26/07/2017 Outside Source

Hello, I'm Karin Giannone,

President Trump says the US military will not allow transgender

individuals to serve in the armed forces in any capacity.

reached the decision after consulting his generals,

adding that transgender people would disrupt the military

and burden it with large medical bills.

After the House of Representatives votes

for new sanctions against Russia, the European Union

Moscow describes it as a step towards destroying better ties.

France appeals for help from Europe

in fighting wildfires that have consumed large areas of forest

And the British government announces

a ban on new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040 -

as part of efforts to tackle air pollution.

This is President Trump Tweeting this morning.

"After consultation with my Generals and military

experts, please be advised that the United States Government

Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity

And the reason he gives - "Our military must be focused

on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened

and disruption that transgender in the military would entail."

The move rolls back on an Obama administration policy which allowed

transgender people to serve openly in the military.

Roughly 4,000 active-duty and reserve service members

The White House Press secretary was questioned about the change

The president has expressed concern since this Obama policy came into

effect but he has also voiced that this is a very expensive and

disruptive policy and based on consultation he's had with his

national security team came to the conclusion that it erodes military

readiness and unit cohesion and he made the decision based on that.

The White House Press secretary there, calling it

Well the Washington Post has been breaking down

They say that "these treatments would cost the military

between $2.4 million and $8.4 million annually."

To put that in perspective they work the cost out to be

a 1,000th of 1% of the Defense Department's

Or to put it even more in perspective it's about a tenth

of "the total military spending on erectile dysfunction medicines",

which amounts "to $84 million annually".

The president's decision has provoked outcry around the world,

Eric Fanning is the first openly gay Secretary of the Army

I am disappointed, I think it's the wrong decision to have made. We

already currently have thousands of transgender Americans serving in the

military with this tension and it was an important step to open up the

opportunity for service in the military for a number of important

reasons. It aligns with call American values of equality of

opportunity and it means we can allow the best and brightest the

country has two other. Over to our correspondent. With

everything president Tom is dealing with, this has come out of the blue.

Yes, no one was expecting this bombshell announcement, and quite

sparse, really, 140 characters to make a major policy change. It

sounds like he is calling for a ban of all transgender people serving in

the military. We know that there was a six-month delay in terms of

accepting new recruits which was meant to happen in July and has been

shifted to January. Is that going to become permanent? And what happens

to transgender people already serving, some 2500 and we believe,

maybe more, will be kicked out. The White House spokesman there saying

she believed the limitation of the policy would be worked out between

the White House and the Department for defence but at the moment there

is a lot of confusion. How does this play politically? I would imagine it

has quite a lot of support from Donald Trump's base? He has quite a

lot of support among social Conservatives so there will be some

support culturally from them in terms of transgender people serving

in the military, and those who have an issue about whether they can

choose which bathroom to use, that ran into a lot of opposition. There

will be those who are social Conservatives who will support this.

In Congress it has been a live issue, some congressional

Republicans have strongly opposed, especially the medical side, they

don't think that the military health care plan should be paying for

sexual reassignment surgery but that is the basis for their opposition,

they haven't called for a complete ban. So many eyebrows raised about

the timing of the announcement and the method. How much does it detract

from what the trouble administration is grappling with right now? You are

grappling with one issue in the morning and another when you go to

bed, it feels like -- the Trump administration is grappling with

right now. He has issues with criticising his Attorney General,

the ongoing problem with dealing with the health care repealed and

replaced Bill. I don't think they are going away and this has added to

the pile. Activists have said that they would take legal action if this

actually goes through and I think they will probably go through with

that. Quite a lot of criticism from people who are not activists,

including lawmakers and others who treat this as an issue of civil

rights and discrimination. They say that if someone can do the job, they

should be able to do it, whatever their gender. It is opening up a new

issue, really. Thank you for joining us.

The EU has criticised plans for fresh US sanctions against Russia.

Remember, the House of Representatives voted

The EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker

"unintended unilateral effects that impact the EU's energy security

interests" and warned that if these concerns aren't acknowledged,

the EU will "stand ready to act appropriately

Here's Jasmine Taylor-Coleman on why the EU has taken this position.

The EU says it supports sanctions on Russia. The annexation of Crimea

from the Ukraine in 2014 and allegations of Russian interference

in the US election. The problem is when it starts to harm the economic

interests of EU countries, especially Germany. Germany is

powerful within the EU and it is involved in building a natural gas

pipeline from Russia to Germany. Germany doesn't like the idea that

its companies can be harmed by some of these US objections, they may

have limited access to US banks if they keep working with Russia.

Germany says the US does not have the right to tell other countries

with whom to do business and they say that the US is using economic

sanctions to impose their own industrial policy on other parts of

the world. That's the opinion of the EU, but Russia isn't happy either.

Russia's foreign ministry warned that Russia and America were heading

into 'uncharted territory' and that the US had taken

'a serious step towards destroying the possibilities for normalising

Here's Sarah Rainsford in Moscow.

Rusher, when Donald Trump was elected,, it was felt that previous

actions could be overturned and that relations would improved but in the

-- indeed it has been the opposite and this is the latest blow. People

asking what kind of retaliation Moscow might now take, asking if

there is any point in hoping that Donald Trump can turn things around.

As Russia sees it, Donald Trump, in his attempts to start a dialogue

with Russia and improve relations, is swimming against a tide of Russia

phobia, so it seems in official circles.

However, back in the US, House Speaker Paul Ryan insists

that the sanctions package "tightens the screws on our most dangerous

adversaries in order to keep Americans safe".

Nothing's final yet as the package must be considered by the Senate

before it's then sent to the President for his approval.

Is Donald Trump likely to stand in the way of this? At the moment it

will be difficult. He could veto the bill when it lands on his desk but

we've seen these sanctions passed in the Senate and the house by huge

majorities, only three votes against it in the House of Representatives

and two in the Senate. They are large enough majorities that they

could override any kind of veto that Donald Trump froze up. You seen a

transition in terms of how the transition has else with this bill,

it is clear there is widespread support. At first they were against

it, then they said they wanted modifications, especially about the

energy sector interests, the same things that the EU has objected to.

When they were taken into account they said that they would sign the

bill. They have been vague about whether they will, whether the

president will. They don't want to draw a line in the sand and then

have Congress reversed the President's action quickly. I

believe there is a clause stopping President Trump from single-handedly

ease the sanctions against Moscow. The fact that the bill got support

from both parties, what does that say about the level of concern about

his relations with Russia? It says dramatically that Congress does not

trust the president when he dealing with Russia. There has been a cloud

hanging over the President's head, the Russia investigation, Russian

meddling in the 2016 election has expanded to include about whether

there was involvement in the Trump campaign itself. This shows that

there are people on both sides of the aisle in Congress who wonder

about any kind of deals that Trump has with the Russians, whether there

is any untoward involvement. Michael Flynn, the National security

adviser, had to resign from his position shortly after being named

by Donald Trump because it came out that he was talking with the Russian

ambassador about the sanctions that Obama imposed in December in

retaliation for Russian meddling. He was effectively telling the Russian

ambassador not to worry, that the Trump administration may have a

friendly view over the sanctions and would ease them. Now I think you're

seeing this kind of bill as a result of those allegations. How much of a

headache does it present for Donald Trump and his relations with Russia

if there are more sanctions? It definitely ties his hands. It

aggravates rusher, as we've seen. It takes power away from the President,

it takes flexibility away from Donald Trump to ease sanctions as

part of negotiations with Russia about other things, such as Syria

and the Ukraine. So it's going to frustrate them. Outside of the

problems that this shows, that Congress is not particularly happy

about what Donald Trump is doing with Russia. Thank you for joining

us. The Afghan Taliban have carried out

a violent attack on a military camp close to the southern

city of Kandahar. It's thought that at least 30

soldiers were killed in the attack. The militants also captured

weapons and vehicles. The attack was close to Helmand

province, where the Taliban This is however just the latest

attack by the insurgents after a bombing in Kabul on Monday

and further offensives The Afghan Minister of defence

confirms that a number of Afghan military personnel were killed after

their base was stormed by the Taliban fighters last night. This is

a significant achievement for the Taliban in this province. In the

past, their efforts used to be focused mainly on the neighbouring

Helmand province but that prevents, having been weakened enough for

them, it seems that the insurgents have focused now on Kandahar -- that

Providence. -- province. Many of their leaders have come from these

areas. Stay with us on Outside

Source - still to come. We'll be live in Venezuela -

on the same day of yet another anti-government strike,

the US has imposed sanctions against The Supreme Court has scrapped

charges for people who want to bring a case to employment tribunals,

ruling that the fees are unlawful. The government, who introduced fees

of up to ?1,200 in 2013, must now pay back ?32

million to claimants. Our Legal Affairs Correspondent

Clive Coleman reports. The ruling is huge. It means that

not only the order that introduced tribunal fees in 2013 is quashed, it

also means that everyone who paid the fees, that is some ?32 million,

will now get their money back. After a four-year legal struggle, Unison

were delighted. We knew from day one that this was not just unlawful, it

was immoral, that low paid workers should be in this position. We are

going to check the judgment on board and we will comply with it. -- take

the judgment on board. This is Outside Source live

from the BBC newsroom. President Trump says the US military

will not allow transgender individuals to serve in the armed

forces in any capacity. Other stories being

reported around the BBC. Mariano Rajoy has become Spain's

first sitting prime minister He appeared as a witness

in a corruption trial which involves politicians from the conservative

Popular Party. Mr Rajoy does not face

any charges himself. And this sports story is one

of the most read online. Novak Djokovic will miss the rest

of the 2017 tennis season The problem forced the 12-time grand

slam champion to retire from his Wimbledon quarter-final

against Thomas Berdych. The parents of a terminally-ill

baby boy, Charlie Gard, have given up their legal battle

for their son to die at home. Lawyers at the High Court in London

accepted that he should instead be But there's still no agreement

on when his life support Our medical correspondent

Fergus Walsh explains the dispute. The family want Charlie transferred

to a hospice and for a private medical team to take over his care

so they can have a period of days with him, a period of reflection, to

build memories with him before his ventilator is switched off. They say

that some nurses at Great Ormond Street caring for Charlie have

volunteered to do this and they have a private GP but hospices are not

set out to take children on ventilators for long periods and

they haven't found a hospice willing to take him. They have a private GP

but they haven't found a paediatric intensive care consultant and they

appealed for one to come forward overnight. Great Ormond Street said

that waiting here was causing stress for the family and staff and they

would like to seek Charlie transferred to a hospice no later

than Friday. So the judge ordered, if they can't come to an agreement

by noon tomorrow, that Charlie should be transferred to a hospice,

and then that palliative care should begin and that his breathing tube

should be withdrawn shortly there after. He said it is three and a

half months since he ruled that Charlie should be able to die with

dignity. He was conscious that Charlie may be suffering and that

this whole process should come to an end.

The situation in Venezuela is getting even more tense.

Another two days of anti-government strike action began today -

take a look at these pictures from the streets of Caracas.

Venezuelans have been blockading the roads

with rubbish, stones and ropes - many businesses stayed closed.

This is a last ditch attempt to make President Nicolas Maduro cancel

an election this weekend - which will essentially

lead to the country's constitution being re-written.

His critics say that will cement him as a dictator.

Today the Trump administration weighed in, sending a strong

message to the Venezuelan President to back down.

It's accused 13 senior officials in the government, military,

police and state oil company of human rights

abuse and corruption, imposing strict sanctions on them.

Anatoly Kurmanayev is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal

in Caracas - this was his take when he spoke to me an hour ago.

These sanctions have been around for quite some time, the Trump

administration have made it clear some months ago, American concern

about the situation. Senior officials have met with senior

opposition leaders and today they rolled out sanctions against

officials, most notably the head of the national election Council,

overseeing the vote on Sunday. Importantly, the Trump

administration has left out two key officials in Venezuela, the head of

the Armed Forces and also the second vice president of the ruling party.

What Trump is trying to do, he's trying to create a sense, people

close to President med Euro -- president Maduro to rise up. The

Trump administration have made it clear that if he continues they will

roll out even stronger sanctions possibly from next week, so the

result is crucial. I want to play a clip of the Venezuelan opposition

leader, Leopoldo Lopez. He has been in jail for three years for inciting

protest. TRANSLATION: I tell you that in my conviction, my fight and

my determination of accompanying the Venezuelan people so that together

we will have a democracy. If that represents a risk for me of

returning to a prison cell, I willing to take on the risk. I

wonder what the chances are that the opposition leader might be jailed

again. Well, Leopoldo Lopez has come in for a lot of criticism since

being released from jail earlier this month for not speaking out more

strongly against the government, for not taking charge of the protest

movement. What came in his message was quite expected. His lawyer said

it doesn't break the terms of his house arrest. To be fair I think the

government is comfortable with Diepoldova being in his house making

these videos because it is creating confusion in the opposition movement

about who is leading the protest, who will be the candidate if the

elections are held -- comfortable with Leopoldo being held. In the

last 30 seconds or so, how tense do things feel in Caracas today? Well,

today has been largely quiet, shops are shot and the streets are empty,

both sides preparing for the final stretch this week which they see as

a decisive battle. A big government rally tomorrow followed by a big

opposition rally on Saturday to stop the vote going ahead, so tensions

are going to be rising and we can expect more violence.

Volkswagen has held an emergency board meeting regarding allegations

that the carmaker operated a cartel alongside several other

If true, the reports would be a further blow to VW,

which is trying to recover from its recent emissions scandal.

Damien McGuinness reports from Berlin.

Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler, Audi, Portia. All German car brands clues

of collusion. The allegation is that since the 1990s they regularly held

talks to agree costs, either for parts or for technology.

The news has rattled investors. When German media first published the

reports, shares in Volkswagen fell by 4.9% and shares in BMW and

Daimler dropped by more than 3%. The European Commission and the German

cartel office haven't yet launched an official probe but they are

looking into the allegations. If true, this would open up a whole new

chapter in the diesel emissions scandal. That's because engine

exhaust technology was also allegedly involved in the cartel.

Volkswagen and other German brands are only now starting to recover

from the emissions row. So another scandal would be a blow to the

industry's reputation. Let's cross over to the US now-

earlier CNBC tweeted this: "Trump to announce later today that

Apple-supplier Foxconn will build Let's get more on this

with Samira Hussain in New York. Good to see you. Tell us more about

what they are planning. We're going to be hearing from the president

himself in less than an hour's time, he will speak from the White House.

We're expecting to hear an announcement about M3 Mac -- about

Foxconn. It is well-known for being one of the companies that makes some

of the Apple iPads and iPhones in China. It has said that it wants to

open up factories in the United States. That's really what we're

waiting to hear. Looks like they will invest some $10 million in the

United States, creating a couple of hundred jobs. That is part of

President Trump's mantra, for companies to start manufacturing in

the United States and this would bode well. However Foxconn has made

an announcement like this before, in 2013 is said that it would expand a

factory in Pennsylvania and make a big investment but it never came to

fruition. Time to touch on something that's happened in the last the Met

minutes, Facebook releasing its latest results. -- the last the Met

minutes. Facebook is making money on top of money and the big thing is

their advertising revenue, a big boost as a result of video

advertising. Comparing this quarter to the same time last year, mobile

video ads has gone up to 87% compared to 84%, so they have beaten

investor expectations and you can expect that their stock value is

going to go even higher. Thank you for joining us. Stay with us. We'll

have the latest on the situation on those wildfires in the south of

France, 10,000 people evacuated overnight.

Time to get the very latest on the big world weather stories and first

of all, south