:00:16. > :00:22.Hello, I'm Philippa Thomas and this is Outside Source. President Trump
:00:23. > :00:27.has defended his shock decision to fire the FBI director, James Comey.
:00:28. > :00:32.Because he wasn't doing a good job, very simply, he was not doing a good
:00:33. > :00:37.job. The White House deputy press secretary later explained the
:00:38. > :00:42.decision at a press briefing. The basic just atrocities and
:00:43. > :00:47.circumventing the chain of command in the Department of Justice. But
:00:48. > :00:52.outraged Democrats say there must now be an independent investigation
:00:53. > :00:57.between -- into ties between the dump administration and Russia.
:00:58. > :01:02.Nothing less is at stake than the American people's faith in our
:01:03. > :01:08.justice department and the integrity of our government. We will get the
:01:09. > :01:11.reaction of a journalist for politico in Washington and in sport,
:01:12. > :01:13.we will find out which Madrid team will join Juventus in this year 's
:01:14. > :01:33.Champions League final. Welcome to Outside Source. Donald
:01:34. > :01:40.Trump needs a new FBI director after his sudden sacking of James Comey as
:01:41. > :01:43.head of America's director -- America pars-mac Security agency.
:01:44. > :01:49.Let's show you the latter that he sent to Mr Comey. It is brief and
:01:50. > :01:54.fairly brutal. He says in this letter, you are not able to
:01:55. > :01:59.effectively lead the bureau and he goes on to say, it's essential that
:02:00. > :02:02.we find the leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and
:02:03. > :02:06.confidence. There has been a lot of criticism of this move but as John
:02:07. > :02:11.Sobol now reports, Donald Trump has defended his decision.
:02:12. > :02:15.FBI director James Comey has been fired by the President
:02:16. > :02:19.The term breaking news is bandied about with abandon but last
:02:20. > :02:22.At FBI offices the first they knew their director had been
:02:23. > :02:25.fired was when it flashed up on their TV screens.
:02:26. > :02:27.And James Comey, who was in Los Angeles addressing
:02:28. > :02:34.about it either until an aide handed him a note.
:02:35. > :02:39.The letter sent by President Trump was brutal.
:02:40. > :02:41.You are hereby terminated and removed from office,
:02:42. > :02:45.At least they left him the government jet to fly
:02:46. > :02:48.A private citizen, a turbulent career cut short.
:02:49. > :02:51.And today the president was unrepentant.
:02:52. > :02:57.Because he wasn't doing a good job, simply wasn't doing a good job.
:02:58. > :03:03.James Comey, the six foot eight tall director confirmed in March
:03:04. > :03:06.that the Trump campaign was under investigation
:03:07. > :03:09.for its links to Russia during the election.
:03:10. > :03:12.The FBI, as part of our counterintelligence mission,
:03:13. > :03:15.is investigating the Russian government's efforts to interfere
:03:16. > :03:22.The president has railed consistently that it's fake
:03:23. > :03:27.news and there has been no improper contact.
:03:28. > :03:30.Last night, he fired the man heading the inquiry.
:03:31. > :03:35.It's caused fury and dismay among some Republicans, and all Democrats.
:03:36. > :03:38.If there was ever a time when circumstances warranted
:03:39. > :03:42.a special prosecutor, it is right now.
:03:43. > :03:45.But the White House is seeking to persuade people that the decision
:03:46. > :03:48.to fire Comey had nothing to do with Russia or the FBI
:03:49. > :03:55.It is time for a fresh start at the FBI.
:03:56. > :03:59.I think the president did as he has done in many other cases,
:04:00. > :04:04.He provided strong leadership and to act on the recommendation
:04:05. > :04:08.The White House says the loss of confidence stems
:04:09. > :04:11.from James Comey's investigation into Hillary Clinton's use
:04:12. > :04:15.of a private e-mail server when she was Secretary of State.
:04:16. > :04:18.I made a mistake using a private e-mail.
:04:19. > :04:20.He decided last July there'd be no prosecution,
:04:21. > :04:30.Then, stunningly, he reopened his inquiry 11 days before polling.
:04:31. > :04:42.It took guts for Director Comey to make the move that he made.
:04:43. > :04:46.But if it really is all about the way the FBI conducted
:04:47. > :04:47.the Hillary Clinton investigation, why sack him now?
:04:48. > :04:51.Why not do it when Donald Trump first came to office?
:04:52. > :04:55.And how do you reconcile it with the praise heaped upon James Comey?
:04:56. > :04:57.Whatever, it's left the FBI feeling very sore about the way
:04:58. > :05:06.And into the Washington maelstrom, who should arrive today
:05:07. > :05:09.for his first visit to see the Trump administration than Sergey Lavrov,
:05:10. > :05:11.the Russian Foreign Minister, in jokey mood.
:05:12. > :05:20.He then went to meet Donald Trump at the White House, but curiously,
:05:21. > :05:28.for the camera-loving president, the press was kept away.
:05:29. > :05:32.This feels like House of Cards on steroids.
:05:33. > :05:39.We can now talk to Daniel Lipman in the politico newsroom in Washington.
:05:40. > :05:43.Daniel, I almost don't know where to start. Let's start with the
:05:44. > :05:47.Democrats demand for a special prosecutor. How likely is this? If
:05:48. > :05:50.there are more allegations that continue to come out over the next
:05:51. > :05:55.few weeks and if it continues to dominate the public agenda in
:05:56. > :06:01.Washington, then the chances go up for that, then, because there will
:06:02. > :06:07.be more calls from regular citizens into their Republican citizens and
:06:08. > :06:11.congressmen asking for an investigation. It is unlikely right
:06:12. > :06:14.now because Republicans don't want to embarrass Donald Trump and they
:06:15. > :06:17.feel the enquiry is already taking place are adequate to get to the
:06:18. > :06:24.bottom of what happened with the Trump campaign. I suppose there's a
:06:25. > :06:29.danger, isn't there, if you appoint a special investigator, I was a
:06:30. > :06:32.Washington correspondent when the Bill Clinton investigation started
:06:33. > :06:36.and they spiralled and spiral down these things can. I think they
:06:37. > :06:42.recognise the lessons of the 90s where once you a point a special
:06:43. > :06:47.prosecutor, you lose control of the investigation, that's the whole
:06:48. > :06:51.point, but it can have unintended consequences. The investigation is
:06:52. > :06:53.already very dangerous for Donald Trump and his administration. It
:06:54. > :06:56.feels like the White House is already under siege right now
:06:57. > :07:02.because they were not prepared to base so much blowback and it looks
:07:03. > :07:07.like they have also made enemies of the FBI, among the ranks of the FBI
:07:08. > :07:10.agents, because they feel like they're director was basically
:07:11. > :07:15.executed yesterday. Behind all this is that question of possible links
:07:16. > :07:20.with Russia, the Trump campaign team and Russia. Does the Russia probe
:07:21. > :07:27.continue now that Comey has gone? Yes, it is going on 40 in. I'm sure
:07:28. > :07:34.the 100 or so FBI agents who worked on the probe have come into work
:07:35. > :07:35.today but it is such a long time to finish one of these
:07:36. > :07:40.counterintelligence investigations and if there is any allegation that
:07:41. > :07:45.the White House or the new FBI director, whoever that might be, is
:07:46. > :07:49.stifling the probe, is kind of having a cover up, then that will
:07:50. > :07:54.really get lots of people angry in Washington, even more than they are
:07:55. > :07:58.today. That is my final point. The new FBI director, whoever he or she
:07:59. > :08:04.might be, any names in the brain? There aren't really any concrete
:08:05. > :08:08.names, just people being bandied about. I think one issue I would
:08:09. > :08:11.probably turn down this job. It's probably turn down this job. It's
:08:12. > :08:14.one of the toughest jobs in one of the toughest jobs in
:08:15. > :08:19.Washington, because he gets so much pressure from the Trump White House,
:08:20. > :08:24.from Jeff Sessions, the Attorney General, and also Democrats and
:08:25. > :08:29.Republicans on Capitol Hill, is that they should probably have extra
:08:30. > :08:33.bonus combat paper taking this job. Daniel Lipman, thank you very much.
:08:34. > :08:38.Right now, we will get you up-to-date with sport. Juventus are
:08:39. > :08:42.free to the Champions League final. The question now, which Madrid club
:08:43. > :08:47.will they face? Let's talk to Nick Marshall McCormac. What do you
:08:48. > :08:51.think? I can tell you straightaway because it's just gone full-time and
:08:52. > :08:58.its Real Madrid who will play Juventus in the final Cardiff. What
:08:59. > :09:02.a Madrid derby we saw tonight. It was fast and furious, we had Diego C
:09:03. > :09:07.Mirnyi running up and down the sideline like a man possessed as he
:09:08. > :09:14.tried to fire his Atletico Madrid team back from that 3-0 first leg
:09:15. > :09:19.deficit. Yellow flags -- yellow cards flying everywhere. That is the
:09:20. > :09:23.best goal and that, though, is Antoine Grisman kicking in the
:09:24. > :09:29.Fernando Torres penalty which was set up earlier. Is go put row Madrid
:09:30. > :09:39.back in control though. 4-2 ahead on aggregate and they go three to the
:09:40. > :09:45.final in Cardiff and they are calling it duo decimo now. I will
:09:46. > :09:53.come back to you in just a moment but first, the bar are to
:09:54. > :09:58.investigate Pogba's transfer to Manchester United. We want to show
:09:59. > :10:03.you what Jose Mourinho had to say. I was interested in the headlines
:10:04. > :10:10.regarding Pogba's transfer. We are not here to discuss that, just the
:10:11. > :10:14.game. But the question is simple. If you ask for the fact, is that a
:10:15. > :10:21.fact? Marina Green and not saying much about that. What are these the
:10:22. > :10:25.same? They have confirmed that they are looking at the deal through
:10:26. > :10:29.their transfer matching system and what that does is record all
:10:30. > :10:35.transactions made internationally backed away from that I can tell you
:10:36. > :10:40.that the underlying cause of concern is a book which is coming out very
:10:41. > :10:44.soon, that is called the Football League, the dirty business of
:10:45. > :10:50.football, and in that, it is alleged that the football agent was paid
:10:51. > :10:58.around $53 million for acting under half of the buying club, the selling
:10:59. > :11:01.club and the player himself. -- acting on behalf of the buying club,
:11:02. > :11:05.the selling club and the player himself. That is not unusual but at
:11:06. > :11:12.the same time, they have to make sure all these transactions are
:11:13. > :11:14.recorded on their system. Manchester United are saying that fever have
:11:15. > :11:24.all the documents they need so now we sit and wait. Now we go onto more
:11:25. > :11:29.Fifa trouble, with their decision not to reappoint the ethics chiefs,
:11:30. > :11:35.which means an effective end to the reform process according to the two
:11:36. > :11:40.officials. The pair said they are impending departure means the
:11:41. > :11:49.defendant -- the de facto end of their reform. The removal of the
:11:50. > :11:54.ethics committee is not in Fifa's best interests. It is a setback for
:11:55. > :12:03.the fight against corruption. The ethics committee is weekend and
:12:04. > :12:06.incapacitated. Fifa's vice president fired back at the ousted ethics
:12:07. > :12:12.chiefs labelling them as unprofessional and saying the whole
:12:13. > :12:17.issue is overblown. I think it is the right of an organisation to do
:12:18. > :12:21.these things. I think the people who are proposed to replace them from
:12:22. > :12:25.what I have seen are of the highest standards. You have got a judge from
:12:26. > :12:29.the European Court, so we are not replacing them with somebody who was
:12:30. > :12:35.not of the highest standard, and I think, to be honest with you, it's
:12:36. > :12:40.been way overblown from a hype perspective. Before we finish the
:12:41. > :12:46.sport, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe joined some of rugby's biggest
:12:47. > :12:51.names for the Rugby World Cup draw in Kyoto. These are the groupings:
:12:52. > :13:17.do you stay with us here on Outside Source. Still to come, we will have
:13:18. > :13:20.details of a new study which claims some painkillers could increase the
:13:21. > :13:26.risk of heart attacks and other heart conditions.
:13:27. > :13:33.It has killed nearly 100 dogs in the UK since it first appeared here five
:13:34. > :13:40.years ago yet little is known about the disease called Alabama Rot.
:13:41. > :13:46.First is go -- first discovered in America, it causes lesions on dogs
:13:47. > :13:53.pause but there is still no known cure. This report is from Duncan
:13:54. > :13:59.Kennedy. It's that time of day, the walk, the run, the fun, repeated by
:14:00. > :14:02.8 million dogs across the United Kingdom. But for Gabrielle Williams
:14:03. > :14:10.from Monmouthshire, those joys came to an end earlier this year. Her
:14:11. > :14:15.dog, blur, a family pet for five years, caught Alabama rot and died.
:14:16. > :14:19.Still hard to get your head around that she's not here because it
:14:20. > :14:23.happened so quickly and she was so young, only five and a half, and it
:14:24. > :14:30.was hard to see, so it's been very difficult, very sad. Alabama Rot was
:14:31. > :14:34.still recorded in the United States in 1980s and gives dogs lesions,
:14:35. > :14:40.ulcers and in many cases, kidney failure. So it's a very unpleasant
:14:41. > :14:45.disease and luckily, Lola here has avoided it. 15 dogs in Britain have
:14:46. > :14:50.died of Alabama Rot so far this year, bringing the total to nearly
:14:51. > :14:55.100 since it was first noticed in 2012. Those first cases were seen in
:14:56. > :15:00.Hampshire, but there have now been examples in 29 counties, yet with no
:15:01. > :15:06.obvious pattern to the location or breed. Two days first-ever
:15:07. > :15:11.conference on Alabama Rot in Britain has been organised by David Walker,
:15:12. > :15:15.a vet who has studied it for five years. What's your gut feeling of
:15:16. > :15:22.what this is? I'd say my gut feeling is that is -- there is intrinsically
:15:23. > :15:26.within the dog a predisposition to this disease process and perhaps
:15:27. > :15:30.there is an environmental factor on top which means they developed the
:15:31. > :15:33.disease later in their lifetime. It's certainly a disease these
:15:34. > :15:39.owners in the new Forest are now aware of. Until I see any signs up
:15:40. > :15:44.here, I will keep going like normal. They don't know what is causing it,
:15:45. > :15:49.so you have to continue like normal, really. Let's say owners need not be
:15:50. > :15:55.alarmed. Alabama Rot remains extremely rare but symptoms should
:15:56. > :16:04.not be ignored. Duncan Kennedy in the new Forest.
:16:05. > :16:11.This is Outside Source live from the BBC newsroom. Our lead story,
:16:12. > :16:15.President Trump has defended his decision to sack the head of the
:16:16. > :16:22.FBI. The White House said he had been considering firing him since
:16:23. > :16:26.taking office. Now, painkillers could increase the
:16:27. > :16:30.risk of heart attacks and other heart problems, the finding of a
:16:31. > :16:33.study published in the British medical Journal. The drugs in
:16:34. > :16:38.question are anti-inflammatory painkillers like I be pregnant but
:16:39. > :16:43.it's important to say this is not an issue for most of us -- like IBO pro
:16:44. > :16:48.then but it's important to say this is not an issue for most of us who
:16:49. > :16:54.take small doses. There have been increasing numbers studies in the
:16:55. > :16:56.last few years which link heart problems to these non-steroidal
:16:57. > :17:05.anti-inflammatory drugs painkillers and this is another study adding
:17:06. > :17:08.that puzzle. There is a suggestion these drugs could affect the heart
:17:09. > :17:12.but there are so many questions still to be answered, that the most
:17:13. > :17:16.important thing is for people not to be alarmed and particularly if they
:17:17. > :17:23.are only taking one or two of these, ibuprofen, for example, two tablets
:17:24. > :17:27.for a headache over the counter. This study looked at people taking
:17:28. > :17:31.high doses of the drug for prescriptions doctors gave them for
:17:32. > :17:35.chronic pain, but it does perhaps add something new. It says that
:17:36. > :17:40.perhaps these risks could start as early as the first few weeks of
:17:41. > :17:43.taking the drug. So this shows us there may be a link between these
:17:44. > :17:48.painkillers and a heart attack but we don't know that it's causal? Like
:17:49. > :17:53.most scientific studies it's really worth taking them where they pinch
:17:54. > :17:58.of salt and looking around the whole study. The fact is this study cannot
:17:59. > :18:01.prove cause and effect. It could be these people were prescribed these
:18:02. > :18:06.high doses of painkillers because something else was going on in their
:18:07. > :18:09.body that, in turn, ended up causing them to have the heart attack, so it
:18:10. > :18:17.might not be the painkillers themselves. The general advises, in
:18:18. > :18:22.the UK, for example, doctors don't tend to prescribe these drugs to
:18:23. > :18:24.people with severe heart problems or are very cautious in prescribing
:18:25. > :18:29.them to people with severe heart problems. The general advice for
:18:30. > :18:32.other people would be, if you have a severe heart problem and are taking
:18:33. > :18:36.these drugs over the counter regularly, it is worth going to talk
:18:37. > :18:41.to your doctor. If you are just taking them once in a while, it's
:18:42. > :18:45.less likely you need to worry. OK, so there's no general panic here but
:18:46. > :18:56.there is a message to patients, if you are taking more and more of
:18:57. > :18:58.these painkillers, get professional advice. Doctors here say, if you are
:18:59. > :19:00.taking one of these anti-inflammatory drugs, take the
:19:01. > :19:03.lowest days for the shortest possible time. If someone finds
:19:04. > :19:06.about having to take them all the time and a higher dose than is
:19:07. > :19:11.recommended, it's definitely worth speaking to your doctor, and
:19:12. > :19:14.particularly if you already have any heart problems. Here's a question
:19:15. > :19:20.from my BBC colleague in the Netherlands. She says, as the shock
:19:21. > :19:31.blogger boycott gone too far? She asks because of a row over free
:19:32. > :19:41.speech in a question known for it. This shocking blog prides itself on
:19:42. > :19:50.its thoughts and it has almost 2 million unique visitors a month, but
:19:51. > :19:59.now, more than 240 women have called at -- launched a campaign calling
:20:00. > :20:04.for an advertising boycott. Elaine muses one of the campaigners. I
:20:05. > :20:08.think it's really important, you see it in the United States, advertisers
:20:09. > :20:16.withdrew their support from the Bill O'Reilly show after the New York
:20:17. > :20:18.Times showed that they had paid $30 million to pay off women you had
:20:19. > :20:24.been sexually harassed by Bill O'Reilly. In the Netherlands, we
:20:25. > :20:30.wondered how it is possible that a company like Mercedes-Benz here you
:20:31. > :20:36.their support of the Bill O'Reilly show in the United States, why is it
:20:37. > :20:42.still advertising on a shock blog like no style. The editors of that
:20:43. > :20:48.blog pride themselves on being needlessly hurtful and they are read
:20:49. > :20:53.-- really successful at that. The best criticisms were raised like,
:20:54. > :21:00.why are advertisers choosing still to advertise on there? Why are they
:21:01. > :21:06.still supporting that blog? And after the first criticism, the blog
:21:07. > :21:10.incited an online rape of a journalist who had just discussed
:21:11. > :21:16.the weblog and given a critical analysis. I think that crosses all
:21:17. > :21:22.the lines... Can I just say, the blog itself that you have crossed
:21:23. > :21:27.the line. They say you are famously tolerant in the Netherlands and this
:21:28. > :21:33.is censorship. It's not censorship at all. We are not say to the
:21:34. > :21:40.government, you have two prevent the blog. Of course not. Freedom of
:21:41. > :21:44.speech is important. But we are saying they make money from
:21:45. > :21:47.insulting other people and I don't understand how a company like
:21:48. > :21:56.Mercedes or IKEA, how they could Atvod want to be associated with a
:21:57. > :21:59.blog that incites online rape of women, terms that are so violent I
:22:00. > :22:04.can't repeat them here on television. I think all the
:22:05. > :22:09.companies should be really aware of where they are advertising and is
:22:10. > :22:18.much more difficult with blogs because often online, people are
:22:19. > :22:26.often followed. If I visit a KLM website, subsequently I often see
:22:27. > :22:32.advertising. But aren't you worried you are giving them free publicity?
:22:33. > :22:36.No, I'm not worried about that at all. Right now, a lot of advertisers
:22:37. > :22:41.are dropping out. Not everybody is speaking out but I'm sure a lot of
:22:42. > :22:45.advertisers are withdrawing, so we are hitting them in the wallet,
:22:46. > :22:49.where it hurts most. There is just time to tell you this. It's an
:22:50. > :22:53.incredible setting to see an opera but not the best place to hear one
:22:54. > :22:56.because sound problems have dogged the Sydney Opera House since they
:22:57. > :23:05.opened. That is about to change. It's the building that
:23:06. > :23:07.defines not just Sydney, Bold and bathed in sunshine,
:23:08. > :23:11.the opera house's tall But inside, the sound is,
:23:12. > :23:14.well, not so stunning. For its resident Symphony Orchestra,
:23:15. > :23:18.is a regular frustration. The shape of the concert hall makes
:23:19. > :23:21.it hard to hear themselves, It's a bit like playing football
:23:22. > :23:28.on a pitch that is sort of shrouded in fog and you know your team-mates
:23:29. > :23:31.are out there somewhere, And for us I guess the issue
:23:32. > :23:36.is they are a bit hard to hear. Often I don't feel like we are
:23:37. > :23:39.really always playing together. And then with some of the other
:23:40. > :23:41.sections of the orchestra, we can actually have time delays
:23:42. > :23:45.at times as we are trying The problem dates back
:23:46. > :23:48.to the very beginning. Changes were made to
:23:49. > :23:50.the original design. The architect fell out
:23:51. > :23:53.with the engineers and never saw After decades of trying
:23:54. > :23:57.out different fixes, a new system of reflectors
:23:58. > :24:01.and risers has been tested and, it is claimed, will finally deliver
:24:02. > :24:09.crystal clear sound. It was honestly like someone had
:24:10. > :24:12.just lifted the Perspex box off And you could hear
:24:13. > :24:19.them so much better. The sound sounds
:24:20. > :24:20.a lot closer to you. You feel as if you're actually
:24:21. > :24:25.hearing, you can hear The famous tall sails that form
:24:26. > :24:30.the outside of this building have always placed a limit
:24:31. > :24:32.on what can happen inside. The concert hall is too big for
:24:33. > :24:35.orchestral concerts, for example. The real challenge for the next four
:24:36. > :24:38.years is making sure what happens inside here matches the quality
:24:39. > :24:55.of what people see out there. This will be the first time
:24:56. > :24:58.the opera house will close any But there will still be
:24:59. > :25:02.music within these walls. As they try to fine-tune one
:25:03. > :25:09.of the world's best loved buildings. With that, it is time to say thanks
:25:10. > :25:10.very much for being with us here on Outside