:00:00. > :00:00.Good lad, nice to see you, mate. Come on in. I thought you were going
:00:00. > :00:10.to do the whole 147 thing there. We have not got time at! You did it in
:00:11. > :00:14.just over five minutes 20 years ago. It is crazy. I have made better
:00:15. > :00:18.ones. My This could lead to, essentially, too
:00:19. > :00:19.big to innovate. Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC News.
:00:20. > :00:25.The Pentagon has intelligence that Syria is planning another
:00:26. > :00:27.possible chemical attack - the White House says
:00:28. > :00:31.Russia is quick to denounce the American threat,
:00:32. > :00:34.President Assad doesn't seem concerned - he spent the morning
:00:35. > :00:37.examining a Russian airfield in Syria, taking a climb
:00:38. > :00:46.The US health care bill is on life support as key Republican senators
:00:47. > :00:49.Google is slapped with a record breaking fine.
:00:50. > :00:51.The European Commission says it is breaking competition rules.
:00:52. > :00:54.Early days, but it would seem a new cyber attack is under way.
:00:55. > :00:57.The target was Ukraine, but the problem is now spreading
:00:58. > :01:00.Airports, banks and power systems are being affected.
:01:01. > :01:11.And the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei sits down with the BBC to talk
:01:12. > :01:14.about his latest work in Washington - a sprawling tribute to those
:01:15. > :01:24.I am Katty Kay in Washington - Christian Fraser is in London.
:01:25. > :01:26.The Pentagon says the intelligence is compelling -
:01:27. > :01:29.it has identified planes and also the hangar in which it says
:01:30. > :01:31.the Syrian government may be preparing another chemical attack.
:01:32. > :01:35.The White House said to President Assad he will pay "a heavy price"
:01:36. > :01:44.In April, a sarin gas attack on the rebel held town
:01:45. > :01:47.of Khan Sheikhun killed at least 87 people, many of them were children.
:01:48. > :01:49.The attack was launched from this same base.
:01:50. > :01:51.Today the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad denied any
:01:52. > :01:57.And perhaps in defiance of that US threat, he paid a visit to a Russian
:01:58. > :02:00.airbase in the west of the country - even climbing into the cockpit
:02:01. > :02:04.Not the image of a man cowed by American threats.
:02:05. > :02:06.A short while ago the US ambassador to the UN,
:02:07. > :02:09.Nikki Haley issued this statement about what the White
:02:10. > :02:24.They have seen activities that are similar to preparations
:02:25. > :02:26.of a chemical weapons attack, much like we saw in April.
:02:27. > :02:30.I believe the goal is at this point, not just to send Assad a message
:02:31. > :02:33.but to send Russia and Iran a message that if this happens
:02:34. > :02:36.again, we are putting you on notice, and my hope is that the president's
:02:37. > :02:39.warning will certainly get Russia and Iran to take a second look,
:02:40. > :02:43.and I hope it will caution Assad we don't want to see innocent men,
:02:44. > :03:01.Mr Trump has had a conversation today with the French president,
:03:02. > :03:04.Emmanuel Macron, who apparently agreed to join the US in taking
:03:05. > :03:05.action against Syria in the event of chemical attack.
:03:06. > :03:08.Joining us in the studio is General Mark Kimmitt who served
:03:09. > :03:15.as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for George W Bush.
:03:16. > :03:20.General Kimmitt, what is the White House strategy here? Why have they
:03:21. > :03:24.issued this warning to the Syrians? I think they have made it clear they
:03:25. > :03:29.will not accept another attack like there was on April four. This is a
:03:30. > :03:33.clear declaration from the United States that they are prepared to
:03:34. > :03:37.respond the way they did before. After the attack in April and the 59
:03:38. > :03:40.Tomahawks said, the criticism of the White House is that there was not a
:03:41. > :03:44.follow-up strategy. Do you think there has been a more conference of
:03:45. > :03:48.strategy designed beyond just taking action against one air force base?
:03:49. > :03:53.Frankly I don't think there has been an overall strategy for Syria...
:03:54. > :03:56.From either the United States or its coalition partners such as the
:03:57. > :04:00.United Kingdom. That has to be part of any solution. The solution cannot
:04:01. > :04:04.simply be military. It has to be diplomatic and I'm glad to see that
:04:05. > :04:10.the French have started pushing very hard to try to put this back on the
:04:11. > :04:13.table. General Kimmitt, President Trump obviously wants to look like
:04:14. > :04:19.he is the strong man on the world stage, and I suppose that upshot of
:04:20. > :04:22.this is you can head it off, but the flip side is that if they use these
:04:23. > :04:25.weapons you have to follow it through? We have already
:04:26. > :04:29.demonstrated we will follow through and I think the most encouraging
:04:30. > :04:32.news today is that President Assad denied he was preparing for a
:04:33. > :04:38.chemical attack and that demonstrates to me that President
:04:39. > :04:41.Trump's words have had deterrent effect, not only for Bashar
:04:42. > :04:47.al-Assad, but also his supporters in Iraq and Iran. The problem is,
:04:48. > :04:50.though, of course, if there was a second attack, the Russians might
:04:51. > :04:55.not be as tolerant as they were lasting? That is a choice the
:04:56. > :05:00.Russians have to make. Clearly they are the puppet Masters behind Bashar
:05:01. > :05:03.al-Assad, as are the Iranians. The only reason Bashar al-Assad is in
:05:04. > :05:07.power today is due to his support from those two countries, so they
:05:08. > :05:12.have to make a decision, to keep corrupt murderer in power, or move
:05:13. > :05:16.towards a diplomatic solution. The military situation has been getting
:05:17. > :05:19.more tense. We have seen Russian and American jets flying very close to
:05:20. > :05:23.each other, the Americans have downed a Syrian planes. The Russians
:05:24. > :05:27.did not like that. What other risks at the moment of some kind of
:05:28. > :05:31.miscalculation in Syria? That is my greatest worry as well because the
:05:32. > :05:35.Russians have turned off that channel. We had a strong
:05:36. > :05:43.communications channel between ourselves, the coalition nations,
:05:44. > :05:45.and the Russians, to make sure there was not any kind of accidental
:05:46. > :05:47.shutdown, accidental problem, inside the ear, but that can only be done
:05:48. > :05:52.if they deconstruction channel remains open, so it is up to the
:05:53. > :05:55.Russians in my mind to open -- to reopen the channel so that we do not
:05:56. > :05:59.have the skin of things you're suggesting. Thank you for coming in
:06:00. > :06:07.to join us. The interesting thing, Katty, we are focusing a lot on
:06:08. > :06:11.Mosul and the fire that is now underway in Raqqa, but we don't talk
:06:12. > :06:18.in the media a lot about the endgame, what may, after Raqqa. Is
:06:19. > :06:21.there any discussion of that? Yes, I think the general was right. There
:06:22. > :06:26.is not a political strategy here in the United States and nor is there
:06:27. > :06:39.with the coalition, post-punk-mac, if there is to be opposed Assad. We
:06:40. > :06:47.seem to be in -- post Assad if there is to be opposed Assad. I spoke to a
:06:48. > :06:50.politician today and said there is no appetite for the United States to
:06:51. > :06:54.get more involved militarily in Syria, either from Democrats or
:06:55. > :06:57.Republicans. The president, whilst issuing this threat on the chemical
:06:58. > :07:01.weapons level, is very aware that lack of engagement. Talking of that
:07:02. > :07:04.lack of support, Republican senators are running away from their own
:07:05. > :07:07.plans to change American health care. It looks like they are
:07:08. > :07:11.cancelling a vote on the bill this week and all Republican senators
:07:12. > :07:24.have now been invited to the White House.
:07:25. > :07:28.The it is not popular, not with the voters, the health care industry, or
:07:29. > :07:30.even with the president, who said it is means, so the chances of
:07:31. > :07:32.fulfilling that key campaign promise to immediately replace Obamacare
:07:33. > :07:34.appears to be slipping away. We are joined by our North American
:07:35. > :07:37.reporter Anthony Zurcher. Things are moving very fast. We expected a vote
:07:38. > :07:41.on health care in the next couple of days and that is now changing.
:07:42. > :07:45.Exactly, and that is the bottom line. The votes were not there for
:07:46. > :07:49.the Republicans to pass this. Remember, they needed 50 of the
:07:50. > :07:55.senators to get this over the finish line. We had heard from Republican
:07:56. > :07:58.centre senators, moderates and conservatives with misgivings about
:07:59. > :08:03.the bill, some of them, such as Susan Collins of Maine, who was
:08:04. > :08:07.pretty definitive in her opposition, and it looks more like they will not
:08:08. > :08:10.be able to pull it together so it has been delayed, consideration of,
:08:11. > :08:13.until after this 4th of July recess, which begins on Friday. Senators
:08:14. > :08:18.have gone back to their home districts for a week and they come
:08:19. > :08:21.back to DC for three weeks in July then after that they are gone for
:08:22. > :08:25.all of August. During that July period they will have to talk about
:08:26. > :08:28.raising the debt ceiling, passing a budget, they have a very crowded
:08:29. > :08:34.legislative calendar, and this is just one more thing put on their
:08:35. > :08:39.plate. Anthony Zurcher, thank you very much for joining us. It will be
:08:40. > :08:41.odd, Christian, watching the sight of 52 Republican senators going down
:08:42. > :08:45.to the White House when they don't actually have something to vote
:08:46. > :08:48.about. Just before we heard about this vote being delayed, I discuss
:08:49. > :08:54.the health care battle with Republican Congresswoman from
:08:55. > :08:57.Tennessee, a big supporter of Donald Trump's, and I asked her what she
:08:58. > :09:00.would tell her constituents who now face the prospect of losing their
:09:01. > :09:05.health care insurance under this Republican plan. The people of
:09:06. > :09:09.Tennessee have already been hurt. You have to go back in and look at
:09:10. > :09:14.what the placement of the Affordable Care Act in the marketplace did, and
:09:15. > :09:21.people in Tennessee have seen their premiums go up by 176%, across the
:09:22. > :09:25.board, since the Affordable Care Act went on the books. Congresswoman,
:09:26. > :09:31.you were a big supporter of President Trump's and he called this
:09:32. > :09:36.bill mean. I assume you would see that and the president is wrong? I
:09:37. > :09:40.think on this the president and I would have a disagreement. When you
:09:41. > :09:44.see the increase in Medicaid spending at 20% over the next ten
:09:45. > :09:52.years, I think that is generous dart-mac any time you see... --
:09:53. > :09:56.generous dart-mac any time you see... The president will say what
:09:57. > :09:59.he is going to say but I know that our goal has been to make health
:10:00. > :10:06.care more affordable and more accessible. You seen Medicaid
:10:07. > :10:11.spending rise 20%. Katty, I have to tell you, for some of the Democrats,
:10:12. > :10:15.they wanted to visit 100%, but they want a single-payer system and the
:10:16. > :10:20.American people do not want a system. They want patient centred
:10:21. > :10:26.health care where they, the individual, can make those decisions
:10:27. > :10:29.with their physicians. Congresswoman, the public and have
:10:30. > :10:32.had seven years to come up with a plan to repeal the bill. They have
:10:33. > :10:35.been speaking about it for that long. Why is it that difficult for
:10:36. > :10:41.you? Why did you not have the plan ready to go? We had any part of that
:10:42. > :10:47.plan ready to go. Indeed, we had over 100 bills that were available.
:10:48. > :10:51.We had amended the Affordable Care Act 54 times, and you get to a point
:10:52. > :10:59.where they health care marketplace is imploding, so you do have to, in
:11:00. > :11:06.order to work within the budget, within the constraints, you have to
:11:07. > :11:08.go in and tweak the provisions you have to. They are the same
:11:09. > :11:13.provisions we have been talking about since we were at the
:11:14. > :11:17.President's health care summit back in 2010, so you have to adjust it so
:11:18. > :11:21.that if it is within the budget framework and, yes, it takes a long
:11:22. > :11:26.time. Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, thank you for joining us.
:11:27. > :11:30.Good to be with you. Thank you. That is the point that she made there,
:11:31. > :11:34.isn't it, Katty, that if they can't get this through after seven years,
:11:35. > :11:38.seeing this would be the first thing they would do, this is what we want
:11:39. > :11:49.above all else, there are good to be huge political repercussions? Yes,
:11:50. > :11:52.and remember during the campaign this was the thing that would happen
:11:53. > :11:54.on the first day, replacing and repealing Obamacare. President Trump
:11:55. > :11:57.during the campaign sold himself as the master of the art of the deal,
:11:58. > :12:00.he was the guy who would fix this, and I think you said at one point
:12:01. > :12:03.during the campaign it would be relatively simple for him to fix
:12:04. > :12:06.this because he would be able to get Republicans to do the deal in a way
:12:07. > :12:08.nobody else had got them to do it. I think we would call this the
:12:09. > :12:11.learning curve, that the president is realising health care is very
:12:12. > :12:13.complicated, that individual members have very conjugated political
:12:14. > :12:17.calculations, and frankly if he calls the bill mean, it probably
:12:18. > :12:21.doesn't win himself very many supporters because all of those
:12:22. > :12:24.senators no wavering on signing, they will think, who will have my
:12:25. > :12:28.back? Will the president have my back if I see numbers, or will he
:12:29. > :12:33.just call it mean again? Which doesn't help me. Health care. And
:12:34. > :12:36.2018 is just around the corner. Yes, it is complicated.
:12:37. > :12:38.The nuclear disaster site at Chernobyl in Ukraine
:12:39. > :12:40.is undergoing manual radiation checks after a wave of cyber
:12:41. > :12:42.attacks in the country hit its operating systems.
:12:43. > :12:45.The country appears to be the victim of a widespread hack that's spread
:12:46. > :12:48.Government ministries, power companies, banks and airports
:12:49. > :12:50.all reporting major problems with their computer systems.
:12:51. > :12:53.And as we know by now - so interconnected is the world -
:12:54. > :12:55.that very often it quickly spreads elsewhere.
:12:56. > :12:57.We are now getting reports that major companies in the US,
:12:58. > :12:59.Netherlands, France, Norway and the UK are reporting
:13:00. > :13:11.I'm joined now by our security correspondent, Gordon Corera.
:13:12. > :13:16.I saw you in the corridor earlier furtively watching Twitter to see
:13:17. > :13:19.where it was going. What do we know? LAUGHTER
:13:20. > :13:22.Every minute you are seeing new reports about it. This one
:13:23. > :13:27.particularly seems to be spreading fast. It started in the Ukraine and
:13:28. > :13:31.at first looked like something pretty serious but pretty localised
:13:32. > :13:35.in Ukraine, where energy, banks, systems to do with the metro and the
:13:36. > :13:38.airport, had been hit, but it looked like something within Ukraine
:13:39. > :13:43.largely, but then quite largely we started to get reports further
:13:44. > :13:47.afield, the big Russian oil producing firm got hit, then we
:13:48. > :13:53.heard the port of Rotterdam was hit, and WPP, a large global advertising
:13:54. > :13:56.firm based in the UK, was hit, US pharmaceutical firm, big companies
:13:57. > :14:02.getting hit, and it was moving pretty fast. It is not yet clear,
:14:03. > :14:06.you know, quite how far and how global it will go, but certainly the
:14:07. > :14:09.speed is worrying people. It is surprising then, because when you
:14:10. > :14:12.talk about big companies, they usually a pretty good software
:14:13. > :14:16.systems that are being updated. What is the tricky thing about this? Is
:14:17. > :14:20.that this ransom were again where they demand payment? Exactly. So for
:14:21. > :14:24.people affected, their computer screen gets locked and they get a
:14:25. > :14:31.message saying we will not unlock and decrypt your data unless you pay
:14:32. > :14:35.a ransom. In this case, $300 in bitcoins into an account, bitcoins
:14:36. > :14:38.being the anonymous way of paying, supposedly. This is similar but not
:14:39. > :14:43.the same as the run somewhere attack about a month ago. This is similar
:14:44. > :14:46.but it actually looks in some ways faster and more upgraded. It is not
:14:47. > :14:50.yet clear, though, how much damage it will do, but I think we haven't
:14:51. > :14:53.got a handle yet on how many companies and countries will be
:14:54. > :14:56.affected, and how much damage it will do to them. Whether they will
:14:57. > :15:02.be able to recover quickly. It is possible this could be more serious,
:15:03. > :15:05.but it is still early days. But, Gordon, is there a risk that because
:15:06. > :15:09.some of these cyber attacks do seem to be contained, like you said not a
:15:10. > :15:12.huge amount of damage apparently from this one or the run somewhere
:15:13. > :15:16.attack last time either, is there a risk people start getting complacent
:15:17. > :15:24.-- or from the run somewhere attack last time either. It depends really
:15:25. > :15:27.on your organisation and how dependent you are on your computer
:15:28. > :15:33.systems. Do you have the back-ups to be able to deal with this. We saw in
:15:34. > :15:36.the UK in May when an number of NHS, National Health Service, trusts were
:15:37. > :15:42.hit, and were having to cancel patient operations. That is a kind
:15:43. > :15:45.of real-world consequences for a cyber attack, where they couldn't
:15:46. > :15:47.get the patient records in time for an operation and they could not
:15:48. > :15:51.schedule and properly, so you can see that when you start getting
:15:52. > :15:54.real-world consequences, not just that you can't use your computer
:15:55. > :15:58.system for an hour or your website is down, that is the kind of thing
:15:59. > :16:01.which really affect companies and institutions, so I think it will
:16:02. > :16:12.depend on how serious this is and how many are hit, but I think is
:16:13. > :16:14.another company is hit it has an impact, see, you know, CEOs and
:16:15. > :16:17.others saying, why did we get hit and others did not get hit?
:16:18. > :16:20.Sometimes it is because they have not invested enough in IT security
:16:21. > :16:22.so those questions start to cascade through and around organisations,
:16:23. > :16:28.why some are getting hit and not others. Interesting. Gordon, for the
:16:29. > :16:32.moment, thank you. Christian, we are in the wrong business. We need to be
:16:33. > :16:37.in the cyber security business! Yes, mass of money. Massive growth
:16:38. > :16:40.industry. If you type "Google and competition
:16:41. > :16:43.law" into your browser this evening, you will see the American tech
:16:44. > :16:46.company has been hit with a record 2.4 billion euro fine
:16:47. > :16:48.by the European Union. There's also a good chance,
:16:49. > :16:50.you will be viewing that story through Google search,
:16:51. > :16:52.perhaps on a Google browser, maybe even on a phone or computer
:16:53. > :16:55.that is running Google's It photographs our streets,
:16:56. > :17:01.it's building our future cars, it has extraordinary access
:17:02. > :17:03.to our personal information And the European Commission believes
:17:04. > :17:07.the company is rigging online shopping searches
:17:08. > :17:09.by promoting its own shopping It's the giant which dominates
:17:10. > :17:15.online search, and now it's been hit with a record fine,
:17:16. > :17:18.over ?2 billion, after rivals claimed that Google had
:17:19. > :17:20.trampled on their business. The fine was imposed by Europe's
:17:21. > :17:22.competition commissioner, gaining a reputation for taking
:17:23. > :17:24.an powerful American Google has abused its market
:17:25. > :17:35.dominance as a search engine by giving illegal advantages
:17:36. > :17:36.to other Google products, The charges that it uses search
:17:37. > :17:46.engine might to favour its own Right at the top appears the Google
:17:47. > :18:00.box with a series of adverts. If I click on these,
:18:01. > :18:02.Google earns money. What you are not seeing
:18:03. > :18:04.prominently - in fact, way down, out of sight -
:18:05. > :18:07.are rival price comparison sites. They are not getting the clicks
:18:08. > :18:14.and not earning the money. One of those rivals
:18:15. > :18:16.says that today's fine One of those rivals, Kelkoo,
:18:17. > :18:22.says that today's fine Without competition,
:18:23. > :18:24.Google can charge merchants With competition, you end up
:18:25. > :18:28.with lots of people like ourselves, companies, competing on prices
:18:29. > :18:30.which brings the price down. But Google says big rivals
:18:31. > :18:33.like Amazon provide plenty of competition when it comes
:18:34. > :18:35.to choosing products, and Brussels doesn't understand
:18:36. > :18:46.the modern consumer. Get your products on Google, other
:18:47. > :19:03.sites, and with mobile shoppers... And there is wider concern
:19:04. > :19:05.in the United States at what some see as interference
:19:06. > :19:07.in a ground-breaking company. A former adviser to three presidents
:19:08. > :19:10.says consumers won't benefit. This could lead to, essentially,
:19:11. > :19:12.too big to innovate. If you are so big, you be
:19:13. > :19:14.careful about innovating, because you could bring down
:19:15. > :19:17.the raft of the European Commission on you and pay large amounts
:19:18. > :19:20.of money to the European treasury. For more than a decade
:19:21. > :19:27.the European Commission has been taking on the American technology
:19:28. > :19:30.giants and today it makes clear that its battle against what it sees
:19:31. > :19:32.as unfair competition will continue. We're joined here in the studio
:19:33. > :19:45.by Ana-Rita Rego who is the London managing editor of market
:19:46. > :19:58.insight publication MLEX. Welcome to the studio. Thanks for
:19:59. > :20:03.coming. This is a company that can move it servers, regional officers,
:20:04. > :20:07.wherever it wants, so perhaps the most pressing argument here is that
:20:08. > :20:11.there are few governments in the world, and perhaps the EU is only
:20:12. > :20:15.sort of body, who could do it? So good we in this case. The UK is very
:20:16. > :20:21.well positioned because Google has operations in several of those
:20:22. > :20:24.countries and they have oversight and competition matters. People are
:20:25. > :20:28.saying, good people just move away from the EU? It can't because it has
:20:29. > :20:32.services here and wants to sell its services in Europe and for that
:20:33. > :20:39.reason has to comply with the European competition laws. Ana-Rita,
:20:40. > :20:42.it is Katty in Washington. I have to say sitting on this side of the
:20:43. > :20:46.Atlantic it looks increasingly like European jealousy on American
:20:47. > :20:49.innovation. The Europeans have not managed to come up with big search
:20:50. > :20:53.engines themselves and they're taking about an European companies?
:20:54. > :20:58.There are several US companies behind these complaint and that have
:20:59. > :21:01.welcomed the European Commission's decision, so it is not... It's just
:21:02. > :21:10.an opinion, like any other. At the same time the European Commission
:21:11. > :21:15.has fined European companies billions of euros as well. Recently
:21:16. > :21:20.there was a decision in the trucking industry, so many would contest that
:21:21. > :21:25.bias against US firms. Something we were seeing this morning in our
:21:26. > :21:30.meeting here, actually when you go surfing on Google for a product, you
:21:31. > :21:32.do also, if you are a smart online shopper, you look at Amazon, or you
:21:33. > :21:39.might look at eBay, so you don't confine yourself to Google, do you?
:21:40. > :21:43.That is part of Google's argument, look at Amazon, eBay, they are doing
:21:44. > :21:47.very well on this shopping sector of the market. They are my competitors
:21:48. > :21:52.as well. So Google is trying to dissolve its position in that market
:21:53. > :21:58.and join to the commission that its conduct is not hampering any rivals.
:21:59. > :22:02.And perhaps more from the others, because there may be a president set
:22:03. > :22:05.location? That remains to be seen. Companies are a bit tetchy about
:22:06. > :22:11.involving themselves in theirs' fears, but we will see. OK, Ana-Rita
:22:12. > :22:17., thank you much. Katty, the one thing we know about Donald Trump...
:22:18. > :22:18.He does follow the poll numbers, and I know that because I follow his
:22:19. > :22:26.Twitter feed. I am not too sure he is going
:22:27. > :22:29.to like the latest results They have surveyed
:22:30. > :22:35.people in 37 countries - Donald Trump travels like an
:22:36. > :22:39.American president and has the powers of an American president.
:22:40. > :22:45.What he does not seem to have is the world's respect. According to the
:22:46. > :22:48.nonpartisan Pew Research Centre, only 22% of people surveyed in 37
:22:49. > :22:52.countries have confidence in Mr Trump will do the right thing for
:22:53. > :22:58.the world. 64% felt the same about President Obama when he left office.
:22:59. > :23:00.It's not even close. Compare to develop world leaders Mr Trump comes
:23:01. > :23:15.last in terms of global confidence. He falls behind Germany's Angela
:23:16. > :23:17.Merkel, the Chinese president, and even Vladimir Putin, a full 5%
:23:18. > :23:19.behind the Russian leader. Part of this is personal, and parties
:23:20. > :23:22.policy. Let's start with the politics. Of three of his major
:23:23. > :23:23.initiatives, more than 70% of those surveyed disapproved. Those include
:23:24. > :23:26.withdrawing from international climate initiatives, and trade
:23:27. > :23:31.deals, and building that famous wall. Then there is the personal.
:23:32. > :23:35.Three quarters of those surveyed found him arrogant. More than 60%
:23:36. > :23:41.think he is intolerant, even dangerous. On the upside, more than
:23:42. > :23:45.half described Mr Trump is a strong leader, and quite a few found him
:23:46. > :23:50.charismatic. But then there is the broader question. Do his American
:23:51. > :23:53.supporters care about any of this? Perhaps it is exactly what America
:23:54. > :24:00.First is all about, not minding what the world thinks of you. For them,
:24:01. > :24:04.this could be a validation that President Trump is getting it
:24:05. > :24:07.exactly right. STUDIO: It is interesting he is
:24:08. > :24:10.behind President Putin. I would have thought he would have done better
:24:11. > :24:15.than him. There we are. Your last point is true. It is not about
:24:16. > :24:20.making Frans great again, is it? It is about making America great, so
:24:21. > :24:24.probably his base does not care in the slightest -- it is not about
:24:25. > :24:30.making France great again. Yes, I remember doing the 2004 campaign,
:24:31. > :24:34.when he was running for real action, and there was that big spike in
:24:35. > :24:38.feeling because of Iraq, and I remember people in Europe saying,
:24:39. > :24:41.surely this will cost President Bush the re-election, because of the
:24:42. > :24:46.world does not like America it will affect American voters, but quite
:24:47. > :24:50.the contrary. President Bush's supporters felt that if the world
:24:51. > :24:53.and not like him he must not be doing something wrong. So don't
:24:54. > :24:58.underestimate that, if the capacity does not have the liking of other
:24:59. > :25:02.countries, it is not any bad thing. The tricky thing is, though, I
:25:03. > :25:05.suppose, looking from the outside in, there is so much inconsistency,
:25:06. > :25:14.and I suppose he and his allies don't know whether he is coming or
:25:15. > :25:18.going, Nato, in or out, that kind of inconsistency irritates outside
:25:19. > :25:21.world. We have spoken about this before. Particularly European allies
:25:22. > :25:24.who don't know which member of the administration really speaks for the
:25:25. > :25:27.administration, whether President Trump says one thing about Nato,
:25:28. > :25:30.then we'll see something else the next day, and that makes it very
:25:31. > :25:35.hard for countries to make positives of the factors they have to deal
:25:36. > :25:38.with America, the biggest country, military, mark in the world, they
:25:39. > :25:45.have to deal with President Trump, and so do we. Which is why we're
:25:46. > :25:50.here. You're watching 100 Days Plus. Still to come... Nicola Sturgeon's
:25:51. > :25:53.SNP lost 21 seats in the general election, and we look at what that
:25:54. > :25:57.means for an independence referendum and Brexit. Plus... The Royal
:25:58. > :26:00.household has been given a raise. We look at where the Queen's money is
:26:01. > :26:11.being spent. All still to come on 100 Days Plus.
:26:12. > :26:19.Good evening. The weather is a fickle business. We have gone from
:26:20. > :26:23.summer scorcher to a cloudy drizzly day over. Some heavy sharp showers
:26:24. > :26:27.developing in the south-east corner, some with rumbles of thunder. It is
:26:28. > :26:31.this cloud and outbreaks of rain drifting northwards overnight.
:26:32. > :26:35.Keeping a few showers into Scotland, but it is a pretty wet picture
:26:36. > :26:38.across England and Wales. That is how we stuck our day on Wednesday,
:26:39. > :26:43.the best of the weather on Wednesday will perhaps be up in the far north
:26:44. > :26:48.through much of Scotland, where it will stay dry. Not particularly
:26:49. > :26:50.warm. And breaks of rain into Northern Ireland, the Scottish
:26:51. > :26:54.Borders, down into England and Wales and the south-west. Slow improvement
:26:55. > :26:59.into the south-east corner. Highest values here 20 degrees, but all
:27:00. > :27:01.changed yet again on Thursday as that area of low pressure drifts
:27:02. > :27:06.further north bringing some heavy rain into Scotland and gale force
:27:07. > :27:07.gusts of wind further south, somewhat quieter for at least a day.
:27:08. > :30:09.Take care. Welcome back to One
:30:10. > :30:15.Hundred Days Plus. The White House puts
:30:16. > :30:20.Syria's President Assad on warning: it says he'll pay a heavy price
:30:21. > :30:34.if he launches another This was a clear declaration from
:30:35. > :30:35.the US that they are prepared to respond to the Syrian regime the way
:30:36. > :30:37.they responded before. Computer systems around
:30:38. > :30:39.the world have been hit It's thought to have exploited
:30:40. > :30:43.the same weaknesses used by last Per capita - Qatar is the richest
:30:44. > :30:56.country in the world. But for three weeks it has
:30:57. > :30:58.been treated as a pariah by its closest neighbours
:30:59. > :31:01.and it is feeling the effects. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain
:31:02. > :31:03.have all cut off air, land and sea links with Qatar,
:31:04. > :31:06.accusing the small gas rich state of supporting regional terrorism
:31:07. > :31:10.and opening up to their arch-rival - The Qatari government received
:31:11. > :31:14.a list of conditions from Saudi Arabia last week,
:31:15. > :31:16.and included in the list was a demand they close down
:31:17. > :31:19.the TV network Al Jazeera. The US Secretary of State Rex
:31:20. > :31:21.Tillerson has called for a diplomatic solution,
:31:22. > :31:24.today he has been holding meetings Our State Department correspondent
:31:25. > :31:41.Barbara Plett Usher joins now. We are getting mixed signals from
:31:42. > :31:44.the American administration but President Trump has tweeted that
:31:45. > :31:48.Qatar have been financers of terrorism and then Rex Tillerson
:31:49. > :31:54.saying the other Gulf countries need to make reasonable demands. Where
:31:55. > :31:57.does Qatar stand with regard to America? A good question because you
:31:58. > :32:02.get different signals from the White House and State Department. The
:32:03. > :32:05.White House has seemed to be siding with the Saudis on this and the
:32:06. > :32:11.State Department trying to be more neutral and de-escalate the
:32:12. > :32:15.situation. So it is Rex Tillerson meeting with foreign ministers and
:32:16. > :32:18.discussing quite closely with various parties and trying to get
:32:19. > :32:24.them to come to some kind of solution. He has actually taken some
:32:25. > :32:30.sharp stands on Qatar, on their side. He said that the Gulf states
:32:31. > :32:35.admitted be reasonable and then he said it would be difficult for Qatar
:32:36. > :32:40.but find something that you can talk about. And today in the meeting with
:32:41. > :32:45.the Foreign Minister from Cava, he is going to try to press the US to
:32:46. > :32:48.take a more active role in backing them in their dispute. The Minister
:32:49. > :32:52.latched onto those words that Rex Tillerson used and said the demands
:32:53. > :32:55.were not in fact reasonable. America has quite a stake in this because
:32:56. > :32:59.they're trying to forge a closer relationship with Saudi Arabia but
:33:00. > :33:05.also have a big military base in Doha. So how do the act in the
:33:06. > :33:08.middle of this as an honest broker? What is interesting is the way the
:33:09. > :33:13.Americans are behind the scenes on this. As you said they have a lot at
:33:14. > :33:18.stake, they key allies in fighting the war on terrorism as each others
:33:19. > :33:22.throats, and they have this big base in Caparo which has been isolated by
:33:23. > :33:26.the others. And then last week you have the White House spokesman
:33:27. > :33:30.saying we think it is a family issue that they can sort out by
:33:31. > :33:34.themselves. Without the Americans trying to fix it. You have Rex
:33:35. > :33:39.Tillerson in the background trying to fix it with that meeting today
:33:40. > :33:43.with the Foreign Minister of Qatar. We know that the Saudi Foreign
:33:44. > :33:46.Minister is in town. My sense is he's going to see how things go
:33:47. > :33:51.through the week, what develops, whether these groups can find some
:33:52. > :33:55.manoeuvrability to find a solution and if by Friday, the deadline, they
:33:56. > :33:58.have not, we will see them if he takes a more public and active role.
:33:59. > :34:00.Thank you for the moment. Perhaps the only crumb of comfort
:34:01. > :34:02.the British Prime Minister takes from the recent election,
:34:03. > :34:05.is that north of the border it has put the First Minister,
:34:06. > :34:08.Nichola Sturgeon, on the back foot. In Scotland the campaign was fought
:34:09. > :34:10.largely on independence. Ms Sturgeon was pushing for another
:34:11. > :34:13.referendum by the spring of 2019 before the Brexit negotiation
:34:14. > :34:14.has been completed. Trouble is, she lost 21 of the SNP's
:34:15. > :34:17.56 seats at Westminster. So today - taking into
:34:18. > :34:19.account public opinion - Ms Sturgeon informed the Scottish
:34:20. > :34:21.parliament she is re-setting her timetable -
:34:22. > :34:41.she is delaying the legislation We will not seek to introduce the
:34:42. > :34:47.legislation for an independence referendum immediately. Instead we
:34:48. > :34:51.will in good faith redouble our efforts and put our shoulder to the
:34:52. > :34:53.wheel in seeking to influence the Brexit talks in a way that protects
:34:54. > :34:54.the interests of Scotland. Ian Blackford is the SNP
:34:55. > :34:56.leader in the House I spoke to him earlier and asked him
:34:57. > :35:08.why Nicola Sturgeon had We recognise there is an opportunity
:35:09. > :35:12.now to protect the interests of the people of Scotland and all the
:35:13. > :35:16.people of the rest of the UK, arguing that we must retain access
:35:17. > :35:21.to the single market and the customs union. That is going to be an
:35:22. > :35:26.important short-term priority. A desire for the Scottish referendum
:35:27. > :35:29.on independence was based on the probability that Scotland was going
:35:30. > :35:33.to be dragged out of Europe and the single market against its will. What
:35:34. > :35:37.we now have said is we will seek to protect the interests of the people
:35:38. > :35:41.of Scotland, we have retained the commitment we have two referendum on
:35:42. > :35:48.Scottish independence at the end of the Brexit process. If we're not in
:35:49. > :35:53.a position... When would that be, 2021? We're saying the Brexit
:35:54. > :35:59.process should be known by 2019. I think is important but the people of
:36:00. > :36:03.Scotland will be asked to vote on the deal on the table at that time.
:36:04. > :36:07.It is important that we retain the opportunity to give the people
:36:08. > :36:11.Scotland their said that point. So when would that be, two years after
:36:12. > :36:15.Brexit question of what we've said is we will put on hold the process
:36:16. > :36:20.of a bill to the Scottish Parliament that would enable that for now. But
:36:21. > :36:24.when the Brexit deal with them we can look at the timetable Ben for a
:36:25. > :36:28.referendum on Scottish independence if required. The important thing is
:36:29. > :36:32.we have a mandate from the people Scotland last year from the Scottish
:36:33. > :36:35.election result and so what we need to make sure is that people Scotland
:36:36. > :36:40.recognise they have that insurance policy that if we need to do that,
:36:41. > :36:44.then we can quickly bring forward proposals for a referendum on
:36:45. > :36:47.independence. You said it is an exciting time to be in Westminster
:36:48. > :36:51.because you could forge the debate but when you look at what you want
:36:52. > :36:55.from Brexit, and where Labour and the Conservatives stand at the
:36:56. > :37:01.moment, there are not many people on your platform. Obviously we do not
:37:02. > :37:05.know what labour stand for the moment but do you see any way to
:37:06. > :37:08.join hands with them? It is a fluid situation and yes I extended the
:37:09. > :37:13.hand of friendship across the house. One of things that is important is
:37:14. > :37:18.not just the parliamentarians having their say but also the
:37:19. > :37:21.administration in Edinburgh and Cardiff and I hope there will be one
:37:22. > :37:26.soon in Belfast as well. The government must listen to the voices
:37:27. > :37:30.around the UK and there is a clear voice from those administrations
:37:31. > :37:33.that they do not want a hard Brexit. So I think there is unity of purpose
:37:34. > :37:37.that we can develop around the administration in the devolved
:37:38. > :37:44.governments but also I have spoken to a number of MPs across the
:37:45. > :37:46.chamber, Plaid Cymru, labour, Conservatives, wishing to remain
:37:47. > :37:50.within the single market. I think there is a broad church can be put
:37:51. > :37:54.together recognising that we must not come off that cliff edge. I
:37:55. > :37:58.think is important that we retain access to the single market the
:37:59. > :38:02.Prime Minister spoke about wanting to retain free trade but I would say
:38:03. > :38:05.we can do that by maintaining access to the single market.
:38:06. > :38:07.The Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is an outspoken
:38:08. > :38:10.champion of human rights - views that led to his own
:38:11. > :38:15.This week he's here in Washington promoting one of his most
:38:16. > :38:17.significant works - 176 lego brick portraits of people
:38:18. > :38:20.The installation is on display at the Hirshhorn Gallery
:38:21. > :38:27.where Jane O'Brien caught up with him.
:38:28. > :38:30.Ai Weiwei came up with the idea for Trace, a sprawling portrait
:38:31. > :38:36.project, when he was incarcerated by the Chinese authorities in 2011.
:38:37. > :38:38.He uses Lego bricks to create pixelated images of 176 people
:38:39. > :38:46.he considers to be prisoners of conscience or free activists.
:38:47. > :38:53.They have strong beliefs, they are very brave.
:38:54. > :38:55.In most circumstances they know they could lose their life.
:38:56. > :39:00.Most of the people you portray here have been in prison
:39:01. > :39:04.But some of your portraits are of people who have been
:39:05. > :39:10.How do you think visitors will react to that?
:39:11. > :39:13.For many visitors it would be a surprise.
:39:14. > :39:16.Very often we think we're living in free world, or a free society.
:39:17. > :39:31.So I include Chelsea Manning, who is so brave, for me.
:39:32. > :39:33.Like most of Ai Weiwei's works, Trace was constructed by others
:39:34. > :39:39.It was first shown on the site of the notorious prison of Alcatraz
:39:40. > :39:42.and it is transferring to Washington at the time of heightened
:39:43. > :39:44.debate about the meaning of truth in politics,
:39:45. > :39:46.fake news, and the power of social media.
:39:47. > :39:49.A medium that Ai Weiwei has mastered.
:39:50. > :39:51.What impact do you think President Donald Trump has
:39:52. > :39:58.I often heard a lot of criticism, but I also think there
:39:59. > :40:00.is a lot we want to know, how this guy really thinks.
:40:01. > :40:08.Or even the mistakes this guy can make.
:40:09. > :40:11.But the discussion is always on the surface, it is not really
:40:12. > :40:20.One portrait in particular stands out.
:40:21. > :40:26.The jailed Chinese dissident and Nobel peace laureate
:40:27. > :40:29.who as the exhibition opened, was moved from prison to hospital
:40:30. > :40:34.Ai Weiwei says he is symbolic of many others who suffer
:40:35. > :40:38.They can easily make you disappear, your lawyer cannot really defend
:40:39. > :40:43.you or your family even cannot know how you are.
:40:44. > :40:45.In some cases even after you have served your time,
:40:46. > :40:57.Audiences may not sympathise with the motives of every in Trace,
:40:58. > :41:00.the broader aim of Ai Weiwei's work is to raise questions
:41:01. > :41:03.about the nature of freedom and how it is protected
:41:04. > :41:27.Before we came on air catti told me she was speaking to Nancy Pelosi and
:41:28. > :41:30.tonight you're having dinner with Ai Weiwei. The circles you mix in!
:41:31. > :41:34.The Queen is in line for a pay rise over the next two years -
:41:35. > :41:37.one which will take her income to more than 82 million pounds,
:41:38. > :41:47.to fund her official duties - such as travel, salaries for her
:41:48. > :41:53.The money she receives from the tax purse has
:41:54. > :41:55.increased over the six years by 51 million pounds.
:41:56. > :41:58.Last year it worked out at roughly at 65
:41:59. > :42:00.pence per taxpayer per year - a figure royal aides says
:42:01. > :42:09.Imagine people would not begrudge her that because she is still very
:42:10. > :42:12.popular. Around 80% of Britons approve of the Royal Family but it
:42:13. > :42:17.is a difficult time for this to come out. Always controversial when you
:42:18. > :42:20.talk about what we call the sovereign grand, the money used to
:42:21. > :42:24.uphold the Royal Family. In particular this time when there not
:42:25. > :42:29.a of money extra money being spent on public services and of course
:42:30. > :42:35.after the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Some people obviously pick up on
:42:36. > :42:38.some of the things like for instance ?17,000 that Prince Charles had
:42:39. > :42:47.spent on flights between his two hands on a private jet. Those kind
:42:48. > :42:52.of thing standing out. Doors on the Orangery. But also what they bring
:42:53. > :42:57.into the country, around ?500 million that comes to the UK as a
:42:58. > :43:02.result of the Royal Family and about one in six foreign visitors owing to
:43:03. > :43:06.a Paracel Castle. So they bring money in as well. Defence will you
:43:07. > :43:07.stand on the issue. --