this is bbc news. our top stories: it's back on. after a top north korean official delivers a letter from kim jong—un, president trump says the singapore summit will happen. i think we're going to have a relationship and it will start onjune 12. italy has a new prime minister. giuseppe conte is finally sworn in by the president. a christian crucifix in the entrance to every public building, the new law now in effect in the german state of bavaria. it has been a crazy, crazy ride and my parents have actually... and this 30—year—old finds himself at the centre of the news after a case of mistaken identity. hello and welcome to bbc world news.

the meeting between the united states and north korea is back on. it follows the delivery of a letter from the north korean leader during a meeting at the white house between president trump and a close aide of kim jong—un. in a hint of the negotiations behind the scenes, mr trump said he believes the north korean leader wants denuclearisation but also other things along the line. chris buckler reports. the white house made a point of doing everything but rolling out the red carpet to welcome a former north korean intelligence chief. in the past, the united states has accused kim yong—chol of crimes including an attacking killing dozens of south korean seamen. but today he was whisked through security to meet the president inside the oval office.

and there, behind closed doors, he was handed the much talked about letter from kim jong—un. they emerged side—by—side after more than an hour of discussion. a remarkable sight given that last year the two countries appeared close to conflict. but after all that talk of war, there were brief smiles. it seems they're prepared to discuss peace after all. the summit is back on. we'll be meeting onjune i2 in singapore, it went very well, it's really a get—to—know—you kind of situation. and i think it'll be a process. i never said it goes in one meeting, i think it will be a process. but the relationships are building, and that is very positive. it's onlyjust over a week ago president trump sent his own letter, cancelling the summit on what he called north korea's "tremendous anger and open hostility. " but the last two days of talks between kim yong—chol and us secretary of state mike pompeo seems to have improved relations. it's not clear whether they have agreed on an aim

or even what denuclearisation means. do you think tim is committed to doing denuclearisation? i do think so, he would like to see it happen, he wants to be careful, he is not going to run and do things, but i told him to be honest with you, look, we have sanctions on, very powerful sanctions, we would not take sanctions off unless they did that. if kim jong—un‘s letter did make a difference, it was the gesture, not its contents. president trump hadn't taken it out of the envelope by the time he waved goodbye to the north korean leader's right—hand man. the comings and goings of diplomacy can be difficult to follow at this white house. han park is professor emeritus at university of georgia. he has experience of mediating with top officials in both koreas and the us. speaking from augusta, georgia, he gave us his thoughts about what both sides might now seem to expect. the meeting will be pretty much superficial it will mean general

terms that they will agree, a level of desire on the part of both leaders for this meeting has been very high for their domestic and personal considerations. especially on the part of american president. so they will have this meeting and they will have photo ops and so forth, but there are a number of things in substantive areas, in terms of verification, how do we do verification, how do we know if north korea is reporting factually, the level of distrust and lack of trust on the part of both sides is very high, so i don't think this discussion will be very smooth. butjune12, the summit meeting itself will go very nicely, and it will be reported and discussed widely,

but beyond that, i think there are two tough issues that will arrest the process. and those are what? yes, the verification with north korea... and the path of denuclearisation, already trump has said, and made it clear, that it will not be an easy process, but also that north korea wants other things along the way. what will those be? other things having to do with the political economic situation. the dramatic normalisation and repairing economic relationships immediately, so there are a lot of areas that they can do. but everything hinges

on north koreans itself with security, they will not feel the country is secure unless they have certain guarantees, such as diplomatic normalisation, peace treaties, non—aggression pact. unless these things are already settled, north korea will not relinquish honestly their desire and ambition to remain as a nuclear state. italy has a new prime minister, and government, ending three months of political uncertainty. little—known lawyer and academic giuseppe conte was sworn in alongside other cabinet ministers to lead western europe's first anti—establishment government. the populist prime minister had earlier abandoned attempts to form a government after italy's president rejected his pick for finance minister. jenny hill reports from rome. it's the moment europe's been waiting for, a new italian prime minister. giuseppe conte, a law professor with no political experience. and, sworn in one by

one, a new government, an anti—establishment coalition. it almost didn't happen at all. paolo savona, first choice for foreign minister and fierce critic of the euro, was rejected by the italian president. after desperate talks, a compromise was made, for giovanni tria, a more moderate academic who will now oversee italy's finances. and then to uncertainty, then, but perhaps the drama is onlyjust beginning. the new government already controversial. it's promised to deport half a million migrants, to lower taxes, spend more on welfare. one thing to keep in mind is that italian governments hardly ever last the entire five—year legislature. there is no reason to believe that this will be any different, especially because you have two wildly different parties in this coalition. there's the far right league, which has a very tough stance

on immigration, with the five star movement, which really has a little bit more left—wing sympathies, so that is an issue between them. translation: the new government, it will be fine. even if i voted for berlusconi, it will be fine. we must change, at least we must try. translation: i hope this government will start well. we're living in a rather special moment, so i hope anyone can do well, can do better. we will see, but at least we should test them. the eurozone will be watching. the government rejects austerity, plans to spend its way to growth. all smiles today, but this country, with its huge debt, may yet have to do battle with the likes of brussels and berlin. jenny hill, bbc news, ryan. spain's veteran prime minister, mariano rajoy, has been forced from office by a no—confidence vote in parliament. the opposition socialist party leader, pedro sanchez,

becomes the country's new leader, but will govern without a parliamentary majority. this is the moment when mariano rajoy crossed the floor to congratulate mr sanchez. parliament erupted into applause and cheering as it was announced mps had voted against mr rajoy by a margin of ii. our europe editor, katya adler, is in madrid. this is huge news for spain, because it's the first time in this country ever that a prime minister has been unseated by a no—confidence vote in parliament. that said, there is already a brand—new prime minister ready and waiting to take over as of tomorrow. so even though this is a highly unusual situation, there is no sense here at all of panic crisis. quite unlike italy, what a dizzying political circus there for a few days threatening to infect the whole of the eurozone. it has been a very stormy week in europe, don't forget also this blossoming new trade war

between the european union and its closest ally, the united states. and all of this has an effect on brexit negotiations. david davis, the uk's chief brexit negotiator, has spent a lot of time travelling around europe to woo eu leaders and try and persuade them to give the uk a better brexit deal. every time a european government falls, as it has done in italy and here in spain, he has to start his charm offensive all over again with a brand—new guise in government. us president donald trump has been speaking this evening about the growing trade war involving the us. he called unfair today's retaliation by europe, as well as canada and mexico, to tariffs imposed by the president on steel and aluminium imported into the united states. us taxes of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium came into effect this morning. of up to 25%, on american products like whiskey and coffee, as well as some steel. mexico has put new tariffs on us steel and food,

ranging from apples to cheese. and, as for europe, the 28 states have a io—page long list of products to target, from yachts to motorbikes to peanut butter. president trump's trade policy is a high risk strategy, likely to affect jobs and the cost of goods in europe and north america, as the higher cost of imports is passed on to consumers. nick bryant reports. bethlehem, pennsylvania used to be a powerhouse of the us steel industry. then it became a rustbelt powerbase of donald trump. after the closure of its main steel plant 20 years ago, many people here felt like economic castaways. stranded in a globalised economy that left them behind. in the presidential election, bethlehem voted republican for the first time since the 1980s. we actually had 30,000 people working here at one time... former steelworker tom sedor doesn't even like donald trump, but he loves the imposition

of these tariffs. i think they're gonna really help the economy, really help the general public, i think it is a good thing and i don't think the sky will fall. i am not worried about the impact of a trade war, it has been done before, it hasn't hurt, it is 30 or a0 years too late. the trump administration claims it is protecting us national security, but this is more about protecting the us steel industry and protecting rustbelt towns. donald trump believes he is rewarding his loyal supporters, and does not seem that worried about angering america's closest allies. tonight the president singled out the european union for criticism. if you take the european union and you see the kind of tariff they charge, and then we don't, that's called not fair trade. i want fair trade. but the european union is not taking it without a fight. it is retaliating and calling donald trump's actions a dangerous game. this is weakening the transatlantic relations and it increases the risk of severe turbulence

in the market globally. protectionism can never be a solution, and this will hurtjobs here in the european union but also in the us. harley—davidson motorbikes are on a tariff target list of american imports compiled by the eu that also includes levi's jeans and whiskey. there has been a rapid response from america's neighbours canada and mexico, imposing tariffs on $13 billion worth of us exports. tonight in the uk the prime minister stressed her deep disappointment, calling it an unjustified decision. words reiterated by her trade secretary. it is very, very unfortunate if we get into this tit—for—tat position, especially with one of our closest allies. nobody wins in a trade war, there are only casualties. port talbot steelworks in wales has battled for its survival in recent years. now comes more uncertainty. it is another kick in

the teeth basically. after all we have gone through, we've worked hard to establish ourselves in the global market again, and now this has been presented, or thrown into our lap, through no fault of our own. britain exports some £360 million worth of steel to america each year. and industry chiefs warn that tariffs could have wider, devastating effects. newsreel: bethlehem, pennsylvania. where every christmas, a huge star glows from a hilltop. where every other night in the year, the sky is lit by the hungry furnaces of little steel. it's way too late to save bethlehem's steel plant, the american industry's heyday is a thing of the past. but us unemployment dropped today to its lowest level in 18 years, fuelling the sense of rustbelt revival and emboldening donald trump. nick bryant, bbc news, pennsylvania.

the german state of bavaria has introduced a controversial new law, which requires all public buildings to display a christian cross in theirfoyer. the man at the centre of the law, markus soeder, says the crucifix is at the heart of bavaria. but critics have slammed him for politicising a religious symbol to woo far—right, anti—islamists. tiffany wertheimer‘s report contains flash photography. this will be a common sight in bavaria from now on. as of friday morning, nearly all government buildings in the south—eastern german state must display a crucifix. as the law came into effect, its mastermind, premier markus soeder, was not even in bavaria. he was at the vatican enjoying a private audience with the pope. soeder says the cross is at the heart of bavaria's identity, but the new law has germans divided. translation: i think it is a good thing because it is part of our tradition and i am

a religious person. translation: i don't need to hang one on the wall. sometimes i even feel a bit uneasy about the cross. but i am of the opinion that everyone should be able to decide for themselves. marcus soeder is the leader of bavaria's conservative christian social union, the sister party of angela merkel‘s christian democratic union. with state elections looming, critics say the crucifix law is designed to claw back votes from germany's afd party, whose supporters are generally right wing and anti—islamic. translation: it's a move for the election campaign. the afd talks a lot about christian values and i think markus soeder had to do something before the election next october in order to win at all costs. outrage at the law has come from far and wide, including the head of the german bishops conference,

who said that the move was never discussed with him and he doesn't support it. soeder has also been mocked. the state premier of neighbouring baden—wurttemberg compared this photo of him to a vampire film. in an effort to wind back the critical lashings, the bavarian government said while it is compulsory for buildings like police stations, courts and government offices, it is merely a recommendation for schools, museums and theatres. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come: summit city — how singapore is preparing for its role in staging the talks between the us and north korea. the queen and her husband, and their royal procession. the moment of crowning in accordance with the order of service, by a signal given with great guns of the tower shall be shot off.

tributes have been paid around the world to muhammed ali, who has died at the age of 7a. outspoken but rarely outfought, ali transcended the sport of boxing, of which he was three times world champion. ali 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. today is the 20th anniversary of the release of the beatles' lp sergeant pepper's lonely hearts club band, a record described as the album of the century. this is bbc news. our main headline: after a top north korean official delivers a letter from kim jong—un

to the white house, president trump says the singapore summit onjune 12 will happen. well, now that the meeting is going ahead, how is tiny singapore getting ready for the big event? with less than two weeks to go, karishma vaswani reports from the location picked to host the historic summit. defence chiefs from all over the world gathered in singapore this weekend for the top security summit in the region and singapore is taking no chances with this event. a massive contingent of police sealed off the venue. i was here just yesterday and there was nothing. this security apparatus has literally turned up overnight. singapore is very used to getting ready for these sorts of events very quickly. all of this is a dress rehearsal for the summit of the century between president trump and north korea's kimjong—un which will be held in singapore in just under two weeks.

singapore is no stranger to hosting these sorts of high—profile meetings. in 2015, it was the venue for the historic china—taiwan summit. one of the reasons it was chosen was because it had good relations with both sides. singapore has a reputation for being efficient and safe and positions itself as a neutral player on the global stage. and for someone like president trump, it doesn't hurt that it also boasts a picture perfect skyline for those photo opportunities. and behind the scenes, some preparation is already under way. everything is being done in a very, very low—key manner but, you know, things in the background, it is happening, you know? we already know of a lot of activity is going on right now. you know, the singapore government is very efficient, we are known for efficiency, so it is just a matter of time, you know?

everyone is going to be able to see how efficient we are at putting something like this up in a very short span of time. away from the serious stuff, singapore is also getting ready to have some fun. meet the trump and kim cocktail — a blend of bourbon and soju, inspired by the men the drinks are named after. after all, if this summit is successful, a toast to world peace may well be in order. vogue arabia has defended its decision to feature a saudi princess on its cover as a symbol of women in the kingdom finally winning the right to drive. the magazine has been criticised for ignoring the contribution of saudi women campaigners, some of whom were arrested recently. laura westbrook reports. vogue arabia's latest edition has not got quite the reaction it was hoping for. it is because of who was chosen to be on the cover. the saudi princess whose family

is lauded for being the "driving force," while activists who fought for women's right to drive remain behind bars. that's wrong, say human rights activists, because not mentioned are campaigners who helped draw international attention by driving illegally and posting videos online. just weeks before women in saudi arabia were allowed to drive, some activists were labelled as traitors and arrested. —— just weeks before women in saudi arabia are allowed to drive, some activists were labelled as traitors and arrested. given the significant loosening of certain restrictions on women's activities on saudi arabia in recent months, including the forthcoming ending of the ban on women driving, it is perplexing why both women and men engaged in campaigning for such positive developments are now being targeted by the authorities. one activist, manal al—sharif, who has left the country, was interviewed by vogue. on twitter, she urged people not to forget three leading women's rights campaigners who are still in detention. but vogue stands by its choice. its editor describes the cover

as "an iconic and powerful image that is completely fulfilling its purpose". the man on the left, crown prince mohammad bin salman, was behind the decision to lift the driving ban. he took on the country's powerful clerics to do so. cinemas and theatres were recently reopened after a ban which lasted three decades. and back in september, women were allowed into a sports stadium, previouslyjust for men, to watch a concert for the first time. the reforms are part of the royal family's plans to modernise saudi arabia and improve its reputation. as the royal family is being celebrated for bringing about this change, pressure will grow on them to acknowledge those who campaigned and are now faced with draconian sentences. the case of michael rotondo struck a chord with many recently — you may remember he was

the 30—year—old american who was literally evicted by his parents after refusing to move out and find a job. while many of us laughed or rolled our eyes at the affair, one fellow new yorker began getting some interesting calls — that's because he shares the same name, is the same age, and, you guessed it, lives with his parents, but he swears they're fine with it. as i woke up, somebody sends me a link to a bbc article saying, "ha ha, this is funny! —— are you getting sued by your parents?" i would like to adjourn for that, for discovery. i was like, "ha ha, that is funny, especially that he has the same name, same spelling, same age."

my inbox has been filled with many people laughing at me, basically saying, "poor mike". actually, very coincidentally, i also happen to be looking for a place. it has been a crazy, crazy ride. my parents have actually been very supportive of me, so i'm not getting sued by my parents. i love my parents immensely. they are obviously very patient. perhaps they should move in together! why not! don't forget, you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter. i'm @bbcta nyabeckett. think ifjoining us. —— thank you forjoining us.

hello there. friday was another day when we had plenty of thunderstorms around but this time they were mainly focused across the northern half of the uk. flashing away across the north of wales, northern england, northern ireland and scotland, where we had some localised surface water flooding issues as well. what catches my eye on the satellite picture at the moment is this area of cloud extending out from europe into east anglia. it is bringing outbreaks of rain. most of it's quite light but i think this will have a bearing on the weather forecast across eastern counties of england, as i'll explain in a moment. for the time being, a few spots of rain for the next few hours across some of these eastern counties. not as murky a night as it has been, particularly across southern england, although around coastal areas there are still some patches of mist and fog. perhaps a few patches of mist and fog in the pennines and north midlands, we have the most humid air. thunderstorms developing through today. i think they will be mostly in scotland. one or two for northern ireland, one or two for east anglia. so this is how the day starts.

we will see this cloud and light rain working in across parts of norfolk, moving across lincolnshire and in across yorkshire. that might get to northumberland and durham as well later in the afternoon. what that area of cloud will do is stop temperatures rising so high. further north we can see some sunshine, with heavy thundery showers. a risk of localised flooding here, but it's not certain these showers will develop across eastern england. that cloud that i showed you might actually stop the showers from falling here, it could be a few thunderstorms, though, to the south in east anglia. southern counties of england and across southern wales, this is where the driest weather is going to be with the best of the day's sunshine. the heaviest of the downpours, i'm pretty sure, will be across scotland and maybe into east anglia. those showers will fade away through the night. on sunday, a lot of dry weather for the second half of the weekend. not completely dry. a few showers around. northern england, parts of southern scotland, those would be the favoured areas for catching those showers. quite a bit of cloud around

the north sea coast of scotland. the best of the sunshine further south with a ridge of high pressure keeping the weather settled there. and it will be a bit warmer. temperatures could reach 25 degrees around london and the south—east. on into the early stages of next week. this area of high pressure to the north—west of the uk is going to start drawing in north—easterly winds. there will be some cloud coming onto the north sea coast. it might well start out cloudy on monday before that cloud tends to thin out. it will burn back to a degree, to the coasts, with some brighter and sunny spells, but it will certainly be a bit cooler and fresher. temperatures in london around about 20 degrees on monday. that's your weather. this is bbc news. the headlines: after meeting with a senior north korean envoy, president trump says the summit between the us and north korea will take place onjune the 12th in singapore. mr trump also received a letter from

12th in singapore. mr trump also received a letterfrom kimjong—un, which he described as very interesting. europe, mexico and canada have rejected america's new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. canada said it would join the european union in filing a challenge at the world trade organization. several countries say washington's claims the policy would safeguard us national security were flawed. giuseppe conte has been sworn in as italy's prime minister, ending a period of political deadlock. the leaders of two anti—establishment parties who nominated him will serve as ministers. the president had previously rejected his pick for finance minister. now on bbc news, it's time for click.