welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe — my name is nkem ifejika. our top stories. hand delivered to the white house — a personal letterfrom kimjong—un — as president trump confirms the singapore summit is back on. i think we're going to have a relationship and it will start onjune 12. after weeks of political uncertainty, italy has a new prime minister — giuseppe conte leads a controversial populist government. europe, mexico, and canada pledge to hit back at america's new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports — promising retaliation. and the german state of bavaria imposes a new law requiring a christian cross in the entrance to every public building. hello and welcome to the programme.

the meeting between the united states and north korea is back on, for now at least. 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 is in washington. 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 and an attack that killed 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 discussions.

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 a situation. and i think it'll be a process. i never said it goes in one meeting, i think it's gonna be a process. but the relationships are building, and that's a very positive thing. it's onlyjust over a week ago president trump sent his own letter, cancelling the summit based 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 seem to have improved relations. but it's not clear whether they have really agreed on an aim or even what denuclearisation means. do you think kim is committed

to doing denuclearisation? i do think so, he'd like to see it happen. he wants to be careful, he's 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. chris buckler in washington. giuseppe conte has been sworn in as italy's new prime minister. he'll lead a cabinet assembled by the country's two main populist parties. they are the anti—establishment five star movement and the right—wing league, and they've promised radical change. the swearing in follows months of political uncertainty, which has worried brussels and spooked financial markets. jenny hill sent this 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 in the shape of giovanni tria, a more moderate academic who will now oversee italy's finances. an end 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 that 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. spain also has a new prime minister after mariano rajoy was ousted

in a vote of no confidence. his conservative people's party had been fined for its involvement in a corruption scandal. he will be succeeded by the opposition socialist leader, pedro sanchez, who will form a new government. but it's unclear how his party will govern, as it only has a quarter of seats in parliament. our europe editor, katya adler, is in madrid and has this assesment. this is huge news for spain, because it's the first time ever in this country ever that a prime minister has been unseated by a no—confidence vote in parliament. that said, there's 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 or 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 all around europe to woo eu leaders and try to persuade them to give the uk a better brexit deal. but every time a european government falls, as it has done now in italy and here in spain, he has to start his charm offensive all over again with a brand—new guise in government. canada hasjoined the european union in filing a challenge to us tariffs on steel and aluminium with the world trade organization. the eu's trade commissioner, cecilia malmstrom, said the us was playing a dangerous game. she said the tariffs would have consequences for the global economy. nick bryant has been to a steel town which has fallen on hard times to see how the measures have been received by president trump's supporters.

bethlehem, pennsylvania used to be a powerhouse of the us steel industry. then it became a rust belt 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, help the general public. i think it's a good thing, and i don't think the sky is going to fall. you're not worried about the impact of a trade war? i'm not worried about the impact. it's been done before and it hasn't hurt. it's actually 30—a0 years too late. the trump administration claims it's protecting us national security, but this is more about protecting the us steel industry and protecting rust belt 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's retaliating and calling donald trump's actions a dangerous game. this is further weakening the trans—atlantic relations and it increases the risk of severe turbulences 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 iconic goods, such as levi jeans and whiskey. there's 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 for its workers. it is another kick in the teeth basically. after all we've 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 rust belt revival and emboldening donald trump. earlier i spoke to phil levy. he is a senior fellow at the chicago council on global affairs and former trade adviser to us president george w bush. i asked him what options were open to countries hit with these tariffs. they can either accept it or they can retaliate, or file a complaint. it seems most of them have taken the latter two courses of action, both filing complaints and retaliation.

isn't trouble with filing complaints that it takes too long, it can take years snarled up in wto mechanisms trying to get a resolution — i suppose what they can do now is impose retaliatory tariffs? i think you're right, that is why they are doing retaliatory tariffs, they are not waiting, they are rejecting completely the us argument that it is a national security measure, and i think rightly so, they are treating it as a safeguard measure, there is another problem with filing a complaint, which is it puts the wto in an untenable position, and may in fact think the institution if it is seen to be and may in fact sink the institution if it is seen to be sitting injudgement on us national security, even if it is a specious claim. one can look at this and think that president trump is doing this out of the blue, but he has talked about this for ages, and of course he always talks

about the fact that the eu does impose tariffs on some us imports. so it is not out of the blue, it is almost as though president trump is reacting to what the europeans have done in the past. i don't know how much it is a reaction to what the europeans have done, i think you have it right where you mentioned that he talked about at the ages, at one point shortly after the introduction about it for ages, at one point shortly after the introduction of the steel tariffs, the white house press secretary said "i don't know why you are surprised, he has been saying this for decades." and she has a point. you had a lot of people in the us, particularly investors who tended to be very selective in what they heard from this president, whether would listen on things like tax cuts and be dismissive of claims of protectionism. and now we know that he really meant that. surely the trump administration knew that the eu and china and canada would retaliate and that by retaliating it would hurt some of president trump's supporters — things like jeans and bourbon

and harley—davidsons, these are things that are made in the areas that support president trump. it is very generous of you to be sure that they have thought that many steps ahead. i don't know that we have seen evidence of that. as far back as 13 months ago when the president initially sought to withdraw from nafta, he was deterred when his own commerce and agricultural secretary rushed into the oval office and explained to him that many of the states that had supported him most ardently were in fact major exporters. one may have thought he would know that in advance, but that seemed to sway him. it is a learning process for this president. there is lots more on our website including reaction from across the globe, plus five reasons why trade wa i’s globe, plus five reasons why trade wars aren't easy to win. just head to the website or you can download the bbc news out. —— at.

stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we speak to a street artist in singapore about the tough laws which could mean jail time for graffitti artists. the queen and her husband began their royal progress to westminster. 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 muhammad 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. he was a good 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 sgt pepper's lonely hearts club

band, a record described as the album of the century. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: after a top north korean official delivers a letter from kim jong—un to the white house, president trump says the proposed summit is back on for the 12th of june. venezuela has released almost a0 opposition activists who'd spent months in detention. but many of them are still banned from giving interviews, posting material on social media and from leaving the country. the opposition, which boycotted last month's presidential election, has demanded the release of all political prisoners. lebo diseko has more

an invitation for dialogue, says venezuela's government. a token gesture by a dictatorship, says its critics. this is the first of the 39 opposition activists to be released, seen here at a press conference organised by the state shortly before being allowed to go home. translation: we formally announce the beginning of this process and will continue working and we will gradually announce more measures of this nature. one person who wasn't released was leopoldo lopez, one of president maduro's most vocal critics. he is pictured here on house arrest before being taken by police and placed in detention. venezuela is in crisis. last year, there were months of running street battles between police and opposition protesters angry about changes to the constitution. it is facing tough sanctions from the us, eu and canada, as well as neighbouring

countries who say they are concerned about democracy. and its economy is on its knees, meaning queueing forfood and basic necessities is a daily reality. the opposition boycotted the recent election which saw mr maduro voted in for another six years. he promised to free some political opponents, to overcome the wounds left by last yea r‘s protests. but as his country teeters on the brink of collapse, more work may need to be done to heal its bitter divides. lebo diseko, bbc news. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the united states has vetoed a un security council resolution calling for measures to protect palestinians. the arab—backed draft deplored any disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by israel, and the firing of rockets from gaza against israeli civilian areas, though it didn't name hamas. visa says its card payment service

is returning to normal following a system failure which left many customers across europe unable to pay for some of their purchases. the company has apologised for the hardware failure and said it had no reason to believe it was the result of a malicious attack. it's emerged that five big cats reported to have escaped from a flooded zoo in western germany had not in fact left their enclosures. the apparent escape of two lions, two tigers and a jaguar sparked a major search. local residents had been told to stay indoors. shares of the brazilian state—controlled oil company, petrobras, have fallen by nearly 15% following the resignation of its president. pedro parente stood down following nationwide strikes by truck drivers. oil workers had demanded mr parente's resignation and called for an end to the company's policy of setting prices at market rates. 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 — regional premier 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 left germans divided. translation: i think it is a good thing because it is a 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. markus soeder is the leader of bavaria's conservative christian social union. it's 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 by the election campaign. the afd talks a lot about christian values and i think markus soeder had to do something before the regional 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 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. singapore's artscience museum is mounting a major exhibition of street art featuring works by banksy and space invader amongst others. the irony is that graffiti is illegal in the city state, and the penalties are harsh. we talked to one singaporean, whose work features in the exhibition, and asked him what it's like to be a street artist when painting a wall without permission could mean time injail. when i see a wall, especially if it

isa when i see a wall, especially if it is a big blank white wall, it is like space committee should do something about that wall. i have been doing lots of street art for the past 12 or 13 years. the medium that i use is actually quite straightforward. brush and ink. i have tried my hand at spray—painting before. i'm not very good at it. i'm not like a genius, i am quite normal. i am quite average. what i do have control over is how much work i can put into it. just to define street art or graphic art, thatis define street art or graphic art, that is something that is just illegal or unsanctioned, it is kind

of like a disservice to what street art is supposed to be. my mission has always been about reaching out to as many people as possible. i was in paris and you would see all these pieces on the streets, you know? unsanctioned, done without permission. and what you don't hear about is the consequences, usually i see that and that is it. in singapore we are hyper aware of what the consequences are. to be honest it is quite harsh. there is a certain amount of respect when it comes to street art. most of us are not out there to destroy public property. it is really about redefining the place and making something that can be of value to the community and the environment. the excitement for the football

world cup in russia has built up so much it has reached all the way into space. these russian cosmonauts are testing out the official world cup match ball on the international space station, adding a more acrobatic edge to the beautiful game. they showcased some of the possibilities for zero gravity football. u nfortu nately possibilities for zero gravity football. unfortunately they will not be able to make it in time for the opening match against saudi arabia. a reminder of our top story this hour. after a top north korean official delivers a letter from this hour. after a top north korean official delivers a letterfrom kim jong—un to the white house, president trump says the proposed summit is back on fortune 12. you can reach me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @nkem|fejika. 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 across 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 splashes 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, too, around 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 for scotland. 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. there 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, 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 here. 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 to draw in some 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 receiving a letter from kim jong—un — president trump says the summit between the us and north korea will take place in singapore in less less than two weeks. mr trump held talks with kim yong—chol — the highest level representative from pyongyang to visit the white house since 2000.

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. 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. an emergency timetable is being introduced by northern rail from monday after its new schedule, brought in a fortnight ago,