this is bbc news, i'm reeta chakrabarti. the headlines at 11:00pm: ministers have been forced to abandon charges for calling a helpline about the new universal credit system, after strong criticism from campaigners and mps. and tonight, mps have backed a labour call for a pause in the rollout of flagship benefit reform. conservative mps abstained in the non—binding vote. the world's fastest—growing humanitarian crisis. we report on the desperate plight the rohingya refugees who have been fleeing the violence in myanmar. the football association apologises to two female players, after it was found they had been the victims of racial remarks by a former coach. and on newsnight, china's president, xijinping, wants and on newsnight, china's president, xi jinping, wants china

and on newsnight, china's president, xijinping, wants china to take centre stage economically, politically and militarily, exporting his brand of socialism with chinese characteristics. good evening and welcome to bbc news. mps have voted tonight in a non—binding commons vote to pause the roll out of the government's flagship universal credit benefits programme. it is seen as a symbolic victory for labour. earlier it was revealed that ministers had abandoned charges for calling a universal credit helpline, after strong criticism from campaigners. our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan reports. for some, this is the front line of welfare provision. in newcastle's west end, the food bank has seen more people forced here due to problems

with universal credit. the biggest welfare reform in decades, currently claimed by 600,000 people nationwide, is creating rent arrears, debts, and hunger. there's nothing in my cupboard, not a thing. and so i didn't want to go to my mum's for breakfast this morning, because you feel embarrassed, do you know what i mean? you don't want to have to do that first thing in the morning, just for a bit of breakfast. i keep having to go to cash converters. i'm selling stuff, do you know what i mean? they know me quite well in there, ithink, like, you know what i mean? i'm in every week with something to sell, whether it be cds, dvds... as shaun and margaret struggle on, the minister pushing through universal credit acknowledged the benefit was creating what he called some hard cases. good morning, david and neil. david gauke refused to pause the rollout, however, although he did concede to one labour demand. calls to the universal credit helpline, which can cost up to 55p a minute, will be made free.

given the recent attention, and concern that this could place a burden on claimants, i have decided that this will change to a free phone number over the next month. the speaker: jeremy corbyn. that wasn't enough for labour, however, who went on the attack again. the fundamental problems of universal credit remain — the six week wait, rising indebtedness, rent arrears, and evictions. will the prime minister now pause universal credit, and fix the problems? it is a system that is working, because more people are getting into work. and pausing universal credit won't help those people, who will be helped by going to universal credit, getting into the workplace, and bringing home more pay for their families. all parties agree with the principle of universal credit, simplifying the benefit system. but a parliamentary debate later revealed more divisions. birkenhead food bank,

after talking to other food banks who have experienced the rollout, believe they will need 15 tons more food this christmas. the fundamental problem of a minimum—six—week wait. and that means there are constituents who are living on the edge, and we're talking about real people's lives here. back in newcastle, the political toing and froing seems a world away, but with ministers intent on pushing on with the rollout of universal credit, the impact of that decision is likely to become very noticeable. michael buchanan, bbc news. the us has said it holds myanmar‘s army accountable for the deepening rohingya refugee crisis in bangladesh. hundreds of thousands of people have left their homes in myanmar, where they had faced a military

offensive after claims that militants were guilty of attacking police checkpoints. more than 500,000 rohingya muslims have now fled across the border. 15,000 of them have been stranded for three days, with limited food and water. my colleague clive myrie sent this report. in the distance in myanmar, where rohingya villages have burned in recent weeks, and the people have been driven out, there is another fire. it is ethnic cleansing, says the un, and the purged are fleeing for their lives into neighbouring bangladesh. translation: in my village, many were killed. but my son had just been born, so we have only now been able to escape. we haven't had time to name him. what is going on in myanmar, why have you had to flee? another man we came across spoke of violence and murder. translation: on the way we saw many dead people, their heads and limbs chopped off. the slaughter took place house by house. as we drew closer to the border, nothing had prepared us for the full extent of the day's exodus.

almost as far as the eye could see, left and right, a tide of humanity. between 10,000 and 15,000 people had crossed the border in one night. young and old, hungry, exhausted, traumatised. and, for the weak, it is a painful journey into exile, with the searing heat stinging the skin infection of this child, beneath an unrelenting sun. they had been hiding out for close to a week, to avoid detection along the border. this, a first meal without having to watch their backs. a man makes a call to tell relatives he has made it,

while others, parched and desperate, take their chance with the filthy water all around. well, as you can see, they're carrying with them whatever they could salvage from their villages, their homes, that they say they were burned out of by the myanmar military. look at that little baby there in a basket, and there is another one here, on the other side. so many young children we're seeing here today. this has to be one of the biggest single—day influxes of refugees from across the border, just over there, in the whole of this crisis. manyjust don't have the strength to walk, including this woman. she gave birth to a healthy baby boy just hours before crossing into bangladesh. born on a river bank, he first opened his eyes to see a cruel world, in which it seems there is no place for him

or the other rohingya muslims. "i begged god to save us", her husband mohammed tells me. "we hadn't eaten for two days, and she went into labour. i don't know what will happen to my baby now. he's so fragile." the new arrivals could end up in one of these — the giant, tented camps, built in a matter of days, on hillsides freshly stripped of trees. the largest will soon become the biggest refugee camp on earth. i've seen a lot of these crises around the world, and i really wasn't quite prepared for the degree of suffering and despair. and yet these people are very resilient. they have not lost hope. they still think they can make a life again in their home country. we are resolved to go back and find more resources for them, until we can bring them home. but some have died seeking sanctuary. this week, a boat carrying 60 rohingya muslims escaping myanmar capsized.

1a perished, most of them children. for the bangladeshis, the mass influx of so many refugees is difficult to control. after a delay, these rohingya muslims should begin moving to an established refugee camp in the coming days. the border remains open, but for those still wanting to escape myanmar, the fear is that soon the gates could shut. tens of thousands are already massing on the frontier, ready to make their dash for survival. the football association has apologised to two female players for the way it handled their allegations of bullying and racism. an fa investigation found that mark sampson, the former england women's manager, had made racial remarks to eni aluko and drew spence. mark sampson, who has always denied wrongdoing, lost his job due to an unrelated complaint in a previous role. eni aluko claimed the fa's attitude

had been dismissive, and said today she felt vindicated, as our sports editor dan roan reports. having had her complaints of bullying and harassment dismissed by two fa inquiries, eni aluko arrived in westminster today to give evidence, and got an apology, the governing body admitting the striker and a team—mate had been subject to racially discriminatory remarks by the former england women's manager. my overwhelming emotion, really, is just relief, because it has been a long, long process. i was always honest and truthful about those comments, and about other comments that i've raised, and about the culture of the team under mark sampson. and so i feel vindicated. sampson was sacked last month for inappropriate behaviour in a previous coaching job. based on new evidence, the same barrister who had previously rejected alu ko's complaints today accepted the manager had twice made ill—judged jokes, including one about her nigerian family bringing ebola to the uk. she did not conclude

sampson was a racist, and stood by her original conclusions. the fa had previously agreed to pay aluko an £80,000 settlement. but today, she sensationally accused chief executive martin glenn of asking her to publicly say the fa wasn't racist in return for the full payout. he effectively suggested that if i wrote a statement, a favourable statement, saying the fa are not institutionally racist, they would think about releasing the money. i felt that was bordering on blackmail. with the fa's bosses asked to explain themselves, glenn denied any blackmail attempt, and defended his organisation's handling of the saga. i regret that the two comments, the inappropriate banter, have been made. that's not right for an fa employee. but i do think the spirit with which we approached the whole concerns have been good. some mps, however, were not impressed. i have to be honest with you. i've never heard such shambolic evidence about the governance

of an organisation as i've heard today. the fa chairman admitting mistakes have been made. there certainly were systemic failures, historically, which contributed to today's mess. because i'm not here to tell you this is the fa's finest hour. and soon, it got even worse for the chairman. putting aside all the fluff about about, you know, institutional racism, no institutional bullying, it... fluff? i'm not trying to hide behind it, right? fluff is not the word i would use to describe it. language matters in many of these cases. i apologise for phrasing it badly. this has become a scandal that threaten to engulf the entire fa and exposed its handling of safeguarding, whistle—blowing and of alleged discrimination. and, with the revelation tonight that sampson is considering legal action over his dismissal, the repercussions could be far from over from the governing body, after one of the most bruising days in its history. dan roan, bbc news, westminster.

the performance of hospitals across the uk has worsened, with targets for cancer, a&e, and planned operations being widely missed, according new research by the bbc. england, wales and northern ireland have not hit any of their three key targets for 18 months. to find out how your local hospital service is performing, on waiting times for cancer, a&e and planned operations, go to the bbc‘s nhs tracker, at bbc.co.uk/tracker. government sources suggest discussions on a bill that is crucial to brexit may not take place until next month,

meaning it may not pass through parliament in time. the eu withdrawal bill, which incorporates eu legislation into uk law, is said to be facing cross—party opposition. the government says no date was set for the debate. the timing is key for the government meeting its spring 2019 deadline for brexit to take place, with or without a deal. president trump has been accused of making insensitive comments to the widow of an american soldier who died in combat. the president made a phone call to mayesha johnson, as she went to receive her husband's coffin. he's been accused of saying that sergeantjohnson must have known what he was getting into, but mr trump says he has proof the account was fabricated. he wants china to take centre stage in the world — economically and militarily — but president xijinping appears to be determined to maintain an iron grip on every aspect of chinese life. is this the face of the chinese

dream, the man who wants china and himself to have power unbridled and unmatched, and also to take his brand of socialism to the world? we'll have the latest on the shocking murder of malta's best—known investigative journalist, daphne ca ruana galizia. we'll be speaking to some of those who knew her best. she said, "i enjoy a good fight, but i feel that time is running out." "there is so much i could have done but have not done." a few days later, we hear about her murder. # bring your daughter to the slaughter and fasten your seat belts. we talk to bruce dickinson, front man of the legendary iron maiden, about life as a commercial airline pilot and his attitude to brexit. you go home, i don't know, you pour yourself a beer, do you put iron maiden on? no, no, no, no. you know, i sit down and watch newsnight. ..