That the book by Michael Wolff was a work of fiction. Mr trumps lawyers had tried to block the publication of the book, fire and fury. Heres david willis in washington. Boarding a flight to camp david for meetings with senior republican leaders, the image donald trump was seeking to project was one of order, professionalism and control. Instead, he finds himself battling claims contained in a book, claims which question his mentalfitness. I went to the best colleges, or college, i went to. I had a situation where i was a very excellent student, came out and made billions of dollars, became one of the top business people, went to television, and for ten years was a tremendous success, as you probably have heard. Perhaps the most damaging allegation, shared, claims the author Michael Wolff, by all the president s senior advisers, is that the leader of the free world lacks curiosity, doesnt read, doesnt listen, is like a child. They all came to the conclusion, gradually at first and then faster and faster, that something was unbelievably amiss here, that this was more peculiar than they ever imagined it could be. Fire and fury also quotes Donald Trumps former senior aide steve bannon, the man credited with getting him elected, as describing a meeting between a russian lawyer and mr trumps son donald junior as treasonous. Other revelations paint a picture of a chaotic white house at the mercy of a petulant, easily distracted commander in chief. Having achieved a major success just before christmas with the passage of tax reform legislation, Senior Republicans had hoped that the new year would mark a new start for the trump administration, but instead of moving forward on key issues such as immigration reform, the focus, it seems, is yet again on the president himself, his personality, and his mental competence. David willis, bbc news, washington. Lets get an idea of how this is playing internationally. Joining me is an author on us iranian and israeli relations and the president of the israeli american council. Thank you forjoining us. First of all, this book and Donald Trumps reaction to it, how do you think it is being seen by the rest of the world 7 is being seen by the rest of the world . I think its a continuation of what the world has already been observing for some time, which is that this is a highly dysfunctional administration. Perhaps most dangerously, it is not pursuing any strategic objectives internationally, but rather is co nsta ntly internationally, but rather is constantly using International Affairs to react and to score domestic political points. As a result, it has become reckless internationally. This is particularly dangerous for those states that have ended up essentially aligning themselves traditionally with the United States and are now finding the United States, rather than being something that can provide them safety, is the source of some of the dangers they are facing. I would imagine that donald trump would argue the opposite. We saw at that press conference that he delivered a few hours ago that he believes the discussions between north and south korea are because of his strength with north korea. He is probably the only one who thinks this. What we have seen is that in almost every International Affair he has got himself involved in, the situation has become much worse and much closer towards a military confrontation. We see that his decision onjerusalem confrontation. We see that his decision on jerusalem has confrontation. We see that his decision onjerusalem has further increased tensions in the region and further isolated the United States. We saw how they tried to use the Security Council yesterday to score points against the iranians for their clear human rights abuses, but how that backfired and instead, it became a session was largely critical of the United States. This is not good for the us or international ability. How much is this to do with Donald Trumps style, and how much is it to do with the way the administration is being run . Can we separate the two . |j dont run . Can we separate the two . dont think you can. Everything the administration is doing is an extension of donald trump himself at the end of the day. The greater danger is that people are starting to conclude that while this is clearly a n to conclude that while this is clearly an extreme case, the rest of the world has to be ready. U nfortu nately, the world has to be ready. Unfortunately, the type of mindset and outlook that donald trump represents is not one that is necessarily a small minority in the United States. This is something that could continue beyond donald trump. We saw what the German Foreign minister said in december, warning that this is not something that will be overjust because donald trump leaves the political scene. Donald trumps supporters could argue that he just has a different style, that nothing he is doing is terribly different. Hes just being a bit more honest about america putting its own interests first when it to foreign policy. The very idea of putting America First the way donald trump is kotze leaving it is actually to put the United States at odds with the rest of the world the way donald trump is conceiving it. Every country puts its interests first, but the idea that there is no such thing as Win Win Solutions means that there is no reason for collaboration on the international scene. Donald trump is transforming the idea of the International Community into just a big battle zone for all countries to settle scores against each other. That certainly is not a vision that will bring about greater stability in the world. We will have to see how the second year of the administration plays out. Trita parsi, an author on us iranian relations, thank you very much. Reports from syria say 17 people have been killed in air strikes in rebel held eastern ghouta. The british based syrian observatory for human rights says another 60 people were wounded in the besieged rebel stronghold, close to the capital damascus. More strikes in this area and in the rebel held, Northern Province of idlib have been reported by aid workers. They say ten hospitals have been hit by Syrian Government and russian bombers over the last 10 days. The race through the smashed streets. The dash into a ruined building. For the rescue workers, after the bombs fall, the routine is all too familiar here in the rebel held enclave of eastern ghouta. Higher up, people emerge from what might be a flat. Perhaps they were at home when the bomb crashed down. The cries of shock and horror at it all echo through the wreckage. The injured are gathered up. But there have been reports of deaths, too, on this day of many air strikes in the enclave. Translation we have received more than 50 people today in the Emergency Department because of the massacre. We documented ten victims, and we have ten others who are severely wounded and may die at any moment. Aid workers say ten hospitals have been hit in recent days in ghouta, and here, in the rebel held province of idlib. Eastern ghouta lies on the edge of damascus. From here, rebels can fire into the capital. Government forces have had this area under siege for years. People here come under attack almost daily. There is every danger that tomorrow, there will be more of the same. Alan johnston, bbc news. Lets take a look at some of the other stories making the news. After the biggest Anti Government protests for years, iran has seen a number of pro government rallies on saturday. Those taking part pledged solidarity to the regime and chanted anti western slogans. State television showed marches in iranian cities including amol, semnan and shadegan. Germanys foreign minister says hes agreed with his turkish counterpart to do all they can to improve relations between the two countries. There have been numerous disagreements, notably over the arrest of german journalists in turkey following the abortive coup in 2016. Saudi arabian media report that authorities have arrested 11 princes for holding a protest against the governments austerity measures. The group were said to have been angered by the governments decision to stop paying the water and energy bills of royals. The government is attempting to reduce its dependence on oil revenues, and therefore lifting some government subsidies. Police in cyprus say theyre holding an israeli citizen whos accused of organ trafficking. Moshe harel was allegedly involved in luring donors to kosovo a decade ago to sell their kidneys for transplants needed by rich israelis. Many of the donors remained unpaid. A Cypriot Police spokesman said he was arrested at larnaca airport in late december. The east coast of north america is shivering in a record breaking freeze. It comes after a massive snowstorm that reached as far south as florida. In parts of the us, temperatures are forecast to fall below 30 degrees celsius. The extreme weather has so far been linked to up to 19 deaths in the us and two more in canada. Tom donkin reports. Its been called a bomb cyclone, and its a weather system which has lived up to its name. On thursday, warm air carried an area of low pressure up the east coast of america to meet the already icy conditions. That combination exploded in snowfall and Hurricane Force winds to a large part of the us and canada. Residents of boston were blanketed in more than 30cm of snow. And while thats largely stopped falling, the plummeting temperatures are now the biggest concern. Here, its forecast to drop below 30 degrees celsius. Add to that the strong, icy winds, and these are temperatures which feel more like 70 degrees, cold enough to freeze and burst pipes, like here in cincinnati. For some, a life on the streets has turned into a fight for survival. Right now, this homeless shelter is taking in more than 100 people extra each night. People in the neighbourhood have been looking out for us. They brought us clothes. Theyre totally looking out for us. Socks, sweat pants, i mean, more than we even need. Here in washington, the offer of a hot meal is not just an act of kindness, but a lifeline. Forecasters believe these dangerously low temperatures are set to linger through the weekend, the hope being that by early next week, we may see a return to readings somewhere above freezing and much closer to the seasonal norm. With me is Sarah Keith Lucas from our bbcs weather service. Why is it so cold . It is down to what is happening with the jet strea m what is happening with the jet stream at the moment. The jet stream isa stream at the moment. The jet stream is a ribbon of fast moving air high up is a ribbon of fast moving air high up in the atmosphere. That drives weather systems around the world. What is unusual at the moment is that that jet stream has what is unusual at the moment is that thatjet stream has plunged really far south, much further south thanit really far south, much further south than it usually does. So there is a kink in thejet than it usually does. So there is a kink in the jet stream. That is what drove the explosive cyclogenesis, the rapid deepening of the storm we saw. And because it is so far south, it is allowing all the actors bill down from the arctic across Eastern Canada and the Eastern States. How rare is it to see Something Like this . Every winter, we do see very low temperatures across the Eastern States and Eastern Canada. But this kind of storm system happens every 25 to 30 years. What is unusual about this particular system is firstly how far south it has got, as far down as florida. It is also affecting the weather in the caribbean, bringing heavy rain there. And also the duration. It has been going on for quite a while now and we have more cold weather to come in the next few days. How long is this going to last . Things will slowly start to pick up between, but certainly tonight, saturday night will be exceptionally cold, with potentially record breaking temperatures. Sunday will be another very cold day. It is not until tuesday that we will just about see temperatures in new york above freezing by day, but it will still be bitterly cold, down to around 14 celsius overnight for the next few days. So it is only a very gradually warming trend. It is extraordinary what we are seeing, but are we going to see more of this in the coming months and years . Well, as the waters of the worlds oceans are warming upa waters of the worlds oceans are warming up a bit, that does give more fuel to these kinds of systems. So it is likely that we will see increased frequencies of these events, strong and rapidly developing storms and severe cold snaps. In the meantime, lots of warm coats for people in the us and canada. Thank you. Now lets check on the sport. Mark hughes has been sacked as manager of premier League Strugglers stoke city. It came just hours after the clubs fa cup third round exit to League Two Coventry city. The end of hughes four and a half year reign at the potters. After the game, hughes seemed to know the writing was on the wall. When a premier league side goes out toa when a premier league side goes out to a lower side in the third round, it is news. It is not the news we wa nted it is news. It is not the news we wanted to create prior to the game, but it has happened. We just need to pick ourselves up and understand why it happened. There are things we need to address. I have already touched on our defensive work not being where it needs to be. All in all, credit to coventry. They deserved to win. Philippe coutinhos four and a half year spell at liverpool is at an end after he joined barcelona for a fee worth up to 192 million. The brazilian playmaker quickly became a Firm Favourite at anfield afterjoining the club from inter milan. He made 201 appearances for liverpool and he was the clubs leading goalscorer last season with 1a. Australias batsmen made englands bowlers toil in the ashes fifth test as Usman Khawaja extended his overnight 91 into 171. The marsh brothers inflicted more pain, with shaun smashing an unbeaten 98, while mitch is on 63 not out. Australia lead by 133 with six wickets in hand at the scg and thats where Patrick Gearey was watching on a day thats turned traditionally pink. A brutal day for england, a wonderful one for australia. Only two wickets taken all day. Australia 133 runs ahead and england had to toil in the sydney hit. This was the peak day of the test match, the tenth such day in honour of jane mcgrath, the late wife of the australian fast bowler glenn and her Breast Cancer foundation. The crowd we re Breast Cancer foundation. The crowd were soon on their feet to claim 100 from Usman Khawaja in the city he grew up in. They expected to be back on theirfeet grew up in. They expected to be back on their feet not long waited for steve smiths100, but he was out, caught and bowled by moeen ali. England thought they had another one when mason crane pilfer and lbw against khawaja. The review showed it would have hit the stumps, but it was given as a no ball somewhat co ntroversially. Was given as a no ball somewhat controversially. Khawaja went on to make 150 before crane got that first test wicket when he had him stumped for 171. The marsh brothers then started to take the game away from england as they increasingly attacked towards the end of the day. England must go back into the field day four, when the temperatures will be even hotter. They will be drained. Australia very much the advantage. Play gets under into hours time. And thats all the sport for now. The american astronautjohn young, one of 12 men to walk on the moon and who flew the first Space Shuttle show, has died at 87. He had the longest career of any space astronaut, serving nasa for 42 years and visiting space six times including on the apollo and gemini missions. On his retirement in 2004, nasa described mr young as a true american treasure. This is bbc world news today. Stay with us. An nhs trust blames pressures on the service after an elderly woman dies in her home while waiting for an ambulance. Paramedics, dealing with thousands of 999 calls, took almost four hours to reach the pensioner. Im furious. It shouldnt happen. We need an inquiry to get to the bottom of it and find out what happened and make sure it never happens to anybody again. Donald trump rejects doubts over his mental stability and says an extraordinary new book about his presidency is a work of fiction. The Department Store house of fraser seeks to cut its costs in another sign of the pressures facing shops on the high street. And mark hughes is sacked as stoke city manager after being knocked out of the fa cup by League Two Coventry. Good evening. An Ambulance Service has apologised to the family of a pensioner who died after waiting nearly four hours for help to arrive. The 81 year old woman had rung 999 complaining of chest pain. The east of England Service said it was stretched and had warned of the pressures its staff and the nhs were facing. Our correspondent Sarah Campbell reports from clacton in essex. We dont know the name of the woman who died, but we do know some of the details of her tragic death. She rang 999 on tuesday evening, and waited and waited. After around an hour and a half the Ambulance Service did ring her, but it wasnt for a further two hours before they had to break into her house, they found her unconscious, not breathing, and she couldnt be saved. The paramedics who found her are said to be devastated. Siren wails. The period over new year was, according to the local Ambulance Service here in essex, the busiest ever. On the day in question, they received more than 4,000 999 calls, far more than usual. A statement in response to the death of the 81 year old woman said here in clacton, the local mp was demanding answers. here in clacton, the local mp was demanding answers. I am furious. It shouldnt happen. We have to make sure it never happens to anybody again. And is your government doing enough . We will find out why we have the inquiry. This was the second death in recent days which has been linked to an overstretched service. 88 year old Josephine Smalley died following a wait for a bed in portsmouth. In recent days, the Health Secretary and the Prime Minister have both apologised to patients after thousands of nonurgent operations were cancelled. The Health Service is pointing to a combination of winter flu and cold weather. The Union RepresentingHealth Workers says wider pressures are also to blame. I think there is chronic underfunding. It is endemic, it tells us that the Public Sector is under so much strain that it is now beginning to kill people. With temperatures once again dropping, the worry is that the Health Service simply wont be able to cope. Theresa may has said that extra funding has been made available to the nhs, and insisted it is better prepared for winter than ever before. In relation to this particular death in clacton, the department for health issued a Statement Today saying, it is completely unacceptable when care falls below the high standards we expect, and its right the service is investigating how things went so wrong in this tragic case. Sarah campbell reporting from cla cton Sarah Campbell reporting from clacton in essex. In the us, donald trump has dismissed claims made in a new book that he is mentally unfit for office. Hes told a News Conference that his success in business, television and politics is proof of his capabilities. And hes dismissed the books author, michael woolf, who was given long term access to the white house, as a fraud. From washington, david willis. Boarding a flight to camp david for meetings with senior republican the image of donald trump that republicans would like to project, one of order, professionalism and control. Instead, the president is battling claims contained in this book that senior advisers share the view that he is mentally unfit for office. So the commander in chief took to social media to assert actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. Later, he took aim at the books or the Michael Wolff, who had been given access to the white house to write it. I consider it a work of fiction, and i think its a disgrace that somebody is able to have something, do Something Like that. The libel laws are very weak in this country. If they were strong, it would be helpful. You wouldnt have things like that happen where you can say whatever comes to your head. But just so you can say whatever comes to your head. Butjust so you know, i never interviewed with him in the white house. He was never in the oval office. We didnt have an interview. Possibly the most damaging claim contained in the book is that the president lacks curiosity, doesnt read, doesnt listen, is like a child. They all came to the conclusion, gradually at first and then faster and faster, that something was unbelievably amiss here, that this was more peculiar than they ever imagined it could be. The book portrays the white house in a co nsta nt the book portrays the white house in a constant state of chaos, reeling under the influence of a petulant, easily distracted commander in chief. But a leading member of the administration is taking issue with that depiction. Never questioned his mentalfitness, i had no reason to. We have different management styles. How i make decisions and process information, i have to learn how he ta kes information, i have to learn how he takes information in, processes it and makes decisions. Having successfully passed legislation just before christmas reforming americas taxation system, Senior Republicans we re taxation system, Senior Republicans were probably hoping that a new year would mark a new start for the trump administration. But instead of moving forward on such key issues as immigration reform, the focus now is com pletely immigration reform, the focus now is completely on the president , his personality and whether he is mentally fit to hold office. Opponents of presdent assad in syria have accused his regime, with the help of russia, of launching a series of air attacks on a suburb of the capital. They say at least 17 people were killed today. Most of the dead were in eastern ghouta, near damascus. Raids on the rebel held area have continued for several days the un has condemned the impact of the fighting on civilians. Online casino operators are failing to prevent Money Laundering and protect problem gamblers according to the gambling commission. It has set out significant concerns in a letter to all uk operators. The Commission Said many of them were failing to spot signs of Financial Crime and compulsive gambling. The Department Store house of fraser has confirmed its asking landlords to reduce the rent it pays for some of its shops. The group is set to release christmas retail figures next week with some analysts suggesting its takings over the Christmas Period were disappointing. Joe lynam has more. The key brands on our high streets. We dont yet know how christmas was for house of fraser, but we know it has asked its landlords to slash the rent. But do shoppers are still like the Department Store . Its got the shops i like to browse in within the Department Store, so its quite easy to just go from one place to the next. Yeah, theres lot of good quality brands, and quite a lot of variety as well. I think it has a good reputation for good quality products. But i know all of the high street has been affected at the moment and isnt doing that well. I kind of think its for older people, i have that opinion, but maybe thats because its more expensive. Last month, one Credit Agency said that house of fraser was now far more likely to default on its debts, adding to the issues faced by the company. Its not unusual for retailers to seek rent reductions from their landlords. M s and next are doing so already. In fact, traditional retailers are facing a host of challenges, including rising rents, especially in the big cities, the National Living wage is going up, and thats pushing up costs, and of course online. £1 in every e6 is now spent shopping online. Consumption is a vital part of the british economy. If consumers tighten their wallets, gdp suffers. Conditions are pretty tough for households. Inflation hit a five year high in the run up to christmas and this is putting peoples personal finances under a lot of pressure. Our research showed about 50 of consumers said they spent less this christmas than last year, and almost two thirds said they did some of their shopping online. Next week, well learn more about how christmas was for house of fraser. If it shows that shoppers reined in their spending, then pressure will grow on a 169 year old brand. Joe lynam, bbc news. Part of Bristol University has been badly damaged in a fire. It started in the roof space of a building that was being renovated, close to the universitys historic wills Memorial Building in the centre of bristol. The building was unoccupied and nobody was hurt. With all the sport, heres olly foster at the bbc sport centre. There were 25 fa cup third round ties today. Match of the day is later this evening on bbc one, but coming up now are a couple of the headlines from todays ties. Mark hughes has been sacked this evening after his stoke side were knocked out by league 2 coventry city. Elsewhere, norwich, wigan and fleetwood forced replays against premier league opposition. Adam wild reports. But this was a big occasion, jamie vardy injured, left to watch from the stands as is Leicester Team almost gifted his former side an opening goal. How both could have done with his scoring ability, but fleetwoods faithful still found plenty to shout about, and they were almost rewarded in the dying moments, leicester saved by the post twice. So close to being fleetwoods day in the sun. Still, in this tournament, for some fans, a draw can feel like a triumph. For my keys stoke, it felt like anything but. The premier league side beaten by league 2 coventry, the kind of upset for which this competition is so upset for which this competition is so revered, hughes out of the cup and now out of a job. For norwich, the third round was a chance to welcome the mighty chelsea, premier league champions. But in this corner of east anglia, reputation rarely cou nts of east anglia, reputation rarely counts for much. In truth, not a game famous for that magic. No goals, few real chances, but for norwichs fans, the dream got longer. Liverpools Phillippe Coutinho has agreed tojoin barcelona for a british record fee of £142 million. The brazilian, who cost less than £10 million five years ago, was close to joining the spanish side last summer, but liverpool managerjurgen klopp says they are now letting the 25 year old leave with great reluctance. Its now very unlikely that englands cricketers will be able to sign off from the ashes with a victory. The series is already lost, and after three days, australia are building a big first innings lead in the final test. Patrick gearey reports from sydney. A special day, especially for Usman Khawaja, a first ashes hundred in the city he emigrated to as a child. At the other end nearing his 100th steve smith, the uncrackable code, but wait, moeen alis eureka moment. Smith left a void and young mason crane filled it with an appeal. Review. First they checked no ball and there the case closed. Have the umpire felt it was behind the line crane would have had his first test wicket. Fine margins. And fine shots from the reprieved khawaja which helped him ought to 150 and australia to a leader in three wickets down. England needed a energy badly which came from crane, this time having khawaja for real and four 171. But it now break baking temperatures the marsh brothers toured england to their stooges with every score only adding to the regrets about by england batsmen. A draining day in every sense. England 133 runs behind. They will have to return to the field on day four where it will be even hotter and whats more they know this picture is spinning morejust in time for their last innings of this ashes series. Patrick geary, bbc news, in sydney. In rugby union, northampton saints losing streak is over. They beat gloucester 22 19 at franklins gardens. After seven league defeats in a row, a final minute penalty try gave them their first win since september. There were also wins for leicester and sale. And in the pro14, ospreys edged cardiff blues 29 28 in swansea. Rhys webb scored two of theirfour tries. Glasgow also won today, but ulster lost away at leinster. 16 year old james bowen has become the youngest jockey to win the Welsh Grand National at chepstow. He came home six lengths clear on the 16 1 chance raz de maree. At 13, he is the oldest horse to win the race in modern times. Thats all the sport. Dont forget, theres much more on the bbc sport website, and from around 11 00 therell be live text and radio coverage of the fourth days play at the final ashes test. You can see more on all of todays stories on the bbc news channel. Thats all from me. Good night