01/12/2017 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today.

Our top stories.

The most senior member of the Trump

administration so far

is charged in the probe

into possible collusion with Russia.

Sacked national security

adviser, Michael Flynn,

has pleaded guilty to lying

to the FBI about his

contacts with Moscow.

The US media reports he will

The US media reports he will testify

that Donald Trump's son-in-law,

Jared Kushner, was amongst those who

directed him contact with Russia.

The White House says that nothing

about the guilty plea -

or the charge - implicates anyone

other than Mr Flynn.

We'll bring you all the very latest.

The EU will refuse to begin talks

on a post-Brexit trade deal

if Ireland is not satisfied

with the UK's offer

on the Northern Irish border.

Pope Francis comes face to face

with the agony of Rohingya

refugees in Bangladesh

and publicly uses

the word "Rohingya"

in recognition of their identity.

And coming up in sport...

The draw for next year's World Cup

finals has taken place.

We'll get reaction from Moscow.

Hello and welcome

to World News Today.

We start with news that

President Trump's former national

security advisor Michael Flynn has

pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI

about his contact with Russia.

Mr Flynn is the most senior former

official to be charged so far

in the investigation into alleged

Russian meddling in last year's US

presidential election.

A lawyer for the White House has

said nothing about the guilty plea

or charge implicates anyone other

than Mr Flynn.

This is Mr Flynn

leaving court earlier.

US media say that Mr Flynn is

prepared to give testimony that Mr

Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner,

was amongst the members of the

President's transitional team who

directed intimate contact with the

Russians.

Aleem Maqbool has the latest.

It has sent political shock

waves through Washington.

General Michael Flynn,

Donald Trump's former

national security adviser,

turned himself in to the FBI,

and to a judge admitted

lying about his contacts

with Russian officials.

General Michael Flynn!

Michael Flynn developed a close

relationship with Donald Trump

during the election campaign,

and at one point he was talked

of as a potential vice-president.

A truly great general.

Mike, thank you.

At the Republican National

Convention, he famously led

chanting for Hillary Clinton

to be imprisoned.

Lock her up!

All the focus now is on the mistake

Michael Flynn made after

Donald Trump's win at the polls,

when Barack Obama was still

in office and had imposed sanctions

on Russia for interfering

with the US election.

On 29th December, Michael Flynn

spoke to the Russian ambassador

on the phone in the first

of a series of calls.

On 15th January, Vice-President Mike

Pence said sanctions were not

discussed by Michael Flynn

in those calls.

Only after 9th February,

when a newspaper revealed

General Flynn did discuss sanctions

when he was not organised to do so,

did pressure increase

and Michael Flynn lost his job.

-- authorised.

Michael Flynn then became one

of those investigated

by the Special Counsel into Russia's

attempts to influence the election

and the potential collusion

with the Trump campaign.

This is unquestionably the biggest

moment of the Russia investigation.

Michael Flynn is the most senior

member of Donald Trump's

team to be indicted,

and is accused of lying

to FBI agents while still

serving the White House.

Most importantly, we now believe

Michael Flynn will testify

that he was directed to talk

to the Russian ambassador

when he was not supposed

to by a senior official

in Donald Trump's transition team,

bringing this investigation ever

closer to the President himself.

Aleem Maqbool, Washington.

Let's get more on this.

Laura Bicker is in Washington.

A new development, latest

development. It is developing quite

fast. Jared Kushner is the latest

name to be thrown very squarely into

the ring. Just take us through the

context.

There could be a number of

officials certainly involved in

this. But this was in regards to who

told Michael Flynn to contact the

Russians. Now according to the

charge sheet, there was a senior

official and a very senior official.

US media here are touting Jared

Kushner's name is one of those who

told Michael Flynn to contact the

Russian ambassador. Now, we have not

got that independently confirmed but

he is just one name that the US

media are putting out there. That

would be significant. It takes this

trail closer to the Oval Office. But

remember, when it comes to this

investigation, it is worth looking

exactly what Robert Mueller is

trying to figure out. He is trying

to look at whether or not Russia

colluded with the Trump campaign to

help Donald Trump win the election.

And part of that is to see what

contact they had with the Russians

and when. And Michael Flynn lied

about his contact with the Russian

ambassador. As well as to the FBI.

That is why he has pleaded guilty

today. The other question is, in

return for the guilty plea, what

else is he told the Special Counsel,

Robert Mueller?

Indeed. The next

question is if Jared Kushner

directed Flynn, who directed Jared

Kushner? Hopefully we will learn

more about that. James Comey is

another name we hear quite a lot

during this latest news. He has been

tweeting as well. Tell us about

that.

James Comey was the former

director of the FBI. One of the

reasons why, if you're wondering why

the name Michael Flynn sounds most

familiar, it's because when James

Comey was fired, he gave testimony

to Congress that President Trump

urged him to drop the investigation

into Michael Flynn. The conversation

that he recounted in notes he had

taken straight afterwards was that

Mr Trump asked him to let the

investigation go. To let Michael

Flynn go. James Comey has tweeted

and has been incognito on Twitter

for some time, finally using his own

Twitter handle. You said, like

justice roll down like waters and

righteousness like an ever flowing

frame. Not hiding the fact he is

pleased.

Very quickly, we have still

not heard anything on this subject

from Mr Trump but there has been

talk of a bit of deflection going

on. He has tweeted today but what

about Rex Tillerson.

Yesterday, we

were wondering if Rex Tillerson

could survive. Whether his future

was extremely uncertain. There have

been tensions between the two for

several months. In Donald Trump's

tweet, he describes reports Rex

Tillerson was to be pushed out the

door as fake news. He says Rex

Tillerson is here to stay and

admitted that they had differences

but they are working on it. It looks

like, for the moment at least, the

Secretary of State will keep his

job.

OK, thank you for that.

We can cross now to

Washington DC and talk

to Elizabeth Wydra, a Supreme Court

litigator and legal expert.

Thank you very much for joining us.

It is all about the deal. How is

this deal working, as you

understand?

Absolutely. It is a deal

that we have the former national

security adviser to President Trump

pleading guilty to lying about

talking to Russian contacts. The

even bigger deal is what did he

agree to give Robert -- Robert

Mueller in exchange that plea deal?

We know that he is implicating

senior presidential transition

officials. Rumours have been

swirling that perhaps it is Jared

Kushner, even Mike Pence, even at

present himself. -- the president

himself. We're getting closer to

senior level Trump administration

officials. You don't make a deal

with someone very high level like

Mike Flynn unless he can give you

someone who is an even bigger fish.

Dairy Crest pleaded guilty. What

happens next in the investigation?

-- he has pleaded guilty.

I am sure

Robert Mueller is meticulously

putting together all these bits of

information, as was just discussed.

Michael Flynn was key to a lot of

what was going on in the potential

collision with the Russians and

attentional obstruction of justice

with the filing of James Comey.

Flynn's name comes up again and

again. You can be sure that Robert

Mueller and his ace team are putting

together how all those dots are

connected through Michael Flynn and

with his senior Trump characters,

like perhaps even the President's

son-in-law has Vice President, being

implicated, we're getting ever

closer to the Oval Office. Robert

Mueller is not going to go there

unless he knows for sure that he has

got the goods. Between the Flynn

deal and the earlier deal, I think

that Robert Mueller is probably

putting together a very damning

case.

This is a federal crime. What

does that mean in terms of the

reality of a sentence? What is the

likelihood that will be reduced as

part of this deal?

Yes, absolutely.

It seems, just from what we known

reports, that Flynn could have been

charged with several other and

perhaps even serious crimes that are

lying to the FBI, which is itself a

very serious charge and is a felony.

It does seem that by only charging

him with lying to the FBI, Robert

Mueller and the Special Counsel

decided to lower the charges and

potential sentence for Mr Flynn, and

possibly even have either a Lord

liability for Michael Flynn's son,

Michael Flynn Junior, or perhaps

even getting Michael Flynn Junior of

completely. We do not know exactly

the terms of how that cooperation

deal came about. But it is very

likely. What happens in most plea

deals is that you get a lower charge

and then also the Special Counsel or

I commend in law sentence to the

federal judge. -- will recommend a

lesser sentence.

You have been

watching this. A White House lawyer

has said this guilty plea is only

regarding Mr Flynn. It was not

impact on anybody. Did the Fat

"Wishful thinking" pass your mind?

-- the thought.

Absolutely. I'm sure

he would like that to be true but it

is not the case. What we have found

from the charging information is

referenced a very senior transition

officials. This is definitely not

the end of it. It is indeed wishful

thinking if they think that the

Special Counsel investigation will

wrap up very soon and without this

touching even closer to the heart of

the Trump administration.

Interesting. Elizabeth, thank you

very much. Thank you.

Let's move on and look at the fair

is taking place in Europe. --

affairs.

The EU will refuse to begin talks

on a post-Brexit trade deal

if Ireland is not satisfied

with the UK's offer

on the Northern Irish border.

That's according to

the European Council President.

Donald Tusk held a joint news

conference with the Irish Prime

Minister Leo Varadkar in Dublin.

Ireland has urged the UK to be

clearer on how it plans to avoid

a hard border between the Republic

and Northern Ireland.

Mr Tusk - who will chair

a crunch summit of EU

leaders in two weeks' time -

said the border within Ireland must

remain a symbol of cooperation.

We have agreed today that before

proposing guidelines on transition,

I will consult the Taoiseach if the

UK offer is sufficient for the Irish

government. Let me say very clearly,

if the UK offer is unacceptable for

Ireland, it will also be an

acceptable for the EU. I realise

that for some British politicians,

this might be hard to understand.

But such is the logic can't the fact

that Ireland is an EU member while

the UK is leaving. This is why the

key to the UK's future lies, in some

ways," at least as long as Brexit

mega- sheesh and is are you ongoing.

-- in Dublin, at least as long as

Brexit negotiations are ongoing.

Pope Francis, who's

visiting Bangladesh,

has met some of the more

than 600-thousand Rohingya Muslims

who've fled violence in Myanmar.

He used the word "Rohingya"

in public for the first time -

a controversial move

because the Myanmar government

doesn't recognise the Rohingya

as an ethnic group.

The refugees had been

brought to the capital

Dhaka from Cox's Bazar,

where more than 600,000

men, women and children

from Myanmar's Rakhine

state have fled.

Yogita Limaye is following

the Pope's visit.

Their plight has overshadowed his

visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh,

and today, a group of Rohingya

refugees met Pope Francis in Dhaka.

One by one, they had

a chance to tell him

what they've been through.

Up until now, Pope Francis had

avoided using the term

"Rohingya", which is how these

people identify themselves.

But a word that Myanmar

refuses to recognise.

But today, the Pope

was more outspoken.

At a meeting of religious leaders,

the Pope asked for forgiveness

from Rohingya refugees for the hurt

they've endured, and for

the indifference of the world.

It's a crisis that has

overshadowed the Pope's visit

to Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Regardless of the politics

around the Pope's visit,

for many people from the Catholic

community of Bangladesh,

it was a chance to see the leader

of their religion in person.

They're a tiny percentage

of the population of this country,

but you couldn't tell that

by looking at the crowds here.

Tens of thousands have come

from different parts of Bangladesh.

And they weren't disappointed.

Before he said Mass,

Pope Francis took a quick

tour through the crowd.

For some, it was a moment

they'll remember forever.

He's the first Pope to visit

Bangladesh in more than 30 years.

I'm so happy and so blessed that

I got to get here in this space,

so there are lots of people that

couldn't come over here.

So I'm so lucky!

I can see the Pope so near.

I was in tears when I saw him.

When I saw him, I thought

I'm seeing Jesus.

I was saying, "God bless you, Papa.

God bless you.

I'm so happy to see you again."

For this small community,

the Pope's visit is reassurance that

they're part of something bigger.

But for another minority,

it brought hope that one of the most

influential leaders of the world

could help them.

Yogita Limaye, BBC News, Dhaka.

Stay with us on BBC

World News, still to come...

Prince Harry and his

fiancee Meghan Markle

are on their first joint official

public engagement in the UK.

We'll find out why the city of

Nottingham in the English Midlands

has a special place

in the prince's heart.

I am feeling so helpless. The

children are dying in front of me

and I can't do anything.

Charles

Manson is the leader of the hippie

cult who called Sharon Tate and at

least six others in Los Angeles. --

killed.

At 11 a:m., just half a metre of

rock separated Britain from

continental Europe. It took the

drills just a few moments to cut

through the final obstacle. And then

this mine was shaking hands and

exchanging flags with his opposite

number. -- miner.

This is BBC World News Today.

The latest headlines...

President Trump's sacked

national security adviser,

Michael Flynn, pleads guilty

to charges that he lied to the FBI

about contacts with Russia.

US media reports he will testify

that Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared

Kushner was amongst those who

directed him to make contact with

Russia.

Dutch pathologists say that an

autopsy suggests the former Bosnian

Croat leader died of cyanide

poisoning. He swallowed the Floyd

Wells in the dock at the Yugoslav

war crimes tribunal on Wednesday.

The child Bruno has begun an

internal investigation which it

hopes to complete before the court

as wind up at the end of the year,

focusing on how he got hold of the

poison.

Now for all the sport.

Now the planning can really begin

for the 32 teams preparing

for the World Cup in Russia.

The draw for the tournament's group

stage has taken place in Moscow,

so let's show you how

the balls came out.

The hosts will open their

World Cup with a match

against Saudi Arabia on June 14th.

The first game of the tournament.

Group B has paired Portugal

with neighbours Spain

while Argentina have been

drawn alongside Iceland,

who have qualified for

the tournament for the first time...

That's in Group D.

The task for Brazil and Germany

is to win their groups.

Or they'll be playing each

other in the last 16.

And Belgium,

with their host of Premier League

stars, are in the same

group as England.

Who are also joined by Panana.

Another team making

their tournament debut.

It's a fairly even distribution

of talent across the eight groups

with plenty of coaches

and players relieved to have

avoided each other.

Perhaps with the exception

of Portugal and Spain,

together in Group B,

with the European Champions

the seeded team of course.

But not necessarily the favourites.

Their defender Jose Fonte told us

they'll make sure not to focus

too much on just that match.

We have to look at the Moroccan side

with exactly the same respect as

France. There are no easy games, as

we found out in the group stages. We

look forward to the first game. It

will be fiery. You had better put

your shin pads on. Exciting. I am

excited. I'm sure everyone in

Portugal will be excited. It is not

an easy grip. But we look forward to

it. -- group.

Italy a notable absence

in the World Cup draw.

But their two best club sides

are playing in Serie A.

Leaders Napoli and defending

champions Juventus are first

and third in the current table.

And it's Juve who lead

through Gonzalo Higuain's goal

against his former club.

They'll move second and reduce

the gap to Napoli to just

a point if they win.

Earlier, Roma beat Spal

3-1 and stay fourth.

It's just a few hours

until the second Ashes

test starts in Adelaide.

It will be partly played under

floodlights as the experiment with

day-night test cricket continues.

England are one down

against Australia and have concerns

over all rounder Moeen Ali,

who may not be able to bowl

because of a finger injury.

The decision was to give him an

extra day of trying to wrest it and

make sure that it is as ready as it

can be. Have another look at things

after practice and see how he is

then and see if there is any more

damage to it, then we will make a

decision from the. We will have a

clear indication of whether he will

be fit to tet-mac three. His batting

has been strong for some time, so

you would still close the batting.

We know these wickets well. Making

sure we adapt accordingly to

whatever the wicket. And whatever

England's plans throw up. Ensuring

that we are on from the first ball.

Hopefully we can get into the game

early and take some momentum from

the last game as well.

Tiger Woods continues to impress

in his first competitive

golf for more than 300 days

as he remains in contention

after two rounds of the Hero World

68 on Friday to add to his

Challenge in the Bahamas.

A 68 on Friday to add to his

opening round 69 has him

on seven under par,

five shots off the lead held

by fellow American Charley Hoffman

who's three ahead of Jordan Spieth.

Woods is one of four

players on seven under

and admits he's still got a long way

to go after more than 10 months out.

And that's all the sport for now.

Prince Harry and his fiancee

Meghan Markle have taken

part in their first

official engagement together.

They were greeted by crowds of

well-wishers in the city of

Nottingham as they visited world

aids Day charity fair.

As an actress, she's been

used to a public stage.

She's accustomed to meeting crowds

and dealing with fans.

Little surprise, then,

that Meghan Markle handled her first

official public appearance

in her new role with

considerable confidence.

Husband-to-be was on hand,

solicitous and supportive,

with a lot of eye contact

between them and supportive arms

going around each other's backs.

At times, they met the crowds

together, but then Meghan

branched off on her own,

stopping and taking

time with people.

While Harry did the same thing

on his side of the street.

Moments later, they were reunited,

the cue for more back-rubbing.

This clearly is a team effort

and the new recruit seems a natural.

She will do hundreds

and hundreds of events like this

in the years to come,

but she will remember this one,

her first official encounter

with the British public.

And the verdict on her performance?

I think she's great.

A good addition to the Royal family.

Definitely.

Yeah.

An American.

Go, mixed kids!

Yeah, mixed kids in

the royal family now.

It was just fabulous and we're just

so excited that they've come

to Nottingham for their first public

appearance and we're very excited

about the wedding in May.

The couple heard about the work

of the Terrence Higgins Trust,

the charity which has worked

for years to help people

suffering from HIV-AIDS.

It's a cause Harry, now with Meghan,

wants to take forward

in tribute to his late mother.

At a local college, they heard

about the effort to help young

people keep out of trouble,

serious issues to which Harry,

through a charitable trust,

is devoting serious attention.

But for all that, there was no doubt

who sparkled the most today -

the woman with the diamond.

I saw her ring and the

diamond is massive!

It's absolutely gorgeous.

Just knowing that you're sitting

near Meghan and Prince Harry,

it's jaw-dropping, it's really nice.

A glittering future, then?

It certainly seems to augur well.

There is more coming up on BBC World

News. Stay with us.