welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is nkem ifejika. our top stories: mark zuckerberg admits facebook made mistakes, mishandling data from 50 million users, and promises to make changes. anger in russia as britain's foreign secretary says president putin will use the world cup as propaganda like adolf hitler did with the berlin olympics. the suspect in the texas bombings blows himself up as police close in. but what motivated the 23—year—old man? six months after hurricane maria, millions of puerto ricans are still struggling to survive. many blame the us government forfailing to do enough. and a cracking continent. the seismic shift in kenya's rift valley that could divide africa. hello and welcome to the programme.

facebook‘s founder has broken his silence and admitted the social network made mistakes in its handling of users‘ data. mark zuckerberg also accepted there'd been a breach of trust and promised to make changes. it follows the scandal over cambridge analytica, the british company accused of mining facebook data to influence the 2016 us election, although the firm denies any wrongdoing. here's our business editor, simonjack. facebook founder mark zuckerberg broke his silence tonight on a scandal that has engulfed the social media giant. in a facebook post, he said the company had "a responsibility to protect your data" and admitted the company had "made mistakes". he described how a british academic had invented an app inviting facebook users to do a personality test. 300,000 people downloaded it, it collected personal information on them and also all of their facebook friends, harvesting data on 50 million users. that data was obtained by a british consultancy, cambridge analytica, in 2014, a move mark zuckerberg described tonight as "a breach

of trust", and it was later allegedly used in the trump election campaign. a campaign the company's executives took a lot of credit for when secretly filmed. an apparent shock to the original app designer. never in our wildest dreams did we think anything we did would be used in the donald trump campaign. this is 2014, well before anybody would think mr trump would be a serious candidate. so at the time, like, i didn't know who their clients would be, i didn't know the specific use case. i did know it was going to be used for political purposes, but beyond that, it was well above my pay grade. should have asked! could this small consultancy really have altered the course of us history? unlikely, says a man who worked on barack 0bama's 2008 election. data can be misused to increase divisions and stoke fears, as they themselves have said, and that's why it needs to be regulated more carefully and ethical

behaviour needs to be enforced, but elections are decided by a whole range of factors and i think cambridge analytica over—claimed their impact. perhaps the biggest change will be our awareness of what we are agreeing to when we hit "i agree". the conversation we should be having is what happens to our data, how much are we comfortable to share, who are we comfortable to share it with, and what do we think about how that is done? this is a real lightbulb moment, people understanding that it is not just clicking like on facebook, what you're doing is giving data away. facebook‘s value has fallen by more than $50 billion since monday, evidence perhaps of lasting damage on facebook‘s brand and its users‘ trust. simon jack, bbc news. well, for more on that story,

we're joined by our washington correspondent, chris buckler. chris, just as we are preparing to come on air, mark zuckerberg was given a rare high profile interview on cnn —— giving. what did he say? mark zuckerberg has really been criticised very heavily over the last few days for remaining very silent, first we have the statement, 110w silent, first we have the statement, now we have the interview in which he was questioned for a substantial period of time about exactly what the company is doing to try to address some of these issues. he talked a lot about going back and looking at the problems there had been and he said he would contact the facebook users who have their data breached and that will be a substantial amount of work, it means going through thousands of apps, and fundamentally there's the question of can they even be sure of

questions about whether they had information breached, he said they will look at whether potentially people have had their information breached. there will be some questioning if that is really enough ca i’s questioning if that is really enough cars it doesn't answer the question of whether that information has gone anywhere and who has used it. there is the second question, what happens going forward? he said specifically it may well be the case there could be others out there planning what he described as a version two of russian interference in the elections. he said of 2016," we weren't on top of potential russian interference and fake news, we need to do more to tackle that". he said they had a responsibility to do that, not just for the american midterms but for the elections around the world, for example in india and brazil. you get a real sense that this has awoken politicians around the world about

the potential of facebook being used not just by people the potential of facebook being used notjust by people for campaigning but also for interference, for meddling, and that's causing concern, not just meddling, and that's causing concern, notjust in america and the uk but right around the world, and that's why now mark zuckerberg is in the spotlight and will continue to have to answer questions. thanks very much, the bbc‘s chris buckler live in washington. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. more than 100 nigerian schoolgirls who've been released by islamist militants after more than a month in captivity have been flown to the capital, abuja to meet the president. the girls say five students died while being held by boko haram and the only christian in the group is still in captivity. at least 33 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack in the afghan capital, kabul, more than 65 others were injured. the attack happened as people gathered to mark the start of nowruz, the traditional new year. the islamic state group, which has repeatedly targeted shias, said it carried out the attack. north korea's parliament will meet for the first time this year on april 11, almost 12 months since it last sat.

the country's supreme peoples assembly only convenes once or twice a year and during its last session announced it was looking to find a way of improving international relations. the announcement by the state news agency didn't confirm whether leader kim jong—un would be in attendance. the former french president, nicolas sarkozy, has been placed under formal investigation for allegedly accepting millions of euros for his 2007 election campaign from the libyan dictator muammar gaddafi. mr sarkozy was released from custody after two days of questioning, he denies wrongdoing. russia has angrily rejected parallels drawn by the british foreign secretary, between the russian president, vladimir putin and adolf hitler. borisjohnson said it was possible mr putin would try to bolster russia's image, by using the football world cup, as hitler used the 1936 olympics in berlin. steve rosenberg has the latest from moscow. it was an invitation that some had refused.

reporter: ambassador, why are you taking part in this meeting? but these foreign diplomats had accepted, to come and hear moscow's side of the story on the nerve agent attack. britain sent a diplomat to the foreign ministry, but the british ambassador stayed away. this is what he missed. translation: the british authorities are either unable to ensure protection from such a terrorist act on their territory or themselves, directly or indirectly, i'm not accusing anyone, have directed this attack against a russian citizen. hello, my name is emma nottingham, i'm from the british embassy. off camera, the british diplomat hits back. sergei skripal and his daughter yulia were poisoned with a military grade novichok nerve agent of a type developed by russia in what we see as an attempted assassination attempt. "what's going on in their heads," he replies.

"take a break from your russophobia and your island mentality." archive: berlin's great day dawns with the arrival of the olympic flame... in britain, a labour mp suggested that vladimir putin would use the world cup like adolf hitler had used the 1936 olympics, to cover up, as he put it, a brutal, corrupt regime. the foreign secretary agreed. i think the comparison with 1936 is certainly right and i think it's an emetic prospect, frankly, to think of putin glorying in this sporting event. tonight, moscow reacted to boris johnson's comments with fury. the russian foreign ministry said the foreign secretary was "poisoned with hatred and malice, incompetence and loutishness. " meanwhile, russia's propaganda machine tries to discredit sergei skripal. we witnessed this bizarre webcast

where two convicted murders claimed to be ex—cellmates of the former double agent. on air they accused him of drug addiction, even paedophilia. but after the show, one of them admits to me he saw nothing. translation: it was just empty gossip. the poisoning in salisbury has spawned an information war, one moscow is determined to win. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. police in texas say the man suspected of a string of bomb attacks in the state left a 25 minute recording about the six devices he'd constructed. mark anthony conditt blew himself up while being chased by police officers. two people were killed in the attacks and officials have warned that more undetonated devices may have been planted. gary o'donoghue reports from austin. police closed in on the suspected

bomber in the early hours, tracking him down to a hotel north of austin. while they waited for extra back—up, he drove off and then pulled into a ditch at the side of the road. as the police approached his car, he set off another bomb. as members of the austin police department swat team approached the vehicle, the suspect detonated a bomb inside the vehicle. knocking one of our swat officers back, and one of our swat officers fired at the suspect as well. the suspect is deceased, and has significant injuries from a blast that occurred from detonating a bomb inside his vehicle. cctv in the past couple of days showed the suspect dropping off a package at a fedex office in south—west austin, a key piece of evidence that led the police to the bomber‘s identity. he's now been named unofficially, mark anthony conditt

was a 23—year—old man who lived in pflugerville just outside the city. a school friend of the suspect i spoke to didn't want to be identified, but she said he seemed like a normal boy. i would definitely say that i'm completely surprised. i wouldn't have been this shocked if it was somebody that i didn't know, but seeing as this is someone i share memories with, even though it's just a little bit, is really crazy to me. it's just a little it is crazy to me. i know regardless of his personal reason, it was an act of evil and it's not excusable. since the beginning of the month there have been six separate bonds, five which exploded. two men have died and half a dozen people have suffered serious injuries, a number are still in hospital. during the day the police with dogs searched a number of addresses associated with conditt, evacuating some buildings and cordoning off areas. they also questioned both his flatmates, although neither has been arrested or charged.

police still don't know the motive for this bombing spree that's terrorised austin for the past three weeks. they're also telling the public they don't know where the suspect has been for the past 2a hours, so there could still be devices out there. gary o'donoghue, bbc news, austin, texas. we will have more in this injust we will have more in this in just a few minutes. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: geologists say a newly appeared rift in kenya could one day split africa in two. let there be no more bloodshed between arabs and israelis. with great regret, the committee has decided south africa should be

excluded from the 1970 competition. streaking across the sky, the white hot wreckage from mir drew gasps from onlookers on fiji. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: facebook has admitted making mistakes and breaching trust with its users over a data—harvesting scandal. russia's responded angrily after britain's foreign secretary controversially compared

president putin to adolf hitler. let's get more on the texas bombings. and for more on that story, we're joined by chas moore from the civil liberties group, austinjustice coalition. thank you forjoining us. we now have a resolution of sorts. at least the person who carried out the bombings took his own life. what do you want to see from here on in going forward? i think the community has a lot of answers, but not enough. we will not be able to get them because this person is now dead. the community wants to see more transparency coming up in situations like this. we also want to see more neighbours... that is the main message i have been hearing through this whole process. that is, the neighbours in these neighbourhoods, they do not know

each other. the fact these bombs we re each other. the fact these bombs were left on doorsteps of individuals that stay right next door to someone else and nobody knew that these things were so harmful, it really caused a lot of panic in the community is here. i really think, moving forward, people want stronger communities and stronger neighbourhood so we can prevent anything like this happening again. —— communities. and i also think that we want to be able to be here for the families of victims, not only the anthony house, the man who passed away on march second, but also the second bombing victim. we wa nt to also the second bombing victim. we want to be there for them as much as possible, but also other victims. we wa nt to possible, but also other victims. we want to reach out and be - for

want to reach. out afid’bethzlizifit asa want to reach. out afid’bethzlizifit as a city, want to reach. out afid’bethzlizifit city you . g you want to build? moderng not modern g not work that way. modern life does not work that way. people have to take children to school, go to work, et cetera, et cetera. it will be difficult to build that world as it does not really exist any more. i definitely ee, really exist any more. i definitely agree, with advancements in technology and the way the economy is, it is difficult. but it is part of our duty as humans and as a society to put each at first, put it at the first before the latest iphone or fantasy, football tournaments. we have to carve out time in our busy lives to open the door and go next door and across the street and check on one another. perhaps this person doing these

horrible things, i definitely feel this was a form of domestic terrorism, even though authorities are saying it is not, perhaps this could have been prevented if we as a community could have been there for this person. you know, the fact this person felt so beaten down and felt so, you know, just done with society, that he had to do these random act of violence, it speaks volumes of how we as a society have grown further apart from each other. —— acts. it has grown difficult with the towns we live in, but we have to look at instances like this and with human history. the holocaust is another example, people just idly sitting by watching and not being engaged with other humans and their neighbours, just watching senseless a cts neighbours, just watching senseless acts of violence. for me, i think thatis acts of violence. for me, i think that is the next step moving forward , that is the next step moving forward, like, really encouraging communities and neighbourhoods to go out and shake hands and get familiar with the people you live with so we

can not only protect one another but grow with one another moving forward. thank you very much. speaking from the civil liberties austin justice speaking from the civil liberties austinjustice coalition. it is six months since hurricane maria devastated the us territory of puerto rico. aid agencies say life for many of the island's 3.5 million residents remains a day—to—day struggle. many are yet to have their electricity restored. as our correspondent, aleem maqbool, reports from the town of morovis, there is resentment towards the us government for what is seen by many puerto ricans as a lack of urgency in its response. imagine having to depend on a generator to keep your mother alive. that's the way carmen has been living for six months. she, like so many here, all american citizens, has had no electricity since hurricane maria. every time the generator fails, her mother's respirator shuts down. translation: i've been

crying all the time. i thought my mother would die because i couldn't help her. it's horrible. me and her are struggling so much to fight this situation. it was the most devastating hurricane to hit puerto rico in living memory, plunging more than three million people into darkness, and into a humanitarian crisis. maria obliterated infrastructure right across this island. people are crossing a river in the way they have not done for years here because the bridge was totally destroyed. for so many people, in so many ways across puerto rico, life has been set back decades. this bridge is being rebuilt. but the pace of recovery across what is an american territory has been painfully slow. puerto ricans expected far more help from the us. and it's hard not to wonder,

if this school had been in texas or florida, whether the children would have gone this long without electricity. unable to use computers as they used to, often in unwashed uniforms, and unable to work at home after dark. this teacher, maria isabel santana, told us she was upset by the impact it was having on her students, saying there were already months behind in their learning. but the misery is not just about power. there is so much damage done to homes as well. many thouhg have been given little more than blue tarpaulin to repair them. so many who can have just left the island, scrawling their contact details on the buildings they abandoned. evelyn cruz knows more than anyone the psychological impact of staying here. her brother, julio, took his life just last month. she says it's because he was overwhelmed by

the conditions since the hurricane. translation: all the disasters in real life, it affected him, seeing so much need. knowing all the bad news. being without electricity. seeing all the desolation and all the people leaving. it affected him mentally. and there has been a massive spike in puerto ricans attempting suicide since the storm. in many ways, people here can accept the devastation of a force of nature like hurricane maria much more than they can understand the suffering they are still going through now. aleem maqbool, bbc news, morovis, puerto rico. geologists are warning that a huge crack in kenya's rift valley could be proof that the continent is splitting. the earth movements begun last week and were exacerbated by heavy rains, tearing apart large sections of the suswa area. while the continental split could take millions of years, the immediate concern is the safety of road users and people living there. ferdinand omondi reports from the rift valley. a week ago, this was not here. the

land was softened by a combination of heavy rains and seismic activity causing the earth to split. farmlands were separated down the middle, and water supplies were cut. this stretch of highway had to be repaired twice stopping now, motorists are concerned the area will crumble again, a notion the government has quickly dismissed. but this person woke up one morning to find a visible fault line cutting through his farmhouse. he was so afraid he would lose his home in 20 yea rs afraid he would lose his home in 20 years that he demolished it in the hope he could rebuild it on safe ground in future. translation: hope he could rebuild it on safe ground in future. translationzlj hope he could rebuild it on safe ground in future. translation: i had to demolish my house. there is a risk the house could be swallowed and all of my property destroyed.

now we do not have anywhere to stay. we are being housed by our neighbour. the crackjust keeps extending inland, and the state is still mapping out potential risk areas. but no one knows where the earth will open up next. now this crack stretches several kilometres on either side. sometimes it is pretty scary, like here, whiter than 20 metres, and some sections reaching so deep you cannot see the bottom with the naked eye. there is a warning that something profound could be happening underneath. according to geologists, these are early signs the african continent is pulling apart from the rift valley. it has been moving apart for millions of years. and as a result, there are some weaknesses which have developed here. in terms of fishers,

cracks, fault lines. —— fissures. we do not need to move. but we need to do not need to move. but we need to doa do not need to move. but we need to do a thorough study and find out where are these weaknesses. scientists say eventually these cracks will split africa into in the next million years. but in the future, people will hope they are not living on the fault lines when they crumble. there's been chaos in kosovo's parliament, as opposition nationalist mps hurled tear gas canisters to disrupt the ratification of a border agreement with montenegro. they say the deal will wrongly cede about 8,000 hectares of land. several people were evicted and then detained. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @nkem ifejika. hello there.

temperatures have been slowly recovering over the last couple of days after that mini beast from the east brought us that disruptive snow. in fact, as we head into thursday, a more mild start and a mild afternoon. good spells of sunshine. feeling quite springlike. the atlantic has come back to life, feeding in cloud and mild air. you can see the air mass chart here, the orange colours moving in on thursday. something more fresh pushing in for the end of the week, for friday. mild air neverfar away. sunshine on the weekend and feeling pleasant. early thursday, damp weather down the east of the country affecting east anglia and the south—east. but elsewhere, largely dry. variable amounts of cloud. a bit more of a breeze further west. but a much milder start on thursday. most places, 4—7 degrees. one or two pockets of frost in sheltered rural locations, south—west england and maybe northern scotland. looking good on thursday. losing the cloud from the east of england.

a change in northern ireland and western scotland. increasing wind, 45 miles per hour, outbreaks of rain. elsewhere, a lovely day in store. on thursday night, that rain band will spread across the country, eventually clearing the east for the country on friday. a fairly good—looking day. showers in the north—west. wintry on the hills. a toucher cooler than what we saw on thursday. a typical early spring weekend. sunshine and showers, variable amounts of cloud. generally quite mild, particularly where we get the sunshine. this is saturday morning. a rather cloudy note in central and southern and eastern parts of the country. a bit of rain. skies will brighten up further north and west. showers in scotland and northern ireland, especially on the hills. given some sunshine, temperatures around 11 celcius. sunday looks like the better day of the weekend. more widespread sunny spells. the best of the sunshine across the east.

feeling more milder too, top temperatures around 13 celsius. this is bbc news. the headlines — mark zuckerberg has admitted facebook made mistakes that allowed the firm cambridge analytica to exploit the data of millions of users on behalf of political clients. he said there had been a breach of trust between facebook and users and promises to make changes. russia has reacted furiously after the british foreign secretary drew a comparison between vladimir putin and adolf hitler. borisjohnson was giving evidence on the chemical attack that poisoned a former russian spy and his daughter more than two weeks ago.

police in texas say the man suspected of a string of bomb attacks in the state left a 25—minute recording about the six devices he'd constructed. mark anthony conditt blew himself up while being chased by police officers. two people were killed in the attacks and officials have warned that more undetonated devices may have been planted. now on bbc news, wednesday in parliament.