12/04/2017 Outside Source

I'm Ross Atkins, welcome to outside source. When he became president

Donald Trump promised closer cooperation with Russia. This is how

it's going. There is a low level of trust between our countries. The

world's two foremost nuclear powers cannot have this kind of

relationship. Vladimir Putin is no more optimistic about that

relationship. On a working level especially on the military level it

has not improved. But rather has deteriorated. Will bring you the

latest from Moscow and expect a press conference from Donald Trump

and the Nato Secretary General. When that happens in Washington, you'll

see it here on outside source. We report from Germany where a man with

Islamist links has been detained in connection with that attack. On the

Borussia Dortmund team bus. Ahmadinejad has registered to stand

for president again. Stories from South Africa, North Korea and

Chechnya. If you have questions on any, you can go and e-mail, social

media, and the hashtag is BBC OS. If you thought once the Russians and

Americans got face-to-face things might improve I'm afraid you'll be

disappointed. Rex Tillerson and Sergey Lavrov held a joint press

conference a couple of hours back in Moscow. First of all, here is the

Secretary of State. Expressed the view the current state of US Russia

relations is that a low point. There is a low level of trust between our

two countries. The world's two foremost nuclear powers cannot have

this kind of relationship. We further discussed approaches to

improving our channels of communication. We had a lengthy

exchange of views regarding the situation in Syria. And shared

perspectives on possible ways forward. The Russian Foreign

Minister was a little more positive. My sense of the negotiations, with

the plethora of problems, there are quite a few perspectives for our

giant work. Russia is open for dialogue with the United States and

various areas, not only for the dialogue, but for joint action is

aimed at the result in the areas where there is common interest in

both countries. And of course we expect reciprocity from the United

States. I'm positive to date's meeting that have spanned hours with

Rex Tillerson, the two of us along with the Russian president, have

helped raise it. Rex Tillerson also met Vladimir Putin. They'd met

before, several times, when Mr Tillerson was CEO of Exxon Mobil. Mr

Tillerson has been awarded the order of friendship, the highest honour a

foreigner can receive in Russia. This is what President Putin said

before the meeting today. TRANSLATION: It's possible to say on

the level of trust on a working level, especially on the military

level, it has not improved, but rather has deteriorated. Tension, as

you'll know, has been ratcheting between Russia and the US since last

week's chemical attack Syria. They disagree on whether the Assad regime

was responsible for what happened there. Donald Trump has again

returned to that issue. Here is what he said. Frankly, we talked

chemicals, people just don't see this, the level of mortality, the

level of viciousness. When they drop barrel bombs and bombs of any kind

right on top of a civilian population, that's the worst thing,

I've never seen anything like it. And frankly Putin is backing a

person that is truly an evil person. And I think it is very bad for

Russia, I think it is a very bad for mankind, very bad for this world.

Donald Trump in an interview. His press conference with the

secretary-general of Nato has just started in Washington, DC. There it

is. I also want to acknowledge the great work being done by our

Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, to strengthen the Nato alliance, as

well as the Secretary's trip to Moscow to promote the security

interests of the United States and its allies. He did a terrific job,

just watched parts of it, did an absolutely terrific job. 68 years

ago this month, not far from where we are gathered today, President

Harry Truman spoke at the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty. In the

nearly seven decades since Harry Truman spoke those words, the Nato

alliance has been the ball work of international peace and security. --

they liberated the captive nations of the Cold War. They secured the

longest period of unbroken peace that Europe has ever known. This

enduring partnership is rooted out of so many different things. But our

common security is always number one and our common devotion to human

dignity and freedom. Since 1949 the Nato member states have more than

doubled, increasing from 12 to 28. On Monday I signed the protocol to

approve the 29th. The country of Montenegro. In the coming months and

years, I worked closely with all of our Nato allies. To enhance this

partnership, and to adapt to the challenges of the future, of which

there will be many. This includes upgrading Nato to focus on today's

most pressing security and all of its challenges, including migration

and terrorism. We must also work together to resolve the disaster

currently taking place in Syria. We are grateful for the support of Nato

members and partners in their condemnation of Assad's murderous

attack using the most horrible weapons. The most vicious slaughter

of innocent civilians with chemical weapons, including the barbaric

killing of small and helpless children and babies, must be

forcefully rejected by any nation that values human life. It is time

to end this brutal civil war, defeat terrorists, and allow refugees to

return home. In facing our common challenges, we must also ensure Nato

members meet their financial obligations and pay what they owe.

Many have not been doing that. The secretary-general and I agree other

member nations must satisfy their responsibility to contribute 2% of

GDP to defence. If other countries pay their fair share instead of

relying on the United States to make up the difference, we would all be

much more secure. And our partnership would be made that much

stronger. The secretary-general and I had a productive discussion about

what more Nato can do in the fight against terrorism. I complained

about that a long time ago and they made a change. And now they do fight

terrorism. I said it was obsolete. It's no longer obsolete. It's my

hope that Nato will take on an increased role in supporting our

Iraqi partners in their battle against Isis. I'm also sending

General McMaster to Afghanistan to find out how we can make progress

alongside our Afghan partners and Nato allies. Every generation has

strived to adopt the Nato alliance to meet the challenges of their

times. And on my visit to Brussels this spring, which I look very much

forward to, we will work together to do the same. We must not be trapped

by the tired thinking that so many have, but apply new solutions to

face new circumstances. And that is all throughout the world. We're not

here to stand on ceremony, but to develop real strategies to achieve

safety, security and peace. We're here to the freedom and prosperity

of our citizens, and to give them the future they so richly deserve.

Secretary-general, I'm honoured to have you here today, and to reaffirm

our commitment to this alliance, and to be injuring values that we

proudly, and I mean very proudly, share. Thank you very much, thank

you for being here. Thank you. Thank you so much Mr President. We just

had an excellent and very productive meeting, it's really an honour to

meet you for the first time here in the White House. We agree that Nato

is a bedrock of security, both for Europe and for the United States.

Raw world wars and a Cold War have taught us all that peace in Europe

is not only important for Europeans but is also important for the

prosperity and security of North America. So, a strong note to -- a

strong Nato is good for Europe, but it's also good for the United

States. Therefore, I welcome the very strong commitment of the United

States to the security of Europe. We see this commitment not only in

words, but also indeed. Over the past months, thousands of US troops

have been deploying to Europe. A clear demonstration that America

stands with allies to protect peace and defend our freedom. And

yesterday you announced the completion of the ratification of

Montenegro's membership in Nato, another expression of your strong

commitment to Europe and the transatlantic bond and we thank you

for that. In a more dangerous and more unpredictable world, it is

important to have friends and allies. And in Nato, America has the

best friends and the best allies in the world. Together, we represent

half of the world's economic and military power. No other superpower

has ever had such a strategic advantage. This makes united states

stronger and safer. We saw that after the 9-11 attacks on the United

States. That was the first time Nato invoked Article five. Allies sent

surveillance planes to help patrol American skies. And be launched

Nato's biggest military operation ever in Afghanistan. Hundreds of

thousands of Europeans and Canadian soldiers have served shoulder to

shoulder with American troops. More than 1000 have paid the ultimate

price. Earlier today, I laid a wreath at Arlington National

Cemetery in tribute to the fallen. It was a deeply moving experience.

We owe it to our service men and women to preserve the hard earned

games we made together in Afghanistan. We were reminded of

their sacrifice just this week when a US soldier was killed there

fighting Isil. Our mission in Afghanistan is a major contribution

to the fight against international terrorism. Nato plays a key role in

many other ways also. All Nato allies are part of the global

coalition to counter Isil. Nato provides direct support to the

coalition with training for Iraqi forces in the fight against

terrorists, and more intelligence sharing. You are right, we have

established a new division for intelligence which enhances our

ability to fight terrorism, and working together in the alliance to

fight terrorism in eight more effective way. -- in an even more

effective way. Nato can and must do more in the global fight against

terrorism. In the fight against terrorism, training local forces is

one of the best weapons we have. Nato has the experience, the

expertise, and the staying power, to make a real difference. And fighting

terrorism will be an important topic when Nato leaders meet in Brussels

in May. The other major topic will be fair burden sharing. We had a

thorough discussion on this issue today. Mr President, I thank you for

your attention to this issue. We are already seeing the effect of your

strong focus on the importance of burden sharing in the alliance. We

agree that allies need to redouble their efforts to meet the pledge we

all made in 2014 to invest more in our alliance. It is about spending

more on defence, it is about delivering the capabilities we need,

and it is about contributing forces to Nato missions and operations.

This means capabilities and contributions. Fair burden sharing

has been my top priority since taking office. We have now turned a

corner. In 2016, for the first time in many years, we saw an increase in

defence spending across European allies and Canada. A real increase

of 3.8%, $10 billion more for our defence. We're now working to keep

up the momentum, including by developing national plans outlining

how to make good on what we agreed in 2014. We all know we need to

contribute our fair share, because we need to keep our nation safe in a

more dangerous world. We discussed many different topics during our

meeting today, including the Hugh renders use of chemical weapons in

Syria. -- the horrendous use of chemical weapons. It is

unacceptable, cannot go unanswered, and those responsible must be held

accountable. So, Mr President, thank you once again, I look forward to

working with you to keeping the alliance strong, and I look forward

to welcoming you to Brussels in May when heads of state and the Alliance

meet to address the challenges and the need to continue to adapt the

alliance to a more challenging security environment and to respond

to the need for Sarah burden sharing and stepping up our efforts to fight

international terrorism. -- for fairer burden sharing. Couple of

questions. Jeff Mason? Thank you Mr President, I'd like to ask about two

topics if I may. First, as your view of Vladimir Putin changed after what

has happened in Syria? And what is the United States prepared to do if

he continues to sport Assad? A separate question. Have you made a

deal after your chat last night with the president of China about China

helping to rein in North Korea, and is it one reason you've decided not

to label Beijing a currency manipulator. I'll be speaking to...

Yeah, you want to go ahead? Secretary General, do you believe

Nato should continue to bolster its presence along the alliance eastern

border and are you confident you have President Trump and the United

States support for that? I'll be speaking with Rex Tillerson in a

little while, calling in. I think he had a very successful meeting in

Russia. We'll see, we'll see the end result, which will be in a long

period of time perhaps. But the end result is what is most important,

not just talk. I think based on everything I'm hearing things went

pretty well, maybe better than into speeded. -- better than anticipated.

It would be wonderful, as we were discussing a little while ago, if

Nato and our country could get along with Russia. Right now we're not

getting on with Russia at all, we may be at an all-time low in terms

of relationship with Russia. This is built for a long period of time.

We'll see what happens. Putin is the leader of Russia. Russia is a strong

country. We are a very, very strong country. We'll see how that all

works out. Last night, separately, I spoke with a man I've gotten to

know. I don't know Putin from but I do know this gentleman, I've spent a

lot of time with him over the last two days, and he is the president of

China. You were there, most of you were there, it was quite an

interesting period of time. President Xi wants to do the right

thing. We had a very good bonding, we had a very good chemistry

together. I think he wants to help us with North Korea. We talked

trade, we talked a lot of things. I said the way you will make a good

trade deal is to help us with North Korea otherwise we'll go it alone,

that'll be all right too. Going alone means going it with lots of

other nations. I was very impressed with President Xi Jinping. And I

think he means well and I think he wants to help. We'll see whether or

not he does. Do you feel like you have a deal with him? Do you feel

like you have a deal in terms of the currency manipulation, designation,

and have your views changed on Putin? We're going to see about

that. I also see about Putin over a period of time. It would be a

fantastic thing if we got along with Putin and with Russia, that could

happen. It may not happen, it could be the opposite. I can only tell you

what I would like to do, I'd love to be able to get along with everybody.

Right now the world is a mess. But I think by the time we finish it's

going to be a lot better place to live. I can tell you that speaking

for myself, by the time I'm finished it's going to be a lot better place

to live in. Because right now it's nasty. Nato is in the process of

implement in the biggest reinforcement of our collective

defence. One element of that is to increase our military presence in

the eastern part of the alliance. We are now deploying four battlegroups

to the two Baltic countries and Poland. There will also be more US

forces in that part of Europe. This is the first time in many, many

years we see an increase in the military presence of the United

States in Europe. So we are increasing our presence and they are

also increasing the readiness and preparedness forces so we can

quickly reinforce if needed. We consider the presence we will have

when the four battlegroups are in place as sufficient, given the

current security situation in Europe. But of course we will assess

the situation and follow the developments very closely. The

message from Nato is that what we do is proportionate, it is defensive,

and we don't want a new Cold War, we don't want a new arms race. We

strongly believe there is no contradiction between a strong Nato,

credible deterrence and defence, and political dialogue with Russia. We

believe a precondition for political dialogue with Russia is that we are

strong and united, but based on that we can talk to Russia because Russia

is our neighbour, Russia is here to stay, so we have to find ways to

manage our relationship with Russia. I'm absolutely certain the United

States supports this approach, partly because the United States is

contributing with forces to enhance the presence in the eastern part of

the alliance, also in the south-east of the alliance in Romania. The

United States and the president has clearly expressed they want dialogue

with Russia based on unity and strength in the alliance. The next

question is from Jon Sopel. Thank you very much. Secretary General,

how long do you think it'll take you to persuade the other European

countries to burden share? And what are you going to do to persuade

them? Mr President could I ask you... I like that question. I'm

here to help. Mr President do you think it's conceivable... What is

your instinct? Is it possible Syrian forces could have launched that

attack in Italy last week without the Russians knowing? And have you

been disappointed, surprised, by Vladimir Putin's reaction since

then? I think it's certainly possible, I think it's probably

unlikely. I know they're doing investigations into that right now.

I would like to think that they didn't know. Certainly they could

have. They were there. So we'll find out. General Mattis is looking at it

with the entire Pentagon group that does that kind of work. I was very

disappointed to see, it is disappointing no matter who does it,

but when you get into the gases, especially that form, it is vicious

and violent, and everybody in this room saw it, all too many times over

the last three or four days. Young children dying, babies dying.

Fathers holding children in their arms that were dead, dead children.

There can't be worse and it shouldn't be allowed. That's a

butcher. That's a butcher. I felt we had to do something about it. I have

absolutely no doubt we did the right thing. And it was very, very

successfully done, as you well know. Thank you. And defence spending and

burden sharing, that has been my top priority. I've raised it in all my

meetings in all capitals I visited with prime ministers, presidents,

Minister of Finance and defence and foreign ministers. I expect some of

course, all allies... They find it in 2014. The strong and clear

message from President Trump has been very helpful, so now we see

things are starting to move in the right direction. For the first time

after many many years of decline in defence spending, we see an increase

in defence spending across Europe and Canada. They've started to move

in the right direction. 3.8% real increase in defence spending across

Europe and Canada is a significant step in the right direction. It's

not enough, we still have a long way to go, but at least they have turned

a corner, the European allies have turned a corner, instead of reducing

defence spending, they will start to increase. I think it's important to

remember this is something Europeans do because they know that this is in

their own security interests. It is in their interest to invest more in

European defence because the world has become more dangerous. Many

European allies, or European allies, reduce defence spending after the

end of the Cold War because tensions went down. If you decrease defence

spending when tensions are going down, you have to be able to

increase defence spending when tensions are going up, and now they

are going up. So we have still a long way to go, but I'm encouraged

by the fact we have started to move in the right direction. Last year

there were five allies spending 2%, this year Romania has declared they

reached 2%, next year Latvia and Lithuania will reach two, so we go

from five to eight, which is going in the right direction. Still, we

have some work to do. I did ask about all the money that hasn't been

paid over the years, will it be coming back? We'll be talking about

that. We want to talk about that, too. Anita, where are you? Hi.

INAUDIBLE ... Were you aware that was going to

happen? How does that affect the relationship? We did talk last

night, I think it's wonderful they abstained, as you know, very few

people expected that. No, I was not surprised China did I abstain. Very,

very few people thought that was going to happen, so we honoured by

the vote, that's the vote that should have taken place. Secretary

General you talked about Moscow and Russia, how do you count of

oppression in general... Democratic elections... INAUDIBLE

The most important thing is to have an alliance, stay united and be firm

and predictable in our approach with Russia, it means we have to invest

in our collective defence, exactly what we're doing. Deploy more troops

in eastern part of the alliance, increased the readiness of forces

and defence spending. I welcome the strong message from President Trump

on the message of increased defence spending. We have started to do

this, so we're implementing the biggest reinforcement of collective

defence since the end of the Cold War, providing credible deterrents.

At the same time we have to find ways to engage with Russia, talk

with Russia. Because Russia will not go away, it'll our biggest

neighbour. Then we have to find ways to avoid a new Cold War and new arms

race. That is exactly why I'm very much in favour of what we call the

jewel track approach to Russia. As a former Norwegian politician I have

the experience to work with Russians because Norway is bordering Russia.

Norway was able even during the Cold War to develop a pragmatic working

relationship with Russia. Cooperating with them on energy, an

border issues, environment, fishery. Also in military affairs. That was

not despite our membership in Nato, it was because of membership in

Nato, because Nato provided the strength, predictability, the

platform for a small country to have a political dialogue with Russia. So

I strongly believe the only way to deter Russia is to be strong, but

the only way to avoid new Cold War, avoid a new arms race, avoid

increasing tensions, is to continue to engage Russia in political

dialogue and make sure what we do is defensive and proportionate in the

response to a more assertive Russia. I give the floor to... Thank you, Mr

President I am from Norway and Russia is our neighbouring country,

what do you think your pasty fear from Russia if this tension

continues? -- what do you think that Europe has to fear from Russia. I

can't understand. What do you think European countries have too fear

from Russia if this tension continues to escalate. And though Mr

Secretary General, the attack on Syria last week, were said to be

warranted, do you think so and you see Nato playing a supporting role

in any future actions in Syria? I want to start by saying that

hopefully they will have to fear nothing, ultimately. Like now there

is a clear and there are certainly problems. Ultimately, I hope there

will not be a fear and there will not be problems and the world can

get along. That would be ideal. It is crazy what is going on, whether

it is the middle is, or the Ukraine. Where ever you look, there are so

many problems. Alter the Lee I believe that we are going to get rid

of most of those problems and there will not be fear anybody. We have a

very big pile of North Korea and as I said I really think that China it

will try very hard. And it has already started. Yesterday and today

they have penned back whole boats. The vast amount of Colbert penned

back, they tend back the boats. -- turn back the whole boats. It may be

effective it may not be effective. It may not be affected but we will

be effective. I can promise you that. Thank you. Nato has constantly

confirmed the use of chemical weapons in Syria. The use of

chemical weapons is horrendous. It is a clear violation of

international law. Any use of chemical weapons is unacceptable and

cannot go unanswered, so those responsible is must be held

accountable. The strike against the airbase in Syria was a US operation

based on US intelligence. Within the alliance, this has been something

which has been met with a lot of understanding, because Nato allies

do not accept that chemical weapons are used and therefore we also

strongly support the efforts of the fact-finding commission to find out

what happens and to make sure that we do not see any use of chemical

weapons in the future. Thank you. There is Donald Trump shaking

Stoltenberg's handles the two men stepped off the platform after

giving prepared statement and then taken questions from journalists. If

you are joining me let me run through what was said because there

were significant statements bear, first full Donald Trump's general

tone towards Nato has panned around. Here we have one journalist on

public radio International pointing out that he said, I complained about

that a long time ago in a major change... He's talking about the

funding of Nato, and that word obsolete game up. Do you member this

from a while back? In interview with the German newspaper Mr Trump

said... Mr Trump says, it's not obsolete any more as my colleague

noted... The general tone will have pleased all Nato members, they

talked about working together on the disaster in Syria, also talked about

how Mr Trump said that we should not be trapped by tired thinking and

Stoltenberg emphasised that the strong may do good Europe he talked

about a more dangerous and unpredictable world it is

interesting that both men emphasised that. Donald Trump said, "The world

is a mess, right now it is musty and they can't do it right now" it is it

-- the world is nasty. It is the view of Jens Stoltenberg and an

autumn that the world is west now. Donald was asked about what has been

happening in Moscow, the meetings between the US Secretary of State

and his counterpart in Moscow, he said it was a successful meeting

which may have raised some eyebrows giving that nothing agreed and

everyone in Moscow agreed the relations are bad. But Mr Trump said

judge the success of my policy on Russia in the long time and this may

take a long time. He also said that right now in US Russian relations

could be at an all-time low. One other thing that has generated a lot

of interest online, we are talking about China's position towards North

Korea he said," he's got a good president -- he has a good chemistry

with the Chinese president, but he said that the Americans would do it

alone, which also means with a lot of nations. We do not know what that

means or who else might be involved if the Chinese were not. Some

questions raised but the biggest takeaway from that press conference

with the mood music. He was incredibly critical of Nato during

the presidential campaign, and now he seems more convinced that this is

an important alliance that serves America's interests. That happened

at the White House in Washington, DC, in New York not too long ago

Russia, as expected, vetoed the latest UN Security Council draft

resolution which was pushing for an independent investigation into that

chemical attack in Syria last week. By the way, the Americans, Trump,

reiterated that the sad regime is responsible, but every day the

Russians have been saying, how could we possibly know that as we do not

have another information from the scene of the attack. Here is the UK

Foreign Secretary reacting to this latest vetoed.

It is interesting that it was only the Russians who were thee

significant country to veto, even the Chinese abstained, I think

the pressure on them is now very considerable.

mechanise that. They may recognise it, but the price has not budged --

they may recognise but the pressure has not made them budge. I was just

mentioning that Donald Trump, in the press conference at the White House,

said of North Korea, that it was an incredibly important issue to be

working with China on this but he reiterated that America would go it

alone. That was in line with what he told Fox News Elia. We are sending

an Aga, very powerful, we have submarines, very powerful, far more

powerful then the aircraft carrier, can tell you that. And we have the

best military people on earth, he is doing the wrong thing. Now, the hate

that he is referring to is the North Korea leader, King John. -- now, the

"Heat". Chinese media reported on the cool between these two men and

we were told that the Chinese president is... We spotted an

editorial in Chinese state meeting saying that...

BBC's reporters based in Beijing and he is in the North Korean capital

and couple of hours ago this came in. Behind me you can just make out

in the gloom the skyline of an eerily quiet city that finds itself

at the centre of an increasingly tense international crisis with the

US aircraft carrier strike group on its way to beat waters and North

Korean media warning that if such provocation continue there could be

devastating consequences. The Chinese and US presidents have

spoken by telephone with Terry calling for calm and telling

President Trump that he will work for the de-neutralisation of the

Korean peninsula. It is worth pointing out that crisis has in part

of the pattern with North Korea for a deck ride. Experts say that the

government uses such things for its own strategic advantage. That said,

the company is preparing to celebrate the anniversary of the

birth of its founding president on Saturday and there is speculation

that there could be further missile tests, or even a nuclear test come.

BBC News, Pyongyang. We have had from Pyongyang, for

Worthington, from New York. Let's turn to Germany. A man has been

arrested, we were reporting on yesterday's programme. We know the

bus left the team hotel in the south of the city and was heading to the

centre. The Champions League quarterfinal against Mod the

whispers to be happening but it was actually played tonight instead. --

against Monaco was supposed to be happening. One player we know he was

not in the game, the Spanish midfielder here. He broke his wrist

in this attack, he seems in good spirits, this was a picture posted

online. That's ourselves of today and all of today's elements today.

Prosecutors said they found three letters which point a passable

Islamist terror motive for the attacks. They be examined by Islamic

experts now. They are said to have contained the man's for example the

German tornadoes are withdrawn from Syria. -- they are said to have

content demands. And that Germany closes its US airbase. An intriguing

twist to the investigation at this point but sadly these letters

appeared to be the focus of the investigation at the moment. So, the

game was pushed that by 24 hours, but it went ahead this evening along

with two other quarterfinals as well, mark Edwards 's libel was that

the BBC sports Centre, it was an update game please? It was a five

goal thriller at the stadium, it was a first competitive encounter

between these two clubs and it is 3-2 to Monaco, the German team's

players wore shirts dedicated to the player he was injured in the blast.

In terms of the match, there was plenty of action, the French league

leaders scored vast, food that teenage sensation in the 19th minute

with his 14th goal. -- the French league leaders scored as with that

teenage sensation. He was on target again with a second goal of the game

and made it 3-1. But another player pulled a goal back for the home side

to bring them back into the tie at 3-2. That is how finished and Monaco

will be favourites to progress there. In terms of the games, ASBOs

we should focus on Leicester, first. We can start with them. -- I suppose

we should focus on Leicester first. They lost. They probably will be

quite happy with that result. The only goal of the game was from the

penalty spot and it was a contentious one as it appears that

there was a foul outside of the box. They will fancy their chances.

Waleed Madrid will be public the happier of the two Madrid clubs. --

real Madrid will be the happy of the two Madrid clubs. The hero of the

day, scored two vital away goal is. They were down to ten men. OK, thank

you very much indeed. Let's talk about and we've seen a lot in the

last few days, this is the boss of United airlines who is saying he

will not resign. He is under huge pressure and you know why. You will

have seen the video of the man being dragged up the United flight. It

took the see it we goes before he said sorry and his team decided

having banked one of the west PR Dias asters perhaps they would

change tack. The boss was sent out and US TV. The word ashamed comes to

mind. As I think about our business and our people, the first thing I

think is it is important to apologise to the doctor, his family,

the passengers on flight, our employees. That is not who are

family at United is. You saw it as the bad moment. This will never, can

never happen again on a united Airlines flight. That is my promise.

We have talked about this a few times this week. It feels like too

little too late. Is certainly did come quite late people were looking

for this kind of apology right from the get go. But his statement after

statement it didn't... As the anger continue to grow and we saw on

social media especially just the company being eviscerated, finally

we are hearing from the CEO himself saying that he is sorry. That said

the question now is what impact this will have on the company's bottom

line. And she did's trading we saw that the shares but the company had

dropped - four and a half percent at its absolute worst. It made up one

end of the day by dropping by a percentage, today we see the same

thing that it fell again by percentage. It is a sign that even

Wall Street is reacting to the PR disaster that we have seen. The

regard to working out how a paying customer ended up being dragged off

a flight in the first place? According to the interview and

according to the CEO, he said the next time a situation like this

arises we will not be using law enforcement to go and take someone

off of the plane. They are going to be reviewing the incident and as we

had they will release an investigation and the result of that

will be available the 30th of April. We appreciate the update, thank you

very much. In a few minutes we will talk you through some surprisingly

is around, that is the former president, he would like to get the

job back you standing again. -- who would like to get the job back, he

is standing again. Melania Trump has accepted damages reporting to be in

excess of ?2 million, from the publishers of the Daily Mail at a

printed allegations about her past career. The paper which has agreed

to put an apology suggested that work undertaken by her in the 1990s

went "Beyond simply modelling." The story was published and subsequently

online joined the US election campaign last year. Today the paper

accepted those suggested where an two. Our media correspondence has

more detail will stop My wife Melania, who

is here right now... Melania Trump, First Lady

of the United States - it's a position that is always

going to attract press attention, but when the Daily Mail published

an article last August making a series of accusations about her

past, she called in the lawyers. Today, that process

came to a conclusion. And in a statement read out in court

today, they address the allegations in that article headlined "Racy

photos and troubling questions", in which the Daily Mail republished

allegations that Melania Trump had provided services beyond simply

modelling, all of which it now accepts is entirely untrue,

defamatory, and for which the Daily Mail has now

apologised unreservedly. The size of the settlement

hasn't been made public, but a figure of just under

$3 million is being widely reported. It's a big figure for a libel claim,

but Melania Trump had, at the beginning, been seeking

150 million for what her claim said was the loss of a once-in-a-lifetime

opportunity to extend her brand. There was no mention of business

or branding today's statement, rather, "The allegations strike

at the heart of the claimant's "The claimant has not

acted as alleged." Melania has been a very soft

and easy target for the press. In terms of the criticism

levelled against her, and the specific types

of allegations that she has suffered from, it really

is a kind of lazy sexism. She's been criticised because people

want to attack her husband. In court, the statement on behalf

of the Daily Mail was brief - an apology, a retraction,

and publicly setting hello, thanks for joining me on

outside source, I live on the BBC newsroom. Our lead story is that Rex

Tillerson has been meeting President Putin and also his Russian

counterpart in Moscow. They all admit that Russian and American

relationships are at a low point. Now, look who is throwing his hat

back into the ring, he was around's president from 2000 and 52 2030 and

he wants the job back, he is registered to stand in May's

election. Look at one rainy and student described it... -- look at

one students from around. Around's supreme leader told him not to run.

He clearly wasn't listening. People were visibly stunned as they

processed Ahmadinejad's paperwork. Here's the reaction in the BBC

Persian newsroom. Shock, I would never expect Ahmadinejad to decide

to run. He had in doors to his deputy, who had registered to one.

They hinted that by the supreme leader, he has done that before what

it is still a shock. Is it realistic that he could become president

again? It is hard to say, add the way he had nothing to lose, he had

been fading away and we had not had much about him in the last four

years. He is now registered to run the presidency but is the guardian

council who has to decide whether he is qualified enough to run. If he is

to squalor fight... Isn't a qualified? He has done it before. --

if he is disqualified. That has nothing to do with that. He fell out

with the supreme leader who has publicly asked him not to run, but

he has decided not to listen. The guardian council is chosen by the

supreme leader, so they are all his people. It is difficult for them not

to disqualify him, or if they qualify him, either way, one party

is standing against the wishes of the supreme leader and I think that

the ex-president Ahmadinejad will be done winner of this situation,

because he is back in the spotlight and we're talking about him at the

BBC and that is what he wants. Let me play you a quick Alli clip will

start this is a clip rainy and state TV, the running mate, the report

tape has mentioned that Ahmadinejad has registered for the election.

It looks like there was a problem on the line, what happened here? There

was a problem and then the connection re-established and what

we had when the reporter did not know that she was back on air, she

said she should not mention the running mate. Then they came out and

said they were not trying to convey them but the fact is they were

censored by the state media. Thank you, the election is in May. There

was a certain inevitability about Sean Spicer having to apologise have

to saying this. We did not use chemical weapons in World War II.

You have someone as despicable as Hitler who did not even sink to

using chemical weapons. Of course, Hitler did use chemical weapons on

his own people, not too long later shown Spicer went on to US TV... I

made a mistake. There is no other way to say it. I got into a topic I

should not have and they screwed up. It clearly is painful to myself to

know that I did something like that. That was busy not my intention and

to know when you screw up that you possibly offenders are not my

intention and to know when you screw up that you possibly offended enough

to people, I would ask for folk's forgiveness and to understand that I

should not have tried to make a comparison. There is no comparing

atrocities. The head of the Anne Frank Centre for mutual respect has

been saying... He goes on... Anti-continues... There is no

prospect of that happening, that we are aware of and not everyone sees

it this way. Instance this one tweet was spotted. One of the tweet which

is relevant, here is our colleague pointing out that the story would

have been leading on the morning news in the US, if he had not

apologise, but that is where saying sorry bills, kill the story. That is

a message that is very relevant to how United has dealt with it very

difficult week. A reminder, we've seen a press conference between the

Secretary General of Nato and Donald Trump. Trump has said that Nato is

not obsolete, as he has said in the past will stop more on that coming

up in the BBC, thank you for watching season.