welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america on pbs and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: as facebook fights to fix its reputation, the company reveals foreign attempts to influence the us mid—term elections. donald trump's former campaign manager finally goes on trial, but the president insists the case has nothing to do with him. a passenger plane crashes in northern mexico, but all on board are reported to have survived. and — knocking out taboos. we meet a group of young women and girls who are breaking down barriers over women in sports in pakistan. hello. interference by russia in the 2016 us election has been a controversial issue in the states, not least with the president himself. now facebook says it has evidence of a coordinated attempt to influence the forthcoming mid—term elections. the company has removed nearly three

dozen accounts and pages. facebook is stopping short of identifying russia as being behind these attempts to interfere. in a moment we'll hear from our technology correspondent dave lee, but first here's what the director of homeland security said about russia's role in the 2016 presidential election. democracy in itself is in the crosshairs. let me take a moment to touch on this because i think it is very important to do so. two years ago, as we all know, a foreign power launched a brazen, multifaceted influence campaign to undermine our fate in the democratic process and to distort our presidential election. that campaign was multifaceted, it involved cyber espionage, weeks of stolen data,

online propaganda and more. let me be clear, our intelligence community has it right. it was the russians, we know that, they know that, it was directed at the highest levels and we cannot and will not allow that to happen again. although no actual votes were changed in 2016, let me be clear in this, any attempt to interfere in our elections is a direct attack on our democracy. it is unacceptable and it will not be tolerated. mark my words, america will not tolerate this meddling. whether it is north korea or the russians, we are identifying countries that have compromised our systems or who have unleashed destructive malware. we are imposing cost, whole of government costs, diplomatically, financially, legally and through other mediums. the united states has a wide range of

options, some seen and unseen and we will no longer resist to use them to deter cyber hostility. for facebook this is about showing it is trying to get on top of its huge problem. of its 32 pages that they removed, they managed to remove 10,000 pieces of content to facebook and brought 150 pieces of advertising at a cost of around $10,000. is advertising at a cost of around $10,000. is hard to quantify how successful these campaigns can be but those that set around a quarter ofa but those that set around a quarter of a million people were able to interact with those pages. perhaps the most interesting aspect of this are the events that these accounts we re are the events that these accounts were trying to set up, real—world events intended to get americans onto the street. facelock said these groups try to organise 30 different events, most of which have taken place, although it is not clear how successful they were. there was one event planned for august ten that

600 people said they would attend. that has now been cancelled. for facebook this is all about showing that this huge investment appeared to be working, they have enlisted outside help to trace the problem. but of course, knowing the full scale of the issue is something that nobody knows, not even facebook, so this may only be solving part of the problem. paul barrett is deputy director of new york university's stern center for business and human rights. he's authored a report that looks at russian disinformation tactics and how to counter them. what is your thinking of the latest news? i think it is good news and bad news. the good news is that facebook

is being forthcoming and tried to get on top of the problem, providing a lot of the information that they didn't provide in 2016 and only begrudgingly provided in 2017. the bad news is that we cannot know the full extent of what is going on and it is daunting, to say the least, to see that the russians in all likelihood are back trying to disrupt democratic institutions such as the elections coming up this fall. we have to note that this kind of campaign is propaganda by facebook itself to prove it is on top of this. i think that is natural. i think the company is making efforts to police itself. but it is, i think, a very difficult task. it is difficult to identify some of these accounts and pages as

being phoney and i think if the russians are determined, we will see more of this to come in the next few. obviously the tools are more modern, but how different you think this is of the different kinds of propaganda that has happened, the us has interfered in elections and the uk did so with iran awhile back. that is a fair point. there is nothing at you about propaganda and the us facing off what was once the ussr. what is difference is how pervasive the means of communications are and the fact that this directly affects people in a way that old—fashioned propaganda broadcast over television or via radio, simply didn't seep into people ‘s lives at the way social media does. what more do you think

that governments and social media companies could do?” that governments and social media companies could do? i think one thing they could do is co—operate, the governments and the companies. each of them have expertise related to these activities and i think they need to figure out ways how to collaborate or systematically. i think companies like facebook would be well advised to set up a dedicated internal teams with expertise, in this case, with russian language, russian culture, russian language, russian culture, russian habit on the internet and publicised existence of those teams and make it clear that this is a high priority. 0n the government side, unfortunately with a president who all but denies the existence of this kind of interference, we are not going to get the kind of

residential speech or education from the white house that might help people be more critical at how to look at the internet and think more carefully about what they are seeing. that is a big impediment with the current occupant of the white house. thank you very much. the jury has been chosen in the trial of former trump campaign manager paul manafort. it's the first case brought by the legal team of special counsel robert mueller. the trial is expected to last weeks and could result in mr manafort spending the rest of his life in prison. the bbc‘s rajini vaidyanathn explains how we got here. paul manafort held a coveted place in donald trump's inner circle as his campaign manager. just weeks after being seen at the republican national convention in 2016, his political career began to unravel. forced to quit over his alleged ties to foreign governments. today he is injail, facing charges relating to his work before he joined the trump campaign.

arriving at court in virginia, manafort is accused of laundering millions of dollars in cash while he worked as a political consultant in ukraine. his clients include the former president. prosecutors say he funnelled the money to offshore accounts in exotic locations and with lavish purchases, buying multi—million dollar properties in new york and virginia and spending more than $1 million in men's clothing. mr manafort denies the charges. his former right—hand man, who also worked for donald trump is charged on a number of counts, but had most of those dropped in exchange for his cooperation during the investigation. he is expected to testify against mr manafort. paul manafort work for me for a very short period of time. the present isn't directly implicated in this trial, but these are the first charges brought by special counsel robert mueller who is investigating if the trump campaign colluded

with the russians. in a tweet, donald trump claimed collusion isn't a crime and denied there was any in the first place. a small group of anti—trump protesters who gathered outside the court believe the campaign did have ties to russia. it is believed paul manafort does have the answers and as his trial gets under way, it is believed he could co—operate with the wider investigation. let's get some of the day's other news. at least fifteen people have died in an attack on a government building in the city of jalalabad in afghanistan. gunmen set off several explosives and stormed the compound. afghan special forces were able to secure the building after a six hour siege. thailand has asked britain to extradite its former prime minister yingluck shinawatra. she fled the country last august to avoid being jailed over a rice subsidy scheme that ran up billions of dollars in losses. she has denied wrongdoing and said the trial was politically motivated. the chief of malaysia's civil

aviation authority has quit after a report into the missing malaysia airlines flight mh370 found failures by air traffic control. azar—ruddin abdul rahman said the official report, which was released on monday, highlighted lapses by controllers — and that he was resigning "with regret". a plane has crashed in the capital of mexico's durango state. the state governor has tweeted that there were no deaths among the 97 passengers and four crew aboard, although there were injuries. the aeromexico flight was flying from guadalupe victoria international airport to mexico city. the crash happened 10km from the airport just after take—off. 0n the scene reports say passengers were seen walking to a nearby road to seek help. andrew plant has the latest. thick plumes of smoke in the

distance from a passengerjet thick plumes of smoke in the distance from a passenger jet which crashed shortly after takeoff. is not clear yet how many people have been injured, but officials say no one was killed. the photos show the plane was severely damaged. the plane was severely damaged. the plane was severely damaged. the plane was on its way to mexico city when it crashed, had tried to take off from durango state on the two—hour flight south, guadalupe victoria international with 97 people on board. this footage has also emerged, they might pale storm in durango around the time of the crash. it is not clear whether the weather was a factor. state government has said that there are have been injury, though it they are not clear on how serious the. one local tv networks said people were seen walking off the plane. the airport has been closed while emergency services deal with the crash and family suite on the news on the condition of the passengers and crew on—board. and plant, a bbc

news. —— andrew plant, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: inspired by the american game, nigerians are turning to basketball, but the sport has some tough competition. the us space agency nasa has ordered an investigation after confirmation today that astronauts were cleared to fly while drunk. the last foot patrol in south armagh. once an everyday part of the soldier's lot — drudgery and danger — now no more after almost four decades. if one is on one's own in a private house, not doing any harm to anyone, i don't really see why these people should wander in and say, "you're doing something wrong." six rare white lion cubs are on the prowl

at worcestershire park, and already they've been met with a roar of approval from visitors. they‘ re lovely, yeah. really sweet. yeah, they were cute. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: facebook has announced that it shut more than thirty accounts apparently aimed at influencing this yea r‘s mid—term elections in the united states, some of which may have had links to russia. president trump gave his familia stump speech at a rally. he said the us was again respected around the world. our correspondence was right

there. more torque from the president about collusion or lack of it. specifically saying collusion is not a crime. quite a step. talking to a number of his supporters here. they gathered for the brilliant i was asking the question, do they believe russia interfered in the election backin russia interfered in the election back in 2016 and also are they concerned going forward, particularly with the news about facebook, they will try to interfere 01’ facebook, they will try to interfere or someone facebook, they will try to interfere or someone will try to defer the election is going forward into 2018 but is of course in november, as these crystal congressional elections continue, they are trying to get people back. and they believe

that what matters is what the american people want. democrats don't know —— democrats are having a brilliant there are concerns among some republicans that he is such a divisive figure that it might get democrats out to vote but he believes that he can really make a difference. it's interesting, if you ta ke difference. it's interesting, if you take a look at this stage, one of the candidates is running the governor in the state and wants to be the republican candidate for governor and has released a campaign and in which she references donald trump, he builds all, the familia statement shouted at these rally, he builds a wall with his daughter with playbox in talks about making america great as something he reads to his children and he dresses as child in a donald trump onesie.

there are some who regard this upcoming election is not one between republicans and democrats but a battle between trump supporters and those against him. he might not be in the ballot but he believes he can make a real difference. aid agencies are accused of being "almost complict" in sexual abuse across the sector, in a damning report by mps. the international development committee says the delivery of aid has been subverted by sexual predators — and that there's been a "culture of denial" since revelations that workers for 0xfam paid for sex while helping victims of the 2010 earthquake in haiti. charities have welcomed the report, and 0xfam concedes it has further to go. here's our special correspondent, lucy manning. the charity workers were supposed to bring help, not abuse. they were supposed to bring aid, not exploitation. but when people were at their most vulnerable, they couldn't rely on their rescuers. haiti, the aftermath

of the earthquake in 2010. an investigation by the times earlier this year discovered 0xfam had covered up its staff using sex workers, exploiting vulnerable women and young girls. those who highlighted sexual abuse allegations were ignored. there just wasn't the internalisted acknowledgement of hwo big a problem this was. it is hard for aid agencies focused on doing good things to acknowledge there was this systemic issue and the aid sector has had its metoo moment. the mps reportsfinds many charaities and aid agencies have failed to deal with abuse, rape and their workers demanding sex in return for handing out food. we've reached the conclusion that in the aid sector there has been complacency verging on complicitly with what has happened and that has been because organisations all too often have been appeared more concerned to protect our reputation in the sector, rather

than protecting victims and survivors. the charity sector has helped many, but the report found abuse was an open secret, that the response was patchy and sluggish, little has changed since the uncovering of a sex for food scandal in west africa 16 years ago. there hasn't been change because organisations have become complacent, they have been left to their own devices, there is no external scrutiny or pressure. this is only the second time in 16 years there has been global media attention to this. the international development committee recommends independent aid ombudsman to help victims, annual safeguarding reports, and a register of aid workers to try to stop sexual predators working in the sector. sometimes people target our industry to get access to these people. i think what is very welcome about this report is that recognition that this needs to be treated as kind of large—scale criminal activity.

0xfam says it is incredibly painful to read the report and it is truly sorry that it failed to protect vulnerable women in haiti. it says improvements have been made, but it accepts all charities need to give the same priority to stopping sexual abuse as they do to saving lives when helping in disaster areas. the public gives money to help those in need but charities, the un and governments all stand accused of failing to tackle a problem ignored for years. in pakistan, a group of young women and girls in karachi's once troubled neighbourhood liyari are breaking barriers and taboos around women sports by developing their boxing skills. they hope that boxing can give them success, better future and above all self—confidence. bbc‘s shumaila jaffery reports.

every day after school, these girls gather here at this boxing club to pursue their dream. boxing is a new love for dozens of liyari girls. 13—year—old aliya is one of the most passionate boxers. a fighter who remains unbeaten. her inspiration is mohammed ali and she has high hopes for the future. translation: i watched mohammed ali fighting, it was amazing. especially the way he was using his right hand. i want to be like him. he won three championships. i want to win five. liyari is one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods of pakistan's commercial capital, karachi. it's home to diverse ethnic groups, who have just one thing in common, poverty. until recently, liyari was completely inaccessible for outsiders, even for the police. translation: i think i have become very powerful. if i am standing with three or four

men, i can face them. boxing has given me that power and support. taking part in sports is still frowned upon in conservative parts of pakistan. when the girls in liyari started boxing, they faced criticism. but that slowly changed. despite all the success, there is still uncertainty about the future of the club. the boxers come from the families who don't have much money and the club is running out of funds. translation: we need 20,000- 25,000 rupees to arrange one small tournament. it is very stressful. we don't have a changing room for girls. if anyone can provide these facilities, we can arrange a lot more tournaments and can train more girls. but despite all the disadvantages,

the girls are determined to break the barriers and to make their mark at the international level. shumaila jaffery, bbc news, karachi. basketball is a huge draw at both college and professional level in the united states. in africa the sport is still catching on, but it's getting a boost from the fact that two thirds of the players in the national basketball association or nba are african americans. the league is capitalizing on this by staging some exhibition games in africa. but as the bbc‘s janine anthony reports, there is some stiff competition. basketball. fast paced, energetic and intense and mesmerising. it is becoming more popular across africa with young people hoping to re—enact the moves they see the pros make. here in nigeria there is something ofa here in nigeria there is something of a renaissance in the men's team qualified for the olympic games in three years after, they won the afro

basket title and that seen the sport going from strength to strength but they are not the only ones enjoying strength. the women are also representing africa in spain. across the continent, the sport feels close to the culture of young urban africa. there is also a growth in the number of those following the united states of america's nba, a league which is three quarters black and includes some the best talent from africa. it's held clinics the young kids and it's about to hold the third nba game in south africa involving nba stars of african origin. it is also established an academy in senegal. what can we learn from the americans? now we provided the opportunity to be younger generation so we don't have to worry about in five to ten years missing the chance to play the game of basketball so we are pouring it back into our community and into the continent of africa. so can we

possibly dream of the day when basketball overta kes possibly dream of the day when basketball overtakes football in the hearts of sports fans? as an ambassador of basketball in the game, i will say yes, we can take over because our game doesn't ask so much space. there is only a small place in the corrosion of the backyard for basketball.‘ place in the corrosion of the backyard for basketball. a not sure if it's ever going to overtake soccer, just because soccer has been around forever and we love soccer, we love the super eagles, i love the super eagles but i think we can get to where we are neck and neck. super eagles but i think we can get to where we are neck and neckm seems as if the stars could be in mining for basketball in africa but a lot of work still needs to be done. adequate funding, more infrastructure and player development. if all this can't be harnessed, who knows, this might be

the slam dunk that puts football into second place? and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter — i'm @bbcmikeembley. hello there. just when you thought we were done with the heatwave, the temperatures are beginning to climb again over the next few days. particularly across southern parts of the uk. further north and west of there will be a little bit of rain at times, but certainly not all the time. 0n the satellite picture from a little earlier on, you can see clumps of cloud circulating around an area of low pressure and as we go through the next couple of days, we will continue to seek areas of cloud feeding in from the south—west. we start tomorrow with temperatures across the country, 11—14 degrees, the best of the morning sunshine will be found across england and wales and for the far north—east of scotland. as we go on through the day to the parts of the midlands, we will develop more cloud.

best of the sunshine towards the south—east and for northern ireland and western scotland, the cloud thickens up all the while and we will see outbreaks of mostly light and patchy rain. quite easy across these western areas, north—east scotland holding onto a little bit of brightness. some of this rain pushing out of northern ireland towards the north—west of england and north—west of wales, further south and east of what we are into good spells of sunshine and temperatures in london getting up to around 26 degrees. as we go through wednesday evening, there will be some sunshine to end the day in the south as we go through the night we are to be piling a lot of cloud in from the south—west. it will turn misty and murky for coastal areas, a few splashes of rain and those temperatures begin to come up, and increasingly humid feel into thursday morning because we will have brought this warm front across the country. not much rain on it, but that is the reason for extra cloud and with high pressure to the south, southern areas particularly are going to start to tap into increasingly warm air from the near continent. further north and west, a somewhat fresher feel of air from the atlantic. temperatures not as high.

during thursday, a lot of cloud in through western and parts of the uk, particularly the odd spot of rain and showers. further south is the best chance of seeing sunshine, those temperatures creeping upwards, 29 in london on thursday. we keep that split in temperature fortunes as we head to the end of the week and western areas have seen more in the way of cloud, mostly dry temperatures, generally in the low 20s. further south, it will be the low 30s, 32, maybe 33 degrees, with plenty of sunshine to take us into the weekend. this is bbc news.

the headlines: the us homeland security secretary has welcomed an announcement by facebook that it has shut more than 30 accounts apparently aimed at influencing the country's midterm elections later this year. the social media firm said some of the fake posts had links to accounts used by the russian government. an airliner has crashed shortly after takeoff during a heavy hailstorm in northern mexico, injuring 85 people. officials in the state of durango said the pilot had tried to abort the flight when the plane got into difficulties. an aviation spokesman said many passengers had walked from the wreckage. the much—anticipated trial of donald trump's former campaign manager paul manafort has begun in the state of virginia.