welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: a global trade war looms as the us goes ahead with tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium. europe, canada, and mexico say they will hit back. north korea's leadership says denuclearisation could only happen "stage by stage" — a very different approach from the us — but preparations for the summit are said to be still on course. weeks of political stalemate appear to be over — two populist parties reach a new agreement to govern italy. and the mysterious pluto reveals some of its secrets in pictures captured by nasa. hello. a global trade war is looming

with the us imposing tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from europe, canada and mexico. the decision has drawn international condemnation and the threat of retaliation from the countries affected, all generally allies of the us. the risk is of an escalating round of tit—for—tat tariffs with serious consequences for free trade worldwide. britain has called the decision "deeply disappointing". france says it's illegal. the trump administration is citing "national security". aleem maqbool reports. ad: now, it's time for action. i am not going to let america and its great companies and workers be taken advantage of any longer. an ad for us steel asking the president to deliver on its election promise to save jobs in the industry but to many, the way he's done that looks like the opening salvo in a trade war between europe and the us that could have far—reaching consequences. from midnight tonight, large tariffs will have to be paid on any steel or aluminium imports coming to the us from the eu.

well, there's overproduction of steel and there's overcapacity throughout the world, and so we have needed to deal with in a very global manner. you can'tjust deal with it, dealing with one country. surrounded by steelworkers donald trump actually announced that tariffs for most countries in march, but also exemptions for mexico, canada and the eu. he's today scrapped those exemptions. the workers who poured their souls into building this great nation were betrayed. but that betrayal is now over. donald trump can only do this by claiming it's in the interests of national security, which he has now done, to the dismay of the friends he's now penalising. thank you very much, everybody.

thank you. it's very disappointing that the united states has chosen to apply steel and aluminium tariffs to countries across the european union, allies of the united states and all in the name of national security. and in the case of the united kingdom, where we send steel to the united states that is vital for their businesses and the defence industry it is patently absurd. let me be clear, these tariffs are totally unacceptable. for 150 years, canada has been united states' most steadfast ally. and europe is already talking about retaliation. there will be counterbalancing measures. what they can do, we are able to do exactly the same. it's totally unacceptable that a country is imposing unilateral measures when it comes to world trade. so, how could europe hit back? some all—american industries could be hit, like this us denim

factory, with talk of the eu imposing other tariffs on bourbon, motorcycles, and even peanut butter. the truth is a big reason donald trump has introduced these new metal tariffs is to satisfy his supporters. they may not actually have the impact on jobs he says it will, but has risked a dangerous economic escalation with this country's biggest trading partners. at the micro level some household goods made of steel or aluminium could come more expensive with american consumers if there is retaliation from other countries then some products could become more expensive elsewhere but of course of the other end of the scale of those are worried about much eager, broader economic ramifications worldwide. it doesn't seem to worry donald trump in recent weeks, he said when a country like the usa is losing many billions of dollars on trade, trade wars are good and easy to win.

the bbc‘s chris bucklerjoins us now from washington. what is the latest on this? it is ha rd to what is the latest on this? it is hard to escape the feeling washington has been gearing up despite the sometime. the tariffs have been talked about the sometime but the way they have been imposed and announced has really angered and frustrated the allies. allies who really feel betrayed by a lot of this and that is clear by a conversation that has been had between president trump and the french president emmanuel macron. two men who share a very good relationship but macron was directly in the conversation that the european union regarded these ta riffs european union regarded these tariffs as a legal and they would respond in a firm and proportionate manner. it does give you the idea that they are preparing for a fight, as indeed are canada and mexico. out in some ways, this is the way the trump white house negotiates. you

have to appreciate that they enjoy this kind of hardball negotiation. it is what donald trump says is a way of trying to get the best possible deal. and within all of these messages, there is also the key one that they are still prepared to talk and negotiate. and if you look at canada and mexico, for example, they are very clearly linking these tariffs to the negotiation that is taking place as regards north american free trade agreement, nafta, which are continuing at the moment. it's worth saying there are some in donald trump's republican party that are concerned about this and in the business leaders in america. ultimately republicans are free—trade party as they are concerned this could cost the consumer and it could cost business potentially rising taxes. i will give you this one statement that has come from a leading of the house all ryan, who said i disagree with this decision. instead of addressing the real problems in the international trade of these products, today's action target america's allies when

we should be working with them to address the unfair trading practices of countries like china. chris, many thanks indeed. more on that story to come. while president trump was putting up trade barriers with some allies, he was trying to build bridges again with north korea, saying on thursday that talks about a possible summit next month between himself and kim jong—un are going well. the us secretary of state mike pompeo, who's been meeting one of president kim's closest aides, says the two countries face a pivotal moment and it would be a tragedy if it went to waste. here's nick bryant. the kim summit dominated the new york tabloids this morning, although this one involved a kardashian rather than a korean. two reality tv stars in a made for instagram moment, pop and political culture are becoming harder to tell apart. this dinner in manhattan last night may have lacked the same star power, but was far more momentous.

a smiling us secretary of state, mike pompeo, meeting a north korean general, kim yong—chol, a one—time spy master and his leader's right—hand man. steak was on the menu, and that summit in singapore. the fact that even this meeting is taking place shows how rapidly and how dramatically relations between america and north korea have changed. less than nine months ago, donald trump was just up the road at the united nations, threatening to totally destroy that country. today's meeting felt like diplomatic speed dating. it was over quicker than expected and that was a sign of great progress, according to the americans, and also an indication of how much both sides want this summit to take place. our two countries face a pivotal moment in our relationship in which it could be nothing short of tragic to let this opportunity go to waste. i believe they are contemplating a path forward where they can make a strategic shift —

one that their country has not been prepared to make before. the north koreans are carrying a personal letter from kim jong—un to donald trump and tomorrow in washington, they will make a remarkable journey, walking through the doors of the white house to deliver it. and just a week after cancelling the summit, the president has now indicated there could be multiple meetings. hopefully, we will have a meeting on the 12th. it's going along very well, but i want it to be meaningful. it doesn't mean it gets all done at one meeting. maybe you have to have a second or third, and maybe we'll have none, but it is in good hands, that i can tell you. whether the two sides even agree on what is meant by denuclearisation is still unclear, but it does look increasingly likely that air force one will soon be on a flight path to singapore. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. weeks of political stomach in italy

appeared to be open with the anti— establishment five star movement and the right wing leigh are rich in the new agreement. —— weeks of political stalemate in italy seem to be over with the anti—establishment 5—star movement and the right—wing league announcing they have reached a new agreement to govern the country. james reynolds is in rome and explains the latest developments. four days ago the populist lockout in anger, calling for early elections after the president vetoed their choice of a eurosceptic finance minister. they then followed a political opera in several dozen acts. that is now over. the country knows where it stands, there will be no early election, there will be no unofficial referendum on the eu row, the populist decided to back down in order to get into government, they have switched the name of their finance minister, the new minister has not talked about leaving the euro. that is a to italy's pro— europe president to has got what he wa nted europe president to has got what he wanted and it will also be a relief to brussels conflict between the populist will now be in government and brussels may not be over. the new government is making promises. it wants to spend more and cut taxes which may put it into conflict with

the eu spending rules and the new interior minister, the league's leader wants a tough new policy on migration which may provoke argument. james reynolds for us there. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: all hail stormzy. the british grime star triumphs at this year's ivor novello awards. the queen and her husband and their royal pro— gross. the moment of crowning in accordance with the order of service, by a signal given with great guns of the tower shall be shot. tributes have been paid around the world to muhammed ali who has died at the age of 7a. outspoken but rarely outfought, he transcended the sport of boxing of which he was three times world champion. he was a

fighter and he fought all the way to the end. even through his illness. yes, he did. uefa imposes an indefinite ban on english clubs playing in europe. todayis today is the 20th anniversary of the release of the beatles's sergeant pepper ‘s lonely hearts club band, a record described as the album of the century. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: a global trade war is looming with the us imposing tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from key allies in europe and north america in just a few hours' time. north korea's leadership says denuclearisation could only happen "stage by stage" — a very different approach from the us — but preparations for the summit are said to be still on course. more on our top story now — the tariffs on steel and aluminium

that the us is due to impose in a few hours time on europe, canada and mexico. peter petri is interim dean and carl shapiro professor of international finance in the brandeis international business school. he joins us from boston. to make a call sense, clearly it fulfils a campaign promise and it pleases many of his core voters. it may make sense as a negotiating tactic to go in all guns blazing but there are aren't they? even within there are aren't they? even within the united states. absolutely true. we have gone back and forth on threatening and not threatening than threatening and not threatening than threatening again. this is now beginning to feel like a real trade warlooming. beginning to feel like a real trade war looming. the second great trade war looming. the second great trade war since the 1930s. at that time, the volume of international trade fell to about one third in about

four years after the united states imposed high tariffs and other countries retaliated. were not there yet. we may never get there. this made the another fake policy by the us administration but the parallels are increasingly scary. and the downsides, even within the united states, not just from downsides, even within the united states, notjust from retaliation by other countries, retell a treat tariffs, but also from the tariffs themselves that america imposes. that is correct. in the oil industry in the us, a tremendous amount of production depends on steel imported from mexico and parts from canada and on steel exports to canada against which there may be retaliation. there is a great deal of interdependence in modern production systems and this will have widespread effect in the united states and across the world. and i think one needs to add here that the united states today is 20%, maybe a

little bit more than that, of the world economy and we seem to be declaring trade war on the other 80%. that is likely to force the rest of the world to finally unify against us and retaliated. it is a moment that is kind of sad for us in the united states to watch after 70 yea rs of the united states to watch after 70 years of trying to keep the world trading system stable. if it is possible to put this briefly in a nutshell, what we mean by a trade war? well, we mean increased tariffs, certainly by the united states, on critical product. retaliation from other countries, and certainly from europe and canada, they have already announced this. products against which they themselves will raise tariffs to be from china which is also being threatened. altogether, these countries can make a very large impact on us exports and on the

production system within the united states did it on prices, an employment levels... if we go through with this it is very scary. i would like to emphasise again that we are not there yet and we have seen we are not there yet and we have seen this movie several times over the last few months. we may back off. i hope so. the dwarf planet pluto has long been a mystery to scientists. but now experts say they've found important new evidence about the planet's surface — which in places resembles sand dunes familiar to us on earth. they've been using images captured by nasa's new horizons spacecraft. here's our science editor david shukman. until recently the distant world of pluto was a total mystery but a nasa spacecraft captured these stunning pictures three years ago. and since then scientists have been trying to make sense of sights they'd never expected. everyone thought that somewhere so cold would be frozen solid, but amazingly there are signs of movement at the surface. and the latest discovery is about the texture

of the landscape. these are fields of dunes that look surprisingly like the ones we have on earth. this is important from a scientific perspective because it gives us new insights about pluto but it's also really exciting just to be able to look at this world and recognise that it's notjust a frozen icy blob in the outer reaches of the solar system. but really we are seeing a dynamic world still changing, still forming today. so a major surprise is that pluto was much more active than previously thought. its atmosphere is so incredibly thin compared to earth and its winds are so weak that features like dunes shouldn't be possible. and with a temperature of —230 you'd think everything would be totally frozen. but it turns out there's just enough warmth from the sun to lift tiny grains of frozen methane and they're so light that the winds, however weak, can actually move them. and that's how the dunes are formed. on earth dunes like these in the kalahari desert take shape when the wind blows

the grains of sand. then scientists have found dunes forming in very different conditions on mars, venus and now pluto. this could help them know what to look for when exploring worlds that are even further away. it makes you think that there is a lot beyond pluto. not just within our solar system but beyond our solar system we found lots and lots, thousands of planets around other stars. we can't see their surfaces yet but eventually we will be able to, and what will we see? 50 years ago pluto was described as being silent and barren. now we know that even on the edge of the solar system there is a startling level of activity. the new horizons spacecraft that nasa sent to pluto is now on its way to another world that's even more distant. after years in space it will be woken from hibernation next week and it's on course to come up with yet more discoveries early next year. david shukman, bbc news. drjiyoon kim is a seniorfellow in

the public opinion studies programme at the asan institute for policy studies, and she joins us now from the south korean capital, seoul. it is good to talk to you. whether oi’ it is good to talk to you. whether or not the summit happens next month, any talking is better than loud threats of total destruction on both sides. how optimistic are people there? do you see a chance of a massive strategic shift?” people there? do you see a chance of a massive strategic shift? i would say the korean people are cautiously excited and optimistic. first, the history of the summit between the north korea and the united states, although there has been turmoil last week. so we have high hopes and expectations for the summit onjune

12. and many people seem to believe that something big and important can happen during the summit, particularly if there is any declaration of ending the korean war at the meeting, at the trilateral meeting, if that happens it will be a wonderful thing for the korean people. what major potential problem seems to be that the us and north korea have very different definitions of denuclearisation. korea have very different definitions of denuclearisationm has been discussed for a long time and it is still up in the air. we saw secretary of state after his meeting this morning, many people say that there have been different approaches that this time it seems to be different and the united states, which is not really be

normal administration were used to come by trump administration. we are hopeful because of that because something big can happen because those two are both unexpected people. just today we hear that north korea and russia have agreed to hold a bilateral summit this year. how serious do you think the russians and the north koreans are about that or is itjust the way to annoy the americans and distract them? russia was apparently one party of the six party talks before. at this point i don't think because russia is not playing a significant role, they are busy with their own things, this time we are not so much concerned but we are paying attention to china and the role played by china. president trump was not happy with that. prior to his comments. although it depends on how much she believes that comment not. so what we hope —— while we hope

that russia can play a good positive role. particularly we have heard the raising of the issue of railways and everything and that should have a lot of incoming benefits to both sides. president obama was said to be popular in south korea. how do people feel about president trump? president trump is probably the least popular president among the us president, to be frank, particularly compared with president obama. that he brings a good successful summit result to the korean peninsula and the piece, i am pretty sure then that the korean people will love him. he was popular before he flipped with the latter, with the summit last week, but this is the moment where we resume popularity for him. he is not considered to be

a sincere for him. he is not considered to be a sincere person for him. he is not considered to be a sincere person but for that exact reason a lot of people are hopeful. the spanish prime minister mariano rajoy is on the verge of being voted out of office, after a small basque nationalist party said it would back the move by the opposition socialists. their five votes should be enough to topple mr rajoy on friday after more than six years in office. if the socialist—led opposition win, snap elections are expected to be called. the socialists called the vote after the high court fined mr rajoy‘s people's party more than a quarter—of—a—million dollars for benefiting from bribes. the prestigious ivor novello awards have been taking place in london. they recognise excellence in british and irish songwriting. ed sheeran was the biggest winner — being named song—writer of the year for a second time. but this year's awards had a distinctly political tone to them — as the bbc‘s tim allman explains. stormzy is not just

stormzy is notjust a rapper, he is a phenomena and. he had picked up a brit award and now his album has been named album of the year at the grime. he has been at critics of the uk government, particularly after the grenfell tower. similar sentiments expressed by fellow rapper dave. his single question time won the best contemporary song. i would say that i am pleased. among the other winners, elbow who received the best award for best

song, musically and lyrically, for magnificent she said. they decided that our song was the best song. how can you not be affected by that? how can you not be affected by that? how can you not be affected by that? how can you not be touched? it is the most beautiful statue. two more statu ettes most beautiful statue. two more statuettes going to ed sheerin. 11; songwriter of the year. it doesn't all have to be about politics. and briefly, our main story again, key allies of the united states are saying they will retaliate against washington its decision to impose ta riffs washington its decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. within hours now, the european union, canadian —— canada and mexico have condemned the decision. emmanuel macron telephoned to say it was illegal. more news at any time on our website and we cannot be reached on twitter. —— and

we can all be reached on twitter. hello there. the thunderstorms from yesterday took a while to get going but once they did, they did bring a lot of rain and lightning. storms initiated around sussex before spreading across central and southern england, the south midlands and on towards wales and the south—west. bursts of lightning, torrential downpours and reports of a few problems around bristol. some of the worst of it was in west sussex. it was just not cricket. lakes were the boundary should be. the amber office —— amber warning in effect until morning. heavy downpours over the next few hours. a lot of murky weather and low cloud, mist and patches, not just around the coastline but across

some of our hills. mild and muggy, grey and gloomy, really, to start friday morning. friday looks something like this. low cloud, mist and fog taking a long time to burn away and she now. and then as we had into the afternoon we will seek heavy showers breaking out. this time they will be further north. in the firing line, scotland, northern ireland, north—west england and parts of wales. we could see around 30 millimetres of rain also falling in the space of an hour but agree to a three—hour period if you were lucky there will be a few communities who could see some flooding problems again where we could get 50 or 60 millimetres of rain, enough to cause the flooding problems we saw on thursday. muggy day temperature wise, onto the weekend's forecast, so the thunderstorms will be around that they will head north on the weather will tend to become a little more settled and try them in the south. here is the weather picture. saturday beginning on a gloomy note

for many of us, particularly across the north—east. gloomiest night that they generally in scotland but during the afternoon we see thunderstorms breaking out. scotland and northern ireland, parts of northern england has seen the worst of those. localised within a possibility. further south, of those. localised within a possibility. furthersouth, more in the way of sunshine, starting to feel a little bit warmer giving that the sunshine will be stronger with less cloud around. that trend continues into sunday, the second half of the weekend is probably the better half weatherwise. still a couple showers across scotland but for most of us, sunday will be a dry day with sunshine slowly breaking through in the afternoon. warm as well in the south with highs reaching 25 celsius in london. this is bbc news. the headlines: key allies of the united states say they will retaliate against its decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. the european union, canada and mexico all said they would impose duties on american goods in response. the tariffs had been delayed by two months while negotiations took place. there is a risk of a global trade

war with a escalating round of tit—for—tat tariff. the top aide of north korea's leader is to present a letter from kim jong—un to president trump on at the white house on friday. separately, it's been announced that mr kim has agreed to visit moscow fora summit. the state news agency said his commitment to denuclearisation remained unchanged. for the second time in eight days, italy's president has asked giuseppe conte to be the next prime minister. he will now try to assemble a government of two populist parties, 5—star and the league. his previous attempt was vetoed because of the anti—euro views of the nominated economy minister. now on bbc news, hardtalk.