Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20171202

National security adviser, Michael Flynn, has struck a deal with the inquiry into russian involvement in last years us election. Hes admitted lying to the fbi about his meeting with the Russian Ambassador during the transition period between mr trump winning the election and assuming office. Its now being reported that mr flynn is prepared to testify that the president s son in law, Jared Kushner, was among those who directed him to make contact with the russians. From washington, Aleem Maqbool reports. It has sent political shock waves through washington. General Michael Flynn, Donald Trumps former National Security adviser, turned himself in to the fbi, and to a judge admitted lying about his contacts with russian officials. In court, he was asked if he wished to plead guilty to making false, fictitious and fraudulent statements, to which Michael Flynn answered simply, yes, sir. Well, we now know general flynn had conversations with the Russian Ambassador about the possibility of lifting sanctions against moscow. But given barack obama was still in the white house, he was just unauthorised to do that. But he now says, crucially, that he was directed to have those conversations by a senior official in the Transition Team of donald trump. Michael flynn developed a close relationship with mr trump during the Election Campaign at one point, even being talked of as a potential Vice President. A truly great general right here. Mike, thank you. At the Republican National convention, he famously led chants for Hillary Clinton to be imprisoned. Yeah, thats right, lock her up it was revealed Michael Flynn had previously had contacts with vladimir putin, but he made his costly mistake late last year after president obama had just imposed more sanctions on russia for interfering in the us election. On the 29th of december, Michael Flynn spoke to the Russian Ambassador on the phone. On the 15th of january, Vice President mike pence said that sanctions were not discussed by Michael Flynn in those calls. Only after the ninth of february, when a newspaper revealed general flynn did discuss sanctions when he wasnt authorised to do so did pressure increase and Michael Flynn lost his job. Michael flynn then became one key focus of the investigation into russias attempts to influence the 2016 election and potential collusion with the trump campaign. The white house is now trying to distance itself from general flynns actions and the lies he told the fbi, but theres no question that this latest development brings the russia investigation ever closer to the president himself. Aleem maqbool, bbc news, washington. And of course the developments sparked Quick Reaction on capitol hill. Heres some of them. This is part of a broad pattern of the Trump Administration and Campaign People lying about the contacts with the russians. So that in itself is very substantial and serious and obviously when its the National Security advisor to the president , all the more trouble. But given the universe of potential charges against Michael Flynn, it could indicates he could be presenting some substantial information to rob mueller. Weve got, now, two people pleading guilty. Weve got a Campaign Manager and his deputy still under indictment. How many more figures have to be brought tojustice because of their ties with russia before we end up connecting all these dots . Earlier i spoke with our correspondent laura bicker in washington about those reports Jared Kushner may have directed flynn to make contact with the russians. Well, it takes the investigation even closer to the oval office. What were hearing is that Michael Flynn had several contacts with the Russian Ambassador, sergey kislyak. One on the charge sheet says it was from a Senior Adviser in the trump campaign, the other was a very Senior Adviser in the trump campaign. What we understand is one of the directions to contact russia came from Jared Kushner, Donald Trumps son in law. Now, obviously these are us media reports at this time. Its not an offence to ask someone time. Its not an offence to ask someone to get in contact with members of other countries. What is an offence is lying about it to the fbi, and that is what Michael Flynn has been charged with today and pleaded guilty to. I think these significant moment is seeing a Senior Member of the trump campaign, a Senior Member of the Trump Administration walk into a court to plead guilty. The other thing that is whirling around washington right now is after this guilty plea, just what else has Michael Flynn told especial counsel robert miller, who is investigating everything to do with possible collusion between russia and the trump campaign. Given what weve learned today and the reporting thats happening in the us media to do with Jared Kushner, of course you say its not confirmed, how worried do you think the Trump Administration might be . The official line from the white house and from the white house lawyer is this plead today indicates no one other than Michael Flynn. Michael flynn was fired from the white house because he lied to the Vice President and today has pleaded guilty to the same lied to the fbi, so guilty to the same lied to the fbi, so thats the official white house. I think there will be some within the white house who will wonder exactly what contacts who had with the russians and when and how that will be implicated in this investigation. I think the worry is where all this is going and which tend to call goes down which road. I think thats the Bigger Picture here. Tentacle. Dodig anyone really knows that apart from special counsel robert mueller, who is taking his time i dont think. Hes the former director of the fbi and hes slowly and methodically making his way through this investigation and no one knows where this goes apart from him. If you want to know more about what might be next for the trump russia investigation, just go to our website. Theres analysis from our senior north america reporter anthony zurcher. Just go to bbc. Com news. Lets take a look at some of the other stories making the news. Violent protests across honduras have intensified with one person dead and at least 20 injured. A partial recount of sundays election is taking place and final results are expected shortly. The opposition candidate, salvador nasralla, has accused the Electoral Court of manipulating the vote counting system. Dutch prosecutors say slobodan praljak, the former Bosnian Croat military leader who poisoned himself at the un war crimes tribunal on wednesday, died of potassium cyanide poisoning. An internal investigation will focus on how mr praljak got hold of the poison. White house officials have indicated that President Trump is likely to announce next week that the us is to recognisejerusalem as the capital of israel. Critics have warned that the decision could jeopardise peace negotiations, because the status ofjerusalem is likely to be part of any final agreement. Millions of people download Anti Virus Software onto their computers every year to try to protect themselves from hackers and cyber crime, but now the British Government is warning that using Russian Software could be a risk to National Security. One of the most popular anti virus products is made by a russian company, kaspersky. But the companys boss has told the bbc there is no evidence they are involved in spying. Heres our security correspondent gordon corera. Fears of russian Cyber Espionage have been growing and, tonight, the government issues a new warning about the risks posed by a widely used russian company, kaspersky lab. Our mission has always been to protect the big and the small. Kaspersky lab provides Security Products designed to protect systems from criminals and hackers. Its used by consumers, and also businesses, and some parts of government. We keep the secrets of global significance. For a system like kaspersky to work, this software requires access to almost all the files on someones computer, phone or network, to scan for viruses. And the software may also need to communicate back to the companys headquarters in moscow. The fear is that this could be used by the russian state for espionage, stealing secrets. Here at Britains National Cyber Security centre, they say theyve not seen actual proof of such espionage, but they believe there is an increased risk. And so today, theyve told Government Departments not to use kaspersky for systems containing sensitive data. This is specifically about entities that may be of interest to the russian government. And so that, for us, is about National Security systems in government, of which there are a very small number. And, for example, if you have a business doing negotiations that the russian government may be interested in. Kaspersky lab has already faced allegations that its been used for espionage in america. Earlier this week, i spoke to the companys founder and chief executive at their london offices about those claims. My response is that we dont do anything wrong, and we will never do that. Its simply not possible. And, er, whats in all these publications, they are just speculating about some rumours, opinions, and there is zero of the hard data. 400 Million People use kaspersky products around the world. Ba rclays actually offers kasperskys award winning. In the uk, barclays has provided it to customers, but Officials Say theyre not telling the general public to stop using it. Kaspersky lab denies any wrongdoing, but todays warning is another sign of growing fears over the risks posed by russia. Gordon corera, bbc news. Pope francis, whos visiting bangladesh, has met a group of muslim refugees, and used the term rohingya for the first time during his trip to the region. Lets ta ke lets take you to some live pictures of one of the latest events he is at. Hes visiting a church and this is the final day of his seven day trip to myanmar and bangladesh. He is in dhaka at the moment and later on he will give a speech and will have a couple more events and a ceremony at the airport before saying goodbye and leaving bangladesh. This has been a relatively controversial trip as when the pope was in myanmar he didnt use the term rohingya to describe the Muslim Minority there. Many of them have fled across the border into bangladesh after a military campaign against them according to the many. Much testimony we have heard from the refugees in bangladesh. We understand that he is in a church in the dhaka neighbourhood, the Santo Rosario church at an event there. Many nuns and many people greeting him, obviously quite excited to see him. Lets now get a report on much of that background thats been happening during his tourfrom our religious Affairs Correspondent Martin Bashir in dhaka. On the fifth day of his visit to south asia, pope francis arrived in typically unpretentious style at an interfaith gathering in dhaka. In the audience were 16 rohingya adults and children whod fled from myanmar. One of them was 12 year old shawkat ara. Shawkats entire family lived in a village in rakhine state, when the army arrived in september. In recalling what happened, she said, they shouted, you rohingyas, you bengalis, and then killed everyone. They killed my aunt, my uncle, and others in the village. They killed my whole family, my four brothers. My sister and my parents are dead. I have no one left. The pope invited the refugees onto the stage and blessed all of them, including shawkat. And having not used the word once during his visit, he decided to give a name to the people and their suffering. The presence of god today, he said, is also called rohingya. A papal visit brought global attention to the suffering, and comfort to a child who has lost everything. Martin bashir, bbc news, bangladesh. Stay with us on bbc news, still to come hundreds turn out to see prince harry and Meghan Markle on their first Public Engagement. Its quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor People Living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. I am feeling so helpless, that the childrens are dying in front of me and i cant do anything. Charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippy cult suspected of killing sharon tate and at least six other people in los angeles. At 11 00 this morning, 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. Then philippe cozette, a minerfrom calais, was shaking hands with and exchanging flags with robert fagg, his opposite number from dover. This is bbc news. The latest headlines President Trumps former National Security adviser, Michael Flynn, has pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi over his contact with moscow. The British Government has issued a fresh warning about the security risks of using russian Anti Virus Software. The british prime ministers deputy, damian green, is under renewed pressure after claims that he accessed pornography on his parliamentary computer. A retired detective says he found thousands of pornographic images on a computer in mr Greens Office nine years ago and that it was ridiculous to suggest that anyone else could be responsible. Mr green, the first secretary of state, has again insisted that the allegations are false. Danny shaw has this exclusive report. Hes theresa mays oldest and most trusted political ally, now battling for cabinet survival over claims he watched pornography on his work computer. Could ijust ask you to leave . Is that possible . The allegations, which he denies, centre on computers seized in this police raid over leaked documents from the home office. Now a detective involved in the enquiry has given his account of what he discovered. I had an exemplary record. Neil lewis spent 25 years in the metropolitan police before retiring due to ill health. He has multiple sclerosis. In 2008, was given the task of examining damian greens work computer. The shocking thing was that as i was viewing, i noticed a lot of pornography thumbnails, which indicated web browsing. But a lot. There was a lot of them. How many images did you see on that . Thousands. Thousands of pornographic images . Thumbnail images. This is the one notebook you kept. Neil lewis still has his notebook from the time, detailing what he saw on the computer. Theres a reference to briefing officers about pornography. He claimed two other detectives also saw the material. It was legal and not extreme, he said. Similar images were also seen on a laptop, he claimed. How can you be sure that it was damian green who was accessing that pornography . Theres a sort of phrase, you cant put fingers on the keyboard. So i cant say that. But the computer was in mr Greens Office, on his desk, logged in, it was his account, his name. In between browsing pornography, he was sending e mails from his account, his personal account. Reading documents, writing documents. And it was just impossible. It was sort of exclusive and extensive, that it was ridiculous to suggest that anybody else could have done it. Outside his home in kent today, damian green protested his innocence. A Cabinet Office enquiry has been examining his conduct. Mr green. Ive said that im not commenting any further while the investigation is going on. Ive maintained all along, i still maintain, it is the truth, that i didnt download or look at pornography on my computer. But obviously while the investigation is going on i cant say any more at the moment. One of mr greens colleagues in parliament rallied to his defence, saying the detectives account didnt add up. The pattern of behaviour he describes seems to me entirely inconsistent with the normal pattern of behaviour of an mp in parliament. We simply do not have hours to sit in front of our computers and browse leisure websites of whatever variety. Reporter did you look at pornography at all . There are now questions about how apparently confidential information about damian greens computers was made public. Scotland yard is looking into it. The worlds majorfishing nations, including russia, china and the united states, have agreed to stop commercial fishing in the arctic ocean for the foreseeable future. Once permanently frozen, arctic waters are now amongst the fastest warming areas on earth. The deal protects nearly three million Square Kilometres for the next 16 years, while Scientific Research is carried out into the sustainability of the existing marine ecosystem. The draw for the 32 teams who have made to the 2018 foot or world cup has taken place in a ceremony in the kremlin. Brigid conway was in moscow Richard Conway was casting his eye over the draw. Vladimir putin welcomed all 32 teams to come in and ta ke welcomed all 32 teams to come in and take a look forward to next summers tournament. Russia itself will kick off the entire competition onjune 14 off the entire competition onjune 1a next year against saudi arabia, that will be here in moscow. I have been given by fifa my little chart already, so i have the map all about of who will play where and when they will be taking place, very interesting matches. Portugal taking on spain, those neighbours clashing once again, that will be a fascinating tie. Argentina in group d, they will have to take on iceland who are making their debut. And england will be wanting to overturn a friendly terrible record in recent yea rs a friendly terrible record in recent years at the world cup, they will ta ke years at the world cup, they will take on belgium, tunisia and panama. Some interesting games there as well, belgium having a very heavy English Premier League contingent in their ranks, Roberto Martinez their manager also knows about managing the top english side. Thats another one to look out for. Prince harry and his fiancee megan markle have carried out their First Official Public Engagement since they announced they were getting married earlier this week. They were greeted by crowds of well wishers as they visited a World Aids Day charity fair. Heres our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. As an actress, shes been used to a public stage. Shes 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. There was a lot of eye contact between them and supportive arms going around each others 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 queue 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 shes great. A good addition to the royal family. Definitely. Yeah. An american. Go, mixed kids yeah, mixed kids in the royal family now. 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. Its a cause harry, now with meghan, wants to take forward in tribute to his late mother. And 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 its absolutely gorgeous. Just knowing that youre sitting near meghan and prince harry, itsjaw dropping, its really nice. A glittering future then . It certainly seems to augur well. Nicholas witchell, bbc news, nottingham. Lets ta ke lets take you back to those live pictures before we go of pope francis who is in the final day of his seven day trip to myanmar and bangladesh. He is in bangladesh right now, and he is visiting the church of Santo Rosario and meeting some priests as well, before heading to dakar where he will meet other priests. There is much more of this on our website, i am also on twitter. Hello. After a fairly wintry end to november, december has started on a little bit more of a milder note, and through the course of the weekend it will gradually turn that bit milder. Well still see some sunshine on offer, as well as a little bit of light rain. A few showers, but not all of us seeing them through the course of the weekend. As we start off saturday morning, this is how things look. One or two showers lingering around the east coast of england and a few coming down the irish sea, affecting wales and south west of england. A little light rain also pushing across scotland that will be persistent over the north over Higher Ground. Lets look at saturday afternoon. Quite cloudy for the south west of england and wales, a few spot of showery rain. Further east across england you are likely to see sunshine here, although temperatures still only around five or six degrees. Some sunshine across parts of northern england, perhaps a little more cloud over the West Midlands at times, heading northwards into Northern Ireland and scotland. The cloud will gradually increase from the north west, things will turn milder. Quite windy for the north of scotland with the arrival of some rain too. Heading through saturday night and into the early hours of sunday morning, that milder air creeps its way slowly southwards and eastwards across the country. So it wont be quite as cold as it has been first thing sunday morning. In fact, most of us start the day frost free. But it will be quite cloudy in the south as that warm front sinks its way southward, with some outbreaks of rain. But then as we move through the course of sunday, a cold front heads its way southward across the country. Behind that, clearer conditions as a ridge of High Pressure tries to build in from the atlantic. That will bring slightly milder air than weve seen. Colder air is pushed away towards the near continent and milderair spills in from the atlantic. So, as we move through sunday, after that cloudy start to the south with some outbreaks of rain, that should clear away and then were all into the brighter skies come sunday afternoon. So sunny spells developing across eastern scotland, northern and Eastern England too. A bit more cloud and a few spots of rain in Northern Ireland and the west of scotland, but temperatures for england and wales back into double figures something we havent seen in quite a while. Onto monday then. Another largely settled day. High pressure moving in. A bit of a breeze in the north bringing a few outbreaks of rain to the north west of scotland. Sunny spells elsewhere. The best of the sunshine towards the east of the Higher Ground and temperatures around eight to 11 degrees. A similar day on tuesday with some rain in the far north west, but after that fairly mild few days, it could turn colder again later in the week. This is bbc news, the headlines President Trumps former National Security adviser, Michael Flynn, has pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi about his contacts with russia. The charges were brought by the special counsel robert mueller, as part of an inquiry into alleged russian meddling in last years us election. The British Government has issued a fresh warning about the security risks of using russian Anti Virus Software. The National Cyber Security Centre is warning against using the products for systems related to National Security. One anti virus firm, kaspersky labs, has denied any wrongdoing. Pope francis has met a group of Muslim Rohingya refugees in bangladesh and referred to them by name for the first time on his regional tour. He had refrained from using the term on his earlier visit to myanmar, which does not regard rohingya as an ethnic group. Those are the headlines. A 71 year old man has beenjailed for murdering his toddler stepson almost 50 years ago