welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: new york's mayor describes an attempt to blow up a busy transport hub as an isolated attack. this was an attempted terrorist attack. thank god the perpetrator did not achieve his ultimate goals. three women who say they were sexually harassed by donald trump want the us congress to investigate their allegations. two years to the day after the historic paris agreement, world leaders gather for climate change talks — without the american president. it is heralded as a major breakthrough in the treatment of huntington's disease, could it lead to news therapies for alzheimer's and other conditions? the mayor of new york has described a bomb explosion next to the city's

busiest bus station as an isolated attempt at a terrorist attack. the suspect is a young bangladeshi who moved to the us in 2011 with his family. president trump has urged congress to act against what's known as chain migration, which allows extended family to join people already in the us. in a statement, the president said america must fix what he called its lax immigration system, which he claimed allows far too many dangerous, inadequately—vetted people to access the country. those convicted of acts of terror, he suggested, deserve the strongest penalty allowed by law, including the death penalty. nick bryant reports. 7:20am in the morning, the height of the rush hour, and security camera footage of an underpass at new york's busiest bus terminal. this low—tech bomb was detonated deliberately, in the hope of killing monday morning commuters. the failed suicide bomber had strapped the home—made device to his body with velcro, but he was the only person

it seriously injured. coming at such a busy time, in such a congested place, so much worse. thank god the perpetrator did not achieve his ultimate goals. thank god our first responders were there so quickly, to address the situation and to make sure people were safe. this is the suspect, akayed ullah, a 27—year—old immigrant from bangladesh, who arrived here in 2011. he would never have made it into the country, claimed the white house, under president trump's proposed immigration limitations. we must protect our borders, we must ensure that individuals entering our country are not coming to do harm to our people, and we must move to a merit—based system of immigration.

back in new york, a quick round of instagrams, and then the city moved on. what is remarkable is that, within two hours of attack, new york city has pretty much returned to normal. there is a road closure here, but the subways are all open, and people are going about their business. this attack failed to cause death, and it failed to cause much disruption. the authorities believe the failed bomber acted alone, and it increasingly looks like he was inspired but not directed by the group that calls itself the islamic state. three women who claim they were sexually harassed by donald trump have called on congress to investigate allegations of his misconduct. the accusations first came to light during last year's presidential race, and the white house has repeatedly rejected them, although mr trump has been recorded boasting of sexually harassing women. his accusers are now demanding accountability, as rajini vaidyanathan reports. these three women are accusing the most powerful man in the world

of sexual misconduct. they first spoke out last year, but in the wake of the harvey weinstein scandal, they are now calling on congress to investigate president trump. in an objective setting, without question, a person with this record would have entered the graveyard of political aspiration, never to return. yet here we are with that man as president. jessica leeds, who was at the news conference, says she was assaulted by mr trump decades ago, while she was sitting next to him on a flight. the next thing i know, trump is over me like a wet blanket. and he is kissing, and he's fondling and everything, and the next thing i realised was that he was putting his hand up my skirt. i grabbed my purse and went to the back of the aeroplane. it was after the release of this tape, where mr trump can be heard bragging about groping women, that more than a dozen accusers came

forward with allegations of sexual misconduct. all i can say is it's totally fake news. it's just fake, it's fake, it's made—up stuff. and it's disgraceful, what happens, but that happens in the world of politics, john. but the women say they are telling the truth. apprentice contestant summer zervos claims mr trump forcibly attempted to kiss her. zervos wants to sue him for defamation. if the judge in new york decides the case should go ahead, her lawyer could call the president to testify. no man is above the law, including the president of the united states. in the past week alone, three members of congress have been forced to resign over accusations of sexual misconduct. in this current climate, many are asking why the same pressure hasn't been applied at the gates of the white house. but many voters simply are not concerned. remember, donald trump won last year's election in spite of these allegations, which he denies. but for these women, it does matter, because donald trump is president of the united states.

it left me feeling very gross, very dirty... they want to raise the profile of their allegations, and hope that, in some way, he will be held accountable. alabama hasn't had a competitive race like this in years. on tuesday voters will choose between a formerjudge who's accused of sexual misconduct and molesting a child — and a former lawyer who is pro—choice and once prosecuted members of the ku klux klan. polls suggest the republican roy moore may win the senate seat, and that has national implications, because republicans have only a slim majority in the senate. but many in his own party have shunned him, including alabama's top senator, richard shelby. mr moore used his last rally to try and pour cold water on the allegations. the washington post put out this terrible, disgusting article, saying i had done something. i want you to understand something. they said these women had not come forward for nearly a0 years.

but they waited to 30 days before this general election to come forward. now they have allowed their pictures to be on a political advertisement and they have gone on national television arguing their case — after waiting a0 years, during which i served in three public offices in the state, i ran five state campaigns, three county campaigns in this same county, and never once was this mentioned. roy moore there. the democratic candidate, doug jones, addressed his final campaign remarks to wavering supporters of mr moore, saying they should vote with their conscience not political allegiance. we have heard so many people that have decided, well, you know what, i am not going to worry

about the fact that roy moore has been kicked out of office twice, i'm not going to worry about the fact that he took money from a charity, and you know what, i believe these women, but, you know what, my party is more important. it is time. i think we will see it tomorrow, that the majority of people of alabama say that it is time that we put our decency, our state before political party. i think it's time that we say no more to putting people down, that we say no more to treating people as second—class citizens. we say no more to discriminating against those that are the least fortunate among us. it is time that we say no more. doug jones therefore the democrats.

we go live to alabama now. joined by gabriel debenedetti from politico magazine. this area is strongly republican. that is absolutely right. it has been a bizarre campaign. the fact that we are here paying attention to this means that something truly strange has happened on top of that. no democrat has been elected to the senate from alabama since the early 19905. that senate from alabama since the early 1990s. that democrat has now become a republican, that is richard shelby. no democrat has been elected statewide to any office in this statewide to any office in this state in nearly a full decade now. the very fact that doug jones is close speaks to how controversial roy moore is and indeed how controversial he was even before these allegations. controversial and

how, a man accused of sexually harassing teenagers and child molestation, whom many in his party have disowned. what is your feeling about how things are going, it still looks as though he will win? about how things are going, it still looks as though he will win7|j about how things are going, it still looks as though he will win? i think what we have seen is some polls have shown politico magazine far ahead and some have shownjones far ahead and some have shownjones far ahead and some have shownjones far ahead and some have shown a total toss up —— roy moore. the reality is alabama isa —— roy moore. the reality is alabama is a republican state. many people on the ground are feeling that if this is truly a toss up that does tip the race towards roy moore. it remains to be seen which voters come out and vote tomorrow. given the controversial of this race, a number of voters have been hesitant to talk in public about who they are supporting. turn-out is key. how is steve bannon playing in this area? he isa steve bannon playing in this area? he is a proxy for president trump. he is a proxy for president trump. he was tonight rallying for roy moore on the night before the election, on election day. he is

trying to get more trump supporters to back moore wholeheartedly. what moore needs is a number of donald trump's bigas supporters on his side. donald trump one alabama by 28 points over hillary clinton in 2016. they try to turn this race into every ducks of that, trump versus clinton part to —— redux. every ducks of that, trump versus clinton part to -- redux. it matters nationally because republican majority in the senate is so slim. it is. republicans want to keep this seatin it is. republicans want to keep this seat in their ire. but they are wary of what will happen if roy moore becomes a senator. of what will happen if roy moore becomes a senator. they think he could become a total embarrassment to them. democrat see this as an opportunity to take a seat from alabama republicans, an opportunity they have not had in decades. gabriel debenedetti from politico magazine. thank you. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. a federaljudge in the us has ruled that transgender people must be

admitted to the military from january 1st. the president announced a ban injuly, and the government had asked that the recruitment be delayed while it appealed an earlier court ruling blocking the ban. president putin has said president trump's decision to recognise jerusalem as the capital of israel could erase prospects for peace between israelis and palestinians. he was speaking in ankara at a news conference with the turkish leader recep tayyip erdogan. world leaders are gathering in france for tuesday's summit, called to push forward plans to tackle climate change, agreed in paris two years ago. the french president will lead attempts to find billions of dollars pledged to help emerging economies end their reliance on fossil fuels. the us president won't be, there of course, he pulled his country out of the agreement injune — the only one of 195 countries to do so. andrew plant reports. arriving for a dinner with the french president, former un secretary—general ban ki—moon and his predecessor, kofi annan, arriving in paris for what emmanuel macron has called a meeting of elders. this the evening before the one planet summit,

taking place two years to the day since the paris accord, which saw 195 countries aiming to end the use of fossil fuels and stem the rise in global warming, an agreement that america turned its back on injune, when donald trump pulled out. he has called global warming a hoax. the french president, though, said america would be welcome back if mr trump ever changes his mind. the us is a great government, is a great country. the us did sign the paris agreement. it's extremely aggressive to decide on its own just to leave, and i'm pretty sure that my friend president trump will change his mind in the coming months or years. i do hope, and i'm ready to work with him if he decides to come back. big names in business are also around — billionaire richard branson, and former californian governor arnold schwarzenegger arriving by bike. he said much of america was still

committed to the paris agreement. it doesn't matter that donald trump backed out of the paris agreement, because the private sector didn't drop out, the public sector didn't drop out, universities didn't drop out, scientists didn't drop out, no—one dropped out. donald trump pulled donald trump out of the paris agreement, so don't worry about any of that. we on the subnational level are going to pick up the slack, and we are going to continue on. tuesday's summit will look to find sources of finance to help countries shift to cleaner sources of energy, and lessen the impact of sea level rise due to melting ice caps, harsher storms and flooding, heat waves and droughts, too. richer nations agreed to provide $100 billion in funding each year to help developing nations switch away from fossil fuels. the target now at this meeting in paris — to fulfil that promise by 2020. stay with us on bbc news.

prisoners in their own homes. we find out how keeping the hazara community save from attack, but how it might be deepening divisions. john lennon was shot at the entrance to the dakota building, in the centre of new york. there's been a crowd here standing in more or less silent vigil. and the flowers have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of this war ended at the walls of the old city of dubrovnik. this morning, witnesses said shells

were landing every 20 seconds. people are celebrating the passing of a man they hold responsible for hundreds of deaths and oppression. elsewhere, people have been gathering to mourn his passing. imelda marcos, the widow of the former president of the philippines, has gone on trial in manila. she's facing seven charges of tax evasion. she pleaded not guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to separate. a statement from buckingham palace said the decision had been reached amicably. you're watching bbc news. glad you're here with us. the latest headlines: a man with a pipe—bomb strapped to his body has set off an explosion in new york, injuring himself and three passers—by. he's now in custody. three women who say they were sexually harassed by president trump have called on the us congress to investigate the allegations. one of the most destructive wildfires in california's history is heading towards the city of santa barbara. firefighters are battling six fires across the state, with the largest having scorched an area of 230,000 acres. governorjerry brown has

described the situation as "the new normal", predicting that fires like this could happen every year. james cooke reports from santa barbara. well, this is the northern edge of this huge fire now covering an area that is larger than new york city or singapore. and there are homes here in the mountains. this home here is obviously potentially at risk and so firefighters have come here. there's their fire engine here. they've come down to try to protect it. they've been walking around scouting out the area, trying to figure out what they would do if the fire comes down from the hills. it'sjust burning again, flaring up on top of the ridge at the moment. more than 6000 firefighters are now working on this fire. the cost is enormous. the firefighting operation cost is already more than $38 million. and this is on track to be

possibly the biggest fire, the biggest wildfire, that california has ever seen. ash is floating down through the air here, and that is having an effect down here on the valley, because this is prime agricultural estates down here. and people down there are struggling, the farmers are struggling. they're finding it difficult. we spoke to one farmer who has had to put a fan on his production line of lettuce, even inside his green houses, so that the ash could be blown off the lettuce so he could send it to market. it is a very serious situation. the weather forecast is a bit uncertain. but it seems possible that these flames, which are flaring up again just on the tops, that these claims might well continue for some days to come. huntington's is one of the most devastating brain diseases, leaving patients in permanent decline and affecting their ability to move and think. for the first time, the defect that causes it has been

corrected in patients, raising hopes that it could be stopped. the bbc‘s health correspondent james gallagher reports. the allen family has been blighted by huntington's. they have seen their mother, stephanie, die from it. the last year of her life, every time we all went to visit her, she just held us and said, i want to die. the disease claimed their uncle keith and grandmother 0live too. they describe it as parkinson's, alzheimer's and motor neurone disease all rolled into one. when you've got something that's degenerative, you know that — every day, you know the last day was probably better than the next one's going to be. frank, his sister sandy and also their brother peter's brains will all slowly degenerate from huntington's, too. but now, they have hope. the treatment is called gene silencing. every cell in the body contains genes, which hold the instructions for running the body. huntington's disease is the result of a corrupted gene, that leads to the creation

of a toxic protein which destroys the brain. a messenger carries the blueprints from the corrupted gene. this treatment sticks to the messenger, disabling it, and lowering the production of toxic brain protein. now, this will feel a little chilly. are you ready? 46 patients had the experimental drug injected into the fluid that bathes the brain and spinal cord. the trial showed the therapy is safe and effective. it was led by scientists at the university college london, who say the results are of ground—breaking importance. for the first time, we have the potential, we have the hope, of a therapy that one day may slow or prevent huntington's disease completely. this is the experimental therapy. it is exciting, but it is not a cure. it will require far more research, and following patients for years to come. this is a brain dieing from huntington's. doctors are starting longer trials

to see whether targeting the protein can change the course of this disease for families like the allens. if it works, and it stops me getting any worse, than would be fantastic. personally, i never really thought it would ever happen, that that would happen. it's all about, you know, can we stop it in other people, our children. this research also holds promise for other illnesses. similar toxic proteins are found in brain diseases including dementia and parkinson's. i really think that this is potentially the biggest breakthrough in neuro—degenerative diseases for the last 50 year. we have very similar situations in at least some cases of these other diseases, and if the overall mechanism is essentially the same, we should be able to use the same general approach. the allens have made a promise

to their children that a treatment would be ready in time for them. research over the next four years will see if gene silencing can fulfil that promise. james gallagher, bbc news. in the pakistani city of quetta, hundreds of members of the minority hazara community have been killed in recent years, targeted by extremists for their belief in shia islam. the solution, say the authorities, is tightly controlled army checkpoints at the entrance to the two districts where hazaras live. but many in the community say they've been made prisoners in their own homes. secunder kermani reports from quetta. hundreds of hazara men and boys are taking part in an annual shia ceremony of mourning. they are commemorating the killing of the prophet muhammad's grandson. along with the martyrs of the past, it is a day to remember those

in the community murdered in the dozens of anti—shia attacks in recent years. this cemetery in the hazara district is where nearly 1,000 of those victims are buried. over a dozen hazaras have been killed in and around quetta in this year alone. in the past, the annual death toll was far higher. but the reduction in violence has come at a cost. hazaras are now living in ghettos, scared that if they step out of their own areas, this is where they will end up. the mariabad district is populated almost entirely by hazaras. to prevent attacks, streets leading here from elsewhere in the city have either been walled off or are controlled by army checkpoints. the checkpoints are for the safety of residents, but they are not popular. translation: yes, violence here has come down. but we can't go anywhere.

we can't do business here. we are living in a cage. leaving mariabad can prove deadly. hazaras, said to be descendants of the mongols, are easily identifiable from their distinct facial features. this man was shot five times last month on a trip to the city centre. he tells me he went to buy vegetables for his market stall. everybody else in the car was killed, he says. now, i will never leave mariabad again. for many young hazaras, sport is a way to escape their surroundings. parkour, orfree—running, is becoming increasingly popular amongst teenagers. this makes me forget about all of this. ifeel like i have dreams. i can fly, i can do anything. parents are afraid of losing their children. they won't permit us to go anywhere, so that's why we are trapped in here, like, our own home.

the more hazaras are forced to stay within their own areas, the less, they fear, they will interact with other communities. in trying to keep them safe, the authorities may be deepening the divisions within the city. just briefly, heavy snow in northern europe has caused traditional transport chaos with hundreds of flights cancelled in amsterdam's airport, and in front of 32 regions are in orange alert as the storm named anna battered the coast. much more on all of that and the rest of the day's news on the bbc website. thanks for watching. well, it's no wonder the snow has been making the headlines the last

couple of days, it has been exceptionally heavy across parts of england and wales. winter wonderland scenes like this in parts of wales, it looks beautiful but can be so disruptive, like the snow we saw in the south—east of england on monday. now, the wintry weather continues through the overnight through eastern coastal areas and to some extent as well across south—west wales, into cornwall and devon. elsewhere, it's going to be a bitterly cold night under clear skies. these are towns and city values. out in the countryside, and where there's lying snow, easily minus double digit figures. we're going to see some freezing mist and fog as well to greet us for tuesday morning. so watch out for lying snow and ice, which could be quite widespread where we've got snow and where there's been some snow melt during the course of monday. some treacherous conditions out there on untreated roads and pavements and cycle routes, you'll see a cold, frosty start across the board. a few wintry showers again across east anglia and these should generally ease away, same too across south—west wales and cornwall and devon. up into the midlands northern england, scotland and to some extrent northern ireland, a very cold and crisp start, but at least dry and bright

with plenty of sunshine. it's going to be a glorious day. in fact, light winds, lots of sunshine albeit very cold. a change across the west, a weather front pushing into northern ireland, western scotland and across the far south—west lifting temperatures slowly, outbreaks of rain bumping into that cold air so we'll start to see some outbreaks of snow across the higher ground. temperatures rising in the south—west but a very cold day in central and eastern areas. there's the change taking place on tuesday, the first of a succession of weather fronts which will move through and then we'll see another one moving on wednesday, behind it colder air once again. that first weather front will eventually clear away from the south—east wednesday morning. a frost—free start on most places, a little bit of sunshine before the next weather system moves in, looks like it'll bring heavy bursts of rain to england and wales. behind it turns brighter but colder with some wintry showers moving in, certainly some snow in parts of northern ireland

and in towards scotland. double—figure values in the south, but colder in the north. into thursday, we'll continue to see a little bit of rain across the south, plenty of showers and quite windy across the board in the north and the west. a little bit colder as well, and that cold air will start to pour southwards behind this area of low pressure as it clears away eastwards, it will open the floodgates again to the arctic, so a much colder friday and into the weekend. this is bbc news. the headlines: the mayor of new york has described a bomb explosion next to the city's busiest bus station as an isolated attempt at a terrorist attack. the suspect is a young bangladeshi who moved to the us in 2011 with his family. he suffered burns from the crude pipe—bomb he'd strapped to his body. three others were injured. three women who claim they were sexually harassed by donald trump have called on congress to investigate allegations of his misconduct. the accusations first came to light during last year's presidential race, and the white house has repeatedly rejected them. world leaders are gathering in france for tuesday's summit,

called to push forward plans to tackle climate change, agreed in paris two years ago. the us president won't be there of course, he pulled his country out of the agreement injune, the only one of 195 countries to do so. now on bbc news, it's hardtalk.