welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm nkem ifejika. our top stories: left—wing candidate andres manuel lopez obrador is heading for victory in mexico's presidential election. his two main rivals have conceded. germany's interior minister threatens to resign because of differences with the chancellor angela merkel over immigration policy. the us national security advisor says he believes most of north korea's nuclear programme could be dismantled within a year. and in the world cup, penalty dramas deliver a surprise win for russia and a narrow victory for croatia. hello and welcome to bbc world news.

in mexico, polls have now closed in the presidential and parliamentary elections and the country is thought to be on the cusp of a decisive political shift. official results have not yet been announced, but it looks like the left—wing former mayor of mexico city, andres manuel lopez obrador, who's pledged to clean up politics, has won the poll. his two closest rivals have both admitted defeat. the bbc‘s will grantjoins us now from mexico city. will, so we have those two candidates admitting defeat, this is significant, right? yes. i mean, it's all over bar the shouting, it is andres manuel lopez obrador who will be declared president at some point in the coming hours. he's already made his way to the celebration in a hotel in the centre of mexico city, where his party faithful are waiting for him,

then he is expected to go to the central square in the city, the will —— the socalo, where thousands of his supporters are going for a party and a speech from andres manuel lopez obrador, we expect that to be confirmed soon. with the candidates conceding defeat, andres manuel lopez obrador will be the next president of mexico. the polling suggested this but i think it is something different when it does happen? yes, absolutely. we did think he was so far ahead it would take something special, something unexpected to stop him taking the presidency, but he's done it in this way, with the two candidates basically conceding within a0 minutes of the polls closing was extraordinary, so the writing must have been on the wall in their own numbers. within their parties they must have known for

some time that they haven't carried off the turnaround that they expected, so mexico is looking at the former mail of mexico city as their president. and what he's done in terms of breaking down the power base of the two traditional parties is genuinely extraordinary. indeed, because it's almost two decades since a left—wing president was in charge of mexico. this is all history stuff. it really is. since i923i believe, since anyone bar those two parties has controlled mexico. this party he created, it was only conceived of in 201a. now the pri, it's hard to explain how significant they are u nless explain how significant they are unless you have seen it and lived here, it is all encompassing, they stand for the revolutionary institutional party, it is the

state, or it was, for 70 years. they could be the sixth largest party in congress, it's something, and extraordinary the way andres manuel lopez 0brador and his supporters have redrawn the political map in this country. thank you very much, the bbc‘s will grant, up all night as we promised, thanks for bringing us as we promised, thanks for bringing us the latest. when it is officially announced we will bring that to you. the german interior minister, horst seehofer, has offered to resign, creating more instability for angela merkel‘s coalition government. mr seehofer has been pushing for a tougher approach to asylum—seekers and was reported to be unhappy with last week's european union deal on migration. andrew plant reports. he is part of chancellor merkel‘s coalition government, but has become one of her loudest critics too. now horst seehofer, leader of the christian social union party, and germany's interior minister, has offered to resign

over mrs merkel‘s approach to migration. at a summit in brussels last week, an agreement was made among eu leaders to share migrants more evenly across the european union and build new reception centres too. the talks were prompted by italy and malta turning away rescue boats that had picked up migrants crossing to europe from north africa. angela merkel‘s ideas for building migrant processing centres were already a much harder stance to her previous opendoor approach, but the proposals hammered out in brussels proved a tougher sell back at home. horst seehofer had already threatened to order german border guards to turn migrants away unless angela merkel got tougher, saying reception centres would be less effective than simply closing the door. that would have forced her to fire him from government and caused chaos in her coalition. it is not yet clear if horst seehofer‘s offer to resign

will be accepted. chancellor merkel, though, will be keen not to weaken her coalition and avoid new elections, which some fear could embolden the country's far—right and lead to political instability, both in germany and the rest of europe as a whole. andrew plant, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. a suicide bomb attack in the eastern afghan city of jalalabad has killed at least 19 people. most of them were members of the country's sikh minority, including the only sikh candidate in the parliamentary elections due in october. they had all turned out to welcome the afghan president, ashraf ghani, who had visited the city hours earlier. hot weather and drought conditions are fuelling wildfires across the western united states. hundreds of firefighters have been battling more than a0 big wildfires. thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes so far, with almost half a million acres burned. and here in the uk there

have been blazes too. more than 100 fire fighters are working in what's being described as extremely testing conditions at the scene of a huge moorland fire in lancashire in northern england. on saturday, strong winds led to two fires merging, they now cover several square kilometres. officials say it could take at least a week to put out the flames. the us national security advisor, john bolton, says he believes the bulk of north korea's nuclear programme could be dismantled within a year. mr bolton told a us tv show the trump administration knew there was a risk that pyongyang could drag out negotiations in order to prolong weapons development, but said north korea would benefit from dismantling its nuclear programme quickly so that sanctions could then be lifted. our experts have devised as a programme that, with north korean cooperation, with full disclosure of all their chemical and biological

nuclear weapons programmes, ballistic missile sites... that hasn't happened yet? we can... it has not. we can get... physically we would be able to dismantle the overwhelming bulk of their programmes within a year. earlier i spoke with 0livia enos, who is a policy analyst in the asian studies center at the heritage foundation. i began by asking if dismantling the program in a year was realistic. i think dismantling the north korea nuclear programme in a year is very overly optimistic. most nuclear experts that have put out estimates suggest that it may be possible to dismantle, i.e. freeze testing, of the north korea nuclear programme in a year, but the likelihood of the programme being entirely shut down in a year is nearly impossible. in fact, they estimate it could take nearly six or ten years, maybe as long as 15 years, to fully dismantle the programme.

it seems like a very optimistic estimate on the ability to get things done and to get north korea denuclearised. i think the reality is we're looking at much longer. and the question about whether north korea is sincere about denuclearising is still one that's very much still on the table. there are still several stages for this to happen, it has to be verified, it has to be checked, they have to make sure they can't start up the programme again. all this takes time and money as well. yeah. i think the estimates are that it would be billions and billions of dollars in order to completely denuclearise north korea. even some of the shorter term programmes or indicators that you would look for that north korea is in fact denuclearising are quite expensive. for example, getting iaea inspectors in to verify north korea is in fact denuclearising, installing cameras

in their nuclear sites to again verify that they are taking steps. the reality is there are many indications to the contrary that north korea is not sincere about denuclearising. new reports suggest north korea is continuing to develop its missile launchers, and even some of the support systems for its medium—range hwasong missile. beyond that, us intelligence is estimating north korea may have secret nuclear sites that it has not yet disclosed to the international community. there's a lot of signs that north korea may have come to the table in singapore, but the promises it made were minimal at best and may not even have been made with sincerity. briefly, do you think united states has given away too much before any concrete steps have been taken by north korea? it was concerning the us was willing to give up joint military exercises at the singapore summit, that blindsided our allies and made them concerned that they weren't committed to the long—term stability of the east asia—pacific.

there is concern in that regard definitely that perhaps we gave up too much, too soon. i think it's critical right now that the us is clear, it will maintain maximum pressure and sanctions against north korea until it shows good—faith signs of denuclearising, and frankly until it is fully denuclearising at all. police in india say more than a0 people have been killed when their bus fell into a gorge. the accident happened in the himalayan state of uttarakhand. at least three people have been taken to hospital with injuries. anbarasan ethirajan reports. the passenger bus veered off a slippery road and fell into a deep ravine. it tumbled down for nearly 200 metres before smashing into the ground. the vehicle was travelling through a mountainous region in india's northern uttarakhand state when tragedy struck. there was no chance

for most of the passengers. the mangled remains of the bus shows the power of the impact. it took hours for the emergency services to recover the bodies. the unusually high number of casualties has raised questions. translation: it's a remote area and it's being noticed that overloading is a norm in these areas. it is definitely per the information we have received, the bus was double what it could accommodate. i have ordered an enquiry into the matter and whoever is found guilty will be punished. the 28—seater bus was carrying 58 passengers. fatalities and road accidents are not uncommon in india. most of the accidents happen on poorly maintained roads and vehicles, and reckless driving. india registers the highest number of road fatalities in the world. the country has enacted a number of laws to improve road safety,

but they are hardly enforced. the high number of casualties in the latest accident is a wake—up call for the authorities. anbarasan ethirajan, bbc news. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: a helicopter prison break, one of france's most notorious prisoners is sprung from prison and goes on the run sprung from prison and goes on the i’ui’i “ sprung from prison and goes on the run —— prison break. china marked its first day of rule in hong kong with a series of spectacular celebrations. a huge firework display was held in the former colony. the chinese president, jiang zemin, said unification was the start of a new era for hong kong. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly, that was cloned in a laboratory using a cell from another sheep. for the first time in 20 years,

russian and american spacecraft have docked in orbit, at the start of a new era of cooperation in space. challenger powered past the bishop rock lighthouse at almost 50 knots, shattering a record that had stood for sa years. and there was no hiding the sheer elation of richard branson and his crew. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: the left—wing candidate, andres manuel lopez 0brador, is heading for victory in mexico's presidential election. his two main rivals have conceded. let's get more on that now.

earlier, i spoke to christopher wilson, deputy director of the wilson centre's mexico institute, and i asked him if amlo was likely to be crowned winner: it does indeed, the other two candidates, really, it was impressive, actually, how quickly they declined and recognised the victory of lopez 0brador. to me that is actually a very good sign of a maturing mexican democracy, the fact that they are willing to recognise the will of the voters and not leave this up for any sort of dispute, not leave it up for debate, but ratherjust ready to move on and to work with him potentially. but also, actually, as ricardo anaya made an interesting statement, he said that they would both be there to support the future president, amlo — andres manuel lopez 0brador — but also there to be a strong opposition to him and in fact that is just what an opposition party should do so it's a good sign i think so far. so i'm looking very close in 2006 — because in mexico i believe a term is every six years — he came very close but this is the first time in quite a while that a left—wing candidate has made it. how significant is that? no, it is a huge change and that is just what the mexican voters were looking for, a big change. it is the first time

since the 1970s or early 80s, depending on how you look at it, that someone from the left has been president of mexico or will become president of mexico and what this really represents is just the fact that mexican citizens were fed up and tired with the political class, with the way that both the pan the pri had been governing, the fact that they could not get economic growth up to levels to really pull people out of poverty, that they didn't overcome corruption, that they didn't deal with the major security issues that so many are facing and s othere's, i think, an interesting thing is there were two types of supporters for andres manuel lopez 0brador — some that are sort of the true believers, those who think that he represents the type of change that mexico needs, that he will represent those who have been left behind and that he will end corruption, but there are others that actually voted for him more because they were not in any way, shape or form going to vote for either of the other main parties, they are just so fed up with them that he was the only remaining option for then

and they were willing to take some level of a risk in terms of voting for a candidate that they are not quite sure about, that maybe six or 12 years ago they voted against but are now willing to give him a chance. does that make him — i shudder to say the word — does that make him the populist in this election? i think he absolutely was the populist in this election. i mean, his policies, his policy proposals are quite populist in the sense that many of them are sort of symbolic. he talks about things like reducing the number of high—level officials in all government ministries, he talks about taking away at pensions, or lowering pensions forformer presidents. things that actually in terms of the budget of mexico probably would not make a big difference but they are powerful symbols, saying that he is going to govern in an austere way, that he doesn't need these trappings of governance that maybe past presidents did, and will change things in a certain way. other things like talking about the fact that mexico should

grow all of its own food rather than import food from other places — these are sort of populist policies but they will have to match reality and we will have to see how much the pragmatic side of him comes out as well because of course mexico cannot detach itself from the global economy, it is tightly integrated into the northern american economym, through nafta and infact that's the strength of the mexican economy. he is, to a certain extent, does recognize that but there is a contradiction there and in many different aspect of his policy proposals there are seeming contradictions that will have to be resolved over the next several months or at least when he takes office in december. french police are searching for a notorious gangster who escaped from jail by helicopter. redoine faid had been serving a 25—year sentence for a failed robbery during which a police officer was killed.

richard lister has the details. a career criminal, inspired by gangster movies. redoine faid is now on the run. his escape from this present in the paris suburbs had all the hallmarks of a film script. as he waited in a visiting area, two accomplices in a hijacked helicopter landed in the grounds. using smoke bombs and heavy tools, they broke through to faid, bundled him onto the helicopter and flew him away. the helicopter was later found 60 kilometres from the prison. its pilot had been seized as he waited to give a lesson. after flying faid and his accomplices out, he was released unharmed. redoine faid had a measure of fame after writing a book about his life of crime during a previous jail term. he revealed how hollywood had affected his robbery technique. in the book and in the documentary that followed he explained that he was fascinated by the cinema, that he used to see hollywood movies with robert de niro. also french movies that talked about the spectacular attacks and spectacular escapes. but french police say his crimes

often involve heavy weaponry and brutal violence. faid was serving a 25—year sentence of this policewoman was killed in 2010 in a raid he organised. this is actually his second jail break. last time, he used dynamite to blast off the prison doors and was on the run for six weeks. another manhunt is under way. richard lister, bbc news. football now. this is becoming a world cup of big upsets. we've already said goodbye to germany, argentina and portugal. now, spain have been knocked out, and it was by the hosts russia. in the day's other match, croatia beat denmark on penalties. james burford watched all the action. they can hardly believe it.

germany's group stage exit was undoubtedly the shock of the tournament, that was until now. ranked a full 60 places below spain, few thought russia could cause any sort of damage to the 2010 champions and perhaps for a time the story played out that we. an own goal and spain off the mark. but, as with all great tales, soon follows a plot twist. russian blushes spared from the spot. extra time came went without a dent to the russian defence to produce this chance, lift—off in the luzhniki stadium russia in the quarter—finals of the world cup for the first time in half a century. to nizhny novgorod, denmark with the fastest goal of the tournament so far, 57 seconds on the clock whenjorgensen took the lead. but this is a world cup packed with drama. mandzukic was the danish villain moments later in fortunate fashion. midfield maestro luka modric had the chance to win the match in extra time but kasper schmeichel stood firm, much to his father's delight. another penalty shootout then and croatia, having spurned their earlier chance, this time took the opportunity. so it's russia, not spain,

who will await in the last eight. james burford, bbc news. well, as you can expect, the russian fans are pretty happy about knocking spain out of the world cup. steve rosenberg was with them. chanting they never stopped believing. as they followed the big match on the big screen in the moscow fan zone, russians experienced every possible emotion. including the sweetest one of all, euphoria. screaming and cheering "it's great! he says. "we'll be the champions." well, from the way they're celebrating here, you might think that russia had just won the world cup. but this joy is understandable, because a quarterfinal place is a huge achievement for a side which went into this tournament the lowest ranked team.

and russia isn't just winning matches, it's winning hearts and minds too. i'm from australia. it's nothing like they say, mate. russia's like one of the nicest places i've ever been to, and i've been to about 20 countries in this world. and that is a public relations victory for president putin. he sees it definitely as a political victory. it is something he's achieved. they were able to get the cup and they not only were able to do that but against all predictions to the contrary, make it very successful. tonight, the whole of russia is out partying. russians are brimming with pride and daring to dream of world cup glory. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. for more on the world cup, head to the bbc sport website. you'll find team news, fixtures, match reports, all building up to the final onjuly the 15th. go to bbc.com/worldcup.

one of the biggest names in basketball, lebron james, is to join the los angeles lakers in a four—year deal worth more than $150 million. the blockbuster deal means the four—time nba most valuable player who has played in the past eight nba finals will nowjoin one of the league's most iconic clubs, adding to the legacy of such legends as kobe bryant and magicjohnson. james is considered a rival of retired chicago bulls star michaeljordan for the title of greatest player in nba history. however he had endured frustration with the cleveland cavaliers. look at dr pat, the south african born billionaire who owns the los angeles times, and he said yes. votes are being counted in mexico city. this is where amlo will address voters after his victory. his two other rivals have conceded, and this is the scene there now. hello.

on sunday the temperature was back up to 32 degrees. so are the temperatures over the next couple of days. 90 fahrenheit in hampshire. london, 31, through the midlands in the strong sunshine that we had here. and there's going to be more than sunshine over the week ahead, if you're looking for rain, you're probably going to be out of luck, just one or two isolated showers, but on the whole it's going to be dry. now, the first day ofjuly did bring some rain in towards the south—west of the uk from that area of cloud there, about half an inch of rain in devon, for example. those earlier showers, some thunderstorms as well, have pretty much moved away out into the english channel over towards the near continent, so probably going to be dry on monday. a little bit of cloud mayjust linger in the far south—east of scotland and behind that we've got some slightly cooler air, so low 20s across scotland. but widely towards 29, 30 degrees in england and wales. 32 perhaps towards south—east

wales and midlands. so, sunshine to end the day then for most areas. 0vernight we'll see a little bit more cloud coming down these north sea coastal areas but staying dry and warmest of all again across southern parts of england and wales, where, for a little while longer, it will feel rather humid. more sunshine on the way for tuesday. there's still a very small chance of picking out a late shower there for the far south—west but otherwise it's dry, very sunny out there on tuesday, hardly a breath of wind around. strong sunshine and those temperatures beginning to lift a little more for scotland and northern ireland too. now, high pressure is sort of in charge of our weather over the weekend. it's not a particularly dominant area of high pressure, but it doesn't need to be. nothing much is moving, there's hardly a breath of wind again on wednesday, a bit of low cloud coming down through the north sea, but on the whole it's sunny skies,

a bit of fairweather cloud developing, few if any showers towards the south—west and the heat continues to arrive at the numbers of 29, maybe even 3a england and wales, mid—to—high teens for scotland and northern ireland. little bit of a change perhaps and a fly in the ointment as we move into thursday. low pressure to the north of the uk. that weather front there is very weak, it will bring a band of cloud towards scotland and northern ireland, may squeeze a shower out over the grampians, but further south, it's likely to be dry, some long spells of sunshine. the heat is certainly still there, so temperatures into the high 20s at the very least. so it's a very quiet week ahead. i'm going to stick my neck out, looks like it will be a dry week in london at the wimbledon tennis championships and elsewhere likely to stay dry with some warm sunshine at times. this is bbc world news, the headlines: votes are being counted in mexico's general election. exit polls suggest the left—wing candidate andres manuel lopez 0brador is likely to be the next president. his two closest rivals have both admitted defeat. one of his allies is on course to become the first woman mayor of mexico city. reports from germany say

the interior minister horst seehofer has offered to resign because of his differences with chancellor merkel over immigration policy. mr seehofer has been pushing for a tougher approach to asylum—seekers and was reported to be unhappy with this week's european union deal on migration. russia football fans have been celebrating their team's unexpected triumph over spain in the world cup. russia won the match in moscow in a penalty shoot—out, eliminating the former champions. in the quarterfinals, russia will face croatia, who beat denmark, also in a penalty shoot—out. now on bbc news, hardtalk‘s stephen sackur speaks to computer scientist and authorjaron lanier.