welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: the parliamentary party does have confidence... cheering britain's prime minister survives a vote of no—confidence from her own party, but the challenges over brexit remain. here is our new mission — delivering the brexit that people voted for, bringing the country back together and building a country that truly works for everyone. president trump's former lawyer is jailed for paying off two women who said they had affairs with mr trump and lying to congress. how could michael cohen's sentence affect the white ho use? hundreds of police are still hunting a militant islamist who carried out a deadly attack in the french city of strasbourg. the british prime minister has survived a confidence vote

from her own conservative party. but a third of her own members of parliament voted against her, and with brexit at a crucial stage the result is not much help at all to her chances of getting her deal approved by mps. 317 conservative mps were eligible to vote in the election. 200 voted in favour of the prime minister. 117 voted against her. that's a majority of 83. before wednesday's vote, the prime minister had hinted to conservative mps that she does not intend to lead the party into the next general election, that's meant to be in 2022. she insisted her focus should be on delivering brexit somehow. our political editor, laura kuenssberg, starts our coverage. there is flash photography coming up. decision time. survival time. for a prime minister and a party twisted together

in a years old fight. applause only the conservatives would do it like this behind those walls. a challenge in the morning, the rebels seen off before it's time for bed. the result of the ballot held this evening is that the parliamentary party does have confidence. applause 200 of her mps wanted her to stay, 117 wanted her to go. a clear result, but a party in obvious conflict. no further confidence vote can take place for at least 12 months. applause despite the applause, what do the tories really have to celebrate beyond tonight? it was another lonely journey to the microphone. the prime minister had to promise she'd go, in order to stay for now. this has been a long and challenging day, but at the end of it,

i'm pleased to have received the backing of my colleagues in tonight's ballot. whilst i'm grateful for that support, a significant number of colleagues did cast a vote against me and i have listened to what they've said. following this ballot, we now need to get on with the job of delivering brexit for the british people and building a better future for this country. a brexit that delivers on the vote that people gave, that brings back control of our money, our borders and our laws, that protectsjobs, security and the union, that brings the country back together rather than entrenching division. that must start here in westminster, with politicians on all sides coming together and acting in the national interest. so, here is our renewed mission — delivering the brexit that people voted for, bringing the country back together and building a country that truly works for everyone. resilient but not inscrutable.

this is not the end of this argument, or a triumph over hearts and minds. of course i accept this result, but the prime minister must realise that under all constitutional norms, she ought to go and see the queen urgently and resign. there are lessons for her and lessons for the party. this had hardly been an ideal day for the conservative party, but the party has voted very comfortaly that it wants her to stay, wants here to take us through brexit. the prime minister might have won, the divisions and bitterness are right out there. listen to how her chancellor talked about some of his colleagues. i think this vote today will do is flush out the extremists who are trying to advance a particular agenda. but a win is not the same as a true victory. survival not the same as succeeding. another tory prime minister's leadership fractured, if not broken, by a decades old dispute of the party's own.

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. on thursday, european leaders meet in brussels for a special summit. britain's prime minister is expected to attend, hoping to win extra assurances from the eu to convince her opponents at home. they have focused on the so—called backstop — the guarantee to prevent the return of a hard border in ireland. the democratic unionist party of northern ireland wants the backstop abandoned, as do many conservative mps, but the eu insists the current agreement cannot be renegotiated. our deputy political editor, john pienaar, on what might come next. shoting: brexit! they've been demonstrating here for months, rain or shine, for or against brexit. obsessed? maybe. but they're also right to feel brexit is the biggest issue facing britain in decades. bigger than tonight's decision to keep on and not sack theresa may. it's still herjob to try somehow

to break their brexit deadlock, and tonight's vote was never going to make that easier. theresa may is still facing a deeply divided house of commons, party and cabinet. still struggling to win over brexiteers who fear that the brexit plan could leave the uk trapped inside european union rules indefinitely. some of them sit in cabinet. two have walked out since this was filmed, more of them are potential leadership candidates. and today, one brexiteer warned a no—deal brexit was still possible, and mrs may, or presumably another leader, had to get more concessions out of brussels or else. it's very difficult to support the deal if we don't get changes to the backstop. i don't think it'll get through. i'm not sure if the cabinet will agree for it to be put to the house of commons. among the cabinet's former remainers, some would support a softer brexit with closer eu links than mrs may's. though they're not saying that. they are saying they'd fight against leaving without a deal and the commons wouldn't wear it.

you've been clear, in your view, that no—deal... a no—deal brexit is not a runner? i've been clear that the house of commons will stop no deal, the fact that i think it'll stop the deal does not mean we should not continue preparations just in case and some people pointed out it could nevertheless happen, but i think no deal would be such a bad outcome for the country that i believe house of commons will assert itself and stop it. so far, though, there's no sign of european leaders agreeing at tomorrow's eu summit that britain could leave eu rules in its own time, on its own terms. in berlin today, the german leader spoke plainly. "we have no intention of changing the exit agreement," angela merkel said. today, mrs may warned that any leader would be short of time. the brexit timetable is tight after tomorrow's summit. in the new year, before january 21st, the delayed meaningful vote in the commons is due. if the government's defeated, it must report back on its plans for the next steps within 21 days,

but any deal must also be approved by the european parliament before it takes effect. then, at 11pm on march the 29th, the uk's due to leave the eu. but the prime minister and her deal are still facing defeat by mps. no—one can yet rule out a brexit tied closely to the eu or a fresh referendum. and however long theresa may has left in office, the biggest question of all — what's britain's future — still hangs in the air. john pienaar, bbc news. the eu has announced some further assurances on the irish border backstop. our brussels reporter, adam fleming, told us more just now. there is a document floating around brussels tonight which is the draft council conclusions, which is the document the eu leaders will sign up to tomorrow night after the brexit bit of their summit, which will take place here in brussels after dinner thursday, tomorrow. now, this draft is floating around and it's got a few very, very interesting things in it.

what those things are is that it amounts to these are the assurances the eu is planning to give to theresa may, so that she can take them back to the house of commons and try and persuade mps that the withdrawal agreement isn't not that bad after all. it's all about the northern irish backstop, remember that backup plan, that insurance policy for avoiding a hard border between northern ireland and ireland. that would see the whole of the uk staying in a sort of customs union with the whole of the eu and lots of rules and regulations still applying to northern ireland. many of the brexiteers‘ fears, and many other mps‘ and parliament's fears, is that that backstop, the uk will never be able to escape from it, it will be the end state. all along the eu has said, "no, that is not the case, it's only temporary. we don't like it very much, we want to avoid it at all costs, it is only a backup if it is needed." so they're going to great lengths

to show how temporary they want it to be. so this document being sent around tonight, being signed by eu leaders, contains commitments by the eu that they will continue to negotiate a future trade agreement with the uk even if the backstop comes into place at the end of the post—brexit transition period. so even if the backstop is in place, the uk and the eu will continue to negotiate a future trade deal that could get rid of it, swipe it away so you don't need it anymore. that is to prove that the eu is serious when it means the backstop is going to be temporary and it's not going to be for ever. then there's another little bit in the document, the second last paragraph, it's not very long, only six paragraphs, the secondlast paragraph hints at this being a 2—stage process of providing reassurance. it'll start tomorrow at a european summit of leaders, it will continue at an official and legal level with the final product being published injanuary. so the british parliamentarians can potentially get a bit of reassurance

tomorrow with a lot more reassurance coming injanuary, which is when we think they will then vote on the final deal finally. donald trump's former personal lawyer has been jailed for three years for lying to congress and breaching election campaign rules. and as he was sentenced, he made a blistering attack on the president. michael cohen admitted organising payments to two women who claimed to have slept with mr trump. he admitted giving false information about contacts between the trump campaign and russia, and he told the court his job had been to cover up his boss's dirty deeds. president trump has denied any wrongdoing. nick bryant reports. reporter: michael, michael! michael cohen used to boast he was donald trump's pit bull, but he arrived at this courthouse in manhattan, his family at his side, ready to sink his teeth into the president. speaking before he was sentenced, he delivered an excoriating address, one that immediately entered the history books of the trump era, one that made it sound

as if his former boss was the true guilty party. at times fighting back tears, michael cohen said he'd been in a state of mental and personal incarceration since first working for donald trump. he said the president was right to call him weak because he'd covered up what he called his dirty deeds out of a sense of blind loyalty. he said there was little to admire about donald trump. he apologised to the american people, and he said he would give as much information to the special counsel, robert mueller, as he could truthfully give. the courtroom artist caught the anguish on his face as he admitted his own weakness had led him to choose what he had described as the triumph of darkness over light. thejudge sentenced him to three years in prison. cohen told the court, "today's the day i'm getting my freedom back." the words the media should be using to describe mr trump are generous, compassionate, principled... these were the days before

he unshackled himself from donald trump, when he revelled in his role as his personalfixer, the man who supposedly made problems go away. and that's what he hoped to do by making hush money payments to two women, including the porn star, stormy daniels, who claimed to have had sexual liasons with mr trump. those payments violated campaign finance laws, and federal prosecutors said last week they were directed by donald trump in order to avoid a potential sex scandal ahead of the 2016 presidential election. cohen was also sentenced for lying to congress about his discussions with kremlin officials about a proposed trump tower in the heart of moscow. recently, donald trump described his former right—hand man as weak and not very smart. but tonight he was unusually reticent when asked by reporters to his reaction to michael cohen's speech. reporter: mr president, did michael cohen cover up yourdirty deeds? what dirty deeds is he talking about, mr president? and with that, the door was shut on the reporters.

but those meddlesome questions just won't go away. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. hundreds of police are still hunting the gunman who escaped last night after killing three people and wounding 13 at a christmas market in the french city of strasbourg. it's thought he may have crossed the border into germany. security forces the re are on alert. security forces there are on alert. investigators say it was an act of terror. damian grammaticas reports from strasbourg. this is a city on alert. hundreds of police and soldiers on a manhunt for a killer. but where did he go? even the nearby border watched, to stop him slipping away. cherif chekatt, the suspected gunman. police now appealing for help finding him. screaming he'd opened fire near the christmas markets. this is the old heart of strasbourg. people barricaded themselves inside. screaming

among his victims, a tourist from thailand, here on holiday with his wife. cherif chekatt, 29 years old, has been in prison, has 27 convictions for crimes like robbery, and was already on france's terror watch—list. "the shooting went on for 30 or a0 minutes", rabin says. he filmed police scrambling for cover and says he knew the gunman. "yes, he was in prison here and in germany too", he says. outside the shop where he took cover, ali told us he saw chekatt go past shooting, and recognised him as they'd been in prison together. "i saw people running, running", he says. "police running too. everyone was saying it's gunshots." so now, strasbourg's famous christmas market has been shuttered, all business stopped. the christmas market is one of the big attractions that draws

visitors to strasbourg. we don't know when this one will reopen. france has been put on the highest level of alert, and the government says that security will now be stepped up at christmas markets across the country. damian grammaticas, bbc news, strasbourg. that story very much still on the move. we'll bring you more as we get it. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: what's the reaction around the uk to the leadership challenge? we'll be getting the views from the leavers and remainers. 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. this is bbc news. our main story: theresa may has survived a vote of no confidence in her leadership, and says she's determined to see through the brexit process.

let's stay with that. our political correspondent alex forsyth has been to market harborough in leicestershire, where 51% of people voted leave. she asked voters for their reaction to events at westminster. six and three, 63. it wasn't just the bingo numbers being watched at market harborough's conservative club tonight. all eyes were on the figures dictating theresa may's fate too. applause i'm really pleased for her, because i think she really deserves to be given a chance. i think she's had some real hard press. i am disappointed. i think that she's got us into an awful mess. when members gathered is for their christmas dinner before the vote, talk was of how the tory party has handled brexit so far. jim's a long—term conservative supporter. he voted remain but accepts the referendum result, just not what's happened since. for the last two and a half years, they've done nothing but back bite and argue with one another, and... brexit—backing mick said

the prime minister has been part of the problem. i thought she'd be a maggie, a bit stronger, but she ain't. do you still think brexit‘s going to happen? i don't know, i don't know. but for sylvia, who's supported the tories for almost 60 years, it's time the party rallied round the leadership. it's going to be tough, and all we can do is accept what she can achieve for us, and make the best of a bad job. in market harborough, the referendum result almost mirrored the national picture. it backed leave, but onlyjust. earlier today, people here said it was time those in westminster improved their approach to brexit, although there's still division about the way ahead. clipper buzzing just get it done and get out. pauline's been a barber here for eight years. at the end of the day people want out, whether we like it, you know, you like it,

that's the opinion of the country. what do you think about the idea of another vote? no, no. but her colleague, ollie, says what the prime minister negotiated should be put to the public, notjust politicians. i think you should take her deal to the public and say, second referendum, remain, go back to pre—2016, or have theresa may's deal and let the public decide from there. i don't think it should be left to those guys down at westminster ‘cause i think they've proven over the last 18 months that they don't get stuff done. however you cut it, tonight's result won't quieten all the critics or shut down this debate. instead, there are more questions about where it's all headed next. alex forsyth, bbc news, market harborough. the confidence vote is just the latest scrap in a very long—running internal conservative party conflict over europe. the opposition labour party also has its divisions on the issue, but it is conservative prime ministers — from edward heath

to margaret thatcher, tojohn major to david cameron — who've been most fiercely buffeted by the europe question. james robbins has retraced the troubled path that's got us here. britain, and in particular conservative prime ministers, have agonised over europe for more than 60 years. agonised over going in, then over being in, now over getting out. but the divisions this time look unprecedented in scale, and to some, they're doing britain real damage. certainly the mess is in the spotlight and the whole world is looking on pretty appalled, with good reason because, you know, there are points when a country looks ungovernable and this looks to the rest of the world, i think, like one of those. so, how did we get here? when the original six members of the european community signed their founding treaty of rome in 1957, britain saw it as an irrelevance to its post—imperial destiny. # it's a crazy feeling...#

in britain, wartime austerity was giving way to the promise of prosperity. but that same year, the first british colonies were celebrating independence and britain was struggling to find a role. by the 1970s, a new alliance with our european neighbours beckoned. officially, we became members at midnight local time. britain under the tories finally joined the common market. is europe stronger with britain a member? yes. and once upon a time, even margaret thatcher was a euro enthusiast, campaigning in the 1975 referendum. but as prime minister in the 1980s, she became increasingly hostile to sharing more sovereignty. no, no, no. but her own downfall was accelerated by deep tory divisions over europe. in the 1990s, her successor, john major, could't turn the rising sceptic tide.

he won opt—outs for britain, including from the euro in the maastricht treaty, but that wasn't enough. fast forward to this century, and in 2016, david cameron tried to see off a growing threat to his party from the right by betting on a referendum. he lost. the british people have spoken and the answer is we're out. i do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination. theresa may took over, but through the tortuous brexit negotiations, she's often found her own party harder to deal with than the governments of europe. the leading historian of post—war britain sees an unprecedented level of national division. the way the votes fell in the referendum illuminated very starkly the very great differences in lives and life chances across our kingdom. we're a people that no longer knew ourselves. it's stress testing our party system desperately, and if parliament can't cope with the stress of this, we are in deep trouble. for theresa may, the great

political challenge remains — how to extract something from europe, while trying to reconcile all the divisions at home. james robbins, bbc news. another canadian citizen appears to have gone missing in china — the second this week. officials suspect beijing is retaliating for the arrest of the chinese tech executive, meng wa nzhou, detained in vancouver this month. canada's foreign minister says officials have been unable to contact a man who'd said he was being asked questions by the chinese authorities. we are aware of a canadian who got in touch with us because he was being asked questions by chinese authorities. we have not been able to make contact with him...

..since he let us know about this. we are working very hard to ascertain his whereabouts, and we have also raised this case with the chinese authorities. we are in touch with his family. canada's foreign minister there. there was an unusual interruption in colombia's senate, when protestors threw a bag containing rats and mice on to the floor of the chamber. a total of four rodents were involved, but only this one escaped. the demonstrators were making a point about corruption. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @bbcmikeembley. thank you very much for watching. hello.

there'll be a definite chill in the air over the next couple of days. not only will the air be cold, we have strong winds to contend with, which will exacerbate that chilly feel during the day ahead. it should be dry for most, but not quite for all. a frontal system lingering in western areas bringing some outbreaks of rain here. that front making very little progress, though, because it's running up against this big block of high pressure, and the squeeze between the two will be driving brisk south—easterly winds across the country. it will not feel warm by any stretch of the imagination. now, we're starting off thursday on a largely dry note. still a fair amount of cloud around and a few showers peppering north sea coasts. and our weatherfront bringing cloud and some patchy rain for northern ireland, the far south—west of wales, the far south—west of england. elsewhere, we will develop some long spells of sunshine. however, we will have this wind to contend with, particularly gusty for some western coastal areas. so, put a thermometer outside, it might say five, six or seven

degrees, but when we factor in the wind chill, it will feel more like —1 for the channel islands, freezing for birmingham, one degree in glasgow. a very chilly—feeling day, leading into a pretty chilly night thursday night into friday. there'll be more in the way of clear, starry skies ahead. the winds easing a little, so that will allow temperatures to drop, particularly across scotland, england and wales. you can see this blue shading on our temperature chart. towns and cities will get down to freezing or a touch below. it could be colder than that in the countryside. not quite as cold across the far west, particularly northern ireland, because here, there'll be more cloud, there'll be some patchy rain. this old weather front still lingering here as we go on through friday. but elsewhere, a decent amount of sunshine. still the potential for one or two showers blowing into north sea coasts. now, these numbers don't look particularly impressive — three, four, five degrees — but by friday, the winds won't be quite as strong, so it may feel a bit less bitter. and then as we head

towards the weekend, a change because these frontal systems here will have a bit more impetus about them. they will make more progress. they'll bring some wet weather across the country but that rain running into cold air. so just about wherever you are, there could be, for a time, a little bit of snow. but over higher ground of northern ireland, northern england, and most especially scotland, there is the potential for some fairly widespread and possibly disruptive snow. we'll have to keep you posted on that one. however, milder air will be wafting in from the south—west all the time, so wintry weather will slowly but surely turn back to wet weather, and all of us will eventually get into the milder air on sunday and monday, but there'll still be some wind and rain at times. this is bbc news. the headlines: theresa may has survived a no—confidence vote from her own conservative party. wa nt want vodafone members of parliament voted against. with brexit at a crucial stage is not much help at all -- crucial stage is not much help at all —— one third of members. she is heading to see european leaders,

hoping for reassurances, that might help convince opponents at home. donald trump's former lawyer has been sentenced to three years in jail, for paying off two women who said they'd had affairs with the president. as he was sentenced to you are made a blistering attack on the president. —— he also made. french police and security forces have launched a manhunt for the suspect in the deadly strasbourg christmas market attack. there are reports that the gunman may have crossed the border you are up—to—date on