hello, i'm nicky schiller. we start with a crunch summit meeting in brussels. european leaders will today try to persaude hungary to drop its opposition to a multimillion dollar aid package to help ukraine in its war against russia. key in its war against russia. have said is financial sup| from key have said is financial support from its european allies is crucial for the war against russia. a four year 50 billion euros package of financial assistance has been proposed but in december of the hungarian prime minister blocked the package but the poland prime minister donald tusk has said he is determined that ukraine will be supported one way or another. whilst eu leaders meet inside this is the scene outside.

several hundred farmers have converged on european parliament in tractors, and have started fires on the eu's doorstep. europe's farming crisis is not officially on the agenda of the summit, but it's likely to be discussed. the commission has suggested plans to limit farm imports from ukraine and to ease some green regulations. these are the live pictures in brussels. this is a square near to the parliament building and you can see buyers are still burning and a number of placards and protesters and tractors out there. the area around the centre has been cordoned off. the commission and council buildings are in that area of brussels. live now to our correspondent bethany bell. what is a situation where you are at the moment?—

what is a situation where you are at the moment? ,, . w ., , the moment? several hundred tractors are arked the moment? several hundred tractors are parked right _ the moment? several hundred tractors are parked right outside _ the moment? several hundred tractors are parked right outside the _ are parked right outside the european parliament in brussels. we have seen farmers from italy, belgium, france who have gathered here. they are carrying placards saying this is not the european union that we want. no two policies that make it impossible to produce. one sign said, if you stop the farmers he won't have anything to eat. there is a real sense of anger, of protest by farmers which have happened in a number of european countries over recent days and weeks. now the farmers have brought their anger and complaints write to their anger and complaints write to the heart of brussels. but their anger and complaints write to the heart of brussels.— the heart of brussels. but the actual farmers _ the heart of brussels. but the actual farmers and _ the heart of brussels. but the actual farmers and what - the heart of brussels. but the actual farmers and what they| the heart of brussels. but the i actual farmers and what they are protesting about not necessarily on the agenda for the meeting. are they hoping to get the leaders who are meeting they are to discuss their problems? the

meeting they are to discuss their roblems? . ., ., , problems? the agenda of the summit is of course financial— problems? the agenda of the summit is of course financial aid _ problems? the agenda of the summit is of course financial aid to _ is of course financial aid to ukraine, but of course the farmers crisis is very much on the minds of european leaders. we had suggestions of proposals by the european commission to propose some kind of emergency brake on food imports from ukraine, because one of the issues thatis ukraine, because one of the issues that is worrying many farmers is the idea that you have cheaper imports coming in from idea that you have cheaper imports coming infrom ukraine idea that you have cheaper imports coming in from ukraine and they would suffer, the european commission is proposing a sort of emergency brake on particularly sensitive products such as poultry, and there has also been a suggestion, there would be an exemption forfarmers suggestion, there would be an exemption for farmers having to have parts of their land left fallow for this year, there could be exemptions on that rule. the easing of some regulations, but the sense of anger

here is quite high. also we have seen blockages notjust here in the centre brussels but on motorways in and around belgium and in france as well. ., , and around belgium and in france as well. . , ., , , ., , well. that is the farmers protest but the meeting _ well. that is the farmers protest but the meeting itself _ well. that is the farmers protest but the meeting itself is - well. that is the farmers protest but the meeting itself is focused well. that is the farmers protest. but the meeting itself is focused on paid for ukraine. trying to persuade hungary to back that move. yes. what the eumpean — hungary to back that move. yes. what the european commission _ hungary to back that move. yes. what the european commission and - hungary to back that move. yes. what the european commission and most i the european commission and most european leaders want is to provide hungary with what they call sustainable financing over a four year period. but poland's mercer said they will get that funding to ukraine with or without mr orban. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. let's discuss that funding for ukraine more with the head

of the ukraine forum at chatham house, orysia lutsevych. thank you forjoining us. i wondered if you could first of all describe how much the aid is actually needed by ukraine. how much the aid is actually needed b ukraine. ~ . how much the aid is actually needed b ukraine. ~ , , ., . how much the aid is actually needed b ukraine. , , ., . ., by ukraine. western assistance and eseciall by ukraine. western assistance and especially support _ by ukraine. western assistance and especially support to _ by ukraine. western assistance and especially support to ukrainian - especially support to ukrainian budget to finance both the vulnerable groups, the pensions, the part of the ukrainian armed forces is critical. this year i estimate ukraine need around 39 billion us dollars to cover the deficit. this is where this assistance from the european union is critical because it is not really going to buy our minutes. it will cover that deficit in the budget for ukraine to be able to have a stable economy and not to spiral into hyperinflation which would then actually be much more costly to recover. i would then actually be much more costly to recover.— costly to recover. i have 'ust seen some comments from costly to recover. i have just seen some comments from the - costly to recover. i have just seen some comments from the polish | costly to recover. i have just seen - some comments from the polish prime minister donald tusk as he went

insane, mr orban, that hungarian prime minister, would be responsible for ukraine losing the war against russia if he kept up his upper position to the eu supporting kyiv. do you think mr orban is likely to change his mind at this meeting? that would have to wait and see. the last time there was discussion about negotiations opening for the european union membership of ukraine, chancellor schultz took mr orban outside while a was taking i don't think we can fudge these things any longer. there is a problem with hungary that is acting as a destructor of the common european foreign and security policy at such a critical time when we see american military aid stalling, it is a lifeline for ukraine that cannot be salvaged. donald tusk is

absolutely right because it is military that wins the battle, but economy in this war of attrition is critical for ukrainian people to stay in ukraine, to participate in the new wave of mobilisation and for ukrainian economy to stay afloat. it is worth reminding our viewers that viktor orban is the eu leader with the closest links to president putin, isn't he?— the closest links to president putin, isn't he? ~ , ~ ., putin, isn't he? absolutely. we have seen a number— putin, isn't he? absolutely. we have seen a number of _ putin, isn't he? absolutely. we have seen a number of western _ putin, isn't he? absolutely. we have seen a number of western leaders i putin, isn't he? absolutely. we have i seen a number of western leaders met with president putin but viktor orban he met with him in china during the summit, they were shaking hands and looked very friendly towards each other but let's remember that hungary is deeply dependent on russian oil. it has received exemptions from eu sanctions to actually be able to get russian oil. those funds are going to relative national populist organisations inside hungary and also help orban get re—elected. he is a big admirer of putin. he has

never condemned the work. thank you for “oininu never condemned the work. thank you forjoining us- — here in the uk — police are still searching for a man accused of attacking a family with a "corrosive substance" in south london. multiple people were taken to hospital after the incident in clapham on wednesday evening. witnesses described what they called an horrific scene after a mother and her two girls were doused in their car with the substance. live now to our correspondent rajini vaidyanathan, who's at the scene in south london. can you describe what actually happened?— can you describe what actually hauened? , . ., happened? pretty much you have already said- _ happened? pretty much you have already said. there's _ happened? pretty much you have already said. there's not - happened? pretty much you have already said. there's not much i happened? pretty much you have i already said. there's not much more that we know this stage. police say it was a horrific attack. eyewitnesses who have spoken to the bbc say that around 7:30pm last night they saw a woman and her young

children, they say she was in a car and they saw a man throw what you have described already as a corrosive substance at them. police haven't said more about what that substance was. some eyewitnesses say they believe it was acid but at the moment police say they are trying to determine what exactly that substance was. there was a police cordon on the street for much of the night and when we were here earlier we saw forensic teams in the early hours of the morning examine that white car which had been left in the middle of the street. they were wearing protective clothing as they were doing tests on the vehicle. now as i mention that road has now been opened up and a lot of people who live here have woken up and unsurprisingly are shocked and surprised at what had happened. it is worth mentioning we are very close to london's clapham common,

one of south—west london's biggest and best—known parks, and a very busy thoroughfare for something like this to happen at 7:30pm in the evening when a lot of people would have been around. the focus now remains on that manhunt because they are still trying to find out where that suspected.— are still trying to find out where that suspected. there have been a rise in this — that suspected. there have been a rise in this sort _ that suspected. there have been a rise in this sort of _ that suspected. there have been a rise in this sort of attacks - that suspected. there have been a rise in this sort of attacks in - rise in this sort of attacks in london and across the uk recently, haven't there? i london and across the uk recently, haven't there?— haven't there? i don't think this is the riaht haven't there? i don't think this is the right forum _ haven't there? i don't think this is the right forum at _ haven't there? i don't think this is the right forum at the _ haven't there? i don't think this is the right forum at the moment. haven't there? i don't think this is the right forum at the moment to | the right forum at the moment to speculate at the moment, they are still trying to what exactly that substance was. it is probably too early to definitively say that it was acid but in the last year the number of acid attacks according to london's metropolitan police rise to buy something like 45% but it is important to error on the side of caution about what exactly the substance was. at the moment another important thing to stress is that we still don't know the condition of the mother and her two young

children. we know they are in hospital but we don't know the extent of their injuries. witnesses do save the children were quite young. one of them could be as young as two although we haven't had it confirmed. there is concern about what kind of injuries they may have sustained but other people were taken to a trauma unit. i think it was five of the nine in total who sustained injuries and one didn't go to hospital. three were police officers who also sustained minor injuries. the focus really is on how they are doing. we haven't got any identification on who the mother and her two children are. this remains a very active police investigation. thank you forjoining us. the us military says it's destroyed ten attack drones and a ground control station in its latest operation against the iranian—backed houthi movement in yemen. us central command said the drones presented an imminent threat

to merchant vessels and us navy ships in the region. this comes as the houthi movement in yemen claims to have struck a us merchant ship in the red sea in a fresh attack targeting commercial shipping. it's named the ship as the koi, which it said was us—operated. let's get more on what's going on across the region with our middle east correspondent nick beake. more action by the united states. this is the latest instalment in the circle of violence that has been emerging. the american saying that overnight they have struck ten unmanned drones that are actually on german soil. the american say they took them out before they have the opportunity to take off and hit their target —— yemen soil. also apparently controlled centre was targeted as well. meanwhile the houthi rebels which control large parts of yemen and have been

targeting ships in the red sea, they say they successfully struck a merchant vessel, american merchant vessel. it is being reported it is actually in the same fleet as a british linked oil tanker that was hit over the weekend and there was footage of that particular vessel on fire. this is the latest instalment in this violence which is playing out. the american say they will continue to attack the houthi play mike and the houthis say they are carrying this campaign out in solidarity with palestinians in gaza and that is why they say british, american and israeli linked vessels or all legitimate targets for them. in gaza there have been more air strikes and heavy fighting overnight there as well. strikes and heavy fighting overnight there as well-— there as well. particularly in the south of gaza _ there as well. particularly in the south of gaza around _ there as well. particularly in the south of gaza around the - there as well. particularly in the south of gaza around the city i there as well. particularly in the south of gaza around the city of| south of gaza around the city of khan younis. reports from the hamas

run health ministry ii9 khan younis. reports from the hamas run health ministry 119 people were killed in israeli air strikes. there is concern in particular about two hospitals where doctors say they are running low on supplies and warning that people who normally would survive their injuries may die as a consequence of not being treated in the way they should be. you have got doctors without borders the organisation who are based in gaza as well as elsewhere we describe it as well as elsewhere we describe it as a massacre, what is happening there. the israelis are saying they are targeting specific locations and are targeting specific locations and are focusing on the city of khan younis because senior hamas figures have gone there and are trying to hide from the israeli troops. this violence continues as well as in the south of gaza in the central part, also the north, an indication of how difficult the situation is and notably with the 2 million palestinians, 80% of the population said to me basically away from their homes, forced from their homes as the fighting rages and that is why

there are some hopes that potentially there could be a ceasefire at some point in the coming weeks or months but nothing definitive on that at the moment. we understand the hamas political leader expected to arrive in cairo for talks today following on from the paris talks at the weekend. he is the paris talks at the weekend. he: is the political leader of hamas are travelling to the egyptian capital. this is a continuation of what happened over the weekend in paris because there we saw american, israeli, qatari and egyptian officials meet. these weren't politicians. they were spy chiefs and people who were normally in the shadows. the idea was that i could try and create some sort of platform for a peace deal to be struck. what is happening in egypt today is the officials they briefing and the political arm of hamas in what was discussed. there are some reports that potentially a six—week ceasefire could be agreed upon. that

would basically involve the release of some of the hostages who were taken by hamas after the october the 7th attacks. also the release of some palestinian prisoners in prison in israel. that is probably what we are looking at. all the while here injerusalem, i should say that the prime minister benjamin netanyahu talking tough saying there is no way they will allow the release of lots of palestinian prisoners, certainly thatis of palestinian prisoners, certainly that is what you saying public. we don't know about behind—the—scenes. it could well be that momentum is building towards a deal and of course for the families of the hostages who were taken on october the 7th that can't come soon enough and of course it is vital for the people of gaza, the palestinians who have been really in the middle of this work over the past three months now. . ~' this work over the past three months now. ., ~ , ., around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news.

a man has been charged with the murders of two teenagers in bristol. anthony snook is accused of murdering mason rist and max dixon, who were killed in the knowle west area of the city on saturday. avon and somerset police said a total of eight people have been arrested as part of the investigation. a group of mps has warned the financial crisis facing councils in england is "out of control". the cross—party committee said key services, including social care and support for children with special educational needs, could reach a "breaking point" if there's no further investment. it's calling on ministers to find billions of pounds in extra funding. alan bates — a former sub postmaster who led the campaign forjustice in the post office horizon scandal — has said he will reject an offer of compensation from the government. mr bates, whose story inspired a recent itv series on the scandal, told the telegraph the government's offer was �*offensive' and �*around a sixth' of what he'd requested.

you can get more on that on the bbc news website or app. you're live with bbc news. in the us — the heads of some of the world's biggest social media companies have been grilled by politicians in the senate. they've accused the internet bosses of not doing enough to protect children from harm online. one senator told the heads of meta, tiktok, x, snap and discord that they had blood on their hands. the head of meta, mark zuckerberg, insisted they were investing billions in safety and trust. here's our technology editor, zoe kleinman. today's vast social media empires are managed by a handful of big names — meta, snap, tiktok, discord and x. their bosses faced angry lawmakers in washington for a tense grilling about why children continue to be exposed to harm on their platforms. as a mother, this is personal and i share the sense of urgency. words cannot begin to express the profound sorrow i feel that a service we designed to bring people happiness and joy has been abused to cause harm.

it may have been heartfelt, but the senators weren't buying it. mr zuckerberg, you and the companies i before us, i know you don't mean it i to be so, but you have blood on your hands. _ mark zuckerberg from meta, which owns facebook and instagram, came under the heaviest fire. these results may contain images of child sexual abuse, and then you gave users two choices — get resources, or see results anyway. mr zuckerberg, what the hell were you thinking? all right, senator, the basic science behind that is that when people are searching for something that is problematic, it's often helpful to, rather thanjust blocking it, to help direct them towards something that could be helpful for getting them to get help. i understand "get resources".

in what sane universe is there i a link for "see results anyway"?! while tiktok�*s shou zi chew faced tough questions about china. your platform is basically an espionage arm for the chinese communist party. why should you not be banned in the united states of america? senator, i disagree with your characterisation. many of what you have said, we have explained in a lot of detail. tiktok is used by 170 million americans. also in the room were devastated parents who'd lost their children to online harms. mark zuckerberg stood to address them. we're going to continue doing industry—leading efforts to make sure that no one has to go through the types of things that your families have had to suffer. for ages, the us has had plenty of proposed legislation aimed at tackling the problem, but none of it's got over the line. it's clear that the tech firms' toolkits aren't working well enough either, and parents are struggling to cope. one parent summed up to a senator how helpless they felt. "it's like a tap is overflowing and all we've got is a mop." zoe kleinman, bbc news.

lori schott lost her daughter, annalee, to suicide in 2020, and has been fighting to hold social media companies accountable ever since. she attended the senate hearing and told my colleague catriona perry how it went. do these big tech companies understand the power of what they have and the power that it has on young people? i think they know but i think they are hiding behind legal shields because they are afraid of the outcome. i also think that their bottom dollar is more important than our children. our children shouldn't be some product of a click, and i don't think they really understand the full extent of the pain, untiltoday, when i really felt that some of the comments from the senators were really harsh and forward and direct, were exactly what needed to be said to them. we saw mark zuckerberg stand up and address you and the other families that were there. what did you make of his remarks? i thought it was hollow.

i will say it time and time again. it wasn't sincere, it wasn't spoken as we have lost our most precious asset, and that you knew what was going on. there's documentation you knew what was going on. you didn't stop it. you know, anna might still be here today, be alive, flourishing, if we would have known what we know now. the sesame street character elmo has become the internet�*s therapist after posing a casual question on x — formerly known as twitter — asking, "how is everybody doing?" that was enough to prompt thousands of people to unload their woes on elmo, saying they weren't ok at all. our reporter courtney bembridge has more from the newsroom. it's a simple question, but it's hit a nerve online. almost 180 million people have seen this post on x from elmo, and thousands of users have used the opportunity to unleash their despair and grief on the little red muppet. as the new york times put it,

"elmo asks an innocuous question. elmo was not expecting to open a yawning chasm of despair." another internet user posted this image with the caption "elmo after seeing the replies." but there has also been a very positive response to elmo checking in on everyone's emotional well—being. the un posted, "elmo, thanks for checking in. the world needs more kindness. you're always welcome in our press briefing room." and nasa posted, "reminding you all that you're made of star stuff" alongside this image. even the us presidentjoe biden has weighed in, saying "ourfriend elmo is right. we have to be there for each other. offer our help to a neighbour in need and above all else ask for help when we need it". also elmo's co—stars on sesame street have weighed in. the cookie monster saying, "me here to talk it out whenever you want. me will also supply cookies". and that will go quite nicely with the warm cup of tea that bert is offering. well, elmo has responded

to all of this saying, "wow, elmo is glad he asked. elmo learned that it is important to ask a friend how they're doing," although he added that he would be taking a little bit of a break, but he will be back to check in on all of us again soon. now, i want to show you one of the most—watched videos on the bbc news website today. it's of an unusual rescue in australia. take a look at this. three—year—old ethan managed to crawl inside a claw toy machine in brisbane. you can see the little boy stuck inside. police were called to the shopping centre to help. officers and the boy's relations managed to persuade the trapped but calm toddler to go into one corner on the machine. then this. they smashed the glass on the machine to finally retrieve him, joking that he had won a prize and which one did he want.

isn't that cute? there he is surviving that unusual rescue in australia from that grow machine. stay with us here on bbc news. hello, a powerful storm passed to the north of the uk on wednesday. storm ingunn, named by the norwegian weather service, across the faroe islands it brought wind gusts in excess of 120 mph. then it slammed into the west coast of norway with gusts of more than 100 mph. there is our storm system moving away as we head into thursday. across shetland we saw wind gusts of 78 mph. even those winds have been easing a little, and through thursday it's a quieter day ahead. some hazy sunshine, dry for many. still quite windy up towards the north but not as windy as it has been.

some wintry showers across the north—west of scotland and a touch of frost for some of us first thing. the majority will see spells of hazy sunshine with high cloud streaming across the sky. thicker cloud into northern england, northern ireland and scotland, with rain returning to the north—west of scotland later. temperatures across the board, eight, nine or ten degrees. during thursday evening and overnight, we will see this band of rain pushing across the north of scotland. behind that we see lots and lots of cloud filtering in from the west. it'll turn really misty and murky for coasts and hills, some spots of drizzle. but look at the temperatures by the end of the night, by the start of friday morning. some spots up in double digits. that's because we will be between these two weather fronts, between this warm front and this cold front, in what we call a warm sector, a wedge of very warm or at least very mild air. but these south—westerly winds, not only mild but laden with moisture, so a lot of cloud on friday. some mist and murk for western coasts and hills where there will also be some bits and pieces of rain. the best chance of any sunshine to the east of high ground,

although the winds here will be pretty gusty. but look at the afternoon temperatures, 13, 1a, we may see highs of 15 degrees. now, during friday night we see a weak, cold front pushing its way southwards. that'll bring a lot of cloud, it'll bring some bits and pieces of showery rain, nothing much really on this weather front to look out for saturday. to the south of it, we are still in that very mild but rather cloudy and damp regime. to the north of the weather front, something a little bit brighter but with some showers. still not particularly cold. temperatures north to south, 7—14 degrees. into sunday, mild air if anything pushes northwards again. a lot of cloud, some bits and pieces of rain. highs of 1a.

this is bbc news, the headlines. european leaders are meeting in brussels to try to persuade hungary to drop its opposition to a vital aid packge for ukraine. witnesses described a "horrific" scene after a mother and two girls were doused with a "corrosive substance" in their car on a london street. the us military says it's destroyed ten attack drones and a ground control station, in its latest operation against the iranian—backed houthis. we'll find out later if the bank of england

will cut interest rates, or as expected, keep them on hold, as inflation remains sticky at 4%. the uk is teetering on the brink of a recession and the chancellorjeremy hunt has said there's likely to be less scope for tax cuts in the coming budget than originally predicted. the government had intended to cut the main rate of national insurance from 12% to 10%. however, the times newspaper reported this week that there was likely to be less headroom for tax cuts in the upcoming budget. speaking to the bbc�*s nick robinson, mr hunt said that he wanted to "lighten the tax burden" but that it had to be done in a "responsible" way. we don't yet know the final numbers because there's this kind of iterative process that happens with the office for budget responsibility. but it doesn't look to me like we will have the same scope for cutting taxes in the spring budget that we had in the autumn statement, and so i need to set people's expectations about the scale of what i'm doing.

because people need to know that when a conservative