this is bbc news, i'm chris rogers. our top stories: president trump fires fbi director, james comey, the man leading the investigation into possible collusion between his election campaign and russia. leading democrats call for the appointment of an independent special prosecutor. the american people need to have faith that an investigation as serious as this one is being conducted impartially, without a shred of bias. south korea's new president says he favours more dialogue with the north. he's starting his first day in office after victory in tuesday's election. the us approves supplying weapons to kurdish forces fighting islamic state militants in syria, despite fierce opposition from its nato ally turkey. a bumpy road for toyota? the world's second largest carmaker is expected to to report shrinking profits as the us market slows down.

on the farm in the us — we assess the impact of president trump's policies in an industry that relies on migrant workers, even the undocumented ones. hello and welcome to bbc news. president trump's decision to fire the director of the fbi has been met with widespread shock and a mass of questions. james comey was the man in charge of investigating russian interference in the us presidential election, and whether or not the trump campaign colluded with the russians. the white house says mr comey has been dismissed on the recommendation of the attorney general, jeff sessions, and his deputy. their letters to him have been made public. our washington correspondent aleem maqbool reports.

absolutely exclusive news out of washington tonight. an alert, james comey has been fired. americans have learned to expect almost anything from their president but this really was high drama. fbijames comey was not even in washington, he was addressing staff in los angeles when he learnt he had been said. a letter that arrived at fbi headquarters. you are hereby terminated and removed from office, effective immediately. it was signed, donald trump. accept the trump campaign was being

investigated by the fbi for its links to russia. james comey was leading the investigation and now he's gone. are people going to suspect cover—up? absolutely. if an independent prosecutor is appointed there is some faith that we can get to the bottom of this is not eve ryo ne to the bottom of this is not everyone was suspect a cover—up. to the bottom of this is not everyone was suspect a cover-up. the president adviser dismissed the motion. it has nothing to do with the rush hour. it has everything to do with whether the current fbi director has the president ‘s confidence and can faithfully and capably confidence and can faithfully and ca pably execute his confidence and can faithfully and capably execute his duty. last week, james comey was accused of unfairly helping donald trump. he denounced just days before the election the fbi was investigating hillary clinton for her use of a private e—mail server stop —— announced. clinton for her use of a private e—mail server stop —— announcedm makes me mildly nor she stopped to

think i had an impact on the election. trump and russia ties had also been investigated. donald trump had been gushy in his praise of the move to announce the hillary clinton investigation. the guts for director at comey to make the move that he made... it was clear in recent days the continued pursuit of a rush investigation was not liked by the president. the request and is now about what he found out. shop is felt across the city and beyond. for some this is evident donald trump is a strong leaderfor some this is evident donald trump is a strong leader for others some this is evident donald trump is a strong leaderfor others it adds to the perception that this country is being run by a to the perception that this country is being run bya man to the perception that this country is being run by a man who is intolera nt is being run by a man who is intolerant of those who do not agree with him and who do not do his bidding. the bbc‘s north america editorjon sopel has been absorbing events in washington.

"surprised" is a word that is rather mild for the tectonic shift of the political plates that has unfolded this evening in washington. as i understand it, james comey, the director of the fbi, was addressing agents in los angeles. an aid goes up to him and hands him a note, and says you'd better read this. and he reads it, looks down, addresses the audience and says, i've just been fired. he knew nothing about it. no—one else knew anything about it. it was a bolt out of the blue from the white house. they didn't see it coming, and james comey had been determined to carry on with his work, to carry on the investigation. and you talked about the white house saying, look, this is nothing to do with the inquiry into russia. as we all know, in politics, perceptions matter, and it looks like the person who was conducting the investigation has been fired by people who didn't want him

to carry on with it. and it is going to take an awful, uphill struggle for the white house to convince the public that it was more innocent than that. i think it's a rather fraught relationship, and it always has been, and in particular over this particular issue, and russia in the narrower sense, and russia in the wider sense. you remember that, when donald trump first became president, he refused to accept the assessment of the intelligence services that russia had intervened in the election by hacking the democrats' e—mails, by affecting the outcome in that way. then it was confirmed byjames comey, the head of the fbi, that there was an ongoing inquiry by the agency into whether there were links between russia and the trump campaign. donald trump was absolutely insistent, and remains absolutely insistent, there is nothing there, there is nothing to be seen. but the person who was leading

the investigation has now been fired, and the reason being given is because of something that happened a year ago, when he was looking into the use of hillary clinton's e—mails, which didn't result in a prosecution. and so you had those words from donald trump, the kind of brutalfiring of the head of the fbi. you are hereby terminated, removed from office, effective immediately. i think what it says is that he doesn't want much dissent. he wants to have his own people in, and that is, you know, fair enough. a president will kind of — you know, if you're the chairman of the board, you quite like appointing your own chief executive officer. dare i say it, in broadcasting, if you want to change the way a news station looks, you fire your presenters and bring in some of your people that you like. but this just has a different resonance, because it looks like, and the word that is being used tonight in the us is nixonian. it looks like this is a throwback to richard nixon's second term

in office, when he fired the special prosecutor who was called to investigate him. and people are using that phrase, and we heard it from chuck schumer there a moment ago — "cover—up". that is deeply damaging, and i've heard it being reported that there is some surprise in the white house that this is causing the ructions that it is. i am astonished that anyone thought the reaction would be anything other than what it is. it's the start of a new political era in south korea as a new president takes the helm. a short while ago, moonjae—in was sworn in. it was the highest election turnout in 20 years and mr moon won with just over 40% of the vote — almost double his nearest competitor. our correspondent, steve evans is in the south korean capital,

seoulfor us. we very much know the right to big things in his in tray and that is of course north korea, perhaps a new policy on that, and unifying and healing south korea following the corruption scandal? on that second point, the tone has been a very, very different from the previous president. the inauguration was ten minutes long, not much ceremonial, very this is like. he visited the opposition headquarters, he has gone to the blue house, the presidential palace, but has also said that is not where he will work. it feels like business as usual in seoul, but it feels like a new start. this is

as usual except in minutes ago the motorcade went through and he was sticking out the top of the open top car. firstly, that is minimal security and also, again, a different tone. maybe every new leader comes in with a different tone, saying they want to unify the country, that is what leaders do, the test will be if he can do it. he says he wants a much more egalitarian country. he could do that with tax rates, for example, but he also wants growth for people in the bottom higher and that is a lot more difficult. a lot of promises in terms of tone and a feeling in the country that something new has started. what about the north, we know he was there preferred candidate, will wind would that be? —— why would that be?

he said if the conditions were right, that is what donald trump said, i will talk to kimjong—un if the conditions are right. the sunshine policy, when he was at the centre of government, is a policy of cooperation with the north. that would be the point of tension, the point of question, with washington. in america at the election is being presented as almost an anti—american candidate. he took pains to say in his address on tv that he wanted to meet president trump but he looked forward to a constructive relationship. but you are absolutely right, if mr trumpet goes down the road he seems to be going down, —— mrtrump, which is road he seems to be going down, —— mr trump, which is a negotiation,

put out veelers, look for possibilities of change, then maybe talk if not the big stick. —— put out feelers. whereas moon jae—in talks about not ring —— risking war. and that is the difference between the two. much more online. let's catch up with the business news. we start with the world's second biggest carmaker — toyota — it will report its latest set of financial results in just a few hours. the japanese car giant is expected reveal its had a tough quarter with operating profits falling by 30%. the key reason being a slowdown in the united states taking its toll on the business this year. this follows a record year there last year when carmakers sold

17.6 million vehicles in the us. but it would seem — at least for now — the winning run is coming to an end in toyota's biggest market. compared to the same period last year, the company has experienced a drop in sales in every month of 2017. as consumers look towards more environmentally friendly models, toyota has been ramping up its investment in greener technology. by the end of the decade it hopes to sell at least 30,000 hydrogen powered vehicles per year. we will be getting an expert view on toyota. politicians — not least the president — wants to talk about undocumented workers, and border walls, but the real problem the us economy has with migrant workers, is that it needs more of them. businesses, particularly in agriculture and tourism, are finding it harder to find the all important seasonal staff who keep them afloat. they want the visa programs that

allow people to come work in the us temporarily, overhauled pronto. in wbr samira hussain will report from a farm in chester, newjersey. i will see you send. stay with us on bbc news — still to come... following the treacherous journey by sea from libya to europe. we speak to some of the migrants being brought ashore in italy to face an uncertain future. i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, do hereby swear to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterrand. the tunnel is still not yet ready for passengers and freight

services to begin. for centuries, christianity and islam struggled for supremacy. now the pope's visit symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister became the first man in the world to run a mile in under four minutes. memories of victory as the ve celebrations reach their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: president trump has fired the director of the fbi, james comey, the man leading the investigation into possible collusion between his election campaign and russia.

president trump has approved the supply of us weapons to a kurdish—led rebel alliance fighting the islamic state group in syria. the pentagon said the syrian democratic forces, which are led by the kurdish militia the ypg, was the only group on the ground that could successfully seize the is stronghold of raqqa in the nearfuture. greg dawson reports. advancing toward enemy lines, these are the syrian democratic forces, made up of arab and kurdish militia. with the help of air strikes from a us—led coalition they are inching towards rocker, the capital of the islamist milita nts' itself proclaimed caliphate. —— raqqa. this footage shows arab and kurdish fighters battling islamic state militants for control of this is command centre, just 50 kilometres from raqqa. now, as they close in on

their main target, president trump has approved supplying weapons to the kurdish forces, including heavy machine—guns, bulldozers and armoured vehicles. the president authorised the department of defence to equip kurdish elements of the syrian democratic forces as necessary to ensure a clear victory over isis in raqqa, syria. the fight for raqqa will be long and difficult, but ultimately yet another defeat for isis and another step towards eliminating the isis threat. but it is a step certain to anger and nato ally. turkey views the kurdish fighters as an extension of the pkk, a group it has been fighting for decades. 0n of the pkk, a group it has been fighting for decades. on monday, it carried out airstrikes on kurdish rebels in northern iraq. but from the moment he took office, donald trump has made it his —— made it clear his number one foreign policy goal is to keating is, and it seems that unsettling relations with turkey in the process is a price the president is willing to pay. —— goal

is defeating is. the united nations says nearly 250 people are feared drowned after two shipwrecks in the mediterranean over the weekend. 0ne boat reportedly sank off the libyan coast on sunday, and the other two days earlier. the route from northern africa to europe is currently the busiest, and most dangerous path for migrants fleeing the unrest in the region. yesterday we brought you a report from onboard a save the children rescue boat, tasked with picking up migrants from the waters. today the bbc‘s reeta chakrabarti was with some of them as they were brought ashore. a new day and perhaps a new life. after days on the deck of this rescue ship, it's the first glimpse of europe for people who left the shores of libya unsure they'd survive to see this. trying to cross continents in these dinghies felt like their only hope, said several. like this young nigerian man, who said he'd been working in libya as a welder until his foot was blown off by an explosive. he preferred not to give his name. everybody don't have a choice, nobody have a choice. even me i think this water, i'm going to cross, if i am dead, it's gotten away.

he said he couldn't return home because of boko haram. now, first off the ship, he's helped to safety. 0n shore, there's chocolate and panettone for breakfast and, as people are checked and processed, a warm welcome italian style. where are you from? gambia! many look dazed. the contrast with what they've come from is stark. this is the end of the long sea journey. the injured came out first, then women and children and now the rest. but they're arriving in a europe where attitudes are hardening against them, the future for many is uncertain. all humanity is present on these treacherous crossings and the rescuers make no distinction between the persecuted and the poor. but europe does, existing fears about migration and the fact that over 43,000 people have arrived this way this year, mean the reception they can expect will be very mixed.

for those who have arrived, anotherjourney has started. they may have reached their longed for goal, but admission here in europe and acceptance might still elude them. reeta chakrabarti, bbc news, in calabria, southern italy. the british prime minister theresa may and her husband philip have appeared on the bbc‘s the one show as part of the general election campaign. their aim was to offer an insight into life in downing street. 0ur correspondent sophie long was watching. make yourself comfortable. it was theirfirstjoint television interview. this is how theresa may decided to show voters what makes her tick. she says she believes the public should have the chance to see who they're voting for — not in a prime ministerial debate, but on the one show sofa with her husband by her side. i try to give her as much support as i can, that's just very important. it is a toughjob, tough decisions.

a lot of things you have to work hard at as pm. i'm there to give her as much support as i can. it is a two way street. but traditional, nonetheless. i get to decide when i take the bins out, not if i... boyjobs and girljobs. there were no difficult political questions. it's fair to say we didn't learn much. it was a rare opportunity to hear from him at this event together. i was taught by my parents, whateverjob you are doing, get on and do your best in yourjob. that is how i approach everything in my career. that is what i was doing. sorry. i knew you were interested in politics, but i never heard theresa say she wanted to be prime minister until she was well—established in the shadow cabinet. a small insight, perhaps. that would mean theresa may had prime ministerial ambitions much earlier than she previously let on.

it was live, unscripted. they weren't told what the questions would be in advance. as with many of the prime minister's appearances in the campaign so far, there were not that many voters in sight. but this one was beamed into the home of about three and a half million viewers homes. and there was a rare and jovial moment about a european institution. eurovision, we're not leaving that, as well? no. in current circumstances, i'm not how many votes we'll get. well, the uk navigates many eurovision votes anyway, let's face it. -- eurovision votes anyway, let's face it. —— never gets. it's one of the most iconic buildings in the world — but did you know that the sydney opera house has bad acoustics? a 4—year renovation project is now under way to address this and other issues. hywel griffiths has the story. it's the building that

defines notjust sydney, but australia's place in the world. bold and bathed in sunshine, the opera house's tall sails are iconic. but inside, the sound is not so stunning. for the resident symphony orchestra, it's a source of frustration. the shape of the concert hall makes it hard to hear themselves and each other play. it is a bit like playing ball on a pitch that's surrounded in fog. you know your teammates are out there somewhere, but they're a bit hard to see and for us the issue is they're a bit hard to hear. often i don't feel like we're really always playing together and then, with some of the other sections of the orchestra, we can have time delays at times as we are following the conductor. the problem dates back to the very beginning. changes were made to the original design. the architect fell out with the engineers and never saw the finished building. after decades of trying out different fixes, a new system of reflectors and risers has been tested and it is claimed will finally deliver crystal clear sound.

it was honestly like someone had just lifted a perspex box off the top of the orchestra and you could hear them so much better. the sound sounds a lot closer to you. you feel as if you're actually hearing the bow hit the string. the famous tall sails that form the outside of this building have always placed a limit on what can happen inside. this concert hall is too big for orchestral concerts, for example. the real challenge over the next few years is making sure what happens inside here matches the quality of what people see out there. but there's a mountain to climb. the building with hundreds of steps doesn't offer easy access. special tunnels will be drilled inside to help wheelchair users. but many of the changes will be behind the scenes. it's quite fantastic. it's very doctor who. much of the equipment used here was ordered 50 years ago and was built into the structure.

with 2000 shows a year, there's been a lot of wear and tear since. there's literally someone pulling up and down as you're watching? yep, someone standing in the dark, tugging on a rope is how it's still done for some of the scenery here. this will be the first time the opera house will close any of its main theatres, but there will still be music within these walls, as they try to fine tune one of the world's best loved buildings. we will be looking at how other news organisations and the newspapers are reporting on the incredible events taking place around the world right now, very shortly. and sally will be here with world business report as well. and don't forget, you can get in touch with the team on twitter as

well. hi there. we had some glorious sunshine yesterday across western parts of the country once again. these were the clear skies in abersock, north—west wales. we have had a lot of sunshine over the last few days across western parts of the country. but if i run through the last few days in the east, you can see rather cloudier weather in from the north sea, with pesky winds bringing cloud across much of central and eastern england in particular. it hasn't felt warm either under the cloudy skies. however, the weather is going to change because the wind is changing direction. we're not bringing cloud from the north sea. the pressure is relatively higher on wednesday. the winds will be a little bit lighter. it will be sunny and warm day for many parts of the country. yes, warmth on the way but it will be a chilly start to the morning. temperatures start around two or three degrees in the countryside. there will be a few spots see

temperatures below freezing in the coldest areas. cloudy in scotland. a bit of rain for the northern isles. 0therwise, mainly dry. we should see sunshine from the central belt southwards across scotland, northern ireland, england and wales, mostly starting fine and sunny with a few patches of cloud to start the day for east anglia. i think for most of us temperatures come up quickly with light winds and blue skies overhead. and that's really the way the weather will stay through the rest of the day. again, prone to a few spits and spots of rain across the far north of scotland but otherwise essentially it is a dry picture with sunshine. and temperatures across parts of central england towards the south—west, eastern wales, could reach the 20s, so it's going to be warm and pleasant in the sunshine. heading through wednesday evening and overnight, we keep cloudy weather for scotland.

and late in the night we might see just a few showers pushing in from the near continent. signs of a change in the weather on the way. temperatures overnight around 7—9 degrees, so thursday morning starts off something like this — most of us start off on a sunny note and then showers move up from the continent, some of those could turn thundery through the day. still, for many areas it is a decent day with dry weather, warm sunshine, temperatures rising, 19 degrees or so in london. this is bbc world news, the headlines: president trump has fired the fbi director, james comey, the man leading the investigation into possible collusion between his election campaign and russia. mr trump said fresh leadership was required to restore trust in the organisation. the democratic leader in the senate, chuck schumer, has called for a special independent prosecutor to take over the russia inquiry. otherwise, he said, the american people would be entitled to suspect that removing mr comey had been an attempt to stifle the inquiry. south korea's new president has been sworn in following his victory in tuesday's election.

moonjae—in is a liberal human rights lawyer who's called for cooperation with north korea. the united states says it will begin supplying weapons to kurdish militants fighting the islamic state group in syria.