this is bbc news, i'm lukwesa burak, the headlines at eight. president trump celebrates the signing of $350 billion worth of contracts between the us and saudi arabia on day one of his visit to the region. the president leaves behind fresh controversy in washington over the firing of the fbi chief james comey. jeremy corbyn insists his party is committed to trident after members of the shadow cabinet publicly disagree over the issue. the tories defend their aim to cut net migration to "tens of thousands" after it comes under fire from former chancellor george osborne. hassan rouhani is re—elected as iranian president, defeating his conservative rival by a comfortable margin. also in the next hour, just married — the duchess of cambridge‘s sister, pippa middleton. prince george was one of the page boys, while his sister charlotte was a bridesmaid. and nick robinson sits down

for dinner with a group of voters. that's nick's election takeaways in half an hour here on bbc news. good evening and welcome to bbc news. first, donald trump has been welcomed in saudi arabia as he began his first trip abroad since becoming president. he signed deals worth hundreds of billions of dollars with the saudis. riyadh is his first stop on a nine—dayjourney around the middle east and europe. it's a trip his aides hope will divert attention from his political problems back in washington. our north america editor, jon sopel, is travelling with the president and sent this report. with the mercury touching 100

fahrenheit, donald trump probably found the blast of desert air refreshing compared to the political hothouse he's left behind in washington. he's hoping this first foreign trip will provide some respite from mounting problems at home, and what a welcome his hosts laid on for him. the 81—year—old king came to greet him, red carpet for as far as the eye could see. he was even given saudi arabia's highest civilian honour, a weighty thing. a marked contrast to the almost hostile reception afforded ba rack obama when he was last here. wherever you go in riyadh, this is what you see — pictures of president trump and king salman with the slogan "together we prevail". a year ago, donald trump said in an interview, "i think islam hates us." from the reception he's receiving, and the warmth of it, you wouldn't guess it. the new president's tough stance on iran has endeared him to the saudis and other sunni nations in the region. as part of that, a massive £75 billion arms deal was signed to supply the kingdom

with weapons and know—how to meet the iranian threat. and this allowed the president to talk about what he likes most, jobs. that was a tremendous day, i just want to thank everybody. tremendous investments in the united states, and our military community is very happy, and we want to thank you and saudi arabia. but hundreds of billions of dollars of investments into united states and jobs, jobs, jobs. at a news conference, the deal was welcomed by the secretary of state. this huge arms—sales package reduces the burden on the united states to provide this same equipment to our own military forces and will strengthen saudi security forces for the future so that saudi arabia is more capable of carrying a greater share of the burden. less welcome news came overnight from james comey. the sacked fbi director has accepted an invitation to give evidence to congress in a public session, although that won't happen

before this trip has concluded. according to the new york times, the president described him to the russian foreign minister as a nutjob whose sacking had relieved a lot of the pressure on the president — claims the white house has not denied. donald trump complained earlier this week that no politician had been treated worse or more unfairly than him. that is not something that could be said today. out-of-tune rendition of us anthem. though the composer of the national anthem probably could. and a little earlier, jon explained how central the trade deal has been to this visit. you feel that donald trump is on comfortable ground when he's talking about trade, talking about business. now, a lot of what has been signed today has been months, if not years, in the pipeline. not all of it will necessarily materialise, and it will take many years for this money to come in. but leave all that to one side.

that is what donald trump believes he was elected for last november by the american people — to deliver on american jobs, to deliver on american trade. now, of course, there is still some pretty unwelcome news to come for him with all the political shenanigans that are still going on in the united states. but on this first day, he's got this trip off the way to that he starts. tomorrow, a more interesting challenge. if today was the tradesman, tomorrow is a statesman, when he makes a speech about islam. if you think about the rhetoric he used in the campaign to get him elected, well, that was for a us audience. now he has to address the muslim world, and it will be interesting to see just how different the tone is from donald trump the campaigner and and rabble—rouser and donald trump the president as statesman. and in the last hour, president trump has been welcomed to a reception at murabba palace in riyadh. the president took part in a traditional dance,

or at least i think he swayed to the music. he brieflyjoined saudi king salman in a traditional male—only sword dance before a state dinner in his honour. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are nigel nelson, political editor of the sunday mirror and the sunday people, and the political commentator jo phillips. jeremy corbyn has restated labour's commitment to renewing trident after his shadow foreign secretary suggested the party's support for the nuclear deterrent couldn't be guaranteed. mr corbyn insisted labour's manifesto commitment to trident was unequivocal. here's our political correspondent alex forsyth. cheering 0n the campaign trail,

the last thing he wanted was fresh questions about the uk's nuclear deterrent. but today he had to clarify his party's stance. it came after a senior labour figure, when asked if the party would commit to keeping the trident missile system even after a defence review, said this. well, no, of course not. if you have a review, you have to have a review. jeremy corbyn has long opposed nuclear weapons, but his party's policy is to support the renewal of trident. something he had to confirm again today. the manifesto makes it very clear that the labour party has come to the decision that it's committed to trident. we're also going to look at the real security needs of this country, on other areas such as cyber security, which i think the attack on our nhs last week proved, there needs to be some serious re—examination of our defences against those kinds of attacks. the snp was quick to strike. trident‘s based in scotland

so matters to voters here, and her party opposes it. the confusion and chaos at the heart of the labour party on trident really does illustrate the point that labour's not strong enough to stand up to the tories. but theresa may thinks her stance on security and defence will cut through with voters and, out campaigning today, wasted no time in saying so. we have seen yet again from jeremy corbyn's labour party today that a labour government led byjeremy corbyn would not be unequivocally committed to the trident nuclear deterrent. they would not be able to defend this country. theresa may has made so much of this campaign about leadership qualities. she wants to keep it that way. but now the parties have published their manifestos, there's also plenty of policy to pick over. and not everyone agrees with some tory proposals.

these are labour protesters, but there are rumblings in the tory party about changes in social care. elections can lay bare divisions across the board. the liberal democrats have unveiled their latest election poster. it's a picture of nigel farage‘s face superimposed onto the head and shoulders of theresa may. former business secretary, and lib dem candidate, sir vince cable said it represented how conservatives had "adopted wholesale" policies from ukip. the green party has released its youth manifesto, with an attempt to appeal to young voters. among the commitments is a pledge to scrap tuition fees and cancel outstanding student debt. the party also promises stable housing for what it calls generation rent. humberside police continue to hold two men under arrest over

the disappearance of missing hull woman renata antczak. the 49—year—old mother of two has been missing for nearly a month. a number of properties are being searched. jo makel reports. police are still at two addresses in hull — the first, the home of the missing mother of two. renata antczak was last seen almost four weeks ago, taking her daughter to school. yesterday, her black mercedes was taken away by officers. she was in it when she dropped her daughter off. her husband, majid mustafa, says she then returned home, before leaving on foot at one o'clock that afternoon. the other address is six miles away in emerald grove in the west of hull. neighbours say a polish couple live here and that a car has been removed by police. yesterday, they had also been at the dental practice where ms antczak‘s husband works. the police won't confirm whether he is one of two people

arrested in connection with the disappearance. humberside police said today the two men, aged 47 and a5, are still being questioned. meanwhile, the appeals for information to help find ms antczak continue. the police say they still want to hear from anyone who can come forward and help them find her. jo makel, bbc news. new rules for cigarette packaging come into force this weekend. all packs must be greenish—brown withjust a small space for the brand name and include a graphic warning of the dangers of smoking. the measures, aimed at discouraging young people from taking up the habit, also include a ban on selling packs of ten. tom burridge reports. persuading young people not to smoke. that's what the government hopes these new rules will do. from today, all cigarette packets have to be a standard green design, similar to this. health warnings must cover two thirds of the front and back of the packets. and you can no longer buy packets of ten. there will also be restrictions on e—cigarettes and on rolling tobacco, too.

restrictions on e—cigarettes public—health campaigners say the number of people smoking in britain continues to fall and this is another positive step. it's too early to say how many will avoid taking up, but even if it's just a few percent that will have a big benefit in 20 or 30 years' time. but the tobacco industry says greater restrictions will only push people to buy cigarettes elsewhere. we are seeing people actually not quitting or giving up smoking, but basically buying cheap tobacco from the black market. it's never been so expensive to smoke. the government wants to emphasise the possible health costs and persuade more to stub the habit out. home ownership among younger families has fallen by nearly two thirds in some parts of the uk since 1994, according to new research. the resolution foundation, a think—tank focussing on living standards, says outer london, the north west

and parts of yorkshire were most affected. our business correspondent joe lynam has the details. it's usually assumed that soaring house prices in central london would have the greatest impact on affordability for younger households. but the resolution foundation says the north of england and outer london have been affected the most. it says home ownership among young families has fallen 63% in outer london towns, such as harrow and croydon. in west yorkshire, ownership fell by 52% among families with adults between 25 and 3a, while the fall in greater manchester was 51% between 1994 and last year. a lot more families are living in the private rental sector, which is expensive, insecure, and often not a very nice place to live. but it also matters longer term. we've seen in the debate around social care this week that having a home is a key way that many people build up an asset over their lifetime. it really matters when you get old whether you own a house. they also say pledges by labour

and the conservatives to build one million new homes lacked the required detail on how that might be achieved within five years. the headlines on bbc news. celebrations in riyadh mark day one of president trump's visit there. $350 billion worth of contracts between the us and saudi arabia have been agreed. the white house describes one defence—related deal as the biggest in us history. there's a disagreement within labour, after the shadow foreign secretary says the party could abandon its support for trident. meanwhile, the tories defend their aim to cut net migration after it's criticised by former chancellor george osborne. the wedding's taken place of pippa middleton, the sister of the duchess of cambridge. she married the financier james matthews in berkshire. sport now, and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre.

good evening. let's start with rugby union, and exeter put an end to saracens' hopes of a double double by beating them in a dramatic premiership play—off semifinal. saracens were hoping to retain both their european and domestic titles, but a late exeter try means they're through to the final with an 18—16 victory. hannah lupton reports. saracens have a swagger in their stride, back—to—back european champions and now moving in on the premiership title. at a stormy but welcoming sandy park. amongst their ranks the european player of the year. as usual, 0wen farrell accurate with his angles. 6—6, all square at the break, exeter had the momentum, the wind behind them, and with the force of jack nowell, a try and a crucial lead against a side who had beaten them last year in the final.

yet sarries are supreme hunters, and as they chased the game, and survival instincts kicked in. this imaginative improvisation left the reigning champions minutes away from twickenham. minutes turned to seconds, and exeter needed one final push. sam simmons had the strength to get them over the line. the saracens dream of the double double had disappeared. but this day belonged to exeter. there was drama in the other semifinal in coventry this evening between wasps and leicester. wasps were the best side in the regular season, but they needed a 78th minute try to edge past leicester, as alex gulrajani reports. the flags had been flying at wasps all season thanks to a side thatjust loves scoring tries, the most in the premiership. an exciting but expensive backline has served it up, willie larue and kurtley beale

combined to live up to their price tags. in defence, though, there have been cracks. an inspired freddie burns found one, and the tigers were punished. just out of wasps‘ reach. a ten—point lead disappeared as quickly as the smile. and the director of rugby found his work didn't get easier after the break. leicester taking a lead for the first time. the tigers locked up. wasps struggled to get through, and when they did mistakes crept in. when it looked like the chance had slipped away, they made one count, josh bassett sending wasps to twickenham by a narrow margin. and munster have beaten ospreys 23—3 in the second pro12 semifinal. millwall will be playing in the championship next season after they beat bradford city 1—0 in the league one play—off

final at wembley. millwall's fans invaded the pitch after the final whistle, which led steve morison to claim those supporters ruined the game for him. nick parrott was watching. after two years of disappointment, emotions got the better of millwall fans. but confrontations after the final whistle will soon be forgotten. the huge release of tension came as a result of getting the better of a bradford side who had looked more likely to win. the best chance of an end—to—end first half full of missed opportunities fell to billy clark. a goal looked inevitable, butjordan archer did just enough to keep him out. both sides could have done better in a second half that was littered with plenty of spurned chances. it was almost too much to bear, as the clock ticked down with extra time looming. with nerves shredded, gregor and morison held theirs,

a half chance turning into a hammer blow. heartbreak for bradford, but delirium for the lions, roaring back to the championship two years after relegation. inverness have been relegated from the scottish premiership, despite winning their last game of the season. they needed a win and for hamilton academical to drop points. but though inverness beat motherwell 3—2, hamilton beat dundee by 4—0. so hamilton survive for now. they'll face dundee united in a two—legged premiership play—off, the first match starts on thursday. brechin city beat alloa athletic 5—4 on penalties following a seven goal thriller. brechin led 1—0 from the first leg, but seven goals, ending with this one from dillon mackin, took the match to extra time and eventually penalties. it went to sudden death, with flanagan first to miss. james dale had already been

named man of the match before despatching the winning penalty to return break into the second tier after an 11 year absence. big celebrations there tonight, i'm sure, that is all the sport for now. dozens of the schoolgirls who were kidnapped from the nigerian town of chibok three years ago have been reunited with their families. the girls were released earlier this month as part of a deal between the nigerian government and boko haram islamist militants who'd been holding them. whether it's french champagne or italian prosecco, the uk's love of fizz shows no sign of slowing down. but the technique for making it was first documented not by a frenchman or an italian — but by a 17th century scientist in england.

nick higham has more. some call it brit fizz, or simply bubbly. its proper name is english sparkling wine, and it is made like champagne. the french will tell you the method was discovered by a frenchman. a monk called dom perignon in 1967. but here in winchcombe, they know better. on monday, they will put up a plank on his birthplace to a local, christopher merritt, a pioneering scientist who recorded english scientists using the technique in 1662, more than 30 years before dom. he described the way they were adding sugar and molasses to the wine, which was making it sparkling. he was the first person to actually use that word, "sparkling," in connection to wine, wasn't he? yes. at this gloucestershire winery, they use the technique. they make it and add sugar and yeast to bring on what is called a secondary fermentation. we put the grapes into a vat, and we ferment them in the vats. that is the first.

the second is in the bottle itself. from the first one you get bubbles, but we allow it to bubble off. then you get a secondary one, and you need to contain that within the bottle to give us the bubble in the finished sparkling wine. one reason, it's said, the english did it first is that english bottles were thicker and heavier. flimsy french bottles exploded when the fizz built up inside them. sparkling wine was a menace to french makers. english glass was much more robust. english sparkling wine has a long history. even longer than champagne. but it has a long and cumbersome name as well. at this small vineyard in the coltswolds, they have tried to come up with a snappy title, with mixed success.

we have come up with bolari, which is what we want to call it. it's derived from the latin word for bubbles. we thought about the welsh version, which was swigot, but i do think that quite had the ring to it. italians have prosecco, the spanish cava, and germans, sekt. what is the english equivalent? perhaps we should call at winchcombe. imagine if you could unlock doors or control your phone using a tiny chip implanted in your hand. it sounds like something out of a sci—fi thriller, but for a growing number of people in the uk it's becoming a reality. so—called bio—hackers are installing microchips into their bodies and programming them to perform everyday tasks. but will it catch on? danny savage went to meet some of them. this is a hack space,

where people into their technology build stuff or take things apart and start again. a few of them, though, have technology implanted inside them. they have been chipped, fitted with near—field communication. buried in their hand, it can do tasks for them. phil's chip has been programmed to work as a key. so you can see that will open the doorfor me, so i can get in. it is the same technology we have been chipping cats and dogs with for the past 30 years. it is entirely benign. if anyone wanted to change it, they would have to be within one centimetre of me, and i have a password on it as well. so you can't be turned into a cyborg assassin? nothing that exciting. my chip goes to my facebook art page as a digital business card.

the chip in holly's hand directs people to her webpage. she sees a medical use in the future. i feel this is going to replace a hospital tag. something as simple as that, it could help, because if someone's passed out on the floor, you've got no idea of their medical history. you scan their hand and you've got all their history, all their details. i think something like that is where this technology is going to go. it's brilliant. and this is the size of the chip that hackers have inside them. would you want one? currently today, i've programmed it to send you a text message. tanja does. she's a tech expert at a university and believes it is important to be a pioneer human with a chip. this is a very simple chip. the danger is not that great. in the future they could be more versatile, more powerful.

we don't know what it can hold. that's what we're trying to explore now. there are only 200 in the uk at the moment with a chip. we think nothing of them in cats and dogs. is putting them in people the next logical step? danny savage, bbc news. hundreds of guests and spectators gathered in englefield in berkshire for the wedding of pippa middleton, sister of the duchess of cambridge. her nephew and niece, prince george and princess charlotte, had starring roles in the ceremony, as our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. a society wedding — a chance to, well, to gawp at the guests, for one thing. interesting for some. others may feel perhaps a little indifferent to it all. but of course this was rather more than a society wedding, with celebrity guests like tennis champion roger federer, because this was a middleton family wedding. so a wedding with royal connections.

big sister catherine arrived with two carloads of bridesmaids and page boys. among them were prince george, his hands firmly being held by his mother, and princess charlotte. all were ushered into church ready for the arrival of the bride. pippa middleton was driven to church in an open—top car with herfather, michael. it rekindled memories of how it was six years ago when pippa played such a memorable supporting role at catherine's wedding at westminster abbey. today, she was the one pausing at the entrance for the photographers in a dress which fashion editors will spend pages describing. at the church door, the roles were reversed. it was kate lending the sisterly support, making sure the dress was as it should be. then with a final pat on the shoulder, it was time for the service to begin. less than an hour later, the church bells sounded, and page boy george led the way out of church scattering flower petals, as the new mr and mrs james matthews

emerged together as man and wife. somewhere in the family group were princes william and harry. despite speculation in the press, harry had not brought his girlfriend meghan markle to the wedding. had he done so, it would have overshadowed everything. this was a day when the focus was on this couple and their wedding. 0k, ok, let's find out how the weather was looking with helen willetts. if you are out and about in the next few hours, torrential downpours across the eastern side of the uk, northern ireland and scotland, a land thunderstorms will ease away overnight, as well most of the showers, and so under clear skies it will turn fairly chilly. mist and fog in central and eastern areas, grass frost in the glens of

scotland, so still a chilly start. but it does look like a much drier day, much brighter as well after the four clears very quickly. a little bit more cloud perhaps rain brushing into northern ireland, perhaps the odd shower here and there, but in contrast to what we are bad today, far less intensity in the showers, far less intensity in the showers, far lengthier dry and sunny spells, and therefore feeling quite warm, 15-21 and therefore feeling quite warm, 15—21 degrees with lighter winds. looking ahead to monday and tuesday, temperatures recovering more slowly in the north, with a weather front close by, but getting dry and warm for most of us. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: