welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is nkem ifejika. our top stories: facebook‘s problems get worse. politicians in europe and the us demand answers about alleged misuse of personal data. an incendiary device in the texan city of austin, but police say it's not related to a spate of bombings. a bbc investigation finds rohingya girls who fled violence in myanmar now trafficked into prostitution in bangladesh. and six months after hurricane maria, we find life is definitely not back to normal in puerto rico. the social media giant, facebook, is under growing pressure to explain the measures it's taking to secure the personal data of its two billion users worldwide.

it's facing investigations by the us federal trade commission, the uk's information commissioner, and the european parliament. it follows allegations that information on millions of facebook members was used for political purposes by the british firm, cambridge analytica. our business editor simonjack reports. in the information age, personal data is the new currency and we spend it liberally on social media platforms. how old we are, whether we are in a relationship, what are our political leanings, this can all be gathered and used. cambridge analytica is a company which does exactly that and it is at the centre of a political storm that has rocked one of the biggest companies in the world. it started with an app designed by a british academic which invited facebook users to do a personality test. 270,000 people downloaded the app, it collected personal information on them, theirfriends, theirfriends‘ friends and so on until it had information on 50 million facebook users.

that data was passed to cambridge analytica, who allegedly used it to influence the presidential election in the us, using highly targeted messages, a charge denied by the company. the uk's data watchdog said she had concerns about the company for some time. these allegations are very serious, they came to the attention of our office some months ago. and on the 7th of march, i issued a demand for information to cambridge. they did not comply with that, so now i am moving ahead to seek a warrant so that i can search premises and data. the company worked on donald trump's election campaign and secret filming by channel 4 news shows cambridge analytica's boss boasting about the role they played in his victory. the company denies any wrongdoing.

the company says mr nix's comments did not represent the values of the firm and it has now suspended him pending their own investigation. whether this tiny consultancy was really involved in influencing the us presidential election, there is an old adage, in digital marketing, which says if the service you are getting is free, then you are the product. served up to advertisers who are convinced that highly targeted messages constructed around detailed personal information really works. facebook is also right under the microscope. it too denies any wrongdoing. the us federal trade commission has launched a probe into the company and has the power to levy colossal fines. the company has seen $50 billion wiped off its value in just the last two days. so, could this scandal mark a moment of reckoning for the way we share and companies use our personal data? i think for the first time,

things that people suspected have surfaced thanks to the testimony of whistle—blowers. now we are finally seeing that the leaders of these companies are being called to testify in front of parliaments. they are being held to account in the media, analysts in the financial industry are dumping their stock as a vote of no—confidence. this is a real moment where it is going to incentivise change. the facts of our lives are valuable. facebook founder mark zuckerberg has built a fortune out of them. politicians on both sides of the atlantic want him personally to explain how they are used. we're joined now by our technology reporter dave lee in san francisco. as you know, everyone is talking about this, it eased in the higher levels of politics. what does facebook have to say? so far very little. we have not heard from the

founder and chief executive mark zuckerberg, his deputy, sheryl sandberg. neither has made an official statement publicly. we have conversations and statements from the pr team but they are very defensive at the moment. there was a meeting on tuesday morning to employees. there was a suggestion that mark zuckerberg and sheryl sandberg were going to be that but they went. the company said they we re they went. the company said they were too busy dealing with this problem to attend but the reason of course amounting tension from various part of this story. whether it is internally or investors who are worried about the sharp drop in the compa ny‘s value are worried about the sharp drop in the company's value since the story broke and, indeed, from politicians. the company is the subject of several investigations and been

asked to talk in several committees not just asked to talk in several committees notjust in the us but around the world. every minute that goes by that the chief executive does not say something makes these are damaging problem. it strikes me as a point where facebook grows up from being this benign, lovey—dovey social media giant to a big business and a big player around the world?‘ think the sentiment here is that facebook should have grown up by now and the fact that it is facing some of these enormous problems is that it simply did not do that and that will fall squarely at the feet of mark zuckerberg. we have spoken to several people involved in different companies in silicon valley and there will be a change in how companies are regulated. the companies are regulated. the companies have grace quickly and become so powerful that they have been almost self policing in how

they innovate and what they do. this valuation for technology companies means that i think we may be seen and aircome to means that i think we may be seen and air come to an end because of the fallout to what has happened to facebook. —— era. they sport share prices have affected companies already and i think we will see that trend continue as the enquiry into what went on continues. six months ago, hurricane maria struck the us territory of puerto rico, and the island is still suffering from the consequences. the storm's path of destruction was devastating and hundreds of thousands of people still don't have power, or help with rebuilding their homes. the us government has been criticised for a lack of urgency. in the first of two reports, the bbc‘s aleem maqbool returned to puerto rico, to see how life has changed. there are sights in puerto rico that make it look like the hurricane struck just yesterday.

everyone has a tale of trauma still fresh in the mind. "we grabbed what we could and ran out," she says. "but everywhere was blocked. we managed to get up there and we heard the noise. the house just came away and colla psed." the problem is, in six months, little has moved on for her. she and herfamily run pipes from a nearby spring to get water to the abandoned building where they have been living. and there is still no power. so what help have they had from the american agencies? "we applied to help but we were told we weren't entitled to any," she says, "we put in an appeal, but we are still waiting for an answer." puerto ricans are american citizens. they can go backwards and forwards to the us mainland as they please and, crucially, they are entitled to the same disaster response from washington as any other americans. you will find very few here who believe that is what they got. the family of rauljimenez think

he could still be alive if there had been a more urgent response. after the storm, the clinic where he got dialysis was without electricity. it meant patients would have to miss treatments or wait hours hoping to be seen. he was in the wheelchair, quiet. he died. died in the line waiting for treatment? died in the line. any true count of the number who were killed by the hurricane will include people like raul. but, until now, the official figure doesn't. the government wants to show some kind of numbers. but it is not the reality. they want us to believe that all is ok. under pressure, the government has ordered a recount of those killed by hurricane maria.

some estimate the new number could be nearly 20 times the original figure and, all the while, for so many, the suffering continues. let's turn to a breaking news story from the us. there's been a sixth explosion in the us state of texas, where the authorities believe a serial bomber is at large. one man is reported to have potentially serious injuries in the latest incident. let's get the latest and join our correspondent, gary 0'donoghue, who is in austin. what is the latest? this latest incident, we are told by the police,

is not so much a bomb but an incendiary device which is distinct from other devices used up to now. at this stage there is no reason to believe this is connected to this wave of bombings in austin and surrounding areas since the beginning of the month. that could change. we will seek what happens. we know that this incendiary device was dropped at a sort of charity stall, a charity organisation in the south of the city and it is not very farfrom a south of the city and it is not very far from a fedex south of the city and it is not very farfrom a fedex drop off point south of the city and it is not very far from a fedex drop off point also we re far from a fedex drop off point also were two packages may have been mailed, one of which hit explode in san antonio. the fbi has also confirmed another package, a fedex point distribution centre near the airport in austin, that they had been looking at all day long, they managed to refuse, is part of their

investigation and that takes it to a total of six bombs, five of which have gone off, linked to this serial bomber as they are calling it.|j have gone off, linked to this serial bomber as they are calling it. i am having a look at our screen and there is a press conference with some authorities but, from the indications, it sounds as if people in the city are on edge? there is huge nervousness here as you can imagine. the sheer randomness of the attacks spread around the city of austin, sometimes apparently targeting specific individuals that in some cases, as it happened on sunday, where a tripwire was strung across the pavement from the fence across the pavement from the fence across to the curb with a bat back triggered by two men pushing a bicycle along. there could have been a racial motive behind this because

it to people who have died of both black african—america ns it to people who have died of both black african—americans but since then others have been fit —— victims and the two were white. police have no idea whether this is ideology, hate crime or what the actual motivation for this is. there are $150,000 on offer to any information to bring the bomber tojustice but at this stage we are not getting any indication that police have any firm lead. just select people know, that is the press conference. will try to bring it to you as soon as it starts. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: president trump has lost a bid to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought by an ex—playboy model and ‘apprentice' contestant summer zervos. she says mr trump groped her after she appeared on his former reality tv show.

rejecting mr trump's claim that he was immune from being sued, a new yorkjudge said he had "absolutely no authority" to dismiss litigation just because he occupied the white house. climate scientists say more of a vast antarctic glacier is floating than had previously been thought, raising fears that it may melt faster than expected and contribute to big sea level rises. the totten glacier is the size of france. researchers with the australian antarctic division say that as more is floating, this allows warm, salty sea water to flow beneath it, speeding up its disintegration. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a victim of asia's demand for rhino horn — the white rhino takes another step towards extinction. today, we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway passengers were affected.

nausea, bleeding, headaches and a dimming of vision, all of this caused by an apparently organised attack. the trophy itself was on the pedestal in the middle of the cabinet here. now, this was an international trophy and we understand now that the search for it has become an international search. above all, this was a triumph for the christian democrats of the west, offering reunification as quickly as possible, and that's what the voters wanted. this is bbc news.

the latest headlines: politicians in europe and the us are calling executives at facebook to answer questions about allegations that data was misused to influence elections. another explosion has been reported in the city of austin in the american state of texas, but police say it's not related to five others this month. a bbc investigation has revealed that girls from myanmar‘s rohingya muslim minority who fled the country in the past six months are being trafficked into prostitution in bangledesh. some of them are as young as 13. the undercover team filmed traffickers openly offering the girls for sex in cox's bazar, the town nearest to the refugee camps, where hundreds of thousands of rohingya muslims now live. the bbc‘s mishal husain has the story. a small city on the bay of bengal, where the main business was tourism, is now the hub for aid agencies working in the nearby refugee camps. but alongside the shop fronts, the beachside bars and the hotels

of cox's bazar there's an open secret. after hearing repeated stories about children trafficked into prostitution, we went in search of the evidence. 0ne14—year—old rohingya girl we met in the camps, and whose identity we've protected, told me what happened to her as she crossed from myanmar into bangladesh. translation: women came with a van, they asked me if i'd go with them. not long after that, in a building in cox's bazar, they brought two boys to me. they showed me a knife and punched me in my tummy and beat me because i wasn't cooperating. then the boys raped me. translation: women came with a van, they asked me if i'd go with them. not long after that,

in a building in cox's bazar, we heard other accounts from girls of a similar age. a 13—year—old told me she was lured out of the camp by a woman from within the rohingya community offering her work. with the desperate conditions the refugees are living in, her family agreed to let her go. translation: she came to my home. we know her. she said, "you're not being fed properly, come with me to cox's bazar, i will give you a job." when we got there, she put me in a hotel in the morning. by the afternoon, a boy was put in my room. he beat me and raped me. i asked the woman, "why i should do this?" she told me, "if you don't do this, i will kill you." after only 48 hours on the ground, our team had identified a number of people offering children for sex. this was one of them, not only boasting about his own collection

of women and children, but of a network of traffickers, all of whom had more than ten girls under their control. we had to be careful not to create a demand and asked for girls who were immediately available. we were offered these three and told they were all rohingyas, aged between 13 and 17. we went to the police and told them what we had found. they agreed to conduct an operation that same evening. 0ur undercover investigator posed as a client who wanted to have sex with children and arranged with the trafficker for the delivery of two young girls to a hotel. bring the girls down here... as we waited, the trafficker sent a scout. eight o'clock, red hoodie. he asked our investigator to go with him, but we needed the trafficker to come to us. he's away with the girls. he appeared to change his mind. we're

but when the girls arrived, it was a driver who was with them and who collected the money. how's it going? 1a,15,16 and two for you. ask him, if tonight's good, can they get more? we handed over around £140. as soon as the deal was done, the police moved in. come on, girls. hey, come here. the girls were two of those we'd seen in the photograph. as they were taken aside and into safety, they told us they were 15 and 21 and that theirfamilies depended on the money they made from sex work. what the two girls told me here tonight reveals so much about how they and others like them get trapped in the sex industry in cox's bazar.

they've never been to school and have no idea how they would support themselves without this work. and with the arrival of so many refugees in the nearby camps, there are even more vulnerable young people for the traffickers to prey upon. childcare professionals and trafficking experts helped us to arrange care for the girls afterwards. the younger one went into the care of social services, but the 21—year—old refused. we handed over all the information we had to the police. but the trafficker is still at large, part of an established network that puts children into sex work here and, as our investigation found, also sends them further afield, to india and nepal. now the presence of a large refugee population, including many unaccompanied children, is providing easy pickings for the traffickers and another danger for the rohingya people. mishal husain, bbc news, bangladesh. the northern white rhino

is a species on the brink of extinction following the death of a 45—year—old male in kenya, the last of his kind in the world. his name was sudan, and he was put down on monday after his health problems worsened significantly. his daughter and grand—daughter are the only female northern white rhinos left as our correspondent, alistair leithead, in kenya explains. and then there were two, the last remaining northern white rhinos on earth, now that the last male, sudan, has died of old age. a subspecies of rhino ever closer to extension. one is najin, 27—years—old, sudan's daughter. the other is fatu, his teenage granddaughter. the last of what was once a great species that roamed central africa. this was sudan, and for the last

few years scientists and conservationists have been trying to get him to mate. they even put the 45—year—old on tinder as part of a publicity campaign. there was no other animal quite like him. it highlights first and foremost, you know, the fact that human greed and sometimes human activities that are not controlled can drive species to extinction. the last wild northern white rhinos were seen here in garamba national park in the northern democratic republic of congo, but that was many years ago. they became extinct in the wild in 2008. well, fatu and najin are now the last two remaining northern white rhinos, and, obviously, they're both females. they're here under armed guard 2a hours a day, such is the continuing threat to these animals from poachers. they are now incredibly rare. there are only 30,000 rhinos left on the planet and sudan was unusual for his kind in that he died of old age. now it's up to the scientists and a never before tried fertility treatment in a last gasp effort to save these

animals from extinction. alastair leithead, bbc news, in northern kenya. the beatles legend, ringo starr, has been knighted at buckingham palace for his services to music. the drummer's knighthood follows the mbe awarded to each band member in 1965. speaking after the ceremony, he told colin paterson he was delighted to receive the new honour. it means a lot actually. it means recognition for things we've done musically and in life. so, i was really pleased to accept this award. where does it rank compared to your other career achievements? what would you put it up there with? you mean first number one? it's way up there. it is, it's way up there. i'm not holding this anymore, 0k, i'm going to just close the box. obviously this is not

the first time you've been to buckingham palace for an honour. in 1965, the beatles came for their mbes. compare and contrast today with that. well, you know, that was a long time ago. four lads really straight out of liverpool then. and we've all seen a bit of the world since then and this was another honour. so, we had a lot of fun ‘cause there was four of us, and i was a bit shaky today on my own. well, apparently, 1965, you were so nervous you snuck off into a toilet in buckingham palace and had a cigarette. i know! who said that? i don't know! i'm not keeping that rumour going. you also wore your mbe on the cover of sgt pepper's, famously. what are your plans for this one? well, with this, i'll be wearing it at braakfast. i would give him the award just for thomas the tank engine. that is it

for now. goodbye. hello again. tuesday brought us some beautiful, sunny weather across northern ireland and scotland. that's where the best of the sunshine was, and what a beautiful end to the day it was as well. this was the scene in 0ban, argyll and bute, looking out over the scottish islands as the sun set in the west. some changes, though, working in for wednesday. got some thicker cloud working into the north—west of the country. so, for scotland and northern ireland, a cloudier start to the day. some rain on the charts edging into western scotland as well. so for some, it will be a damper start as well. whereas further south, for england and wales, clearer skies overnight. well, that means, for early—risers, we've got something like this. a widespread frost developing, even in the towns and cities. head into the countryside and a really a cold start to the day. temperatures could be down as low as —6 in the coldest spots wales. a cold start then, yes, but beautiful sunny skies in england and wales for most of the morning. into the afternoon, cloud thickening from the north and west. sunshine will make the sun hazy elsewhere, but probably the thicker

cloud won't reach the south—east until the evening time. further north a different story. cloudy with outbreaks of rain working into western scotland fairly quickly in the day. any rain not lasting long in northern ireland. but could be slow to clear in western scotland. eastern scotland will be prone to seeing occasional bright spells through the afternoon. and here, temperatures will lift into double figures, probably one of the warmest spots in the uk. even further south, those temperatures going up. and, crucially, we will have lost the bitter wind. looking at the weather picture for thursday, a decent start to the day for many of us, with some bright and sunny spells. we've got a weather front coming in from the atlantic bringing heavy rain to western areas later in the afternoon. also some pretty strong winds edging into wales and south—west england, where we could get gales developing around the coast later in the day. looking towards the end of the week, an area of cloud and rain pushing across the uk. and then another area of low pressure set to swing in off the atlantic and moving towards the south—west of the uk. some uncertainty about exactly how far north the band of rain gets. we may see a stronger area

of low pressure develop, and if that happens, the rain might not get quite as far northwards. so, that is a possibility for friday. 9—11 for most of us. but the position of that rain is really important for the weather we'll have across scotland and northern ireland on saturday. at the moment, we're forecasting rain. but if the low pressure area is a bit more developed, it could be clear and a decent day on saturday with bright or sunny spells. as i say, quite a bit of uncertainty at the moment, but we will keep you posted. this is bbc news, the headlines: politicians in the united states and europe are summoning executives from facebook to answer questions about whether personal data was missed

used to manipulate recent elections. facebook has said it was deceived by a british company, cambridge analytica, that worked by —— for president trump selection campaign. emergency services and texas said an ncd area device —— incendiary device that went off in the city of austin was not related to a series of explosions at this month. however the fbi has confirmed that two packages found at a separate fedex delivery office in the area on tuesday at our connected to earlier attacks.