hello, i'm tom donkin. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. here's our top stories: a global cyber attack blocks computers and demands a ransom from governments, companies, individuals and even hospitals. a veiled threat to the former fbi boss — the white house won't say whether or not there are tapes of his conversations with president trump. a series of cyber attacks has hit many companies and organisations in dozens of countries across the world. thousands of computers have been locked by a virus, with hackers demanding money to restore access. hospitals in britain have been severely affected. the spanish telecoms giant telefonica and the us—based shipping agency

fedex were also badly hit. here's our technology correspondent rory cellanjones. it looked at first like an attack just on hospitals in the uk, but it is now becoming clear that this malicious software has run riot around the world. russia, the united states and many points in between have been hit by what is now a common form of cybercrime. ransomware is becoming the tool of choice for an awful lot of criminals, simply because it is very easy to make money very quickly. you can buy ransomware online for as little as $39. it's quite cheap. at the top end of the market it comes with support and payment systems to help you get your money. so how does ransomware work? it often arrives in the form of an innocuous—looking e—mail. when you click on that link the malicious software is downloaded and spreads rapidly through your network, locking up all the files on it. then a message flashes up on screen is warning that if you want your data and locked you will have to pay a ransom, often in bitcoin,

the virtual currency. the irony is that security experts think hacking tool allegedly leaked from america's national security agency in april may have been used by the attackers. and a microsoft warned about the threat this vulnerability posed and said anyone who had installed a security update to windows software the previous month would be ok. the worry is that many health service computers may not have been updated. the nhs is vulberable because typically it has not invested enough in computer security, these old computers, old systems, and if they don't keep them properly patched they will keep on getting hit by attacks like this. the health service will point out that it is just one of many organisations around the world affected by this attack. it now faces what could be a lengthy process of cleaning up its computers and making the networks safe again. president trump has warned the man he fired as the director of the fbi against talking to the media

and suggested that there could be tape recordings of their conversations. james comey had been leading an inquiry into possible collusion between trump election officials and russia. he was fired on tuesday. now the president has tweeted: our north american editor jon sopel gave us this update from the white house. there was just the tone of the tweet from the president early this morning, suggesting the james comey, you better keep your mouth shut or else. and i'm sure it is pure coincidence, but this afternoon we've learnt that james comey, who had been invited to testify before the intelligence committee next tuesday, has declined that invitation. but more remarkable still is the suggestion that there may be some kind of secret recording device in the white house, where wherever you why you are effectively being recorded, it was it may be

that there is a recording of the dinner thatjames that there is a recording of the dinner that james comey had that there is a recording of the dinner thatjames comey had with the president shortly after donald trump took office. inevitably, it was the only question people wanted to ask at the day's reefing with sean spicer. did president trump record his conversations with former fbi are james comey? i assume you are referring to the tweet. the president has nothing further to add oi'i president has nothing further to add on that. are there recording devices in the oval office or the residents? for the third time there is nothing further to add a mad. would mr komi be threatened not to speak? that's not a threat. he has stated a fact. the tweet speaks for itself, i'm moving on. —— mr comey. the tweet speaks for itself, i'm moving on. -- mr comey. part of the reason it has been so chaotic in washington is stories keep changing. white house briefing people have said one thing, the president contradict that a few minutes later. the president has also tweeted this morning that may be the answer to thatis morning that may be the answer to that is to stop reefing is

altogether because it is hard to give accurate information when things are changing so quickly. at the end of this week it has been a rare week of tumultuous notes and turbulence. it's hard to believe that the thundercla ps turbulence. it's hard to believe that the thunderclaps are over yet. this could still go on for some time yet. stay with us here on bbc news. still to come: chelsea are champions — the blues win the premier league title with two games left of the season. as we mentioned, the national health service here in britain was a major victim of the cyber attack. with many hospitals affected and surgeries cancelled, it's been declared a major national incident. there was serious disruption in some parts of the nhs today, with signs warning of significant delays at a&e units and some gp surgeries having to remain empty. all this the result of the biggest cyber attack in the history of the nhs. some patients, like tom,

waiting for nonurgent surgery, were told their operations had been postponed. it's inconvenient, very frustrating for my fellow patients inside lincoln county. the nurses are absolutely fabulous, and the doctors, but also i think it's a heinous crime, this hacking, because they are putting people's lives at risk. richard, who was due to have an operation on his leg, was also told it wouldn't happen today. it was disappointing, because i've got all... they helped me, because i was a bit nervous about it, so i'll have to go through it again, i hope, not very long way. laura, whose new baby arrived yesterday, was delayed n leaving hospital. as a precaution, they were doing all the paperwork on paper, their systems were down because of all this thing that happened. some patients going to colchester hospital were told what services had been affected. the gentleman just inside the door said that all the computers have gone down and, "we're not sure whether the doctors can see you, for whatever reason.

if it's x—rays or breakages or whatever, they're going to send you home." it's happened before, at this hospital trust covering north lincolnshire and goole, it systems were closed for three days as a result of a cyber attack last autumn. hundreds of operations and patient appointments were postponed. people were told to go to a&e only if it was really necessary. there were warnings then that nhs it was vulnerable. and today, staff logging in at some other hospitals found this on their screens, with the message saying, "your files are encrypted. if you want to recover them, you need to pay up." ransomware, a hidden programme used by criminal hackers, was to blame. in a statement, nhs digital, responsible for it, said... nhs england said it wanted to reassure patients that,

in the event of emergencies, they should visit a&e as normal, but some gps are warning there will be disruption at least into early next week. there will be referrals that gps have made this afternoon or wanted to make a referral that will now have to be processed on monday. hoping that everything is back up and running. and there will be a backlog of things like repeat prescriptions, which we do electronically. we've have patients unable to book future appointments and things this afternoon, so there will be things that will give us a backlog from this, depending on how long it goes on for. the prime minister gave the government's response. it's an international attack on a number of countries and organisations. the national cyber security centre is working closely with nhs digital to ensure that they support the organisations concerned and that they protect patient safety. some hospitals and gp surgeries in scotland have been caught up

in the cyber attack. the scottish government, like ministers at westminster, and nhs leaders, will be trying to assess the extent of the problem and contain it over the weekend. hugh pym, bbc news. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: thousands of elderly venezuelans have taken to the streets of the capital, caracas, and other cities to protest against the government of nicolas maduro and show their discontentment with the worsening economic crisis. police blocked access to a main road in caracas and used pepper spray to try to control the crowd. protesters threw punches and demanded respect from police. turkish police have detained more than 50 employees of istanbul's stock exchange. it is part of an investigation into lastjuly‘s failed coup. they are accused of being followers of the cleric accused by the government of orchestrating the plot. the united states has signed a number of trade agreements with china, in an attempt by washington to reduce its trade deficit with beijing.

among american firms to benefit will be beef and natural gas exporters, plus big credit card companies such as visa and mastercard. italy's highest court has upheld the i6 italy's highest court has upheld the 16 year sentence imposed on the captain of the costa concordia. 32 people died when the vessel hit the rocks, in january, people died when the vessel hit the rocks, injanuary, 2012. the captain was convicted of abandoning ship for passengers and crew were cleared. more than five years since his ship capsized, francesco schettino's fight forfreedom is over and he's spending his first night inside this prison in rome. it follows a definitive ruling here at italy's highest court that his 16 year sentence was sound. his convictions include multiple counts of manslaughter, causing a maritime accident, and abandoning ship before his passengers had been evacuated. translation: this ruling caused an extraordinary, terrifying affair.

72 hearings in the first trial, then the appeal trial, finally the supreme court. we are glad the supreme court have put an end to this because our clients needed the sentence. they needed truth and justice. 32 people were killed when the costa concordia capsized on a cold january evening, in 2012. the ship left its planned moving towards the island of giglio. by the time it saw the rock it was too late — a gaping hole was ripped in the stern. water filled in and the power failed before it eventually tipped onto its side. more than 4,000 people were onboard but, instead of staying with his passengers, the captain spoke to the coastguard from his lifeboat. after the ruling, schettino's lawyer said his client

respects the verdicts, but he would investigate the option to appeal to the european court of human rights. friends of schettino claim he's been made a scapegoat for what happened, but there will be no sympathy from victims' families, who have waited five years to see the man named ‘captain coward' finally behind bars. the latest headlines: and international assault on computer networks has affected a number of organisations in 70 countries, including britain, russia, the us and china. a white house spokesman has refused to confirm or deny speculation that president trump secretly recorded a meeting with sacked fbi director james comey. jeremy corbyn says the war on terror is it working and britain needs a fresh approach. in a speech

outlining his foreign policy, he said he was at a pacifist and could see circumstances in which it would involve britain in a war are but he warned against what he called bomb first and talk later. he accused the theresa may of pandering to donald trump, who he said was making the world a more dangerous place. he's used to it now, all the attention, and not always friendly, though he still tries to be. don't push each other, 0k? labour's campaign is so much about jeremy corbyn, his character, ideas he's held dearfor 30 years, though some in his party wish he hadn't, like defence. and today the labour leader was holding to his oldest and deepest convictions, writing off years of britain's way of war against international terror. the fact is that the war on terror has been driven, which has driven these interventions, has not succeeded. it has not increased our security at home. in fact, many would say just the opposite. but this, britain's leader onside and alongside with donald trump, was notjeremy corbyn's answer.

more talking, less fighting, yes, and a lot less cosiness with washington if labour wins. britain deserves better than simply outsourcing our country's security and prosperity to the whims of the trump white house. so no more handholding donald trump. a labour government will conduct a robust and independent foreign policy. in this election, it's become clear that a vote for the conservatives would be a vote to escalate the war in syria, risking military confrontation with russia, adding to the suffering of the syrian people and increasing global insecurity. the message — when facing terrorism, time somehow to rely on peace and diplomacy. but what about britain's nuclear deterrent, and jeremy corbyn's lifelong opposition to nuclear defence? for a potential prime minister, it's become a nagging question, a live election issue, and he knew it. i'm often asked if, as prime minister, i would order the use of nuclear weapons.

it's an extraordinary question, when you think about it. would you order the indiscriminate killing of millions of people? would you risk such contamination of the planet that no life could exist across large parts of the world? that sounded like a no. he wanted nuclear defence reconsidered, too. we cannot obviously decide what a review would decide, otherwise you wouldn't have a review. what do you say to supporters of british military power, when it's not clear in what circumstances you would ever order forces into battle, in or out of nato, and including strikes against islamic state? think back to our history. i doubt many, if any in this room would have questioned the legitimacy ultimately of the second world war because of the catastrophe that had approached by the rise of the nazis. but controversy today is about recent conflict. british air strikes on the so—called islamic state in iraq and syria, whichjeremy corbyn opposed. he is proud now that hejoined the marches against the iraq invasion in 2003, a war

which drove down support for labour in government. today, he wanted british raids against is reviewed. we examine what they are doing straightaway, examine what their presence is straightaway, but above all, that fits into the whole point i'm saying, that i would do everything i possibly could in order to reignite the whole peace process. political opponents, out campaigning too, had their lines rehearsed and ready. a labour party led byjeremy corbyn would simply chuck away our ability to defend ourselves. i think that is crazy, and it's not the way i want to go. we see defence policy sucking in billions of pounds on trident at a time when our conventional defence forces have seen cut after cut after cut. approval for the leader's line here today, but labour needs converts, lots of them. john pienaar, bbc news. well, theresa may was out

campaigning in the north—east today, in an attempt to win labour voters. but as mr corbyn was outlining labour's foreign policy plans, mrs may accused him of deserting "proud and patriotic" working—class people. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. labour for the many, not the few. what the tories might expect, a raw reception in much of the north—east of england. the tories will ruin our environment. will the conservatives win around here? no! it is a small selection of people canvassing for the tories, we have a huge following for the labour. but inside, theresa may believes she can swell these polite ranks of her supporters, trying to stir up national pride with talk of security and defence, while slamming her labour opponents, who have been in charge around here for a long time. proud and patriotic working—class people in towns

and cities across britain have not deserted the labour party, jeremy corbyn has deserted them. we respect that parents and grandparents taught their children and grandchildren that labour was a party that shared their values and stood up for their community. but across the country today, traditional labour supporters are increasingly looking at whatjeremy corbyn believes in and are appalled. but can she really take the tories beyond small pockets of the north—east? lok at the side of the bus to see how they hope she will. strong and stable leadership... —— look. her name in giant letters, you almost need a magnifying glass for the party.

we will deliver for britain. she may be well ahead in the polls, but the tory manifesto is not even published yet. how far can she really reach? i was labour a few years ago. but my views are changing. just working life and what is happening in this country, my views are changing. have you voted tory before? no. you will be voting for them for the first time? yes. what is changing your mind? strong opinions on brexit, that is what i want to see, us standing alone and moving forward that way. getting on the road in the north—east is part of a deliberate strategy, not just to try to win, but to pump up the majority. i have used every form of transport except horses. haven't done that. but however she travels, and whatever the polls say today, shifting huge numbers of votes in labour territory is a hard sell. theresa may has already been to more than 20 labour seats, including some here in the north—east that should traditionally be safe as houses. the tories say she is having a positive message, but every day they are trying to display contrast between her and jeremy corbyn, brutally trying to strip away labour's vote.

you don't get anyone more important than the prime minister, do you? convention suggests whole chunks of the north of england, scotland and wales just are not safe for the conservatives. but theresa may wants to persuade you the country's future is only safe with her. the liberal democrats have confirmed they would legalise the sale of cannabis if they're elected. the party would allow licensed shops to sell the drug to people over the age of 18. people would also be able to grow cannabis at home and smoke at small social clubs. now, if you've been following the english premier league this season, it won't come as a surprise to hear that chelsea will be crowned as this year's champions. they confirmed it on friday evening with a 1—0 win away to west brom. 0ur sports editor dan roan reports. glory was within their grasp. chelsea strolled to

the title almost complete. in the final ten minutes, and with the game seemingly sending for a draw, the pressure finally told. batshuayi with the crucial touch. the substitute has barely played this season, now he scored the goal to sealed the title. this is how much it meant to manager antonio conte. chelsea were champions once again. it has rarely been in doubt, but this, a moment to savour for a reunited team and their coach in his debut season. when chelsea play watford at stamford bridge on monday, they and their fans will be able to celebrate a second premier league triumph in three seasons, re—establishing this club is the dominant force in the english game. and when you consider what went on here last season, it is an achievement that should not be underestimated. jose mourinho was sacked after a chaotic defence of the title,

the club finishing tenth. chelsea hired conte but had to wait until after the euros. there were one or two big signings, antonio conte, the player of the year, but the new coach has largely transformed an underperforming squad. i have to give thanks to my player. because it is not easy to adapt new methods, and new philosophies, and also to work very hard, to totally change your work. if you compare the work of this season and the past. and there could yet be more success. conte is also guided chelsea to the fa cup final. other managers may have grabbed more headlines and created more controversy, but the italian has eclipsed them all. at the start of the season, all the talk was about pep guardiola and jose mourinho. instead, it is antonio conte's chelsea who have

prevailed with two games to spare and at the first of asking. this is not a leicester city style miracle, of course. chelsea are one of the wealthiest clubs in the world. having said that, given last season, this represents a highly impressive turnaround in fortunes. the centres with this manager in charge, this could be a double winning season, and of course, next year, they can challenge for the champions league again, as well. the international art festival, the venice biennale, opens tomorrow and some artists have decided to challenge the usual practice of countries having their own national pavilions to showcase their art. this year there are pavilions for imaginary countries complete with their own unusual form of passport control. to explain, here's our arts editor, will gompertz. the whole point of the venice biennale is for countries across the world to have their own national pavilion in which to proudly present the work of one of their artists. but the notion of art belonging

to nation states is becoming an increasingly anachronistic concept for many artists and curators, some of whom have set up alternative pavilions, such as nsk state, an imaginary country which we are all welcome to come along and join, although they have made it a bit of an uphill struggle. this is a state without rules or regulations, rights or responsibilities — although citizens do need to get themselves a passport. you've got to do all the boring admin stuff and hand over your fee to a passport officer, who, in this instance, is a migrant seeking a european passport. so, in a way, the power dynamic is being turned on its head. you then go up this moving stair to an elevated office, where you come along and hopefully pick up your authorised passport. thank you very much. and then there is the diaspora pavilion, showing the work of predominantly non—white british artists, which is challenging the very notion of nationhood, arguing that a multicultural society needs a fresh approach to established ideas of borders and belonging.

this is about nationalism. it's about the nation. it's about what is represented by the nation. for us, that terrain or that definition has to change. we feel diaspora is really much more appropriate, to talk about fluid communities and diversity within the uk, but also within the art movement. for some countries, though, those that maybe feel marginalised or misunderstood, biennale offers a public platform on which to show and share. venice becomes even more important for a country like iraq, that can participate because it's allowed to — you know, as a national pavilion, as defunct as that notion may be. it's one of the few venues available. these antiquities from the iraq museum form the core of the exhibition. some have never left the country before. others were looted after the fall of saddam hussein. they represent both traditional craft and contemporary politics, like much of the work at this year's biennale. will gompertz, bbc news, venice. don't forget you can get in touch

with me on twitter. i'm @tomdonkinbbc. but for now, it's time for me to say goodbye — see you soon. first, the weather. hello. showers or longer spells of rain were the mark of the day on friday in many parts of the british isles, but other areas too got away with a pretty decent sort of day. that was the end of the day in kings cross in london. that was the day in cornwall. and what's driving things at the moment? this area of low pressure, sat in the middle of this great swirl of cloud. you can see the persistent rain showing up, and those with a good eye can see the speckling of showers, some of those were really quite sharp. as we get on into the body of saturday, rather than friday, the same area of low pressure has drifted a little bit further north, taking the prospect with it of those longer spells of rain. not a cold start to the day wherever you're starting it. the temperatures just about dipping away into single figures, across a rather murky north—eastern quarter of scotland.

but further south, across the greater part of southern england and wales, it's not wall—to—wall sunshine, but it is mild as you step out of the door first thing perhaps, and a lot of dry weather too. you've got to start moving towards the north—west of wales, to northern ireland, the north—west england and up into the heart of scotland, where you are in the centre of the low, and you will see more cloud, thick enough for some rain and further north and east, as i say, a coolerfeel, with a noticeable south—easterly wind there and a lot of low cloud. it's going to be one of those days i'm afraid in that neck of the woods. but let's not major too much on the rain and showers, because, across a greater part of england and wales, yes, isolated light showers, but a lot of dry weather too. with the sunshine coming out, quite strong at this time of year, 18 or 19 could be yours. and i suspect, down on the south coast, bournemouth versus burnley, mid—afternoon, there'll be a lot of sunshine there, a really glorious spring afternoon. however, closer to the low pressure and some of the fixtures, especially on the western side of scotland, they could be pretty wet affairs.

if you're coming further south, and it is the challenge cup weekend for the rugby league fans amongst you, castleford versus st helens, i think that one will be essentially a dry fixture. saturday evening on into sunday, if you're out and about you'll have to put up with a couple of hours at least of pretty weather as the front moves west to east. it'll be away from most eastern coastal areas, say for the north—east of scotland, as you wake up on sunday. another day of sunny spells and showers, some of them sharp, especially in the north—western quarter of scotland, but i hope you have some time on the weekend to enjoy at least some of this dry weather. and i urge you to do it if you can, because this is what monday looks like — rather wet, rather windy to say the least. this is bbc world news. the headlines: cyber attacks have been reported on organisations in more than 70 countries. computers in thousands of locations have been locked by a programme that demands a three hundred dollar

payment to restore users' access. companies, individuals and public services including hospitals have been affected. the white house has refused to confirm or deny whether president trump recorded conversations with james comey, the man he sacked as director of the fbi. in a tweet earlier, mr trump warned mr comey not to leak stories to the media, saying he had "better hope there are no tapes of our conversations". thousands of elderly venezuelans have taken to the streets of the capital, caracas, and other cities to protest against the government of nicolas maduro and show