with there, snow and ice to content with tonight. full details for where you are on the bbc weather website. this is bbc news, i'm nicholas owen. the headlines at 8pm. the motion is not agree to. us senators vote to shut down the american government in a budget row on the first anniversary of donald trump's inauguration. senior democrats say the president is impossible to negotiate with. america nopes this is the trump shut down. only the president can end it. gunmen in afghanistan have attacked a top hotel in the capital, kabul — police there are fighting to regain control of the area. turkey launches an assault on kurdish fighters in northern syria — opening up a new front in the conflict. north korea will send athletes to

the winter olympics in south korea. and in sport, fans at stadiums across the country remember cyrille regis — the former england player described as a "trailblazer" for black footballers. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the us national government has officially shut down, a year to the day after donald trump took office as president. senators failed to agree a stop—gap budget — amid a bitter dispute between president trump's republicans and the opposition democrats over immigration and border security. david willis reports from washington. the ayes 50 and the noes 49. with a midnight deadline looming, they came up short of the 60 votes needed, and without a funding agreement in place, the government of the largest economy in a world was now only

minutes away from shutdown. three fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted in the affirmative, the motion is not agreed to. that after the democrat leader in the senate, chuck schumer, had an hour—long meeting with president trump at the white house. he called out the deal—maker in chief for failing to deliver. the way things went today, the way you turn from a bipartisan deal, it's almost as if you were rooting for a shutdown and now we will have one and the blame should crash entirely on president trump's shoulders. the white house, in a statement, branded the democrats obstructionist losers. what we have just witnessed on the floor was a cynical decision by senate democrats to shove aside millions of americans for the sake of irresponsible political games. a government shutdown was 100% avoidable. as the vote collapsed,

outside on the steps of the capitol were the people whose fate democrats want to tie to this funding agreement, the so—called dreamers, young people brought into the united states illegally, who president trump is threatening to deport ina few weeks' time. many republicans supported legalising their status but they want it to be part of an immigration bill that would also provide funds for wall along the mexican border, a pet project of president trump. the president was hitting the hash key hard this morning. "this is the one—year anniversary of my presidency and the democrats wanted to give me a nice present. democrat shutdown!" the last government shutdown in 2013 caused the closure of many national parks and monuments and lead to around 800,000 government workers being placed on temporary leave. nobody here wants to see history repeated. i am just very disappointed

that we could not come to an agreement about this. there's common ground in the middle. i am shocked that our government is this dysfunctional. for president trump, this is a political embarrassment. ayearago, amid considerable pomp and ceremony, he was celebrating his inauguration, having swept to office on the platform of the ultimate deal—maker. at the end of a tumultuous year, such credentials are now in question. the democrat senate minority leader, chuck schumer, blamed ‘hard, right—wing forces‘ in the white house — describing trump‘s administration as ‘next to impossible‘ to negotiate with. we can do big things, but the president needs to step up and lead. the republicans control the presidency, the senate, the house. they know who‘s responsible. the

american people know that the republicans control the presidency, the senate and the house and they know who‘s responsible. america knows. this is the trump shut down. only the president can end it. we democrats are at the table. we‘re ready to negotiate. the president needs to pull up a chair to end this shut down. the republican house speaker, paul ryan, condemned the democrats for rejecting the spending bill — describing it as utter madness. senate democrats shutdown senate democrats shut down this government and now senate democrats need to open this government back up. need to open this government back top need to open this government back up. stop holding our troops and children's health insurance hostage. end this reckless shutdown children's health insurance hostage. end this reckless shut down that is inflicting needless uncertainty on out inflicting needless uncertainty on our country. let common—sense and cooler heads prevail. come to your senses. do the right thing. open

this government back up. we can speak to dr larry sabato — director at the centre for politics at the university of virginia. thank you for talking to us. to the outside world, the idea of the american government being shut down sounds crazy, i know we have been here before, how serious is this right now? it's very serious for this reason — one of your interviewees said it‘s just outrageous, because this is, shows the dysfunction of american government. i don‘t think our government. i don‘t think our government has ever been quite this dysfunctional, at least this modern times, although this is the fourth shut down since the mid nineties. the reason this is remarkable, is because the republicans control everything — they have the white house, the senate and the house of representatives. what was not noted in the piece is some republican

senators also voted to shut down. indeed. as you say a curious situation, how long do you think it will go on and what impact is it actually going to have? will go on and what impact is it actually going to have ?|j will go on and what impact is it actually going to have? i wish i could tell you how long it will go on. i talked to a member of congress less tha n on. i talked to a member of congress less than an hour ago who told me senior people were working on a solution and he was as he put it mildly optimistic. i‘m not sure how to interpret that! so i think they will try to end it as soon as possible, because there is no question that the losers other than those who are fur lowed without pay will be the republicans. we have already had a series of public opinion polls, the public almost a lwa ys opinion polls, the public almost always blames first the president and secondly the majority party in post and the most unpopular of the groups. president trump is the most

unpopularfirst term groups. president trump is the most unpopular first term president and the public also is blaming them and president trump in particular. so they have to solve it and they have to do it as quickly as possible less this end up damaging them for the midterm elections next fall. you mentioned the polls, very much putting the republicans and the president getting the became for it. but this business about the president, the hard core support he still enjoys among the people who voted him in, is there signs they‘re waivering? i think they're still behind him. but his problem is this —on behind him. but his problem is this — on his one—year anniversary he has about 51% of the american public strongly disapproving of his job performance. meanwhile 26%, about half that level, 26% approve of his

performance. when you have a two to one opposition and in intensity to yourjob performance, one opposition and in intensity to your job performance, you‘re one opposition and in intensity to yourjob performance, you‘re in real trouble. do you not think as the president would say, there have been plusses, particularly on the economic side, the stock market, taxes coming down, the president can point to some things that have gone right for him and in the long run might play well for his own chances of being re—elected. might play well for his own chances of being re-elected. it is possible that president trump‘s popularity is a lagging indicator, usually you have economic lagging indicators, this is is a political one. but we have not seen the ratings for president trump rise one bit with the economy that is roaring. that is because most people have made up their minds about donald trump. they‘re in one fox hole or the other and the problem for trump is there

are twice as many people in the fox holes opposed to him as those supporting him. thank you very much. thousands of women are protesting in cities across the united states to mark the first anniversary of president trump‘s in washington, hundreds gathered; demonstrators gathered — demonstrators heard speeches by a number of politicians, including hillary clinton‘s running mate, senator tim kaine. éai’”: “% >>flf~krfl¢ft %§ 42-9. 3 39441 of the largest protests in us history. i spoke to our correspondent in washington and she told me about what was going on there, what was being said by those who had taken pa rt being said by those who had taken part in the march. one lady told me, i want to apologise for the rest of the world, because our administration is misrepresents the united states. another man told me

that he is a teacher in a public school in dc iii that he is a teacher in a public school in dc 2 from j that he is a teacher in a public school in dc§ej from “big“— and he believes the do salvador and he believes they do love america more than the average person according to his own words. some people have been telling me as well they see the president as racist and incompetent and they want change and this is why showed up here today. there was a girl holding a sign saying build your wall, but my generation is going to tear it down. everybody has been quite critical of the republicans and of president trump and they say that it is time for a change and this is why today‘s rally encourages women to register for votes. especially as there is midterm elections in next november and they call on women to run for office, because they need to see more female voices taking part

in american politics. and we‘ll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow‘s front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. our guestsjoining me tonight are kate andrews, news editor at the institute of economic affairs and sebastian payne, who‘s political leader writer at the ft. there have been reports of a suspected militant attack on a large hotel in the afghan capital, kabul. four gunmen are reported to have entered the intercontinental hotel and opened fire on guests inside. the bbcs zia shehreyar is in kabul. what is the latest that you‘re hearing? nick, the clashes between the security forces and the assail la nts a re the security forces and the assail lants are going on, the ministry confirmed that five people have been

injured so far. they have been brought to hospitals. but there are possibly other casualties as well. because they have been able to clear the first and second floors of the hotel. but the clashes are going on, 01’ hotel. but the clashes are going on, or the clearing operation is going on on the third, fourth and fifth floors. two of the four assailants according to officials have been killed. two others are resisting and they‘re not sure which floor they are and whether they have taken some hostages with them as well. they suspect they probably have. and there are reports that the kitchen of the hotel on the third floor has, is burning now and has been set on fire. and the clash has been going

on for the last three and a half hours. afghan special forces have been deployed to the area. there are reports that nato forces are helping them, or they are also in the area. and there are also reports that among the guests of the hotel there are some foreign citizens as well. but we don‘t know if they‘re hurt or not. and the hotel is located in a very highly secured area. there are questions how these assailants have managed to enter the hotel and a wedding party was going on in the hall of the hotel as well. the police have said that nobody has been injured from the wedding guests and they all have been evacuated from the area. and we will have to

wait and get a more clear picture about the casualties, because some eyewitnesss who have fled the, or who have managed to flee the hotel have told the local media that they have told the local media that they have seen dead bodies and a lot of injured people. thank you very much. the headlines on bbc news: many government services in america have shut down after politicians failed to pass a spending bill. essential services including national security and air traffic control will continue. several gunmen attack the intercontinental hotel in kabul — with officials suggesting some of them included suicide bombers. unconfirmed reports say a number of people have died and others have been taken hostage by the gunmen. turkey launches an assault on kurdish fighters in northern syria — opening a new front in the conflict. now sports news. a very busy day.

let‘s say good evening tojohn watson. thank you. first football and as it as you were at the top of the premier league. manchester city remain 12 points clear after a aguero hat trick. they beat newcastle 3—1. aguero hat trick. they beat newcastle 3-1. tough to have a defeat in anfield, it was so important to make two bad results in a row. now, ok, three more points, we need ten more victories to be champions and we are going to try. we have two options, see what happened behind us, see what happened behind us, see what happened in front of us. elsewhere

manchester united beat burnley1—0. arsenal scored four first half goals to beat crystal palace 4—1. stoke city are out of relegation zone, paul lambert getting a win in his first game in charge. in the scottish cup aberdeen eased their way into the next round with a 4—1 over st mirren. the goal of game came two minutes into the second half. look at this from gary mackay—steven. here are the other results in the scottish cup. three games were postponed because of the bad weather. saracens have given themselves a

life line to qualify for the quart finals of the champions cup with a victory over northampton. they had to win against saints and did so running in seven tries in a dominant attacking display. they still need other results to go their way tomorrow to reach the last day of the competition. scarlets are carrying welsh hopes after becoming the first welsh side to qualify for the first welsh side to qualify for the tournament for six years. they beat toulon 30—27. the second semi—final at the masters snooker is under way in london. betweenjohn higgins and mark alan. these are not

live pictures, but higgins is bidding for a third title. alan has never been further in the tournament. alan is going into the interval with a 3—1 lead. higgins has work to do to add another piece of silverware to his trophy cabinet. wilson beat trump. wilson capitalised and will make his first masters final. roger federer is through to the fourth round at the australian open. he he has won five times. he beat gasquet. he is of course the favourite to win and of course the favourite to win and of course the favourite to win and

of course what will be a 20th grand slam title as well. also in melbourne wins for rafael nadal. i'm happy that i was able to rise to a level that i needed to beat richard. you know, it was tough. to score shows it as well. i could have done it maybe a bit faster. but i‘m happy to have done it the way it happened. that is your sport. i‘m back throughout the evening. turkey has begun a new intervention in the conflict in syria — by launching an offensive against kurdish held territory near its border. it has long fought kurdish separatists within its own country and is now shelling kurdish militia in the afreen region. mark lowen reports from near the turkey—syria border. it began today, so called operation olive branch. turkish f16 fighter jets pounding afrin,

an enclave of northern syria under the control of the syrian militia, the ypg. and turkish—backed syrian rebel fighters are on the ground as part of that offensive. turkey sees the ypg as a terrorist group, linked to turkey‘s kurdish militants, the pkk, who have been fighting an insurgency here in turkey since the 1980s. but it is a dangerous operation, because the americans back the ypg in the fight against the islamic state group. now this operation puts turkey in direct confrontation with its nato ally, the us. american support of the ypg has consistently infuriated the turkish government. and the syrian regime has warned that they would shoot down any turkish jet and see an incursion by turkey as a violation of syria‘s sovereignty. plenty of perils as turkey launches the operation, and yet it has still gone ahead, determined to reduce territorial control of the ypg,

fearing they were consolidating territory on the other side of the border. this operation could bog turkey down in a potentially long and deadly military offensive. earlier i spoke to gurney yildiz —— from the think tank, the european council on foreign relations. i asked him what turkey aimed to achieve in the conflict. turkey‘s trying to reduce the territorial control of syrian kurdish forces and these forces have been supported by the us coalition. but afrin is only a small area and it is one place where the us is not co—operating with turk y. it is unlikely turkey will get strikes to... attack other parts of northern syria. this part doesn‘t make huge

sense diplomatically, because turkey cannot secure diplomatic support for a ground operation. it does not make much sense militarily against an effective machine. it makes some sense for president erdogan for domestic politics, because he is allied with far right groups and he is worried about challenges from within his own party. this might end up within his own party. this might end up strengthening president erdogan‘s position, but it is very risky, because we have seen turk yip not secure o‘—— turkey not securing success in other battles with isis. even a demoralised isis. the french president has suggested the uk could get a bespoke trade deal with the european union after brexit, but again warned it could not expect full access

to the single market unless it accepted its rules. in an interview to be broadcast in full on the andrew marr show tomorrow, emmanuel macron said he respected, but regretted, the brexit vote. this special way should be consistent with the preservation of the single market and you should understand that you cannot by definition have the full access to the single market if you don‘t tick the single market if you don‘t tick the box. to get full access to the single market you need contribution to the budget and you have to accept... the freedoms. the freedoms and you have to accept the jurisdiction. as soon as you decide not tojoin this jurisdiction. as soon as you decide not to join this preconditions it is not to join this preconditions it is not full access. so it is something between the full access and a trade agreement. and you can see the full interview

with the french president on the andrew marr show tomorrow morning from 9am on bbc one. sinn fein have announced that gerry adams will be succeeded as leader next month by his deputy for the past nine years, mary lou mcdonald. she‘s been a member of the irish parliament since 2011 and had previously been an mep. gerry adams announced his intention to stand down in november last year. the international olympic committee has approved plans for north korea to participate at next month‘s winter olympics, and agreed teams from north and south can march under the same flag at the opening ceremony. the agreement comes over months of heightened tension on the korean peninsula over the testing of nuclear weapons by north korea. imogen foulkes reports from ioc headquarters in the swiss city of lausanne. two koreas face to face — such is the tension on the korean peninsula

that this meeting about the olympics became something much more. here the two sides spoke for hours and emerged with an agreement and the blessing of the international olympic committee. the ioc has approved their request to have their delegations marching together as one. under the name korea. for first time, the two koreas — divided since the 50s — will field a unified team. women‘s ice hockey. and the olympics have relaxed their qualifying deadlines to allow north korean athletes to compete. these are not political leaders, but representatives of north and south korea‘s national olympic committees — still some believe this could be a sign of much more harmony to come.

the olympic spirit is about respect, dialogue and understanding. the olympic winter games in 2018 are hopefully opening the door to a brighter future hopefully opening the door to a brighterfuture on hopefully opening the door to a brighter future on the korean peninsula. given the long divisions between the two, it is probably over optimistic to hope that real peace is just around the corner. but the co—operation here and the contact the do countries will have next month might, many hope, lead to more talking and wider agreement. six women from the british army have become the largest all—female group to ski coast—to—coast across antarctica. the ice maiden team began the 1,000—mile expedition on 20th november — each pulling an 80 kilogram sledge behind them.

after 62 days on the ice, the 6 soldiers crossed the finish line at the hercules inletjust before 10 oclock this morning. one of the ice maiden‘s, major nat taylor, has been speaking to the bbc about the expedition. the past two months we have been outside ten hours and getting back into the tent. there have been moments where i have been, two years i craved a jam sandwich. random things, you think of all the things you want a jam sandwich. for me getting off the plane, the first thing i want to do is have a shower. that is the best shower i have hands down ever had! that was major nat taylor. the weather here is pretty chilly as well. let‘s get the latest from ben rich. there is milder weather on the way, but the transition is likely to

bring one or two issues. it is still very cold at the moment and as we bring in the wet weather it will turn to snow across northern ireland and wales. seven degrees in the south west, but minus 13 over the snow fields of scotland. tomorrow as the rain and snow continues to move north and east there could be some travel disruption with icy conditions likely. the wet weather with some snow initially from wales, the midlands northwards will slide north—east. southern areas seeing rain. and temperatures by the end of the day a range two degrees in newcastle. 12 in plymouth. the milderair newcastle. 12 in plymouth. the milder air will win out through the week ahead. with it we will see some wind and rain at times. this is bbc news. the headlines:

the us government grinds to a halt on the first anniversary of president trump‘s inauguration — as the senate fails to agree on a budget to fund many public services. america knows this is the trump shutdown. only the president can end it. gunmen in afghanistan are reported to have attacked a top hotel in the capital, kabul. turkey deploys tanks to shell kurdish fighters in northern syria — as turkish air strikes are ordered. the move is likely to cause tensions with the united states. north korea will send 22 athletes to compete in three sports at the winter olympics in south korea in february. now on bbc news, inside out asks how to get out — and stay out — of debt.