around 22 degrees. that is how it is looking. more details on the weather throughout the week ahead. this is bbc world news today, i'm alpa patel. our top stories. us media told donald trump said firing james coney believed great pressure and described him as a nut job. the new revelations come as donald trump sets off as his first overseas trip as president. wikileaks founderjulian assange welcomes sweden's decision to drop an investigation into an alleged rape. and its attempt to extradite him from the uk: seven years without charge while my children grew up without me. that is not something i can forgive. it is not something i can forget. today is an important victory for me and for the un human rights system. also ahead: the polls have closed in iran's presidential elections —

after a high turnout forced them to be extended three times. hello and welcome to the programme. we start with yet more turbulent development in washington, hot on the heels of president from's departure on his first foreign trip, us media published two new revelations. the new york times is reporting that the president described his sacked fbi chief james coney the president described his sacked fbi chiefjames coney as a nutjob. they show document summarising the meeting saying i face great pressure because of russia has taken off. the

washington post has also published an article saying a current white house official has been identified asa house official has been identified as a significant person of interest. in the fbi investigation into links between russia and the tramp campaign. we will have more for you with our correspondent in a moment. but both those stories were published only minutes after air force one took off from andrews air base taking donald trump on his first foreign trip since becoming president. they are going on a nine—day tour of saudi arabia, israel, belgium and italy. the trip was billed as a chance to build the wright —— visit places sacred to major religions. but could the turmoil in washington overshadow the strip? our chief international correspondent is in the saudi carrot talanoa —— the saudi capital where donald trump will arrive. the rumours are staring in the region president trump as room of them reporting, is

facing extreme pressure at home over the handling of the intelligence and could end up cancelling this trip and then his next up in israel. we all knew this trip matters a lot to president trump and it is certainly mattering to the saudi kingdom. it is now only hours before the american president makes riyadh in his first stop on his very first foreign visit. this is the city under tight security, and a city which has taken on all the stops that to make this a visit like no other. everywhere you go here you see the slogan, together we will prevail. this summit, they say, like no other in history. this is the place full of superlatives now, not that one summer but three. a meeting with saudis, rule cueing royal rules, gulf leaders, of the gulf region. and leaders from across the arab and islamic world. it is about

turning the page about what they saw a infuriating relationship with obama and his retreat as they saw it, from the middle east. they have hailed president trump from the start. that's go back to those revelations in washington. we can speak to our correspondents there. a complicated story, talk us through the new york times article. what does the paper say it has seen? what it is saying is talking about this meeting that happened last week between donald trump and several senior russian officials in the oval office. they base their report on official readout, an internal read—out of the meeting. it says donald trump says james coney: the fbi director he fired, was a nutjob and what was under a great deal of pressure about russia and that by firing james coney, it took that the pressure off. so these were once

again, the revelations about donald trump's intent in firing james comey, a view into its mind in this hell is happening in his mind, make a meeting with russian officials, has figured centrally in this investigation. at the same time, we also have the washington post saying the investigation into the links between the tramp administration and russia has identified a person of interest. what more can you tell us about that? the person of interest, not a suspect but this is someone they consider integral to the investigation. the article lists several senior club officials who have acknowledged they had ties or had meetings with russia, one is rex tillerson and the other attorney general ‘sjeff sessions. the final is fromson—in—law general ‘sjeff sessions. the final is fromson—in—lanara general ‘sjeff sessions. the final is fromson—in—law jara killing general ‘sjeff sessions. the final is fromson—in—lanara killing micro jared posner. we

——jared —— jared posner. ——jared posner. we —— jared posner. we cannot confirm anything but it sounds like the investigation is now centred or looking in through the white house talent officials rather than save poor man thought we were the campaign manager since disconnected from the campaign. all michael flynn, who was the national security adviser who was fired because he was not upfront about his conversations with that russian ambassador. fast moving events in washington, meanwhile donald trump is on a plane to riyadh, what do you think has reaction will be? all of these stories broke about an hour after the doors closed on s air force one, he has called this a witchhunt and was tweeting about it. he will feel like this is a pressure put on him bya

like this is a pressure put on him by a media treating him unfairly, another word he used in a recent speech. i'm convinced it's not going to be happy about this. the problem for him is he will land in saudi arabia where it will be difficult to classic negotiations and closely watched meetings, going forward and in italy, israel, brussels, and he will have journalist asked him about this probably more than what they wa nt to this probably more than what they want to be talking about which is his foreign trip. going back to the new york times, how damaging could this article be? how reliable are those sources? the new york times says that there facing these on an official read—out fixing the basic these on a official read—out which isa these on a official read—out which is a document produced by the government or the white house itself, then circulated internally. they have seen presumably this document which is authentic from a reliable source. the white house itself isn't specifically denying these were words that donald trump

said, that he talked about relieving pressure, they are fraying it as being part of the tramp negotiations with russia, inventing them to cooperate on the policy goals. as far as the serious goes, this points towards intent, forfiring the fbi director, in soon another data point. he was pressured by donald trump it is alleged, to stop the investigation, and early reports suggested it was because of russia. we will see. it is serious though, andi we will see. it is serious though, and i think donald trump's critics will point it to an example of where possible obstruction ofjustice. you mentioned intent, what do you think donald trump means by great pressure onjames donald trump means by great pressure on james comey? that is the big question. last week, trump said that

he had the russian investigation in mind when he fired james kammy. —— james comey. i don't want to get into donald trump's mind here, he has a tendency to talk of the cost and choosing words indelicately, but it is obvious that he is upset about the way james comey was dealing with this investigation. the ordinary grandstand. they expect the investigation to go on, but that james kammy was mishandling it, according to the white house. thanks for joining according to the white house. thanks forjoining us. the founder of the wikileaks website, julian assange, says it's a "victory" that swedish prosecutors are ending their investigations into claims he carried out a sexual assault. he's been taking refuge at the ecuadorian embassy in london — since 2012. speaking to the media — he said he would not be leaving it, because he could still be arrested by police in london. ecuador‘s foreign minister called

on the uk to allow mr assange safe passage to ecuador. caroline hawley reports. out into the fresh air. on the balcony of the ecuadorian embassyjulian assange emerged this afternoon to have his say on the end of the swedish investigation against him. today is an important victory for me and for the un human rights system. seven years without charge while my children grew up without me. that is not something that i can forgive, it is not something that i can forget. but prosecutors in sweden have not cleared julian assange, they have simply said they can't pursue the case any further. translation: there are now

no further measures remaining which are possible to advance the investigation. in order to proceed, it would be necessary forjulian assange to be formally served notice of the crimes of which he is suspected. this was a measure that was to have been conducted during an interview in london, but mr assange refused to make this possible. this complex international drama began in august 2010 when two women alleged thatjulian assange had sexually assaulted them on a visit to sweden. accusations he has always denied. in december that year he was detained in britain under an international arrest warrant. in may 2012 the supreme court upheld a decision to extradite him to sweden for questioning. and injune mr assange walked into the ecuadorian embassy in london requesting political asylum. the metropolitan police mounted a 24—hour guard at the embassy. by october 2015 it had cost over £30 million. and it is not over yet.

julian assange is no longer wanted on an international arrest warrant but the metropolitan police say that if he stepped out of the embassy they are still obliged to arrest him for failing to surrender to a london court back in 2012. at the embassy this evening his supporters were jubilant. but in sweden, the woman who accused him of rape issued a statement saying he was evading justice, and expressing her shock that the investigation was being shelved. julian assange was not held without charge with for seven years. he was subject to extradition proceedings with in the eu, under the european arrest warrant scheme he would have received a fair trial in sweden had he chosen to go back. the reason this has lasted seven years is entirely down to him seeking refuge in the ecuadorian embassy rather than going to face trial in a country that has governed by the rule of law. the founder of wikileaks says it was fear that he would be extradited to the united states for leaking classified information that drove him through the doors of the ecuadorian embassy. so despite today's dramatic twist

in this long—running diplomatic and legal saga, tonight he is back inside. not for the moment going anywhere. caroline hawley, bbc news. the polls in iran's presidential election have now closed after a high turnout forced officials to extend voting by six hours.the incumbent president hassan rouhani is facing strong competition from hardliner ebrahim raisi — who is proposing a tougher stance on the west. wisley is a reporter from bbc‘s persian service. when will we get a result? sometime in the afternoon —— morning saturday. itjust closed a

few minutes ago at midnight run time it is unprecedented. the announcement of the final results will take longer. interesting that was at a high turnout, what prompted that? absolutely. what is at stake? this might decide around was on her future at the end of the day. the state—run tv and media have bombarded the audiences with themes of people participation and so on, because the regime wants a high voter turnout because it will give more legitimacy. reform minded people want to turn up because they wa nt to people want to turn up because they want to stop the victory of abraham raised the, but his stop supporters wa nt to raised the, but his stop supporters want to stop the current incumbent. we can now go to a senior reporter at the carnegie endowment. tell us how important the iranian nuclear deal plays into the selection? ——

into this election? the current president has a deal to deliver on the nuclear programme but there will be disappointment at how he has carried it out. if he is re—elected, they will remain a strong advocate in tehran for the trade deal, if hassan rouhani loses and ebrahim raisi wins, then his two main parents, obama and tehran,, will have left the scene. then he will be under the care of. i want to feel ambivalent about the deal won he will be fixing apart from the nuclear deal, what can you tell us about what the

iranians are voting on with macro iranians are voting on with macro iranians elections are always an free, an fairand iranians elections are always an free, an fair and unpredictable, iranians elections are always an free, an fairand unpredictable, and only six individuals were allowed to i’ui'i. only six individuals were allowed to run. i think that the incumbent, hassan rouhani, was the most moderate options that many iranian moderate options that many iranian moderate voters have. ebrahim raisi oi'i moderate voters have. ebrahim raisi on the other hand, is in many ways a mini me of it around's supreme leader who wants to stay loyal to revolutionary principles, animosity to the united states, a regime which retains its islamic piety, so i think even though the fact it was a close election, there was a stark choice between these two candidates and competition between them is genuine. but the big question will be, this election was rigged beforehand be, this election was rigged before hand given so be, this election was rigged beforehand given so many candles we re beforehand given so many candles were disqualified, the big question is, will also be big after the votes

are counted? —— read after the votes are counted? —— read after the votes are counted? —— read after the votes are counted? that remains to be seen. how will the west be seen after this election? much of the we st after this election? much of the west including the united states is in such internal disarray, that it is very inward focused, the trump administration views they run very differently than the obama administration. the trump administration. the trump administration is very cynical about iran, so if hassan rouhani wins i don't think it will change that view and if ebrahim raisi wins they will be more cynical. i think it will help the cause of hawks in washington who want to isolate iran if ebrahim ebrahim raisi wins because it will show the european countries that ebrahim raisi is a hardliner, a bad quy ebrahim raisi is a hardliner, a bad guy. worth if hassan rouhani and his foreign minister, will break iran

looks like it is run by a more pragmatic and reasonable actors. give us an idea, please, about how iranians feel about this election. has it divided the country? definitely. the country might settle for political pundits and historians and sociologist, it might settle the issue of where it run stand in terms of the centre, periphery, urban, rural, modern. it is a tight race and the focus of ebrahim raisi has been the urban and the rural with promises ofjob and economic benefits, three times what they are getting. the reformers have called this impractical. the effects of those promises for a population that has not seen the benefits of the promises of hassan rouhani, is very strong. i don't think can take it

for granted that he can win or lose at this stage. thank you both for being weather. won being with us. next, we have the sport news including a russian billionaire's bid to buy arsenal. the polling stations are all prepared for what will be the first truly free elections in the many‘s history. it was a remarkable climax to what will surely the most extraordinary funeral ever given to a p0p extraordinary funeral ever given to a pop singer. it's been a peaceful

funeral demonstration so far but the police are at the crowd, we don't know why. the ritual is established here, they were in good spirits but branson. in the last hour, east timor has become the world's newest nation. the challenges ahead are daunting. but for now, at least, it is time to celebrate. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines... us media are reporting that donald trump told russian officials at firing fbi directorjames comey eased great pressure on him, it comes as mr trump heads off on his first foreign trip. the wikileaks founderjulian assange says he will neither forgive nor forget, after sweden said it was dropping its investigation into him for an alleged rape. the disgraced former

new york congressman anthony weiner is facing a prison sentence for sending obscene messages to an under—age teenage girl. he pleaded guilty in federal court to "sexting" a 15—year—old girl. before his fall from grace, he'd been a high profile figure in the democratic party, with links to hillary clinton, his oryour his or your sport. there is usually on the ownership of the premier league double club arsenal. the minority shareholder has made a bid of around £1 billion to buy out the majority chair. it's understood this bird has been rejected. the manager arsene wenger is still keeping people guessing. his contract expires after the fa cup final next saturday when the board are expected

to discuss his position. arsenal's final league match is at home against everton, on sunday, could that be his last match for arsenal? of the season? yes. ever? i cannot tell you. i think what is most important for us is to win the football game on sunday. after that, what happens to me is less important. i am here to serve the club and the best way to do it is to win the next game. meanwhile, lots of other premier league managers have been giving their final league managers have been giving theirfinal pre—match league managers have been giving their final pre—match news conferences of the season. jurgen klopp's liverpool need to beat middlesbrough on sunday to be sure ofa middlesbrough on sunday to be sure of a top four finish, regardless of the result. klopp says they will be spread strengthening the squad during the summer. we aren'tjust working on the players, we have a lot of people around and have good positions for different players, but

it's not that we want to talk about, we want the team better. every year. what i wanted to say, it's not that easy because we have already agreed cueing been a good side. if we have oui’ cueing been a good side. if we have our first 12 to 1a players, the world is not full of players, that makers plan immediately. week you can be sure we will speak to them. myriad sharapova says she will not procure a wild card for wimbledon and will go by qualifying. she has relied on wild card sense her doping ban. he was denied a wild card to the french open but her ranking allows her to enter wimbledon qualifying in which he needs to win three matches in a rotary the first round. rafael nadal‘s unbeaten run on clay is over. the spaniard was knocked out of the opening info by

dominic thiem, losing in straight sets 6—4, 6—3. he will face djokovic oi’ sets 6—4, 6—3. he will face djokovic or del potro in the semis. zverev will take on john isner or del potro in the semis. zverev will take onjohn isner in the other five semifinal. as expected, the colombian filling with the lived up to his billing as the fastest man in this year 's tour. tom the moon position of race leader. some goalfor you now. rory mcilroy has withdrawn from next week whether bmw pga championship. he announced he is suffering from the same rib injury he suffered in the off—season

we re injury he suffered in the off—season were trying out as new clubs. that's all the sports for now. let's remind you of our top story this hour, toe joe mellor two —— two new revelations in washington. the what new york times says the president described his sacked fbi chief james says the president described his sacked fbi chiefjames comey as a real attempt to nutjob. won as a realtor real attempt to nutjob. won as a rea ltor two. real attempt to nutjob. won as a realtor two. it also says the pressure is off. the washington post says a white house staffer has been announced as a key figure in the investigation into the front campaign. we'll have more of that in the next hour. goodbye for now. all the uk weekend weather news is

coming up here in half an hour's time, this is when we go beyond our shores and take a look at some of the main weather around the world. we have had some rain in the uk. quite a bit of rain elsewhere too. look at this angry looking radar picture in the usa from the southern plains into the midwest. there are severe thunderstorms with a flash flood risk and isolated tornadoes in kansas, missouri. it pushes further north into the great lakes on saturday and the parts of canada in the weekend. in the ontario. it is then hot in the north—east of the us, it will be much cooler in new york doing saturday but the strength of storms is going to continue. cooler air following behind delivering some snow into colorado. here's what i like in the picture

and angry explosion of clown. we —— of cloud. the caribbean is getting wet in two parts of costa rica and nicaraguan, and injamaica arejust isolated showers and storms here as we go through saturday. the main flood risk from these downpours is coming to an end. talk about the rain, the eastern part of australia, new south wales and queensland, it's been heavy downpours, over 100 millimetres in queensland going from thursday to friday. four times the main average in that short space of time. on saturday, this energy pulled out into the sea. lingering showers for brisbane and sydney earlier in the day. showers will move into perth, what we are noticing in new zealand is fairly pleasa nt noticing in new zealand is fairly pleasant by day but cold at night with frosts and snow in low levels. with like something cooler in india

but as the pre—monsoon heat at the moment. temperatures in the mid to upper 40s but showers and storms around new delhi, in the next few days. gusty winds may bring that temperature down. we had heaped in europe, here in the uk in early and the weak and france and germany in the weak and france and germany in the past couple of days and we are breathing cool and fresh air and the uk. with notice a change in paris as well, and moving to germany. temperatures are coming down. into the balkans, croatia, serbia, bosnia, some strong thunderstorms here. for the uk over the weekend, initially it is low—pressure but high pressure begins to build in later in the weekend. for the weekend weather, what's going to be happening next week? stay with us in half an hour, we'll find out. whether for the weekend now. us media are reporting that

president trump told russian officials that firing fbi director james comey eased great pressure on him. he also reportedly described james comey as a nutjob. these fresh revelations come as mr trump sets off on his first overseas trip since becoming president. his first stop will be saudi arabia. his eight—day trip will take on israel, the palestinian territories, brussels, the vatican city and sicily. julian assange says it is a personal victory that sweden has shelved a rape investigation. he says his legal conflict with britain in the us continues. those voters in iran's presidential elections will be pleased they have