hello, i'm nuala mcgovern, this is outside source. the two contenders for the french presidency are going head—to—head in a live televised debate. 20 million viewers are expected to tune in as centrist candidate emmanuel macron and his far—right rival marine le pen try to convince undecided voters why they should be the next french president. the debate being seen as the climax of a long and bitter campaign. the final run—off takes place this sunday. as the uk gears up for its own election, the gloves are off over brexit talks. threats against britain have been issued by european politicians and officials. all of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect the result of the general election that will take place onjune eighth. the fbi director has defended his decision to make public the re—opening of an investigation into hillary clinton's emails less than two weeks before the us election. everybody who disagrees with me has to come back to october 28th with me and stare at this and tell me what you would do.

would you speak or would you conceal? we'll talk to anthony zurcher in washington about that and we'll hear from barbara plett—usher about the palestinian president's visit to the white house. that's all coming up on outside source. french presidential candidates marine le pen and emmanuel macron have just begun a live televised debate ahead of sunday's second and final round of voting in the presidential election. let's ta ke let's take a look at what is happening. translation: ameen, they are financed from abroad. you know all about that. qatar and all these

countries. i remember that at the time you maintain tax exonerations and exemptions for investment from these countries. and in your governments, i believe that you granted some republican decoration to one of these people, you gave them a medal. we have to eradicate them a medal. we have to eradicate the fundamentalist eye john them a medal. we have to eradicate the fundamentalist eyejohn g in our country, that is not something you are able to do or are doing —— eradicate the fundamentalist ideology. your toy might hold you in its claws, it is really scary. marine le pen speaking. i'm joined by agnes poirier, journalist and broadcaster. she has been watching this and will be with us throughout the were. it looked pretty sparky as i was watching it? the gloves are off. looked pretty sparky as i was watching it the e gloves are off. looked pretty sparky as i was watching it the first wves are off. looked pretty sparky as i was watching it the first part are off. looked pretty sparky as i was watching it the first part of off. looked pretty sparky as i was watching it the first part of the credibility. the first part of the debate she was really not at her best. another hour and a half of this debate? it is very wrong. and i

have hardly seen the two moderators speak. that is what happens during that debate, those journalists are not journalists, they that debate, those journalists are notjournalists, they are just that debate, those journalists are not journalists, they are just there to canned minutes in time allocations. just need to make sure that one does not talk more than the other. those numbers that the viewers will be seeing on—screen are the minutes allocated so far in the hour, proceeding, basically, how much each candidate has spoken. can these debates really make a difference? i have heard 18% are undecided. of course. it is the last thing, the climax of the second—round campaign. as you said, the abstention might be very, very high this year at this election, so they need to go for the last voters, basically, they need to attract them and convince them. it is a

pantomime, theatre. even watching the body language, it was incredible. thank you, agnes poirier, you will be with us throughout the other, watching it for us and bringing us up to speed on the issues. where do these two candidates stand on some of the bigger issues at play in this election? let's ta ke let's take a look. on the eu, emmanuel macron has said he supports the union but wants reforms. marine le pen wants out and has said she will hold a referendum on membership. this is what a lot of people talk about when they talk about these candidates. on immigration, emmanual macron favours giving citizenship to those who speak fluent french. marine le pen says she wants to stop illegal immigration and cap overall immigrants to 10,000 a year. that has been popular in some parts. on france's sacred 35 hour work week, emmanuel macron wants flexibility

on that but says any overtime pay will be exempt from tax. i thought that was an interesting aspect of it. marine le pen simply says she will keep it. one place being closely watched this election is the town of troyes. emmanuel macron and marine le pen were separated by less than a percent in the first round. francois fillon won the vote here, but with him out of the picture it could go either way. the bbc‘s thomas fessy is there. we spoke with him earlier. here we are in the north—west of france in an area famous for it champagne but also for textile industry. famous brands like lacoste come from here. this is a conservative stronghold but marine le pen has come first in the first round in the whole of the region, with the regional score of 30.3%,

which gives you a bit of an idea what may happen on sunday. she clearly has a strong lead in this region. how are people bad feeling about the debate on the run—off, the second—round of the election? —— how are people there feeling? we were at the local market and people were saying they have not decided what to votes on sunday, they will be waiting for the debate to decide. depending on the performance of either candidate. it is interesting to note that 15 years ago whenjohn marine le pen ——john marine le pen was in the final againstjacques chirac, chirac refused to debate with him because he said there is no debate to have with the far right. it is the first time the far right candidate has participated in a debates, a key moment in the debate

in france. it will be interesting to see how emmanuel macron, the outsider, the former banker, pro—european candidates, will handle this debate tonight. it will be the occasion for both candidates to voice their programme and try to convince voters to turn out on sunday, but of course we will see what kind of performance they will be having. it is a bit of a gamble for both candidates. whether it will have an impact on the last—minute decision of voters, we will know very soon. we will keep you across that story throughout this hour. thank you to thomas fessy. theresa may has launched an attack on brussels — shortly after she attended the dissolution of parliament before the general election onjune eighth. brexit negotiations are central to the uk election campaign for all the main parties. here's some of what she said. whoever wins on the 8th ofjune will

face one overriding task, to get the best possible deal for this united kingdom from brexit. and in the last few days, we have seen just how tough these talks are likely to be. britain's negotiating position in europe has been misrepresented in the continental press. the european commission ‘s gauche rating stands has hardened. threats against britain have been issued by european politicians and officials. all of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect the result of the general election battle take place on the 8th ofjune. meanwhile the european union's chief brexit negotiator has been setting out his priorities for the first phase of talks with british government. speaking earlier today in brussels, he said there were three main issues to address. our recommendation shows where we

wa nt to our recommendation shows where we want to land when we conclude the first phase of negotiations. citizens rights, the financial settle m e nt citizens rights, the financial settlement and a new external border. i will pay great attention to the situation in ireland and i will be going to ireland next week. curious what he will say that. after he set out the eu's main priorities, mr barnier made it clear that the brexit process will not be easy. some have created the illusion that brexit would have no material impact on our lives, all that negotiations can be concluded quickly and painlessly. this is not the case. one thing mr barnier didn't mention was the size of the brexit bill or, as he called it, the financial settlement. the financial times reported this

morning that the uk might have to pay as much as 100 billion euros. this what the uk brexit secretary had to say about that. the numbers that have been bandied around in the press, 50, 60, 100 million, around in the press,50, 60,100 million, we don't recognise and we had no indication of it. we have said throughout that we will meet international obligations and enter into the negotiation in the best interests of us and the european union. so the gloves are off. earlier i spoke to alex forsyth from our westminster studio. this is quite an extraordinary intervention by theresa may. she accused some in brussels of not wanting the uk to get a good deal out of brexit, she accused them of trying to interfere with the outcome of the uk general election, so she is ramping up the rhetoric. part of that reason is because she thinks i play well with some voters in the uk, those who backed brexit might wa nt to

uk, those who backed brexit might want to see theresa may take a tub stands going into the negotiations, but it is a gamble because not eve ryo ne but it is a gamble because not everyone in the uk backed brexit on some might not like the tough talk. if theresa may wins the general election on june the if theresa may wins the general election onjune the 8th she will have to sit down and negotiate with the eu, this kind of language and the eu, this kind of language and the kind of accusation she has made may not play well with them. say they are words that cannot be unsaid, it is starting off on a very poisonous, some would say, atmosphere to begin negotiations that britain is looking to get a good deal in? one theresa may sent the letter which began the official process of the uk leaving the eu, she did show —— did so in terms of goodwill, talking about the special partnership and reaching out to eu leaders. the hope was that negotiations would be done really positively. in the last few days we have seen briefings from brussels

against the prime minister after she met senior eu officials in downing street, now theresa may has said what she has said today, there are plenty who say that once you say these things they will be there for these things they will be there for the duration. some in the eu recognise that the little context in the uk, there is an election going on which will be the first priority for theresa may. they said any suggestion that eu officials are interfering is pure fantasy, but nonetheless it sets the tone for the negotiations, which were already going to be very difficult. stay with us on outside source. still to come... donald trump welcomes palestinian president mahmoud abbas to the white house to talk middle east peace. we'll be live in washington to find out what's been said between the two leaders. a 20—year old student has been found guilty of planting a home—made bomb on a london underground train. damon smith, who has asperger‘s syndrome, was caught on cctv leaving a bag filled with explosives and ball bearings in a carriage last october. the device was discovered when the train driver noticed wires sticking out.

the train was evacuated just two minutes before smith had set the device to explode. the metropolitan police say it's not clear if he was motivated by terrorism as there was not enough evidence that his crime was politically motivated. a fourth person has been arrested in connection with the death of businessmen guy hedger. the 61—year—old was shot during a burglary at his home near ringwood in hampshire in the early hours of sunday. officers say three of the suspects, who are all in their 405, were arrested in the bournemouth area. detectives are trying to establish why the home of the former marketing this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story is... the two contenders for the french presidency are going head—to—head in a live televised debate ahead of sunday's final round of voting.

let's turn to the united states. fbi directorjames comey has been testifying before a senate subcommittee investigating alleged russian hacking of the us elections. the hearing comes a day after hillary clinton spoke about what she believed the reasons for her losing in november were. let's bring up a little of what she said. mrs clinton is referring to the publication of james comey‘s letter informing congress the fbi had reopened an investigation into her use of a private email serverjust over a week before the election. well, mr comey was asked about this at today's hearing

this was terrible. it makes me mildly notion is to think we might have had impact on the election but, honestly, it wouldn't change the decision. —— it makes me mildly nauseous. everyone who would challenge the decision has to tell me what you would do, would you speak or conceal? i could be wrong, but we honestly made a decision between those two choices that even in hindsight, and this has been one of the world's most painful experiences, i would of the world's most painful experiences, iwould make of the world's most painful experiences, i would make the decision, i would experiences, i would make the decision, iwould not experiences, i would make the decision, i would not conceal but from congress on october 28. anthony zurcher is in washington for us. what is the reaction been? you have seen what is the reaction been? you have seen hillary clinton supporters feeling like you we go again with james colby defending his investigation, they feel it was

extremely influential on the outcome of the election, they blame him, including hillary clinton has blamed him, for contributing to her defeat so they will look at the testimony and say it is more of the same, he should not have done anything as far as revealing the investigation right before the election. meanwhile you heard from donald trump last night, tweeting about all this attention on james colby and the investigation is a democratic way of explaining their defeat, to try to find some sort of reason for their defeat rather than the fact that donald trump ran a good campaign and they did not. you are seeing the same battles we heard shortly after the election in november continuing to play out months and months later. what might happen next, he is in front of this subcommittee, will he look at further allegations of hacking within the election? this is the justice committee in the senate,

they have not primarily been tasked with investigating the hacking and russian influence, that is an ongoing investigation that the fbi is conducting underjames comey. where we will hear more about this is in the senate intelligence committee and the house intelligence committee, they are calling testimony, including comey, to talk about possible russian meddling. at some point we will find out what happens with the ongoing fbi investigation, but there is no indication it will wrap up any time soon. indication it will wrap up any time soon. it will be hovering over the trump administration for the rest of the year, i think. you think so? clinton investigation went on for almost a full year, this one seems even more involved. whenjames comey testified a few months ago he said the investigation was just in its early stages, but in fact it had been started in the middle of last year. so if it is still in its early stages of an investigation which

started injuly stages of an investigation which started in july 2016, stages of an investigation which started injuly 2016, we can expected to go on for some. thank you. the russian president has welcomed the turkish president to his summer home in sochi. he said reaching a political solution to the conflict was a joint goal of turkey and russia. other topics to be discussed include russian trade restrictions on tourism, the two leaders have praised bilateral relations. on tourism, the two leaders have praised bilateral relationsm on tourism, the two leaders have praised bilateral relations. it is important that we have managed to seize the full bilateral trade, there was a small growth of commodities in the first few months of this year, to around 3%. translation: in times like this when huge responsibility lies on our shoulders, i am sure that the steps we take it together will change the future for the whole region.

one of my colleagues from bbc turkish joined one of my colleagues from bbc turkishjoined me to one of my colleagues from bbc turkish joined me to talk about the significance of the meeting between the two. this is the fifth meeting of these two leaders since august 2016, ever since turkey's downing of the russian jets in 2016, ever since turkey's downing of the russianjets in november 2015, this is a very strong message of normalisation of bilateral relations between two... we can say two neighbouring countries in the region. the two leaders specifically underlined that relations are back to normal and business as usual and even though they have significant disagreements on syria they have managed to have a couple of serious deals in this meeting. we saw 22 billion dollars to be invested within the nuclear power plant in

turkey by russia, the other going to try to revive tourism. can you tell us try to revive tourism. can you tell usa try to revive tourism. can you tell us a bit about that? tourism and trade art two significant elements in turkish/ russian relations, especially in the southern parts of turkey, they rely on russian tourists and russian agricultural trade. the restrictions imposed by the putin administration had significant impact on these regions and their economy. we saw that russia agreed to withdraw all the restrictions except on exports and to ta ke restrictions except on exports and to take the business back to normal. thanks to my colleague for that analysis. let's move on to business. it's been a big day for the ride—sharing app uber in its quest to develop driverless cars. a court has ruled that uber has not infringed intellectual property laws after it hired an engineer who used

to work for a rival firm. dave lee is outside the court where the hearing has been taking place. dave, good to have you back, what has been happening? the hearing is still going on, they kicked all the journalists out for a private hearing happening right now, but this morning we got a glimpse of precisely what this row is about. on the one hand you have a company which spun out of google's cell striving car division, accusing nowell of essentially stealing their technology, taking it away from google and creating their own self driving division. uber dispute that, saying it has not happened. although they do not dispute that a former employee took some files from his former employee, basic glove has not use them for anything so it can't be guilty of stealing trade secrets and infringing on patterns. we are

waiting to hear today an injunction will be applied to uber which could seriously hamper efforts in developing and researching this technology. so it is employees moving from one company to the other? it centres on a man who is a pioneer of self driving technology, he used to work for google in their self driving division, he left very suddenly in january 2016, self driving division, he left very suddenly injanuary 2016, set up a new company called auto which was subsequently bought by uber very quickly, the accusation is that new company was simply a front for uber taking this employee from google. leaver say that is not what happened, they say it is very usual for top talent to go from company to company and there was no wrongdoing, but the former google company think they haven't uber banked to rights. thank you very much.

the us central bank has left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1%. last week, the us economy surprised economists when the annualised rate of growth fell by two thirds compared to the end of last year. in a statement, the federal reserve said it views the slowing in growth during the first quarter as likely to be transitory. let's get more on this with samira hussain in new york. let me bring you up. tell us a little about what people are saying about this? no one expected the federal reserve to raise interest rates this time around, but there area rates this time around, but there are a few things that people wanted to see in the statement that we got from the fed. they wanted to see the reaction from the federal reserve about this really low growth numbers. the us economy in the first few months of this year only grew by 0.7%, that is not very good. we see the fed's interpretation that this

isa the fed's interpretation that this is a blip in the system. what the fed has emphasised as some of the good things happening in the us economy, namely the labour market, that we are seeing strong climate numbers. the second thing that people will look for is if we don't see a rate rise now and we're pretty much expecting two rate rises from now until the end of the year, when will we see the next one? the fact that the federal reserve is downplaying the bad growth numbers and playing up the good, solid numbers we are seeing from the labour market, it is possible we could see a rate rise come as early as nextjune. could see a rate rise come as early as next june. we have 20 seconds, any response about the trump effect? i cannot answer that because i have not seen anything like that, but i can't know for sure. thank you very much. no doubt soon people will begin to hear exactly what it is, about what mr trump might begin to respond when we get some of those

figures. we will have to keep an eye on his twitter feed. figures. we will have to keep an eye on his twitterfeed. another half—hour to come. this is where we look at some of the weather story is happening around the world. firstly, the united states, you mightjune ambrose last night talking about the risk of severe weather. it looks like it is on the way to parts of the united states. heavy rain has been falling, thunderstorms starting to form around the coastline of texas, ingredients come together and as we get to wednesday evening, some nasty storms developing across parts of the us. some severe and capable of producing tornadoes and large hail they will affect parts of louisiana, arkansas, mississippi and oklahoma. there is the risk of damaging, destructive weather through the first part of the night. by thursday and friday, let weather will slide

eastwards, introducing caldara across the eastern us, the threat of severe weather received somewhat towards the end of the week. on the satellite picture you can see chavis on the satellite picture you can see chav is coming off the indian ocean, good news because the showers have affected parts of east africa. you can see the thundercloud tear. the showers have been hit and miss in nature. i say good news because this pa rt nature. i say good news because this part of africa is suffering from quite a nasty drought affecting millions of people. they view more showers coming and going but very scattered, many areas stay dry but at least there will be rain over the next 2a hours for the lucky few. you might not have been to vinyl two, this is newly formed british cycling d'honneur. —— newly formed is serve. i think we will get damaging and destructive gusts of wind. you might hear about

that in the news overcoming ways. low pressure firmly in charge in europe, three areas of low pressure spiralling around each other, quite a complex area of low pressure. the load tries to push further eastwards, taking outbreaks of rain across germany and into poland. south offers for spain and portugal, the weather is pretty decent, there will be more clouds blowing into western areas so will be more clouds blowing into western areas so not as warm as it has been. 25 degrees in madrid, still pretty good, pretty warm across eastern spain. another wet day for france, rain turning more showery is the day goes by, wet weatherfor germany rain turning more showery is the day goes by, wet weather for germany and temperatures in berlin just 10 degrees, cold enough forfrost temperatures in berlin just 10 degrees, cold enough for frost to start the day across parts of finland, latvia, this way near and estonia fags to high pressure which is sending these eastern north north—easterly winds that are these eastern north—easterly winds across

parts of the eastern uk. in scotland move 20s. - miller will have 20s. miller will have half hour. —— in halfan the two contenders for the french presidency are going head—to—head in a live televised debate. 20 million viewers are expected to tune in as centrist candidate 91“? i off brexit talks. threats against britain have been issued by european politicians and officials. all of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect the result of the general election that will take place onjune eight. donald trump welcomes the palestinian president to the white house and says he serious about peace in the middle east.