hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. yesterday donald trump attacked, today it was his lawyers. they're trying to stop this book in which steve bannon accused donald trump junior of treasonous behaviour. this was the president on bannon. he called me a great man last night, so he called me a great man last night, so he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. america's east coast is taking a battering. snow, winds, and an 11th day of record—breaking low temperatures. there were terrible scenes in south africa after a train hit a truck. at least 18 people died. plus, world affairs correspondent lyse doucet willjoin us, covering the iran protests and really anything else you want. get in touch, and we'll ask your questions. lyse doucet will be here in about

ten minutes, if you have questions about the situation in iran, send them my way, #bbcos is the hashtag. lawyers for president trump are trying to block the release of a book about him. it's called fire and fury: inside the trump white house, it's by michael wolff, it's not even out yet already, but he and his publisher have received this 11—page letter. it says the book contains "false and baseless statements" which give rise to "defamation by libel, inducement of breach of contract" — and much more besides. any number of things may have upset mr trump. this bbc article lists the most remarkable claims. top of that list is mr trump's former chief strategist, steve bannon, saying a meeting between the trump campaign and a russian lawyer was "treasonous".

it also claims melania trump cried when it became clear her husband would win the presidency and that mr trump was "horrified". and that the president was upset so many a—list stars declined to attend his inauguration. a lot of interest in this book, the bbc can't back—up all of the claims, of course, but this is interesting. the people in charge of the book are moving up the release date, utterly the lizo gays in washington, when are you going to buy your copy?! —— anthony zurcher is in washington. are you going to buy your copy?! —— anthony zurcher is in washingtonm was originally scheduled to come out next week, but this is what they think of the thread of the lawsuit

from donald trump and his lawyer. it was always going to be legal long shot, libel law is very difficult to prove here in the us, but now it is something of a mood point. they could still sue after the fact, but the genie is out of the bottle, and the genie is out of the bottle, and the damage has been done. the genie is out of the bottle, and lots of people who don't like mr trump are feasting on the details, but quite a lot of american journalists are saying, what is the sourcing of all of these claims? that is a very good question. i mean, the broad sweep of the book conforms with a lot of reporting that has been done by reliable news sources, the new york times, the washington post, over the course of the past year. we know the white house has been chaotic, there has been a great deal of staff upheaval, we know donald trump has been challenged to be focused and stay on message. but a lot of the details, there isn't as much stay on message. but a lot of the details, there isr that. nuch stay on message. but a lot of the

details, there isr that. ie:- stay on message. but a lot of the details, there isr that. i‘:l: isi g m film in provides transcripts, some of which done on the record, i think were done on the record, i think that would substantiate a lot, but he asserts that most of the people in the white house think that donald trump is unfit to lead, that he may have a mental impairment, an explosive thing to say in a book, not something that you have seen in other major media outlets, at least to date. pleased day with us, we will update everyone on where we have got to with the protagonists. —— please stay with us. now, after the president said steve bannon had lost his mind, mr bannon went onto breitbart radio and said, "the president is a great man, you know i support him day in and day out." remember, steve bannon runs breitbart. then today, the president was inevitably asked about the row. this was the reply. did steve bannon

betray you, mr president? he called mea betray you, mr president? he called me a great man last night, so we obviously changed his tune pretty quick. thank you all very much. thank you, i don't talk to him, i don't talk to him. that is just a misnomer. thank you. here's how the white house press secretary responded to questions about the book. iam not i am not going to go through every single page of the book, but there are numerous examples of false and that take place in the book. i will give you one because it is really easy, the fact that there was a claim that the president didn't know whojohn boehner was claim that the president didn't know who john boehner was is claim that the president didn't know whojohn boehner was is pretty ridiculous, considering the majority of you have seen photos, and several of you have seen photos, and several of you have tweeted out that the president not only knows it but has played golf with him, tweeted about him, that is pretty simple and

pretty basic. back to anthony, interesting to hear the president say, i don't take calls from them, clearly the president try to play down his importance. sarah huckabee sanders said yesterday that they had spokenin sanders said yesterday that they had spoken in december, so we kind of an declared his press secretary the very next day. you have to remember, this was a senior adviser, a man who came in when the trump campaign was on the rocks, down in the polls, he tried to give them an ideological foundation to what donald trump had been saying, give him focus and division in the closing days of the campaign, and then became a senior white house adviser. so to say that he isa white house adviser. so to say that he is a kindred spirit, at least ideological with the president, that is not going to bar. i think steve bannon like to view the president as representing a movement, something greater than him, this idea of

economic nationalism, populism, whatever you want to call it. but this is a failure on the part of steve bannon, and now he has been totally alienate and from power, he has burned his bridges with the president thanks to this book, and he is maybe settling some scores with people in the white house at this point. but while he does still have his media empire, his influence and his hopes of achieving his political vision, i think, and his hopes of achieving his political vision, ithink, are definitely damaged. political vision, ithink, are definitely damagedlj political vision, ithink, are definitely damaged. i am impressed you are at work, i have seen their weather! they are getting it a lot worse up north! good to speak to you, and! worse up north! good to speak to you, and i asked about that, because we are turning to the storm that is being called a bomb cyclone. anything described that way is one to worry about. these are all pictures that have come in from the east coast of the us in the last few hours. this is new york, which could see up to 30cm of snow. hundreds of schools have had to shut. there are also states

of emergency in georgia, north carolina, virginia, and florida. florida is where these pictures are from, strong winds, blizzards. this is the first snow there for almost 30 years. this is off the back of 11 days of record—breaking low temperatures. these are pictures from atlantic city in newjersey. a big resort town that donald trump knows very well. authorities are saying, not just in knows very well. authorities are saying, notjust in atlantic city but across the us ten people or more have died because of this storm. to explain the phrase bomb: —— bomb cyclone: that's an unofficial term for a sharp drop in pressure in what's already a low pressure system. also i want to show you niagara falls in northern new york state. before we go live to new york, if

you want a forecast for what is going on in the us, download the bbc weather app. i spoke to nada tawfik an hour ago, let's bring her in now, how are you getting on? well, ros, the snow has calmed down, and for the most part stopped, but the winds are still pretty strong. of course, that bomb cyclone really whipped up the wind gusts here in the city, and so what we are looking at now is the city trying to clean up this snow accumulation. it was very difficult before because the wind was sweeping the snow back over surfaces that had been cleaned. we saw that was an issue at major airports, where thousands of flights were cancelled, asjfk and thousands of flights were cancelled, as jfk and laguardia, thousands of flights were cancelled, asjfk and laguardia, where they had to suspend all flights because of white out conditions, and the visibility issues. the city has really sent out thousands of personnel to clean up the roadways

so that the evening commute isn't treacherous. and really, as i say, at this point, the storm may have been subsiding, but we are looking at the freezing temperatures that are about to set in, even worse than what we have seen these last few days since christmas. in new york, it is expected to be like minus 28 celsius with the wind chill, so that is what everyone is bracing for, ros. my goodness! looking at people's reports, they talk about the wind more than the snow. yeah, i have been describing it to friends, earlier in the day i felt i could i was ina earlier in the day i felt i could i was in a snow globe, the snow whipping past, creating these white out conditions in the city. and really does make a difference to how cold you feel, because in new york, you know, there have been a record—setting cold temperatures in major cities, new york has had a

cold snap, but by no means as bad as i have felt in the past. but it is the wind that really makes it difficult to be outside. what is complicating conditions, to get new york city up and running. 0k, nada, try and stay warm, nada tawfik live in new york. the weather is not proving any kinder on the other side of the atlantic. three people have died as storm eleanor swept across northern europe. tens of thousands of people experienced power cuts, and airports were affected. these are pictures from belgium, which was put on orange alert, the third of four warning levels. these are pictures from austria and switzerland. winds reached up to 160 km/h in the uk, and 147 km/h in france, and in the netherlands the authorities shut

all major sea barriers for the first time. meanwhile, in marseilles in france, some surfers were making the most of the weather. frankly, those conditions do not look as serious as we have seen elsewhere. an awful train crash in south africa today. at least 18 people died when the train hit a truck at a level crossing. this was the scene right after the collision. it's thought around 700 people were on the train when it collided with a truck. authorities are blaming the truck driver, saying that he failed to stop at the level crossing. this happened near a place called kroonstad, the train was en route from port elizabeth tojohannesburg. this is a statement from south africa's transport minister. you can see for yourself that the

truck driver was taking chances, he thought that he was going to pass through. little did he know that the train was going to hit him. that has cost lots of lives. we don't know, after we have completed our investigation, as to how many fatalities will we have discovered. and there are almost 268 people that have been injured, and four of them are quite critical. lebo diseko has more. police and emergency workers still on the scene, really desperately trying to rescue people, help people who have been injured there. what we do know, as you said, is that this track hit the train, travelling from port elizabeth tojohannesburg carrying around 700 or so people. there was some implication from the transport minister that the truck

driver had tried to basically beat the level crossing. we obviously don't know that for sure. lyse doucet has just arrived on set, we will be talking to her about the protests in iran, how shejudges the government response, you are welcome to send her questions, #bbcos is the hashtag. delays to operations as the latest figures show the nhs in england is struggling to cope with winter pressures. almost 70,000 patients add to wait 30 minutes or more in ambulances in the last week of 2017, a 40% rise on the previous seven days. the national health service continues to do a fantastic job for people, yes, it has pressures overwinter, yes, particular pressures in the

christmas and new year period. the staff are dedicated, we have put extra resources in, and let's not forget, the nhs has been identified as the best and safest health care system in the world. that is down to the fantastic work our staff do. i recognise that it is difficult for people who are facing delays, but i recognise that it is difficult if somebody is delayed on their admission to hospital, or if somebody has an operation postponing, and we will hope to ensure those operations can be reinstated as soon as possible. i know it is difficult, frustrating, disappointing for people... glimmer welcome back to the bbc newsroom , glimmer welcome back to the bbc newsroom, i ros atkins. lawyers for donald trump are trying to block the publication of a book containing explosive quotes attributed to his former strategist steve bannon. that book is due to come out tomorrow now. a suicide bomb in kabul has killed at least 11 people. the interior ministry says it's not clear what the target was. we do know that police were trying to contain

a demonstration when it happened. in zambia, the start of the school term has been delayed indefinitely because of a cholera outbreak. 50 people have died since october, almost all in lusaka province, where there have been over 2000 cases. cate blanchett is to head the jury at the cannes film festival. as a double oscar winner, she definitely has the credentials. she'll take over from the spanish director pedro almodovar. iran has written to the un to complain about us interference. it says donald trump, "in numerous absurd tweets, incited iranians to engage in disruptive acts." some of that is beyond dispute, he has been tweeting things like... "such respect for the people of iran as they try to take back their corrupt government. you will see great support from the united states at the appropriate time!"

iran has been dealing with anti—government protests like these for a week now. it blames foreign interference, although beyond the trump tweets it's offered no evidence. the protestors say they're angry about inflation, unemployment and corruption. now, those pictures were from earlier in the week. it's very hard to know if the protests are still going on now, that's because the government has slowed down the internet, which is making it hard for activists to upload videos and pictures. it's also blocking social media and messaging apps. lyse doucet is here, i countries is asking you to come and speak to us, what are you making of this? this is uncharted territory for iran, and it is difficult to get a clear picture of what is happening on the ground in dozens of small cities and towns across the country, because they

have shut down the messaging app, they have made it very difficult for people to upload videos, and these protests are taking place in places where it is not the twitter generation, not the young activists — and his working—class people, the same people who have been having small protest ever since september, but strivers, union leaders, workers, protesting against their standard of living, high prices, recent measures in the budget, fuel hikes, more money going to opaque clerical establishment is without accountability. so we don't really know, but a lot of what is happening has to do with bread and butter issues, but something else is happening — the symbols of the islamic revolution, the islamic republic, have been attacked in a way that has not been done since the

1979 revolution. so they have crossed a line. one viewer picks up on what you are saying, liam says, is this evidence of an educated younger generation making themselves heard? you younger generation making themselves heard ? you are younger generation making themselves heard? you are saying perhaps not. this is the thing about this, you will remember, ros, during what was called the arab spring, that misnomer, the uprisings were described as leaderless. it is the same thing in iran, although it is a different context. leaderless revolutions, people do not know what is directing it, no—one in particular directing it. in 2009, at the time of protests which went on for six months with millions on the streets, predominantly in tehran, it was the reformist clerics and politicians directing it. they are nowhere to be seen, in fact some of them have criticised these latest protests, so it is hard to make sense of who is driving it, and there such a wide array of issues. what we know from the security

services, 90% of the people they have arrested our under the age of 25, and interestingly, in one of their most recent statements, they have arrested the children of some of the most prominent families in the holiest city in iran, sojust because you are young does not mean you are not so severally educated and wealthy, there are young people in the province is too, and we have seen painful images in some of the videos, young people shouting that they have got a university education and they have no job. they feel they we re and they have no job. they feel they were promised something, and if there is one thing that is said to be driving these protests, it was the promise of the iranian nuclear deal, which the authorities in iran over promised and and are delivered, and the international community and are delivered. iranians have not been seeing the fruits of it. so it is one thing to be poor and suffering from difficult living conditions, it is another to say that they will improve and then they do not. and donald trump has seized on these protests as yet more

evidence of the fact that 0bama should never have helped to cut that nuclear deal. the promise of the nuclear deal. the promise of the nuclear deal. the promise of the nuclear deal was that iran would be be brought back into the international community, could trade with the international community, but that has not happened. the banking restrictions make it very difficult for investors, they are worried they will run foul of american banking laws. but of course, as you know, from covering day in, day out american politics, a lot of what trump does is anything but 0bama. next week, president trump will have to decide whether he will waive the sanctions lifted because of the nuclear deal or put sanctions back on. does he want to further punish the iranian people and see the consequences on the street? he could make it more difficult for the reformers. 0r street? he could make it more difficult for the reformers. or is he, as one pundit said, professing a

love for the iranian people, maybe he will do it for them?” love for the iranian people, maybe he will do it for them? i am enjoying your radio 4 series, by the way! if you want to listen to that, all about women who had impacts on the democracies in which they live, search for lyse doucet on radio 4 and you will find the first couple of episodes. we are talking business now. for months, we've been covering toshiba's quest to sell off its us nuclear division, westinghouse. well, it looks like a deal is finally in place, and it's a bit of a surprise buyer. yogita limaye is in new york, so who is it? well, it is brookfield, which is it? well, it is brookfield, which isa is it? well, it is brookfield, which is a private equity company, a canadian company. it was one of the many private equity firms that was bidding for this particular acquisition. it has been a surprise, because you know, there were other big names, like blackstone apollo, so it has been quite a surprise as to who has finally struck the deal,

$1.6 to who has finally struck the deal, $4.6 billion, and that is higher than what was anticipated. $4.6 billion, and that is higher than what was anticipatedm $4.6 billion, and that is higher than what was anticipated. it will bea than what was anticipated. it will be a huge relief to toshiba, because it is desperate to get this deal done. that is right, toshiba 's struggles have been escalating, they had an accounting scandal, and with this particular company, westinghouse, they bought another company in 2015 which was building nuclear company in 2015 which was building nu clear rea cto rs company in 2015 which was building nuclear reactors in the us, the budget there, they overran desperately, which meant losses for toshiba, and so they are trying to get rid of this part of the company so they can focus on their core business, which is chip—making. sugita lin, thank you very much. —— yogita limaye. driverless cars are shaping up to be one of the most transformative technologies of the 21st century. but truly self—driving vehicles remain a long way off. 0ur crash—test dummy, or correspondent theo leggett has been trying some safety features.

proper driverless cars will not be on the market for a few years, but there are already automated systems which can improve safety which are fitted to cars you can buy today. so to find out more, we have borrowed a test track, we have got a state—of—the—art production vehicle, and this one is a crash—test dummy. what we are going to do is turn right into the path of a car coming towards us. 0h! that is quite violent. but we didn't hit the car coming in the opposite direction. we have another system to try as well, and this time i'm going to do the driving. we are going to try out an automatic braking system, and that involves trying to drive into the back of the car in front, which i'm not entirely happy about, but let's give it a go. i can see the car in front, i want to put the brakes on, but i'm not going to. so the car gave me an audible

warning and also showed me a flashing light, and then the brakes came on, the seat belts tensioned and it brought us to a controlled halt. just before we take a break, a reminder that the book which has been at the centre of our lead story today and yesterday, this book by journalist michael wolff about the first year of the trump presidency, containing lots of explosive allegations, including quotes from steve bannon in which he says that meetings between a russian lawyer and president trump's son and son—in—law were treacherous, which went down very badly with president trump, who said steve bannon had lost his mind. i mention all of this, because this was supposed to be coming out next week, president trumps lawyers were trying to stop that — publishers say it will be available at 9am eastern standard time in the us, that will be in the public domain tomorrow. see you in a minute. good evening. i am ben rich with the

latest on the global stories we have been keeping a close eye on here at the bbc weather centre, and you will have heard us talking about a winter storm sliding up the eastern side of the usa, a rapidly deepening area of low pressure, and when an error of low pressure, and when an error of low pressure, and when an error of low pressure games more isobars like this, we can see it really means business, very strong winds, hurricane force out to sea, blizzard conditions inland, and even a long way south across the usa. these pictures from south carolina and georgia, we have seen significant snowfall in northern florida, their measurable snowfall in close to 30 yea rs. measurable snowfall in close to 30 years. things will start to improve across the north—east usa as we head into the weekend, still some icy conditions left behind, though, but the main body of this storm system will all the while be sliding across

north—eastern parts of canada. for the weekend forecast, if you have travel plans, prepare to feel the chill. montreal, minus 22 at best on saturday afternoon, and if you are going to new york, minus 12. if we do not get above minus 15 in boston, that could break records. a quick round—up of the other weather stories around the world, the south—east of africa, madagascar, sliding down the eastern coast, still some torrential rain, up to 1000 millimetres of rain in places, strong winds as well. and it has been unusually stormy across new zealand. it is summer in the southern hemisphere, of course, but no—one told the weather, a swirl of cloud, a deep area of low pressure that has brought torrential rain working southwards through friday. if you are longing for a taste of summer, this might not be what you

are looking for, a lot of rain and disruption to come. a taste of winter on the way for parts of western europe, at home, yes, but also down towards iberia, and for that matter even into the north—west of africa. a frontal system pushing southeastwards during tomorrow, cold air really starting to roll its way m, air really starting to roll its way in, this aircoming air really starting to roll its way in, this air coming all the way from the arctic. look at the chart for iberia on saturday, 5 degrees in madrid, 14 in barcelona, but inland parts of spain could see snow. rain across france, seven in paris, six in berlin with a lot of cloud, you would expect it to be cold across scandinavia, and it is, with snow showers at times. back home, this is friday, bands of showers or longer spells of rain, but notice the temperatures starting to dip away, a cold weekend to come for us as well, more details on that in half an hour. i'm ross atkins with 0utside source

yesterday at this time you're talking about donald trump thing on the attack. today his lawyers are on the attack. today his lawyers are on the attack. today his lawyers are on the attack. they are trying to stop a book in which steve bannon accuses donald trump jr of treasonous behaviour. this was the president earlier. that wasn't the president! america's east coast is having a tough time. snow, winds and record—breaking low temperatures. terrible scenes in south africa earlier when a train hit a truck. 18 people have died. you are welcome to get in touch. back to the top story. president trump and steve bannon. mr trump's

lawyers are trying to stop this book coming into the public domain. it looks like they may be foiled. the book's publishers have said it will come out at 9am on friday morning, east coast time. this will be in the public domain unless there is a dramatic intervention. let's look at this story and how it is being covered by different people in the us media. newsweek is focusing on what a lot of people are calling a bromance between trump and steve bannon. that has fallen apart. jon sopel says this now means war. he says we will see a battle for the hards of the support base. steve bannon is putting up candidates in senate and congressional elections, against more traditional republicans. the washington post says the fact that the president's

lawyers are trying to shut this book down suggests there is a palpable concern about what steve bannon may say. we can speak to nina now. hello. i am always a bit sceptical of fallouts that donald trump has. sometimes he falls out with someone and makes up the next week or month. is this the real deal? it is hard to tell. he falls out, he comes back. the book, which is winging its way towards me right now, so i will at least have one if they decide to shred it, there are 200 people he interviewed, not just steve shred it, there are 200 people he interviewed, notjust steve bannon, but kellyanne conway, sean spicer and other people. steve bannon obviously did the most damage but there is a lot of other material in there is a lot of other material in there that doesn't come from him. there are other reasons why they

wouldn't want this book out. for instance, we learn the president fears being poisoned. that is why he eatsjunk food. fears being poisoned. that is why he eats junk food. because fears being poisoned. that is why he eatsjunk food. because it fears being poisoned. that is why he eats junk food. because it is premade. and that he doesn't read. we are again hearing that he doesn't read. it isjust we are again hearing that he doesn't read. it is just sort of a crazy place. i think his supporters, the base, if they bothered to read the book, and if they are not persuaded that it book, and if they are not persuaded thatitis book, and if they are not persuaded that it is fake news, and i think steve bannon being in it makes it not fake news. maybe that is the problem. maybe that is why they need to have it stopped. a lot of people are raising arched eyebrows at some of the way the author is documenting conversations word for word. well, boy, i hate to doubt a fellow

journalist. i haven't worked with michael. i know that he has a reputation for sometimes embellishing a little bit. but i don't think that the material in there, certainly whatever he has quoted there, certainly whatever he has q u oted steve there, certainly whatever he has quoted steve bannon as saying, has not been denied. bannon is not denying anything that he is quoted as saying. i haven't heard anybody else step forward. but maybe they do not want to bring attention to their comments. he spent months there. i think that maybe if the court turned exact, i think he probably got a sense of the place. i want to pull up sense of the place. i want to pull up another article before i ask you a question. this is in —— an article by arnie carney, washington's growing obsession, the 25th amendment. some of you may have heard of this. for those who haven't focused on it, help was as to why

washington is talking about the 25th amendment? that allows for the cabinet to remove the president if they deem that he is not fit for office, that he can no longer carry out his duties. it can be physical or mental disability that they are responding to. the question is, would the cabinet do that? it is the same sort of talk you have been hearing from mums from people who do not like this president about impeachment. impeachment is around the corner, it is kind to happen. we have a republican congress. we had cabinet secretaries who are busy carrying out the wishes of major donors to get their deregulation, to get the deregulations off their backs. the congress passed a massive tax cut that these donors have been

dreaming about, the republican party at the dreaming about, for decades. they are packing the judiciary with right—wing judges who come straight from a list from this society that has been waiting in —— lying in wait to get these people in there. they will not send this man packing. i don't see that happening. and in terms of the president's ability to get stuff done, he is a remarkable man. he is in the white house, so who am! man. he is in the white house, so who am i to question him? but with this going on it makes it harder to pursue an agenda, doesn't it? they have been operating from a point of chaos since getting in there. they passed the tax cuts and they have certainly made changes at the agencies. they are taking career agency employees, staffers at the state department for decades, and getting rid of them. they are enacting the wishes of the drill,

baby drill crowd. they have announced they‘ re going baby drill crowd. they have announced they're going to drill for oil in florida and california, enraging the environmentalists. i don't think it is a distraction, certainly, and it is something the press likes to cover. but the people really doing the work behind the scenes for this and with this administration, they are not deterred. they are getting as much done as they can while this sideshow goes on. one other thing i want to ask you about. we have got the mid—term elections a few months down the track. there has been a lot of emphasis on a possible split caused by this feud. you think the republicans have reasons to be worried about how all of this could impact the natural supporters and how they vote? i don't think so. they may have worries in terms of the democrats because the democrats are mounting a defence and they have an offense. they have a lot of

people energised. as you saw in alabama, if they get that kind of energy going, they are running people for every open seat, challenging everyone in the house which they have not done before, to try to take the house back. i think they have more to worry about on —— from the offence. as far as the base is concerned, the bases and in love with bannon. the base is trump's base. i don't think that bannon's defection, whatever you want to call it, is going to affect the base. i could be wrong. maybe he has his own base but i don't think so. nina, good to talk. have you put aside the whole of tomorrow to read the book? tonight, hopefully! we will watch out for your review. it is very readable. we will see. thank you, nina. this book has been at the centre of the biggest story in

american politics in the last couple of days, by michael wolff. it was supposed to come out next week but it has been brought forward and will coming to the public domain on friday. we shall see what's in it. wherever you are watching, if you wa nt wherever you are watching, if you want more coverage of the stories we have, you can get that through the bbc website. on this story, you can see the ten explosive revelations from the new trump book. huge amounts of background on all the stories we cover. of course we are president trump talking all the time about fake news. here is a story that relates the lad. authorities in sweden are concerned about that. there is an election in sweden this year and securities says russia is likely to try to influence the result. russia is already accused of trying to

meddle in the 2016 election in the us. major investigation is underway into any possible links between the trump campaign and russia. yesterday an outside source we mentioned emmanuel macron. he is accusing russia trying to meddle in the last french election, the one that he won. he is planning legislation to stop the spread of fake news during future french elections. back in 2014, pro—russia hackers launched cyber attacks to try to disrupt ukrainian presidential election. that did not stop petro poroshenko from winning. there are a number of reasons why sweden might be concerned. gordon corera has been tiss .com. sweden has been a prime target as fears of fake news spread. a general election is due this year. the country has already been under

attack. head of the security service, its version of m15, told me where he thinks the threat comes from. we are not shy. we think the biggest threat comes from russia. if they want uncertainty, they will do that. we have seen that from different ministers. we have seen fake news. it has been going on for a long time. this is one example. supposedly about arms deals with ukraine, it used the forged signature of the defence minister. allegations of russian interference have been growing and a number of countries, including the united states and united kingdom. but sweden's feels closer to the front line, with russia just across the baltic sea. it is thought here

that russian fears over sweden's closer relationship with nato may lie behind attempts to influence, interfere even intimidate. it is notjust about disinformation. three years ago, a russian submarine was thought to have been seen in swedish waters. today, the concern is about fake news. this false story about a church being vandalised by muslims was spread by social media accounts known as bots. there is no proven link to russia. sweden's public safety agency now monitors the risk and it the problem extends beyond the borders of the country. this story about a former swedish foreign minister setting up a group to battle eurosceptics was picked as up by the british and european media weeks before the brexit referendum. reading this article you can see the link. fake photoshopped page. it was from one of our major

newspapers. swedish society is trying to confront the threat. media organisations are supporting independent fact checking. and the government wants primary school children taught how to spot fake news. this year's collection could be a taste of how far this works. have a look at what the turkish interior minister has been saying about drug dealers. this is the quote. that is one way of doing things, i guess. i spoke to the bbc turkish correspondent.

he loves speaking his mind. he uses populist rhetoric. most of the time in speeches he doesn't hesitate to use slang words. he speaks more like the man in the street rather than a high—level comment official. keeping that in mind, this is what he was trying to show the police officers, that they need to crack down on drug dealers. these are the words he preferred to use. in many issues in current turkey, this created a big division. it divided the public opinion. government supporters believe this is a brave move. brave words to say. this is how the turkish government should how —— how the turkish comment should be fighting crime organisations. but for the critics of the government, this is another sign that the government is trying to damage the rule of law and it is actually promoting security officers and

civilians to operate outside legal limits. today the turkish bar association said it is a crime. a member of the turkish parliament, she filed a lawsuit for incitement to commita she filed a lawsuit for incitement to commit a crime. when it comes to drugs, it is not one of the biggest problems that the modern turkey faces at the moment. it is one of the main smuggling routes of drugs, opium and heroin, from eastern europe. when it comes to usage, it is the average —— the average usage is the average —— the average usage is way lower than eu figures. if you were watching yesterday we we re if you were watching yesterday we were talking about the startling announcement in ethiopia. the government has said it was going to free all political prisoners. i wa nted free all political prisoners. i wanted to get more information on this today. here are some statistics. the un says 26,000

people have been arrested in ethiopia since 2015 in connection with anti—government demonstrations like this one. these are pictures from last year. the demos started in 2015. they were around concerns the government had a plan that could affect land rights. these protests began in 2015 but they intensified in the next couple of years, particularly in addis ababa and in the northern region. the suppression of these protests was brutal. even the government has admitted around 500 people died towards the end of 2016. some human rights groups put that figure much higher, at around 800. iwant that figure much higher, at around 800. i want to knowjust how important this announcement is this week. it appears very important. i turned to a regular on outside source, mary harper, africa editor. i think it is tremendously significant. ethiopia is very

repressive. it does not tolerate political dissent. british say it is now going to start releasing people who it has arrested for political reasons, it has arrested people for expressing opinions, hopping into doesn't like, and it seems like it has arrested thousands if not tens of thousands of people, the fact it is going to release some of these people is really something very significant, because it is normally a case that ethiopia does not tolerate dissent, let alone allow people it has jailed, out ofjail. asi people it has jailed, out ofjail. as i observe the story, the reasons for the protests do not appear to have gone away. so how is the government proposing to deal with those things? this is a first step. the ethiopian government realises now that for more than two years there have been violent protests in there have been violent protests in the two most populous areas of the country. that makes up a very large

proportion of the population. as you say, these protest are continuing. they have been going on even after the government made the announcement it would be releasing people who are imprisoned for political reasons. so thatis imprisoned for political reasons. so that is one reason, i think, why ethiopia has decided it has got to make some of gesture. also, there are tensions within the governing coalition. some hardliners saying you have got to carry on as normal, basically locking anybody up does not agree with you. a more progressive group of people saying you have to move at the times, we cannot continue in this very repressive marxist controlled government in an era of social media and enhanced communication between people. why you are here, how easy is it for you or other bbc journalist to go to ethiopia and cover the situation? it is difficult when you go as a journalist of italy. i travel to ethiopia quite often for other reasons, and you can

pick things up quite carefully. when you go there as an official journalist, they do make it difficult, they try to restrict where you go. they find it difficult to understand that you might want to report something in a way that is different from how they perceive it to be. ethiopia has got quite a narrow view, i suppose, that those in authority there of what the truth is. they don't want anybody stepping outside of that and interpreting things in different ways. it is important to view ethiopia as a place that is one of the most populous countries in africa, 90 million. it is a huge regional significance and it is a key ally of the west, especially in terms of its fight against islamist extremism. buddy can't look that ethiopia as if it is some kind of western—style african country. it is something very different. whether it even wa nts to very different. whether it even wants to become western—style or more be based on something like the

chinese model, is sort of what ethiopia is wrestling with right now. if you want to learn more about ethiopia, there is a country profile online on the bbc website. i want to finish the programme by giving more details on some stark warnings about children and social media. here in the uk the children's commissioner is saying social media is beginning to dominate children's social lives. lots of pa rents to dominate children's social lives. lots of parents will recognise that. she also says that most children are ill—equipped for the avalanche of pressure that social media is bringing. here are some teenagers who have spoken to the bbc. i get about 300 views on snapchat. if you are out with your friends, everybody is always snapchat in you. 300 likes on my photos.|j everybody is always snapchat in you. 300 likes on my photos. i mainly use it for games because i don't have social media. i don't watch news. it for games because i don't have social media. i don't watch newslj go on social media. dell are makes

me feel more good about myself than i usually do. i spend four to five hours on social media. the danger is if you start talking to people you don't know, something could happen. cyber bullying could be going on. people act completely different on social media. there is no reason to. it is like they are scared of them. they are pretending they are your best friend. in secondary school you are surrounded by lots of young people —— new people and you want to impress them by showing them your social media are showing them how great you are and how good a person you are. my mum checks my phone quite regularly, instagram and things and my messages, to see i'm behaving myself! this report on social media was commissioned by the children's commissioner. this is her reaction. we have had a lot of concentration on older children, 14 and

15—year—olds, but that younger age group. for the first time we have seen the difference it makes if children are online aged eight and nine, and the changes they go through into secondary school. i'm very worried about the impact, that explosion of social media at that time. but also, the real role it plays in their social lives and the impact it can have. generally, smartphones are very powerful instruments. the age of 11 it is something we would never have had under our computers at work ten yea rs under our computers at work ten years ago. whatever point it is, children need to be able to cope. we know that most children, when they go into secondary schools, have theirfun go into secondary schools, have their fun with them. it is usually a smartphone. as children seek to get to know their classmates and their new environment, it is a very public way of doing so with their smartphones. that is the uk children's commissioner. this is the view of one child psychologist responding to this report.

i think it is really worrying, quite scary actually. if you think about the content and the issues that children are exposed to on social media sites, seven, a nine—year—olds are not equipped to do that. there isa are not equipped to do that. there is a reason the age limit is 13. we do need to encourage parents to stick with it. but we do need to educate the children and allow them to develop digital literacy and emotional skills. i think is really important parents are using the controls from either internet service provider or the device they are wrong, making sure that children are wrong, making sure that children are not accessing stuff that they are not accessing stuff that they are not accessing stuff that they are not ready or equipped to deal with. but i do think also there is a challenge to the industry is out there, to develop platforms that are safe for children. children want to communicate digitally. that is what they see adults doing and they want to bea they see adults doing and they want to be a part of that. they need their own space where they can do

that properly. in the last few seconds of the programme a reminder of a couple of details relating to this book about the trump presidency. first of all, this is the wall streetjournal, one of the correspondence saying the book is coming out on friday as opposed to next week. they say it is a response to the demand for the book. perhaps it is a response to the fact donald trump's lawyers are trying to stop them from publishing it. here is katty kay man who is on our programme all the time, saying that there will be questions about the reporting but a surprising number of people in the white house in this book basically say this is not a man capable of being president. we shall find out what is in very soon. and i will speak to you next. thanks for watching. it has certainly been an unsettled start the 2018. a lot of wet and windy weather, with storm dylan

followed by storm eleanor. things are buddhist term quieter in the next few days. but right now it is complicated. the pressure tart looks like spaghetti junction out there. lots of low—pressure centres and wea k lots of low—pressure centres and weak frontal systems which will bring further spells of rain in the next 24 hours. during friday we have gotan area next 24 hours. during friday we have got an area of hill snow lingering across eastern scotland and north east england. that should ease away slowly. further south, showers moving from west to east across england and wales. many areas should see some sunshine on friday. particularly northern ireland, north—west england and the south—east of england. four to 9 degrees. less windy. during friday evening and overnight into saturday possible clear spells. mist and fog developing widely. colder, clearair moving in from the north. it will be the coldest night we have seen for a little while. during the weekend with us continue to see colder air

moving in from the north and the north—east across the country is high pressure builds and brings brighter and drier weather in from the north. first saturday it is the northern half of the country that will see lots of sunny, dry weather. they called north—easterly wind developing. further south across the country, more cloud. slightly milder with outbreaks of rain. it in five and 7 degrees in southern england and 7 degrees in southern england and wales. for scotland, temperatures two or three celsius. into the second half of the week ended his this area of high pressure that builds across all of the country. that will certainly quite the weather down for most places. chilly weather. a frosty start to sunday. but plenty of sunshine. lighter winds. some parts of scotla nd lighter winds. some parts of scotland struggling to get much above freezing through the day. temperatures around four to seven further south. scenes like these to start the new working week. first thing on monday morning, a sharp frost. they could be mist, fog and

the odd icy stretch. monday looks like a decent day. sunny spells, temperatures around two to 6 degrees. certainly colder but less windy than recently. as we move into tuesday, a similar start to the day. lots of places dry, sunny and cold, with temperatures three to 6 degrees. you will notice this weather front. late in degrees. you will notice this weatherfront. late in the degrees. you will notice this weather front. late in the day that will try to nudge in, moving —— bringing wetter and windy weather. some uncertainty about how far he is and how quickly any of those weather fronts will arrive. from midweek we are looking at high pressure dominating. sitting towards the north. drawing in the cold air from scandinavia. as the jet stream strengthens in the atlantic, low— pressure strengthens in the atlantic, low—pressure will try to moving from the west or the south—west. we could well see an east west split to the weather into the middle of next week and onwards. towards the east, less

windy. we are likely to hold onto the terrace guys and the frosty conditions for longer. eventually next big thing so turn milder from the west. it is likely to remain pretty bright and cold in eastern pa rt pretty bright and cold in eastern part of the country for longest. as those weather fronts arrived from the west, we could see some snow. a wintry outlook. i will update you tomorrow. eye. an apology from theresa may after new figures reveal the pressure on the nhs this winter. from patients forced to wait in ambulances, a record number of calls to the helpline and cancelled operations. we will hope to ensure that those operations can be reinstated as soon as possible. i know it's difficult, i know it's frustrating, and i know it's disappointing for people and i apologise. the government and the nhs had been planning for months to deal with winter demand. so, what's gone wrong? also tonight... the london taxi driver believed to have raped and assaulted more than a hundred women is to be freed after ten years injail. now president trump tries to silence his former chief

strategist by banning a book about goings on in the trump whitehouse. an exclusive report from inside the battle for yemen, where war has driven millions to the brink of starvation.