welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: at least three people are confirmed dead, several others wounded, in the french city of strasbourg. a gunman opened fire near a busy christmas market and is still on the run. one eyewitness overlooking the scene filmed the immediate reaction to the attack. what happened was, i heard two distinct noises, but i took them to be firecrackers. but when i turned around a corner, i did see one person on the ground with an apparent headshot wound, at least one. the french president has been in emergency session with security staff in paris, as the manhunt closes down parts of strasbourg. britain's prime minister tours europe trying to rescue her brexit deal. but at home, a leadership challenge looks increasingly likely. and two reuters reporters imprisoned in myanmar are among those named 2018's person of the year by time magazine. hello.

we begin with breaking news from france, where police are hunting a gunman who opened fire near a christmas market in strasbourg. three people are confirmed dead, although it is thought there could be more fatalities. at least 12 people have been wounded. the gunman is known to the authorities, who have begun a terror investigation. officials say he had been previously identified as a national security risk. eliza philippidis reports a city on lockdown. these are the scenes just moments after the shooting — confusion, panic. the 29—year—old gunman opened fire, targeting people in his sights.

he attacked using an automatic weapon. the shooting started at around 7:00pm last night, local time. people ran from the scene, shutting themselves inside bars and restaurants. some people had no clue what they were walking into. when i saw the army, it was a group of 10—12 soldiers walking towards me, with their guns pointed to the street, to the people, and around them, everyone was running from all directions. so, as i was walking past a building with a courtyard, i entered the courtyard, and as other people next to me did, we threw ourselves to the ground, because we didn't know what is happening. some people tried to help those who were shot. and i saw a person with apparently two shots into the head,

lying on the bridge here. we tried to engage him in resuscitation activities. we took him into a restaurant and we tried for 45 minutes to resuscitation him. there were no ambulance services apparently able to enter the area, and after 45 minutes, we stopped resuscitation efforts because a doctor told us over the phone that it's senseless. witnesses describe seeing several people lying on the ground, struck down by the shooter. as soon as it became safe, ambulance crews were sent in to collect the injured and take them to hospital. police said the suspected gunman was known to authorities, and was on france's "s" watchlist of suspected extremists. earlier yesterday, authorities went to his strasbourg home to arrest him, but he was not there. they found grenades in the property. president emmanuel macron has been

briefed at the emergency command centre back in paris, and questions will be raised about how to best protect the french people from attacks like these. security has been stepped up in recent years, after a series of attacks in france by islamist gunmen. eliza philippidis, bbc news. a short time ago i spoke to pierre france, a local journalist in strasbourg. i asked him if he could confirm that the suspect had been shot and wounded by a soldier. that has been confirmed. and he may have been wounded, because he received fire from the military, who was patrolling the christmas market. and a soldier also has been wounded in the fire exchange.

pierre, are you able to tell us any more about the area that the security services are trying to search at the moment? how difficult is that going to be? well, there's currently a helicopter that is patrolling the city. and there are obviously a lot of security forces all around. the government rose the terrorist alert level at a higher level, which is the highest level, actually, so there will be controls around the borders, which have been closed. so it will be very difficult for someone who is alone to avoid being caught by them.

apart from the concern of finding this particular gunman, there will be great worries about whether he is on his own or part of a network, where more attacks might be planned. that — obviously we have no information on that. also, it is not at the moment related to any islamist background. he was one, we are told, the so—called fiche "s" watchlist, but there are many hundreds of thousands of people on that. the system has been criticised for not being very effective. what do you make of it? exactly, the fiche "s" is really some kind of police memo database. so anyone can be on it. some journalists are on it. some environment activists are on it. and of course, islamists.

there are many people who are in this database. it doesn't mean anything. drjoseph downing from the london school of economics specialises in french security and politics. i asked him about the challenges facing the police, troops and security services. they're entering a very problematic phase in this operation, to be honest, because they're trying to apprehend this individual before they can undertake what several others have done, which is to go out in a blaze of glory in a hostage—type situation, that has happened in 2012, or those who took hostages in the supermarket in paris. they will be desperately seeking to find this individual. also, as you have highlighted, they will be racing to find

any information they can on who this guy is, what are his connections, if he has any links to criminality or to broader terrorist networks, and are there further attacks planned. the fact that grenades have been found is quite worrying, because it hints at a bigger cache of arms possibly for other attacks. there have been several instances of so—called petty criminals carrying out relatively low—level crimes, but using heavy—duty weaponry. it's such a big problem in french cities. i spent some of my time in marseilles, in the south. in marseilles and paris and lyon, robbing a corner store with a kalashnikov is a daily occurrence. you can purchase one in most french cities for a few hundred euros, this is really worrying, occasionally police find rocket launchers, and all kinds of military weapons which, because these people have connections in the crime world, can get hold of under the pretence of comitting a crime, can commit terrorist offences.

they were trying to pick him up on robbery charges. you could say, though, that the system worked in some ways. this military initiative, which was nationwide, soldiers patrolling as part of that to make contact with him, who we were told wounded him. yeah, no, no, in this particular case possibly. but there have been numerous cases where soldiers in the operation have been targets themselves. to me that operation, in terms of its effectiveness, is more really about reassuring the public and making a symbolic gesture that we are doing something, rather than being that effective on the ground. have you heard from all of your sources from this suggestion, that we absolutely cannot confirm, that the suspect may have been cornered around this block, not far from the european parliament. i don't have any other information, other than that. this is, as i said, an extremely delicate phase of the operation,

because this is a densely—packed urban area. anyone who has looked at counterinsurgency or policing of these kinds of areas can see that things can get very messy very quickly. and they're going to want to try to get this guy out of here as soon as possible. and just to look for someone in an area like that, as a citizen, someone unarmed, is tricky enough, but this circumstance is difficult. yes, needle in a haystack. we're talking about the guy could be in a bin, a bin room, an apartment, a cellar. really, it's so difficult, it's a needle—in—a—haystack type of operation. we are saying that this is relatively close to the european parliament. there is no suggestion that that was the target, but was in lockdown for quite some time. christmas markets, because they are so crowded, will always be vulnerable, as well as all shopping areas. as we see, the markets in baghdad or kabul, which are targeted by suicide bombers. 0r whether it's the christmas markets in europe, or our very own oxford street, they're soft targets.

the european parliament would have been for a very long time a very difficult target, because it's been locked down, you have to pass through metal detectors to go inside, like many other political buildings in europe. whereas christmas markets and shopping streets, you can't check everybody, it's not an airport. you cannot have the level of security body scanners, it's just not feasible. thus they remain soft targets. we will bring you more on this as soon as we will bring you more on this as soon as we we will bring you more on this as soon as we have it. the gunman is still on the run. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we report on "the guardians", journalists killed and imprisoned, now collectively named time magazine's person of the year. john lennon was shot at the entrance to the dakota building, in the centre of new york. there's been a crowd here standing in more or less silent vigil, and the flowers have been piling up.

the 14th ceasefire of this war ended at the walls of the old city of dubrovnik. this morning, witnesses said shells were landing every 20 seconds. people are celebrating the passing of a man they hold responsible for hundreds of deaths and oppression. elsewhere, people have been gathering to mourn his passing. imelda marcos, the widow of the former president of the philippines, has gone on trial in manila. she's facing seven charges of tax evasion. she pleaded not guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to separate. a statement from buckingham palace said the decision had been reached amicably. good to have you with us on bbc

news. the latest headlines: a gunman has opened fire near a christmas market in the french city of strasbourg. he is still on the run. at least three people are reported dead and several injured. the gunman is known to the authorities, who have begun a terror investigation. officials say he had been previously identified as a national security risk. more on the main news now, quite a lot on the move. leading conservative brexiteers have told bbc news they are increasingly confident they have enough support to trigger a confidence vote in theresa may. so far, there's been no official confirmation. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg says the mood has darkened around theresa may in westminster. several sources have told the bbc, including a cabinet minister, that they do expect the prime minister is now going to have to face a vote of no—confidence from within her own party. yes, enough of her mps, it's believed tonight, have submitted letters to the chair of the tory backbench committee to trigger a contest,

an attempt to force her out. now, istress, though, and i cannot say this heavily enough, there is no official confirmation of this. number ten are downplaying it. sir graham brady, the man who ony he really knows, will not make any comment, but it is a marker of the degree of concern, the degree of disagreement and the degree of anxiety and the lack of faith in the prime minister's leadership that that is the sense here, the very profound sense here that has changed in the last couple of days. after talking to people about this over a period of more than two years the sense is that there were many people on the remain side as well as the brexit side who were willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, but that good will is ebbing away pretty fast. as i say, we cannot be exactly sure about the next sequence of events and i cannot stress that heavily enough.

we may well be at the stage where theresa may has one last chance to fight for her leadership, one i'm pretty sure she will absolutely take, because if we have learned one thing about the prime minister through all this turmoil, she is certainly not somebody who gives up without a fight. laura kuenssberg for us. what about the reaction from europe? 0ur europe editor katya adler has more details from brussels. what eu leaders have observed ever since the referendum is political turmoil that are still ongoing in the uk. they see a country split and divided over brexit and that means that however much theresa may may travel around europe and shake hands with european prime ministers and presidents, they do not really want to make big concessions to her right now because deep down they believe that whatever they are willing to give her may still not be enough to get the deal through a divided

parliament. tonight we have a tweet from donald tusk, president of the european council, who described his encounter with theresa may today as long and frank, which isn't exactly the most positive words. he said that eu leaders want to help but they are unsure how to. and that is because they think the brexit deal, the divorce deal that is on the table right now and that was negotiated over 19 months is the best compromise deal possible. if the uk wants to leave the eu, if the uk wants to leave the single marketand the customs market as well. so, yes, theresa may says she will continue with her european tour. on thursday, there is an emergency summit here in brussels where angela merkel, emmanuel macron, they think the ball is in the uk's court over brexit and not on in theirs. president trump's first meeting with senior democrats since they won control of the house of representatives in november's mid—term elections has ended in a televised row. mr trump said he would be proud

to shut down the us government if he didn't secure billions of dollars in funding for a border wall with mexico. nancy, i do. we need border security. nancy, nancy. we need border security. you have called 20 times to shut down the government. you say, i want to shutdown you say, i want to shut down the government. i don't. when the president brags that he won north dakota and indiana, he is in real trouble. don't mischaracterise the strength i bring to this meeting. elections have consequences. i am proud to shut down the government for border security, chuck. that is a quote that may come back to bite the president. let's briefly round up some of the day's other news for you now. days after the detention of a top chinese telecoms executive in canda, justin trudeau says he's seeking answers over bejing's detention of a former canadian diplomat who now works for a think tank. it's not clear whether his detention is linked to the arrest of meng wanzhou, who's the chief finance officer of the mobile phone company, huawei.

jurors say a man who drove his car into a crowd of protesters in virginia last year, killing a woman, should serve a life sentence plus a19 years in prison. following two days of deliberation, a jury recommended on tuesday that james alex fields also pay $480,000 in fines for his crimes. he still faces a number of hate crime charges in a separate federal trial. at least four people have been killed in a shooting inside a cathedral in brazil. a gunman opened fire on worshippers in campinas, in the state of sao paulo, just as the midday service was finishing. police said he fired from two weapons and appeared to target people at random before killing himself at the altar. many of his victims were elderly. russian cosmonauts have completed a lengthy space walk to investigate a tiny hole which appeared in a soyuz capsule docked at the international space station. they spent nearly eight hours cutting away at thermal insulation and taking samples of sealant. the two milimetre hole led to a drop in pressure at the space station when it appeared in august. six people, claiming

to be migrants from iran, have been rescued from a small boat off the south coast of england. more than 100 migrants have crossed the english channel from france in november. the dover—calais route is the world's busiest shipping lane, and the british authorities are warning of the dangers of trying to cross it in small vessels. colin campbell has this exclusive report. emerging from the darkness, an inflatable dinghy. it's 2:00am. we're the middle of the english channel. the dinghy is motoring at full speed from france towards the kent coast. are you 0k? 0k? 0k, thank you. we get a thumbs—up. however, the boat is dangerously overcrowded, taking on water, the six migrants cold, scared, desperate, but determined to get to the uk. this dinghy in a precarious position. it's vulnerable because it's now

entering a shipping lane, and there are a number of ships coming towards it. so we're shepherding it, almost, i think, at the moment, so it remains in a safe position. we're on board a doverfishing boat. this is the third migrant rescue for skipper matthew coker in three months. there was five ships coming down in one lump. and it cut across in front of them, and i don't know — if we hadn't have been with him, them ships wouldn't have gone round him. because i'm onlyjust picking him up, so i don't think they would have seen him. as you can see, there's no lights on the boat at all. the migrants, who are wrapped in blankets and scarves, speak little english. where are you from? you're iranian? iran, iran, irani. the water at the moment appears to be going into the back of the dinghy, but they're continuing. they're not stopping, they don't want our help. it's a desperate race to try to get to the uk for these people. although they decline our offers of help, they do stop to ask for water, which i lower down to them in a net.

thank you. 0k. in the last three months, more than 100 migrants have made this treacherous crossing. a fortnight ago, we exposed how some of the smuggling operations are being planned from a makeshift migrant camp in dunkirk. we secretly filmed using an undercover researcher. translation: a boat, it will cost you £3,000—4,000. i'm taking three people with me. they're paying cash. we get a boat, and off we go. last night, the weather and sea conditions in the channel were good, but in a small boat in the dark, it's still incredibly dangerous. the message is going back to the camps, or to the people on the other side, to the gangs, that it's working. so more are going to come, and i'm certain they will keep coming until there's an absolute tragedy. these migrants were safely rescued by the rnli and the border force, but it is a potentially deadly route that more and more are trying. despite winter, despite the risks,

the migrants keep coming. colin campbell, bbc news, dover. now to some people called "the guardians", journalists killed and imprisoned have been named time magazine's person of the year. among them, two reuters reporters imprisoned in myanmar. it was a year ago wa lone and kyaw soe 0o were arrested for investigating a massacre of rohingya muslims by the burmese army. their families have once again called on myanmar‘s government to release them. 0ur correspondent nick beake reports from yangon. it's a special moment in myanmar when any baby reaches 100 days old. here, for angel's mum, the proudest of days. but it's a party at her dad isn't allowed to come to. he's behind bars. a journalist who says his only crime was doing hisjob. wa lone and his reuters colleague kyaw soe oo were about to expose a massacre by the burmese army, and it's widely believed that's why

they were set up and then convicted. translation: this is an auspicious and supposedly happy day for my daughter, so i am trying to smile. but deep down, ijust miss my husband so much. all the time, i have been hoping he'll be released. for exactly a year now, the two reuters journalists have been locked up inside this prison here in yangon. during that time, there have been calls from around the world for them to be freed. the civilian government here in myanmar, led by aung san suu kyi, has the power to order their immediate release. but so far, the nobel peace prize winner has refused to do so. the journalists' wives have begged her to intervene. translation: my husband is innocent, my husband absolutely would never harm his country. miss aung san suu kyi, my husband respects you so highly, he's always proud of you, my husband always defends you when you're criticised.

the jailing of these journalists has raised deep concerns for the media, free speech and democracy in myanmar. it seems this is still a country where speaking the truth comes at a heavy price. nick beake, bbc news, yangon. just a reminder before we leave you of the main story is still on the move, hundreds of french security forces are searching for a gunman who went on a shooting spree nearer popular christmas market in strasbourg, killing three people. 12 wounded, some critically. the french interior ministry said at local 29—year—old escaped after twice exchanging fire with soldiers and police. he is believed to be

wounded, but on the run. the government has raised the national security level and strengthened border security. the motive of the attack is unclear. a counterterrorism probe has been launched. the government was under surveillance as a national security risk. police raided the gunman's home on tuesday morning to arrest him on suspected charges of robbery and burglary but he was out. the raid uncovered a cache of grenades. the police say the crucial necessity is to find the individual and to find out if he is working on his own or network, in other words, if more attacks are planned. front has been on high security since the 2015 charlie hebdo at tax. he was on the list, which has about 400,000 people on it, so it's unclear if he was being monitored —— attacks. you can get much more any time on the bbc news website. thank you for watching. hello.

you can expect a definite chill in the air over the next few days, particularly as a biting wind picks up. but, for western parts of the uk, there is a little bit of rain in the forecast. what we've got on the satellite picture from a little earlier on is this stripe of cloud. it's a frontal system pushing in from the atlantic. it is bringing some outbreaks of rain, but whereas we might noramlly expect a front to sweep through, bringing rain for all of us, this front is running up against some resistance, this area of high pressure blocking the front‘s progress. so it won't get much further than the south—west of england, wales, northern ireland, south—west scotland. here some rain, but elsewhere, wednesday getting off to a largely dry if rather cloudy start, with the odd fog patch. through the day, we should see brighter conditions spreading from the east, so more in the way of sunshine, but with that, some colder air spreading in from the east, as well. so the mildest weather will be in the west, 10 degrees in belfast, in stornoway and in plymouth. now, as we go through wednesday evening into the night, we'll see more and more clear skies filtering through. still a bit of patchy cloud, but where the skies stay clear and starry for any length

of time where you are, it is going to get a little bit chilly. you see the pale green and blue colours here on our temperature chart. our towns and cities around about two, three, or four degrees, but some spots in the countryside can expect a touch of frost. and then into thursday, well, this weather battleground continues. frontal systems still trying to bring rain in from the west, high pressure blocking their progress, and around this high, at this stage we're going to have an increasingly brisk east or south—easterly wind, and that is going to make it feel cold. so on thursday, any wet weather really confined to the far south—west of the country, particularly parts of cornwall. elsewhere largely dry, apart from the odd shower, just sprinkling in across the north sea coast. there will be some spells of sunshine, but look at the strength of the wind, particularly in some southern and western areas. and temperatures — well, on the thermometer, not particularly impressive. but add on the strength of the wind, this is what it's going

to feel like. if you're spending your day in the channel islands, it'll feel subzero, norwich and birmingham feeling like freezing. a very, very chilly feel to the day. now, on friday the winds will be lighter, it may not feel as cold, even though the temperatures will still be quite low. a change, as you can see, though, as we get on into saturday, because those fronts in the atlantic will make a bit more progress by this stage. we'll see some windy weather, some very wet weather for some, and as the front runs into cold air, especially over high ground in the north, there could be some snow. this is bbc news. the headlines: a gunman has opened fire in the french city of strasbourg, near a busy christmas market. in an emergency meeting in paris, the country's interior minister confirmed the gunman is still on the run after killing three people and wounding at least 12 others. the gunman is known to the authorities, who have begun a terror investigation. officials say he had been previously identified as a national security risk, while a raid on his apartment has uncovered a number of grenades. the french government says it is taking immediate steps

to stregthen security on its borders. pressure is mounting on britain's prime minister, theresa may, from within her own conservative party. leading pro—brexit members of parliament have told the bbc they are increasingly confident they have enough support to trigger a vote of no confidence in her. it comes as she visted european leaders in an attempt to rescue her brexit deal.