14/02/2017 Outside Source

Let's look through some of the main stories here in the BBC Newsroom.

The White House says that Donald Trump's National Security

Adviser Michael Flynn discussed nothing illegal in his contacts

with the Russian ambassador, but resigned over

There was not a legal issue but a trust issue.

Now, the Trump administrations ties to Russia are once

We're also looking at Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel's leader meets with Donald Trump on Wednesday.

So, what's on the agenda, and how could it shape

Lance Armstrong is being hit by $100 million lawsuit.

Donald Trump is not happy with the media coverage of the resignation of

Michael Flynn. On twitter, he says: Leaks are one story but not the only

one. Michael Flynn's resignation is centre stage at the moment in the US

media. He had to go because of a conversation with the Russian

ambassador before the end of the Obama administration, and the

allegation is that sanctions against Russia were discussed. We have this

report. Day 25 in the first casualty

of a Trump White House scandal. Michael Flynn, a retired

US Army three star general is no stranger

to controversy. In 2014, President Obama

fired him because of his Flynn said it is rational

for Americans to fear Muslims and called the Islamic

world and epic failure. Before the election,

the general made his views Radical Islamism is like

communism or Nazism. We are facing it right

now, it is for real and we have seen it

expand around the globe. He was one of the first and only

senior national security Former director of the

defence intelligence At the Republican

national convention, red-blooded speeches,

criticising Hillary Clinton. If I did a tenth of what she did,

I would be in jail He hosted conspiracy theories

on social media and compared Clinton to the Al-Qaeda militants

in Iraq and Afghanistan. But what finally pushed him

out was his too cosy General Flynn lied about his

pre-inauguration discussions with And then he put the vice

president in the awkward position of also lying

on national television. Never a great way

to protect your job. The story of Michael Flynn

suggests confusion Over the weekend,

the president said he knew His top policy adviser

declined to say the boss still backed Flynn and then hours

before he was kicked out, trump counsellor Kellyanne

Conway said this... He does it enjoyed a full

confidence of this President's Mac this is a story of national

security, this President's curious relationship with Russia and what it

means for America. Well, it's been interesting to note

the reaction to the story in Russia. The Kremlin's spokesperson had

previously denied that TRANSLATION: We don't want to

comment on this in any way. These are internal matters of the

Americans. These are internal matters of President Trump's

Administration. This is not our concern. Regarding this matter, we

have commented on this several times, answering your question come

and have nothing to add at the moment.

That was mild compared to some Russian politicians.

Alexei Pushkov, head of the Foreign Affairs Committee -

@Alexey-Pushkov "the target is not Flynn, it is relations with Russia."

And this from another MP on his facebook page.

He says: "Russophobia might have infected the new administration."

Here's Olga Ivshina from BBC Russian.

It's interesting to see that, you know, the Foreign Ministry, for

example, they are not commenting on what is happening. The usual media

figures are commenting. MPs and them in the upper chamber of the Russian

parliament, they are usual. The people who do foreign policy at the

moment are keeping quiet. That may be a hint that the Moscow

administration is trying to figure out what is going on, because there

are conflicting messages coming from the Trump Administration, so they

are reading the signs and waiting for new signs to come. Did they see

Mr Flynn as a useful bridge into the Trump Administration? We don't know,

but it seems he was an important bridge because he has been appearing

on RTE for a while -- RT for a while. It feels as though it is an

important thing for Moscow, and I think they wish they had such a man

who could connect them. On the other hand, union now that's right you

know, they are waiting for a sign from the Trump Administration. There

is a lot of uncertainty, and Putin is trying to calculate the outcomes.

He has some trump cards and he is waiting for Trump to do his bit.

Lance Armstrong has lost a bid to block a $100 million

lawsuit filed against him by the US government.

Let's bring in the BBC's Tim Hague. Why are they going after him? Good

evening. This just began over format years ago when Armstrong was

stripped of his Tour de France titles and was banned from competing

for life. When he can -- confessed to doping, six of those seven yellow

jerseys was sponsored by the US Postal Service. Armstrong ran into

trouble because the US Postal Service is a public body, and

because he admitted to cheating, they are obliged to try to recover

some of the many millions they spent on sponsorship. Armstrong has fought

for years to keep this out of the courts, but what happened today is a

federal judge refused his attempts to block it, so the $100 million

lawsuit will now go to trial. Where does Floyd Landis fit into this,

another man who was stripped of a Tour de France title for cheating?

He is going after Lance Armstrong as well, right? He denied for years

that he doped, and then finally admitted it. Because he blew the

whistle on Armstrong, he can possibly benefit by a certain

percentage of this lawsuit, between 15 and 25% of a $100 million

lawsuit, do the maths, could be a very nice income indeed. And give us

an update on the Champions League. You would think it is

run-of-the-mill. Tit games -- two games. 4-0 between Paris N'Djamena

and Barcelona. -- Paris St Germain. You'd have to say that the five-time

winners need to look out. If any team can come back from 4-0, you

would suspect it would be Barcelona at home. Borussia Dortmund were

beaten by Benfica. That is quite something, Barcelona losing 4-0 to

PSG. You can follow that on the sport page.

If you watched Wimbledon last year, you may remember a British guy

called Marcus Willis playing Roger Federer.

At the time Willis was ranked 772 in the world.

Well, he's up to 445, but it's still a tough slog at that level.

It's not grand on the outside, unlike Wimbledon, there are no

queues to get in, just a polite notice to say that spectators are

welcome. The shrews beat club hosted a star Wimbledon 2016 today. Marcus

Willis was today's main attraction, and he drew a small crowd. It was a

big story, and I have got a lot of support, which is awesome.

Ultimately, I have to go out there and win tennis matches. I want to

make Wimbledon more frequent, not just a one-off. At Wimbledon last

year, ranked 772 in the world, Willis created headlines by coming

through qualifying to play Roger Federer on Centre Court.

COMMENTATOR: Yes! His world ranking is now 445 but he wants to be higher

still. His wife Jenny was watching on. They are expecting a baby

daughter in four weeks. That spurs me on. Through the year, I will make

it happen. I have a lot of belief in myself. My wife is very supportive,

I have great people supporting me. In that sense, I am happy. I have

got a reason to succeed now. At this level of tennis, every pound of

prize is hard earned. -- prize-money. The total prize money

this week is $15,000, which means the winner only gets ?1600. It is

tough to make a living. 26-year-old Willis was all was in charge of

today's match, winning in straight sets up this -- straight sets. Put

this was an Wimbledon but a small step in the right direction.

A fight between the biggest name in Mixed Martial Arts,

Conor McGregor, and the in-theory retired Floyd Mayweather continues

According to the Irish Sun, the camps have agreed terms.

This would be boxing, by the way - Mayweather is not going

All sorts of hurdles - McGregor being contracted

McGregor having never had a pro boxing bout.

Australian cricketer Adam Voges has retired from Test Cricket.

He's not one of cricket's big names, but this is worthy of a mention.

He'll retire after over 30 Tests, and finishes with

That's the second highest of any Test player.

Top of that list - out of sight and over the horizon -

More sport on the BBC sport app. Benjamin Netanyahu is heading to

Washington on Wednesday. We will look at what is on the agenda.

The father of a British soldier killed in Iraq in 2007 has

criticised proposals by the Government to scrap the legal

duty of care to service personnel in combat.

How old was he when he first after playing the drums? About nine or

ten. In 20 put-mac 2007,... : Fought a six-year legal

battle against the Ministry of Defence, eventually winning the

right at the Supreme Court to bring an action against the Government

under human rights law. The MoD's new proposals cover battle and the

preparations for it and include stopping legal claims for negligence

against the MoD in the courts, a no-fault compensation scheme for

forces personnel. Assessors to decide the value of injuries and

loss. Nobody disputed is a really good idea for service personnel

injured in the course of combat and the families of those who have been

killed to be spared long and frustratingly legal battles through

the courts, but there are real concerns about the Ministry of

Defence scrapping the duty of care that it owes to soldiers. Fire

Brigade, the police, the Ambulance Service - they'll have to go out

with equipment that works, and the right equipment. The same should be

the case for a soldier. The lawyers worry that bypassing the courts

creates unfairness. You have suffered injury, you think that the

MoD is at fault, and yet you are asked to rely upon the MoD to assess

the compensation that it should pay you for the damage it has caused.

That's not right. But the MoD and Defence Secretary remain convinced

of the need for change. We are consulting on a way of getting them

faster and better compensation so that if the ministry has done

something wrong with a piece of equipment, they don't have to spend

years suing us through the courts. The MoD's consultation on its

proposals ends in just over a week. Colin Redpath hopes that for the

injured and families of the fallen, the new system ensures maximum

safety and fairness. Clive Coleman, BBC News.

This is Outside Source live from the BBC newsroom.

The White House says that Donald Trump's National Security Adviser,

Michael Flynn, discussed nothing illegal in his contacts

with the Russian ambassador but resigned over

That is related to his description of those conversations to vice

president Mike Pence. This is Venezuela's Vice President,

Tareck El Aissami. The US thinks he's

an international drug trafficker This chart on the US Treasury

website outlines companies and assets that he owns

and which have been frozen It also highlights this man -

Samark Lopez - a wealthy businessman and associate,

who's accused of Mr Lopez' website says:

"The listing provides no factual evidence or legal justification

as to why Samark Lopez should be "The listing appears to be

politically motivated." No comment so far from

the Vice President. Earlier, I spoke with

the BBC's Yolanda Valery. There had been a number of

high-ranking officials named in a number of different investigations.

Tareck El Aissami came up in 2011, when drug dealers, so he has been

convicted for drug dealing. It is alleged that a large amount of money

was paid to Tareck El Aissami for allowing the passing of drugs

through the country, so it is not the first time his name has come up.

The Government denies he is involved in wrongdoing. How powerful is he in

Venezuela? He has been named as the successor of Nicolas Majuro. --

Nicholas Maduro. He is likely to be the new face, Tareck El Aissami.

Will this announcement that he will be sanctioned have a political

impact inside Venezuela? It is another episode where the Government

is going to be saying that it is the United States trying to do as wrong,

trying to bring back the revolution -- bring down the revolution.

Normally when we talk, we talk about the economic pressures on

Venezuelan. Are they easing at all? Not really. Even if oil prices go

up, analysts are saying there is very little that can contribute to

an improvement of the situation in the country, because it is so bad

and so structural that it is really hard to see a way out of it.

The last time these two men met, Donald Trump was still

This was taken in New York in September.

On Wednesday, the two men meet again.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister,

@netanyahu: "Flying now to DC to meet

The alliance between the US and Israel has always been strong

Here's Barbara Plett-Usher on what we should expect.

Here are the four priorities. This is a chance to reset American-

Israeli relations at the top. Obama did not get on well with Netanyahu,

but now: He has always been strong and I admire him. Donald Trump has

been declaring himself as pro-Israel, so prepare for mutual

admiration. I want to speak to Donald Trump about the Iranians

regime. Both leaders are fierce critics of Obama's deal to cart

around's nuclear programme. It is a very bad deal. Yaw it is the worst

deal I have ever seen negotiated. Netanyahu wants to scrap the

agreement, but Trump is likely to take an overall hardened line. Then

there is the battle against so-called Islamic State. Trump has

vowed to crush the group in Syria. Benjamin Netanyahu is all for that

but does not want any of this to spill over Israel's shared border

with Syria, plus Israel may want help to foster a covert cooperation

with some Arab countries on counterterrorism and a shared desire

to counter Iran. Finally, the hot ticket question: Trump's policy of

appeasement the Palestinians. He wants to know Benjamin Netanyahu's

plan. He is still forming his own, and it seems to stray from bedrock

US positions, which are: Support for a Palestinian state and opposition

to settlements built on Israeli-occupied lands. Trump has

been cautiously running back. We don't believe that the existence of

current settlements is an impediment to please, but the expansion of

existing settlements beyond Borders will not be helpful moving forward.

Soap Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking a better read on Trump's decisions.

Campaign promises are one thing, complicated realities are another,

especially of the president is a businessman who holds a hope of

having a peace deal. Disney has cut ties with the highest

paid of all Youtubers. Felix Shellberg - or PewDiePie,

as everyone knows him - is accused of including Nazi references

and anti-Semitic imagery. He says he's not anti-Semitic,

and the images were a joke. Mr Shellberg rose to fame

playing games on YouTube. With more than 53 million

subscribers he's the world's highest paid YouTuber,

reportedly earning ?12 million Recently, his videos have been

extremely controversial. Containing Nazi references

or anti-Semitic pictures. He asks these two boys

to hold up a sign saying, Disney cut its ties with the star,

calling the videos inappropriate. The challenge comes, his ability

to reach a massive audience. Brands at your peril work

with people like him because he is provocative, he can be

a dangerous proposition for any The 27-year-old responded by saying

he was trying to show how crazy the modern world is,

but he's in no way supporting any What does that mean

for him on YouTube? They told us he didn't

break any of their rules. However, his up-and-coming

subscription feature He's been taken off the Google

preferred list, which means top advertisers won't be posting

on his void Yeos. -- advertisers won't be

posting on his videos. You need to shout the loudest and be

the most controversial so these new broadcasters write

about what you are doing With more people heading online

to do just that, it's yet to be seen whether successful YouTubers can

remain controversial That's it for today. Thank you for

watching. I'll be back tomorrow at the same time. Goodbye.