this is bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories: it's the uk‘s time to decide — after a seven—week battle, the election campaigning is over and voters head to the polls. as he prepares to give evidence to congress, former fbi directorjames comey details inappropriate and very concerning meetings with president trump. a special report on a radical preacher who lives in america and was watched by one of the london bridge attackers. turning up the heat — qatar's credit rating is cut amid a growing political crisis. plus — he's cut ties with his business empire but a lawsuit claims president trump is still flouting the us constitution. he has until tomorrow to respond. hello and welcome to bbc news.

in a matter of a couple of hours the polling stations will open. there will be patrolled by armed officers in some areas. the vast majority of constituencies will declare in the early hours of friday morning. on election day 2017, just two years after the last one and three years earlier than we were expecting. 68 different parties are vying for your votes this time around with a total field of more than 3300 candidates. we will elect mps from 650

constituencies across the uk, 533 in england, a0 in wales, 59 in scotland and 18 in northern ireland. around a7 million people are eligible to vote and will be casting our ballots at a1,000 polling stations on the length and breadth of the land as well is by post. the party leader with the most mps will be invited by the queen to form a government. mps are due back in next tuesday. so after seven weeks of campaigning, the time has come to choose their will and by those green benches across the road. 11 days from now, the queen will arrive here in a scaled—down ceremony wearing a hat, not a crowd, driven in a car, not a royal coach, to present the new government's plan to the next parliamentary session. like all uk broadcasters, the bbc is bound by strict rules which mean we can't report opinion polls or details of campaigning on polling day. we have a special election results

programme starting from 20.55 gmt for our international viewers. you can watch it live on this channel or online at bbc.com. one of the most dramatic moments of the trump presidency to date will unfold in congress today. the former fbi director, james comey, who was sacked by mr trump, will give evidence about his relationship with the president. he has already had his opening statement published online. in it he says the president repeatedly asked for his loyalty. he also says mr trump urged him to drop an inquiry into his national security adviser michael flynn, who had just been forced to resign. rajini vaidya nathan reports from washington. there is james. more famous than me. there is james. more famous than me. there was a time when president trump had nothing but praise for comey but a firm grip injanuary

turned into a firing in may. the president sacked the fbi director, calling him a nutjob and more. president sacked the fbi director, calling him a nut job and more. he isa calling him a nut job and more. he is a showboat, he is a grandstand. the fbi has been in turmoil. you know that, i know that, everybody knows that. most people know the president's version of events. now james comey will go public before the senate. just like his testimony in march, it all comes back to russia. the fbi is part of our counterintelligence mission is investigating the russian‘s —— the russian government's election interference. that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the trump campaign and the russian government. on the eve of his appearance before the senate, james comey released a written statement. he said the president isn't being investigated by the fbi isn't being investigated by the fbi is part of the russian enquiry, confirming statements made by mr trump in the past. i said, if it's

possible, will you let me know? am i under investigation? he said, you are not under investigation. but james comey did say over a private dinner in january, he james comey did say over a private dinner injanuary, he was asked by the president for its unwavering support. the white house has denied this. but how far the white house has denied this. but howfardid the white house has denied this. but how far did the president expect this loyalty to go? mr comey says he was asked to drop the investigation into ties between the former national security adviser michael flynn and the russians. he said mr trump told him: i think we are interested to learn if the president took steps to an —— obstruct the investigation in any way. there is no suggestion the president asked foran no suggestion the president asked for an end to the wider russian enquiry but james comey for an end to the wider russian enquiry butjames comey says mr trump told him there was a cloud

over. it's not just trump told him there was a cloud over. it's notjust congress which is looking into the trump campaign's ties to russia. there was also an ongoing fbi investigation. in the saga of washington politics, james comey‘s testimony is a must see moment but it'sjust comey‘s testimony is a must see moment but it's just one act in what is becoming a long and drawn—out political drama. joining me now from washington is bbc correspondent david willis. the opening statement gives us a lot to chew on but there is nothing like the drama of the moment itself and thatis the drama of the moment itself and that is what we are waiting for. absolutely. described by the washington post as the equivalent of a political super bowl, if you like, made for television if ever there was such an event. hence all the major networks here are basically clearing their schedules to make room for the coverage ofjames comey‘s evidence to the senate intelligence committee. indeed one commentator here said no testimony

is so anticipated or so potentially consequential to a sitting president as this. you have to go back to the bill clinton impeachment hearings or indeed to watergate to find a time when events on capitol hill were coming under such scrutiny. we know already we have heard these lines of mr comey saving, mr already we have heard these lines of mrcomey saving, mrtrump already we have heard these lines of mr comey saving, mr trump kept asking for his know —— loyalty, to go easy on mike flynn. have we had the best lines already? what's the committee will be looking for is some sort of corroborating evidence, notes perhaps in the notes of james comey, said to be a scrupulous noteta ker, and comey, said to be a scrupulous notetaker, and looking into this hint from donald trump that there may have been recordings made of the conversations between these two men. james comey is likely to be asked

about the subject discussed predominantly with donald trump, that being michael flynn. the man forced to resign, after he misled mike pence. why would donald trump seek to protect him? why would he seek to protect him? why would he seek to protect him? why would he seek to get the fbi to drop the investigation? above all else, this could raise the prospect of obstruction of justice. could raise the prospect of obstruction ofjustice. and therefore, the centre of gravity of this whole investigation which set out as enquiry into russian meddling in the outcome of the presidential election into a whole new realm and it could prompt further discussion of that word, impeachment. and you can get all the very latest on the upcoming testimony — including in depth analysis from our correspondents — on our website. that's bbc.com/news and follow the links.

let's take a look at some of the other stories making making the news. . south korea's military says north korea has fired more missiles into the sea off its east coast. it's believed they were land—to—ship missiles, with a range of about 200 kilometres, fired from the coastal city of wonsan. pyongyang has carried out a series of tests in defiance of un sanctions. military officials in myanmar say that wreckage from an air force transport plane which disappeared over the andaman sea on wednesday has been found. three bodies, including those of a child were discovered about thirty—five kilometres south of the town of launglon. the chinese—made aircraft was carrying a—hundred—and—twenty—two passengers and crew, most of them soldiers and their families. nations with some of the worst records for polluting the world's oceans with plastic have promised to start cleaning up their act. delegates from china, the philippines, indonesia and thailand told the first un ocean conference they would work harder to keep plastics

out of the sea. much of that plastic comes from ten major river systems in asia. a qatari—owned television network says president trump has told qatar's leader that he's ready to find a solution to an escalating crisis in the region. it comes, however, after mr trump seemed to throw his support behind saudi arabia and several other arab states in their efforts to isolate qatar over its alleged support for extremists. butjust how easy is some kind of solution? our diplomatic correspondent james robbins is in doha. qatar's enormous wealth is very conspicuous, its vast gas reserves transforming this small country in just 20 years, but now it's under the pressure of a blockade. saudi arabia says it can only be lifted it qatar pours into line with a series of demands. president trump backs

the hard but in qatar itself, unsurprisingly, you will not find anyone who supports the blockade. the blockade in international law is one step short of war. i think the people of qatar have to resort to the magnanimity or the wisdom of the international community, the european community, the united states itself and we have to go beyond and above the head of president trump himself because he doesn't understand. bearing in mind that the core areas burning, from yemen to iraq to syria, egypt's as well, libya. if you undermine qatar, you add more fire to the inferno which is already burning. the blockade is hurting qatar. doha international airport a range of regionalflights had international airport a range of

regional flights had to international airport a range of regionalflights had to be international airport a range of regional flights had to be cancelled to saudi arabia, each of another country is now blocking them. qatar a ways can get planes are to other parts of the world but they are only flying around, airspace closed to them. those critical of the blockade and donald trump say it's an approach which counter—productive.” do believe if the weight to go about foreign policy in the region is to fight terrorism, and to focus on that particular element, what is happening right now is not helping. facing the scale of this blockade, you might think this country must soon capitulate but even though the campaign against qatar is led by no less tha n campaign against qatar is led by no less than donald trump himself, the people here emphasise that they are resilient. they think they are in the right that they can withstand whatever is thrown at them. sally is he with a business news. it

could come at a huge cost, all this. the economic fallout could be pretty major and criticalfor the economic fallout could be pretty major and critical for qatar and for the region. the fallout could be fairly significant. credit rating, with a warning it could be cut further still. late on wednesday top rating agency standard and poors cut qatar's credit rating, with a warning it could be cut further still. its stock market is down almost 10% in the last three days — and its currency is at an 11 year low. qatar is a tiny nation — but a very important one in business terms — let's give you an idea why. what qatar has one of th what e world's largest reserves of natural gas — it has seen exports of its liquefied natural gas or lng soar in recent years. that has made the state phenomenally wealthy, building up one of the

world's biggest sovereign wealth funds, around $335 billion. it is used that money to buy assets across the goal —— across the globe. they range from paris saint—germain football club, to big stakes in volkswagen, russian oil giant rosneft and commodities trader glencore to britian‘s barclays bank. not to mention millions of square metres of london including the shard and harrods. the success of qatar airways has made it a major aviation hub. more than 50 flights a day have been grounded because of airspace closures and it's a huge employer of migrant workers — many of whom are working on stadiums for the 2022 world cup. families from india to the philippines depend on the money they send home. there are half a million workers from india alone in qatar. it bans presidents from receiving

gifts or payments from foreign governments, something the lawsuit claims donald trump receives through his hotel and business empire. he has until tomorrow to respond to that. we will have a report on that and the other business stories in world business report. do stay with us world business report. do stay with us here on bbc news. still to come, we know and b&b, but what about fresh airbnb. —— airbnb. the story

still to come. the day the british liberated the falklands, and by tonight, british troops had begun the task of disarming the enemy. in the heart of the west german capital, this was "gorbymania" at its height. the crowd packed to see the man who, forthem, has raised great hopes for an end to the division of europe. michaeljackson was not guilty of all charges. the screams of the crowd testament to his popularity and their faith in his innocence. as long as they'll pay to go see me, i'll get out there and kick them down the hills. you're watching bbc news. the latest

headlines for you: voters will be off to the polls in a couple of hours for the british general election. a7 million people registered to vote. the former fbi director, james comey, is set to testify to congress later that president trump asked for his loyalty a few months before firing him. one of the attackers who drove a vehicle into pedestrians before stabbing others near london bridge had viewed the videos of a radical american preacher. that's what one of the suspect‘s friends told the bbc. that radical preacher is from the town of dearborn in michigan, where our north america correspondent aleem maqbool tried to catch up with him. the enemies of allah and of mankind. it is one of the most popular voices

amongst brits in the fight against islamic state. he preaches separation of muslims from non— muslims. a former friend of london attacker khuram butt said it was jibril‘s videos that helped radicalise him. he is a free man, living in michigan. we have been trying to speak with ahmad musa jibril about his preaching, but for now, at least, he is a hard man to track down. his neighbours, though, have told us they thought he was nice and friendly. they said they had no idea he produced such videos. the fbi did no and tried for years to put a weight ahmad musa jibril, but laws on freedom of speech

prevented that. he's very smart, like many of these votes. they know there is a line to go up to and not cross that line. but talking generally about killing people, making juice orphans, that is not a... unfortunate, in this country, it is not. -- jewish people. ahmad musajibril has it is not. -- jewish people. ahmad musa jibril has been a nuisance to muslims in this area, too. we would come and say that you are separate from the religion, this is not the way. even imams in the area have said they had tried to stop him. free speech is one thing, but you have somebody act upon that, that is crossing a line. that should not be. do you think there are others in this community who are coming close to that line? there are many of them. many of them. that is what the

internet is for. the line between people who are practising free speech and inspiring violent acts is tough. it is notjust an issue for the us. could a political party with no mps become the party of government in just one election? that is the challenge facing the new french president emmanuel macron as he looks to turn his presidential triumph into a parliamentary success with his party, la republique en marche. it is fielding candidates in almost all of the 577 seats across france. the first round of voting is this sunday. our paris correspondent lucy williamson has been to the port city of marseille to gauge their chances. they call into the belly of marseilles. its narrow market,

teaming with shoppers preparing to rate the daily ramadan fast is one of the poorest districts in france, where unemployment is three times the national average. voters here tend to fall to the far left, but emmanuel macron‘s new party is hoping to win a parliamentary majority this month from scratch. and they are building support here. translation: his election was all about bringing people together, muslim, arabic, indian, kristian, we are all the same. there is no hate. today, i am are all the same. there is no hate. today, iam proud are all the same. there is no hate. today, i am proud to be french. this woman is the party candidate for central marseilles. she has been in politics for less than a year, and tonight, she is facing herfirst ever election debate. all part of emmanuel macron‘s plan to build hundreds of new faces in the race. the political people are used to promising a lot of things, then

after that just to politics. promising a lot of things, then after thatjust to politics. we are coming from real life. we are working every day. we have fixing problems every day. so we know how to do the work. in six acres one, france's newest party is battling rivals from the political extremes. traditional parties risk losing hundreds of seats in the selection, while mr macron‘s army of new faces is predicting a supermajority. jean—luc melenchon, of the left, has twice run for president. he says the success of a manual marseilles and his party is built on the illusion of change. translation: the all parties were eliminated, not because they were old, but because they were the same. what emmanuel macron proposes is more of the same, just more extreme, soi more of the same, just more extreme, so i don't get will end well. france's political landscape is changing. emmanuel macron won the

presidency by offering an alternative to both political extremes and political experience. now he is repeating that formula in a nationwide experiment. perhaps his biggest gamble yet. lucy williamson, bbc news, marseilles. from marseilles to paris, and novak djokovic has been knocked out of the french open. the talk time press them when lost his match in straight sets to dominic thiem. the serb, he is now without a major title after holding all four of them just 12 months ago. andy murray is also into the semifinals. he beat kei nishikori for a second consecutive year. he will be facing stan wawrinka switzerland. murray will have to be at his very best against

the swiss. now, if breathtaking scenery, fresh alpine air and unparalleled peace and quiet sounds appealing, you may be interested in a new hotel opening in switzerland. the accommodation is a piece of conceptual art aiming to "redefine luxury," they say. but there is a catch — as andy beatt reports. it is a room with a view, but not much else. forjust over $300, guests can book into the zero star hotel and enjoy unobstructed views of flower meadows and majestic mountains. what it lacks in cosiness and creature comforts, it hopes to make up for in alfresco charm. and it is proving popular. translation: we have had requests from all over the world. the beds are almost 80% booked up. people are coming from america, africa, australia, the uk, iraq — everybody, young and old. intrepid travellers receive a drink on arrival, organic

breakfast, and the services of a butler, typically a farmer in rubber boots. less appealing perhaps is the three—minute walk to the bathroom, in an alpine hut that also serves as a backup in bad weather. it's notjust a place to stay. the creators say their room aims to explode traditional approaches to hospitality, challenging our ties to the property market. and while local hoteliers are not great fans of the project, some 1300 people already are, already paying out for a night out under the stars. andy beatt, bbc news. each to their own. if you have a view on that or any of our stories, get in touch with us on twitter. i'm @bbcdavideades. it is all it kadir from you. you it is all it kadirfrom you. you are watching bbc news. —— it is always

good to hear from you. hi there. most of us at least saw some sunshine yesterday. but for today sunshine is going to be a little bit harder to come by. for most of us it's going to be quite cloudy. and that cloud thick enough to bring some rain for some of us. now, the relatively clear weather we had yesterday working out into the north sea, replaced by this big lump of cloud. the area of low pressure still well out in the mid—atlantic. the low spinning around there, in the south—west of england, it'll be quite low. a murky round the coasts from time to time. temperatures for ten or 15 degrees. a gusty wind across wales and south—east england, gusting at around a0 mph. dampen murky for the north—west of england. it might be that this rain band is a bit further north, so we might see getting all the way across northern ireland

first thing in the morning, heading into scotland. but the start of the day nor the scotland should be sunny. as they say, some uncertainty how far north the rain band gets. it might get all the way into northern scotla nd might get all the way into northern scotland by the afternoon. cha rleswood scotland by the afternoon. charleswood centre northern ireland and there will be some working across wales in south—west england. aluko is across wales in south—west england. alu ko is eastern across wales in south—west england. aluko is eastern england, and it will probably try to brighten up later in the day. temperatures will come up to about 19 in london. overnight, further showers crossing the uk. south—westerly winds with us again. and other mild night. then a region of high pressure will move in from the west. that means friday should be a better day. we will see more in the way a sunshine breaking through the cloud, particularly to be head through the afternoon. showers will tend to become confined to scotland late in the day. given the sunshine and lighter winds, 19 and warmer in belfast. 22 degrees in london. at the weekend, there is a clue to that of the shoulder as to the conditions we will face. brace

yourself for a soggy saturday. not just wait, but also windy. but there we can definitely is a weekend of two halves. the rain clears through on saturday, and then on sunday, it should be brighter. isolated showers, the more into the way of dry weather and sunshine, and tending to the warmer in the south—east. isa 22 in london. —— highs of 22. this is bbc world news, the headlines. here in the uk — the leaders of the main political parties have completed their campiagns

for the general election. over a6 million people are registered to vote — polls will open at 7am — and a total of 650 westminster mps will be elected. james comey — the former fbi director says president trump pressured him to drop an inquiry into links with russia. ahead of a senate hearing, mr comey issued a statement which said the president demanded his loyalty and asked him to lay off investigating the former national security advisor. the government myanmar says a plane which disappeared over