:00:15. > :00:21.BBC world News today. President Trump accuses Barack Obama of
:00:22. > :00:29.tapping his phone during the election campaign. The Obama camp
:00:30. > :00:33.denies it. Francois Fillon tries to keep his campaign alive after
:00:34. > :00:41.another of his homes is raided. Another low in the relationship
:00:42. > :00:47.between Malaysia and North Korea, the North Korean ambassador is told
:00:48. > :00:49.to leave Kuala Lumpur. We have all the sport including a fractious
:00:50. > :01:02.showdown between Manchester United and Bournemouth.
:01:03. > :01:10.Welcome to the programme. There is never a dull moment in Washington
:01:11. > :01:18.politics. Donald Trump took to Twitter claiming the Obama had
:01:19. > :01:22.tapped his phones at Trump Tower during the election campaign. The
:01:23. > :01:28.president offered no evidence for the claims and a spokesman for
:01:29. > :01:31.Barack Obama has strongly denied the allegations, saying neither
:01:32. > :01:35.President Obama or any White House official ever ordered surveillance
:01:36. > :01:40.of any US citizen and any suggestion otherwise is simply false. It comes
:01:41. > :01:43.after a rocky few weeks for the Trump administration which has seen
:01:44. > :01:48.the sacking of the national security adviser Mike Flynn and questions
:01:49. > :01:54.hanging over the Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Both over alleged
:01:55. > :01:58.contacts with the Russians. From Washington, this is for Rebecca. --
:01:59. > :02:05.this is Laura Bicker. There is a protocol
:02:06. > :02:06.between Presidents, even across the political divide -
:02:07. > :02:09.a peaceful handover of power even In a tirade of tweets Donald Trump
:02:10. > :02:14.has trashed this tradition. He accused Barack Obama
:02:15. > :02:16.of ordering a wire tap on his Trump Tower phone,
:02:17. > :02:19.not in one, but in four tweets. What a contrast to his
:02:20. > :02:31.tone during this week's It appears this was not the pivot
:02:32. > :02:38.to a different kind of president So were the Trump
:02:39. > :02:45.Towers phones tapped? The conservative news organisation
:02:46. > :02:48.Breitbart seems to think so, Did this article start
:02:49. > :02:50.the Twitter cascade? But no president has
:02:51. > :02:53.the power to order a wiretap, only the FBI can do that,
:02:54. > :02:55.with a warrant from court. President Trump is now facing calls
:02:56. > :03:11.to produce proof of his claims. We can speak to Laura who is in our
:03:12. > :03:15.Washington bureau. You said that President Trump has been asked to
:03:16. > :03:23.produce evidence, has he? No, he hasn't. We know he went off to play
:03:24. > :03:29.golf at 930, after he sent those messages and we have heard nothing
:03:30. > :03:32.more from him, not even since the former president Barack Obama issued
:03:33. > :03:36.his denial. Saying he had no involvement in this. Why is it
:03:37. > :03:42.important for him to say this? Because the White House has always
:03:43. > :03:46.tried to be seen as separate from an independent investigation when it
:03:47. > :03:50.comes to the FBI. But look at the evidence for maybe the fact that the
:03:51. > :03:57.phones were tapped. We know from some media reports that back in the
:03:58. > :04:01.summer the FBI went to court asking for a warrant to tap phones, and
:04:02. > :04:10.that warrant was initially denied and then later in October it was
:04:11. > :04:13.allowed. These reports but out in January, but that what was said
:04:14. > :04:19.then. It was denied, but never confirmed. President Trump seems to
:04:20. > :04:25.be suggesting that by the way, that was true all along. Something he has
:04:26. > :04:29.always dismissed as fake news. That is one issue for President Trump.
:04:30. > :04:32.The next issue, if he doesn't produce proof, is this just a simple
:04:33. > :04:38.distraction technique, because as you have mentioned it has been
:04:39. > :04:42.another rocky week. He had a great cheese day night by many standards,
:04:43. > :04:46.he was presidential, many people said, but a few hours later there
:04:47. > :04:53.was controversy surrounding his Attorney General Jeff Sessions -- he
:04:54. > :04:56.had a great Tuesday night. So this cloud that is Russia that hangs over
:04:57. > :05:02.the White House, this controversy does not seem to be going away. He
:05:03. > :05:07.can't shake it. Is this a distraction technique? What do you
:05:08. > :05:14.make of the response from barrack Obano, it was fairly swift? --
:05:15. > :05:16.Barack Obama. It was swift and robust because this is a serious
:05:17. > :05:22.charge and when it comes to President Obama's time in office
:05:23. > :05:25.they were keen to be seen as separate from any independent
:05:26. > :05:29.investigation so that was important for him to do. Under the
:05:30. > :05:37.circumstances and under these very serious charges. Laura, thanks for
:05:38. > :05:40.joining us. We can go to France. It has had an eventful week for the
:05:41. > :05:44.centre-right political candidate Francois Fillon. Police have been
:05:45. > :05:49.searching his country home in relation to a scandal over payments
:05:50. > :05:55.to family members, that is after his Paris home was searched on Thursday.
:05:56. > :05:56.On top of that it has been announced the Conservative Republican party
:05:57. > :06:11.will meet to discuss his candidacy. Under fire but the fight, Francois
:06:12. > :06:18.Fillon takes to the stage at a rally outside Paris. He enjoyed the
:06:19. > :06:24.backing of supporters, but within his own party that support appears
:06:25. > :06:29.to be fading. TRANSLATION: My friends this campaign is a strange
:06:30. > :06:32.fight, you are courageous, and they want to intimidate you, I'm being
:06:33. > :06:36.attacked but what they are looking for is to defeat the recovery of the
:06:37. > :06:41.nation. And the Wylfa change that you are representing. I'm asking
:06:42. > :06:45.you, do not abdicate, never renounce, your commitment must
:06:46. > :06:49.continue. Fighting allegations he used taxpayer money to pay his wife
:06:50. > :06:54.and family members for work they did not do, senior members of his
:06:55. > :06:57.campaign are heading for the exit. In the past days his campaign
:06:58. > :07:06.manager and a spokesperson have quit and there are calls for him to step
:07:07. > :07:09.aside. TRANSLATION: This is a countdown, it is like to explode our
:07:10. > :07:15.political family and I don't want it. On Monday the Republican party
:07:16. > :07:19.were made to discuss his failing campaign, and many believe the door
:07:20. > :07:22.could now be open for ex-Prime Minister Alain Juppe to step in, he
:07:23. > :07:28.was convincingly defeated by Francois Fillon in the party primary
:07:29. > :07:32.in the vendor, but a recent poll suggests he is now the party's best
:07:33. > :07:39.chance in the presidential election -- in November. Marine Le Pen faces
:07:40. > :07:45.her own legal troubles. Also accused of misusing funds. But while her
:07:46. > :07:49.numbers hold, Francois Fillon's continue to fall as he goes about
:07:50. > :07:57.trying to salvage a presidential election, he was once favourite to
:07:58. > :08:01.win. We can get other news now. The Polish government have confirmed it
:08:02. > :08:06.will not back the current president of the European Council Donald Tusk.
:08:07. > :08:09.For his second term. The country's Foreign Minister said a Polish
:08:10. > :08:14.member of the European Parliament will be put forward instead. The
:08:15. > :08:18.governing Law and justice party has long opposed Donald Tusk, and a
:08:19. > :08:23.member of a rival party who was formerly the Prime Minister. Sinn
:08:24. > :08:26.Fein are celebrating their best ever showing in elections to the Northern
:08:27. > :08:32.Ireland assembly. With all the votes counted they have won 20 76, just
:08:33. > :08:39.one behind the pro-British Democratic Unionists. -- 20 six.
:08:40. > :08:41.Gerry Adams described it as a watershed election and the two
:08:42. > :08:48.parties now have three weeks to agree a new power-sharing coalition.
:08:49. > :08:52.Malaysia says the North Korean ambassador must leave the country in
:08:53. > :08:56.the next 48 hours. The two nations have fallen out after the death of
:08:57. > :09:04.the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un am. A
:09:05. > :09:08.North Korean held in Malaysia says he is the victim of a conspiracy by
:09:09. > :09:15.the Malaysia authorities. He was accused the lead actor -- he accused
:09:16. > :09:23.the police of threatening his family. This is our Pacific editor
:09:24. > :09:25.with her assessment. It has been a spectacular deterioration of ties
:09:26. > :09:30.between these countries and we would never have predicted this a month
:09:31. > :09:36.ago. But right from the starting point, when we first heard about the
:09:37. > :09:42.death of King John Mann, the North Koreans took a strong stance, saying
:09:43. > :09:47.the ambassador was out in front -- Kim Jong-un am. Questioning the
:09:48. > :09:52.Malaysia authorities investigation and the identity of the person who
:09:53. > :09:59.died at Kuala Lumpur airport, demanding the body to be returned.
:10:00. > :10:03.It was almost every day. There are more accusations and more questions.
:10:04. > :10:07.You never would have guessed that they are relatively friendly
:10:08. > :10:13.countries by watching the way he spoke about Malaysia in his
:10:14. > :10:18.discussions with the media. It is no surprise the Malaysians demanded an
:10:19. > :10:24.apology and no apology was given, and so that led to his expulsion
:10:25. > :10:30.today. Staying in the region, the families of passengers on board the
:10:31. > :10:36.missing Malaysia aeroplane MH370 have launched a campaign to raise
:10:37. > :10:40.funds for a private search, they won $50 million to Sweden area north of
:10:41. > :10:46.the previous search zone, -- they want $15 million. It disappeared
:10:47. > :10:51.nearly three years ago en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The Prime
:10:52. > :10:54.Minister of Somalia says more than 100 people from a drought hit region
:10:55. > :11:00.in the country have died of hunger. In the past two days. A drought was
:11:01. > :11:03.declared a national disaster on Tuesday and the United Nations
:11:04. > :11:08.estimates that five meeting people are in need of aid. UN agencies say
:11:09. > :11:14.100,000 people are facing starvation. Stephen O'Brien is the
:11:15. > :11:21.emergency relief coordinator for the United Nations and he is visiting
:11:22. > :11:27.the South Sudanese capital. This is the first time we have potentially
:11:28. > :11:36.been faced with this drought. We need to meet these needs across the
:11:37. > :11:42.area. I've spent the day here and I could see thousands of people who
:11:43. > :11:49.have had to wade through marshes. I met with a grandmother who is
:11:50. > :11:55.nursing a ten-month-old grandchild who was malnourished and his parents
:11:56. > :12:04.had gone missing after an attack on their village. The challenge is so
:12:05. > :12:07.difficult was we have to say for the potential for the famine to spread,
:12:08. > :12:14.is something. What we need from the local
:12:15. > :12:16.government, and I've had discussions with the Prime Minister,
:12:17. > :12:18.we need access. Access when you have terrible
:12:19. > :12:20.security conditions over the country One worker has died here,
:12:21. > :12:23.bravely delivering aid. They need to be able to get
:12:24. > :12:33.to deliver and we need Stay with us here. Still to come,
:12:34. > :12:35.first look inside the ancient Syrian city after being retaken from
:12:36. > :12:47.so-called Islamic State for the second time.
:12:48. > :12:54.Suddenly the plates and tables crashed and it was just a matter of
:12:55. > :13:01.seconds as the ferry lurched onto her side. The hydrogen bomb, the
:13:02. > :13:05.Americans have successfully tested a weapon whose explosive force dwarfed
:13:06. > :13:15.that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. I heard the news earlier.
:13:16. > :13:22.The constitutional rights of these marches and their rights of citizens
:13:23. > :13:28.of the United States and they should be protected so they don't get their
:13:29. > :13:36.heads broken and are sent to hospital. Religious controversy.
:13:37. > :13:40.Does it worry you? It worries me but I hope very thing will be all right
:13:41. > :13:47.in the end, as they say. -- every ring. Every thing.
:13:48. > :13:52.President Trump accuses Barack Obama of
:13:53. > :13:54.tapping his phone during the election campaign.
:13:55. > :14:03.Francois Fillon tries to keep his campaign alive after
:14:04. > :14:15.The H in Syrian city of Palmyra appears to have escaped its second
:14:16. > :14:18.occupation by so-called Islamic State with less damage than
:14:19. > :14:24.previously feared -- the ancient Syrian city. Recent drone imagery
:14:25. > :14:29.released last month showed further destruction to the ruins, but today
:14:30. > :14:35.as the government invited media to inspect the UNESCO site it was clear
:14:36. > :14:41.that the ancient ruins survived and some experts fears were not
:14:42. > :14:46.realised. It was built as a temple venerating Mesopotamian gods, and it
:14:47. > :14:51.survived occupation by the Romans, conversions from temple to church to
:14:52. > :14:55.mosque and recently to a gruesome stage for executions by militants of
:14:56. > :14:59.the so-called Islamic State. But the UNESCO site of Palmyra is now back
:15:00. > :15:08.in Syrian government hands and there is less damage to the site and was
:15:09. > :15:11.buried. -- than was feared. Government forces drove out IS
:15:12. > :15:16.forces from the ruins, the jihadists first took control of the area in
:15:17. > :15:21.2015 and after being pushed out they came back again late last year.
:15:22. > :15:26.While Syrian forces were focused on fighting rebels in the northern city
:15:27. > :15:31.of Aleppo. This is the second time the government has cleared Palmyra
:15:32. > :15:33.of the militants. Speaking today a Russian military officers said the
:15:34. > :15:43.effort was being supported by the Russian air. TRANSLATION: Over one
:15:44. > :15:45.point five monthly Syrian troops overcame substantial resistance from
:15:46. > :15:53.the terrorists stashed over one and a half months. On the 2nd of March
:15:54. > :15:57.they took control of Palmyra. It was feared that the ruins had suffered
:15:58. > :16:00.further destruction after drones and satellite imagery seems to show
:16:01. > :16:07.further damage whilst it was under the militants control. But today
:16:08. > :16:12.Syria's antiquities chief said there was less damage than archaeologists
:16:13. > :16:16.have feared. Palmyra had already lost its famed triumphant arch, its
:16:17. > :16:21.central temple of Bell, and dozens of antiquities in the museum. Should
:16:22. > :16:27.the militants retake the ruins once more, it is not certain it gives a
:16:28. > :16:31.vine. -- it is not certain it could survive or stop it is the evil of
:16:32. > :16:38.China's biggest political event of the year, the People's Congress --
:16:39. > :16:41.it is the eve of. Beijing has said they will raise the defence budget
:16:42. > :16:47.by 7%, which is the lowest rise in military spending in the country and
:16:48. > :16:50.around a decade and it comes against the backdrop of growing tensions in
:16:51. > :17:02.the South China Sea and Donald Trump's call for a big rise in US
:17:03. > :17:06.defence spending. China has announced an increase in military
:17:07. > :17:10.spending of around 7% for this year, and it comes days after the United
:17:11. > :17:16.States president Donald Trump said America's defence budget should go
:17:17. > :17:19.up by 10%. Tensions increasing between the superpowers, especially
:17:20. > :17:25.in the South China Sea, and there are fears of a regional arms race
:17:26. > :17:28.developing. It has become tradition for the Chinese government to
:17:29. > :17:30.announce its military spending increase in percentage terms at
:17:31. > :17:36.least, the day before the start of the annual National People's
:17:37. > :17:39.Congress. TRANSLATION: Fundamentally speaking the United States is
:17:40. > :17:44.probably still worried that China's capabilities might be catching up or
:17:45. > :17:49.exceeding that of the United States and in fact China still has a great
:17:50. > :17:52.gap with the United States in its capability as a developing country
:17:53. > :17:58.but China's military development and construction is to continue. This is
:17:59. > :18:01.the second year in a row for China to post a single digit increase in
:18:02. > :18:12.East events spending. This followed increments over 10% for two decades
:18:13. > :18:16.or more. Some countries have said the official military budget is not
:18:17. > :18:23.reliable and be real figure could be much higher. Either way China is
:18:24. > :18:32.looking to follow the US pivot to Asia. Washington is winding back
:18:33. > :18:35.seen as what is -- is winding back what is seen as Chinese expansion.
:18:36. > :18:40.Comparisons are being made between China and America, but only on the
:18:41. > :18:48.military front, but also when it comes to issues like free trade, and
:18:49. > :18:53.renewable energy. -- not only. We can get some sport. We will start
:18:54. > :18:59.with football. Liverpool have moved up to third
:19:00. > :19:02.in the Premier League, with a 3-1 victory over
:19:03. > :19:04.Arsenal at Anfield. Firmino and Mane gave
:19:05. > :19:05.Liverpool a 2-0 lead, before Danny Welbeck
:19:06. > :19:07.pulled one back. Wijnaldum then popped up a minute
:19:08. > :19:10.into injury time to ensure Jurgen Klopp's side took
:19:11. > :19:11.all three points. A lot of focus will be
:19:12. > :19:14.on Arsene Wenger's decision to leave Alexi Sanchez on the bench -
:19:15. > :19:27.he said it was tactical. I'm strong enough and lucid enough
:19:28. > :19:29.to analyse the impact. And I don't deny that
:19:30. > :19:33.Alexis Sanchez is a great player. I bought him and I have always
:19:34. > :19:36.played him and I think he has done very well for us,
:19:37. > :19:38.but the decision like One of the best games we have played
:19:39. > :19:45.so far because of the strength We all know what we did in the last
:19:46. > :19:53.week and how we played. It's really not usual or whatever
:19:54. > :20:05.that you come back like this. So we know what we have to work
:20:06. > :20:08.on and we will work, but today everyone can enjoy this
:20:09. > :20:11.game and this result. Ten man Bournemouth held on to draw
:20:12. > :20:13.1-1 with Manchester United It was a match packed with
:20:14. > :20:24.incidents. Ibrahimovic and Tyrone Mings
:20:25. > :20:26.could be in trouble Mings appeared to land his studs
:20:27. > :20:32.on the back of the head of the United forward as he lay
:20:33. > :20:35.on the ground, and then from Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed a penalty
:20:36. > :20:38.late in the second half, that would have seen them win
:20:39. > :20:46.all three points. We played a phenomenal first half
:20:47. > :20:52.and we should be winning three - zero but we ended 1-1, as simple as
:20:53. > :21:00.that. Who can I blame? Ourselves. Nobody else. We missed big chances,
:21:01. > :21:04.but as I told them at half-time in the second half we played against a
:21:05. > :21:21.difference in, with one man less and that gave up to play.
:21:22. > :21:26.Leicester City have had back-to-back victories since the sacking of
:21:27. > :21:32.Claudio Ranieri. They moved to 15th place after beating Hull.
:21:33. > :21:35.Andy Murray has chalked up his first tournament win of the year
:21:36. > :21:40.After a shaky start, the world number one saw off
:21:41. > :21:42.Fernando Verdasco in straight sets - it's the first time he's
:21:43. > :21:45.won this tournament, and means he extends his lead over
:21:46. > :21:47.Novak Djokovic at the top of the world rankings.
:21:48. > :21:51.He reeled off five successive games to take the first set and he
:21:52. > :22:01.continued in the same vein in the second set and clinched victory with
:22:02. > :22:04.a powerful serve. Rafael Nadal continues to display the kind of
:22:05. > :22:08.tennis which has taken him to 14 major titles as he reached the final
:22:09. > :22:13.at the Mexico open, producing a straight sets victory over Marin
:22:14. > :22:18.Cilic. His 14th consecutive victory at this tournament which is last won
:22:19. > :22:31.in 2013 and he will now play Sam Querrey in the final.
:22:32. > :22:34.What a Test series it's turning out to be between India and Australia,
:22:35. > :22:36.with the visitors again springing a surprise.
:22:37. > :22:39.As Nathan Lyon produced the best haul by a visiting bowler to India.
:22:40. > :22:42.He racked up a career best eight wickets for 50 runs
:22:43. > :22:44.as Australia dominated the opening day of the second Test
:22:45. > :22:47.Only Rahul offered any kind of sustained resistance,
:22:48. > :22:50.with an innings of 90 as India were bowled out for 189.
:22:51. > :22:52.In reply, Australia closed on 40 without loss -
:22:53. > :22:59.they already lead in the four Test series.
:23:00. > :23:02.After all the trash-talk Tony Bellew and David Haye will go
:23:03. > :23:04.Bellew, the world cruiserweight champion,
:23:05. > :23:06.is fighting for the first time as a heavyweight.
:23:07. > :23:09.And he starts tonight nearly a stone lighter than Haye -
:23:10. > :23:21.I was hoping he would look a little more physically impressive, I was
:23:22. > :23:25.hoping I would see some remnants of abdominal muscles of some sort, but
:23:26. > :23:31.he looked very smooth and he did not look good in my opinion. It doesn't
:23:32. > :23:34.bode well for him. I've knocked out guys who are bigger and stronger and
:23:35. > :23:40.more athletic than him so I don't see what he can do other than get
:23:41. > :23:43.smashed pretty quick. But short of confidence, David Haye. That is all
:23:44. > :23:52.the sport for now -- not short. Cycling on ice is not normally a
:23:53. > :23:56.good idea, but I spiking is becoming a booming sport all over the world.
:23:57. > :24:02.It is now arrived in the UK and our sports correspondent has been giving
:24:03. > :24:12.it a go. -- ice fighting for stop the sum of us, ice-skating can be a
:24:13. > :24:16.challenge. -- for some of us. There can be quite a lot of pain and
:24:17. > :24:19.humiliation, but now there is a new sport for all of us to get up to
:24:20. > :24:24.speed on the ice. Under starters orders and ready to go, one of
:24:25. > :24:33.Scandinavia's popular new sports has arrived in the UK. On the Zeiss
:24:34. > :24:42.bikes back wheels have been placed -- ice bikes. Some people are afraid
:24:43. > :24:49.of ice-skating and falling over and giving it a try but this is more
:24:50. > :24:54.inclusive and you don't have to worry about falling over and anyone
:24:55. > :24:58.can do it. I've been overtaken again, it takes getting used to,
:24:59. > :25:04.especially the way you glide around the corners. There can be contacted
:25:05. > :25:07.on these fancy wheel to wheel tussles, and the slightest of nudges
:25:08. > :25:11.we'll send you into a spin, even more so in the 400 metre races held
:25:12. > :25:21.across Scandinavia and the Netherlands in which riders rich
:25:22. > :25:24.fast paces. This sport is changing perceptions of ice and has spread as
:25:25. > :25:29.far as Mexico as well as the UK -- reach fast paces was the you are
:25:30. > :25:34.pedalling furiously and then you glide around the corner, but what a
:25:35. > :25:39.work-out. It is very fast, you can lose it quite hard on the corners,
:25:40. > :25:42.but so much fun. Looks like a lot of fun. That is it from me and the
:25:43. > :26:15.team. Goodbye for now. Good evening, the weather fronts are
:26:16. > :26:19.swinging back across the UK, and it means no two days are the same which
:26:20. > :26:22.is welcome news if you lived in Scotland, which was pretty miserable
:26:23. > :26:23.today. Hardly worth stepping