09/01/2017 Outside Source

Hello. Welcome to Outside Source. Donald Trump is planning to keep it

in the family. He wants his son-in-law Jared Kushner to become a

senior adviser at the White House. We are starting to get details of an

operation against Islamic State in Syria. There have been protests

outside the Turkish parliament over plans to give the president more

power. We will explain his arguments and those against. We will also

update you on the cold snap in Central and Eastern Europe.

Thousands of refugees and migrants are getting caught up in this, as

well. Also, Cyprus may be on the road to unification. We will tell

you how it might work and whether it could happen.

Donald Trump is planning to appoint his son-in-law as a senior adviser.

It's expected to be announced this week. Jared Kushner is married to

his daughter if anchor Trump. America does has an antimatter that

is law. It was introduced in 1967. Evidently, Mr Trump doesn't believe

his choice contravenes this. Is that a widely held view? While it might

be unusual, it is not illegal. I wouldn't say it was widely held. A

lot of ethics lawyers have said this law covers the White House in

addition to the executive office outside the White House agencies and

Cabinet. If you look at the language, it says agency, the White

House might not be an agency. It is a grey area that the Trump team

seems to be exploiting. Jared Kushner is a real estate investor

and he may well have met a Chinese firm with close connections to the

government and they discussed a development in Manhattan. Nothing

wrong with that if you are a businessman but it gets more

competitive if you are advising the president. The same concerns have

been brought up against Donald Trump with his far-flung real estate

empire. Jared Kushner has had a lot of investments in New York and he

has to divest some of the conflict interest laws that don't apply to

Donald Trump but do apply to him. The question is whether he will do

enough to avoid these conflicts of interest. What about the process of

approving the choices Donald Trump has made. The Democratic Senate

leader is not happy with the pace of hearings. He says, ... Jamming them

into a couple of days makes no sense. They need a thorough and

thoughtful betting. Clearly, he is on the other side of the political

divide. Is it unusual the way this has been scheduled? A number of

Obama cabinet picks were confirmed on inauguration day but there is a

strategy here by the Republicans. They are going harder than past

administrations have, trying to jam a bunch of hearings into the same

day. Two tomorrow, another four on Wednesday with hopes that opponents

can't focus on one particular nominee and have them make

headlines. In fact, Donald Trump is holding his press conference on when

state and that will dominate the headlines rather than these

hearings. One of the most political websites in the US was previewing

the people Donald Trump is bringing in and it used the phrase, a motley

crew of political neophytes and would-be insiders". How would you

categorise this new establishment? It is a strange blend. To call it a

motley crew but then include literal insiders like congressmen price and

Jeff Sessions who is going to be Justice Department Attorney General,

combine them with Stephen Bannon, A conservative media personality.

Folks who have hitched their stars to Donald Trump's wagon early and

are being rewarded. It is a restructuring of power in

Washington, DC. Trump has his own people and the establishment here

will have to adjust to it. The question is whether they can adjust

to Washington. A lot of them don't know how things work here yet. We

appreciate you taking as through it. We will be talking to Anthony again

later in the sports section. In the BBC newsroom, a story is allocated

to a journalist who writes it up and files copy so different outlets,

radio, TV, digital can use the copy to inform the stories they tell. We

spotted this not long ago from Sebastian Usher. It is about the US

confirming special forces have mounted a raid against so-called

Islamic State. He is telling is that the raid was on a Sunday and in the

east of Syria. We can call our journalist right in the middle of

work. Sebastian Kehl et al is more. We have had confirmed in the past

few hours that the raid has happened. We haven't had much more

detail. The raid took place on Sunday in this area that is largely,

controlled by IS. The elite force was tasked with going after the

leaders of IS and intelligence gathering. Activists on the ground

have reported that around 25 jihadists were killed in the

operation. Others have said it is a gross exaggeration. Eyewitness

reports in the past day or so have said that the operation began on

Sunday afternoon, at least four helicopters were involved. The

special operations forces were parachuted down and they may have

intercepted a car that they believed to have IS leaders in it. There is

some dispute what happened after that. Whether it was a case of

taking out and killing those jihadists or whether some were

captured and taken away from the country. The Pentagon spokesman has

denied that anyone was taken. There has also been a source that has said

that there is a prison which may have been targeted and prisoners may

have been held by IS that have now been released. There have been very

few operations like this in the conflict. They tried one in Raqqa a

Fuser go -- a few years ago but it didn't work and those involved

either died or were executed. Officials in the USA have said that

it is usual not to make a big fuss about it but we will wait to see

what else comes out. I am surprised they have told us. I think they had

to because so much has come out. Also, in terms of PR, the US has

become a bystander in Syria having previously led from the front. The

Russians have really come to the forefront. I think the US would like

to remind Russia and the rest of the world that they are very much

involved in the battle against IS and they have suggested that the

Russians aren't as interested in that as they say they are. This will

be useful for them to make that point. Thank you for that, Sebastian

Kehl. In a few moments, we will turn to Central and Eastern Europe where

cold weather has claimed a number of lives. Thousands of refugees are, in

some cases, living in tents which is of course causing grave concern.

Here in the UK, Theresa May has set out a new strategy to improvement of

health services in England. She says it is time to bring a transformation

in attitudes towards psychiatric issues. To change the way we view

mental illness is so striving to improve mental well-being is seen as

natural, positive and good are striving to improve physical

well-being. For too long, mental nurse has been a hidden injustice in

our country, shrouded in a completely unacceptable stigma and

dangerously disregarded as a secondary issue to physical health.

Left unaddressed, destroys lives, separates people from each other and

deepens the divisions within our society. Changing this goes right to

the heart of our humanity, to the heart of the kind of country we are,

the attitudes we hold and the values we share.

Life here in the BBC newsroom. Our lead story comes from Washington.

Donald Trump is planning to appoint a son-in-law Jared Kushner as a

senior adviser to the White House. Some of the major stories from the

World Service. Israel has held the funerals of force or just killed in

a lorry attack in Jerusalem on Sunday. Israeli officials say they

believe the driver was a supporter of Islamic State. In Iran,

preparations continue for the funeral of the former president.

Thousands of people are expected to turn out. He died on Sunday at the

age of 82. It's not been much fun trying to get around London today. A

24-hour tube strike resulted in chaos for commuters. 114 of the

city's Underground stations were closed. At least 20 people have lost

their lives because of the cold in Central and Eastern Europe. Here are

the pictures that have come into the newsroom in the last few hours. This

is atrocious conditions in Serbia. Migrants are trying to get into

warehouses to shelter. Temperatures have been as low as -28 degrees in

Belgrade. In Istanbul, traffic has been snarled up, flights cancelled,

disrupting thousands of passengers and commuters. These are pictures

from the Greek island of Lesbos. They are not easy to make out under

the snow but there are lots of tents in these camps and refugees are

living in them. There are concerns for the people's welfare for those

who are having to call them hold in these conditions. This is the Red

Cross. The situation is really bad. We have double the amount of people

the islands can accommodate. People are living in, not in decent

conditions for this winter, nor in general. So, yes, they are suffering

and the situation is quite bad. These tents that the people are

living in our very much ad hoc or temporary in nature. There's not

enough space to put full containerised camps in place. The

heating itself creates problems. The fire risks when people start burning

whatever they can find to keep them warm is also an issue. They should

we moved out from the islands as soon as is in. A great deal of focus

on the forecast. The good news is the worst is past. We have to look

at the Jet stream. Fast wins six miles up in the atmosphere, a big

undulating, meandering pattern that allows warm air to get up into the

Arctic and cold air to plunge into the Mediterranean, in this case.

Over the last 24 hours, we've seen that supply of cold air cut-off. We

have a pool of cold air sat over Eastern Europe at the moment but

they by day it is going to get a little bit less cold. Time for

business, starting in Detroit where the motor show is underway.

Particular interest in where companies are making cars, all

because of Donald Trump's sharp criticism of countries investing in

Mexico. That is precisely what BMW is doing. It doesn't seem worried by

what the reaction might be. Here is one of its executives. We have

strong relationships with governments around the world. The

car industry is a global integrated industry in many countries and as a

result we have those relationships in place and this plant in Mexico

will come on stream in about 24 months from now at the start of

2019. Where we supply product to from that plant remains to be seen.

We are very flexible. It is part of global capacity rather than one that

will ultimately only supply one or two markets. It will supply many,

many markets for the three series product. BMW settled on its plans.

Free at Chrysler has some other news. Very different from BMW. Fiat

Chrysler has announced 2000 jobs here in the United States investing

$1 billion to revamp production of some of its big cars and trucks in

Ojai and Mitch Egan. That comes on the heels of the Ford announcement

last week that they are not going to be in Mexico but putting money here

in the United States. That really drew praise from President-elect of

Trump and says it is part of the reason his America first policy that

these companies are putting money in manufacturing here in the United

States. I can see some tweets about a VW executive being charged. A

momentous moment. VW had this massive emissions scandal last year.

The US Justice Department has arrested one executive. Here in the

United States. He was charged for his role in the emissions scandal.

This is really significant because it was an executive that was charged

but because the public had faced criticism during the financial

crisis for not holding executives of banks responsible for their role in

the crisis, we are seeing that the Justice Department is really going

after VW executives. Thank you very much indeed. Over the last week, we

have been reporting from the consumer Electronics show in Las

Vegas. Chinese firms have been very visible. It's fair to say that there

was a time when the reputation for Chinese firms was for copying

Western companies and producing cheap knock-offs. This is changing.

This show defines the trends for many years to come. Chinese

companies are determined to be seen as innovators and not imitators.

This began life as net flicks for China but is now diversifying into

hardware. They have moved into the US market. It is putting its brand

on everything from electric cars to smartphones. We went from not making

televisions to being the number one supplier in the US market. We are

here showcasing our North American products. Another Chinese company

building momentum, now the third biggest smartphone maker in the

world. Last year, the company was handed a gift when Samsung suffered

a setback. The disastrous note seven phone that was catching fire in

people's pockets. Was that an opportunity for you? It gave as

absolutely more opportunity to be in the markets. In the past, Chinese

companies had a reputation for dealing ideas and copying them. Is

that true? Despite the relentless optimism

there are reports that LeEco is struggling to pay its bills. And

there are some signs that it is still copying Western design. I

wouldn't actually say that. There is a lot of innovation in our products.

Western companies have found it difficult to break into China but

the reverse journey may be easier with quality design and cheaper

prices and Chinese firms providing a real challenge to the West's egg

players. -- egg players. -- big players. Ten years ago, Apple

launched the iPhone. Here it is. The shiny new iPhone unveiled here. You

can go on the Internet, use e-mail, even play film and video. Who would

queue up at 7am on the streets of San Francisco? Apple fans, that's

who. One wants to know the latest products as soon as they are

announced. The man who revived the company wasn't about to undersell

the event. We are going to make history today. Steve jobs has spent

years wondering if you could combine a phone with the iPod. Now, he has.

It is supposed to bring Apple design and computing skills to a whole new

generation. You might think it's just another new phone but Apple

fans were almost hysterical with excitement. That was our report ten

years ago. Rory has a blog post today reflecting on it, he was

worried he might have exaggerated its importance but time has proved

him right. Cyprus has been divided since 1974 but today talks started

in Geneva and they may change that. The original split was caused by

Turkey invading. The Turkish edit was in response to a coup by Greek

Cypriot nationalists. Whichever way you look at it, this is what we have

ended up with. Northern Cyprus home to Turkish Cypriots and the southern

to Greek Cypriots. There seems to be optimism this time. Here is the UN

special envoy for Cyprus. We have two leaders, one in the south and

one in the North who really want this to work. They have faced many

obstacles and still have some to face but they have demonstrated a

degree of will and leadership that we haven't seen for a long time in

the Cyprus and that is the main reason. The second reason is the

neighbours including Greece and Turkey appear to be willing to help

even more this time. I will be frank and say that I don't think everybody

will go along with them. This is dividing communities. There are

strong voices on both sides actively arguing against reunification on

nationalist grounds. But there is a real potential for these leaders,

once they have struck a deal, if we are successful here and in the

coming period, that they will be able to convince the majority it is

the right thing to do because there is also tiredness and fatigue in the

island over the internal division that most people have been

experiencing for most of their lives. Rebecca grew up in the

southern part of Cyprus. If these talks are to succeed what are the

main obstacles to overcome? The first one is territory. The endgame

is to hopefully have a federation with two states in the Cyprus. The

car is the Greek Cypriot population is a lot bigger than the Cypriot

Turkish population, there is an understanding that the Greeks would

have to gain some territory so they would have two figure out the line

where that would fall. The second issue is property. It is really

emotional. In the south of Cyprus, everybody knows families who had to

flee their land. The question of compensation for that has always

been a big sticking point. The third one is also very feeble Ryall.

30,000 Turkish troops in the north of Cyprus. The Turkish Cypriots want

them to stay, the Greek Cypriots do not. Fourth, the Turkish Cypriots

want a rotating presidency. What would happen at the end of the

Geneva part of the process? Hopefully, if the Turkish Cypriot

leader and the Greek Cypriot leader make headway on those issues, the

UK, Turkey, and Greece would join the talks. That would then go to

referendums amongst each community in Cyprus. Do people in Cyprus want

this to happen? It is very divisive. Liberals on both sides have been

trying to promote by communal ties. On both sides, you have those who

don't want it to happen. They have been accused of fear mongering.

Moderate Cypriots on both sides have real concerns. They are related to

security and what would become to Cyprus in the international order

after this. The main thing is, Cypriots have been here so many

times before. They need to wait and see what the settlement by the

before they take their decision. You can get much more background on why

Cyprus became divided and why people think it could be brought back

together on the BBC News app and website. A reminder of the lead

story, it's understood that Donald Trump intends to appoint his

son-in-law Jared Kushner as a senior adviser at the White House. Albee

back with you in a couple of minutes time. -- I will be back with you.

There's been a lot of weather happening right the way around the

world in recent days. In the southern Thailand, severe