this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world: three north korean computer programmers are charged with conspiring to steal more than $1 billion in global hacking attacks. facebook blocks users in australia from sharing or viewing news content, in a dispute with the government over planned social media laws. at least 21 people have been killed and millions left without power, as a huge storm sweeps across the state of texas. hours away from the red planet — will nasa perseverence rover�*s finally discover if there is life on mars?

hello and welcome. the usjustice department has charged three north korean hackers with conspiring to steal $1.3 billion in a series of cyber attacks. thejustice department has also linked them to some of the biggest recent cyber attacks. they include the wannacry attack which crippled the uk's national health service and affected more than 150 countries, and an attack on sony entertainment pictures. mark lobel reports. witness the scene of the biggest cash heist in us history, around 60 years ago to

government rating this mail truck for 1.5 million dollars. today's grubs are accused of stealing 1.3 billion dollars, with no getaway cars, just a click of the mouse. they come from cash—strapped north korea which the us department described as a criminal can get with the flag. kim il, parkjin hyok, and jon chang hyok — the us as they are member of the north korean intelligence agency. north korean intelligence auen . . , , agency. he retains the ability to conduct — agency. he retains the ability to conduct disrupting - agency. he retains the ability to conduct disrupting sub- i to conduct disrupting sub— attacks. some are high—profile and prominent. it attacks. some are high-profile and prominent.— and prominent. it was the release of _ and prominent. it was the release of this _ and prominent. it was the release of this comedy . and prominent. it was the j release of this comedy six years ago, about a fictional plot to assassinate the north korean leader that sparked cyber attacks organised by one of the defendants, aimed at

sony entertainment pictures, along threats of violence against cinema—goers. with parts of britain's health service plunged into crisis years later, its computer system crippled alongside tens of thousands worldwide with ransoms demanded in bitcoin to get them going again. now a staggering billion—dollar rate on banks and businesses in over 20 countries which would pay for over half their countries annual merchandise input, by trying to redirect other peoples money and still digital wallets of crypto currency. they are the most sophisticated cyber actors out there. they become adept at attacking institutions and networks and using them to generate revenue, to finance nuclear weapons programme and obtain currency.

but there is little chance they will face trial, instead, rather globally, experts expect more trying times for businesses with cops left out in the cold from increasingly sophisticated cyber—criminals. mark lobel, bbc news let's speak to the former cia chief for the korea branch, bruce klingner. thank you forjoining us. you spent 20 years in the cia and head of the korea branch. how much of a danger does north korea pose to the rest of the world? , . ,., korea pose to the rest of the world? , . ~ ., ., world? very much so. we are all very familiar _ world? very much so. we are all very familiar to _ world? very much so. we are all very familiar to the _ very familiar to the threatening nuclear weapon missiles, conventionalforces, but many people are surprised as they have some of the most capable cyber activities in the world. they have applied

approximately $2 billion in currency for the regime. they have been involved in many of the cyber crimes you spoke of earlier, as well as many more against financial institutions, banks, crypto coin facilities so it is really quite an expensive array of cyber threats they pose. d0 expensive array of cyber threats they pose. do you think the country's — threats they pose. do you think the country's diplomatic- threats they pose. do you think the country's diplomatic and . the country's diplomatic and economic isolation has led directly to the creation of a north korean cyber army, if you will? , ., north korean cyber army, if you will? , . ., , , will? they have really been focus on — will? they have really been focus on it _ will? they have really been focus on it for _ will? they have really been focus on it for a _ will? they have really been focus on it for a decade - will? they have really been focus on it for a decade or. focus on it for a decade or more and they have evolved from denial of distribution, attacks on south korea and then they have shifted to really global attacks. they have gone after defence operations such as the us was in korea, they also targeted financial institutions, experts on north

korea, defence experts and they have gone after pharmaceutical companies including the uk, trying to get information under the covid vaccine. it is increasingly capable and any evolving supper capability against not only military and defence targets but also financial targets and now pharmaceuticals. an pharmaceuticals. an increasingly - pharmaceuticals. an increasingly successful as well. north korea does not extradite its citizens to face charges in the us so what is the point of charging them at all? it the point of charging them at all? , ., all? it is to highlight the dancer all? it is to highlight the danger that _ all? it is to highlight the danger that north - all? it is to highlight the danger that north korea j all? it is to highlight the - danger that north korea poses. we can go after financial activities, bank accounts, the three hackers along with others subordinate to that, has been on the us sanctions list. it is really a net we're trying to cast to prevent the regime from getting the currency as well as

to simply highlight the dangers. us government has highlighted not only the danger but the specific techniques that north korea has used as a way of trying to familiarise banks and businesses and governments with north korean techniques to try to prevent future attacks.— future attacks. without the abili to future attacks. without the ability to punish _ future attacks. without the ability to punish people - future attacks. without the ability to punish people forj ability to punish people for these crimes and recoup the money, is there not a danger that this clarifies the activities of the state? it is similar to _ activities of the state? it is similar to any _ activities of the state? it is similar to any criminal- similar to any criminal activity. similarto any criminal activity. you can simply say, let's look the other way, but thatis let's look the other way, but that is not an effective way. you can highlight the danger, go after the north korean currency or bank accounts. there are many things we have not done with sanctions. we have not got after any of the money laundering entities that north korea and china and others have engaged in,

including in the us financial system. there is a lot we can do in the sanctions but it is difficult because it is an ever evolving and changing and more sophisticated system. facebook has blocked australian users from sharing or viewing news content in a dispute over a proposed law. australia wants social media giants to pay for the content re—posted from news outlets. facebook said the proposed law "fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers". the extreme step came as google struck a global deal with rupert murdoch's news corp for content, defusing a long—running dispute between the two companies. let's speak to the bbc�*s phil mercer in sydney. this appears to be a watershed

moment for the entire industry, for the media industry, and two different approaches to long—running issues. do you think this set a precedent? i think this set a precedent? i think what this does it set facebook and the australian government potentially on a collision course for a very testy dispute. we have seen some pretty strong language coming from australian government ministers, saying facebook�*s decision to ban australians from sharing or viewing new stories from local or global sides really reflects extremely bad on facebook. australian ministers are saying that it shows that facebook is not responsible and lacks credibility. worth noting also that this proposal law has actually passed its first hurdle, approved by the australian lower house of parliament. the upper house, the chamber, expected to approve the law next week. the

government showing no sign in backing down. on the other side of the coin, we have google which has suffered its hard—line stance against the law by striking multibillion—dollar deals with various australian media companies. you have two very different approaches. facebook once again into an arm—wrestle with the australian government. google it would appear is softening its previous hard—line stance by making those financial arrangements with media companies and broadcasters.— with media companies and broadcasters. _, , broadcasters. other companies do not have _ broadcasters. other companies do not have the _ broadcasters. other companies do not have the same - do not have the same negotiating power as the likes of rupert murdoch use corp or google to determine who gets an account or not. —— rupert murdoch's use corp. we account or not. -- rupert murdoch's use corp. we have had media complaining _ murdoch's use corp. we have had media complaining that _ murdoch's use corp. we have had media complaining that social -

media complaining that social media complaining that social media platforms have been benefiting from the quality reporting is. newscorp. there is a feeling that the australian government wants to rebalance the ledger, so to speak. there was a deal between google and a company called seven west media that publishes the west australian newspaper and other titles and there is a hope that deal, with a reported $23 million a year will filter down through to local journalism but safe to say journalism but safe to say journalism in this country, like in many other parts of the world, has been under great stress and strain because of various challenges posed by the internet. google and says the australian law fundamentally misinterprets the role and function of the internet. the strain government believes those sorts of companies should pay for the news content. i companies should pay for the news content.— companies should pay for the news content. i am sure the war is not over —

news content. i am sure the war is not over between _ news content. i am sure the war is not over between the - news content. i am sure the war is not over between the tech - is not over between the tech giants and the publishers. and we'll have more on that story in business in about half an hour. the brutal winter storms across the south and east of the us have left millions without power and more snow is on the way. nowhere has been hit harder than texas — nearly three million texans are facing a third day without light or heat. a blanket of snow has fallen across northern parts of mexico, and southern us states from texas to north carolina. at least 21 people are reported killed. barbara plett usher reports. another day of winter misery for texas. millions of people are still without power. this historic storm has generated an epic energy crisis in america's energy state. it's freezing cold and people are seeking warmth wherever

they can find it, even in this furniture store. getting food has also become a mission, rationed out in places as supplies have started to run low. and the catastrophe has triggered the politics of climate change. the republican governor blamed clean energy for the scale of the power failure. 0urwind and oursolar got shut down, and they were collectively more than 10% of our power grid. that thrust texas into a situation where it was lacking power in a state—wide basis. it just shows that fossil fuel is necessary. in fact, the state's grid operator reports that every source of energy got crushed by the cold. the power plant simply didn't prepare for such a winter. the democratic author of a sweeping policy on global warning challenged the governor. she said the texas crisis showed the urgency of addressing climate change. scientists say global warming is partly to blame. it's let arctic weather patterns escape further and further

southward and stay longer. the storms have engulfed large swathes of the midwest and southern states. power grids have buckled elsewhere under the extreme demand, but overwhelmingly in texas. free markets and deregulation are partly to blame. now, rolling blackouts are preventing the state from going totally dark. i think the fundamental decisions that our operators made very likely could have prevented a catastrophic blackout. the outcome of preventing that catastrophic blackout unfortunately turned out to be a long period of outages like we had not seen before. there may be some relief by the weekend, but right now, the forecast is bleak and texans are facing another long, cold night. barbara plett usher, bbc news, washington. let's get some of the day's other news:

starting in iran, diplomats from the us, britain, france and germany are due to hold talks today to discuss ways of reviving the 2015 nuclear deal with iran. tehran says it will take further measures that violate the agreement if sanctions against it are not lifted by next week. the iranians began breaching the deal in retaliation for president trump's decision to abandon it and re—impose economic sanctions on tehran. protests have been taking place in the catalonia region of spain for a second night running in support of a catalan communist rapper. pablo hasel has been jailed for lyrics and online posts deemed slanderous and pro—terrorist. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: all the very latest from the tennis. goes head to head with naomi 0saka for place in final. nine years and 15,000 deaths after going into afghanistan, the last soviet troops were finally coming home. the withdrawal completed

in good order, but the army defeated in the task it had been sent to perform. malcolm has been murdered. that has a terrible affect on the morale of the people. i'm terrified of the repercussions on the streets, one wonders who is next. gunfire. as the airlift got under way, there was no letup . in the eruption itself. lava streams from . a vent low the crater flowed down to the sea the east of the island, i away from the town for the time being. | it could start flowing again at any time. i the russians heralded their new generation space station with a spectacular night launch, they called it �*mir�* — the russian for peace.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines: three north korean computer programmers are charged with conspiring to steal more than a billion dollars in global hacking attacks. is there, as david bowie once asked, life on mars? well, we might be about to finally get that answer, from nasa's perseverence rover, which is due to land on the red planet later today. only half of the missions to mars are successful and this one is landing in a large crater which was once the rover on board has a drill to collect rocks, 0ur science correspondent rebecca morelle has more. nasa rebecca morelle has more. calls it the seven minu of nasa calls it the seven minutes of terror. an approach to mars at 12,000 miles an hour. before at 12,000 miles an hour. before a complex lending system brings

the perseverence rover down to the perseverence rover down to the ground. that is the plan but only half of all mars landings have worked. there is dancer landings have worked. there is danger everywhere. _ landings have worked. there is danger everywhere. right - landings have worked. there is danger everywhere. right in i landings have worked. there is| danger everywhere. right in the middle, there is a 60 — 80 metre tall cliff that cuts in the middle of the landing site. to the west, there are craters that the rover can't get out of evenif even if it was two and successfully now. to the east, there are large rocks. landing on mars is not for the faint of heart. , ., . , on mars is not for the faint of heart. , . . , .,, heart. perseverance is the most advanced robot _ heart. perseverance is the most advanced robot nasa _ heart. perseverance is the most advanced robot nasa has - heart. perseverance is the most advanced robot nasa has ever. advanced robot nasa has ever built and it will be hunting for signs of life. this robotic arm is equipped with a drill to collect rock samples. the hope is any microscopic creatures that once lived on mars might be preserved. for the first time, nasa will also be testing a mini mars helicopter, to provide a new bird's eye view of the planet. and back on the ground, the rover will store some of the rocks and a future mission will bring them back to earth. this mission provides our best chance to finally answer whether life existed on

mars. first though, nasa needs to get its rover safely down. there are some nerve—racking hours ahead. rebecca morelle, bbc news. how exciting? a bbc investigation has found examples of potential child abuse on the live video chat website 0megle. the site claims to be moderated. its popularity worldwide has soared during the pandemic, with millions of visitors a day. despite its reputation for disturbing and explicit content, it's frequently visited by children, and international protection groups are increasingly concerned at the availability of so—called self—generated abuse material. this report byjoe tidy contains details that viewers may find upsetting. she witnessed a man mass debating and another man wanted to play truth or dare. hi. hello. it's a site you

might not have heard of, but 0megle has been linking up people for random video chats for years, and it's gone viral during lockdown. i'm good, how are you. traffic to the site has surged globally from 3a million to 65 million visits a month. particularly in the uk, the us, india and mexico. fuelled by viral videos on mainstream social networks. 0n tiktok, there are more than 9 billion views on videos on the site. it is a site that is claimed to be moderated but has a reputation for being unpredictable and unsafe. in one two—hour period during a bbc investigation we were paired at random with 12 men explicitly touching themselves, eight naked males and seven porn adverts. the site doesn't ask anyone to prove how old they are. we found dozens of under—18s, and some children as young as seven or eight. and it's notjust adults doing explicit things. when we searched for chats using a generic sexual keyword, we were randomly paired twice with seemingly prepubescent boys masturbating. one of them identified himself as 1a years old. we ended both chats swiftly, and reported the incidents

to the relevant authorities. but the internet watch foundation says it too is concerned. it says 0megle is being used by predators to gather self—generated child abuse material. the content that we see, quite shockingly, ranges right through to individual self penetrating on webcam. one parent in the north of england told us that her eight—year—old daughter was nearly coerced into sexual activity on the site last month. she witnessed a man masturbating, and another man wanted to play truth or dare. he was asking her to shake her bum, take her top off and her trousers — which, thankfully, she didn't do. lily and herfriend, who was on face time with her, say the site has become a viral craze during the pandemic. they are 16 years old. where did we hear about it? 303. ., ., 303. there are weird men on their. loads _ 303. there are weird men on their. loads of _ 303. there are weird men on

their. loads of them. - their. loads of them. perseverence - moderation team is continuing to monitor the medical content on the platform. it says as a result of our investigation, it has banned direct links to websites. there is no way to track down the owners of 0megle and also we found their owner and also we found their owner and he said in an e—mail he has actually increased moderation in the last year, removing users who appear to be under 13 years old. many of the people we spoke to on the site that isn't moderated enough. this is not a platform for students or children. there should be some moderator out there keeping an eye on everyone. mr moderator out there keeping an eye on everyone.— moderator out there keeping an eye on everyone. mr brooks also claimed to _ eye on everyone. mr brooks also claimed to have _ eye on everyone. mr brooks also claimed to have removed - eye on everyone. mr brooks also claimed to have removed the - claimed to have removed the ability to search for the specific keyword be used, and we were unable to verify this and he didn't reply to any follow—up questions. joe tidy, bbc news. absolutely shocking story there. there is more on the bbc

news website about that story. it's on the front page. there also speaking to a social media expert in the business a little bit later on about influences and the parol platforms like tiktok. it is time to move on and talk about what is happening in the tennis. crowds were welcomed back to melbourne park on thursday as semi—finals action got underway in the australian open — and so far play hasn't disappointed. queen of the court, serena williams knocked out in straight sets by world number 3, naomi 0saka who's now looking to claim her fourth grand slam title. how exciting! 0ur news reporter, tanya dendrinos, joins me now. how much of a difference do you think it made having crowds back in the stands? you've been busy enjoying the tennis. i saw you watching are preparing for the bulletin. what is your big take on today's game? i what is your big take on today's game?— what is your big take on today's game? i think it is “ust today's game? i think it is just really _ today's game? i think it is just really exciting to - today's game? i think it is just really exciting to see | today's game? i think it is i just really exciting to see the two of them going head—to—head

yet again. naomi 0saka, 23—year—old, taking it to the queen of the court, serena williams in straight sets, winning 6—3, 6—4. i was a takeaway for me was that 0saka had a really shaky start. she was serving first and serena broker straightaway and you thought she was in fine form. she really managed to calm herself and lgbtqi composure and get us some really tight spots, including some breakpoints setup by serena williams. so to do it in straight sets and really gained your composure are so young against such a mammoth of tennis isjust against such a mammoth of tennis is just fascinating. against such a mammoth of tennis isjust fascinating. find tennis is “ust fascinating. and it takes tennis isjust fascinating. and it takes extreme _ tennis isjust fascinating. and it takes extreme maturity, doesn't it? something you don't normally get until much later on in the game. we were looking at some pictures there of the crowds coming back. what difference do you think that means to the players to have the crowds back in the stands? i think it's a huge difference. it really sets that atmosphere and also it is something to draw on and the deep on. we had a couple of times, the crowd

really getting behind serena williams. they want to see some fantastic tennis, they want to see her dictate. you heard her yelling at herself in the crowd rallying around her. it really makes a difference. for these players, really over the last 12 months, haven't had a crowd support behind them. it was huge and at the end of the match we heard a 0saka referenced the crowd, saying how great it was to have them back then i certainly think the fans were really glad to be back there. you can see them waving as they came back into melbourne park and certainly happy to be out of lockdown themselves, i am sure. bud themselves, i am sure. and quickly. _ themselves, i am sure. and quickly. it — themselves, i am sure. and quickly, it seems _ themselves, i am sure. and quickly, it seems as - themselves, i am sure. and quickly, it seems as though there are quite a lot of new kids on the box. we've had a lot of established sales for a long time. you think this is the changing of the guard? we miaht the changing of the guard? - might be. as i said, naomi 0saka, 23, began serena williams who is 39. she has had an incredible run at the top. this mightjust be the future of tennis. queen of the court and now it is a challenge of the phone i think.— and now it is a challenge of the phone i think. how amazing,

thank you very much for that, tanya. plenty more coming up in terms of business in five minutes' time. i will see you very soon but in the meantime you can reach me on twitter, i'm @vfritznews. hello. quite a lot of wind and rain in the forecast, but some sunshine too. at least it is very mild out there. thursday is going to be quite a mixed bag, so we might have a spell of very heavy rain, but there's also some sunshine on the way. you can see the weather fronts gathering out towards the southwest. they are going to be moving across the uk. there's another one deep out in the atlantic. that's on the way for friday, and that will bring more heavy rain and strong winds. so here is the first bout of wet and windy weather through the early hours. the weather front crossing england and wales, also some heavy rain there wrapping around the centre of the low—pressure, close to northern ireland and scotland. obviously, very mild — between 5—9 celsius across the uk overnight. that weather front

will be moving into western parts of the uk through thursday morning. it will be accompanied by some very gusty winds across cornwall, devon, parts of wales as well. this is where it will be around eight o'clock in the morning just about moving through bristol, parts of the midlands, the northwest of england as well, into parts of western scotland. this is where the centre of the low is. winds actually not too strong in scotland. they're slightly stronger towards the south here. and then the rain will reach the east coast by the time we get to around lunchtime, and then after that, actually, the skies clear, and it's going to be a bright day but a blustery one. gusts of wind in excess of 40, maybe approaching 50 mph in places, and also plenty of showers out towards the west. so suffice to say it is going to be a mixed bag on thursday. 9—10 celsius — it's going to feel chilly in the gusts of wind. here's thursday night, into friday. that next area of low pressure heading our way. more weather fronts. a lot of isobars here,

so that means some strong winds. in fact, a prolonged spell of strong winds out towards the west. gales around these coasts here — 50 mph at least, maybe even 60 in places. breezy inland, too. the best of the weather, i think, on friday, will be towards the east, say, hull, norwich, london as well. but once the rain sets in and out towards the west, it could last well into the weekend. now, we were promising some milder weather. it is heading our way. saturday and through sunday, milder air streaming straight out of the canaries. so that does mean that temperatures come sunday could get up to around 16 or 17 celsius across the southeast.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world: questions from congress — just how did an army of amateurs send wall street into a tailspin. who can you trust? the boss of trustpilot tells us what he's dpoing — to combat fake reviews. and separating the docs from the quacks — we look at the rise of medical influencers.

we start with gamestop.