welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley — our top stories: president trump unleashes a tirade against his former chief strategist steve bannon, for accusing donald trump jr of treason. winter storms sweep europe — claiming lives, cutting power and causing chaos for travellers and coastal communities. australia's air accident investigators raise the seaplane which crashed near sydney on new year. we'll have the latest from the scene. one of the world's most sacred rivers — the ganges in india — is also one of the most—polluted — clogged with plastic waste and other rubbish. and the helping hand of science — researchers in italy develop a bionic limb that feels like the real thing. hello.

a spectacular war of words has broken out between donald trump and his former chief strategist steve bannon. bannon is quoted in a new book accusing the president's son donald, jr of treason, for meeting during the election campaign with a group of russians who'd promised him damaging material on hillary clinton. the president has responded that steve bannon had notjust lost his job at the white house — he lost his mind as well. this from our north america correspondent peter bowes. they were once as thick as thieves. steve bannon helped to shape the america first campaign that elected donald trump. in the white house he was a key player. he had the ear of the president. but his job as chief strategist was short—lived and he returned to his previous position as the head of rightwing outlet breitbart news. he promised to be the president's wingman outside but this book reveals a different story.

the most damaging claim is that steve bannon watched a meeting between donald trump junior and a bunch of russian lawyers during the campaign and considered it treasonous. also a meeting between paul manafort and jared kushner. "the three senior people in the campaign thought it was a good idea to meet with a foreign government inside trump tower in the conference room on the 25th floor with no lawyers" bannon is quoted as saying. he then said that after the meeting they should have called the fbi immediately. the president hit back in a scathing statement. he said, "steve bannon has nothing to do with me nor my presidency. when he was not only lost hisjob, he lost his mind." he goes on, "steve was rarely in a one—on—one meeting with me and only pretends to have had influence to fool a few people with no access and no clue whom he he helped write looks."

sarah sanders has condemned the contents of the book as completely untrue. she says the meeting was not an act of treason. i think it is ridiculous accusation and i am sure we have addressed previously. if that is in reference to comments from mr bannon, and i would refer you to the ones previously on 60 minutes where he called the collusion with russia about this president a total farce. i think you need to look back at that. if anything has been inconsistent it has been bannon, certainly not the president nor this administration. the book also says the steve bannon believes the russians were taken after the meeting to meet donald trump. the president has always denied that happened. with the ongoing investigation into possible russian collusion in the presidential election, this explosive row between donald trump and his once trusted ally has left washington stunned.

our north america editor, jon sopel, is in washington. i thought it would take something to eclipse donald trump's tweet about kim jong—un. it now seems that the president and steve bannon are engaged for who has the biggest bite and in the most powerful one. —— button and. let me read you a little more of what the president has said about his former chief strategist. steve had little to do with our historic victory. he does not represent my base. he is only in it for himself. he was rarely in a one—on—one meeting with me and only pretends to have had influenced a full a few people. —— to fool. this is an unprecedented statement from president. so why the venom? firstly because steve bannon has gone after family and secondly because it makes it much more difficult for donald trump to deny collusion with the russians when you have someone who was on the inside talking about treasonous and unpatriotic behaviour. there is one source of comfort for the white house, steve bannon continuing to be an influence

after he was fired. no longer. he has now been cast out into darkness and the question is what does he do next? he will not go away quietly, he has his breitbart website and he will continue to be a thorn in the side. there was an earlier president who commented about a troublesome ally. better to have him inside the tent looking out than outside the tent looking in. although that is not exactly the quote. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. iran has accused the united states of meddling in its domestic affairs, after president trump backed anti—government protests. the iranian ambassador to the un said mr trump and his vice—president had incited unrest with what he called numerous absurd tweets. earlier the head of iran's revolutionary guards said the unrest was over. the computer chip—maker, intel, says it is working to correct a vulnerability that could allow hackers to steal data from most modern computers. intel said it was wrong to describe the problem as a flaw in its products and said other companies systems were also vulnerable.

the french president, emmanuel macron, says his government will introduce legislation to combat fake news during election campaigns. the law would enable judges to block websites that spread fake news, and counter efforts by foreign governments to destabilise the democratic process. storm eleanor has caused havoc. two people drowned on the northern coast of spain as they were swept away by a huge wave. a skier was killed by a falling tree in the french alps and 15 were injured across the country. tens of thousands have been affected by the power cuts and a trouble have been disrupted. dutch authorities have for the first time shut major sea barriers in holland. storm eleanor swept into france with brute force. winds exceeding 150 kilometres an hour battered the northern coast. the atlantic ocean crashed over and through cedar fences. high tide at st malo

in brittany saw waves flooding into the streets. in paris there was heavy driving rain. this is what the strongest winds in years can do to the capital. crushed cars, collapsed scaffolding and downed power lines. dangerous conditions closed ski resorts in the alps. one skier died after being hit by a falling tree. translation: i am devastated. we can predict avalanches or torrential rain but trees falling on the ski piste, we're not used to that. it is tragic. destruction has been widespread across northern europe. tens of thousands of homes are without power. in switzerland, 25 people were stuck inside a cable car due to strong winds. later they were rescued by helicopter. this train was blown off the track near lucerne injuring eight people. hours earlier, ireland was the first

to feel the power of the storm. high spring tides in galway and gale force winds are a dangerous mix. in donegal, some enjoyed the wild weather. this is a dog in a sea of foam. in south—west england, eleanor took a chunk out of the sea wall. i pulled the curtains back and saw a scene of utter devastation. you can see how close the house is, probably 50 yards away. i am amazed to see what happened. and through a second night here, large waves pose a serious threat. the sea is a powerful thing. it is a silent killer and it will have you as quick as a lick. this is the fourth major storm to hit europe in a month and it is not yet over. some coastal areas in the uk and ireland remain

on high flood alert. an operation has begun to recover the wreckage of a seaplane which crashed near sydney on new year's eve, killing five members of a british family and the pilot. the aircraft has been submerged in more than a0 feet of water after coming down in the hawkesbury river. our correspondent, phil mercer was watching the recovery operation. it began at dawn in waters to the north of where we are at west head in sydney. the salvage operation is going on atjerusalem bay near the town of cowan. rescue divers are attaching inflatable bags to the wreckage. the aim is to bring it to the surface and from there will be pulled from the water by a crane and on a barge. once it is on a vessel we expect it to travel through these waters to a wharf at pittwater that you can see behind me. eventually the wreckage

will be taken to canberra by air crash investigators and they say that their preliminary findings into the new year's eve tragedy will be released in about one months time. the point of all of this, obviously, is that backplane is the best evidence as to what happened. it is the biggest clue. the authorities hope to find perhaps some mobile phone footage from the passengers that may yield clues that. there may be other digital data that will help their investigation because what they are doing is piecing together lots of different pieces of evidence to establish how and why a routine sightseeing flight from sydney harbour tojerusalem bay could end in utter catastrophe. the safety record of the company will be examined. the maintenance history of the aircraft, the background and experience of the pilot as well. many different things and the authorities have also asked witnesses to the crash to send them any footage they have as well. it is a big jigsaw

that they need to put together and as we say, ii arie findings are due in about one month but a comprehensive review of the tragedy could take much longer. —— preliminary. the problem of plastics and the impact they're having on our planet is a subject we've been exploring this week. according to a recent study 95% of plastic pollution in the world's oceans comes from just ten rivers. one of them is the ganges in india. our correspondent, sanjoy majumder reports from the banks of the holy city of varanasi. this looks like a drain carrying sewerage, but it's actually a tributary of the ganges. the waste along its banks choking and contaminating one of the world's greatest rivers. every day wrappers, bottles, cups and other plastic waste is deposited here, slowly sliding into the water and then eventually flowing into the ganges. for centuries, some of india's greatest cities have been built along its banks, varanasi the oldest one of them. it's only when you come to the ancient city of varanasi that

you realise how this mighty river, that's so central to the hindu faith, that sustains the lives and beliefs of nearly half a billion people, is as polluted as it is. the ganges is more than a river to indians, it is sacred to hindus who pray and worship along its banks and cremate their dead in it. from the time it flows out of the icy heights of the himalayas, until it gets here, its crystal clear waters give way to a fetid, muddy flow, contaminated by the millions who live along its banks. five generations of sanjit‘s family have lived along the ganges in varanasi, living witnesses to its gradual degradation. translation: there's an old saying here that the ganges belongs to everyone. you are free to do what you want, throw what you want, cremate dead bodies, bathe, wash, and you'll achieve salvation. but we are being irresponsible, we do not have the right to pollute

the ganges this way. three years ago, the indian government pledged more than £2 billion to clean up the ganges, but much of the money remains unspent and the focus, in any case, is on treating sewerage and industrial effluents. so the only people trying to prevent plastic waste being dumped into the river are these scrap pickers. translation: every day we pick up about ten to 20 kilos of plastic. we have to sift through the rubbish and segregate the plastic. it is estimated that every year, 1.2 billion pounds of plastic waste is dumped into the ganges, much of it carried into the bay of bengal where the river eventually empties out. sanjoy majumder, bbc news, varanasi. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a bionic limb developed in italy.

the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got under way with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow in holland, we're going to use money we picked up in belgium today, and then we will be in france and again it will be the same money. it's just got to be the way to go. george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed at his oxfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. i think it was good. you... just good? no, fantastic! that's better. this is bbc news.

the latest headlines: donald trump has said his former chief strategist has lost his mind — the president's response to reports that steve bannon has accused mr trump's son donald junior and his son—in—law jared kushner of treason. let's stay with that story now. and joining me now for more on that story is mark follman, editor of motherjones, a political and investigative journalism magazine. very good to talk to you. how accurate do you think this book is? it is reportedly based on more than 200 interviews. as you know the white house press secretary said it is filled with false and misleading accounts. if it is true steve bannon has completely changed his tune on the russia meeting. yes, well, it is ha rd to the russia meeting. yes, well, it is hard to say what exactly is true and

isn't in the book but certainly it echoes a lot of the things we have seen reported in the press over the last year and many american news outlets from the new york times, cnn, washington post and the author had cnn, washington post and the author ha d a ccess cnn, washington post and the author had access to steve bannon and the white house. but what we are hearing and seeing from bannon is extraordinary, as you say, in terms of perspective on the russian investigation, really articulating what a lot of the public can already see in plain sight, that this investigation is directed at money laundering and donald trump's in a circle and the perspective of the meeting in trump tower is it was a betrayal of us national security with a foreign government so it is a remarkable shift indeed. and what do you think it changes and how far is it likely to take the investigation, if bannon is to be believed, the book to be believed, much harderfor the trump campaign to deny collusion, isn't it, and bannon says the family is vulnerable to money laundering accusation. frankly, i

think that was all true already, and regardless of what bannon‘s motivation may be, having made these comments, a lot of this is already on the public record, in the indictments, in the plea deal is that the mueller investigation has done with former trump sta, so really he is just choosing to articulate what we can already see in terms of where the sprawling investigation is heading —— staffers. and it is very serious. yet againi staffers. and it is very serious. yet again i suppose it is worth noting that with his statement attacking steve bannon mr trump has succeeded in making the story more about that row than about what's in the book. do you think that is temporary, though?” the book. do you think that is temporary, though? i do, and i think often people want to credit trump for being strategic with those kinds of shifts in the news cycle but from my perspective it is more a matter of just the constant chaos my perspective it is more a matter ofjust the constant chaos and i'm not sure it is really any better for him. frankly i think that a large

quantity of the american public is sick of all this drama and chaos. i heard that articulated from trump supporters i have spoken with recently, just really want is to stop. so the fact that trump made it a battle with bannon today doesn't necessarily help him either. itjust continues a political dynamic that have started to wear thin with the public. and yet we are all kind of getting used to one more extraordinary, incredible thing after another. how much do you think this is likely to change anything? it is an interesting question, right. just when you think it couldn't get more chaotic and crazy, it seems to, so on the one hand we seem like we are getting more used to this style of politics but on the other, a day like today is just remarkable. you have the president of the united states coming out and saying in explicit terms that his former chief strategist is insane. that is basically what he said. he had nothing to do with the

presidency, which is of course not remotely believable. bannon was part of the inner circle for the better pa rt of the inner circle for the better part of his first year in office. so it has really reached another remarkable moment today. thank you so remarkable moment today. thank you so much. america's east—coast is bracing for a rare winter storm that is expected to create blizzard—like conditions. schools have been shut and some flights cancelled as forecasters warn of strong winds and heavy snowfalls. it follows more than a week of record—low temperatures recorded across the us. kathryn armstrong reports. when water features become ice sculptures — freezing temperatures creating a rare sight for both locals and tourists visiting new york's bryant park. certainly nothing like this in australia. coldest it gets in sydney is probably about six degrees. so coming here and it's —10, —i2, it's — yeah, it's pretty unbelievable. i was asking myself, is it real? yes. further south, those who were used to a much milder winter are experiencing their own weather firsts. it's pretty wild. i've never seen palm trees

with snow on them before. what do you think? it's — we've never seen this much snow down here, ever, i don't think. his family is from down here, and everyone is completely freaking out. parts of america have been coping with unseasonably low temperatures for more than a week. at least nine people are thought to have died in the cold. however, now the east coast is in the direct path of a weather phenomenon known as a bomb cyclone, expected to create blizzard conditions that could see widespread power outages, and create more scenes like this. snow—covered roads, high winds, and the fact that this storm will bring two to three inches of snow per hour will make driving hazardous, and we are urging the public to please stay off the roads tomorrow unless absolutely necessary, and to use public transit. forecasters have warned that the arctic conditions are expected to continue until the end of the week. an international team of researchers has unveiled a bionic hand

which enables the person wearing it to actually feel what they're touching. until now it has only ever been used in labs. but for the first time it's being tested out in the real world. our medical correspondent fergus walsh has been to rome to meet the woman who's been using it, to see what difference it makes to her life. here's his exclusive report. a bionic hand with a sense of touch, and here is the proof. blindfolded, almarina mascarello knows whether what she is holding is soft or hard. she gets it right every time. over lunch she told me that, nearly 25 years after losing her hand in a factory accident, it is almost like it's back again. translation: the feeling is spontaneous, as if it were your real hand.

you're finally able to do things that before were difficult, like getting dressed, putting on shoes. all mundane but important things. you feel complete. the world's first feeling bionic hand, given to this danish man, never left the lab. the technology was just too bulky. now, nearly four years on, it is portable, allowing almarina to go back to her hobby of car mechanics. all the electronics are in her rucksack. here is how it works. sensors in the fingertips are linked to a computer. this converts the signals into a language the brain will understand. the information is relayed to it via tiny electrodes implanted in nerves in almarina's upper arm. this represents a significant

advance in neuro—prosthetics, the interface between machine and the human body. the next patient won't need to have a rucksack to carry these electronics, because they are going to be miniaturised and implanted under the skin, and the team here are hoping to do the same with a bionic leg, which will have pressure sensors in the foot. engineers, computer scientists, and surgeons from several countries are involved in this eu—funded research. a truly human—like bionic hand is still decades away, but the team here think it will happen. you see that we are going more and more in the direction of science fiction, like movies like star wars — luke skywalker after the amputation of the hand. so, a fully controlled, fully natural, fully sensorised prosthesis, very similar, identical, to the human hand.

since we filmed with almarina, she has had to give back her bionic hand, because it is still in the research stage. but she says, when it is commercialised in a few years, she wants the feeling bionic hand back for good. fergus walsh, bbc news, rome. thieves have outwitted security at the doge's palace in venice to steal jewellery on loan from a member of the qatari royalfamily. police say at least two thieves took a brooch and earrings with a minimum value of a million dollars. it happened on the last day of an exhibition called treasures of the mughals and the maharajahs. the police chief has suggested the exhibition's security system failed. he claimed the alarm on the glass case holding the jewels went off late, if at all.

in the uk at polar bear has given before the first time in 35 years and you can see victoria with her companion. staff at the highland wildlife park in scotland say they are thrilled and they will keep victoria's enclosure closed until march to give the offspring every chance of survival. and just briefly the main story again — president trump has fallen out very publicly indeed with one of his former key advisers, accusing him of losing his mind. steve bannon was mr trump's chief strategist and widely credited with helping him win the white house. he's quoted in a new book as saying that a meeting held by mr trump's son and son—in—law with russians during the election campaign was treasonous. much more on that and all of the news on the bbc website. thanks for watching. storm eleanor brought some damage, disruption to ireland and the uk.

it has continued to move away in towards the baltic states, as you can see here, beginning to weaken now. but we're looking out to the west, to this next area of low pressure, which is showing signs of deepening, strengthening all the while as it's reaching our shores, and could bring us a spell of gales or severe gales during the course of this afternoon. initially, it's going to send a weather front out ahead of it. some of the rain will be fairly heavy, quite persistent during the overnight period and to start this morning. but, further north and east, a dry, chilly start to the day, with a little bit of frost and fog potentially in central and northern scotland. so, for today, there's going to be that early—morning rain, and then into the afternoon, those winds are going to pick up, particularly across the south. so we start off on a very wet note this morning in the south—east, east anglia, pushing in towards east midlands and northern england. those winds behind the rain band picking up, reaching gale—force around in the south—west, particularly around coastal areas and in towards wales.

the rain will be persistent, fairly heavy across northern england, pushing in towards central, southern scotland and northern ireland. and, with a little bit of elevation, with that cold air around, we could be looking at some snow over the higher ground here. but a dry, cold start for much of northern scotland, with a bit of mist and fog around, too. a few showers across the northern isles, mind you. that rain band will continue to move northwards and then grind to a halt in the far north of england, central and southern scotland, and northern ireland. behind it, though, for much of england and wales, a brighter afternoon, some sunshine, showers. but those gusty winds touching 60mph, maybe even more in exposure across wales and the south—west, and into the south—east. a very mild 12—13 degrees here, a little bit cooler further north. that area of low pressure clears away, and on friday, we're looking at another feature running in off the atlantic. it's going to bring another spell of wet and fairly windy weather to our shores. a little bit of snow to start across some of the northern hills first thing on friday, and then those winds picking up. again, initially south—west england, wales, then across the south coast and in towards the south—east. some sunshine around, too.

much more cold air begins to push into scotland with an increasing chance of wintry showers. that cold air down from the arctic spreads right across the uk for the weekend, so it's going to feel distinctly cold. much, much colder out on that strong north—north—east wind. it's going to feel bitterly cold, in fact. there will be some sunshine around. som wintry showers, as well, across eastern areas, and temperatures 6—7 degrees at best. the winds maybe a bit lighter across the board on sunday. still quite breezy across the south—east, but it's going to feel even colder, despite there being plenty of sunshine. this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump has released a statement attacking his former strategist, steve bannon — saying he's ‘lost his mind'. bannon is quoted in a new book describing a meeting during the election campaign, between mr trump's son donald junior and a group of russians, as treasonous and unpatriotic. surging winds across western europe have left thousands of homes without power and brought chaos to travellers and communities on the coast. in switzerland a train was blown off its tracks — injuring eight people.

dutch authorities have, for the first time, shut all major sea barriers. iran has accused the us of meddling in its domestic affairs — a response to president trump's backing for anti—government protests. iran's ambassador to the un said donald trump had incited unrest with what he called absurd tweets. the head of iran's revolutionary guards has said the unrest is now over. now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk.