jon sopel reporting for us there.tonight within the conservative party over its manifesto commitment to means—test winter fuel payments for pensioners. the scottish conservative leader, ruth davidson, said she was in favour of retaining the payment for all pensioners in scotland. but the prime minister argued it was unfair that wealthy pensioners received the money, while some families were struggling. here's our deputy political editor, john pienaar. would you trust her to keep things running or to run your economy? but has theresa may dropped a spanner in the works by keeping people guessing about her tax and spending plans, and then keeping pensioners guessing about who'd keep and who'd lose the winter fuel allowance. she wasn't giving much away. we will continue to ensure that the least well off pensioners are protected. but if you look at the situation at the moment, we see well—off pensioners able to be supported with theirfuel bills, when struggling ordinary working families are not. i think there's a principle

our north america editor jon sopel reports. jon: history is likely to judge that this law enforcement officer played a decisive role in determining the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. just days before polling, james comey revealed the fbi had reopened its inquiry into hillary clinton's e-mails from when she was secretary of state. he said he had no good options. mr. comey: speak would be really bad. there is an election in 11 days. lordy, that would be really bad. concealing in my view, would be , catastrophic, not just to the fbi, but well beyond, and honestly, i said to my team, we have got to walk into the world of really bad. jon: how does she feel now about the impact his intervention has had? mr. comey: look, this is terrible. it makes me mildly nauseous to think we had impact on the election, but honestly, it wouldn't change the decision. jon: what is not in doubt is that his letter, 11 days before america voted, convulsed the campaign. it's significance cannot be overstated. this was donald trump the day the n

for more on the maelstrom, here is jon sopel. was en routerump to the national coast guard academy as his own administration seem to be listing at a precarious angle. >> our commander-in-chief, donald trump. jon: this has been the most torrid week of the young presidency. though he did not address each setback, there was a clear message. president trump: no politician in history, and i say this with great charity, has been treated worse or more unfairly. you can't let them get you down. i did not get elected to serve the washington media or special interest. serve theted to forgotten men and women of our country. that is what i am doing. forget the media. his biggest problem comes from this man. fbi director james comey. the disclosure he kept detailed notes of all his meetings with the president, including over and michael flynn, is super serious. donald trump is reported to have said to call me "i hope you can see your way here to letting this go, to letting flynn go. he is a good guy. i hope you can let this go." to have replie

jon sopel starts our coverage. jon: this meeting with the russian foreign minister and ambassador was controversial enough, coming a day after the sacking of the fbi director who had been investigating the trump campaign's links to moscow. now it is revealed that during the meeting the president shared highly classified information with his guests, so sensitive that america's allies, like britain, knew nothing about it. as the white house once again scrambled to put out the fire, the national security adviser once again emerged to say that the story was nonsense. mr. mcmaster: at no time were intelligence methods discussed, and the president did not disclose any military operations that were not already publicly known. i was in the room. it didn't happen. jon: on twitter this morning from the president, a different story -- yes, it did, and so what. "i wanted to share with russia at an openly scheduled white house meeting from which i have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight sa

jon sopel, bbc news, brussels. many words have been used to describe it, among them "senseless". pope francis condemned the bombing as "barbaric". leaders of manchester's muslim community have expressed their outrage at salman abedi's actions. they also called for an even greater effort to combat the global extremism, which targets children and young people, in order to further its cause. our special correspondent fergal keane has this assessment. it can be hard to define in words the precise opposite of hate except that you do it when you see it and hear it. they are not a part of oui’s. hear it. they are not a part of ours. an elderly jewish woman and her muslim neighbourjoined ours. an elderly jewish woman and her muslim neighbour joined the crowd. we have come as individual, to friends, who feel the same sadness and agreed what has happened, we both share together.m feels as though the immensity is still settling on the city and with it searching questions. these young men were observing manchester united's mom

jon sopel, bbc news, riyadh. the saudi king pulled out all the stops to make his guest feel welcome. the huge arms deal signed comes as saudi arabia is fighting houthi rebels in neighbouring yemen. the united nations says about 10,000 people have been killed since the fighting began in march 2015. yemen is on the verge of famine. two weeks ago a un rapporteur accused saudi arabia of failing to investigate accusations that its forces carried out war crimes. the bbc‘s chief international correspondent, lyse doucet is in riyadh. she's been speaking to salman al—ansari, a political analyst who says this visit is of unprecedented strategic importance to saudi arabia. you are following this trip with great interest. a lot of talk about shared interest and economic co—operation, is that what young saudi arabians want to see? exactly. despite the san storm we are experiencing at the moment, there is a huge positive vibe in the kingdom. the people in the government, you can tell everybody is content with the fact that the

jon sopel, bbc news, washington.resident trump returned to new york for the first time as president. fresh from his healthcare victory president trump has been back in his home city new york, meeting australian prime minister malcolm turnbull. mr trump said his disagreement with australia over a deal to accept refugees from a detention camp there has been resolved — he said they "got along great". new york likes to pride itself on its welcoming tradition. it was not extended last night to its home town resident. many of these protesters regard donald trump as the city's least favourite child. he does not belong in this city and is a traitor. i want to get back to what feels to me like a normal america. traitor. i want to get back to what feels to me like a normal americalj wish feels to me like a normal america.” wish he would never come back at all ever, never, ever. new york has seen large anti—trump protesting. this was small by the standards of the big apple. a handful of supporters also turned out to greet him.

jon sopel there with the latest for us in washington.tiations on behalf of the european union, has warned that one of the consequences of the uk leaving the eu could be the introduction of customs controls between northern ireland and the irish republic. mr barnier, speaking in dublin today, said he was aware of the concerns and said he'd work to avoid the creation of what's called a "hard border." our special correspondent, fergal keane, has travelled from belfast to dublin to hear what people think about the possible impact of the brexit process. as they have every spring, brexit or no brexit, the orangemen parade through belfast. no longer do these marches bristle with the menacing energy of the troubles years, but there is mounting uncertainty. at the same time as the collapse of power—sharing here, nationalist resentment over brexit has spurred demands for a referendum on irish unity, leaving unionists uneasy. do you ever think, at the back of your thoughts, that eventually it's going to happen? i think it's always a possibility the

jon sopel, bbc news, brussels. that's all the time we have for now. of the tributes — the flowers, words and gifts — collected in st ann's square in the heart of manchester. they were laid by what seemed to be an endless stream of people during the day, all wanting to express their sympathy and solidarity. take a look. good morning. wednesday was a dry, settled, sunny day for most of us and we have some weather watchers pictures which help to illustrate that point, as you can see in worcester, with blue skies and sunshine, and also in the london area. these two places were the hotspots through the day, with 26 celsius. it's worth just pointing out though, in wednesday's satellite picture we had some cloud up into the far north—west, and by the end of the day we also had some sea fog through the irish sea. now that is going to be a bit of a nuisance over the next few hours and linger during the early morning. it is going to be a pretty muggy start to the day as well, temperatures widely into the mid—high teens. so there's only one place for those tempa

our north america editor, jon sopel, is travelling with the president.is report does contain some flash photography. the president has been ona photography. the president has been on a deep emotion into middle east politics today, and a charm offensive, meeting a host of arab and gulf leaders from across the region. and one central geopolitical subject, the fight against islamist extremism, and how to make good on his pledge to destroy so—called islamic state. but after the trenchant islamic state. but after the trencha nt and some islamic state. but after the trenchant and some would say islamophobic language of the trump election campaign, the president chose a much more moderate tone today. this is not a battle between different faiths, different sects, oi’ different faiths, different sects, or different civilisations. this is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to jobless rate human life, and decent people, all in the name of religion. this is a battle between good and evil. and he said that if terrorism was to be defeated, it was up to the

jon sopel, in sicily, thank you.ampaigning in the general election today as the leader of ukip, paul nuttall, launched the pa rty‘s manifesto. but it was overshadowed by the party's accusation that theresa may bore "some responsibility" for the manchester bombing. the home secretary, amber rudd, said it was not the time to make political points. our political editor, laura kuenssberg, reports. manchester on everyone's minds. but ukip's manifesto was hardly a quiet affair, the party accusing theresa may of playing a part in creating the circumstances that led to monday's attack. the prime minister has, during her time in high office, presided over cuts to our police service and reductions in our armed forces too. it is also a dereliction of duty to allowjihadis to return to this country. he's promising thousands of extra police, soldiers and border guards. but his supporters jeered reporters questioning the party's claims. ask a sensible question. you're exploiting it. it sounds like you're nearest damit blaming the p

our north america editor, jon sopel, is in riyadh.the mercury touching 100 degrees fahrenheit, donald trump probably found the blast of desert air refreshing, compared to the political hothouse that he's left behind in washington. he's hoping this first foreign trip will provide some respite from the 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 barack obama when he was last here. wherever you go in riyadh, this is what you are going to 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. and as part

jon sopel, bbc news, riyadh.elected president, hassan rouhani, says his country will seek greater international engagement, and work towards a freer society. but the american secretary of state, rex tillerson, said the only way iran could change its relationship with the world would be by ending its support for what he called "destabilising forces in the region." here's our diplomatic correspondent, paul adams. in the end, it wasn't even close. the pragmatic hassan rouhani winning comfortably. for reform—minded middle—class voters, this was a significant victory. they came out in huge numbers, determined not to let hardliners take back the presidency. iranians know their president is not a natural reformer but they are weary of conflict and, in the cities at least, eagerfor change. mr rouhani seemed to represent their best hope. today he thanked them and addressed the international community. translation: today the world is well aware that the iranians nation has chosen the path of interaction with the world. a p

our north america editor, jon sopel, reports.s guard, the leader of the world's pre—eminent superpower walked through the vatican to meet the leader of one of the world's pre—eminent religions. and were there ever two more different people? pope francis, with just the merest hint of a smile. president trump, beaming. they sat across from each other in the pontiff's study, as though one was going for a job interview. but there were lighter moments. as melania trump was presented, the pope wanted to know, "do you feed him lots of potica?" a slovenian cake. her facial expression suggested she hadn't expected that as a question. the president gave the pope bound copies of the works of martin luther king. the pope gave the president some of his encyclicals, including, pointedly, one on the environment and the dangers of global warming. after two world leaders have had a difficult discussion their normal mantra is "there is more that unites us than divides us." that may well be true but make no mistake — the divisions between the pope

our north america editor jon sopel reports.his meeting with the russian foreign minister and ambassador was already controversial enough, coming a day after the sacking of the fbi director, who had been investigating the trump campaign's links to moscow. now it is being claimed that, during the meeting, the president shared the most highly classified information with his guests, so sensitive that america's allies, like britain, knew nothing about it. as the white house once again scrambled to put out the fire, the national security advisor emerged to say the story was nonsense. at no time were intelligence sources or methods discussed, and the president did not disclose any military operations that were not already publicly known. and i was in the room — it didn't happen. but then on twitter, from the president, a different story. yes, it did, and so what? he wrote... so, once again, the general was sent out to face the guns and explain the change of story. what the president discussed with the foreign minister was wholly appro

jon sopel, bbc news, washington.resident donald trump is still celebrating the healthcare win in washington, but he will in be in new york later. his first visit to the city since he moved into the white house in january. he's there to hold talks with australian prime minister, malcolm turnbull, who's in new york for the 75th anniversary of a second world war sea battle when the us and australia joined forces to fight the japanese fleet. this is some live footage we are getting from new york. they are having dinner together. they are meeting aboard the uss intrepid, a war vessel that became a museum. it follows a reports of a bad tempered phone call between both men injanuary over refugees held in off shore detention centres. they are having a black tie dinner on the vessel. trump will go to his golf club as well on the weekend. for more on this, i spoke with our correspondent, hywell griffiths, in sydney. there was that infamous phone call. donald trump seems to be in a better mood. there was that lavish dinner as w

jon sopel, thank you.ight within the conservative party over its manifesto commitment to means—test winter fuel payments for pensioners. the scottish conservative leader, ruth davidson, said she was in favour of retaining the payment for all pensioners in scotland. but the prime minister argued it was unfair that wealthy pensioners received the money while some families were struggling. here's our deputy political editor, john pienaar. would you trust her to keep things running, or to run your economy? but has theresa may dropped a spanner in the works by keeping people guessing about her tax and spending plans, and then keeping pensioners guessing about who'd keep and who'd lose the winter fuel allowance? she wasn't giving much away. we will continue to ensure that the least well off pensioners are protected. but if you look at the situation at the moment, we see well off pensioners able to be supported with theirfuel bills, when struggling ordinary working families are not. i think there's a principle of

jon sopel, bbc news, brussels.ncy in the united states says about 23 million people will lose health insurance over the next decade under the new health—care plan championed by president trump. the congressional budget office said 14 million people would be uninsured in the first year alone. the president of the philippines says martial law could be imposed across the whole country as security forces continue their battle against islamist groups. rodrigo duterte is already well—known for waging a violent campaign against drug dealers. he's warned he's willing to use similar methods against extremists. more than 30 migrants, mostly children, have drowned off the libyan coast after around 200 people without life jackets fell from a boat into the sea. a rescue group say in total, almost 2,000 people were rescued from four rubber dinghies and six wooden boats. american officials say a us navy destroyer has conducted what's been described as a "freedom of navigation operation" near disputed islands in the south china se

here's our north america editor, jon sopel.en trumpcare became a thing. the ayes are 217. the nays are 213. the bill is passed. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. shame, shame, shame, shame. but outside, a rather different scene, as protesters chant, "shame." this fight isn't over yet. getting the measure through the senate is going to be every bit as tough. because, as today's debate showed, this is a deeply divisive issue. so, i ask you, my colleagues, does trumpcare lower health costs? no. does trumpca re provide better healthcare? no. does trumpca re protect seniors and families? no. has panto season come to politics? yes. are we going to be men and women of our word? yes. are we going to keep the promises that we made? yes. or are we going to falter? thank you. in the rose garden this afternoon, the president beamed. a time for fist pumps and hugs with the speaker. this is an important legislative victory. this is a great plan. i actually think it will get even better. this is, make no mist

jon sopel, bbc news, washington.s will be taking part in local and mayoral elections in england, wales and scotland. it's a major exercise in local democracy with councils supplying essential services to millions of people. our political correspondent, vicki young, is here to explain the range of contests taking place tomorrow. it's very rare for local elections to be held in the middle of a general election campaign and all the parties will be hoping for signs that they‘ re making progress. almost 5,000 seats are up for grabs, but none in northern ireland. in scotland, these elections involve all 32 councils and were last contested in 2012. back then the snp won the most seats, but labour wasn't far behind. a key battleground this time will be glasgow city council, where labour's held overall control since 1980. in wales, all 22 councils are being elected. labour performed strongly five years ago and it's defending almost 600 seats, far more than any other party. plaid cymru and the tories are hoping for gains and u

jon sopel, bbc news, washington.'ve been speaking to the bbc‘s laura bicker, who's also in wasington. i put it to her that this was by no means a done deal. no. this is only one stage. it was supposed to be the easy stage. look how difficult it was. this is the third attempt. it has taken arm—twisting and it onlyjust got in bya arm—twisting and it onlyjust got in by a few votes. i am tracking what many leading senators, republican senators, i thinking of this bill. i have counted at least three or four this evening who are wary, who said they will not pass it in its current form, and even donald trump admitted in the speech at the rose garden earlier today that he felt it could get better. when it comes to the issues, it is the same issues that the republicans cannot agree on. ones is pre—existing conditions. cancer, asthma, heart disease, diabetes, difficult to insure. the expansion and lack thereof of medicaid. the poorest, what do they do? and the tax breaks for the wealthy. people are wondering if this is best fo

jon sopel, bbc news, washington.to his surfboard for more than 30 hours — says he was convinced he was going to die. matthew bryce had set off on sunday morning and was last seen heading towards westport beach near campbeltown. eight rescue teams were mobilised when the alarm was raised. the 22—year—old was finally spotted by a helicopter, drifting 13 miles offshore. he's now recovering in hospital. he's been describing his ordeal to our correspondent, chris buckler. by the night—time, it wasn'tjust my shoulder, all my limbs were cramping. matthew bryce is exhausted, sunburnt and still recovering. but he's just thankful to have survived after drifting alone in the irish sea for more than 30 hours. i would say that's probably a yellow surfboard so that's the right colour. this picture, taken on sunday, shows him surfing off the west coast of scotland, before he was pulled out to sea by strong winds and tides. the current changes and i can't do anything. all this time the winds pushing me further and further and furthe

our north america editor jon sopel is in washington.lly forthright mood. he didn't pull his punches in this interview. he accused james comey of being a showboat, a grandstand. he left the fbi in turmoil. what i thought was most interesting was the explanation, that on tuesday night and wednesday we were being told the reason he was fired was because the deputy attorney general had recommended that need to be changed at the top. even in donald trump's letter sacking james comey, he said he received the attached letters from the attorney generals recommending dawsons —— your dismissal. i have accepted that. this is what he said in the interview. did you ask for a recommendation? what i did was i was going to fire james comey. my decision. you made the decision? i was going to fire comey. there is no good time to do it. in the u said you accepted their recommendations. i was going to fire regardless. the white house also said that one of the reasons he was fired was that the reasons he was fired was that the rank and file members of the f

our north america editor jon sopel reports. on the way to the us coastguard academy as his administration seemed to be listing. our commander in chief, donald trump. this has been the most torrid week of the presidency and though he didn't address each individual setback, there was a message. no politician in history, and i say this with great surety, has been treated worse, or more unfairly. you cannot let them get you down. i didn't get elected to serve the washington media, i got elected to serve the forgotten men and women of our country and that's what i'm doing. he has become more famous than me! far and away his biggest problem comes from the sacked fbi director james comey. the disclosuree that james comey kept notes of his meetings with the president, including over the sacked michael flynn, is serious. donald trump is reported to have said to comey... amid allegation that this amounted to obstruction ofjustice, the white house denied any wrongdoing, saying the president hadn't told the fbi director to stop his work. i

here's our north america editor, jon sopel. this is a fox news alert. directorjames comey has been fired by the president of the united states. the term breaking news is banded around with abandon. last night, it was justified. because at fbi offices the first they knew that their director had been fired was when it flashed up on their tv screens. and james comey, who was in los angeles addressing staff, knew nothing about it either until an aide handed him a note and the letter sent by president trump was brutal. at least they left him the governmentjet to fly back to the east coast, a private citizen, a turbulent career cut short. and today the president was unrepentant. reporter: why did you fire director comey? because he wasn't doing a good job, very simply. he was not doing a good job. james comey, the 68" tall fbi director, was the person who confirmed in bombshell testimony in march that the trump campaign was under investigation for its links to russia during the election. the fbi, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating th

for now from jon sopel in washington and me christian fraser in london — goodbye. hello.0,000 would be needed to hire 10,000 police officers for england and wales — instead of 300 million. here are his response as she listened back to that interview on radio. how much would 10,000 police officers cost? if we recruit the 10,000 policemen and women over a four—year period we believe it would be about £300,000. £300,000? what are you paying them? sorry, no... how much will it cost? they will cost... it will cost... about... about £80 million. about £80 million? diane abbott, that is hugely embarrassing, notjust miss speaking to quote you a bit earlier, you just do not know your figures and you're not on top of your brief. ifi and you're not on top of your brief. if i did not know my figures why was i able to do six other interviews and give the figure correctly? you need to ask why the conservative party is so anxious to move the debate away from the 20,000 police officers. we will come onto that in a moment but back to that interview, never mind that you did six other inter

from the vatican, here's our north america editor, jon sopel.re—eminent superpower walked through the vatican to meet the leader of one of the world's pre—eminent religions. and were there ever two more different people? pope francis, with just the merest hint of a smile. president trump, beaming. they sat across from each other in the pontiff‘s study, as though one was going for a job interview. but there were lighter moments. as melania trump was presented, the pope wanted to know, "do you feed him lots of potica?" — a slovenian cake. her facial expression suggested she hadn't expected that as a question. the president gave the pope bound copies of the works of martin luther king. the pope gave the president some of his encyclicals, including, pointedly, one on the environment and the dangers of global warming. after two world leaders have had a difficult discussion their normal mantra is "there is more that unites us than divides us." that may well be true but make no mistake — the divisions between the pope and president trump are significan

jon sopel, bbc news, washington. tim: for reaction to today's vote, i am joined by the democratic congresswoman from california. more choice for individuals, s, and a widerm market? >> i don't believe any of that. it is a sad day when the world's richest country celebrates taking health care away from potentially millions and millions of people. so, you know, i am hopeful that the senate will stop this , because it is really a tragedy. we know that millions of people will be hurt by what was done today. and i hope that it will never reach the president's desk and become law. tim: republicans say that obamacare is failing and has failed. what do you think of the situation in iowa at the moment where there is only one insurer? where is the choice in that? >> let me just tell you that any time you pass a massive piece of legislation like health care reform, that is really just the beginning. if my republican colleagues have had a position that we need to improve and repair, then we would have all been on the same page a

jon sopel, bbc news, riyadh.ter 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. the policy is, the labour party policy is that we... i know what it is. i'm asking, could it in the future change? but overwhelmingly we need to make sure that our policy is up—to—date and meets 21st—century threats and no one can disagree with that, surely. jeremy corbyn has long opposed nuclear weapons, but his party's policy is to support the renewal of trident, someth

our north america editor, jon sopel, is travelling with the president.sident has been on a deep immersion into middle east politics today, and a charm offensive, meeting a host of arab and gulf leaders from across the region. meeting a host of arab and gulf and one central geopolitical subject, the fight against islamist extremism, and how to make good on his pledge to destroy so—called islamic state. on his pledge to destroy but after the trenchant and some would say islamophobic language of the trump election campaign the president chose a much more moderate tone today. the president chose a much more we are not here to lecture. the president chose a much more we are not here to tell other people how to live. what to do. other people how to live. how to be. other people how to live. or how to worship. other people how to live. instead, we are here to offer partnership. based on shared interests and values. and he framed the choice that arab leaders faced like this. this is not a battle between different faiths. different sects. between different faiths

jon sopel, bbc news, washington.al population of an endangered seabird, using high—resolution satellite images. numbers of the northern royal albatross have previously been hard to estimate, as it only nests on a small group of remote and rocky islands east of new zealand. but scientists are now able to use much more sharply—defined satellite images to track the albatross population. they are the world's largest flying birds but despite being so easy to spot, counting albatrosses is tricky. most of these birds nest on islands which are extremely remote and difficult to access but now there was a new way to get a tally of the birds —— from space. scientists say using the powerful of the birds —— from space. scientistftzasi in the powerful of the birds —— from space. scientistftzasi in one powerful of the birds —— from space. scientistftzasi in on places ful of the birds —— from space. scientistftzasi in on places like satellite to zoom in on places like the chatham islands in the south pacific. they can go down to 30

our north america editor, jon sopel was there. been on a deep immersion into middle east politics today, and a charm offensive, meeting a host of arab and gulf leaders from across the region. and one central geopolitical subject, the fight against islamist extremism, and how to make good on his pledge to destroy so—called islamic state. but after the trenchant and, some would say islamophobic, language of the trump election campaign, the president chose a much more moderate tone today. we are not here to lecture. we are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, how to be or how to worship. instead, we are here to offer partnership, based on shared interests and values. and he framed the choice that arab leaders faced like this. this is not a battle between different faiths, different sects or different civilisations. this is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life and decent people, all in the name of religion. this is a battle between good and evil. and he said that if terrorism was to b

jon sopel at the white house, thank you.t you care about and want covered. a lot of you have got in touch about business rates — the tax based on how much a business property is worth. some independent shops in england are facing big increases after their property values were revalued by the government. elaine dunkley has been to southwold in suffolk to find out more. business rates are a massive issue for small businesses. i'm rebecca bishop and i'm the owner of two magpies bakery in southwold. nobody was foreseeing the massive increases that we were suddenly facing in southwold. the average increase was i77%. how big an issue are business rates? it is a really important issue because it's not just my business i'm thinking of, it's all the other businesses in southwold. rebecca's bakery is classed as a small business. her rates have been capped until april next year, but after that, she says she doesn't know what will happen. it will become just another nail in the coffin for businesses that are fighting, some of them, to s

jon sopel, bbc news, washington.n leader mahmoud abbas to the white house for a series of talks aimed at finding a way towards peace in the middle east. mr trump acknowledged that reaching agreement between israelis and palestinians was probably the toughest deal to close in the world. the palestinian president said a peace accord based on a two—state solution would help fight terrorism. president trump said he was willing to play any role which would help bring agreement. the palestinians and israelis must work together to reach an agreement that will allow both people to live, prosper and thrive in peace. i will do whatever is necessary to facilitate the agreement, the media, arbitrate, whatever they would like to do, but i would love to be a mediator or arbitrator or facilitator and we will get this done. more on that to come in the next few hours. the two people hoping to be president of france have gone head to head in the final tv debate of the election. latest polls suggest the centrist former banker emmanuel

let's go live now to riyadh and to our north america editor, jon sopel.ip somewhat overshadowed would you say? and there is a delay on the line. not yet. donald trump has arrived here and he has received the warmest of welcomes. i was with barack obama a year ago of welcomes. i was with barack obama a yearago and of welcomes. i was with barack obama a year ago and it couldn't have been more different. donald trump gave it — gave more different. donald trump gave it —— gave an interview a year ago in which he said he things is lamb hates us. but there was none of that on show, as frank has discussed. there was a lot of interviews he has about what the new relationship might mean. —— nvqs years. that said, the problems have travelled on the plane with donald trump and there was an extraordinary reply from the white house, some might say, saying the president has always on the importance of dealing with russia and james comey created unnecessary pressure “— russia and james comey created unnecessary pressure —— pressure on our ability to engage. that brings

the bbc‘s north america editor jon sopel has been absorbing events in washington. is a word that is rather mild for the tectonic shift of the political plates that has unfolded this evening in washington. as i understand it, james comey, the director of the fbi, was addressing agents in los angeles. an aid goes up to him and hands him a note, and says you'd better read this. and he reads it, looks down, addresses the audience and says, i've just been fired. he knew nothing about it. no—one else knew anything about it. it was a bolt out of the blue from the white house. they didn't see it coming. and james comey had been determined to carry on with his work, to carry on the investigation. and you talked about the white house saying, look, this is nothing to do with the inquiry into russia. as we all know, in politics, perceptions matter, and it looks like the person who was conducting the investigation has been fired by people who didn't want him to carry on with it. and it is going to take an awful, uphill struggle for the white house to convince the public that it

and during president trump's trip lyse and our north america editor jon sopel will be providing coveragestop so make sure to join us next week for that. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. american planes operating over syria have attacked a convoy carrying pro—government militia. a statement from the coalition says the militia were moving towards a—tanf airbase, near the border with iraq — where western special forces train rebel groups fighting the extremist group, the so—called islamic state. voting opens injust a voting opens in just a few hours now in the iran presidential election with the current leader seeking a second term. he negotiate a landmark nuclear deal with western world leaders in 2015. if no—one wins more than 50% of votes cast there will be a run—off next week. the japanese cabinet is expected to approve the bill on friday which will allow emperor akihito to abdicate. it will be the first time abdicate. it will be the first time a japanese monarch abdicate. it will be the first time ajapanese monarch has abdicate. it will be the first time

this report from our north america editor jon sopel, who is travelling with the president. president has been on a deep immersion into middle east politics today, and a charm offensive, meeting a host of arab and gulf leaders from across the region. and one central geopolitical subject, the fight against islamist extremism, and how to make good on his pledge to destroy so—called islamic state. but after the trenchant and, some would say islamophobic, language of the trump election campaign, the president chose a much more moderate tone today. we are not here to lecture. we are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, how to be or how to worship. instead, we are here to offer partnership, based on shared interests and values. and he framed the choice that arab leaders faced like this. this is not a battle between different faiths, different sects or different civilisations. this is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life and decent people, all in the name of religion. this is a battle between good and evil. and he said that if terr