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 an aid package to help ukraine in its war against russia. kyiv says financial support from its european allies is crucial for the war against russia. a four—year, 50 billion euro package of military and financial assistance has been proposed. but in december, the hungarian prime minister blocked the package. but poland's prime minister donald tusk has said he's determined ukraine will be supported one way or another. whilst the european 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. this is the scene by the farmers protest is continuing. there are a lot of police in the centre of the city. fires are still burning. the police are estimating that around 1000 tractors have been driven into the city, blocking the major roads. you can see that fire that has been lit in the square outside the european parliament and police are cordoning off the commission and council buildings to make sure those protests don't get in any closer to where the leaders are meeting. 0ur correspondent bethany bell is in brussels, where hundreds of farmers are protesting about rising costs and eu regulations. several hundred tractors 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 to policies that make it impossible to produce." 0ne sign said, "if you stop the farmers you 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 right to the heart of brussels. but the 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 there to discuss their problems? the agenda of the summit 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 that is worrying many farmers is the 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 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 of brussels but on motorways in and around belgium and in france as well. that is the farmers protest but the meeting itself is focused on aid for ukraine. trying to persuade hungary to back that move. yes. what 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 prime minister said they will get that funding to ukraine with or without mr 0rban. here's polish prime minister donald tusk speaking a short time ago, who remains optimistic an agreement on ukraine will be reached. first of all i think we have to be more optimistic when it comes to the power of our argument.

i think that there is no plan b, in fact. this is for viktor 0rban to decide, if hungary is a part of our community or not. for more analysis on what this deal means for the war in ukraine, i spoke a short time ago to the head of the ukraine forum at chatham house, 0rysia lutsevych. western assistance and especially support to ukrainian budget to finance both the vulnerable groups, the pensions, the part of the ukrainian armed forces is critical. this year imf estimate ukraine needs 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 armaments. 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 have just seen some comments from the polish prime minister donald tusk as he went in saying mr 0rban, the hungarian prime minister, would be responsible for ukraine losing the war against russia if he kept up his opposition to the eu supporting kyiv. do you think mr 0rban 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 0rban for a drink outside while the vote was taking place, but i don't think we can fudge these things any longer. there is a problem with hungary that is acting as a disruptor 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 savaged. 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 0rban is the eu leader with the closest links to president putin, isn't he? absolutely. we have seen no western leaders met with president putin but viktor 0rban 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 a lot of national populist organisations inside hungary and also help 0rban get re—elected. he is a big admirer of putin. he has never condemned the war. here in the uk — police are still searching for a man accused of attacking a family with a �*corrosive substance�* in south london. within the past hour the metropolitan police said a 31—year—old woman and a three—year—old suffered what they describe as potentially life saving injuries. an eight—year—old girl was also injured in the incident in clapham on wednesday evening. witnesses described what they called an horrific scenes. live now to our correspondent charlie rose, who's at the scene in south london. the police update in the last hour

or so, the police update in the last hour orso, but the police update in the last hour or so, but what have officers been saying? or so, but what have officers been sa in: ? or so, but what have officers been sa in. ? ., or so, but what have officers been sa inc? ., ., ,., saying? some of the details about what happened — saying? some of the details about what happened here _ saying? some of the details about what happened here last - saying? some of the details about what happened here last night - saying? some of the details about what happened here last night are pretty horrific. they are distressing. we know that last night, yesterday evening at around about 7:30pm, police and emergency services were called to this road after a woman and her two young children were attacked with what has been described as a corrosive substance. the police have been giving more details about what has happened in the past hour. they have confirmed a corrosive substance is in fact alkaline. the ages of the two young girls are three and eight. the mother is 31. all three are in hospital. as you say, the mother and her three—year—old daughter could have a life changing injuries. witnesses have described an argument taking place here last night before the attack took place. 0ne

taking place here last night before the attack took place. one person who came to the woman's aid described how she was crying out, i can't see, can't i see! police have been giving a few more details in the past hour, they were saying the attacker and the women were known to each other. they also say that the three women who came to the aid of the mother and the two children, terry in their 30s and one in her 50s were injured when they tried to help but they have all been discharged from hospital with minor burns and injuries. five officers who were injured as they responded have also been treated and have left hospital and a man in his 50s who also came to the scene to help has been treated for minor injuries that he suffered. superintendent cameron from the metropolitan police added to his update saying, initial reports to police were that a man, the suspect, had thrown a child to

the suspect, had thrown a child to the ground and the substance now known to be alkaline had been thrown. they said the man attempted to make off in a car but collided with the stationary vehicle and then made off on foot in the direction of clapham common, which isjust a stone's throw from where i am is dumping now. i can see it in the distance at the end of this road. the police believe the man and woman are known to each other and their investigation is in its early stages. 0vernight they were focusing their investigations on a white car, it was being searched by forensic teams and at that white car has been taken away. police are now appealing for witnesses, cctv, and to get more information and find out how this horrific attack came about. a manhunt is under way and i hope to be giving more information is soonest they have it.-

be giving more information is soonest they have it. 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. earlier i spoke to our middle east correspondent nick beake, who gave us the latest from the region. this is the latest instalment in the circle of violence that has been emerging. the americans saying that overnight they have struck ten unmanned drones that were actually on yemen soil. the americans say they took them out before they had the opportunity to take off and hit

their own target at sea. also apparently a control 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 americans say they will continue to attack the houthis 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 are all legitimate targets for them. in gaza there have been more air strikes and heavy fighting overnight there as well. particularly in the south of gaza around the city of khan younis.

reports from the hamas run health ministry that 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, who describe it as a massacre, what is happening there. the israelis are saying they 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 for the 2 million

palestinians, 80% of the population said to be 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 is expected to arrive in cairo for talks today following on from the paris talks at the weekend. the political leader of hamas is 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 work normally in the shadows. the idea was they could try and create some sort of platform for a peace deal to be struck. what is happening in egypt today is the officials there briefing the political arm of hamas on 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 that is what he's saying in 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 warfare for 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 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. 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 city on saturday. police said a total of eight people have been arrested. 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.

more on that story and the rest of the day�*s news on the bbc website for 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 online harm. 0ne 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 catrina 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. barbie star margot robbie has broken her silence on her 0scar snub for best actress, saying she was not sad. fans were dismayed that she was overlooked for her title role in 2023�*s top grossing film. but robbie, speaking in a discussion with co—stars, said, "there�*s no way to feel sad when you know you�*re this blessed." she added the mission of the movie was to "affect culture" and that is the "biggest reward" to come out of the film�*s success. 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 problems on elmo saying they weren�*t 0k at all. 0ur 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 "0urfriend 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.

ijust want i just want to take you back to brussels and those protests. the farmers are still there. around 1000 tractors have made it into the city and the farmers, blocking the roads. we will keep you updated with the latest 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 at 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 an aid packge for ukraine. witnesses describe 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 at 4%. the uk is teetering on the brink of a recession. and chancellorjeremy hunt has said there�*s likely to be less scope for tax cuts in the coming budget than originally predicted. speaking to the bbc�*s nick robinson, mr hunt said he wanted to "lighten the tax burden" but 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 government cuts taxes, we will do so in a responsible and sensible way. but we also want to be clear that the direction of travel we want to go in is to

lighten the tax burden.