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america. a fresh wave of russian attacks on ukraine as president putin threatens to hit the p of with moscow's -- hit the capital kyiv with moscow's new ballistic missile. the cease-fire between hezbollah israel is holding. at australia votes for a sweeping ban on social media for children under 16 -- and australia votes for a sweeping ban on social media for children under 16. ♪ welcome to world news america. i'm helena humphreys. more than a million people are without power after russia's overnight strikes on ukraine's power grid. russian forces launched 90 missiles and 100 drones in an attack that lasted more than nine hours. the ukrainian emergency workers are servicing at least 14

affected regions, including kyiv, harkey, and sunni. residents could be without electricity for days. the attack is a massive blow to ukraine's energy system, crucial to front-line troops as well as civilians as winter approaches. during a visit to kazakhstan on thursday, vladimir putin said the strikes were a response to ukraine using american and british long-range missiles to hit targets within russia. he warned that should ukraine retaliate further, russia will use its new ballistic missile to hit ukrainian sites he described as decision-making centers in the capital kyiv. >> we will use it against significant targets. we do not exclude the you seconds the military, military industry facilities are the decision-making center, including kyiv. kyiv authorities continue to

fight our facilities, including st. petersburg and moscow. helena: ukrainian officials called mr. putin's claims ridiculous. president zelenskyy said russia used cruise missiles with cluster munitions to target energy and civilian infrastructure. reports suggest that no one was killed. the ukrainian member of parliament told us about how ukraine is recovering. as always, good to have you with us. we know russian attacks have cut power supplies to many people across ukraine overnight. what is the situation right now across the country? >> i am sitting at my home right now. i do not have electricity. i did not have it from the early morning, and i came back home in the evening and i did not have electricity. unfortunately, that is the situation for the majority of ukrainians right now. the attack has had drastic

effect on the energy system, and unfortunately there are people who did not have a single hour of electricity supply to their houses. the attack took place to a big extent on the west of the country, but unfortunately it is unified energy system, so it means there were outages all over the country, so it is not in a specific city. they hit the system itself. unfortunately all over the country, basically, is under very strict limits as to how much electricity is in the system. the majority of the people do not have electricity in their homes. helena: combined with that attack, we have also heard comments from russian president vladimir putin. he has threatened to attack decision-making centers in kyiv using the new ballistic missile system from russia. when you speak to people, how

concerned are they about that? >> they are much more concerned about the situation with energy supply, because that is something that influences the lives of everybody, every ukrainian. his threats to attack decision-making sites, the decision-making bodies in ukraine, is something we did here before as well. it might happen. that is part of our reality. will that materialize? i don't know, but he definitely already did a lot of damage to the energy system and to the well-being of the people, and that is something everybody has discussed. as for his threats as to what he might do, that is something that is less of an issue. helena: president-elect donald trump has nominated keith kellogg as his pick for the special envoy to ukraine and russia. if you take a look at some of his comments previously, he has

proposed ukraine would only receive further aid from the u.s. if kyiv participated in peace talks with moscow. what do you make of that? what do the ukrainians make of that? >> on the one hand, there is some relief about that appointment. i think much worse might have happened. we have heard some comments of people close to trump that were much more troublesome. but we understand that this will be the position of the new administration in washington, d.c. we still don't have an understanding as to -- i think the most important question is what the u.s. position on ukrainian membership in nato would be, and that is the issue that unites all ukrainians. we cannot agree to any deal without nato membership and real security guarantees that come with that. that is still something that we are trying to figure out. maybe the administration of the president elect is also trying to figure that out.

but it is also clear that our other partners, the u.k., europe, they will have to pitch in to provide more support. that will be equal to the level of threat they are under because of the russian threat to the civilized world. we hope that if the u.s. will change its policy, after all, the eu and the u.k. will step in and continue support to ukraine and not force us into the deal that will not just violate our interests but will violate the basic principles of international law. helena: when you look at the situation on the battlefield, there have been months of russian advances in the east. do you still believe ukraine can win this war? >> we have also seen a month of delays in supply of weapons to the ukrainian army. those two are very connected. i believe ukraine can actually win in this war.

it is only a question of will he get the support it needs. just like u.k. in world war ii, it would not have won without american weapons, but it did win with the partners and weapons. we do have the most professional army in europe. we are willing to fight. people have proved that many times. all they need is the weapons. helena: the cease-fire in lebanon appears to be holding for a second day, though there have been violations. israel has imposed a curfew on southern lebanon after fire at border settlements in what was seen as a warning for people to not return to their homes. frank is in jerusalem and has the latest. correspondent: it is only day two of a 60 day cease-fire, and so far it is largely holding up. neither side is looking to have

backed out, but it would be an exaggeration to say this has been a perfect cease-fire so far. it has not. because the israeli military, their trains have -- their tanks have fired several rounds toward lebanese villages and towns in the south of lebanon, they say to ward off villagers who are coming back too soon. aid no overnight curfew has been imposed on southern -- and overnight curfew has been imposed on southern lebanon, and they do not want to see any movement in that space during that time. this is still very early days, and it is a phased withdrawal. hezbollah are due to move north of the otani river, israeli forces are supposed to move south. the lebanese army has accused israel of multiple violations in their words. israel says it's warplanes struck hezbollah. so far, it is at least sort of in theory holding.

no one is talking about pulling out of the deal, because the penalty for that would be so big and nobody wants to see a resumption of these massive airstrikes on beirut and southern lebanon. they want this deal to hold. of course, none of this resolves what is going on in gaza, and that is where the push is now, because the humanitarian situation there is atrocious. it is dire. winter has set in. poor conditions pretty much up and down the gaza strip with massive displacement to people, and there does not appear to be a plan in place for how israel is going to hand it over to any kind of civilian authority, preferably a palestinian authority, the americans say, but there does not seem to be any sign of that. there is not a sign of cease-fire at the moment, even though a lot of people are talking about it.

that is the situation across the region. helena: lebanon has accused israel of violating the cease-fire. israel says it has been targeting weapons facilities used by hezbollah. a reporter in beirut told me more about these strikes. >> israel has been shelling in the border villages with artillery overnight and continuing into today. it also launched its first airstrike since the cease-fire came into effect this afternoon in an area north of the litani river, which is your viewers may know, the area south of the river is primarily a topic of the un security council resolution and the cease-fire negotiations. these strikes are concerning here in lebanon. the lebanese army has protested them and said they are a violation of the cease-fire agreement. two journalists have also been fired upon by israeli forces. as far as we understand.

so there are indications that israel is acting upon its claim that it will continue to act unilaterally inside lebanon whenever it perceives there is a threat from hezbollah. helena: turning to us really, which will become the world to ban social media for under 16's. it is one of the toughest crackdowns on the likes of tiktok, instagram, and facebook. the new law forces tech giants to stop minors from logging into their platforms or face fines of up to 5.5 million australian dollars, about 32 million u.s. dollars if they do not comply. the band will not take effect for at least a year. australia's prime minister says the legislation is needed to protect young people from harm and encourage them to be more active. joining me is an australian independent mp who voted against that bill. thank you for taking the time to be with us.

quite broad support for the bill . just 13 mp's voting against it. you were one of them. why is that? >> i am a politician now, but i used to be a pediatrician and i am also a parent. i have a lot of concerns about the legislation passed this morning. the first is that we don't have any real -- about how privacy concerns will be respected by this bill. it will be age verification required -- there will be age verification required, but the government has not legislated how they are going to do that. assumedly they are going to have to use some sort of facial verification software. i think there are real privacy concerns there. all of us know who are parents that there can be harms associated with social media's use. we know young people use it more

. in some cases, increasing use of social media has been think -- has been correlated with increasing risk of mental health issues in young people. but a lot of young children rely on social media. for many, it is the place where they feel most comfortable. whether it be children who are lgbtqia, who often find people and places online. taking it away from them can damage them. finally, there was a risk that if digital platforms enforce a ban for 16-year-olds and the kids get around it, which they are most never will, there is no reliance on the digital product forms to increase protections for younger people in the spaces. i think that takes response ability away from the digital platforms to increase their protections across the board. helena: but i wonder if you think without that kind of tougher approach this bill puts forward, the social media

companies will necessarily cooperate, because they also have business interests in this. dr. ryan: i think we do need to improve social media protections. there is a lot of activity in this space among the experts. i have had a lot of contact with medical psychologists, academics in this space, including some from oxford, who have all said we do need to increase protections on social media for young people, but this is not the way to do it. a blanket man is not the best way to do it. we need more granularity. it needs to improve protections for kids and keep them safe in the space while they learn to operate safely within it. helena: how do you do that if -- dr. ryan: saying to go for gold when they are 17 does not make a whole lot of sense. helena: yes, so how do you improve those protections? what would you be calling for? dr. ryan: the first thing would

to be something called additional duty of care. that is something we passed legislation about this week, which the government did not take up. start with the digital duty of care, which is been enforceable for the platforms, but also for the government to ensure the platforms are increasing their protections across the board for all people who are active in that space, and then go from there in terms of enforcing that with bans or penalties or whatever for the platforms that don't insure all the people in that space are being kept safe. you also need education for children, but also for their parents in terms of how they engage with social media. the analogy that many of us used in australia in the last few weeks is we don't actually go out and swim in the surf pitches when they are 17. we get them out into the swimming pools and monitor their

activities, and they learn how to engage in a space which can be really fun. it can also be really quite dangerous over time. that is what we should be doing with social media as well. helena: dr. monique ryan, thank you for sharing your perspective with us here on world news america. voters in ireland are heading to the polls on friday to decide who will sit in the lower house of parliament. coders have expressed concerns over housing, the economy, and health care, and leaders of the three main parties have clashed over these topics. irish politics has traditionally been dominated by fianna fail and fina gale, partners of the ruling coalition and it seen as being on the center politics. the third party, a socialist party, is a strong advocate for uniting the northern republic of northern ireland.

canada to rank in terms of preference, leaving open the possibility of a coalition government. caitriona perry is in ireland, speaking to voters on issues that matter most to them and their families. helena: we are in it -- caitriona: we are in a county to the southwest of dublin, home to the headquarters of the irish defense forces, many of whom are serving as part of the human peacekeeping force in south lebanon at the moment. around this area, very much a commuter town for dublin. many people have been living here because they have been pushed out of the capital city in terms of the cost of housing, but there is also a cost-of-living crisis here in newbridge. rising house prices and general affordability are some of the highest electricity prices in the eu and indeed the price of housing is among the highest as well. the imf has estimated it would take the average irish household 15 years to save up to buy a home of just 100 square meters.

that gives you some idea of just how expensive things are. those issues right to the forefront of people's minds ahead of polling day tomorrow, but let's get the views now in terms of how they are thinking, what is going through their minds ahead of polling day. i am joined by catherine and noreen. noreen, you have your finger on the pulse in terms of living here for young people from all generations. what are the issues of concern to you as you are deciding who to vote for? >> the issues for me, as well as a parents of adult children, i would love if they were able to afford to live in newbridge and enjoy a good, safe life in newbridge. i suppose as part of that, i think there is a lot of properties in newbridge, all of the offices and shops that have become derelict and unused. if they can be retrofitted, i

really feel that would work well for lots of people here. caitriona: it is an issue in many small towns in ireland, that people can move out of the town and it takes some of the lifeblood from the downtown area. >> when i did earlier on in this year, i learned of some of the assistants that did come from the present government, and i regenerated about my business and i took advantage of the renewal, and i just open up a new airbnb and i am trying to bring life back into the town, because nobody wants to see derelict buildings, vacant properties. i think it is a chance to let the immigrants and the workforce we have on our doors, let's retrain them, let's get them into the hospitality sector, get them to all sectors all around, and let's sort out our workforce problems as well. that's what i would like to see happen. caitriona: have you made up your mind for who you are going to vote for?

>> i want some of the he was going to work on behalf of the people of newbridge, but the issues here reflect the issues everywhere else. we have a beautiful community, but at times antisocial behavior happens and there is problems with that. that needs to be made into a national priority and it needs to be protected. we have a beautiful park, but we don't have a public swimming pool. we don't have enough sports amenities for the ordinary people unless you are part of a sports club or that kind of thing. we need hubs for our young people to have a place that is safe to socialize and to enjoy themselves in. i had a great young life here. i lived in the area, walked around the place, shopped lewdly . newbridge was the center of the universe for me in my 20's. i would love if it would happen for my children. caitriona: is it like that now? >> we had a tough couple of years.

but i'm feeling very positive about the future. i think the last couple of years we did face challenges. we faced very hard times, but we came out the other end, and i feel that if we continue going at the path we are going, if we keep getting assistance, if we encourage the small businesses, if we encourage the sports, everything, our young people, yeah, i think ireland is a good place, and i am glad i live here. >> and newbridge for me, i love newbridge, i love the people of newbridge, and i think that it could be a fabulous place, the place i remember in my young years. caitriona: you are doing a good job selling newbridge. ireland does go to the polls at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. three point 5 million people are registered to vote. irish and british citizens who are registered here in ireland. we have not talked too much about the candidates and the parties, but it is going to be

fairly close. counting will take place over the weekend, and after that, the tricky business of forming another coalition government. helena: let's turn to other important user rep -- important news around the world. more than half a million people are missing after heavy rains in eastern uganda. 50 people are confirmed dead. others have been rescued and received treatment at a local hospital. search efforts are being hampered by debris blocking roads, preventing ambulances and excavators from reaching the scene. five and a half years after a desert stating fire -- after a devastating fire, paris's never down will reopen friday -- paris's notre dame will reopen friday. emmanuel macron will conduct a televised tour of the renovations. mr. macron is expected to make around 1300 craftsmen who helped with the renovation, costing some 700 million pounds.

keepers at the zoo in england have helped to teach a baby penguin how to walk. her mom died when she was just a few days old. she lost the strength to hold herself up, but handlers have got her back on her feet with the help of a penguin called flap. been sidwell has the story. >> it has been a tough start to life for flock the pink one. after her mother died when she was just a couple weeks old, she became really ill, leaving her unable to stand, walk, or even eat. with the threat of having to put her to sleep, over three months, the zookeepers have worked day and night in an attempt to save her life. >> for her to be unable to keep her body supported, it definitely could have been life-threatening. correspondent: they started to think outside the box and tried anything and everything to help. >> we developed a baby bouncer that would support the body weight of her feet just touching the floor. and we were able to feed her

with this. correspondent: they discovered another penguin called flap from toronto zoo in canada who had exactly the same condition. >> we were so happy that flap was able to help another penguin in need. correspondent: flop is now back on her feet and looking forward to living her best penguin life. helena: good to see flop upright and thriving once again. you can always find more on the daily news on bbc.com/news. plus, to see what we are working on it anytime, be sure to check us out on your favorite social media site. thank you for watching world news america. i will see you soon. bye for announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james.

announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: get the free pbs app now and stream the best of pbs.

william: good evening. i'm william brangham. amna nawaz and geoff bennett are away. on the "ne"