this is bbc news. the headlines at 2pm: new video emerges of the three london terrorists, filmed outside a gym days before the attack. the footage was passed on to police. more arrests have been made in raids in east london, by police investigating the london bridge attack. in fact fbi chiefjames comey prepares to give evidence over links with russia. millions of people are casting their vote in the 2017 general election. also in the next hour — inside afghanistan. the bbc gains rare access into helmand province — and life under the taliban. renewable energy sources generated more electricity than coal and gas yesterday, for the first time in the uk. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news.

police investigating the london terror attack have made three more arrests following raids involving armed officers in east london. five people remain in custody in connection with saturday's attack. distressing cctv images have emerged showing the moment armed police gunned down the three killers responsible for the deaths of eight people. other separate footage shows all three men together, laughing and joking outside a gym, five days before the attack. a warning that this report from richard lister contains distressing images. the final moments of saturday's attack, these images show an injured victim on the pavement. police raise their weapons as three men wielding knives reveal themselves. seconds later, all three have been shot down. the fate of the injured victim is not clear. this footage has emerged too — the three killers laughing

and joking outside an east london fitness centre five days before their attack. police are slowly building the profile of who they were, who they knew and, crucially, who may have helped them. the investigation so far has focused on one particular stretch of east london. in ilford last night there were three more arrests. counter—terrorism officers stopped two men on the street and stopped —— arrested another at a house nearby. they say two of the men, aged 27 and 29, were held on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism. one man, who did not want to be identified, said he had seen armed police involved. i opened the door and looked out and there was about ten armed officers outside, all with balaclavas. at that point you see they are wearing balaclavas and have quite large weapons,

they're not your army—issue guns. all eight people killed on saturday night have now been formally identified. today an officer who was injured trying to intervene spoke of that night and asked to remain anonymous. he wrote on twitter today: the area around london bridge still hasn't returned to normal. cordons are in place and well—wishers are still coming with flowers to leave on street corners. people are trying to get back to business, but this attack has left its mark on london. barriers and concrete dividers have been installed on several of london's bridges. saturday night's attackers may be dead, but the threat from the violent extremism they represented remains just as real. all the people murdered in saturday night's attack in london have now been identified. family and friends of the victims have been paying tribute to the eight people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time when the terrorists struck.

the victims came from a range of countries, some lived in the uk, others were on holiday. sarah campbell reports now on the police operation to identify all those who lost their lives. today, more details of an innocent life lost. alexandre pigeard, a french citizen, was stabbed on the terrace of the restaurant where he was working. his family say he was a radiant young man, loved by all. he was one of eight people thought to have been killed on saturday night. they came from five different countries. chief constable debbie simpson leads the nationwide team of specialist officers whose job it is to identify victims. we would either ask a dentist to have a look at the body and compare those with dental records, fingerprints or dna, and dna can be collected from family members or, better still, from brushes, toothbrushes,

or from a shaving implement that has been used by the person that we believe we need to identify. the casualty bureau set up by the police took 3500 calls in the wake of the attack on saturday. the tax generally occur without warning and sometimes people don't know if their families or loved ones are caught up in it. we get many people that bring in just wanted some form of reassurance or to leave a message to say they may have been in the area, and that is one of the first jobs, in the area, and that is one of the firstjobs, to try and reduce the thousands of calls to those that may definitely have been caught up in any type of incident. identification can take time, prolonging the anguish for families waiting for news of missed loved ones.

especially when criminal acts are involved, we not only need to identify and identify accurately, but we need to collect evidence and that evidence could be on clothing, could be on bodies, and so therefore it needs to be a process that is of a particular standard that will withstand scrutiny, but also ensure that we haven't made a mistake in identity because that would cause further trauma. the casualty bureau set up by the police took 3500 calls in the wake of the attack on saturday. it took until yesterday afternoon for the police to be sure that they knew the identities of all those who died and that there was no—one still missing. sarah campbell, bbc news. sarah smith is at scotland yard for us sarah smith is at scotland yard for us this afternoon. you can bring us up us this afternoon. you can bring us up to speed with the investigation as it stands. yes, there have been two sets of arrests overnight, one of them connected to the london bridge attacks, one of them not, but both

to do with terrorism. just after 10pm last night in ilford, armed police, along with members of the matt's counterterrorism unit, picked up matt's counterterrorism unit, picked up two men on the street in ilford and another man from a house nearby. they are under arrest, being held at a police station in south london for questioning. 0ne a police station in south london for questioning. one of them, it was a drugs offence he has been arrested in connection with, the other two both suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts. residential and business addresses there are being searched including a gym that one of the killers is said to have worked m, the killers is said to have worked in, and neighbours in that area talked about a large police operation that night, people being dragged out of houses, other people being told to get down and stay out of harm's way. then there were three other search warrants executed last night, not in connection with london bridge. that was in new and waltham forest, both also in east london.

three men in their 30s also under arrest. those arrests were on suspicion of commission, preparation oi’ suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism offences. so this police operation, the three killers may be dead but the three killers may be dead but the operation to find out why they did what they did, how they did it, whether they should have been more closely scrutinised by the security services, that is very much still underway. that very sad job, though, are finding out the identities of those who died, as you have been hearing, that is now over, the casualty bureau here has now closed down and the police said they know the identities of the eight victims. we have also been hearing today from a british transport police officer, he was very badly injured in the attack, one of the first on the scene when the calls for help came through. he is said to be seriously

u nwell through. he is said to be seriously unwell still in hospital, but he wanted to speak to date and put out the message to say thank you to his fellow officers who have come to his aid and, he said, saved his life, and he also wanted to say thank you for all the best wishes and the support he says he has felt from members of the public and other people that he knows since the attack, he says that has almost been overwhelming but that his main thoughts are with the families of those who lost loved ones. and he added that he was sorry you couldn't do more and he wanted people to know that he did everything he could. sarah, thank you very much for now. across the country people are casting their votes in the general election. nearly 47 million voters are registered to take part, with polling stations open until 10pm this evening. the main party leaders have been out this morning to cast their vote, as alicia mccarthy reports. casting her vote and waiting for millions of you to do the same. theresa may and her husband philip were out early visiting their local polling station.

a short time later, jeremy corbyn had a smile and a thumbs up as he arrived to cast his ballot near his home in north london. all round the uk, other party leaders were doing the same. the snp's nicola sturgeon, ukip‘s paul nuttall, co—leader of the greens, caroline lucas. welcome to the lake district. the liberal democrats' tim farron and plaid cymru's leanne wood all took the trip to the polls, bringing to an end 50 days of debating, arguing and persuading that was twice halted following the terror attacks in london and manchester. but for most today, voting is happening as it has always done, in places large and small. last time round, a windmill, a launderette and even a kitchen were pressed into service, transformed into polling stations for the day. 68 different parties are vying for votes this time around with a total field of more than 3,300 candidates. we'll elect mps from 650 constituencies across the uk.

533 in england, a0 in wales, 59 in scotland and 18 in northern ireland. the polls close at 10pm tonight, with the exit poll immediately afterwards giving a hint of how things may have gone. the first seat is expected to declare a little before 11pm, the results will then stack up overnight with the full results on friday. and just a reminder that the bbc‘s main election programme, fronted by david dimbleby, starts at 9.55pm tonight on bbc one and here on the bbc news channel. you can watch the full coverage of the results as they come in. they've opened the bars early in washington today so people can watch what's being billed as the political version of the super bowl. the star will be former fbi directorjames comey, fired by president donald trump

and due to testify in congress over whether russian hackers meddled in last november's presidential election. according to his opening statement, mr comey will also testify the president asked him for loyalty. from washington, rajini vaidya nathan reports. good morning, america. capitol hill showdown. james comey, president trump... it's being billed as a blockbuster moment in washington. reality politics at its most gripping. us tv networks are clearing their schedules as the former head of the fbi, james comey, testifies before congress. he's become more famous than me! there was a time when president trump had nothing but praise forjames comey. but a firm grip injanuary turned into a firing in may. the president sacked the fbi director, reportedly calling him a nutjob and more. he's a showboat, he's a grandstander. the fbi has been in turmoil.

you know that, i know that, everybody knows that. most people know the president's version of events. nowjames comey will go public before the senate with his. just like his testimony in march, it all comes back to russia. the fbi, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. and that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the trump campaign and the russian government. 0n 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 as part of the russia inquiry, confirming statements made from mr trump in the past. i said, "if it's possible, would you let me know, am i under investigation?" he said, "you are not under investigation." butjames comey did say that over a private dinner injanuary

he was asked by the president for his unwavering support. "i need loyalty, i expect loyalty," he said the president told him. the white house has denied this. but how far did the president expect that loyalty to go? mr comey says he was asked to drop the investigation into ties between the president's former national security adviser michael flynn and the russians. he said mr trump told him, "he is a good guy, i hope you let this go." i think we're principally interested in learning whether the president took steps to interfere, impede or obstruct the investigation in any way. there's no suggestion the president asked for an end to the wider russia inquiry, butjames comey says mr trump told him it was a cloud over him. it's not just congress which is looking into the trump campaign's ties to russia. there's also an ongoing fbi investigation. in the saga that is washington politics, james comey‘s testimony is a must—see moment, but it's just one act in what's becoming a long and drawn—out political drama.

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, washington. 0ur correspondent jane 0'brien is in washington for us. there is a danger that this could be a huge anti—climax but on the other hand the consequences could be massive. simon, i don't think there is any danger of this being an anti—climax! this is the first time we will hear from james comey, former fbi director, since he was fired by donald trump. this is the first time that congress, lawmakers, who have been itching to find out what happened between him and the president, will get the chance to directly question him, and it is the first time that americans will hear what he has to say. so i think it's going to be a moment of high drama here in congress

today, and, as you say, very important as well because there are a number of unresolved issues here, first of alljames comey says the president called his loyalty. does that constitute an abuse of presidential authority? was the presidential authority? was the president seeking to politically influenced the fbi? the president also asked james comey to drop an investigation into his disgraced national security adviser michael flynn, does that constitute obstruction of justice flynn, does that constitute obstruction ofjustice or merely inappropriate behaviour from a obstruction ofjustice or merely inappropriate behaviourfrom a man who doesn't properly understand the separation of powers? and then the issue of whether or not mr comey‘s statement, that we have already heard, vindicates the president because, for the first time, mr comey said that he was not under investigation in a criminal intelligence inquiries. funny, this, because he was once the darling of the republican party, now he is the scourge of it. i don't think you can say he is the entire republican party, a

lot of people have an enormous amount of respect for mr comey. the chairman of the senate's intelligence committee, senator burke, for instance, who will be one of the people questioning mr comey, has a very strong regard for mr comey and was very disturbed when he was fired. i think this has now got toa was fired. i think this has now got to a point where republicans as much as democrats need to lay this to rest because it is holding up their political agenda, their legislative agenda. they can't get on with tax reform, health care reform, because all anybody wants to talk about at the moment is what happened between president trump and his former fbi director. i know you don't go near them, but what about the bars around washington, are they filling up? they are filling up, they have opened early and there is one bar down the road that is actually offering a shot of bourbon every time donald trump tweets. i think he is going to treat! the white house is going to treat! the white house is saying they will try to keep him busy but we know that the president

loves his network television and network television across america will be disrupting their normal programming to carry biz live, and this again is unprecedented, this does not happen unless it is for super bowl, so i think donald trump will be watching and i expect he will be watching and i expect he will be watching and i expect he will be tweeting. we had better get a live tweet on airas we had better get a live tweet on air as well. it will not be dull! thank you very much. and you can watch the public hearing live on the bbc news channel, it sta rts live on the bbc news channel, it starts at 3pm and, for as long as it is on, we will be with it. the headlines on bbc news: new video emerges of the three london terrorists filmed outside the gym just days before the attack. the footage was passed on to the police. more arrests have been made in raids in east london by officers investigating the london bridge attacks. and sacked fbi chiefjames comey prepares to give evidence over the trump campaign's links with russia.

in sport, and england's men's football tea m in sport, and england's men's football team has reached the world cup finalfor the football team has reached the world cup final for the first time since 1966. the under 20s beat italy to set upa 1966. the under 20s beat italy to set up a final with venezuela this weekend. 125 from shikhar dhawan has helped india toa 125 from shikhar dhawan has helped india to a very good total in their champions trophy match with sri lanka. awin champions trophy match with sri lanka. a win would all but the india through. they have set sri lanka a target of 322. wales skipper alun wyn jones target of 322. wales skipper alun wynjones will captain another all—new british and irish lions starting 15 for the third tour match in new zealand this weekend. i will be back with more on those just after 2:30pm. the fight to drive the taliban out of afghanistan cost the lives of hundreds of british soldiers, many killed fighting in helmand province in the country's south. but two years ago, shortly after the troops came home, the taliban took back many of the areas british soldiers had liberated.

the bbc‘s auliya atrafi has gained rare access to musa qala, the main city in the region, and sent this report. we're heading for musa qala, our taliban minder is with us. the bustling market looks like any other, but there are no women. we leave the market and head for the local high school. it's religious studies, and only boys get an education. 0ur taliban minder insists there are other lessons and that girls can go to school, just not here. but things are not all as they seem. the taliban used to burn schools down. now, they are running them, funded by the central government. it is notjust schools that the taliban are running.

this is the local hospital, it is also funded by the government but lacks supplies. there is no female doctor or a child specialist, you can't even have a chest x—ray here. the next day we meet the taliban's spokesman. they remain a deeply controversial organisation in afghanistan, responsible for many deaths. but they claim their approach to governance has changed. translation: we want friendly relations with the world. we don't want afghanistan to be the cause of any problems for our neighbours or the world. the taliban proved very effective in terms of fighting, now they have captured huge territories in helmand and now they have to govern them and that is the next

challenge for them. how much they willjoin the modern world and how much they will reject. a japanese fugitive who has been on the run for 45 years has been arrested. left—wing revolutionary masaaki osaka was arrested and charged for murdering a police officer during tokyo street protests more than 45 years ago. he allegedly set the officer on fire using a molotov cocktail petrol bomb. if you were watching us this time yesterday, there's a chance your television was being powered by renewable energy. for the first time ever, non—fossil fuels generated more energy than coal and gas in the uk — that's according to the national grid. roger harrabin reports. it has been perfect weather for renewables, sunny and windy yesterday lunchtime. records for wind power are being set right across northern europe. it is almost midsummer. the sun is high in the sky, so solar power has been humming. ever since electrical devices

came into our homes, your kettle, your toaster, your washing machine have been powered by electrons created by burning gas, or burning coal, but now we've reached a turning point. a cup of tea may well nowadays be solar—powered. and you may have wind—powered toast. which is something to chew on. offshore wind contributed 10% of the uk's power on tuesday. remarkable for a newcomer whose costs have been plummeting far faster than expected. add nuclear into the mix and low carbon sources yesterday were producing a staggering 72% of uk power. it shows what a big player renewable energy is. 25% of power across the whole of last year, 50% yesterday, and who knows how

much more we can do moving forward. renewable energy isn't a fad anymore. it's a backbone technology of our power system. the boom in renewables is not without problems. there's so much wind power sometimes that wholesale prices are falling to record levels, which is disruptive for conventional power generators. it's an issue the uk will have to overcome. all major political parties are committed to low carbon energy to cut pollution and to tackle climate change. roger harrabin, bbc news. the emirof the emir of kuwait has been meeting leaders in the gulf to attempt to dissolve the diplomatic row between carter and its neighbours. there has been a blockade by country to say they want qatar to cut links with terrorism and iran. the language has been stepped up,

saying that qatar is the main source of terrorism and the financing of british extremism in the region. that is extraordinary and indicates how far cooperation within the so—called gulf cooperation council which both the uae and qatar are members, has broken down. the qatari ‘s continued to deny any accusations, allegations, that they have been involved in financing, supporting religious extremism and terrorism. they say they are victims ofa terrorism. they say they are victims of a plot to smear this country. they say others in the gulf corporation counsel simply don't respect that qatar wanted to produce an individual, independent foreign policy which includes being much closer to iran than others in the gulf would like and also includes being home to the aljazeera global news television channel, which many in the region, many of the

autocratic rulers in this region to test because they think it shines too strong a light on politics in the region, encourages dissent, but also because they believe it also fosters terrorism. now, aljazeera is still operating of course but the uae is making clear it hopes the station will be either severely reigned in or actually closed down. there are of very big divide in this crisis. the qatari say they are not going to capitulate, not going to surrender their sovereignty, and on other side it is clear that its critics feel they have a golden moment to try and bring overwhelming pressure to bear on this country for it to fall into line. fossils discovered on a hillside in morocco are causing scientists to re—think the way mankind evolved. up until now, the first humans of our species, homo sapiens, were thought to have evolved almost 200,000 years ago in east africa. new research published in the journal nature suggests our ancestors are actually 100,000 years older

than previously thought — and they were very like us. our science correspondent pallab ghosh has been to paris to see casts of the fossils that many are saying will rewrite our understanding of human evolution. the face of one of the very first of our kind. and more casts of bone fragments of the earliest known homo sapiens. the discovery of these fossils were presented at a news conference in paris. they've completely changed the theory of how modern humans evolved. the common wisdom that there is probably some sort of garden of eden in sub—saharan africa, 200,000 years ago, with humans very similar to us, emerged rather rapidly. but what the works in djebili have shown is that we have to push back in time much further the age of origin of our species. human remains in ethiopia, kenya and tanzania suggested that

east africa was the cradle from which our species first emerged 200,000 years ago. but the discovery of 300,000—year—old human fossils in morocco suggests that modern humans began to emerge much earlier. and not just there. stone tools found across the continent suggest that homo sapiens were all over africa at the time. this is a skull of the earliest known human of our species, and this is a modern human. you can see that their faces are practically the same, apart from the slightly pronounced brow ridge. there's another difference. the earliest human has a slightly smaller brain. scans of the skull published in the journal nature suggest that our brains and other features evolved gradually, over hundreds of thousands of years, rather than our species emerging rapidly as a finished article. it took longer to make homo sapiens

in evolutionary terms, in genetic terms, in behavioural terms than we'd have thought. and probably the process was complex. different parts of africa were probably involved. at times morocco could have been important and at other times it may have been east africa or southern africa. there was no single place where homo sapiens became us. the search is now on for more fossils of our species in other parts of africa that may be even older. the history of humanity has now been rewritten. a diamond ring bought for £10 at a car boot sale has been sold for more than £650,000 at auction in london. the 26—carat cushion—shaped diamond sold for almost double its estimate. the owner bought the ring in the 1980s and was unaware of its real value — wearing it every day for 30 years.

i must not be bitter and twisted, i must not be bitter and twisted! i must used better things at car—boot sales! let's ta ke car—boot sales! let's take you to washington, this is the scene where the head of the fbi is shortly to testify before the senate intelligence committee on alleged russian interference in the us presidential election. it is anticipated to be, they are calling it the super bowl of political television. it will be dynamite and you can watch the whole thing live here on the bbc news channel, we start our coverage at 3pm. things are warming up, the photographers getting their best places forjames comey. they will need stepladders, he is six foot eight! we will be back there at 3pm. first a look at the weather prospects. here's sarah. we have seen an unsettled week, thattowns today. outbreaks of rain.

heavy for parts of northern ireland and central scotland. brightness in the far north of scotland and england and wales cloudy with a few heavy showers. the temperatures 19 01’ heavy showers. the temperatures 19 or 20 celsius. but the odd heavy shower in the parts of the south—west of england through the midlands too. the south—east is largely dry, through this evening and overnight. but scattered showers in the west of the country. temperatures holding up between 10 and 13 celsius. tomorrow, showers in the west, drifting eastwards. few and far between in the afternoon. in the sunshine and the lighter winds, warmer with temperatures up to 22 celsius. this weekend and low pressure bringing outbreaks of rain on saturday in the north and the west. giving rise to sunshine and scattered showers by sunday. goodbye. hello. this is bbc news.

new video emerges of the three london terrorists — filmed outside a gym days before the attack. it comes as further arrests are made in east london as part of the investigation. this is the scene in washington where — in the next half hour — the sacked fbi director, james comey, will testify in congress that president trump asked him to drop an investigation into links between his former national security adviser and russia. millions of people have been casting their vote in the general election — the first results are expected by midnight. for the first time, more electricity in the uk has been generated from wind, nuclear and solar power than from gas and coal combined. the national grid says that more than half the country's electricity supply came from renewable sources yesterday lunchtime. time for a look at the sports news.

the england under 20s are through to the final of the world cup in south korea — after coming from behind for a 3—1 win over italy. juventus midfielder riccardo orsolini scored afterjust two minutes but dominic solanke equalised — he'll bejoining liverpool from chelsea next month. england dominated for long periods and everton‘s ademola lookman finally nudged them in front. solanke got his second and england's third as italy tired, though it was something of a goalkeeping error. england are the first men's team to reach a world cup final since 1966. venezuela beat uruguay in a match dominated by an incredible refereeing decision. he ignored a penalty plea from agustin canobbio, believing he'd dived — but after looking at the video, he inexplicably changed his mind, even though it was clear the player hadn't been touched.

uruguay scored from the spot and venezuela were on their way out until samuel sosa scored a cracking equaliser in injury time. it went to penalties and venezuela won 4—3. manchester united aren't expected to offer zlatan ibrahimovic a new contract when his current one runs out at the end ofjune. the premier league's retained list is due to be released tomorrow. as the 35—year—old is months away from being able to play again, after rupturing knee ligaments in april — its unlikely he'll be on the list. ibrahimovic agreed a one—year deal, with an option for second season, last summer. striker diego costa could be on his way out of chelsea after claiming he's been told he's not wanted at the club. costa was influential this season, scoring 20 premier league goals as antonio conte‘s side cantered to the title. costa spoke to reporters after spain's draw with colombia last night, saying conte had told him he could leave

translation: i will be sincere. i got a text message from conte saying i'm not in his plans. right now i'm a chelsea player, i still have the contract with them. but the coach does not want me. but i will have to leave, no matter what i want. i don't know where to go. but people know i acrish the team and i love to live in madrid. but i have to think of my future. liverpool striker ben woodburn has pulled out of wales' squad for their world cup qualifier in serbia on sunday. he was set to earn his first cap but he's picked up a calf injury. he's been replaced by another uncapped player, marley watkins, who's just signed for norwich from barnsley. the new zealand rugby coach steve hansen says he still believes the current lions side is the best to tour the country. warren gatland has named alun wynjones as skipper of another all—new starting line—up for saturday's match

against canterbury crusaders. after yesterday's defeat to auckland blues, gatland said there wasn't much difference between the super rugby sides and the all blacks — but hansen wasn't biting. i think he was probably trying to ta ke i think he was probably trying to take a built of humour after struggling with his press conference before that, i suppose. i don't think there is any comparison to super rugby and test rugby. he is probably trying to make a light comment, possibly. i don't know what his thinking is. i don't know what his thinking is. defending champions india are on their way to posting a big total in their champions trophy match against sri lanka. they were put into bat at the oval and the openers made a strong start. shikwar darwan has passed his century and is still at the crease and rohit sharma backed him up with a 78 before he was caught. that's all sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour.

so the polls are open and voting is under way across the uk — with 650 seats in the house of commons up for grabs. christian fraser has been looking at some of the numbers. it's a numbers game, a general election and there are some big numbers for us to consider this time around. here's the biggest of them all — 46.9 million people eligible to vote. a million more people on the register. there's been a surge in fact in places around the country, up to 10%, particularly in student areas. turnout last time around, slightly down on 2010 — 66.4%. but that's by no means the lowest. you have to go all the way back to 1918, to the end of the first world war when the turnout was 57.2%. up and down the country, there are 50,000 polling stations give or take, a maximum of 2,500 voters per station. you will see them in libraries, in schools, there is even one this time about in a launderette

in oxford. polling began at seven o'clock this morning, it will close tonight at 10pm. don't worry if you get there very late and there is a queue, so long as you are there before 10pm, you will be allowed to vote. and don't worry if you don't have your voter registration card, a name and address will suffice. once you get into the polling booths, you will have a card like this in front of you. candidates will be listed in alphabetical order. just put a cross in this box here next to whichever candidate you're choosing. don't put a squiggle or a dot or a tick because there is a danger your ballot will be considered a spoiled ballot. you will be aware that there is always this rush once the polls have closed for particular polling stations to declare. that title has gone to houghton and sunderland south, six times running. the last time they declared at 10.a8pm, 48 minutes after the polls closed. 650 constituencies up and down the country. that's the magic number —

326 for a parliamentary majority. the conservatives had 331 in 2015. you should get an idea of who was going to win probably around the early hours of the morning. if you can't wait up, then by the time you get up for your breakfast, you should know who will be walking through this famous black door, probably followed by larry the cat. there is a bit of a theme. something that emerged from the last election, and, sadly, has been carried to this one. and, sadly, has been carried to this one. it's election day and dogs have joined their owners in turning out in force at polling stations across the uk — and predictably the hashtag #dogsatpollingstations is trending on social media. this is phoebe in manchester waiting patiently outside her polling station. richard walker tweeted this pic with the caption: someone‘s taking voting very seriously!

roo goodwin? says decisons are made by those that show (p)up. sprocket says vote! jane martinson says: there's a queue to vote but the dog has started to blend in. mads the dog says: had to let big human & little human vote for me. i went in and helped them decide. jodie doubleday? says he and his dog were up early and casting our vote in canterbury. iis dida i is did a postal vote. one of the most dramatic moments of the trump presidency to date is due to unfold in congress shortly. the former fbi director, james comey, who was sacked by mr trump, will give evidence about his relationship with the president. his opening statement has already been published online and in

which 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. with us is drjacob parakilas, deputy head of the us and americas programme at chatham house. a huge amount of anticipation. can we expect this meeting to be explosive? i don't know about explosive. but dramatic. we have seenjames explosive. but dramatic. we have seen james comey testify about this kind of thing before. we have seen him speak about hillary clinton's e—mail server, we have seen him speak about an incident when he and matthius muller, at the time, the —— robert mueller, the fbi director at the time, talking about the dramatic intervention at the bedside of former attorney general, john ash rot. so —— ashcroft. so, james comey does well. even if he doesn't say

anything new, iwould be does well. even if he doesn't say anything new, i would be surprised if there is anything new. but he will put it out, under oath in public, things that have been reported in anonymous sources before, and he will do it in a very compelling fashion. how damaging could this be for trump, or has much of it already hit the headlines in the way he has been able to deal with it? i want to take able to deal with it? i want to take a pass on how damaging this will be. i don't think it is a good day for donald trump. it will be making it difficult for him to get out of the spiral of expanding investigation and scrutiny into whether he campaign had ties with russia. but beyond that, this investigation is not just looking at beyond that, this investigation is notjust looking at russia but also at ethical and financial issues, the broader that goes, this type of investigation often does not end up in the place it started. the broader that goes, the more dangerous for

trump. if we are to take on board what one of our correspondent was saying earlier, the whitehouse trying to keep the president from reacting it this afternoon but do you expect to see a stream of tweets as we follow this? i suspect so. the sort of tenor of what was said in politics and other insider sources is that they were trying to steer him from it but at the end of the day he is the president. if he is going to tweet, his staff will not be able to stop him. finally, in terms ofjames comey, what will be in his mind as to how he plays this? clearly he is under oath. he must speak honestly and openly but he must be weighing up how he wants to present and what he wa nts to how he wants to present and what he wants to pass on? i will take a pass on speculating on his written state. but you can see from the written testimony. he is a very good storyteller in this restrained, just

the facts kind of way but weaves a compelling story in the page but anyone that writes fiction will tell you is a difficult thing to do. so i think he has a set of facts he wants to get across while the cameras roll. we will let you go and get a co mforta ble we will let you go and get a comfortable seat to watch all of this. and the scene is here in washington. the much anticipated scene about to get under way, and james comey to arrive shortly before the snake committee with regards to the snake committee with regards to the allegations of the president trump involved in the situation. and keeping an eye also on the twitter feed of one donald trump. military officials in myanmar say 29 bodies —

including those of 8 children — have been recovered from the andaman sea, where an air force transport plane went missing on wednesday. the chinese—made aircraft — similar to this one — was on a routine flight from myeik in the south, bound for yangon, the country's largest city. the search is focused off the coastal town of launglon. 122 people were on board the plane, most of them soldiers and their families. it's been a day in which the burmese army and local fishermen it's been a day in which the burmese army and localfishermen have been working side by side to retrieve debris from the aircraft, and, sadly, dead bodies - the i on i z -m, aircraft which was flown transport aircraft which was flown from the southern town of myiek to langon yesterday lunch time. it is 110w langon yesterday lunch time. it is now simply a question of trying to find as many as possible of the people who were on board that aircraft. it's believed there were

about 120 people on board. a large number of military person 9/11 and theirfamilies as number of military person 9/11 and their families as well -—crew the aircraft. i believe -— to need on ., to need to . , to need to find ., looking 2 the early indications but looking at the early evidence in terms of the fact there does not appear to have been a may day call from the aircraft and the scattered nature of the debris that's been found so far, it does appear to suggest that the plane may well have broken up in the air before it hit the water. so that will be one line of inquiry. the priority at the moment, still, is to try to find the bodies of those on

board the plane and then to also begin looking for the black box recorder. jonah fisher reporting there. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first, the headlines on bbc news. new video emerges of the three london terrorists — filmed outside a gym days before the attack. the footage was passed on to police. more arrests have been made in raids in east london, by officers investigating the london bridge attack. sacked fbi chiefjames comey prepares to give evidence over the trump campaign's links with russia. an update on the market numbers for you. flybe has posted a loss of £20m for last year after struggling with slower customer demand and rising costs. that's a sharp reversal of last year's near £3m profit.

year's near £3 million profit. the firm blamed tough market conditions and the cost of upgrading its it systems. ride hailing app uber is underfire again after it emerged that its boss in asia obtained the medical records of a passenger who was raped by one of the company's drivers. he's since been fired, but shared the information with uber‘s chief executive — travis kalanick. critics say mr kalanick should also now step down. renewables overtook fossil fuels for generating electricity in the uk yesterday. more electricity was generated from wind, nuclear and solar power than from gas and coal combined. the national grid says that — for the first time — more than half the country's electricity supply was coming from renewable sources yesterday lunchtime. and as we have been so far, the american markets today? so far, the american markets seem unphased about what is about to happen? i know. if you recall,

alice, when james comey happen? i know. if you recall, alice, whenjames comey was happen? i know. if you recall, alice, when james comey was fired by donald trump, the markets were somewhat rattled, that was the reaction. but today, certainly, the markets have opened and things are fairly calm. i think in part the reason for that is the ‘ the released giiiéiééz aeq’k—q'iéf'séiéié; to ‘it ‘ it changes - we start to whether it changes once we start to hear the testimony, or hear the hearing, if there is a question that raises issues that cause investors to perhaps think again, we will have to perhaps think again, we will have to wait and see. but for now, things are relatively calm. are we expecting a knock—on effect for the markets around the rest of the world? here in london for example? i think you and i were talking about this. your previous guest on the channel was talking about the significance of this. in washington you can hear a pin drop

once this hearing gets under way. i think everyone in that city will stop what they are doing and will be watching it. in new york and in the rest of the country for businesses, the question for them is what does this do to the white house's economic plan that so many supporters are keenly awaiting for. that is tax reform, health care, deregulation, infrastructure. donald trump was supposed to be on an infrastructure infrastructure tour but we have not heard about that. that is drowned by the james comey appearance here today. that looses momentum when the white house is having to address this issue. there was a piece in the atlantic council, which spoke about the white house's economic policy, strike it in damning terms, saying that there was not one. but what he meant was if you look at tax policy, donald trump says there is a bill coming through congress but there isn't one. the

treasury secretary is trying to come up treasury secretary is trying to come up with one but people don't expect to see movement on tax reform until next year. that is the knock on effect, everything is pushed back. the attention is moved away from the president's policy agenda to move forward. of course, that hearing by former fbi director, james comey is due to start at 3.00pm local time. in other business stories we've been following profits at sir philip green's retail empire, which includes high street fashion chain topshop, plummeted 79% last year. the failure of bhs and tough competition in the clothing market contributed to the poor performance. a report filed with companies house by taveta investments showed pre—tax profits for the 12 months to august last year fell to £36.8m, down from over £172 million in the previous year. and qatar, their central bank warns

ofa and qatar, their central bank warns of a banking crisis. they have an 11—year low against the us dollar. all amid signs that there are investment funds pulling out because of the current diplomatic risk with the qatar states. greggs has opened the first ever drive—thru store in manchester. it is a trial. there are no plans for more but they are also testing out a home delivery service. now, let's get a check on how the markets are doing now. little change from an hour ago.

flyb, e shares still on the up. they are saying that they will cut back on expansion plans to deal with the demand slowdown. investors liking what they are hearing. but the shares are still down 25% on the oilfalling for a second the shares are still down 25% on the oil falling for a second day today. fears there of oversupplies. that's the business today. failure is something we often shy away from, but that could be slowly changing. a museum of failure has just opened in sweden — it's filled with products that have flopped. the aim is to show that failure is good — our correspondent richard galpin was at the opening. the doors of the world's first museum of failure being opened here in the swedish city of helsingborg. it's the brainchild of this man, samuel west. he's a psychologist on a mission to show people here and around the world that failure should be celebrated — because it's part

of the process leading to successful innovation. and amongst those studying the weird and wonderful things on display here, there seems to be genuine enthusiasm about the whole concept. what's your impression of what you've seen? i love it, i think it's fantastic. the focus of failure, which we normally try to hide under a carpet or sweep under a carpet, to actually expose the failures as the only way to true innovation i think is fantastic. before the opening party i was given an exclusive tour of this unique museum by its director, samuel west. it's obviously a lot of exhibits here, about 70 in total? 70 different products and services. do you recognise that? that's google glass, isn't it, and that was a bad failure. a bad failure because they didn't take privacy issues seriously enough. quite a big miss, isn't it, and loads more here. another food innovation for you.

another big brand as well. yes. mcdonald's. $300 million they invested in a luxury burger that didn't work out. so what success have you had in persuading companies to reveal theirfailures and hand over exhibits some of their failed products to you? zero. what does that make you think? it really drives home the point how sensitive of an issue failure is and how to what extent we are willing to go to sort of hide it. as for my favourite exhibit here — that was easy. now incredibly this was marketed as a beauty mask, and as you can see inside there's a whole load of electrodes with gel on them. if you put them on your face you get electric shocks, which apparently make you more beautiful, but i can tell you, it is very unpleasant! cheering and applause. but the hope is that with the opening of this museum, failure will be seen

in a very different light. richard galpin, bbc news in helsingborg. you're watching bbc news with simon mccoy and richard galpin! let's get a look at the weather now with sarah keith—lucas. here is the scene taken by one of oui’ here is the scene taken by one of our weather watchers. cloudy skies in surrey. for many of us low pressure is the driving force of the weather. moving from the atlantic. there are weather fronts producing outbreaks of rain. through the afternoon, heavy bursts of rain in northern ireland and parts of scotland. for england and wales, the rain we saw this morning will be more showery over the south—west of england to the

midlands and southern wales. to the south—east, many should avoid the rain, staying dry for kent, the london region, 18 celsius here. brightness in wales, northern england into the afternoon. heavier showers in northern ireland where we could see lying surface water and for much of scotland too, outbreaks of rain. the far north of scotland holding on to the sunshine through the afternoon into the evening. this evening the rain pushes to the north over scotland, becoming persistent in the north—west. elsewhere, clear skies and a scattering of showers in the western half of england and wales. some showers heavy overnight, temperatures holding up to 13 celsius. tomorrow, we start with the showers in the west of the country. later in the day, breaking out for the central and eastern parts too. the far north of scotland keeps outbreaks of rain and cloud. but brightness between the showers

elsewhere, and in the sunshine highs of up to 22 or 23 celsius, improving from the west in the day. the next area of low pressure is waiting in the wings coming through to the weekend. saturday, there will be patchy rain in parts of scotland, heavier in parts of northern england and wales. the north—west of the country to see outbreaks of rain. in the south—east, more likely to be dry, 22 celsius. a breezy feel to the weather on saturday. for the second half of the weekend for sunday, low pressure is not far away. the isobars are tight. fewer showers, a day of sunny spells and scattered showers on sunday. top temperatures up at 23 celsius. goodbye for now. this is bbc news. the headlines at 3.00pm. sacked fbi chief, james comey, prepares to give evidence over the trump campaign's links with russia. this is the scene in washington live

where the former fbi chief is due to speak. new video emerges of the three london terrorists filmed outside a gym days before the attack. the footage was passed on to police. more arrests have been made in raids in east london by officers investigating the london bridge attack. millions of people are casting their vote in the 2017 general election. the face of one of the very first humans. new remains suggest the history of humanity has to be rewritten.