welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: it's being called a "bomb cyclone" — a powerful blizzard that's battered north america, leaving at least 12 dead and knocking out power for thousands of people. publish and be damned — the book which describes a paranoid president and a white house in chaos is being released on friday, despite attempts by donald trump's lawyers to block it. the number of people killed when a train hit a truck in south africa rises to 18. some developing news, and in the past hour north korea has accepted an offer from south korea for talks next week. according to a south korean official, the agenda will include the pyeongchang winter olympics as well as other issues of mutual interest.

we will have more on that in just a moment. now, moving on to the weather. in canada they tend to call it "winter" but in parts of north america the current ferocious weather is a very nasty surprise and is being called a "bomb cyclone" — its powerful effects as deadly as the name implies. a severe drop in air pressure has triggered a powerful blizzard that's battered the north east of the united states — and canada — knocking out power for tens of thousands of people. the week—long cold snap has left at least 12 dead — and wrecked travel plans for millions. we begin our coverage with this report from andrew plant. several inches of snow, winds up to 60 miles an hour, blocked roads,

black ice, power cuts, and a storm stretching hundreds of miles. new york city like a fairy tale for some. the snow, though, a serious hazard to many. we are enjoying it. we are from southern california so it is the first time i could have beenin it is the first time i could have been in the snow. it is nice but sometimes it is tough to be a long time outside, you have to get into the shops... just to keep warm. to keep alive. legato airport cancelled 95% of its flights. —— la guardia. jfk 95% of its flights. —— la guardia. jfk counselled the more. state parks close on long island and schools shut up and down the atlantic coast. asa shut up and down the atlantic coast. as a state of emergency was declared, ten deaths already attributed to the freezing conditions. what is quite clear is that this is a serious, serious storm between the very low temperature, the strong winds, the driving snow, everyone should take this very seriously. take

precautions. because of the fact that the storm has intensified in the last few hours, i am now declaring a winter weather emergency for new york city. the office of emergency management now standing by with a emergency management now standing by witha quip emergency management now standing by with a quip and like generators, pumps and sandbags. —— equipment. as well as food and water, blankets and emergency shelters. there have been blizzards in connecticut. atlantic city has seen traffic at a standstill. even in florida, the sunshine state, there were snowfla kes sunshine state, there were snowflakes falling. for the northern part, the very first year in nearly 30 years. it meant sledging and snowmen. . 30 years. it meant sledging and snowmen. . in memphis, even a game of ice hockey under the setting sun. it is being called a bomb cyclone. from florida to maine, sharp drops in height russia bringing in low

temperatures and the windchill making it feel —40 in places. —— drops in temperature. relief could still be days away, the national weather service predict in more misery through the weekend, as the storm moves east towards canada. kenneth craig from cbs has been braving the storm in boston for much of the day. we can speak to him live there. kenneth, i know you have been out in this for many long hours. thank you for still being there for us. tell us for still being there for us. tell us what it is like? not a problem at all. i have been out here for 12 hours now and for the first time in 12 hours, as you can probably see, i can finally see the ground. look behind me, you can see what ms has been left behind by this massive winter storm which barrelled up the east coast in boston. —— was a mess. we have 13 inches, as a one—hour ago. the snow has finally peter gough after about 12 hours of

pounding snow. —— petered off. on the coast, upwards of 70 miles an hourin the coast, upwards of 70 miles an hour in the wind speed. and some significant flooding in some areas, even a number of rescues in some communities. snow isn't new to boston, but the severity of all this, the duration of it, that is really something? it really is something. what was really remarkable to watch today was how quick wheel of this happen. —— quickly all of this. as you said, snowstorms are nothing new for boston, but how quickly all the snow came down was incredible to watch. sometimes we saw three inches of snow every hour. as you can see, this is what has been left in its path. now, really, the cleanup begins. and on top of that, over the next couple of days, this isn't over. we have this arctic blast

coming in. it is about 2k fahrenheit. tomorrow at this time we could ian singled digits, with the windchills well below zero. —— could be in the single digits. and this has been deadly for some people?m has. when you have a storm like this, which can be seen from outer space and made its way all the way from florida, you saw on that piece that tallahassee, florida, had snow for the first time in 30 years, when you have a storm like this, it is a pretty deadly situation. really, it is not over yet. kenneth, thank you very much indeed for your time and your suffering. we will talk to you again soon, i hope. hope you can get inside and get warm. the weather pattern's already brought snow as far south as the state of florida — john morales is chief meteorologist for nbc6 in miami. we can speak to him now. just tell us, the canadians tend to take the mickey out of this and say, we just

call it winter. but for many people this is totally unexpected and really ferocious? it is, and you just heard about the snow in the capital of the state of florida, tallahassee, for the first time in 28 years. it is interesting, because even though we are not setting a lot of cold temperature records, it is the extent of the wintry precipitation that i think has taken a lot of people offguard and that is why this has become such a big news eventin why this has become such a big news event in the united states. three inches of snow in the state of georgia, a deep southern state, just a dusting of snow in the state of florida, but also some ice accumulation as well. that is very unusual. you can imagine that would make driving for the inexperienced quite challenging. it has been a powerful storm. it has brought lots of cold air down from the arctic. it is still committed eight, causing struggles. what brought these

special conditions? more importantly, how like —— how long are they likely to go on? the blizzard will move offshore on friday. in the us, now known as nor‘easters. i know you have heard a lot of other interesting terms for this particular winter storm. but, you know, it isjust this particular winter storm. but, you know, it is just a this particular winter storm. but, you know, it isjust a plain, strong, very explosive, if you will, winter cyclone. it will move offshore on friday. what will happen is that the snow will leave, the winds will start to die down, so will the wave action and the beach erosion along the coast. the cold will remain for several more days on end. there will be a smaller storm moving through, certainly nothing like this one. i'm sure you have been away from your computers and out in it for some of the time. how are people in florida reacting, apart from the shock? well, for example, here in miami in southern florida this is the coldest weather

in three years. just up the road in fort lauderdale, another tourist destination here in the us, it turns out this morning was the coldest day in over seven years, when it dipped down on the fahrenheit scale to 39 degrees. called at about three celsius or so. —— call that about. so it was very cold, people were surprised, people were bundling up. i think it will be a novelty for a couple of days but then people will be wanting the warmer weather to return. john, thank you. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. an explosion in the afghan capital, kabul, has killed at least fifteen people. the interior ministry says it was a suicide bomber, but the target was unclear. the so—called islamic state, has claimed it carried out the attack. the us state department has announced it's suspending almost all security assistance to pakistan because, officials say, it isn't doing enough to combat islamist militants. they say the payment freeze will be

in force until islamabad takes more action against the afghan taliban and their allies the haqqani network. facebook co—founder mark zuckerberg says his goal for 2018 will be to fix what he called important issues on the platform and on social media in general. on his page he says facebook is at a crossroads and that he'll be looking to protect users from abuse and hate, and defend the platform from government interference. a new book containing damning allegations about the trump administration is being rushed to publication on friday, four days ahead of schedule, as lawyers for the president try to stop it. they say it contains numerous false statements. among much else, the book quotes mr trump's former chief strategist, steve bannon, accusing the president's son and son—in—law of treason. the president has reacted with fury. jon sopel reports from washington. hell hath no fury like a bannon scorned, it would seem. steve bannon, who was described as the brains behind donald trump,

is now out in the washington cold after his extraordinary attack, the warm words of last summer, but a distant memory. i like him, he's a good man. he is not a racist, i can tell you that. he's a good person. he actually gets a very unfair press in that regard. but we will see what happens with mr bannon, but he's a good person, and i think the press treats him, frankly, very unfairly. but bannon was fired soon afterwards and has now had his revenge, rounding on the president's son and son—in—law over a meeting they had with a kremlin—linked lawyer at trump tower during the campaign, saying this. and that's provoked rage and fury in the white house, the president, issuing this unprecedented statement about a close colleague. today, at the white house, they‘ re lawyering up.

orders to stephen bannon to cease and desist, threats to the publisher, too. and the response from mr bannon last night? why, to declare his unfailing support for the president. and that brought this response from mr trump today. has steve bannon betrayed you, mr president? thank you very much. i don't know, he called me a great man last night, so, you know, he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. all right, thank you all very much. the white house is pushing back hard on the contents of this book, describing the author, michael wolff, as an unreliable

witness and a fantasist. that, despite him being given unprecedented access to the workings of the west wing and recording hours and hours of conversations. and even if only 50% of the book is accurate, it still paints a damning portrait of a white house that's dysfunctional and a president who's paranoid. no wonder donald trump is so angry. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. officials in south africa say the number of people killed when a train hit a truck has risen to 18. about two—hundred—and—seventy people were injured in the crash at a level crossing near the town of kroonstad, in free state province south—west of johannesburg. lebo diseko reports. shocked and the world at. passengers who had been on this train trying to make their way to safety as emergency services at a to bring a

fire which engulfed the train under control. —— battle. it is not clear exactly what happened but what we do know is this. a truck hit a train carrying around 700 people as it was travelling from port elizabeth to johannesburg, causing it to derail and catch fire. it is thought the truck driver misjudged the level crossing. 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. know that the train was going to hit him. that has cost lots of livesm is thought there were parents with young children on board and there are reports of people trying desperately to save them. the train left the rails and immediately started burning. we help those much people as we could, to get people out of the train, but some of them we re out of the train, but some of them were stuck in their seats because the train was badly bent. the train

line is popular with people going to learn from their holidays. local authorities say a number of tourists we re authorities say a number of tourists were on board. hundreds of people have been taken to hospital and rescue workers are still on the scene. emergency services rescue workers are still on the scene. emergency services say they are hoping to lift the carriages later today. only then will they know for sure weather any more people were trapped or injured. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the project in italy helping african migrants integrate into the community. the japanese people are mourning following the death of emperor hirohito. thousands converged on the imperial palace to pay their respects when it was announced he was dead. good grief! after half a century of delighting fans around the world, charlie brown and the rest of the gang are calling it quits. the singer paul simon starts his tour of south africa in spite of protest and violence from some black

activist groups. they say international artists should continue to boycott south africa until majority rule is established. teams were trying to scoop up lumps of oil as france recognises it faces an ecological crisis. three weeks ago, the authorities confidently assured these areas that oil from the broken tanker erika would head out to sea. it didn't. the world's tallest skyscraper opens today. the burj dubai has easily taken over its nearest rivals. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: a powerful blizzard has battered north america. it has left at least 17 dead and knocked out power for thousands. the publication of a book donald trump's lawyers are trying to block has been brought forward to friday.

it contains damaging allegations attributed to former presidential strategist steve bannon. one of the arab world's poorest countries, yemen, has been devastated by a war that has claimed thousands of lives, driven millions to the brink of starvation and seen the world's most deadly outbreak of cholera. the current crisis started three years ago when houthi rebels, backed by iran, took control of territory around the capital, sanaa. they've been fighting government forces, backed by a saudi—led coalition, who control the south and east of the country. nawal al maghafi looks at the complex politics driving the conflict. the balance of power has shifted in yemen's civil war, from the saudi coalition to their bitter rivals, iran. for years, we've watched as this proxy war tore the nation apart, killing thousands and leaving millions homeless and starving. last month, a battle took place in the capital, sana'a, that may have also killed hopes for peace.

allies turned into enemies, as houthi rebels fought the forces of former president ali abdullah saleh. civilians were caught in the middle. translation: they were firing across and into our house with rockets and with their ak—47s. it was the worst day of our lives. we were surrounded from all sides. that fighting eventually ended with the death of the former president. the houthis imposed a complete media blackout. no—one knew exactly what had happened — until now. this exclusive footage, seen for the first time, shows the battle that changed the course of yemen's civil war. houthi soldiers surround saleh‘s complex, fighting barefoot. they blow the walls and enter. the chant goes up.

"death to america. "death to israel. "curse the jews." and, "victory to islam." news of saleh‘s death spreads. translation: that's it, the show is over. saleh is dead. his guards just came out and told me the houthis have killed him. the houthis call saleh a traitor for wanting to negotiate with the saudi coalition. inside his huge complex, the aftermath of the battle. the houthis are in charge now. the former president's men are their prisoners. but not all of saleh‘s men were captured. this man was one of saleh‘s closest aides, by his sidejust minutes before he died. his family are still in houthi territory and so we're protecting his identity.

translation: he was defending his home, with his aides and nephews by his side. three orfour tanks surrounded his house. they began firing. the houthis have captured all of saleh‘s arms, but the former president's allies who fled took something potentially more valuable, their secrets. i ask his aide about iranian support for the houthis — long suspected, but never proven. translation: there are iranians by their side and they tell them exactly what to do. i saw them with my own eyes. they give them weapons, but it's the information they give that is most important. i met the iranian advisers when i was with saleh. they were always beside the houthi leaders. three other well—placed sources confirm the existence of iranian advisers. in our time in sana'a, it was a city gripped with fear. most people were reluctant

to speak on camera. translation: there is so much fear, even when you go out on the street and things are ok, but fear has spread. this woman was one of hundreds who took to the streets calling for saleh‘s body to be buried. the houthis retaliated. they chant translation: they hit us with wires and tear—gas canisters, electric rods. they would run after us and keep beating us. since that protest, hundreds of the former president's supporters have been detained. the death of ali abdullah saleh — the only person the saudis could negotiate with — has undoubtedly swung this proxy war in favour of the iranians, for now. what happens next is unclear. the only certainty for the people of yemen is that their suffering will continue. nawal al—maghafi, bbc news, sana'a, yemen.

many people risk their lives every year to leave their homes in africa and try the perilous journey to seek asylum in europe. even those that make it have a tough time trying to build a new life. in the italian city of bolognaone project has been set up to integrate new arrivals. sofia bettiza has more. the beauty of italian fashion is famous all over the world. but in the town of bologna, fashion is helping asylum seekers from africa. in this reception centre, refugees are getting training in one of italy's finest are, making leather bags. hi. i've come to meet one of them. translation: i left my country, burkina faso, the cause of a military coup. i came through

libya. i was in prison. then it needed a forced labour. i really got any food. i was treated like a slave. but life has improved massively since then. he is the star student of the project. here, people are taught selling, cutting and drawing, as well as how to run a business —— taught sewing. drawing, as well as how to run a business -- taught sewing. we have seen business -- taught sewing. we have seen the flourishing of a group of human beings, passing from a condition of deprivation, of marginalisation, to a condition of capacity of work, integration, full participation to life. asylum seekers in italy are often stuck in limbo. they can spend months and months doing nothing while they wait in hope for their application to be processed. this scheme is trying to change that. all these bags have

been created by asylum seekers from africa. this project is all about giving new arrivals a chance to work for a better life and crucially it's a first step towards integration in a first step towards integration in a new country. and for this man, things are getting better. he was such a talented student that after his training he was given a permanentjob his training he was given a permanent job making these his training he was given a permanentjob making these fine italian bags. he is very good. he is absolutely precise and he is highly motivated. translation: my dream is to one day open my own atelier, work ha rd to one day open my own atelier, work hard and share my ideas and my creations with others across the world. and if this type of project is picked up elsewhere, more people could be given the chance to make a new beginning. in the past our north

korea has accepted an offer from south korea for talks next week, on january the night. according to a south korean official the agenda will include the winter olympics and other issues of mutual interest. it will happen in the truce village in the demilitarised zone, which divides the peninsular. tensions have been high since north korea carried out multiple missile launches last year, including a number of icbms and sixth nuclear test. more on all the news at any time on the bbc website and you can reach me and most of the team on twitter. thanks for watching. hello, there.

the wet and rest are windy weather that we've seen to start 2018 should be easing away. much quieter weather towards the weekend. this is how we ended the day on thursday in stevenage. clear spells, a bit of cloud and fairly heavy showers that have been moving west to east overnight. they will tend to ease from the south—east on friday. still pretty windy in south—western parts of the country. further north we have still got lingering rain and hill snow in many eastern parts of scotland. so snow accumulating here. not a bad start in northern ireland. chilly first thing, with frost and fog patches. a similar picture into the south—west scotland and northern england. further south into england and wales, there will be cloud with outbreaks of rain through the midlands and towards the south—east on friday it should be generally fine dry and fine. further spells of showery rain into the south—west of england and wales. still strong and gusty winds, but they won't be as strong as the winds we've had on thursday.

further north, less windy and more sunshine into the midlands, north wales, northern england. temperatures between 4—9 degrees. a touch cooler than recent days. that cooling trend continues through into the weekend. we've got this north—easterly wind, bringing further snow showers in scotland and northern england, over higher ground. temperatures dropping to close to freezing in towns and cities by first thing saturday. colder in the countryside. slightly milder, with frost and fog further south. the weekend is dominated by the fact that we've got high pressure building and the wind coming in from the north—easterly direction. through saturday the cold northerly wind will bring more sunshine in scotland, northern england and northern ireland. further south across central, southern england and wales, still cloudy, with a few spots of rain here. highs of 2—7 degrees, so temperatures are dipping. on saturday night we have some cold conditions developing a with clear skies and light winds. perhaps the odd wintry showers around exposed coasts. for most of us it will be a cold and frosty start on saturday. freezing across many northern and western parts in particular.

so, high pressure keeps hold of our weather through the second part of the weekend. so for many of us sunday should be a fine day. much lighter winds than we've had after the cold and frosty start. plenty of sunshine developing. top temperatures between freezing and about seven degrees or so. the colder, wintry theme continues into monday, but most of us should see plenty of sunshine to compensate for the colder weather. bye for now. the latest headlines from bbc news. north korea has except that the south korean government's proposal for high—level talks. —— accepted. they will be in the demilitarise own which separates the two countries on tuesday. it will be the first time the two nations have met in two yea rs. the two nations have met in two years. north americans are reeling from powerful weather. a severe drop

in air pressure triggered a powerful blizzard which has battered the north—east of the us and canada, knocking out electricity for tens of thousands and leaving 17 dead. the publisher of a book about donald trump's white house has brought forward its publication date despite attem pts forward its publication date despite atte m pts by forward its publication date despite attempts by the president's lawyer to block its release. michael wolff's fire and fury tributes damaging remarks to former chon strategic steve bannon. —— attributes damaging remarks to former trump strategic. —— strategist. now it is time for