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BBC News with Roisin Hastie.
Polls have closed in Colombia's presidential run-off election, where the right-wing political newcomer Abelardo de la Espriella, backed by President Trump, is close to victory in the preliminary results. He's pitted against Senator Iván Cepeda, who promises to continue the less confrontational policies of the outgoing President Gustavo Petro. Our correspondent Ione Wells is in the coastal city of Barranquilla. I think it is fair to say that the right-wing candidate Espriella certainly has huge momentum certainly around here in the coastal regions of Colombia where some of the poorest regions of the country are. There are still, though, Cepeda supporters I've seen out and about even in this area that seems to be quite an Espriella stronghold. They feel that Espriella would be, in their words, dangerous for the country. The prospect of a long-term peace deal between the U.S. and Iran is once again in doubt after reports in Iranian state media said the delegation from Tehran walked out of talks in Switzerland. It follows a warning from Donald Trump on social media that the U.S. would, in his words, "hit Iran very hard" again if it failed to restrain Hezbollah, its proxy in Lebanon. In response, Iran's lead negotiator at the talks at the country's armed forces were prepared for confrontation. Jessica Parker is in Lucerne. You've got J.D. Vance, the U.S. vice president here, sort of striking, quite a positive note. But Donald Trump weighing in on his social media with a bit more of a stick approach and look, unconfirmed reports as to exactly what that has led the Iranian delegation to do in terms of whether it's gonna stick around and continue these talks. But clearly they've noticed them, taken note of them and they haven't gone down well. But the exact impact, I think we're still waiting to find out. The Israeli prime minister says the IDF will stay in southern Lebanon for as long as is necessary to protect northern Israel from Hezbollah. Fighting is reported to have greatly diminished since late on Saturday. But Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that nothing will alter his commitment to at-risk communities. Police and soldiers in Bolivia have used bulldozers to clear roads blocked by anti-government protesters for more than six weeks. The President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency on Saturday, which gives the military wider powers to clear the blockades. Here's Joanna Kean. Demonstrators calling for the resignation of President Paz and a reversal of anti-austerity measures have been blocking roads with rubble, logs and debris since the end of April. The protests have strangled Bolivia's economy, pushing food prices up further and leaving hospitals struggling to find critical supplies. President Paz has reached a deal with the main trade union, but not with groups from mainly rural areas who vowed to fight on. As the blockades are removed, trucks carrying fuel are starting to arrive in La Paz and other major cities. BBC News. The Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten has formally apologized to members of the Moluccan community for their mistreatment at the hands of the Netherlands during Indonesia's struggle for independence. After 1949, 12,500 Moluccan - men who had fought for the Dutch colonial army and their families - were transferred to the Netherlands to escape reprisals. The move was intended to be temporary, but the Dutch government renegade on its promise to repatriate them. Britain says it will invest more than $60 million on boosting its domestic production of critical minerals. The move will come as the government seeks to reduce reliance on global supply chains and strengthen its economic resilience. There's growing demand for the minerals, which are a key component in everyday products such as refrigerators and smartphones. Serena Williams will compete in the women's singles at the Wimbledon tennis championships later this month for the first time in four years. She's been given a wild card to take part in the tournament that she's won seven times. At the men's football World Cup, Uruguay and Cape Verde have ended their match two all in Miami. The African side went ahead early on in the game, only for the South Americans to equalize and then take the lead in quick succession. But Cape Verde equalized in the second half. Our correspondent Paul Njie was with the excited crowds watching the match in Cape Verde. "Believe me, the World Cup is on every lips here in Cape Verde. If you walk on the streets you see flags, you see graffities or murals of the national team players around the capital and people walk by and proudly carry along with them their flags showing their pride and their, you know, patriotism. People have told me here that they remain proud of the team's achievements because nobody thought that they would play a draw game against Spain. Nobody even thought that they were going to score a goal against Uruguay who have won the World Cup two times." That's the latest BBC News. |