bbc world news today. president trump accuses ba rack bbc world news today. president trump accuses barack obama of tapping his phone during the election campaign. the obama camp denies it. francois fillon tries to keep his campaign alive after another of his homes is raided. another low in the relationship between malaysia and north korea, the north korean ambassador is told to leave kuala lumpur. we have all the sport including a fractious showdown between manchester united and bournemouth. welcome to the programme. there is never a dull moment in washington politics. donald trump took to twitter claiming the obama had

tapped his phones at trump tower during the election campaign. the president offered no evidence for the claims and a spokesman for barack obama the claims and a spokesman for ba rack obama has the claims and a spokesman for barack obama has strongly denied the allegations, saying neither president obama or any white house official ever ordered surveillance official ever ordered surveillance of any official ever ordered surveillance ofany us official ever ordered surveillance of any us citizen and any suggestion otherwise is simply false. it comes after a rocky few weeks for the trump administration which has seen the sacking of the national security adviser mike flynn and questions hanging over the attorney general jeff sessions. both over alleged contacts with the russians. from washington, this is for rebecca. —— this is laura bicker. there is a protocol between presidents, even across the political divide — a peaceful handover of power even when the pair do not get along. in a tirade of tweets donald trump has trashed this tradition. he accused barack obama of ordering a wire tap on his trump tower phone,

not in one, but in four tweets. the last read: what a contrast to his tone during this week's address to congress. it appears this was not the pivot to a different kind of president that many people thought. so were the trump towers phones tapped 7 the conservative news organisation breitbart seems to think so, and it blames barack obama. did this article start the twitter cascade? but no president has the power to order a wiretap, only the fbi can do that, with a warrant from court. president trump is now facing calls to produce proof of his claims. we can speak to laura who is in our washington bureau. you said that president trump has been asked to produce evidence, has he? no, he

hasn't. we know he went off to play golf at 930, after he sent those m essa 9 es golf at 930, after he sent those messages and we have heard nothing more from him, not even since the former president barack obama issued his denial. saying he had no involvement in this. why is it important for him to say this? because the white house has always tried to be seen as separate from an independent investigation when it comes to the fbi. but look at the evidence for maybe the fact that the phones were tapped. we know from some media reports that back in the summer some media reports that back in the summer the fbi went to court asking for a warrant to tap phones, and that warrant was initially denied and then later in october it was allowed. these reports but out in january, but that what was said then. it was denied, but never confirmed. president trump seems to

be suggesting that by the way, that was true all along. something he has a lwa ys was true all along. something he has always dismissed as fake news. that is one issue for president trump. the next issue, if he doesn't produce proof, is thisjust the next issue, if he doesn't produce proof, is this just a simple distraction technique, because as you have mentioned it has been another rocky week. he had a great cheese day night by many standards, he was presidential, many people said, buta he was presidential, many people said, but a few hours later there was c0 ntrove i’sy said, but a few hours later there was controversy surrounding his attorney generaljeff sessions —— he had a great tuesday night. so this cloud that is russia that hangs over the white house, this controversy does not seem to be going away. he can't shake it. is this a distraction technique? what do you make of the response from barrack 0bano, it was fairly swift? —— barack obama. it was swift and robust because this is a serious

charge and when it comes to president 0bama's time in office they were keen to be seen as separate from any independent investigation so that was important for him to do. under the circumstances and under these very serious charges. laura, thanks for joining us. we can go to france. it has had an eventful week for the centre—right political candidate francois fillon. police have been searching his country home in relation to a scandal over payments to family members, that is after his paris home was searched on thursday. 0n paris home was searched on thursday. on top of that it has been announced the conservative republican party will meet to discuss his candidacy. underfire but under fire but the fight, francois fillon takes to the stage at a rally outside paris. he enjoyed the

backing of supporters, but within his own party that support appears to be fading. translation: my friends this campaign is a strange fight, you are courageous, and they wa nt to fight, you are courageous, and they want to intimidate you, i'm being attacked but what they are looking for is to defeat the recovery of the nation. and the wylfa change that you are representing. i'm asking you, do not abdicate, never renounce, your commitment must continue. fighting allegations he used taxpayer money to pay his wife and family members for work they did not do, senior members of his campaign are heading for the exit. in the past days his campaign manager and a spokesperson have quit and there are calls for him to step aside. translation: this is a countdown, it is like to explode our political family and i countdown, it is like to explode our politicalfamily and i don't countdown, it is like to explode our political family and i don't want it. on monday the republican party we re it. on monday the republican party were made to discuss his failing

campaign, and many believe the door could now be open for ex—prime minister alainjuppe could now be open for ex—prime minister alain juppe to step could now be open for ex—prime minister alainjuppe to step in, he was convincingly defeated by francois fillon in the party primary in the vendor, but a recent poll suggests he is now the party's best chance in the presidential election —— in november. marine le pen faces her own legal troubles. also accused of misusing funds. but while her numbers hold, francois fillon's continue to fall as he goes about trying to salvage a presidential election, he was once favourite to win. we can get other news now. the polish government have confirmed it will not back the current president of the european council donald tusk. for his second term. the country's foreign minister said a polish member of the european parliament will be put forward instead. the governing law and justice party has long opposed donald tusk, and a

member of a rival party who was formerly the prime minister. sinn fein are celebrating their best ever showing in elections to the northern ireland assembly. with all the votes counted they have won 20 76, just one behind the pro—british democratic unionists. —— 20 six. gerry adams described it as a watershed election and the two parties now have three weeks to agree a new power—sharing coalition. malaysia says the north korean ambassador must leave the country in the next 48 hours. the two nations have fallen out after the death of the estranged half brother of north korean leader kim jong—un am. the estranged half brother of north korean leader kimjong—un am. a north korean held in malaysia says he is the victim of a conspiracy by the malaysia authorities. he was accused the lead actor —— he accused the police of threatening his

family. this is our pacific editor with her assessment. it has been a spectacular deterioration of ties between these countries and we would never have predicted this a month ago. but right from the starting point, when we first heard about the death of king john mann, the north koreans took a strong stance, saying the ambassador was out in front —— kim jong—un the ambassador was out in front —— kimjong—un am. the ambassador was out in front —— kim jong—un am. questioning the malaysia authorities investigation and the identity of the person who died at kuala lumpur airport, demanding the body to be returned. it was almost every day. there are more accusations and more questions. you never would have guessed that they are relatively friendly countries by watching the way he spoke about malaysia in his discussions with the media. it is no surprise the malaysians demanded an

apology and no apology was given, and so that led to his expulsion today. staying in the region, the families of passengers on board the missing malaysia aeroplane mh370 have launched a campaign to raise funds for a private search, they won $50 million to sweden area north of the previous search zone, —— they wa nt the previous search zone, —— they want $15 million. it disappeared nearly three years ago en route from kuala lumpur to beijing. the prime minister of somalia says more than 100 people from a drought hit region in the country have died of hunger. in the past two days. a drought was declared a national disaster on tuesday and the united nations estimates that five meeting people are in need of aid. estimates that five meeting people are in need ofaid. un estimates that five meeting people are in need of aid. un agencies say 100,000 people are facing starvation. stephen 0'brien is the emergency relief coordinator for the united nations and he is visiting

the south sudanese capital. this is the south sudanese capital. this is the first time we have potentially been faced with this drought. we need to meet these needs across the area. i've spent the day here and i could see thousands of people who have had to wade through marshes. i met with a grandmother who is nursing a ten—month—old grandchild who was malnourished and his parents had gone missing after an attack on their village. the challenge is so difficult was we have to say for the potential for the famine to spread, is something. what we need from the local government, and i've had discussions with the prime minister,

we need access. access when you have terrible security conditions over the country means that aid workers... 0ne worker has died here, bravely delivering aid. they need to be able to get to deliver and we need the protection of civilians. stay with us here. still to come, first look inside the ancient syrian city after being retaken from so—called islamic state for the second time. suddenly the plates and tables crashed and it was just a matter of seconds as the ferry lurched onto her side. the hydrogen bomb, the americans have successfully tested a weapon whose explosive force dwarfed that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima. i heard the news earlier. the constitutional rights of these

marches and their rights of citizens of the united states and they should be protected so they don't get their heads broken and are sent to hospital. religious controversy. does it worry you? it worries me but i hope very thing will be all right in the end, as they say. —— every ring. every thing. bbc world news today. president trump accuses barack obama of tapping his phone during the election campaign. the obama camp denies it. francois fillon tries to keep his campaign alive after another of his homes is raided. the h in syrian city of palmyra appears to have escaped its second

occupation by so—called islamic state with less damage than previously feared —— the ancient syrian city. recent drone imagery released last month showed further destruction to the ruins, but today as the government invited media to inspect the unesco site it was clear that the ancient ruins survived and some experts fears were not realised. it was built as a temple venerating mesopotamian gods, and it survived occupation by the romans, conversions from temple to church to mosque and recently to a gruesome stage for executions by militants of the so—called islamic state. but the unesco site of palmyra is now back in syrian government hands and there is less damage to the site and was buried. —— than was feared. government forces drove out is forces from the ruins, the jihadists first took control of the area in 2015 and after being pushed out they

came back again late last year. while syrian forces were focused on fighting rebels in the northern city of aleppo. this is the second time the government has cleared palmyra of the militants. speaking today a russian military officers said the effort was being supported by the russian air. translation: over one point five monthly syrian troops ove rca m e point five monthly syrian troops overcame substantial resistance from the terrorists stashed over one and a half months. 0n the 2nd of march they took control of palmyra. a half months. 0n the 2nd of march they took control of palmyram a half months. 0n the 2nd of march they took control of palmyra. it was feared that the ruins had suffered further destruction after drones and satellite imagery seems to show further damage whilst it was under the militants control. but today syria's antiquities chief said there was less damage than archaeologists have feared. palmyra had already lost its famed triumphant arch, its central temple of bell, and dozens

of antiquities in the museum. should the militants retake the ruins once more, it is not certain it gives a vine. —— it is not certain it could survive or stop it is the evil of china's biggest political event of the year, the people's congress —— it is the eve of. beijing has said they will raise the defence budget by 7%, which is the lowest rise in military spending in the country and around a decade and it comes against the backdrop of growing tensions in the backdrop of growing tensions in the south china sea and donald trump's call for a big rise in us defence spending. china has announced an increase in military spending of around 7% for this year, and it comes days after the united states president donald trump said america's defence budget should go up america's defence budget should go up by america's defence budget should go up by 10%. tensions increasing

between the superpowers, especially in the south china sea, and there are fears of a regional arms race developing. it has become tradition for the chinese government to announce its military spending increase in percentage terms at least, the day before the start of the annual national people's congress. translation: fundamentally speaking the united states is probably still worried that china's capabilities might be catching up or exceeding that of the united states and infact exceeding that of the united states and in fact china still has a great gap with the united states in its capability as a developing country but china's military development and construction is to continue. this is the second year in a row for china to post a single digit increase in east events spending. this followed increments over 10% for two decades or more. some countries have said the official military budget is not reliable and be realfigure

the official military budget is not reliable and be real figure could the official military budget is not reliable and be realfigure could be much higher. either way china is looking to follow the us pivot to asia. washington is winding back seen as asia. washington is winding back seen as what is —— is winding back what is seen as chinese expansion. comparisons are being made between china and america, but only on the military front, but also when it comes to issues like free trade, and renewable energy. —— not only. we can get some sport. we will start with football. liverpool have moved up to third in the premier league, with a 3—1victory over arsenal at anfield. firmino and mane gave liverpool a 2—0 lead, before danny welbeck pulled one back. wijnaldum then popped up a minute into injury time to ensure jurgen klopp's side took all three points. a lot of focus will be on arsene wenger‘s decision to leave alexi sanchez on the bench — he said it was tactical.

i'm strong enough and lucid enough to analyse the impact. and i don't deny that alexis sanchez is a great player. i bought him and i have always played him and i think he has done very well for us, but the decision like that is not easy to make. but you have to stand up for it. one of the best games we have played so far because of the strength in the line—up of the opponent. we all know what we did in the last week and how we played. it's really not usual or whatever that you come back like this. so we know what we have to work on and we will work, but today everyone can enjoy this game and this result. ten man bournemouth held on to draw 1—1 with manchester united in the day's early game. it was a match packed with

incidents. ibrahimovic and tyrone mings could be in trouble retrospectively though. mings appeared to land his studs on the back of the head of the united forward as he lay on the ground, and then from a corner, ibrahimovic elbowed mings. zlatan ibrahimovic missed a penalty late in the second half, that would have seen them win all three points. we played a phenomenalfirst we played a phenomenal first half and we should be winning three — zero but we ended 1—1, as simple as that. who can i blame? 0urselves. nobody else. we missed big chances, but as i told them at half—time in the second half we played against a difference in, with one man less and that gave up to play. leicester city have had back—to—back

victories since the sacking of claudio ranieri. they moved to 15th place after beating hull. andy murray has chalked up his first tournament win of the year at the dubai championships. after a shaky start, the world number one saw off fernando verdasco in straight sets — it's the first time he's won this tournament, and means he extends his lead over novak djokovic at the top of the world rankings. he reeled off five successive games to ta ke he reeled off five successive games to take the first set and he continued in the same vein in the second set and clinched victory with a powerful serve. rafael nadal continues to display the kind of tennis which has taken him to 14 major titles as he reached the final at the mexico open, producing a straight sets victory over marin cilic. his 14th consecutive victory at this tournament which is last won

in 2013 and he will now play sam querrey in the final. what a test series it's turning out to be between india and australia, with the visitors again springing a surprise. as nathan lyon produced the best haul by a visiting bowler to india. he racked up a career best eight wickets for 50 runs as australia dominated the opening day of the second test against india in bangalore. 0nly rahul offered any kind of sustained resistance, with an innings of 90 as india were bowled out for 189. in reply, australia closed on 40 without loss — they already lead in the four test series. after all the trash—talk tony bellew and david haye will go head to head shortly. bellew, the world cruiserweight champion, is fighting for the first time as a heavyweight. and he starts tonight nearly a stone lighter than haye — that gets underway in about an hour. i was hoping he would look a little

more physically impressive, i was hoping i would see some remnants of abdominal muscles of some sort, but he looked very smooth and he did not look good in my opinion. it doesn't bode well for him. i've knocked out quys bode well for him. i've knocked out guys who are bigger and stronger and more athletic than him so i don't see what he can do other than get smashed pretty quick. but short of confidence, david haye. that is all the sport for now —— not short. cycling on ice is not normally a good idea, buti cycling on ice is not normally a good idea, but i spiking is becoming a booming sport all over the world. it is now arrived in the uk and our sports correspondent has been giving ita sports correspondent has been giving it a go. —— sports correspondent has been giving ita go. —— ice sports correspondent has been giving it a go. —— ice fighting for stop the sum of us, ice—skating can be a challenge. —— for some of us. there can be quite a lot of pain and humiliation, but now there is a new

sport for all of us to get up to speed on the ice. under starters orders and ready to go, one of scandinavia's popular new sports has arrived in the uk. 0n the zeiss bikes back wheels have been placed —— ice bikes. bikes back wheels have been placed -- ice bikes. some people are afraid of ice—skating and falling over and giving it a try but this is more inclusive and you don't have to worry about falling over and anyone can do it. i've been overtaken again, it takes getting used to, especially the way you glide around the corners. there can be contacted on these fancy wheel to wheel tussles, and the slightest of nudges we'll send you into a spin, even more so we'll send you into a spin, even more so in the 400 metre races held across scandinavia and the netherlands in which riders rich

fast paces. this sport is changing perceptions of ice and has spread as far as mexico as well as the uk —— reach fast paces was the you are pedalling furiously and then you glide around the corner, but what a work—out. glide around the corner, but what a work-out. it is very fast, you can lose it quite hard on the corners, but so much fun. looks like a lot of fun. that is it from me and the team. goodbye for now. good evening, the weatherfronts good evening, the weather fronts are swinging back across the uk, and it

means no two days are the same which is welcome news if you lived in scotland, which was pretty miserable today. hardly worth stepping outside. different story in the midlands, beautiful blue sky and sunshine as depicted from bournville. showers did arrive and the heavy persistent rain has really been across the far north and east. the area of low pressure will continue to move that rain north across the northern isles through the night and then be replaced by another weather front pushing into the south and this will bring wet and windy weather for time. sandwiched in between clearer skies, and a light frost is possible, but you should start the day with some decent spells of sunshine. it is not expected to last, gale force gusts of wind and rain across the south west will push away steadily north and east to the morning. the best of the sunshine is likely to be in the extreme north, a scattering of showers may be in scotland, but in comparison to today much better. it

will be a decent day in northern ireland and a good start in the north of england. this is our rain. the midlands and down to the north—east corner by nine o'clock in the morning, accompanied by squally wins. following behind, sunny spells and scattered showers trash squally wins. the wind will remain a feature. the summit will not be a pleasa nt feature. the summit will not be a pleasant afternoon with clusters of showers being driven along —— for some. in the north some sunshine, better day in northern ireland and northern england and scotland. not quite as warm as today. 7—10d the overall high. into next week, it looks as though this unsettled scene is set to continue, one area of low pressure m oves is set to continue, one area of low pressure moves away and another with a glancing blow down to the south west on monday, but a relatively quiet day, albeit cloudy on monday, before another system waits in the

wings for tuesday. all this tra nslates wings for tuesday. all this translates monday into tuesday as being rather a cloudy day on monday, heavy rain in the south—west early on, but more persistent rain on tuesday. the latest headlines... the us president has accused his predecessor of wiretapping his phone a month before his election. a spokesman for barack obama denies the allegations. the centre—right candidate in the french presidential election is fighting this weekend to stay in the race. he is embroiled in a corruption scandal, police have searched his homes. malaysia says the north korean ambassador must leave the country. the two nations have fallen out after the death of the strange half brother of the north korea leader. sinn fein are celebrating their best ever showing in elections to the northern ireland

assembly. with