welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is reged ahmad. our top stories: donald trump's former lawyer says the president was well aware it was wrong to pay hush money to two women during the 2016 election. britain's prime minister vows to keep her brexit plans on track — despite the rest of the eu saying they can't renegotiate the deal. a ceasefire comes into effect in yemen's vicious civil war — but sporadic clashes are still taking place around a vital port city. one of britain's biggest football clubs condemns its own fans — heard singing anti—semitic songs at a match in hungary. donald trump's former personal lawyer has spoken out for the first time since being sentenced for crimes including campaign finance violations. he claims mr trump told him to pay

off two women during the 2016 presidential election, even though he knew it was wrong. that directly contradicts what the president has said. michael cohen, is facing three years in prison. our north america editor jon sopel has more. an alleged one night stand in 2006 and then a payment to buy stormy daniels‘ silence ten years later — just before the 2016 elections. they're still causing donald trump and those around him endless legal nightmares. the president's long time lawyer and mr fixit, michael cohen, was this week sentenced to three years in prison. and he's now given an interview refuting donald trump's claims that he made the payments to her without the president knowing about it. first of all, nothing in the trump organisation was ever done unless it was run through mr trump. he directed me, as i said, and i said as well in the plea, he directed me to make the payments, he directed me to become involved

in these matters. the payment came at a delicate time in the presidential campaign... ..a tape had emerged of donald trump boasting about sexually assaulting women. in the interview today, cohen said the payment was made because the president wanted to avoid fresh scandal weeks before the election. he was trying to hide what you were doing, correct? correct. and he knew it was wrong? of course. and he was doing that to help his election? you have to remember at what point in time that this matter came about, two weeks or so before the election, post the billy bush comments, so, yes, he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. but donald trump says cohen is a proven liar and his only regret is ever employing him.

i never directed him to do anything wrong. whatever he did, he did on his own. he's a lawyer. a lawyer who represents a client is supposed to do the right thing. that's why you pay them a lot of money, et cetera, et cetera. donald trump's account of what happened has changed consistently. first of all, denying that he knew anything at all about a payment to stormy daniels. then admitting he did. then saying it had nothing to do with campaign finance, it was a personal matter. and then saying, "well, yes, campaignfinances, but that's not against the law." and finally his lawyer saying, "nobody got killed, no one was robbed, this is not a big crime." in other words, it didn't really matter what donald trump had done. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. president trump has named his budget director mick mulvaney as his acting chief of staff. he replaces generaljohn kelly — after days of speculation over who would take the post. the president made the announcement on twitter:

for more, i spoke to bbc correspondent david willis in los angeles, i asked him to tell me more about mick mulvaney. he is a hardline conservative, a tea party member who was one of the founders of the freedom caucus, the house freedom caucus, a conservative voting bloc. he is also a former congressman from south carolina and is currently serving as the budget chief or donald trump. a very influential man, particularly at the moment, when the president is facing a possible shutdown of the federal government if agreement can't be reached by the end of next week. he is the third person to serve under donald trump. normally a very sought—after position but one which seemed

to struggle to attract interested parties this time around. we've noticed that donald trump has named him acting white house chief of staff. why is this a temporary appointment? it's a good question. the white house is saying there was no time limit to this appointment so it's possible that mick mulvaney could serve as chief of staff for quite some time. what we do know with president trump, despite saying that he had a slew of good candidates for this highly prestigious position found himself increasingly going from one person to the next. first of all, nick ayres, mike pence‘s chief of staff turned him down then he couldn't reach agreement with the former newjersey governor chris christie and so it has come down

to mick mulvaney who will continue to serve, we are told, as the budget chief as well as being chief of staff so he's going to have a lot of work on his plate, this man. but he's a man who gets on with the president and that is something of course which particularly in the latter of his tenurejohn kelly, the outgoing chief of staff, did not. prime minister scott morrison is also acknowledging the aspirations of palestinians for a future state with its capital in eastjerusalem. israeli sovereignty overjerusalem has never been acknowledged he said australians also recognised the aspirations of palestinians to

state with a capital in east jerusalem. after a bruising encounter in brussels, british prime minister theresa may says she still believes she can get extra assurances from eu leaders to get her brexit withdrawal agreement through the uk parliament. eu leaders say they won't renegotiate but will offer what they call ‘further clarifications‘ on the so—called backstop. that's the safety net aimed at avoiding a hard trade border between the eu and the uk on the island of ireland, if no future deal is agreed in time. this report is from laura kuenssberg in brussels. a bad omen? a bitter morning — for more than one reason. the prime minister came to brussels hunting concessions from the eu. does the eu like your plan, prime minister? but they didn't just say no, one of their top politicians said she didn't even know what she wanted. she was "nebulous". leading this private, careful politician to show real anger. "did you call me nebulous?" she seems to say to jean—claude juncker.

he grasping her arm, the microphone may be off, but you can see exactly what went on. the dutch prime minister comes along to try to make peace. later, she had not forgotten the accusations. i was crystal clear about the assurances which we needed on the backstop, having heard the views of mps in the house of commons. i reiterated that it is in the interests of the eu as well as the uk to get this over the line. eu leaders had said she would not get those concessions on the so—called backstop. she begged to differ. my discussions with colleagues today have shown that further clarification and discussion, following the council's conclusions, is, infact, possible. you looked very angry when you were speaking to jean—claude juncker earlier today. what did you say to him, and did he admit that he had called you "nebulous? " and, secondly, the summit conclusions suggest the eu is not willing to budge, but you appear to be suggesting that they might.

can you tell us more about what they have said to you about their willingness to move? because if parliament won't budge and the eu won't budge, is it time for you to budge? well, first of all, i had a robust discussion with jean—claude juncker. i think that's the sort of discussion you're able to have when you've developed a working relationship and you work well together. and what came out of that was his clarity that actually he had been talking, when he used that particular phrase, he had been talking about a general level of debate. we can look at this issue of further clarification and that has been something i have been discussing with a number of eu leaders, so we will be working expeditiously over the coming days to seek those further assurances that i believe mps will need. you might wonder what exactly has been going on with with these negotiations. what are the misunderstandings in the relations between the eu and the prime minister?

what has the president of european commission really been up to since that row? ta—ta—tum... we were not dancing! she thought that i did criticise her by saying yesterday night that the british position was nebulous. i did not refer to her, but to the overall state of the debate in britain. on and off the stage the message from the eu is clear — they promise they'll do a trade deal as quickly as possible, so the backstop‘s never needed, but that cannot mean changing what's already been agreed. the prime minister leaves here with a big problem — remember, she kept herjob in part this week, because she promised she could get more compromise from herfellow eu leaders. but she's left tonight with assurances that there could be more conversations, and that simply might not be concrete enough to protect her in a hostile

environment at home. sporadic fighting has broken out on the outskirts of yemen's port city of hodeidah, — the first since a un—brokered ceasefire came into effect on friday. people living there say they could hear artillery shelling and automatic gunfire. the saudi—backed government and the iranian—backed houthi rebels had reached the truce agreement for hodeida after a week of talks in sweden. more food aid has now begun arriving at the port. the un has warned that 1a million yemenis are on the brink of starvation. the bbc‘s chief international correspondent lyse doucet has reported extensively from yemen. here's her assessment of whether that ceasefire can hold. the situation is still very tense in hodeida, you have the houthi forces which control the port and the adjacent city, you have the yemeni government and emirati forces, this unexpected agreement on a ceasefire is very fragile. it is not surprising,

it is regrettable but not surprising, there seems to be sporadic fighting, but no one is saying the ceasefire is dead, it is largely holding. it has to be said, it has brought rare hope and such relief that at last, this is the most significant breakthrough in five years of talks hosted by the un. keeping the port open means keeping yemenis alive. this is the country that has the most percentage of its people dependent on food aid. two thirds of yemenis depend on some kind of food aid to survive and 10 million, the un says, do not know where their next meal is coming from. so they need the port. and also the commercial imports, the food and other essential goods — and prices have been rising, even yemenis who have a little bit of money cannot afford to buy them. that is what has created this real fear of the risk of famine.

you have reported from there many times, is there a danger that after three orfour years, positions get entrenched, fighters maybe don't want to give up the fight, or do you think somehow there is a slight change in the political atmosphere, and this could be different this time? your question actually points to what is one of the biggest challenges in yemen, which is that you have the political delegations who met in the swedish countryside — and it was quite extraordinary to see them, so many yemenis when they saw the image of the head of the government delegation, the head of the houthi delegation, with the un secretary general antonio guterres in the middle smiling, shaking hands, it was a rare moment of hope. before i came into the bbc tonight, i got a message from a yemeni activist, saying, "did you see that message of hope, that handshake?" the yemen foreign minister joked on social media, "the un secretary general said he had to bring us together, but you don't, we are brothers." the reality is there is so little hope, on the battlefield, now there are other yemeni groups who are benefiting not from peace but from war.

they do not want that war to end. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: this might look like china, but it's new york. the city turns on its first festival of chinese lanterns. after eight months on the run, saddam hussein has been tracked down and captured by american forces. saddam hussein is finished, because he killed our people, our women, our children. the signatures took only a few minutes, but they brought a formal end to three and a half years of conflict, conflict that has claimed more than 200,000 lives. before an audience of world leaders, the presidents of bosnia, serbia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. the romanian border was sealed and silent today. romania has cut itself off from the outside world in order to prevent the details of the presumed massacre in timisoara from leaking out. from sex at the white house

to a trial for his political life, the lewinsky affair tonight guaranteed bill clinton his place in history as only the second president ever to be impeached. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: donald trump's former lawyer has said the president knew it was wrong to order payments in 2016 to keep two women silent about their alleged affairs with him. the british prime minister has insisted that it's still possible to get her brexit deal through parliament — despite the eu ruling out any renegotiation. a week old baby has defied the odds and survived an infection of ebola in the democratic republic of the congo. the little girl, whose mother was also infected, has been dubbed a mircacle baby. she's made a full recovery following 5 weeks of treatment in the city of beni, near the ugandan border. it comes as the country experiences its second—worst outbreak of the deadly virus.

georgina smyth has the story. the tiniest of patients survives the deadliest diseases. this is benedict, and are just five weeks old she is the youngest ever survivor of ebola. her mother was infected with the highly contagious virus and died during childbirth. benedict was showing symptoms days later and despite a very slim chance of survivor she has made a full recovery and is now at home with her father. translation: i really did not want to lose her. she is my home. ebola is a very contagious and deadly infection causing severe fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and internal and external bleeding. hazmat suits and isolation wards are crucial could —— to containing it. it kills 50% of the people it

affects and shot to the headlines in 2014 after an out—of—control outbreak in west africa killed thousands of people over two years. but ebola is still affecting the region, this year the drc has suffered the world's second worst outbreak. according to the health ministry, there have been over 500 cases. the world health organisation says the situation is concerning, and there is still a very high risk of the outbreak spreading further. english premier league football club chelsea have condemned fans who were heard singing anti—semitic songs during their europa league match against the hungarian side on thursday night — saying they have "shamed the club". it comes just days after four fans were suspended for the alleged racial abuse of the manchester city and england player raheem sterling in chelsea's previous match. our sports correspondent joe wilson reports. at their home ground, chelsea present a global welcome. but this is a football club being shamed by a section of its supporters —

and chelsea made that clear today. last night's match was a routine european fixture but some of chelsea's fans took the opportunity in hungary to chant anti—semitic words about a rival club in london — totte n ha m. today came a reaction from a man who's previously filmed football supporters making anti—semitic chants. ivor baddiel directed an educational film for chelsea. he is a chelsea supporter. you might think you are making tottenham chants but when you sing, "those are on their way to auschwitz," this is what you are really chanting about. clearly there are people who think it's ok, and maybe they don't really understand what it is they are chanting, and whyjewish people and everyone is so offended by it. all but the most hardened fascist hopefully would realise now that it was wrong. chelsea today reiterated their abhorrence of race hatred,

saying: instances of anti—semitism are especially poignant and hard to comprehend at this club. after all, roman abramovich, who has bankrolled chelsea for so many years, is himselfjewish. but last night's events come hard on the heels of chelsea's game against manchester city and what happened there to raheem sterling. allegations he was racially abused by a chelsea supporter provoked an inquiry and a whole debate about football and race. remember the banana skin which was thrown towards pierre—emerick aubameyang during arsenal's recent game against tottenham. today's focus is firmly on chelsea butjust part of big issues for football and society.

new protests are expected across france by the so—called ‘yellow vests‘ despite concessions being offered by president macron. the protests are now not confined to france, with similar demonstrations being seen in countries like belgium, greece, the netherlands, and the uk. bart cammaerts, professor of politics at the london school of economics, discusses this new trend — its motivations and possible future. a lot of people feel the liberal democratic system is failing them. anger comes from far more than taxes. i listen to what people say, some ask for a more horizontal society direct democracy. it was nothing to do with fuel in the beginning, it has moved on to something else. protests resembling friends‘s yellow vest movement have spread across europe. from belgium germany. sweden, the netherlands, and the uk. the concerns that are at

the heart of this movement are also concerns in many other countries. it is an easy identifiable single, a little bit like guy fawkes mask. in france is a obligatory to having your car, so everyone has a france is a obligatory to having your car, so everyone has a vest like that. but while they may look the same, how do we know they are pa rt the same, how do we know they are part of the same movement as their french counterparts? but one thing, who is running the show? these movements don‘t have a clear, strong leadership structure, or an organisation that kind of bind these people together. it's also hard to tell if all the protest is in yellow vest share the same goal. there is a kind of tendency of these newer movements that are propelled by social media to not have clear demands or have so many demands that it becomes almost empty, and there is no clear metanarrative that binds these fragmented issues and demands together. and that they could very

easy for the extreme right example, a fascist as well as a kind of more radical left to co—opt these movements. how does the symbol of a french movement sparked by fuel taxes become adopted a british beissel campaigning for brexit? —— british people. the anti-eu sentiments that are part of the yellow vests also has to do with the kind of populist moment that we are living in, where conflict is articulated between the people and an out of touch elite. we want to look after our own futures. the same as they do. we want to protect ourselves and ourjobs. and not let the government take all the money. the aftermath of the 2018 —— it out ina the aftermath of the 2018 —— it out in a crisis has in many ways led to the elite becoming richer, inequality rising, and ordinary people having paid the price for that. and it still feeds an enormous

sense of indignation. so if the wounds of 2008 still have not healed, can we expect to see more yellow vests on the streets of europe? where it will go next will depend on how political elites react. it might be the case that we need to wait what will happen with brexit in this country to kind of see whether some people will appropriate the symbolism of the yellow jacket. the phenomenon of the yellow vests protests. when you think of new york, one thing that may come to mind is its iconic skyline. a city of concrete, glass and steel lit up like a christmas tree. but despite being no stranger to spectacular illuminations, new york has never played host to a chinese lantern festival — that is, until now. the bbc‘s tim allman has more. in this particular part of new york,

the command went forth. let there be light. 2000 —year—old tradition wrought halfway around the world. we celebrate the chinese new year during the january or february, this year we are during the january or february, this yearwe are bringing during the january or february, this year we are bringing the lantern festival from china to know —— to new york city, to give the best wishes to all of the new york is here. # you look so beautiful tonight... #. it took 200 chinese artisans more than a month to create the 3000 or so than a month to create the 3000 or so handmade lanterns. this festival will also see cultural performances including a spot of lion dancing and

some martial arts. it really lights up some martial arts. it really lights up the evening and it makes you feel warm inside. it is absolutely amazing, the lighting, the spectacular acting, and dancing, it was fabulous. # city of blinding lights... the festival runs until early january, a carnival of light and music and movement. a spectacle even new york has never seen before. absolutely beautiful lanterns, i hope you get a chance to go and see it if you are in new york. much more coming up on bbc world news. you can reach me on twitter — i‘m @regedahmadbbc. hello.

after a fairly quiet day on friday, the weather is about to turn much more lively as we head through the course of the weekend. we‘ve got a named storm, storm dierdre, it‘s been named by met eireann. that is bringing some very disruptive weather this weekend with warnings, amber warnings from the met office for ice and snow, and there will also be freezing rain which will bring widespread ice on any roads and untreated surfaces too. here is where we‘ve got the amber warnings out through saturday and early into sunday as well. ice warnings across much of northern england and southern scotland and we‘ll also have snow and freezing rain here. heavy snow across many central parts of scotland, mainly to the north of the central belt. the reason for all this disruptive weather is milder air moving in from the atlantic, with these weather fronts which are which are packing in and bumping into this cold air, so a cold saturday dawn, temperatures sub—zero for many of us. that milder air works in from the west along with the rain, the freezing rain and ice and snow too. notjust the rain, freezing rain, ice and snow, but also some strong winds which will cause some disruption too. so you can see the rain edging its way gradually eastwards across the country, bumping

into that cold air in place, and it will be turning to snow, mostly over the higher ground for the north of wales, the pennines too but even to the south we could get one or two flakes of snow earlier on before it turns back to rain, i think, during the middle part of the afternoon. could be about 2—5 centimetres of snow, even to low levels across northern england to the north of the central belt, 10—20 centimetres of snow and the freezing rain really will be quite dangerous. that‘s rain droplets that willjust freeze instantly on impact with the cold ground, bringing a real instant ice rink effect. so some pretty disruptive weather through the course of saturday, all down to storm dierdre. it‘s going to cause disruption to travel through saturday night and on into sunday too. with that mix of freezing rain, snow and ice and strong winds too, your bbc local radio stations will keep you up—to—date with any disruption to travel. so heading on into the second half of the weekend,

we start off sunday still with some rain and snow to the north—east which should slowly clear away. it will be a drier day compared to saturday, not as windy. more sunshine in the east but there will be some lying snow and still the risk of ice. further rain showers then packing in from the west later on in the day. it won‘t be quite as cold, so those temperatures starting to nudge up about 6—10 degrees through the day on sunday and then things turn a bit milder into the new working week, still unsettled with further showers for monday and tuesday too. bye for now. this is bbc news. the headlines: donald trump‘s former lawyer says the us president knew it was wrong to order payments before the election to keep two women silent about their alleged affairs with him. mr trump has denied asking michael cohen, who‘s been sentenced to three years in jail, to break the law. britain‘s prime minister has insisted talks with the rest of the european union will continue over further clarification of arrangements for

the northern ireland border. theresa may said she had held robust talks with the european commission president, jean—claude juncker, after he had complained the debate was ‘nebulous and imprecise‘. australia‘s prime minister has confirmed that his government intends to recognise westjerusalem as the capital of israel. scott morrison said the embassy would not move from tel aviv immediately, he said australia also recognised the aspirations of the palestinians to a state with a capital in east jerusalem. now on bbc news, in a moment it‘ll be time for newswatch.