welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: it's official, russia used every major social media platform to spread propaganda and influence the 2016 election. the starving children of yemen. a special report from inside the country, as pro government forces suggest the ceasefire in hodeidah has been broken. back on the streets of budapest. protestors vent their anger against the fidesz government. the german government promises compensation to survivors of the kindertransport program, which rescued jewish children from nazi germany and brought them to britain. the truly staggering scale of russian interference in the 2016 us presidential election, via social media, has been revealed, and two reports prepared for the us senate, have found meddling on a far wider scale than previously thought.

with words, graphics and videos, russian operatives targeted tens of millions of american voters to spread propaganda and help elect donald trump. the campaign also actively discouraged african americans from voting. president trump and the russian leadership have always denied any interference. on facebook alone, 20 russian—sponsored pages with names such as "being patriotic," "heart of texas," and "army of jesus," had a big impact. the posts on these pages were shared about 31 million times and got more than 39 million likes. overall, these pages managed to reach 126 million people. here's the bbc‘s north america editor, jon sopel. what happened just after the 2016 election was that the intelligence agencies themselves came out with the unanimous view that there had been an attempt by the russians to interfere in the presidential election. it is like taking that report

and multiplying it by ten because what these two reports for the intelligence committee of the senate have found out is that as you say, they have tried to interfere systematically on a much wider scale on every platform with events tailored to support donald trump and work even harder to support him while in office. what they did was they fed conspiracy theories out there to trump supporters in order to inflame them and go out and vote for donald trump. and amongst people who may not be thought to vote for donald trump, african—americans, for example, there was an attempt at voter suppression, is not worth voting, don't bother and stay at home. donald trump has never bought into the big conclusion that there was russian interference or that it affected the outcome of this election. he said it may have been interference and there may have been other countries as well. this report firmly points the finger at russia as trying to help donald trump.

there has been no response from the white house. jonathon morgan is chief executive of new knowledge. his company prepared one of the reports on russian disinformation for the us senate. he's in austin, texas. some of this, of course, is quite well—known. the scale is the new. what is particularly the new is this stronger focus on african americans, muslim and americans, mexican americans, i think most people realise. voter suppression. the goal spreading racial discord and shunning mrs clinton, vote for anyone else or stay home. is absolutely right and something that has come out of this report that we understand on a greater scale than we have seen before. not only were the internet research agency and affiliated russian information activities targeting the african—american community in the united states to sow racial discord, one of the largest likewise matter pages was run by russian operatives, but also discouraging those populations from voting. there was strong voter suppression tactics in

a way that social media platforms have been reluctant to acknowledge it. what is shown in the data is that these tactics were very prevalent and specifically targeting these minority communities in the united states. how sure are you about the starter? there will be millions and millions of trump voters and millions of people who voted for populist parties in europe saying this is just liberal sour grapes. as a matter of fact, i think there should be conclusive evidence that not only did russians interfere in the public discourse in the united states but also directly tried to interfere with our electoral processes and insurance support of donald trump and very anti— hillary clinton, as you mentioned. this was an exhaustive dataset provided by the social media platforms directly to the senate intelligence committee and a bipartisan committee inside the senate who was interested in getting to the bottom of the issue and understanding how russia did and did not influence social media to influence public discourse,

regardless of the outcome. this is an attack on, and national—security problem, not a partisan issue. an attack on, and national—security problem, not a partisan issuem will also consider people greatly that there was this huge effort to get comprising material from billions of people who thought they we re billions of people who thought they were answering questionnaires and ominously. in fact, this is almost old—fashioned spy craft in a way, what we saw was russian operatives who developed a large audience on social media, using peoples in securities, targeting there are emotional vulnerabilities to try and then somehow compromise the people who were following those pages so that they may be used at a later date for some purpose copy one strong example is a meme who was targeting people who thought they had a sex addiction. and embarrassing personal problem and getting those people to call a hotline so they could make direct contact with people in a moment of emotional volatility so they could

exploit that later. the real toll of that kind of activity and the consequences of those who have been developed is still yet to be seen. and what is to be done about this is a whole other question, for the moment, thank you very much. thank you. let's get some of the day's other news. the polish president has reinstated a group of supreme courtjudges after being ordered to do so by the european court ofjustice. poland's government had dropped the retirement age from seventy to sixty—five as part of broader changes that were widely condemned as an attack on the rule of law. france is to start taxing internet giants like google and facebook from the new year, after after eu—wide efforts stalled. countries including the uk and france have accused firms of routing some profits through low—tax eu member states such as ireland and luxembourg. big tech companies have argued they're complying with national and international tax laws. the malaysian authorities have filed criminal charges —— the family of a dying two—year—old boy in california say his yemeni mother

is being prevented from visiting him by the trump administration's travel ban on visitors from seven mainly muslim countries. the boy's father, who was born in california, brought him to the us, expecting his mother would laterjoin them. turning now to the conflict in yemen. pro—government forces in yemen say a ceasefire in the red sea port of hodeidah has been broken, minutes after it came into effect at midnight local time. houthi rebels and the saudi—backed government agreed to halt the fighting at united nations—sponsored talks in sweden last week. but a government official said there had been renewed fighting almost immediately to the east of hodeida, which serves as a vital gateway for the delivery of humanitarian aid to millions of yemenis in danger of starving. cbs reporter liz palmer filed this report from a clinic where dozens of malnourished children and their mothers are being treated. assam is two and so malnourished he weighs half of what he should. this nurse tries to feed him nutrition—packed paste, but he does not want it.

why would he refuse food? 0h, he can't keep it down. yeah. assam's muscles are so wasted, she tells me, he can no longer walk. there are 25 malnourished children and their mothers in this clinic, but many more never make it to this small outpost of mercy in yemen's rugged north—west. this is dryland farming country, but venture off the main road and you will spot clusters of makeshift tents everywhere. at least 15,000 people have fled here after fighting and saudi air strikes destroyed their homes and their lives. the nurse introduced us to people of this camp, who crowded around to show us their desperation. they are so short of food they're eating leaves. they are cooking leaves to eat them. yes, they say, even though it gives the children diarrhoea.

and they want to know, why isn't more help coming? the fact is, aid agencies are trying to scale up, but they are facing huge obstacles. meanwhile, the need grows more acute everyday. the nurse told me i can offer my compassion, but they need a whole lot more than that. elizabeth palmer, cbs news, for bbc news, hajjar, yemen. the saga in the uk's negotiations to leave the european union have ta ken another twist, as britiain‘s opposition leader, jeremy corbyn, tabled a motion of no confidence in prime minister theresa may, though it's unlikely to happen. there could however be a vote of no confidence in the government. it came after she announced that a vote on her brexit deal would now be held mid january. theresa may told mps she's still talking to the eu, but mr corbyn said the delay was unacceptable. the bbc‘s political editor laura kuennsberg reports. only if you believe in fairytales would you assume the government's not in trouble.

i know the tagline's tomorrow... although these were only visitors to number ten today, not here to give political advice. but after delaying judgement day on her brexit deal, theresa may has now named the day. well, at least the week. mr speaker, many members of this house are concerned that we need to take a decision soon. am i right? we intend to return to the meaningful vote debate in the week commencing 7th of january, and hold the vote the following week. there'd been suggestions labour would call for a vote of confidence, but at 3:45pm, it was just criticism instead. we're left edging ever closer to the 29th of march deadline without a deal and without even an agreed plan in cabinet to get a deal. this, mr speaker, is a constitutional crisis, and the prime minister is the architect of it. the timetable has made

plenty on all sides cross. bring forward the meaningful vote on her deal before the christmas recess. there is no reason to delay. let us have that meaningful vote this week. i honestly do not think that businesses and employers and our constituents will understand why this house is going on holiday for two weeks when we should be having the meaningful vote this week. isn't it the reality that this is not acting in the national interest, but in her personal interest? and neither her party nor the country will forgive her for it. if she were to go to the eu now and tell them in the face of their intransigence to tell them to get stuffed, a huge proportion of british people would be right behind her. after a couple of errors, you can see the prime minister slipping out on the left. she might‘ve thought today's ha ranguing was over. i've listened very carefully to what members on all sides of the house have said...

butjust before 6pm, he was up again, so she had to sit back down. i'm about to table a motion which says the following — that this house has no confidence in the prime minister. then she was off. the opposition determined to isolate her further. but for once, theresa may's many tory opponents might back her up. i am a loyal conservative, and that requires me to support the prime minister, and i'll do so enthusiastically, and this is not hedging about. she is our leader, i will support her. we are not into playing parliamentary games on this. we understand the labour party has to do what it has to do on these things, but our main aim is to change the policy. there's trouble over the big brexit vote, though. mministers stretching the elastic of the government line. we need to find out where the will of parliament is, where the majority of mps will vote in parliament. nothing should be off the table, we should consider all options. plenty of ministers, mps and the opposition are frustrated by the delay to this vote, but stand down if you think jeremy corbyn‘s move is designed to topple the prime minister. it's a vote that wouldn't

have that power. it could only embarrass theresa may. stopping short of what many of his own mps want him to do, to take a real shot at collapsing the government. but unless and until he thinks he could win such a vote, labour simply won't go that far. 0n the other side, unless and until she's forced to, theresa may, for her part, is not going to budge. so even though the brexit clock is running down, neither of the main party leaders show signs of making a radical move that could unblock the gridlock. the prime minister and her small band of allies are still trying to make her brexit compromise work. but on the clashing politics and all of the contradictory plans, there's plenty that still stands in her way. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. stay with us on bbc news, still to come:

the south african runner beaten unconscious by white youths, a special report on a still divided rainbow nation. 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 3.5 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: us senate reports conclude russia used every social media platform to help elect donald trump, reaching millions of voters. pro—government forces in yemen say a ceasefire in the red sea port of hodeidah has been broken, minutes after it came into effect protestors have once again taken to the streets of budapest for the sixth consecutive day against viktor 0rban‘s fidesz government. the latest focus is the headquarters of hungarian state television, which the demonstrators accuse of being a fidesz mouthpiece. nick thorpe has been amongst the crowd. what marks these protests apart from other demonstrations

against the fidesz government over the years is the simplicity of the main issue at stake. this is less about abstract issues like human rights and justice, and more about overtime, how many hours ordinary hungarians will have to work in the coming years and if and when they will ever be paid for their labours. it is also about emigration, because the reason that the government pushed through this new overtime law is the shortage of labour in hungary, so many young and skilled hungarians have gone abroad in search of better opportunities. it's also, from the shouts of the crowd here, it's also about corruption. the crowds here allege that the government and those close to it are effectively stealing from the people. it's also about state television and government control of the media. main problem in one word

is beaurocracy itself. that is the point where it is becoming everything. so that problem, what we have in this country. you know, when i was 18 it was in 1990, we decided something else at that time. we didn't want a system like this now. the government is clearly hoping that the people here on the streets over these days will go home for the christmas holidays and not come out again in the new year. nick thorpe, bbc news, budapest. south africans have been celebrating national reconciliation day, a public holiday to encourage healing across the racial divide. but after more than two decades of freedom, there's growing evidence that racism is still embedded in the country. and in rural areas, violent attacks have undermined the idea of a rainbow nation. africa editor fergal keane,

who reported on the end of apartheid, has travelled into the heartland for this special report. racism defined this country. it governed every aspect of life. and here on the platteland, the great swathes of farmland in the heart of the nation, divisions were especially deep. but in a black—ruled south africa, you might think those hatreds had gone away. think again. i've come back to a country where old animosities are flaring across communities. this is potchefstroom, where a young black athlete was brutally attacked last february. tha bang mosiako runs for south africa, but he was hospitalised after a beating by white youths. they were hitting me until i was unconscious. and i woke up in hospital, not knowing what happened. what do you feel when you see groups of young white men now?

i feel really scared. i can't even go to town alone. travel 300 kilometres to the north—east, and you learn that racist violence can still be lethal. xolisile ndzongana was driving along this road in the town of middleburg one night lastjuly. he found his way blocked by a group of white men. cctv cameras captured their attack, a beating which killed the 26—year—old. xolisile's friend lawrence witnessed the violence. he's afraid and has asked us to protect his identity. they pull out my friend and beat him. when i tried to save him, it was too late. what were they saying? what words did they use? they used the k—word. black... kaffir, everything. oh, it was horrible. it was terrible. even now, i can't sleep peacefully.

sometimes, i do dream about it. in the outside world, we looked at south africa and we thought this was the rainbow nation, that all of this was going to go away. you were wrong. it's not a rainbow nation. out on the platteland farms, whites complain of their fears, plans to take white—owned land without compensation, and attacks on white farms that have deepened their alienation. i could see david on his knees in front of me, and the one black guy just pulled the trigger. um... after that, life was just a blur. archival: and the flag which was the flag of the apartheid state is coming down in front of me... but what's caused the high hopes of liberation to evaporate?

much of the wealth remains in white hands. corruption and misrule have undermined reform. and extreme voices, white and black, are deepening polarisation. it's almost as if the country has stood still, that 1994 didn't happen in the countryside. you know, there's a war that's been happening between black and white. but there are enough white south africans who want to make it work, who don't want to be racist. so how do we collaborate and how do we isolate those who are racist? and we should also do the same with the blacks. but this country has an endless capacity to surprise, as we discovered black on the platteland. this man is a young black farmer fighting a bushfire that threatens his home. and bernadette has come to help. we need more firefighters! 0ne shouldn't read too much

into a single encounter, but what i'm seeing here, black and white neighbours helping each other in this crisis, is a powerful symbol of what's still possible in south africa. thanks, bernadette, you've been awesome, thank you. thanks for the petrol! you know, as farmers, we are so united. we have to help each other when there's fire, theft, whatever. we need to be together. right now in this country, there's a great deal of animosity, racial animosity. do you see any animosity? see any? 0ther neighbours arrived, reflecting the truth that hasn't changed in 25 years — south africans need each other. fergal keane, bbc news, on the platteland. a tanker truck has exploded at an oil refinery near rio de janeiro in brazil, setting off a fire that raged for several hours. trucks and equipment nearby were engulfed by flames as massive plumes of black smoke lifed from the site

to the north of the city. at least six tankers were destroyed, but firefighters have brought the fire under control and there have been no injuries, according to local media. the german government has agreed to pay compensation to survivors of the kindertransport programme that brought predominately jewish children from nazi germany to safety in britain. those eligible will be given a one—off payment of about $2,800, as gail maclellan reports. 200 boys and girls with a greeting to england, land of the free. around 10,000 jewish children from germany, austria and occupied parts of czechoslovakia were brought to britain on kindertransport, the first arriving in britain on december the second, 1938. they were transported out of europe when it became clear after kristallnacht and other problems thatjew is where no longer safe. pa rents

thatjew is where no longer safe. parents desperate to save their children's lives parents desperate to save their child ren‘s lives began parents desperate to save their children's lives began thinking of ways to get them out. british authorities agreed to allow unspecified numbers of children under 17 to enter the country. younger children were laced with families and those i will tell ma ka rova families and those i will tell makarova 16 were given help to find jobs. the transports were halted in 1940, the day the netherlands surrendered to the nazis. almost none of the children ever saw their families again. they might have been saved but most of their parents perished in knotty concentration camps. it's thought there were about 1000 survivors still alive today in their 80s or 90s, and organisation representing jewish victims of nazi persecution said the survivors will 110w persecution said the survivors will now receive a small measure of justice, but nothing would ever make up justice, but nothing would ever make upfor justice, but nothing would ever make up for what they lost. gail maclellan, bbc news. musicians in the german city of dresden have performed a moving tribute to victims of the holocaust, playing on violins that belonged to jewish violinists who died in auschwitz. in the nazi camps, some

musicians were made to play to people as they were being led to the gas chambers. the instruments were restored by an israeli violin maker and played by a german orchestra, many of them hadn't been used in decades. more for you any time on the bbc website. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter, i'm @bbc mike embley. thank you for watching. hello there. we're looking at a spell of wet and windy weather today across the western

side of the country. the heaviest rain and strongest winds are always across the western parts, that's close to this area of low pressure. weather fronts here, it's not one of those fronts that's going to come along in a dead straight line. there are pulses of energy running along the front and that brings uncertainty with the timings of our band of rain. nevertheless, if you're heading outside over the next few hours, the winds will be picking up and we'll see the rain getting into many western areas. in east, though, probably a dry start to the day but it is that bit cooler. the big pressure chart shows this area of low pressure quite nicely just to the north—west of the uk, with tightly—packed isobars telling you it is going to be windy. we've already seen there will be gales around across western parts. the winds could gust to 65mph across parts of wales and south—west england, particularly around the coasts and the hills. similarfigures to northern ireland. these areas also having some heavy rain, which could bring the risk of some localised surface water flooding issues. now, as i say, there's some uncertainty with this band of rain that will slowly and erratically push its way eastwards. it could clear eastern scotland a bit more quickly, but with showers following, and although most of the day will be

dry across east anglia and south—east england, i couldn't rule out an odd passing shower here. wherever you are, though, with the southerly winds blowing, it will be a mild day. temperatures between 10 and 12 celsius. through tuesday evening, the rain will finally arrive and slowly push its way eastwards across east anglia, south—east england, north—east england too, before clearing overnight. our low pressure's still there for the middle part of the week. weatherfronts wrapped around the centre of low pressure. what that means is we'll have a blustery day on wednesday with a mixture of sunshine and showers, but the showers will tend to merge to give some lengthier spells of rain at times across western and southern areas, leaving the best of any dry weather and sunshine to the north and east. it'll start to get a bit cooler across the north of the uk, but those temperatures getting close to normal for this time of year. still relatively mild in the south. for thursday, the low pressure still on the charts, but it's filling, so we won't see such strong winds on thursday. the showers will be with us, mainly affecting the north—west of the country although a few

will run through the english channel and clip into south—east england. sunny spells between the showers. temperatures close to normal in the north. still relatively mild further south. that's your latest weather. bye for now. this is bbc news, the headlines: reports released by the us senate say tens of millions of americans were exposed to a russian—backed propaganda campaign on social media during the 2016 presidential election. the studies say sites run by youtube, facebook and others were used to spread propaganda to help donald trump get elected. 0fficial sources in yemen suggest violence has continued to erupt sporadically in the port city of hudaydah, despite a planned ceasefire agreed last week between the government and its houthi rebel opponents. violent clashes have continued for several days the port is a key gateway for vital supplies of aid to the country's people. protestors have once again taken to the streets of budapest for the 6th consecutive day against

viktor 0rban‘s fidesz government. the latest focus is the headquarters of hungarian state television, which the demonstrators accuse of being a fidesz mouthpiece. a hotel has been accused of discriminating against homeless people, after it cancelled their christmas booking suddenly.