welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: changing his story. president trump says he decided to fire the fbi boss even before getting advice from the justice department. i was going to fire comey, my decision. eight arctic governments call for urgent action to tackle climate change, but the us says it won't be rushed on policy. kidnapped by boko haram, freed in a prisoner swap, but the nigerian schoolgirls still aren't allowed to meet their families. and remember the lovelocks of paris? thousands are now being auctioned to raise money for charity. hello. donald trump has now said he would have fired the head of the fbi, james comey,

even if the justice department hadn't recommended it. that contradicts the original reasons given by mr trump and his officials. and, in his first interview since the news broke, the president also seemed to draw a clear connection between the sacking and the fbi's investigation into links between the trump campaign and russia, though he still insists "this russia thing" is a made—up story. tim willcox reports. he's become more famous than me. 48 hours after his sacking, and the narrative keeps on changing. this presidential handshake not an act of friendship, it seems, but the beginning of the end for the fbi director. he's a showboat, he's a grandstander. .. and it was not on the advice of the deputy attorney general, as the white house had claimed. this was directly from the president. i was going to fire comey, my decision. it was not... you had made the decision before

they came into the room. i was going to fire comey. yesterday, the white house claimed james comey had no support within the fbi. the rank—and—file of the fbi had lost confidence in their director. not so, said acting fbi director andrew mckabe today, sitting in for his sacked boss before the senate intelligence committee. i can tell you that i hold director comey in the absolute highest regard. i have the highest respect to his considerable abilities, and his integrity. i can tell you also that director comey enjoyed broad support within the fbi, and still does, to this day. the heart of this row, of course, concerns the alleged collusion between the trump campaign and russia. the president insists he is in the clear. i said, if it's possible, would you let me know, am i under investigation? he said, you are not under investigation. but, with or without james comey, the investigation into others continues. for more analysis, i spoke to our correspondent in washington, laura bicker, a little earlier.

i think it's clear to the fbi, when it comes to the acting head, andrew mccabe, he made it clear to the senate intelligence committee today that the fbi's investigation will continue, and the senate intelligence committee has made it clear that their investigation will continue. so when it comes to whether or not russia colluded with the trump campaign to meddle with the us election, presidential election, then the investigations will go on. but the problem for the white house is this continuing contradiction. on the one hand, we heard from sarah huckabee sanders yesterday — and i told you yesterday that the reason donald trump gave for firing director comey was a report written by the deputy attorney general. well, it turns out that that really wasn't the reason, either. it was donald trump who'd made his mind up, way before that

report was ever written. so donald trump has today contradicted his own white house staff, and therein lies the problem. because, as director comey pointed out last night, in his farewell letter to staff, he is within his rights. the president is within his rights to sack the fbi director. but the problem from the white house since then has been trying to get the message as to why the fbi director was sacked now correct. and then, laura, this is a clip released a little later from that nbc interview. the president said this. regardless of recommendation, i was going to fire comey, knowing there was no good time to do it. and in fact, when i decided tojust do it, i said to myself, i said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a made—up story. it's an excuse by the democrats for having lost an election. now, laura, there are analysts looking at that and saying that appears to be an admission of obstruction ofjustice, obstructing an fbi investigation.

we can't make a judgement on that, obviously. at the very least, it does lay it crystal clear that there is a connection the president is making in his mind between the sacking and the fbi's russia investigation. and since that clip was released, democrats are coming forward, looking at that clip, which is "made—up story." russia is a made up story. now, when it comes to that line, donald trump has made it very clear in many interviews he believes that the idea that his campaign colluded with russia is a hoax. it's fake news. he wants it pushed to the side. but the same interview, he contradicts himself, because he says he wants the investigation done properly. he said he wants it speeded up. so even within the same interview, and even within the same few minutes, infact, he contradicts himself. does he want the investigation done properly, or does he believe it's made—up news? and that's something that the president hasn't managed to clear up in this interview. let's take a look at some

of the other stories making the news: three women have appeared in court in london charged with terrorism offences and conspiracy to murder. it is believed to be the first alleged all—female jihadist plot in britain. one of the women was shot during the operation to arrest them last month. one of south africa's top universities, stellenbosch, has suspended three students suspected of putting up nazi—style posters around the campus. the university has condemned the material, but critics say it highlights how apartheid—era attitudes are still alive. thousands of venezuelans have marched in the capital, caracas, to show their respect for one of the two men killed in protests on wednesday. the crowd walked from the 26—year—old's school to the place where he was shot during the anti—government protests. around a0 people have died since protests began nearly six weeks ago. brazil says its national emergency over the zika virus is now officially over. the threat from zika, which is linked to the birth of babies with abnormally small heads, was at its peak last year as brazil prepared to host the olympic games. the government says the number of cases dropped by 95%

between january and april compared to the same period last year. foreign ministers from the eight nations with territory in the arctic circle have signed an agreement accepting the urgent need to tackle climate change. the fairbanks declaration accepts that activities in the member states are the main contributors to rising temperatures, but it does not commit the us to implementing the 2015 paris deal on reducing emissions. our north america correspondent james cook reports from alaska. in alaska, old traditions are very much alive. the songs and the stories have been handed down for generations. there is cultural continuity. but not everything is so certain. sea ice is thinning, glaciers are thawing,

even the permafrost is melting. for the arctic council, it is the big issue. as delegates from around the arctic gather here in the pristine wilderness of alaska for this summit, their conversations have been dominated by one topic — what does president trump think about climate change? what is america's policy? in the end, the us did join other nations in accepting the urgent need to tackle global warming by reducing emissions. but for how long? in the united states, we are currently reviewing several important policies, including how the trump administration will approach the issue of climate change. we are appreciative that each of you has an important point of view, and you should know that we are taking the time to understand your concerns. we're not going to rush to make a decision. we're going to work to make the right decision for the united states. at the top of the list of those concerns is the prospect that the united states might withdraw from the landmark paris agreement

to cut pollution. i hope that they will stay in. and, of course, if us wouldn't be the part of it, it is a serious setback. and so all eyes remain on the united states, because while climate change sceptics are at the fringes of science, they are at the heart of the us government. last saturday, 82 girls were released by the islamist militant group boko haram, three years after they were kidnapped at gunpoint from their school in northern nigeria. but they have yet to be reunited with theirfamilies. another 21 girls released last october by the militants are still in government custody. our correspondent alistair leithead has spoken to the father of one of the girls. he reports from yola, in north—east nigeria. the chibok girls are now young women, and getting used to being freed from their boko haram captors. after being kidnapped by the islamists, they spent three years in the forest,

and are now a little overwhelmed by their new surroundings, and by all the attention. yakubu nkeke is the families‘ representative. we met him heading to remote chibok to pass on the message. he saw the girls and has the job of identifying all of them. among the 82 released was his daughter. when i first saw her, shejumped and grabbed for me. i hold her, started dancing around with her. he will show the families his pictures, and prepare for their big reunion. the girls told him life was hard under boko haram. sometimes there was no food. there are some of them, those that had been given in marriage. but, according to them, it's not forceful. what do you think about the boko haram fighters who kidnapped your girls? oh, i will forgive them. iforgive them. young and professional, some may

have fallen for their cap is, in boko haram. it is notjust the 276 chibok girls and their families who have been affected. here in north—eastern nigeria, thousands of other women and girls have been kidnapped by boko haram. most of those rescued have been left deeply traumatised, and there is a real stigma associated with anyone who has lived under boko haram. that is tearing apart communities. these are the girls rescued last year. they have been kept under the supervision of the security services for more than six months. they seem healthy. some families just want them home, others believe they're better off in the capital. the parents agreed. we did not compel anybody that your child must be here, no way. it is wrenchingly tough for the families waiting for news. we showed the samuel family video footage of the released girls. they were looking for their sarah, hoping to catch a glimpse. sarah, sadly, is still being held by boko haram, with more

than 100 others. but, with so many freed and negotiations still going on, there is new hope they, too, will soon be released. alastair leithead, bbc news, yola, north—eastern nigeria. chancellor merkel will be hoping to win a fourth term when germany goes to the polls this september. a regional election on sunday could give some indication about how likely that is. ms merkel‘s party aims to win the state of north rhine—westphalia from the main opposition party. jenny hill reports from there. not a vote cast yet, but there is something of the victory march in angela merkel‘s step. it is actually years since her party won here. polls suggest that might be about to change. it is not often a german regional election is considered so important. angela merkel knows, if her party can take back this state, then she has a very strong

chance of taking the country come the autumn. but first she must persuade this town, this country. translation: i think she really will be chancellor again. she's very self—assured, reliable and calm, and because she's a woman, i like that. translation: she promised too much, and invited too many people without thinking, and too many of the wrong people came into the country. one man stands between angela merkel and victory. martin schulz‘s arrival on the german political scene gave his social democrat party a boost in the polls. but even here, in spd country, the so—called schulz effect is wearing off. translation: his approval ratings will only stabilise once he says very clearly what he wants to do. in the eyes of the voters, that hasn't happened yet. we need a clear programme, clear policies, on topics which matter to the electorate. and that includes a powerful

industrial lobby. germany's next chancellor will need the support of the mittelstand, the country's family firms. translation: we need to cut bureaucracy. we need a modern education system. we need support for businesses in the digitalfuture. and we need better infrastructure in this region. angela merkel may seem reluctant to take the baton here, but make no mistake. this woman wants german voters to dance to her tune. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: bangkok's legendary street food gets a last—minute reprieve. city authorities say the roadside stalls can stay, for now. the pope was shot, the pope will live.

that was the essence of the appalling news from rome this afternoon, that, as an italian television commentator put it, terrorism has come to the vatican. the man they called the butcher of lyon, klaus barbie, went on trial today in the french town where he was the gestapo chief in the second world war. winnie mandela never looked like a woman just sentenced to six years injail. the judge told mrs mandela there was no indication she felt even the slightest remorse. the chinese government has called for an all—out effort to help the victims of a powerful earthquake, the worst to hit the country for 30 years. the computer deep blue has tonight triumphed over the world chess champion, gary kasparov. it is the first time a machine has defeated a reigning world champion in a classical chess match. america's first legal same—sex marriages have been taking place in massachusetts. god bless america! this is bbc news.

the latest headlines: president trump has changed his explanation about why he fired the director of the fbi, james comey. he said he'd already decided to sack him before receiving advice from thejustice department. foreign ministers from the eight arctic states have ended their meeting in alaska with a pledge for action to tackle global warming but the us says it will not be rushed over its policy on climate change. earlier, i spoke tojesse byrnes, associate editor of the political website the hill and i pointed out that the president has the right to fire the fbi director and that his supporters say this is just democrats still upset about losing the election. —— democrats. of course, you are right. any president can fire the fbi chief at any point. the remarkable thing this week has been the almost hourly change in the narrative coming out from the white house surrounding

the sacking of the fbi chief and the reason behind it. donald trump said today that the reason he made the call to fire james comey and it was not the decision of anyone else but him. of course, democrats and even some republicans raised alarm bells over this firing and, of course, came in the middle of an fbi investigation middle of an fbi investigation into the tram campaign. the remarkable thing this week has been the almost hourly change in the narrative coming out from the white house surrounding the sacking of the fbi chief and the reason behind it. he is basically saying what many people

are thinking that there was this clear image in the background of everything going on, the russian probe hanging heavily. he said that coming now, as he was going to fire james comey, he considered the russian story. in his view it is bogus with nothing to do the fbi investigators and congressional investigators are still looking into it and we understand that james comey was very much involved in that investigation before he was dismissed this week. how much credence should be given to these reports from associates of mr comey, apparently, that he was asked face—to—face for a pledge of loyalty and could not give it in terms of the trump wanted and also that he never gave the president any assurances that he, mr trump, personally was not under investigation. mr trump said he had been given that assurance three times. we are yet to hear directly from james comey. he told agents in his goodbye letter that he will not talk about the circumstances surrounding his ousting. we will see if there are continued calls for him

to step forward and answer directly. but at this point we are only hearing one side of the story, that from donald trump and not hearing from james comey. we do understand, the reporting we see tonight, that the president in late january, one week after taking office asked the fbi chief for loyalty pledge of some kind. the white house denies this and they have gone on the record saying that it is unusual for the president to ask any agency or law enforcement chief for some sort of loyalty pledge. the reporting right now is that james comey refused those requests. and, just briefly, how much more are we likely to find out about this? james comey, he will be testifying before the full senate very soon. we are seeing the deputy attorney

general, rod rosenstein, who was integral in this role to fire james comey, he will be testifying before the full senate very soon. i think there is far more to this story that will play out. we will look forward to seeing exactly how much agreement there can be on the exact circumstances around the firing. the story from the white house has changed in the last three days and we will see if they will come some sort of agreement on what actually happened. if you've been to bangkok, you'll know the street food is a major part of the tourist experience. many see the colourful stalls as a key part of the city's traditional character. the authorities had wanted the street vendors removed — unless they could meet strict hygiene standards. but after protests, the legendary roadside cooks have been given a reprieve.

jonathan head reports. we have come down to this road in bangkok's chinatown, one of the most famous places to eat street food in the city. the very cream of the cuisine which bangkok is a famous for. i've got with me almost the ideal companion. chawadee nualkhair writes a blog and has been following its development and trying out the street food here for many years. first of all, why is the street so important for this kind of food? well, the chinese first brought street food to thailand. we didn't have it before they came. the kinds of food they brought, soup, noodles, fried rice, duck, are the kinds of dishes that have changed thai food forever and are still served along the road today.

let's try some of the dishes. so, we've got a classic street stall here. that's a classic thai dish, isn't it? a classic thai chinese dish. it has everything you could hope for. delicious prawns. how is the first taste? i love that. this is the best seafood sauce in the world. i love it. ultimately what we are fighting about is our vision of future bangkok, right? because, now, ifeel the future in their view is something very dry. they are going against the grain of the city? they are going against the grain of the city and the culture too. as much as we complain about the clutter and chaos, this is what defines us.

this street food is thai culture. it would be a shame to get rid of street food. the problem is, if they do get rid of it, even from most of the city, you lose a big part of the culture, where everybody ate the street food. it was like a common ground for everybody and that will be gone. gives about two minutes and 20 seconds and you can go and get some good. —— food. you probably remember the ‘lovelocks' of paris. the thousands of metal padlocks attached to a bridge near the louvre. eventually — the authorities decided they were an eyesore and had them removed.

now some of them are going up for sale with all proceeds going to charity. tim allman has more. they call paris the city of love, a place of romance and desire. and one way you could express your passion was by fixing a padlock to this bridge, throwing the key into the river seine, a public display of love. but the powers that be had little love in their souls and removed them. now they will be auctioned as souvenirs and art. translation: it is both playful and intimate because there are stories behind these locks. personalised messages, names, marriage proposals. it remains personal and beautiful. it is basically street art. some of the smaller pieces are expected to fetch anything up

to 200 euros. translation: we did not exactly know what to do with the locks we did not want to throw them away, not even give them away, because they have important symbolic value. couples from all over the world come to paris. love and paris, a bond that will never be unlocked. tim allman, bbc news. trust the french to honour romance. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter, i'm @bbc mike embley. hello.

now, i haven't used this particular sphere for quite some time. and for some parts of the british isles through thursday there was no need. looking almost tropical here on the ayrshire coast. to the south—west of england, yes, a wet sphere very much the order of the day. and, for that, you had to thank an area of low pressure throwing more cloud and rain ever further north across some parts of the british isles. you may have noticed this in the south of england and wales. an increasingly humid feel. and it's that change of regime into the first part of friday that will become increasingly dominant, certainly across the southern half of the british isles. and as you step out first thing, 10—13,where a wee while ago it was 3—5. further north, a fresher feel about proceedings. details about the journey to work or school run first thing on friday. 12—13 degrees quite widely across southern counties. a rather grey start to the day.

not too much in the way of sunshine. and a speckling of showers, even at this stage. come a little bit further north, a better chance of seeing sunshine across the north of england, getting up into the western side of scotland. some rain to be had there quite widely across northern ireland. and i make this distinction in scotland between the west and east because out towards the east, there'll be a lot of low cloud and it will be around for a good part of the day. and it's notjust eastern scotland, it's the north—east of england too. with an onshore breeze, cloud sitting low in the atmosphere. an onshore breeze keeping it cold through the day. further south, some heat comes through. showers turning quite sharp. maybe the odd rumble of thunder. no such fears in the east of scotland or indeed the north—east of england. nine or 10 degrees, leaden skies. through the course of the weekend, sunny spells, and some showers and spells of rain.

eventually things will turn a bit fresher as we switch the breezes coming in from the atlantic, rather than from the continent. saturday sees much of the disturbed weather in the north—west of england, central and southern scotland. further south, an isolated shower. but quite a bit of dry weather. saturday night into sunday, we swing this area of cloud and rain right across the british isles. it'll be across eastern parts for the first part of sunday. this is where we import the fresh air, across the british isles. once that is away, once again, a day of sunny spells and some really sharp showers. this is bbc news. the headlines. president trump has changed his explanation about why he fired the director of the fbi, james comey. he said he'd already decided to sack him before receiving advice from thejustice department. he claimed mr comey was a "grandstander" who had left the fbi in turmoil.

foreign ministers of the eight countries with territory in the arctic circle have agreed on the need for urgent global action to reduce greenhouse gases. however, the us secretary of state, rex tillerson, told the ministers meeting in alaska that his country would not rush to make a decision. one of south africa's top universities, stellenbosch, has suspended three students suspected of putting up nazi—style posters around the campus. the university has condemned the material, but critics say it highlights how apartheid—era attitudes are still alive. now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk.