds, bbc news, rome. and you can keep up to date with the latest efforts to establish a coalition government in italy, on the bbc website. you'll also find background analysis on what the current political uncertainty means for the italian economy.

just go to bbc.com/news let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: chinese officials have accused the us of seriously infringing china's sovereignty by sailing two warships close to disputed coral reefs and islands in the south china sea. the paracel islands are controlled and occupied by china, but taiwan and vietnam also claim sovereignty over them. the us pacific fleet said it regularly conducted freedom of navigation operations in the area and would continue to do so. germany's biggest far—right party, the alternative for germany has staged a rally in berlin, which was vastly outnumbered by counter—demonstrations. an estimated 5,000 afd supporters marched to protest about themes including high levels of immigration and what they see as the growing influence of islam. some 25,000 people attended the anti—afd demonstrations. the former us president george h.w bush has been taken

to hospital in maine. a family spokesman tweeted that president bush senior had experienced low blood pressure and fatigue, but was alert and not in any discomfort. last month, the 93—year—old former president was treated in hospital for a blood infection. pressure on the british prime minister to reform northern ireland's strict abortion laws has intensified, with growing calls for fresh legislation. but theresa may faces a difficult choice — any such move would be opposed by the democratic unionists — northern ireland's largest party, on whom she depends for her majority. 0ur ireland correspondent, emma vardy reports. chant: we made history! this was a seismic moment, marking a shift away from the country's once strict conservative past. chant: yes, yes, yes!

two thirds of irish voters backed repealing the ban on abortion, and the reverberations of this decision are being felt elsewhere. this has very much been a national debate, people the length and breadth of the island have been talking about how we need to support women. our policy is the same from the north of ireland right through to the bottom of ireland, we want to see the same policy, we need to show care and compassion towards women. ice cream, ice cream! in belfast today, a sense that the debate now moves here. northern ireland remains the only part of the uk where abortion is illegal unless there's a risk to a woman's life. i would love to see a referendum up here. again, political parties, probably it will never happen. but hopefully, it will start a bit of a conversation going. i don't think it should be legalised at all up here, whatsoever. um, i do think it will probably have a knock—on effect, like a domino effect that'll come up in this direction. 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 doesn't 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 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. but, uh, as i say, in the absence of a devolved assembly, there's no possibility for discussion on those issues. the priority is to restore devolution, say number 10, 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. we would ask our politicians to respect democracy and devolution, to give the people of northern ireland a chance to decide on what goes forward,

and don't impose anything upon us. but the resounding yes vote in the south means there's growing political pressure from those who now see northern ireland as drastically out of step. emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. us officials have been holding talks in north korea to prepare for a planned summit between president trump and kim jong—un. both sides are continuing to make arrangements despite mr trump calling the meeting off last week. in a tweet on sunday, president trump said north korea had brilliant potential and would be a great economic and financial nation one day. laura bicker looks back at the weekend's events and speaks to south koreans about their hopes for the future. 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've sent a team of officials to the northern side of the demilitarised border for talks about the summit. so, is it all back on? so we're looking atjune 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. translation: i worked in the military at the border here 30 years ago.

things are much better now. we worry that anything could happen at any time, but now i'm thinking that reunification could happen soon. translation: i was not born in north korea. if possible, i would love the two countries to live in harmony so that we can freely go back and forth between the two countries. 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? many believe kim jong—un will never give up his weapons in the way the us wants and that a deal is not possible. but people here are eager for 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. leter in the programme, we examine the impact of us sanctions on north korea. the two main candidates in colombia's presidential election have gone through to the second round. the conservative, ivan duque, has called for the landmark peace deal with farc rebels to be overhauled. he'll be facing gustavo petro, a former rebel who supports the accord. 0ur south america correspondent katy watson reports. the results of this first round some of the political scenario in colombia, a society that is deeply polarised. ivan duque was always expected to go through, he is a man who represents traditional politics. he has criticised the peace deal agreed with the former farc rebels as being too lenient, striking a chord with many conservative voters. issue of security always wins votes in colombia and he knows it.

translation: i want to govern colombia without looking back, but rather towards the future of our country. i want a country with legality, frontal struggle against corruption. but in the second round, he will go head—to—head with this man, a politician on the other end of the spectrum. gustavo petro is a former mayor of bogota and a former number of the 19 tu rella former mayor of bogota and a former number of the 19 turella group. he supports the peace deal has —— but has also made equality and corruption a priority and he has won support is among the younger generation wanting political change. —— supporters. translation: generation wanting political change. -- supporters. translation: this electoral debate is between a corrupt establishment and free citizens. 0ur children's future depends on who wins. he has his work

cut out, convincing a traditionally conservative electorate that he could offer a new beginning. his critics have warned his leftist policies could turn colombia into a new venezuela, a scaremongering tactic that has played on fears of colombians are in the campaign. no matter the result next month, the fa ct matter the result next month, the fact that these elections late in a country number —— no longer in conflict was symbolic, sunday felt very different. wall may not longer the raging in colombia but the debate over the peace agreement still is and whoever wins next month will determine its ultimate success of. —— it's all to success. —— it's ultimate success. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: wood winners and saw losers. making the cut in the world timbersports championship. 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's 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:

italy's populists have called for the president to be impeached following failed efforts to establish a coalition government. the landslide vote to overturn the abortion ban in the republic of ireland has prompted calls for change across the border in northern ireland. more now on our main story — the political uncertainty in italy. 0ur correspondent, james reynolds, has this assessment. this is a real clash between president and populist. it is about italy's relationship with the european union. the populists had wanted to appoint a finance minister that has said in the past that italy should be prepared to leave the euro. the president vetoed this appointment. he essentially told the populists you cannot sneak italy out of the currency it helped create, you'd need to have a proper national debate about it first.

and so perhaps the only solution right now would be early elections in which, for the first time, italy's membership of the euro and its relationship with the eu may be up for discussion. more stories making the news now: as many as nine russian troops have been killed by militants in syria. a number of government soldiers also died in the attack. it happened in deir al—zour province in the east of the country where the islamic state group continues to pose a threat. the death toll from cyclone mekunu, that battered southern 0man and the yemeni island of socotra on friday, has reached 11. the category 2 cyclone recorded winds of up i70km/h. two indian sailors are among the dead and a further eight are still missing after their boat got into difficulty off the socotran coast. the chilean bishop who led the investigation into sexual abuse by priests has had his resignation offer accepted. alejandor goic was one of the 3a bishops who tendered their resignations when the pope summoned them to rome to discuss

reports that sexual abuse had been covered up. north korea is under a range of international and us sanctions over its nuclear programme and missile tests. the us is hoping to persuade the country to denuclearise in return for an easing of economic sanctions. 0ur china correspondent, john sudworth, has travelled along to the border with north korea to look at the impact of sanctions. just a few metres away, a north korean fisherman wades into the water. from the chinese side of this river, you can gaze into the harsh reality of north korean life. a nuclear—armed state with not a tractor in sight. an impoverished country where, we're told, the toughest sanctions ever are pushing its leadership to the negotiating table. in the bustling chinese

border towns, though, we find another side to the story. north korean seafood, added to the un sanctions list last year, is an abundant supply, openly advertised on this sign. could you get into trouble for selling them? "rarely," he tells me. this chef even shows me how to cook the sanctions—busting crab. so, these crabs have been smuggled? "of course they're smuggled," he tells me. with china and north korea making public displays of their friendship, the us president has been voicing his concerns that sanctions are slipping. china, though, may have good reason to tread a careful line. for now, north korean guards keep the flow of refugees to a trickle.

if their country collapsed, it could turn into a flood. the fences along this border are pretty flimsy affairs, porous to both goods and people. in some places, there are no fences at all. it's an illustration of the us president's suspicion that china has no real intention of isolating north korea and that the old alliance still stands. in one chinese city, we find more evidence of the continuing cross—border trade links. north korean workers. "what's it like working here?" i ask. they don't want to talk. workers like these face slave—like conditions, most of their wages go direct to their government. and on the north korean side, the economy is quite clearly still sputtering along with building sites and factories belching smoke.

the future of this antiquated military state is now centrestage and china is showing it's the only power that can really tip the balance. john sudworth, bbc news, on the china—north korea border. a scientific study looking into the welfare of dolphins in captivity has suggested that interacting with human beings makes them "happy". it's one of the first attempt to measure how dolphins feel about life in captivity as our science correspondent victoria gill explains. (dolphins squeak) intelligent, sociable, playful — bottlenosed dolphins are the marine world's most charismatic mammals. which is why so many of them are kept in dolphinariums, like this one near paris. there are an estimated 5,000 bottlenosed dolphins in captivity around the world, and it's only

recently that scientists have begun to ask and investigate how these animals feel in this kind of an environment. their acrobatic performances might appear enthusiastic to us, and they make dolphin shows a popular attraction. but one young scientist has spent three years at this theme park decoding dolphin behaviour to work out what activities they like best. humans have always been fascinated with dolphins and there's this human—dolphin affinity, but nobody‘s really looked at it from the dolphins' point of view. what do the dolphins really think of us? this was an experiment designed to assess anticipation and enthusiasm. the dolphins' body posture, activity and where they looked provided a measure of how much they were looking forward to three different things — an interaction with a familiar person, time spent playing with a toy or being left to their own devices.

so, we found a really interesting result was that all dolphins waited around most for the event where the trainer would come and play with them. and we've seen it in other zoo animals, otherfarm animals, that better human—animal bonds equals better welfare. the aim is to use these findings to improve the lives of captive dolphins around the world. but for critics of this industry, a concrete pool can never be an acceptable home for these marine creatures. i think this study can't necessarily tell you if a dolphin in captivity is happier than if it was in the wild. and i think that's one of the things that we have to bear in mind, that this study is very much telling us how we can manage animals in the best possible way, if they are captive. i don't think the study can tell us whether these animals are happier in captivity, or nearly as happy as they would be in the wild. the much larger question remains of whether these animals are here to educate people about life in the oceans, or simply for our entertainment.

but this research, watching and listening to them, could help our understanding of how to make them happier. victoria gill, bbc news. it's an extreme sport, but not as you might think. lumberjacks from around the world have gone head to head at a championship in france with a canadian winning the coveted trophy. and victory for stirling hart was extra special, as lebo diseko reports. 3, 2, i, go! it's said to be the toughest competition of its kind. this timber sports championship testing axe and saw skills with competitors racing against the clock and each other. more than 1,000 people packed a sold—out arena to watch the 12 loggersports athletes go head—to—head, testing their endurance, precision and strength. in the end, it was canadian

stirling hart who won with a time of 1 minute, 3.110 seconds. last year, i was within half a second of making it. and that was all that was on my mind the whole race. it was great to be up there with the company that i was. i'm extremely happy with the win. so an extra—sweet victory for this deserving winner, but he's not going to be resting on his laurels. stirling says he will soon be looking to next year's championship and testing his lumberjack skills once more. lebo diseko, bbc news. the sighting in singapore of a man who — at first glance at least — looked a lot like the north korean leader kim jong—un. he drew quite a crowd on sunday, but it soon then became clear that despite the trademark haircut,

he wasn't actually the real thing. it turned out he was an impersonator, who gave his name as howard x. he said he's travelled to singapore ahead of next month's summit should it actually go ahead. and he stayed in character as he sent this message to president trump. hey, donald. i'm already in singapore. look at its fantastic. it's just like pyongyang, but singapore. look at its fantastic. it'sjust like pyongyang, but with lots of good food. i have chicken ice, so come on down. not bad. italy's populists have cold former president be impeached following failed efforts to establish a coalition government. there is plenty more on that and all our stories on the website. that is it fall the moment. this is bbc news. hello once again.

the thunderstorms of this holiday weekend have certainly been making the headlines — and we are not alone. a quick look at western europe and you see that there are plenty of thunderstorms to be had here. great rafts of cloud across france and germany, the low countries, too. in the forthcoming week, i expect we'll see further thunderstorms in places. it will be on the warm side, initially. light winds and there will be some mist and fog in the forecast. pretty low cloud to start the forecast on monday everywhere from the lothians down the eastern side of the pennines down to about the wash. elsewhere, a lot of sunshine to start off the day. and once that heat pours into the middle half the afternoon, we'll start popping off some showers to parts of east anglia, perhaps the southern counties of england, and up into wales. the eastern shore is plagued in places by that low cloud, but elsewhere, much of scotland, the north of england, wales, and over towards northern ireland, dry, fine, and sunny, and really very warm, as well.

20—something in a number of locations — somebody in the south—east will record 28 degrees, we think. and that will keep the showers going across the southern counties for a good part of the evening. and the low cloud will pour in off the north sea. no surprise, this is set up because we have this flabby area of low pressure dominating western europe. around its northern flank, we bring warmth out of the continent over a cold north sea, the moisture condenses, and clouds will form. tuesday will start cloudy for much of the british isles. eventually that retreats to the eastern shores and we import more showers later in the day. temperatures notjust as high as monday, but still warm for this time of year. as you move into the middle part of the week, not a great deal changes. still low pressure over biscay. still tapping into warmth from the continent. showers more available into wednesday. some thunderstorms were bound through the northern parts of scotland and eventually down into it in england, too. top temperatures around 22, maybe 23 degrees or so —

many well on into the teens. and cooler conditions? well, you have to go a long way to find them. northern parts of scandinavia, out in the middle part of the atlantic, but much of the near continent — and we ourselves still seeing thos etemperatu res above the seasonal norm. so not a great deal of change as far ahead as thursday. does it show any signs of changing at all? still a lot of thunderstorms there. well, towards the weekend, high—pressure builds, tending to suppress the shower activity, but still keeping it on the warm side. this is bbc news. these are the headlines: italy's populists have called for the president to be impeached, following failed efforts to establish a coalition government. president sergio mattarella is accused of provoking a constitutional crisis by vetoing the new prime minister's appointment of a eurosceptic to the post of finance minister. there's growing pressure on the british prime minister to reform northern ireland's strict abortion laws, following the republic of ireland's

vote to overturn the abortion ban. any move by theresa may would be opposed by her political allies — the democratic unionists — who are northern ireland's largest party. and us officials are in north korea, trying to revive the proposed summit between president trump and kim jong—un. the discussions are thought to be focusing on details of a possible denuclearisation deal. that's it from me.