genie: these are the headlines. sweden will reopen an investigation into rape allegations against julian assange. he is in jail for jumping bail and is facing extradition from the u.s. for his role in a breach of classified data. popolls have closed in the philippines.

a vote s seen as a referendum on duduterte and his crackdown on illegal drugs that has left thousands dead. campaigning for the eu parliamentary elections kickoff today. hundreds voting for members of the european parliament. our reporter will be onset to explain it all. beijing says it will not baback down a as wasashington escalatee trtrade war with new tariffs. the biggest film festival kicks off tomorrow on the french riviera. the scoop comoming up.

sweden will reopen the allegations of rape into julian assange. he is serving 50 weeks for jumping bail in the u.k.. hisu.s. is seeking extradition for his role in a breach of classified data. >> h his legal worries began in 2010 when he was speaking at a conference in sweden. he met two women who accused him of rape. both encounters were consensual. he was questioned and never charged.

interpoler 2010, issued a warrant for his arrest. raced more than 250,00000 euros. to smell thet fresh air of london again. as the founder of wikileaks, he faces prosecution for releasing hundreds of thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents. he fled bail and walked through the doors of ecuador embassy in london. he was granted political asylum. their dropped investigigation into a sans in 2017. policearrested by u.k. april 11 for breach of bail. he was sentenced to 50 weeks in

prison. the u.k. is still to decide whether to extradite him to the u.s., where he faces conspiracy charges and up to five years in prison. genie:e: the philippines and vod .n their mililitary election it could open the way for hihimo -- on the constitution. the death has sparkeded outragee around t the world. the e president remainins popul. let'sre on the election, look at the referendum on the why is he so popular?

>> midterm elections are a referendndum on ththe incumbent, unlike his counterparts in america, does not t have a a reelection option. thatat could change if h he new cononstitution. the opposition might get onene t most. resoundingng to be a victctory, but howow resoundingd will i it be enough for him to upend the political system f for genenerations to come. many rereasons.r

15%, one out of 10 or open to the idea of an authoritarian leader. democracyore about and d the demandnd for a strongn whoo can o overcome democratic gridlock and push for reforms after years of rapid growth. genie: a win today could open the door for him to change many thingsgs. constitution, restoring the death penalty. it goes against many people's beliefs. how big of a role might that >> he has done many

things that were unthinkable, including calling china friend. the other thing he has been cussing at ththe leaderss and yet,tholic church he has gotten away with it. he has convinced a lot of people , he is s not against religion, but in a strange way, he is s te voice of --. secular realism in the secularism in the philippines. deathht bring back the penalty, but he also may reduce liability toiminal nine years. he could bring about a lot of

liberalism even though he may not take away the democracy. part of the fabric of philippine political culture. i'm worried about little -- liberal values. genie: talk about political opposition in the philippines and why it is fractured and having a difficult time getting itself together. >> this is a major problem. the president has played shock and all politics very effectively. into his term, there is no clear center of gravity who is the leader of the opposition.

the opposition has struggled to come up with an effective narrative. people here in the philippines whehethey liberties want effective and decisive leadershship. the opposition has created a grand cocoalitionn betweween lil demomocrats and lefeftist progressssive groups. they fought amongsgst each other and c cannibalized against ea other. this is nonot only what he i is doing well, but he is alalso winning by default becauause the opposition is in so much misery and a state ofof denial about wt is happening here. genie: thank you for speaking to us. in sudan, army rulers and

protesters are holding talks over handing power to a civilian administration. the alliance for freedom and change said generals invited them in for talks after several days of deadlock. protesters are still in the streets today, determined to force the council to seize power as they push the military into disposing of omar al-bashir a month ago. >> if progress has been made, they are unwilling to share. progress is being made of main demands, including whether it is a majority of civilians or military figures bodyill sit in the ruling in the future. they are threatening to hold elections in six months. oppoposition parties relish the idea of snap elections, a chance

to try to seize power. different.ontext is people have been jailed for expressing opposition to the former president. figure, and one opposition candidate who was well known, who could swing to power easily. the opposition wants to wait before elections are held. betoxic flounder, it may snap elections are called soon. biggest move towards peace, both the rebels have started to move out from three ports. the war with the government has killed tens of thousands. it has left millions on the brink of famine. the will be at the top of

agenda at a meeting in brussels. mike pompeo is talking to foreign ministers over the iran nuclear deal. the chief says we continue to fully support the nuclear deal with iran. today is the start of campaigning in france for the european parliamentary election. is catherinere nicholson. >> i am going to bring up campaign news every weekdkday fm now until the election happens. it is going to be the latest campaign news and soundbites. we will have behind-the-scenes reports from parliament.

all the innerworkings, there is an antiharassment campaign. news.s.also debunk fake we have reports from 111 different countries. outreporters are finding what concerns voters have. all of that is coming up over the next few weeks. how does this work? >> they scrutinize e and amend proposals to eu law. commissioner for agriculture, the euro, all sorts of things. transnational assembly i in the world.

has 28 member states. we have the u.k. as s a full fully of ththe eu and it is eligible to take part. genie: there has been a lot of buzz about this being important. why? >> we are not sure how many eligible voters are going to turn out. the more people who vote, the more represesentative the final results are of w what people .elieve around the eu

if turnout is low, they could be disproportionately represented within the final parliament. predictions are that is going to happen, turn out not going to be higher this time. up with a fractured parliament. there is hope for higher turnout . they h hope to g get the turnouy emotitive campaign. about voters coming together to create a future for

all of these babies who are going to be born. this sparks aif tear for you. each of us can leave a mark. together we can make a difference. that is why wewe vote. today, i am m being born. choooose the europe you u want o grow up in. takes to geter it people to vote. the first edition is going to genie: we will cover

the cannes film festival. the latest edition of the festival opens tuesday. the face of the event is a died lastmmaker who month. > for many, what is known as the cinema and which the director has the final cut.

>> this is bigger than the oscars for us. >> more than 200,000 people will fill the streets. for locals, the influx has good and bad sides. >> i like living in this atmosphere. a festive atmosphere. films are in competition

for the top prize. >> sweden will reopen an investigation into rape allegations against julie masson. he is in jail and the u.k. for jumping -- against julian assange. he is in jail in the u.k. for jumping bail. midtermve closed in the elections in t the philippinese. his crackdown, duterte a, has left thousands dead. elections,entary hundreds voting for the members of the european parliament. time for a look at the business news. you start with the u.s. and china at an impasse in

negotiations to end their trarae war as washington raises tariffs on goods. >> punitive tariffs would rise from 10 to 25%5%. seen clolose. >> referring to the existing and pressuref hikes led to

beijing. donald trump threatened to impose taxes on the remaining 300 billion in chinese imports. experts have established u.s. importers have been paying much of the extra tariffs as prices have soared. trump's only economic advisor has admitted it. >> it is the u.s. businesses and consumers who pay, correct? >> correct. i do not disagree with that. the u.s. administration hopes it will brbring beijing back to negotiations. strong and will not bow to u.s. demand. to includents chihina

policies on intellectual properties and protect u.s. companies. a newspaper controlled by the ruling communist party said no one should expect china to swallow bitter fruit, meaning it is not planning to give into pressure. how are the mararkets rereacting? >>ne briright spot, a potential meeting between trump and xii g20ing floated for the summit. it is not enough to ensure investors. the ftse 100 is down. carmaker shares are down. the frankfurt dacs down around three quarters of a percent. a anutures spike following alleged sabotatage attack on shs

off ththe coast of the united ab emirateses. up 1.6%.de is west texas intermediate up 1.3%. genie: air france. >> some 455 posts are expected to be cut. less popular routes are to be canceled. rising oil prices also putting a dent in revenue. 185 millionost euros last year. shares are down in paris. genie: the united nationons is pushing for a projectct on clime chanange with a focus on n econc measures. lente secretary-general his support to a number of

initiatives to fight global warming. he called for an end to government subsidies and improved education. he is also pointing to tatax strategies to reduce carbon emissions. here he is. >> we need to make sure when we adopt measures that increase ands, that we reduce costs other aspects of the economy. what is important is not to say let's increase taxes on carbon. let's shift taxes on jobs, andries, reducing them the taxation. widespread rationing program.

>> authoririties do not t expe e situation to reach the level of crisis after the soviet union collapsed. >> some of the products cuba wiwill russian. cuba is facing shortrtages. >> p people can bubuy and access .ore flow -- more food cuba imports two thirds of its food for more than $2 billion per year. it faces a tough embargo, which donald trump has hardened.

caracas delivered subsidized oil to cuba. venezuela is dealing with its own economic crisis. >> cubans are used to overcoming difficulties. it has been getting worse lately. >> food businesses are paying a heavy price. cubans have to write down everything they buy and ration notebooks, hoping they can put them away soon when new solutions are found. meat induststry is casting a waryyeye on a new threat. >> thehey held an international tree fair last week. up beef shanks and

pork bellies. stalls presented vegan meets. meatd

reporter: horrifying escalation of ethnic violence in the democratic republic of congo. different militias have terrorized huge numbers of the civilian population. second reporter: the drc's government say the extent of hunger and displacement is being exaggerated. reporter: 13 million people in need of humanitarian aid. crawford: i'm alex crawford in the democratic republic of congo, and this is "hotspots." tonight we're gonna take you behind the scenes of the world's biggest and hardest-hitting stories. we travel to drc to honor the world's forgotten conflicts. man: we've got sense that you were going into o the badlands.

crawford: stuart ramsay returns to eastern ukrain