♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ narrator: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... erika: i love seeing interns succeed,

i love seeing them come back and join engagement teams and seeing where they go from there, i get to watch their personal growth, it makes my heart happy. (laughs) ♪ ♪ narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation, the judy and peter blum kovler foundation, upholding freedom by strengthening democracies at home and abroad. announcer: and now, bbc news. >> it is 7:00 p.m. in lo. this is the world today with marianne my sherry. an oil tanker is on fire after a major collision off the east yorkshire coast. more than 30 people have been brought ashore with at least one in hospital. fears are growing of a major fuel spill. stock markets in the u.s. have fallen sharply as president trump refuses to rule out the

prospect of a recession. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy has arrived in saudi arabia at of talks between his team and u.s. officials. doctors say the pope's health is continuing to improve after he shows a good response to treatment. also coming up, manchester united's owner talks to the bbc about the club's troubles and had this to say about some players. >> some are probably overpaid. but for us to mold the squad that we are fully responsible for will take time. >> and a very special guest on the show. we hear from the best in show about what it takes to be the top dog. ♪ hello and a very warm welcome to

the world today on bbc news. fears are growing over a major environmental incident in the north sea after american oil tanker and a portuguese cargo vessel carrying highly toxic cargo collided off the coast of dekes yorkshire. this shows a boat trying desperately to contain the flames from one of the vessels. you can see the thick black smoke billowing from both ships. jet fuel is pouring into the north sea from the oil tanker. the american tanker is the stellar and ocular. the u.s. military confirmed it was on a short-term charter to u.s. military command at the time of the collision. the container ship was carrying 15 containers of what is believed to be highly toxic sodium cyanide. they are assessing what pollution response might be needed. a radio message was posted on social media. have a listen. >> has collided with a tanker in

the anchorage. vessels are abandoning. vessels who have firefighting equipment or who can assist with search-and-rescue contact the coast guard on channel 16. vessel immaculate is carrying jet fuel which is on fire and in the water. maryam: 36 people have been brought to shore after the crash. the local ambulance service confirmed no one had been taken to hospital while the mariners from both crews are safe and accounted for. details on the cause of the collision are still becoming clear. the prime minister's spokesman described the crash as extremely concerning. multiple agencies are working on the rescue operation and concerns of the environmental impact.

the former ceo of a larger tanker company says the workload facing the crew may have been a factor. >> the biggest risk for a ship like the container ship is she is on fast turnaround doing across north say. she has been described as coming from grange mount going to rotterdam. you can imagine the crew would be very busy and would have a very short trip before entering another busy port. this would be in very tiring business. you can imagine there one period of respite would be to get into water and have a quieter time. that could be a point of risk if somebody took a break when they should not have. the human element is almost certainly at the center of whatever happened here. the stellar immaculate, and

understand she was aiming were waiting to get orders to come into port to discharge. i do not know if that is true but it could be quickly clarified. the crew were probably in good condition, watching, and were alarmed. but there was very little they can do. their engine would not have been active and it would have taken time for them to reacted to what would have been a very strange turn of events where a ship as it approached did not take evasive action. maryam: the mp said these kind of collisions are rare. >> there are around 34,000 around hamburg on an annual asis so that is not a small number of vessels. most of the seafarers are very experienced and knowledgeable. they understand the sea currents

and title estuaries that they have to wait for high tide to be able to come in and dock. so they are very familiar with that. the process generally is very good. i am sure there will have been near misses but the coast guard is generally very good as well as the other marine operators in making sure all vessels know where other vessels are at any given time to avoid these sorts of occurrences. so it has come as some surprise to see that this has happened this morning and thankfully it is rare because we have heard some of the consequences of this collision. maryam: let's speak now to rowan bridge in grimsby. bring us up to the very latest on this ongoing situation. >> it is very much an ongoing

situation at the moment. the latest update from half an hour ago is the oil tanker is still on fire at that point. clearly emergency focuses will be focused on bringing those fires under control. the other big concern given all the crews on both vessels seem to have gotten off safely the big concern now is what the potential environmental impact of this spill might be. we have heard the oil tanker is spilling jet fuel into the scene which is potentially dangerous to marine and wildlife. we know the cargo vessel was carrying this 15 vessels -- containers of cyanide. it is not clear if the containers are still in the vessel or if they have broken open or not. but if they have they could pose a threat to marine life in the area. the rsp be say they are

extremely concerned about this situation. it is not clear what that is at the moment. we wildlife trust has also considered -- express their concerns saying this could be devastating for wildlife in the area. the coast guard say they are assessing the situation but it will really depend on how much of this fuel burns up, how much of it ends up staying in the environment, how choppy the waters are and how much that is able to disperse it all of that is an open question at the moment. the other thing. we have his investigations. into how this was able to happen. the marine accident investigation perhaps already had their investigators down here at the scene and they will be speaking to the crew of both vessels given all the people on board seem to have escaped pretty much unharmed. maryam: thank you very much. still to come, the government plastic energy bills for people in the u.k. who live near

electricity pylons but other customers may cover the costs. and we have an exclusive interview with the manchester united co-owner about where he believes the club is headed. around the world and across the u.k., this is the world today on bbc news. ♪

maryam: just to bring you up-to-date on that breaking news we have been bringing you the last few minutes and that is from the vatican in rome and the health of the pope. pope francis has better. we are hearing that pope francis will be expected to remain in hospital for several more days. however, doctors at the hospital at the vatican have said that the prognosis for him has been lifted in terms of the guidance.

that is a much more positive outlook. he has shown good response to treatment as well. they have also said he remains stable in hospital and continues to improve. just to bring you up-to-date with that, he of course has been battling pneumonia and bronchitis for over three weeks now. very recently pope francis thanked the medical staff at the hospital for looking after him and for their tender care. he has not been around for his weekly blessings, but he has been very much in the hearts and minds of all of those who are part of the catholic church and beyond. just to bring you the very latest good news on the health of the pope, although he is expected to remain in hospital for several days. the outlook looks like it is very much improving according to doctors in rome. now let's talk to you more about the economy in the u.s. why? because shares on wall street

slumped today led by the nasdaq which plunged as much as 4% at one point. the selloff is driven by concerns about the president trump trade war which would push the economy into recession. president trump did not rule that out. >> i hate to predict things like that. there is a period of transition because what we are doing is very big. we are bringing wealth back to america. that is a big thing. there are always periods of -- it takes a little time, it takes a little time. >> now we have tariffs and the markets are going down. >> not much, in all fairness. >> you said we are going to have a disruption but we are ok with that. is that what you meant, the stock market is going to go down? what other disruptions? >> we have to build a strong country. you cannot really watch the stock market. maryam: our north american

business correspondent says donald trump seems to be making different decisions in his second term. >> i think if you judge by past behavior then yes, the president has responded when markets have spoken. but i think what they are taking away from that message and that interview is that that has changed, that donald trump 2.0 i n his second presidency is looking past the markets. that is why we see this selloff intensifying as the day has progressed. you mentioned the nasdaq down over 4%. tesla, one of the big followers of the day, down more than 10%, more than 50% from its peak in december. the s&p 500 down more than 2%. part of this you have to understand is that for a long time wall street did not believe donald trump would follow through on his threat of tariffs. but just last week we saw the tariffs go into effect on

canada, mexico and china. later this week we expect more on steel and aluminum products. so donald trump is: their bluff and saying he is willing to tolerate, as he has mentioned in the past, a little disturbance. and that has unnerved people wondering what that means. how much disturbance is this administration willing to tolerate to achieve its broader ambitions? whether that is rebalancing trade, de-regulation, tax cuts, that is the big unknown and is a big gamble this administration is taking. maryam: the dow jones is down 2.6%. wall street is heading for what some believe could be its worst day since 2022. this of course as we just outlined a moment ago, really based on the market fears of recession. wherever you are, be it london, new york, or paris, one thing

the markets hate is not knowing what is going to happen next. that sense of insecurity really has had a huge impact on the markets. i don't have the nasdaq figure but at one point it tanked as much as 4.2%. that is very heavy with technology stocks. all of the u.s. markets are not having a good day. one of the factors spooking the markets along with government job cuts is a trade war with canada. the man set to become canada's next prime minister has been talking very tough on trade. mark kearney has come off fighting after winning the leadership contest and he has vowed to take on president trump in a trade war and win. mr. carney also said canada would never become part of the united states. >> these are dark days. dark days brought on by a country we can no longer trust. we are getting over the shock.

but let us never forget the lessons. we have to look after ourselves. and we have to look out for each other. we need to pull together. maryam: that was mark kearney. our correspondent was in ottawa as mr. carney's victory was announced. >> it tells you something of the topsy-turvy geopolitical world in which we are now living when a newly elected leader of the canadian liberal party and soon to be prime minister says his country will never be part of america and canadians can no longer trust their sovereign neither -- their southern neighbor. the threat of washington has also completely upended the political landscape here. a few short weeks ago liberals appeared to be heading for certain defeat in a general election that needs to be held by the end of this year. after three terms in office, justin trudeau's party seemed

tired, it was being roundly blamed for the economic crisis and the rising cost of living. but president trump's interventions has made not economics, but sovereignty now the defining issue. the liberal party feels a renewed sense of optimism. the gulf that opened up between them and their conservative rivals in terms of polling is now narrowing, although the conservatives at the moment still seem to be the favorite. but the liberals will feel with this new election with mark kearney as their leader that they are back in the fight. but there are still challenges ahead. maryam: the trump administration confirmed it is cutting the vast majority of overseas aid programs run by usaid. the secretary of state marco rubio wrote in his personal account on twitter that a six-week review had concluded a cut of 83% was needed. he said tens of billions have been spent on contracts that didn't serve u.s. interests.

former usaid officials have warned it could lead to destabilization overseas and threats to u.s. national security. our north american correspondent sets out what the u.s. secretary of state has been saying today about the cuts. >> he didn't go into any detail. he said more than 5000 contracts usaid has, which are worth billions of dollars, have not been in america's best interest and have in some cases caused harm. but he didn't go into any detail. he said the remaining 17% of the contracts would be folded into the state department. the other thing to mention here is elon musk, the world's richest man, donald trump's best friend, also his number one election campaign donor, is the one leading this attempt to

scale down the federal government with his doge department. looking at his response to mr. rubio, he said it is tough but necessary. the interesting thing is the pair have reportedly fallen out. there are reports they have been feuding at a recent cabinet meeting when elon musk accused mr. rubio for not firing enough staff. maryam: thousands of people across the u.k. living near or near new upgraded electricity pylons could save up to 250 pounds a year on their energy bills over 10 years. it is all part of government plans to overhaul planning rules which are due to be published tomorrow. the energy secretary rejected suggestions the discount is -- >> plans for pylons across the countryside are controversial,

essential to help transport clean energy according to ministers, but fiercely opposed by some campaigners. for them, even the idea of reducing the bills of pylons doesn't cut it. >> they will result in a swathe of countryside decimated to be told to get a token amount of your bill is incredibly patronizing and people are incredibly angry about this. >> ministers announced a great project to store electricity cables saying energy infrastructure like this simply has to be built. >> everyone benefits from clean homegrown power but you are doing a service to the whole country by having that pylon in your area. we need to recognize that. that will be spread across all bill payers. it is about 80 pa year for all bill payers. >> so people near the pylons get a discount but everyone pays? >> the costs are more than offset by getting that transmission infrastructure built. >> you are talking about airport

expansion, pylons across the countryside. are you comfortable with that? >> i am. the biggest threat to our countryside is the climate crisis. >> tomorrow new legislation will set out how the government plans to speed up building windfarms, railways, and many more homes, saying development cannot be blocked for years and years. does that mean local people just have to put up with it? >> local people will be part of the process. >> are you prepared to be unpopular if that is what it takes? >> it is about proving to people that what i am saying is what we are going to do. >> but there is a lot of opposition. >> when i speak to people there is not one person who doesn't recognize the crisis we face. i have 1.3 million people on housing waiting list. what they want to see is a government that will put the investment in around the infrastructure and making sure there are green spaces and we protect the environment. >> the reason the government wants to get things built is not just because of their plans for energy or housing.

they say it is central to their mission to get the economy growing. ministers say they want to take the public with them but they are prepared to take people on where they meet resistance. housing schemes can certainly run into that. this campaigner says this must mean the right type of homes and with the government intending to streamline the planning process, councils must have a say. >> the government is freeing up the planning system to get more housing. it has to be tough on developers to make sure developers deliver real, affordable housing. >> the government says it is essential to get houses and infrastructure built. the plans are ambitious and in some cases, could be contentious. alex forsyth, bbc news. maryam: the former laborer now independent mp mike amesbury has said he will stand down at the earliest opportunity after being convicted of assaulting one of his constituents last october.

our political correspondent reports now. warning, there are scenes of violence at the start of this report. >> this is mike amesbury assaulting his constituent. repeatedly punching paul fellows after a night drinking in the pub. >> i just already -- just saw red. >> he was jailed for 10 weeks and spent three nights in prison before his sentence was respect -- suspended on appeal and release. the judge said the consequences of the recent -- could have been worse. paul said the punch could have killed them. he is right. >> there the grace of god. i own it. i made a huge mistake. i have apologized very publicly. >> very publicly but not

personally. >> absolutely personally. absolutely personally. >> some people think that because you are a politician, you got away lightly. >> i am doing a substantial number of hours, and rightfully so, in terms of community work, community paper. anger management. i'm losing my livelihood, i will have a criminal record. losing my family home. if people think that is lightly, so be it. so be it. >> the length of the sentence would have triggered a recall petition, but today mike amesbury said he would step aside, more than four months after the assault. some people will think it is pretty inappropriate that you supposedly earned more than 30,000 pounds since this happened. would you pay that back?

>> i have still been working, of course. i have been working in the constituency. caseworkers are coming in. as we speak i have members of staff -- >> were you still working in prison? >> yes, actually. >> while he says he had hoped to carry on, his political career is now over, and the by-election will prove to be a test for keir starmer. hannah miller, bbc news. maryam: the social media platforms twitter has been hit by what its owner elon musk has described as a massive cyberattack. thousands of users have reported outages on the platform according to the tracking website down detector.com. writing on twitter, musk said this was done by a lot of resources, either a large coordinated group or a country. now some breaking news to bring

you on the situation, that ongoing situation off the east yorkshire coast. the ship carrying highly toxic chemicals hitting that tanker transporting jet fuel for the u.s. military. we heard from the vessel's owner that one of the 14 crewmembers of that vessel is still missing. we will try and bring you more on this developing story as and when we get narrator: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... bdo, accountants and advisors, funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation, the judy and peter blum kovler foundation, upholding freedom by strengthening democracies at home and abroad. ♪ ♪ usa today calls it "arguably the best bargain in streaming" that's because the free pbs app let's you watch the best of pbs anytime, anywhere.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ narrator: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... erika: i love seeing interns succeed,