:00:00. > 3:59:59around 22 degrees. That is how it is looking. More details on the weather
:00:00. > :00:00.throughout the week ahead. This is BBC World News
:00:07. > :00:24.Today, I'm Alpa Patel. US media told Donald Trump said
:00:25. > :00:28.firing James Coney believed great pressure and described him as a nut
:00:29. > :00:31.job. The new revelations come as Donald Trump sets off as his first
:00:32. > :00:32.overseas trip as president. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange
:00:33. > :00:34.welcomes Sweden's decision to drop an investigation
:00:35. > :00:36.into an alleged rape. And its attempt to
:00:37. > :00:40.extradite him from the UK: Seven years without charge while my
:00:41. > :00:43.children grew up without me. Today is an important victory for me
:00:44. > :00:59.and for the UN human rights system. Also ahead: The polls have closed
:01:00. > :01:02.in Iran's presidential elections - after a high turnout forced them
:01:03. > :01:27.to be extended three times. We start with yet more turbulent
:01:28. > :01:32.development in Washington, hot on the heels of President from's
:01:33. > :01:33.departure on his first foreign trip, US media published two new
:01:34. > :01:45.revelations. The New York Times is reporting that
:01:46. > :01:51.the president described his sacked FBI chief James Coney as a nutjob.
:01:52. > :01:59.They show document summarising the meeting saying I face great pressure
:02:00. > :02:01.because of Russia has taken off. The Washington post has also published
:02:02. > :02:07.an article saying a current White House official has been identified
:02:08. > :02:11.as a significant person of interest. In the FBI investigation into links
:02:12. > :02:15.between Russia and the Tramp campaign. We will have more for you
:02:16. > :02:18.with our correspondent in a moment. But both those stories were
:02:19. > :02:23.published only minutes after Air Force One took off from Andrews air
:02:24. > :02:27.base taking Donald Trump on his first foreign trip since becoming
:02:28. > :02:31.president. They are going on a nine-day tour of Saudi Arabia,
:02:32. > :02:42.Israel, Belgium and Italy. The trip was billed as a chance to build the
:02:43. > :02:46.Wright -- visit places sacred to major religions. But could the
:02:47. > :02:49.turmoil in Washington overshadow the strip? Our chief international
:02:50. > :02:53.correspondent is in the Saudi carrot Talanoa
:02:54. > :02:57.-- the Saudi capital where Donald Trump will arrive. The rumours are
:02:58. > :03:04.staring in the region President Trump as room of them reporting, is
:03:05. > :03:08.facing extreme pressure at home over the handling of the intelligence and
:03:09. > :03:12.could end up cancelling this trip and then his next up in Israel. We
:03:13. > :03:16.all knew this trip matters a lot to President Trump and it is certainly
:03:17. > :03:23.mattering to the Saudi kingdom. It is now only hours before the
:03:24. > :03:26.American president makes Riyadh in his first stop on his very first
:03:27. > :03:33.foreign visit. This is the city under tight security, and a city
:03:34. > :03:37.which has taken on all the stops that to make this a visit like no
:03:38. > :03:41.other. Everywhere you go here you see the slogan, together we will
:03:42. > :03:45.prevail. This summit, they say, like no other in history. This is the
:03:46. > :03:50.place full of superlatives now, not that one summer but three. A meeting
:03:51. > :03:55.with Saudis, rule cueing Royal rules, Gulf leaders, of the Gulf
:03:56. > :04:04.region. And leaders from across the Arab and Islamic world. It is about
:04:05. > :04:07.turning the page about what they saw a infuriating relationship with
:04:08. > :04:11.Obama and his retreat as they saw it, from the Middle East. They have
:04:12. > :04:17.hailed President Trump from the start. That's go back to those
:04:18. > :04:24.revelations in Washington. We can speak to our correspondents there. A
:04:25. > :04:30.complicated story, talk us through the New York Times article. What
:04:31. > :04:34.does the paper say it has seen? What it is saying is talking about this
:04:35. > :04:39.meeting that happened last week between Donald Trump and several
:04:40. > :04:42.senior Russian officials in the Oval Office. They base their report on
:04:43. > :04:48.official readout, an internal read-out of the meeting. It says
:04:49. > :04:54.Donald Trump says James Coney: the FBI director he fired, was a nutjob
:04:55. > :04:57.and what was under a great deal of pressure about Russia and that by
:04:58. > :05:03.firing James Coney, it took that the pressure off. So these were once
:05:04. > :05:09.again, the revelations about Donald Trump's intent in firing James
:05:10. > :05:15.Comey, a view into its mind in this hell is happening in his mind, make
:05:16. > :05:19.a meeting with Russian officials, has figured centrally in this
:05:20. > :05:26.investigation. At the same time, we also have the Washington post saying
:05:27. > :05:29.the investigation into the links between the Tramp administration and
:05:30. > :05:34.Russia has identified a person of interest. What more can you tell us
:05:35. > :05:38.about that? The person of interest, not a suspect but this is someone
:05:39. > :05:45.they consider integral to the investigation. The article lists
:05:46. > :05:51.several senior club officials who have acknowledged they had ties or
:05:52. > :05:54.had meetings with Russia, one is Rex Tillerson and the other Attorney
:05:55. > :05:57.General 's Jeff Sessions. The final is fromson-in-law Jara killing micro
:05:58. > :06:07.Jared Posner. -- Jared Posner. We cannot confirm
:06:08. > :06:14.anything but it sounds like the investigation is now centred or
:06:15. > :06:17.looking in through the White House talent officials rather than save
:06:18. > :06:21.poor man thought we were the campaign manager since disconnected
:06:22. > :06:25.from the campaign. All Michael Flynn, who was the national Security
:06:26. > :06:32.adviser who was fired because he was not upfront about his conversations
:06:33. > :06:36.with that Russian ambassador. Fast moving events in Washington,
:06:37. > :06:43.meanwhile Donald Trump is on a plane to Riyadh, what do you think has
:06:44. > :06:47.reaction will be? All of these stories broke about an hour after
:06:48. > :06:54.the doors closed on S Air Force One, he has called this a witchhunt and
:06:55. > :07:00.was tweeting about it. He will feel like this is a pressure put on him
:07:01. > :07:04.by a media treating him unfairly, another word he used in a recent
:07:05. > :07:08.speech. I'm convinced it's not going to be happy about this. The problem
:07:09. > :07:13.for him is he will land in Saudi Arabia where it will be difficult to
:07:14. > :07:20.classic negotiations and closely watched meetings, going forward and
:07:21. > :07:24.in Italy, Israel, Brussels, and he will have journalist asked him about
:07:25. > :07:29.this probably more than what they want to be talking about which is
:07:30. > :07:33.his foreign trip. Going back to the New York Times, how damaging could
:07:34. > :07:40.this article be? How reliable are those sources? The New York Times
:07:41. > :07:43.says that there facing these on an official read-out fixing the basic
:07:44. > :07:50.these on a official read-out which is a document produced by the
:07:51. > :07:53.government or the White House itself, then circulated internally.
:07:54. > :07:57.They have seen presumably this document which is authentic from a
:07:58. > :08:00.reliable source. The White House itself isn't specifically denying
:08:01. > :08:04.these were words that Donald Trump said, that he talked about relieving
:08:05. > :08:10.pressure, they are fraying it as being part of the Tramp negotiations
:08:11. > :08:15.with Russia, inventing them to cooperate on the policy goals. As
:08:16. > :08:21.far as the serious goes, this points towards intent, for firing the FBI
:08:22. > :08:31.director, in soon another data point. He was pressured by Donald
:08:32. > :08:34.Trump it is alleged, to stop the investigation, and early reports
:08:35. > :08:38.suggested it was because of Russia. suggested it was because of Russia.
:08:39. > :08:44.We will see. It is serious though, and I think Donald Trump's critics
:08:45. > :08:49.will point it to an example of where possible obstruction of justice. You
:08:50. > :08:54.mentioned intent, what do you think Donald Trump means by great pressure
:08:55. > :09:01.on James Comey? That is the big question. Last week, Trump said that
:09:02. > :09:09.he had the Russian investigation in mind when he fired James Kammy. --
:09:10. > :09:13.James Comey. I don't want to get into Donald Trump's mind here, he
:09:14. > :09:18.has a tendency to talk of the cost and choosing words indelicately, but
:09:19. > :09:25.it is obvious that he is upset about the way James Comey was dealing with
:09:26. > :09:31.this investigation. The ordinary grandstand. They expect the
:09:32. > :09:33.investigation to go on, but that James Kammy was mishandling it,
:09:34. > :09:38.according to the White House. Thanks for joining us.
:09:39. > :09:40.The founder of the wikileaks website, Julian Assange,
:09:41. > :09:42.says it's a "victory" that Swedish prosecutors are ending
:09:43. > :09:47.their investigations into claims he carried out a sexual assault.
:09:48. > :09:49.He's been taking refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy
:09:50. > :09:57.Speaking to the media - he said he would not be leaving it,
:09:58. > :10:02.because he could still be arrested by police in London.
:10:03. > :10:05.Ecuador's Foreign Minister called on the UK to allow Mr Assange
:10:06. > :10:16.On the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy Julian Assange emerged this
:10:17. > :10:18.afternoon to have his say on the end of the Swedish
:10:19. > :10:37.Today is an important victory for me and for the UN human rights system.
:10:38. > :10:43.Seven years without charge while my children grew up without me.
:10:44. > :10:47.That is not something that I can forgive, it is not
:10:48. > :10:55.But prosecutors in Sweden have not cleared Julian Assange,
:10:56. > :11:01.they have simply said they can't pursue the case any further.
:11:02. > :11:03.TRANSLATION: There are now no further measures
:11:04. > :11:05.remaining which are possible to advance the investigation.
:11:06. > :11:07.In order to proceed, it would be necessary
:11:08. > :11:10.for Julian Assange to be formally served notice of the crimes
:11:11. > :11:16.This was a measure that was to have been conducted during an interview
:11:17. > :11:21.in London, but Mr Assange refused to make this possible.
:11:22. > :11:26.This complex international drama began in August 2010 when two women
:11:27. > :11:28.alleged that Julian Assange had sexually assaulted them
:11:29. > :11:34.In December that year he was detained in Britain under
:11:35. > :11:41.In May 2012 the Supreme Court upheld a decision to extradite him
:11:42. > :11:46.And in June Mr Assange walked into the Ecuadorian Embassy in London
:11:47. > :11:51.The Metropolitan Police mounted a 24-hour guard at the embassy.
:11:52. > :12:00.By October 2015 it had cost over ?30 million.
:12:01. > :12:05.Julian Assange is no longer wanted on an international arrest warrant
:12:06. > :12:10.but the Metropolitan Police say that if he stepped out of the embassy
:12:11. > :12:13.they are still obliged to arrest him for failing to surrender to a London
:12:14. > :12:20.At the embassy this evening his supporters were jubilant.
:12:21. > :12:23.But in Sweden, the woman who accused him of rape issued
:12:24. > :12:25.a statement saying he was evading justice, and expressing her shock
:12:26. > :12:29.that the investigation was being shelved.
:12:30. > :12:32.Julian Assange was not held without charge with for seven years.
:12:33. > :12:36.He was subject to extradition proceedings with in the EU,
:12:37. > :12:38.under the European arrest warrant scheme he would have received
:12:39. > :12:41.a fair trial in Sweden had he chosen to go back.
:12:42. > :12:44.The reason this has lasted seven years is entirely down
:12:45. > :12:47.to him seeking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy rather
:12:48. > :12:49.than going to face trial in a country that has governed
:12:50. > :12:55.The founder of Wikileaks says it was fear that he would be
:12:56. > :12:57.extradited to the United States for leaking classified information
:12:58. > :13:01.that drove him through the doors of the Ecuadorian Embassy.
:13:02. > :13:04.So despite today's dramatic twist in this long-running
:13:05. > :13:07.diplomatic and legal saga, tonight he is back inside.
:13:08. > :13:20.The polls in Iran's presidential election have now closed
:13:21. > :13:22.after a high turnout forced officials to extend voting
:13:23. > :13:38.by six hours.The incumbent President Hassan Rouhani is facing
:13:39. > :13:39.strong competition from hardliner Ebrahim Raisi -
:13:40. > :13:44.who is proposing a tougher stance on the West.
:13:45. > :13:55.Wisley is a reporter from BBC's Persian service. When will we get a
:13:56. > :14:01.result? Sometime in the afternoon -- morning Saturday. It just closed a
:14:02. > :14:05.few minutes ago at midnight run time it is unprecedented. The
:14:06. > :14:09.announcement of the final results will take longer. Interesting that
:14:10. > :14:14.was at a high turnout, what prompted that? Absolutely. What is at stake?
:14:15. > :14:18.This might decide around was on her future at the end of the day. The
:14:19. > :14:22.state-run TV and media have bombarded the audiences with themes
:14:23. > :14:25.of people participation and so on, because the regime wants a high
:14:26. > :14:30.voter turnout because it will give more legitimacy. Reform minded
:14:31. > :14:41.people want to turn up because they want to stop the victory of Abraham
:14:42. > :14:53.raised the, but his stop supporters want to stop the current incumbent.
:14:54. > :14:58.We can now go to a senior reporter at the Carnegie endowment. Tell us
:14:59. > :15:10.how important the Iranian nuclear deal plays into the selection? --
:15:11. > :15:20.into this election? The current president has a deal to deliver on
:15:21. > :15:24.the nuclear programme but there will be disappointment at how he has
:15:25. > :15:31.carried it out. If he is re-elected, they will remain a strong advocate
:15:32. > :15:38.in Tehran for the trade deal, if Hassan Rouhani loses and Ebrahim
:15:39. > :15:44.Raisi wins, then his two main parents, Obama and Tehran,, will
:15:45. > :15:49.have left the scene. Then he will be under the care of. I want to feel
:15:50. > :15:53.ambivalent about the deal won he will be
:15:54. > :16:02.fixing apart from the nuclear deal, what can you tell us about what the
:16:03. > :16:07.Iranians are voting on with macro Iranians elections are always an
:16:08. > :16:16.free, an fair and unpredictable, and only six individuals were allowed to
:16:17. > :16:21.run. I think that the incumbent, Hassan Rouhani, was the most
:16:22. > :16:24.moderate options that many Iranian moderate voters have. Ebrahim Raisi
:16:25. > :16:31.on the other hand, is in many ways a mini me of it around's supreme
:16:32. > :16:36.leader who wants to stay loyal to revolutionary principles, animosity
:16:37. > :16:41.to the United States, a regime which retains its Islamic piety, so I
:16:42. > :16:45.think even though the fact it was a close election, there was a stark
:16:46. > :16:52.choice between these two candidates and competition between them is
:16:53. > :16:55.genuine. But the big question will be, this election was rigged
:16:56. > :17:01.beforehand given so many candles were disqualified, the big question
:17:02. > :17:06.is, will also be big after the votes are counted? -- read after the votes
:17:07. > :17:13.are counted? That remains to be seen. How will the West be seen
:17:14. > :17:15.after this election? Much of the West including the United States is
:17:16. > :17:22.in such internal disarray, that it in such internal disarray, that it
:17:23. > :17:25.is very inward focused, the Trump administration views they run very
:17:26. > :17:29.differently than the Obama administration. The Trump
:17:30. > :17:34.administration is very cynical about Iran, so if Hassan Rouhani wins I
:17:35. > :17:37.don't think it will change that view and if Ebrahim Raisi wins they will
:17:38. > :17:41.be more cynical. I think it will help the cause of hawks in
:17:42. > :17:45.Washington who want to isolate Iran if Ebrahim
:17:46. > :17:52.Ebrahim Raisi wins because it will show the European countries that
:17:53. > :18:01.Ebrahim Raisi is a hardliner, a bad guy. Worth if Hassan Rouhani and his
:18:02. > :18:06.Foreign Minister, will break Iran looks like it is run by a more
:18:07. > :18:12.pragmatic and reasonable actors. Give us an idea, please, about how
:18:13. > :18:19.Iranians feel about this election. Has it divided the country?
:18:20. > :18:23.Definitely. The country might settle for political pundits and historians
:18:24. > :18:28.and sociologist, it might settle the issue of where it run stand in terms
:18:29. > :18:37.of the centre, periphery, urban, rural, modern. It is a tight race
:18:38. > :18:43.and the focus of Ebrahim Raisi has been the urban and the rural with
:18:44. > :18:44.promises of job and economic benefits, three times what they are
:18:45. > :18:48.getting. The reformers have called getting. The reformers have called
:18:49. > :18:53.this impractical. The effects of those promises for a population that
:18:54. > :18:59.has not seen the benefits of the promises of Hassan Rouhani, is very
:19:00. > :19:08.strong. I don't think can take it for granted that he can win or lose
:19:09. > :19:18.at this stage. Thank you both for being weather. Won being with us.
:19:19. > :19:22.Next, we have the sport news including a Russian billionaire's
:19:23. > :19:46.bid to buy Arsenal. The polling stations are all
:19:47. > :19:50.prepared for what will be the first truly free elections in the many's
:19:51. > :19:54.history. It was a remarkable climax to what will surely the most
:19:55. > :20:03.extraordinary funeral ever given to a pop singer. It's been a peaceful
:20:04. > :20:09.funeral demonstration so far but the police are at the crowd, we don't
:20:10. > :20:13.know why. The ritual is established here, they were in good spirits but
:20:14. > :20:19.Branson. In the last hour, East Timor has become the world's newest
:20:20. > :20:22.nation. The challenges ahead are daunting. But for now, at least, it
:20:23. > :20:46.is time to celebrate. US media are reporting that Donald
:20:47. > :20:50.firing FBI director James Comey firing FBI director James Comey
:20:51. > :20:52.eased great pressure on him, it comes as Mr Trump heads off on his
:20:53. > :20:52.first foreign trip. The Wikileaks founder Julian Assange
:20:53. > :20:55.says he will neither forgive nor forget, after Sweden said
:20:56. > :20:57.it was dropping its investigation The disgraced former
:20:58. > :21:08.New York Congressman Anthony Weiner is facing a prison sentence
:21:09. > :21:11.for sending obscene messages He pleaded guilty in federal court
:21:12. > :21:16.to "sexting" a 15-year-old girl. Before his fall from grace,
:21:17. > :21:19.he'd been a high profile figure in the Democratic Party,
:21:20. > :21:37.with links to Hillary Clinton, His or your sport. There is usually
:21:38. > :21:43.on the ownership of the Premier League double club Arsenal. The
:21:44. > :21:48.minority shareholder has made a bid of around ?1 billion to buy out the
:21:49. > :21:53.majority chair. It's understood this bird has been rejected. The manager
:21:54. > :21:58.Arsene Wenger is still keeping people guessing. His contract
:21:59. > :22:03.expires after the FA Cup final next Saturday when the board are expected
:22:04. > :22:07.to discuss his position. Arsenal's final league match is at home
:22:08. > :22:10.against Everton, on Sunday, could that be his last
:22:11. > :22:21.I think what is most important for us is to win the football game
:22:22. > :22:24.After that, what happens to me is less important.
:22:25. > :22:27.I am here to serve the club and the best way
:22:28. > :22:36.Meanwhile, lots of other Premier League managers have been giving
:22:37. > :22:39.their final pre-match news conferences of the season. Jurgen
:22:40. > :22:43.Klopp's Liverpool need to beat Middlesbrough on Sunday to be sure
:22:44. > :22:46.of a top four finish, regardless of the result. Klopp says they will be
:22:47. > :22:56.spread strengthening the squad during the summer. We aren't just
:22:57. > :23:00.working on the players, we have a lot of people around and have good
:23:01. > :23:06.positions for different players, but it's not that we want to talk about,
:23:07. > :23:11.we want the team better. Every year. What I wanted to say, it's not that
:23:12. > :23:17.easy because we have already agreed cueing been a good side. If we have
:23:18. > :23:24.our first 12 to 14 players, the world is not full of players, that
:23:25. > :23:29.makers plan immediately. Week you can be sure we will speak to them.
:23:30. > :23:35.Myriad Sharapova says she will not Myriad Sharapova says she will not
:23:36. > :23:41.procure a wild card for Wimbledon and will go by qualifying. She has
:23:42. > :23:45.relied on wild card sense her doping ban. He was denied a wild card to
:23:46. > :23:48.the French Open but her ranking allows her to enter Wimbledon
:23:49. > :23:54.qualifying in which he needs to win three matches in a rotary the first
:23:55. > :23:59.round. Rafael Nadal's unbeaten run on clay is over. The Spaniard was
:24:00. > :24:05.knocked out of the opening info by Dominic Thiem, losing in straight
:24:06. > :24:13.sets 6-4, 6-3. He will face Djokovic or del Potro in the semis. Zverev
:24:14. > :24:29.will take on John Isner in the other five semifinal. As expected, the
:24:30. > :24:38.Colombian filling with the lived up to his billing as the fastest man in
:24:39. > :24:46.this year 's tour. Tom the moon position of race leader.
:24:47. > :24:54.Some goal for you now. Rory McIlroy has withdrawn from next week whether
:24:55. > :24:58.BMW PGA championship. He announced he is suffering from the same rib
:24:59. > :25:04.injury he suffered in the off-season were trying out as new clubs. That's
:25:05. > :25:07.all the sports for now. Let's remind you of our top story this hour, toe
:25:08. > :25:20.Joe Mellor two -- two new revelations in
:25:21. > :25:24.Washington. The what New York Times says the president described his
:25:25. > :25:34.sacked FBI chief James Comey as a real attempt to nutjob. Won as a
:25:35. > :25:41.realtor two. It also says the pressure is off. The Washington Post
:25:42. > :25:46.says a White House staffer has been announced as a key figure in the
:25:47. > :25:52.investigation into the front campaign. We'll have more of that in
:25:53. > :25:56.the next hour. Goodbye for now.