they settled in dublin, where fine gael delete —— leo varadkar brock.father, and he says his victory means father, and he says his victory m ea ns every father, and he says his victory means every proud parent can dream big dreams for his child. what direction is he likely to take the country in? well, he's socially liberal, no doubt about that. on the abortion issue, which remains contentious in ireland, it has some of the strictest abortion laws in europe. he has suggested he would be in favour of subluxation, perhaps a referendum next year. but he is seen as being on the economically conservative wing of fine gael. it isa conservative wing of fine gael. it is a centre—right party, during the campaign critics attacked him for cracking down on benefits cheats. his main rival in the election, he suggested leo varadkar would bring the party to the right. leo varadkar went on to say that he was talking about people who get up early in the morning, notjust about people who get up early in the morning, not just about entrepreneurs, about carers who get up e

leo varadkar is the new face of modern ireland.hs he has been the favourite to become this country's leader. he set out his vision of leadership amid a sea of signs bearing one name. i think if my election today has shown anything it is that prejudice has no hold in this republic. and so every proud parent in ireland today can dream big dreams for their children. every boy and girl can know that there is no limit to their ambition, to their possibilities if they are given the opportunity. his father was a doctor who emigrated from india and married an irish nurse. two years ago he came out as gay, ahead of a referendum on the introduction of same—sex marriage. he celebrated the yes vote on stage, a sign of social change in what many still call catholic ireland. and leo is totally different to the last taoiseach, enda kenny. he is not one of these high—fiving enda kenny types, but that is not always what is needed. times change and they know what is in him, that steel and determination. island's economy may have emerged from a time

but whenever leo varadkar came out as 93v whenever leo varadkar came out as gay and a radio intervieweland during this and president did party leadership campaign. the campaign has not focused on most things but it has focused on most things but it has focused on most things but it has focused on economic issues, leo varadkar seen as socially liberal but economically conservative, his opponent here has suggested he would pull the party more to the right but it does seem like a majority of members of the party have decided that leo varadkar is the man to lead them into the future and to replace enda kenny. expect the leader of this election to be ratified in parliament in a vote in the next fortnight or so, the challenge is coming upfor fortnight or so, the challenge is coming up for that person will be how to build an ireland's economic recovery and more than anything else the challenge presented by the decision of ireland's nearest neighbour, the uk, to leave the eu. many thanks. we'll bring you the results of that contest as soon as it happens. in a moment a summary of the business

the strong favourite is leo varadkar the son of an indian immigrant who is ireland's first openly gaypondent chris page who gave this update. lee override court, if as expected is collected leader of fine gael and therefore the next taoiseach will break the mould in a number of ways, you will be the first openly gay prime minister and the first of asian extraction, he is the son of an indian immigrant, there is another contender, simon coveney, but he fell behind in the opening days of the leadership contest because leo varadkar won the most votes. 21,000 members of the party have been voting as well, those votes are being counted now here in central dublin, we expect the result sometime after five o'clock, it is interesting when you look at the way this contest has been reported international, if you put leo varadkar‘s name into any international search engine you get a lot of international news sites as your results and a lot of them have focused on the fact he is gay and half indian but whenever leo varadkar came out two years ago he said he did not want that tore his best mother's

leo varadkar is the new face of modern ireland — the son of an immigrant, openly gay, and for months, country's new prime minister. i indeed have been elected the 11th leader of fine gael. he set out his vision of leadership, amid a sea of signs bearing one name. i think if my election as leader of fine gael, today, has shown anything it's that prejudice has no place in this republic. and so every proud parent in ireland today can dream big dreams for their children. every boy and girl can know there is no limit to their ambition, their possibilities, if they are given the opportunity. varadkar‘s father was a doctor, who migrated from india, and married an irish nurse. two years ago, he came out as gay, ahead of a referendum on the introduction of same—sex marriage. he celebrated the "yes" vote on stage, a sign of social change in what many still call "catholic ireland". and leo is certainly different from last leader, enda kenny. he's not one of these high—fiving enda kenny types, but, you know, that's not always what's needed. councillors and the parliament and the party know what i

the son of an indian immigrant, leo varadkar will become the first openly gay taoiseach.up on bbc news: as thousands of fans descend on cardiff ahead of tomorrow's champions league final — uefa president aleksander chefereen insists it will be safe. good evening from york — where later this evening theresa may and jeremy corbyn will take part in the bbc question time leaders‘ special. the audience, as we can tell, are already here. about 150 of them drawn from every part of the uk, representing different strands of public and political opinion. the event begins in 2.5 hours‘ time, at 8:30pm, and chaired by david dimbleby. and it takes place less than 2a hours after donald trump‘s decision to take america out of the paris climate treaty. mrs may has been accused by opponents of a ‘pathetic‘ response, given her refusal to back a strongly—worded response from france and germany. the prime minister said she was ‘disappointed‘ by the president‘s decision, which he said had been dictated by economic factors. jeremy corbyn said the decision was ‘reckless and dangerous‘. 0ur depu

leo varadkar is the new face of modern ireland.r months, he is been the favourite to become this country's new primers. months, he is been the favourite to become this country's new primerslj have become this country's new primers.” have been elected the 11th leader of fine gael. he set out his vision of leadership. amid a sea of signs with his name. as leader of fine gael, i have shown that predators has no place in this republic. and so every proud parent in ireland today can dream big dreams and their children. —— prejudice has no place. there is no limit to the possibilities if they are given the opportunity. varadkar‘s father migrated from india, becamea varadkar‘s father migrated from india, became a doctor, and married a nurse. last year, he came out as 93v- a nurse. last year, he came out as gay. he celebrated the "yes" vote on 93v gay. he celebrated the "yes" vote on gay marriage on stage. and leo is very different to andy kenney. he is a different kind of man. —— enda. he has steel and determination in. ireland may have e

that's the new irish taoiseach, leo varadkar on his first visit to downing street to meet theresa mayhe was saddened that the uk had decided to leave the european union, but clearly, concerned about the border between the republic and northern ireland and theresa may confirming there that any agreement that her party makes with the dup in order to form a government will be made public. so, that's a question about the talks that are ongoing between the conservatives and the dup. i'm going to ta ke conservatives and the dup. i'm going to take you now to paris where there has been an incident on the champs elysees. the police had cordoned off a bit of the champs elysees because a bit of the champs elysees because a carr exploded and burst into fla mes a carr exploded and burst into fla m es after a carr exploded and burst into flames after it crashed into a police van on the champs elysees. afp are reporting that the driver was armed and that the driver was seriously injured the the police just held a press conference in which they said the counter—terrorism unit opened an investigation

as head of minority government, leo varadkar is likely to find his leadership is tested sooner ratherre on bbc news. still to come... at least five people have been killed in the afghan capital after police opened fire on protesters angry at deteriorating security. in their biggest international is porting spectacle ever seen, many people have taken part in sporting events to help poverty in africa. taunting which led to scuffles, scuffles to fighting and fighting to full—scale riot as with all fans broke out after area. the whole world will mourn the deaths. here's the father of the indian people. aye the father of the indian people. aye the oprah winfrey show comes to an end. the chat show has made her one of the richest people on the planet. ginger spice has announced she has left the spice girls. i don't believe it. not jeremy left the spice girls. i don't believe it. notjeremy hanley well. why? this is bbc news. the headlines: their head of the us environmental protection agency, scott pruett, has said president trump's vision does not mean disengagement. with the uk general elec

but the new prime minister is likely to be this man, leo varadkar, a doctor who is openly gay and halfre recently has run the welfare system. mr varadkar is one of two candidates for the leadership of ireland's biggest political party, fine gael, currently in a coalition government with independent members of parliament. the other contender is simon coveney, the irish housing minister. he is 1111, meaning that whoever winds will be ireland's he is 1111, meaning that whoever wins will be ireland's youngest ever leader. but a huge majority of the party's parliamentarians have publicly endorsed mr varadkar, meaning he is almost certain to be elected. the outgoing prime minister enda kenny is standing down after six yea rs. he came under pressure after his party lost seats in the general election last year. the biggest issue for his successor is the departure of ireland's nearest neighbour, the uk, from the eu. enda kenny has described it as the biggest challenge the irish republic has faced in its history. chris page, bbc news, dublin. with the general election under a week away, my colle

but the new prime minister is likely to be this man, leo varadkar, a doctor who is openly gay and halfvaradkar is one of two candidates for the leadership of ireland's biggest political party, fine gael, currently in a coalition government with independent members of parliament. the other contender is simon coveney, the irish housing

the new leader of the biggest party in ireland's coalition government, fine gael, is leo varadkar — the of an indian immigrant who is ireland's first openly gay minister. aged 38, he is set to become ireland's youngest prime minister in a few weeks‘ time. coming up shortly on bbc news, we will have new swatch but first it is time for click. —— news watch. summer is on the way and, well, it wouldn't be a british summer without a visit to a good old fashioned festival. no, not that one. much better. known as the town of books, hay—on—wye, in wales, is the location of the hay festival. it's a literary mecca, an annual gathering of artists, authors, daleks and, yep, even royals. it's even been called the woodstock of the mind by none other than former us president bill clinton. this year it's the 30th hay festival and the line—up is pretty stellar. well, for the second year in a row, we've been invited to share some of our favourite experiences and show off some really good tech, all in front of a real, live audience of actual people. what could possibly go wrong? a packed tent waited, all

the new leader of the biggest party in ireland's coalition government, fine gael, is leo varadkar, theon of an indian immigrant who is ireland's first openly gay minister. aged 38, he is set to become ireland's youngest prime minister in a few weeks‘ time. syria's national football team has a real chance of qualifying for the world cup. it's an astonishing achievement for a country entering its seventh year of a bloody civil war. the team can't play at home and many of its star players have left syria. richard conway has spent time with members of the squad in damascus, and the whole team in malaysia where they won a qualifying match against uzbekistan. he reports now for our world. they are the unlikely sporting heroes in a country route is apart by conflict. —— country ripped apart. syria is in the midst of a bloody civil war but the national football tea m bloody civil war but the national football team is trying to send a message it hopes canon transcend political and religious differences. —— hopes can. iam i am following the team as they compete for a place in football's biggest

the new leader of the biggest party in ireland's coalition government, fine gael, is leo varadkar, theon of an indian immigrant who is ireland's first openly gay minister. aged 38, he is set to become ireland's youngest prime minister in a few weeks‘ time. now let's take a brief look at some of this morning's front pages. we start with the mirror which leads with the conservative candidate for south thanet, craig mackinlay, being charged with breaking electoral law. the tories have said the allegations are unfounded. the election is also the main story on the express, with snp leader nicola sturgeon saying she'd be willing to enter coalition talks with labour, if the result is inconclusive. the mail cites research, which suggests statins can dramatically cut the risk of dying from breast cancer. theresa may has vowed to consult businesses at every step of the brexit negotiations, in an interview with the financial times. the i leads with the charge of alleged overspending faced by conservative candidate for south thanet craig mackinlay. the telegraph says defence secretary michael fall

the new leader of the biggest party in ireland's coalition government, fine gael, is leo varadkar — the of an indian immigrant who is ireland's first openly gay minister. aged 38, he is set to become ireland's youngest prime minister in a few weeks‘ time. now let's take a brief look at some of this morning's front pages. we start with the mirror which leads with the conservative candidate for south thanet, craig mackinlay, being charged with breaking electoral law. the tories have said the allegations are unfounded. the election is also the main story on the express — with snp leader nicola sturgeon saying she'd be willing to enter coalition talks with labour, if the result is inconclusive. the mail cites research, which suggests statins can dramatically cut the risk of dying from breast cancer. the telegraph says defence secretary michael fallon has pledged high earners won't face an income tax increase, if the conservatives remain in power after the election. and the guardian says labour has accused the tories of using fake news ads to attackjeremy corbyn. now on bbc news, time for th

. —— leo varadkar. now on bbc news, asian network's big election debate.come to the asian network's big election debate. we are on the asian network, and the bbc news channel. i'm nomia iqbal, here in the splendid alga concert hall at the university of birmingham, and on stage here in the concert hall. with me is our audience, people from all different backgrounds, different political allegiances, and with just one week to go before the big vote, they have a lot of questions about a wide range of issues. they will be putting those questions to our panel of gu ests putting those questions to our panel of guests from different political parties. with us today is shailesh va ra parties. with us today is shailesh vara from the conservatives, khalid masood mood from labour, baroness sheehan from the liberal democrats, bob —— bob dhillon from ukip, and leanne wood from plaid cymru. following the horrific terror attack in manchester last week, campaigning for the election had been suspended. of course it has now resumed. but the events of manchester are still ver

but the new prime minister is likely to be this man, leo varadkar, a doctor who is openly gay and halfrnment with independent members of parliament. the other contender is simon coveney, the irish housing minister. he is 44, meaning that whoever winds will be ireland's youngest ever leader. but a huge majority of the party's parliamentarians have publicly endorsed mr varadkar, meaning he is almost certain to be elected. the outgoing prime minister enda kenny is standing down after six yea rs. he came under pressure after his party lost seats in the general election last year. the biggest issue for his successor is the departure of ireland's nearest neighbour, the uk, from the eu. enda kenny has described it as the biggest challenge the irish republic has faced in its history. chris page, bbc news, dublin. migration brought 85,000 people to scotland last year — taking the total population to just over five—million. the scottish government has said it's a "key priority" in tackling the ageing population and attracting new working—age people to the nation. but how do voters feel about the

all the parties have do focus on that deadline, and that was echoed by the irish prime minister leo varadkar if it doesn't come back by thursday, it is going to be another difficult decision to make. what is going to happen in northern ireland? public services has to keep running and budget has to be set. in order to that to happen, for the cash floating keep coming, ministers in london have to release the cash strength and takeover giving northern ireland a budget. whether or not we will be into a sustained period of what is called direct rule, ministers in london taken over the stormont department in in indefinite basis, remains to be seen. the united states has accused the syrian government of preparing for another chemical weapons attack on forces opposing president assad. at least 87 people died in a sarin gas attack on the rebel held town of khan sheikhun in april. it prompted president trump to order a strike against a syrian air base. the syrian president bashar al assad denied any preparations were under way for an attack. earlier the us ambassador to the un, nikki haley, issued thi

the new irish prime minister, leo varadkar, is expected to hold meetings with political leaders froms expected to meet with the leader of the democratic unionist party, arlene foster, and sinn fein's michelle o'neill. joining me is our ireland correspondent chris buckler who's in dublin for us. chris, just take us through what is expected to come. are you in belfast? i'm still in belfast. i looked at that scene and i thought, i belfast. i looked at that scene and ithought, i know belfast. i looked at that scene and i thought, i know that rooftop. it is belfast not dublin. the meetings are due to happen in dublin though. tell us what's expected. there is a lot of concern from politicians in the republic of ireland about any deal between the duchlt up and —— dup and theresa may's government will mean. they head south to dublin and the two biggest parties, the dup and the two biggest parties, the dup and sinn fein. there will be three things on the agenda. you mentioned the westminster deal. there have been concerns expressed openly by the irish government about what this deal could pot