welcome to newsday on the bbc. i'm mariko oi in singapore. the headlines: french police say they've killed the gunman who shot dead three people near a christmas market in strasbourg. ready to help but unwilling to renegotiate — that's the message from eu leaders as theresa may warns their brexit deal is at risk. hello. i'm ben bland in london. also in the programme: facing extinction — the maldives and other developing nations warn their survival depends on the world's commitment to tackling global warming. no one seems to be listening to what science is saying. what does that mean for your country? we will disappear? and pushing the boundaries — pakistan selects its first ever international blind female cricket team. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news. it's newsday.

good morning. it's 8am in singapore, midnight in london and 1am in the morning in the french city of strasbourg, where police say they have shot dead the man believed to have attacked a christmas market on tuesday, killing three people and injuring others. the man, named as cherif chekatt, had been on the run since tuesday evening. the suspect had a string of criminal convictions and had become a radical islamist while in prison. our correspondent gavin lee has the latest. the scene in the suburbs of strasbourg where the search for the suspected gunman tuesday's attack

was cherif chekatt. the raid led the operation ending the 48—hour manhunt. eyewitnesses heard gunfire as the police and military teams moved in. when i left the mcdonald's i needed to go home and i see the blocked road and i heard a few gunshots and it was very strange. 29—year—old cherif chekatt was born in strasbourg from an algerian family. he was a known criminal, convicted 27 times for petty crime. he was radicalised in prison and when released was on a security threat list of individuals monitored for possible extremism. here at the christmas market in strasbourg, the old est christmas market in strasbourg, the oldest and most famous, where the attack was carried out. police say cherif chekatt had a pistol and knife, shooting and stabbing people in the streets as others ran for their lives. cherif chekatt is said to have been confronted by soldiers patrolling the markets, who shot him in the arm. he escaped by taxi ordering the driver to take into the

neudorf area 15 minutes out of the city. there was a second exchange of gunfire by police, though he escaped. special forces carried gunfire by police, though he escaped. specialforces carried out an early raid in neudorf this afternoon, saying they found nothing and told reporters they were sure he wasn't there. three people were killed in the attack, 12 more were injured. tonight the city is notably quiet. people living here speak of their fear over the last few days and sheer relief that it appears to have come to an end. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. european leaders have said the brexit deal agreed with theresa may is not up for negotiation. mrs may had travelled to brussels to get assurances that the northern ireland backstop would not become a permanent arrangement. she said clarification over that issue could see the deal voted through by the house of commons. a short while ago, the european union co—president donald tusk spoke to the media. bearing in mind ourfull respect for the parliamentary process in the

united kingdom, we have agreed the following — first, the european council reconfirms its conclusions of the 25th of november, 2018, in which it endorsed the withdrawal agreement and approved the political declaration. the union stands by this agreement and intends to proceed with its certification. it is not open for renegotiation. the bbc‘s nicholas watt gave this analysis of theresa may's reaction to eu claims she hadn't made any new proposals. the point is theresa may has proposed an idea. her idea is she would like legal certainty on the backstop would like legal certainty on the ba cksto p of would like legal certainty on the backstop of northern ireland, that is designed to prevent a hard border. she wants legal certainty that can come to an end. she put it on the table and they said no, thank you very much. i have to say that the conclusions of the eu 27, the eu the conclusions of the eu 27, the eu

the uk that they released tonight make very grim reading for theresa may. they say they are standing by the brexit deal. they are pushing ahead with ratification. and then they say very simply, it is not up for renegotiation. and on the crucial issue of the backstop, they say of course we would like it only to apply temporarily, but it is a backstop and they say, while they will work very hard to have a replacement, which is a free—trade deal that would avoid a hard border in northern ireland, while they work ha rd in northern ireland, while they work hard on that, they will work speedily on that, the backstop has to be there unless and until that new arrangement is agreed. that is absolutely not what theresa may wa nted absolutely not what theresa may wanted to hear. also making news today: the french car—maker, renault, says an initial audit looking at the pay of its chairman and chief executive, carlos ghosn, has not found any irregularities. renault‘s board said its lawyers would continue to review allegations against him made by its partner group, nissan, which recently sacked him as its chairman. the executive is currently being detained injapan, where he's been charged with financial misconduct. he's denied under—reporting his pay package at nissan. a woman accused by the us

of being a russian agent has pleaded guilty to conspiracy as part of a plea deal at a court in washington. maria butina was accused by prosecutors of trying to infiltrate the national rifle association in order to influence american policy towards russia. the lobby group is closely aligned to republican politicians including president trump. the latest test flight by sir richard branson's virgin galactic has reached the edge of space for the first time — well, the edge nearest to us. the aircraft bearing the spaceshiptwo passenger rocket ship took off from the mojave desert in california. the project to take passengers to this height has been delayed by technical problems and a fatal crash four years ago. so, the spaceship, which is right behind me, i don't know if you can

see it, is attached to a mothership, which is an aeroplane which we build, it is taken up to about 40,000 feet, the station it is then dropped from the mothership, it fires its rocket, it goes from zero to 3000 miles an hour in seven to eight seconds straight up and we all had the most fantastic view of this happening here from the mojave today. and then, you know, when it is in space, it is suddenly not moving any more, people can on —— unbuckle their seats and they float around this station. now, you may rememeber this story — two weeks ago, daniella anthony and john drennan got engaged in new york and on the same day lost their engagment ring down a grate in times square. there was then a worldwide search to find the couple and reunite them with their ring. so, for the second time...|j

so, for the second time... i can't believe it. ..would be my wife? yes. cheering and applause. well, of course she said yes — and not only did they get their flights out to california for free, but the show‘s producers also gave them $12,000 to put towards their wedding as well. not bad, hey? australia's foreign minister, marise payne, has just ended her two—day visit to myanmar. during the trip, she met with myanmar‘s de facto leader aung san suu kyi. in october, australia joined the eu and the us in introducing travel and financial sanctions on five top myanmar military officers accused of overseeing brutal violence against rohingya muslims. ms payne had said that australia is committed to work towards a long—term and durable solution to the crisis in rakhine state. but how should that be achieved?

earlier i wasjoined by thom woodroofe who works for the advisory group, independent diplomat. i think it was very much a visit for the new foreign minister, i think very positively including in her visit was a trip to rakhine state, where a lot of australia's aid assistance is flowing, but where she would have had an opportunity to speak with a number of rohingya people directly about the situation on the ground. and of course she also met with aung san suu kyi in the capital, as you mention. but what's really important now i think, and what will ultimately be the real sign of success of this visit, is whether the australian foreign minister can really pivot australia's relationship with myanmar onto a firm footing going forward. for the most part it has been quite a constructive role that australia has played with a few

inconsistencies around that, particularly in terms of our support from the military. australia is one of very few countries with a close relationship with the government, and it even offers financial support. the government of course said it is limited to humanitarian assistance. you don't completely agree with that statement. when you save government, to be clear, we are talking about the military, and military which the un has found this year likely undertook a campaign of genocide against the rohingya people. the australian government gives around $400,000 each year in assistance to that military, most of that arguably is all for mundane activities, pretty innocent activities, pretty innocent activities in terms of humanitarian assistance, language training and so forth. the real problem, though, of course, is twofold. 0ne forth. the real problem, though, of course, is twofold. one is that we are out of step with our allies in this approach, who have taken a much

firmer footing. the this approach, who have taken a much firmerfooting. the us, canada, france, the uk, the un have cut ties completely. second of all, we do not screen that assistance and who it is provided to, so that means therefore it is completely possible that someone it is completely possible that someone that is receiving part of that assistance has of course been involved in some of those atrocities. and i think for any australian that is certainly something that is beyond the pale. it took almost a day, but donald trump has finally given his response to the jailing of his former lawyer michael cohen. he was sentenced to three years in prison on wednesday for breaking campaign finance laws and committing fraud. mr cohen said he was only acting at his former boss's request. the president waited until thursday morning to respond on twitter. he denied directing mr cohen to break the law. and said he should have known what he was doing. mr trump also went on fox news to make his point. let me tell you, i never directed

him to do anything wrong. whatever he did, he did on his own. he is a lawyer, a lawyer who represents his client is supposed to do the right thing. that's why you pay them a lot of money etc. he is a lawyer. he represents a client. i never directed him to do anything in directed him to do anything in direct of the law. so what should we make of all of this? here's our north america reporter anthony zurcher. so donald trump in a series of tweets this morning laid out what essentially could be his defence against the allegations that he participated in a campaign financed crime, one that michael cohen has pleaded guilty to. first of all he said he didn't michael cohen to commita said he didn't michael cohen to commit a crime and then he relied on michael cohen as his lawyer to understand what was and wasn't legal. but all that aside, even if michael cohen did do this, he may not have committed a crime at all. payment, these harsh money payments to two women, who alleged had

affairs with donald trump, that doesn't constitute a campaign finance contribution and therefore didn't have to be disclosed. i think what you're going to hear from prosecutors, those who had a guilty plea from michael cohen, is that donald trump's shifting stories on this, originally denying it, then technology the payment, and now saying maybe it wasn't a crime, these shifting stories are indications a knowledge of wrongdoing. now, donald trump will not necessarily be charged in this. there is no indication at this point that he could face criminal indictment. but he definitely has had the finger pointed at him from prosecutors in this michael cohen plea agreement, stating that he directed michael cohen to make these payments. they also got the national enquirer, the tabloid magazine that made a payment to one of these women, got them to acknowledge, prosecutors got them to acknowledge that this was done in order to influence the 2016 presidential election. so donald trump has

essentially outlined his criminal defence in the case that he needs it. the question is, will prosecutors by that? —— buy that? you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: the un secretary general appeals to delegates from almost 200 countries to step up their efforts to fight global warming. also on the programme: the ultimate sporting challenge — pakistan prepares its first ever female blind cricket team. after eight months on the run, saddam hussein has been tracked down and captured by american forces. saddam hussein is finished because he killed our people, our women, our children. the signatures took only a few minutes, but they brought a formal end to three and half years of conflict, conflict that has

claimed more than 200,000 years. depressants put their names to the peace agreement. “— depressants put their names to the peace agreement. —— the president 's. the romanian border was sealed and silent today. the romanian border was sealed and sile nt today. remain the romanian border was sealed and silent today. remain here has cut itself off from the outside world in order to prevent the details from the massacre from leaking out. from sex at the white house to a trial on his political life. the monica lewinsky affair to night guaranteed bill clinton as his place in history as only the second president ever in history to be impeached. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm mariko 0i in singapore. i'm ben bland in london. our top stories: french police say they've killed the gunman who shot dead three people near a christmas market in strasbourg. the eu says it won't renegotiate the brexit deal as theresa may seeks

assurances in brussels over the controversial backstop plan. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the south china morning post reports on china's detention of a second canadian citizen, on allegations of harming national security. relations between china and canada have been tense since the arrest of a chinese woman in vancouver, a senior executive at telecoms giant huawei. the gulf news leads on the progress of yemen peace talks. and the momentous ceasefire agreement for the port city of hodeidah. the paper says that food aid may now be able to get into the country. and help millions of people on the brink of starvation. the japan times reports on a trade agreement between the eu and japan, which has been dubbed the world's biggest trade deal. the paper calls the deal a victory

for europe as a free trade champion, in the face of president trump's protectionism and the uk's decision to leave the eu. i like how they nicknamed that deal, cheese for cars. look it up, it's true. the united nations secretary general has made a dramatic appeal to almost 200 countries to step up their fight against global warming and its impact. antonio guterres said failure to do so would be ‘suicidal‘. as the un meeting in poland comes to a close, one group of nations including the maldives has warned they face extinction if there isn't immediate action to reduce emissions and limit the rise in global temperatures. 0ur science editor, david shukman reports. almost a decade ago an extraordinary publicity stunt, the government of the maldives in diving gear, highlighting the danger of the level of the sea rising. the man who chaired this underwater meeting is here now.

governments are not listening. institutions are not listening. no—one seems to be listening to what the science is saying. what does that mean for your country? we will disappear. negotiators here in poland are frantically trying to head off the worst effects of global warming. the progress of the talks is incredibly slow. a few governments are dragging theirfeet. this is the heart of the process and we have been allowed in for a couple of minutes. what's striking is the sheer scale of the event with nearly 200 governments represented here. they've all brought their own agendas so getting them all to agree on what to do about climate change is a massive challenge. outside the conference, a reminder of why this is hard. burning fuels like coal releases gases that warm the planet. but many countries, including poland, relying on coal.

i've seen the manyjobs that depend on it. this man uses coal to heat his home. he's from a mining family. he knows the industry matters here but also that coal is polluting. you go outside and want to take a deep breath... your throat? biting your throat. yes. my daughter has something like child asthma because here the air is not good for her. 50 years ago this image of our fragile planet raised awareness of potential threats to the environment. now we are seeing where that might lead. pakistan is in the process of creating its first ever international female blind cricket team. only a handful of countries in the world have done the same. the pakistani team is due to play its first match injanuary, in what will only be the second ever international series of women's blind cricket.

secunder kermani reports from islamabad. these teenage girls are hoping to be selected for stan's first female international client cricket team. —— blind. in blind cricket, a specially adapted ball is used, filled with ballbearings that can be heard rattling as the ball travels towards the batsmen. teams are made up towards the batsmen. teams are made up of towards the batsmen. teams are made upofa towards the batsmen. teams are made up of a mix of line, partially blind and partially sighted players. translation: when the children reach this level it changes them a lot. they feel shy in the beginning and don't feel comfortable in front of others. but after some time, their body language improves and their feelings changed dramatically. the

pakistani male lined cricket team has won a number of trophies. but the women's team was only set up in 0ctober. translation: the women's team was only set up in october. translationzlj the women's team was only set up in october. translation: i had never played cricket for this, but i a lwa ys played cricket for this, but i always thought there should be a female team, just like there is a male one. before this, i used to do other sports like running and the long jump. so i other sports like running and the longjump. so i have other sports like running and the long jump. so i have competed at international level before. the girls are due to play their first match against nepal injanuary, and they say they want to send a message to the rest of the country. translation: blind players are capable of doing almost everything sighted players can do. we are no less tha n sighted players can do. we are no less than the regular team. the government should provide us with that of facilities they have given to our national team. many of us have experienced bullying, but for enubi kim, it nearly ended her career. but the widely acclaimed pianist was able to overcome the trauma

and she told us about the joy she found in playing again. it really did almost destroyed my love for performing, my love for playing piano and learning you sick. —— learning music. i had a very tough teacher growing up, but she a lwa ys tough teacher growing up, but she always believed in me. and when i entered college i had a really terrible experience with one of my professors where i was bullied and it affected me greatly. i used to have so muchjoy it affected me greatly. i used to have so much joy performing, it affected me greatly. i used to have so muchjoy performing, but it affected me greatly. i used to have so much joy performing, but now it became just this paralysing experience. it was meant to be degrading and humiliating and intimidating and very manipulative.

i have reached a turning point with all of the anxiety and depression i had over performing after reading this book, the art of practising by madeline brewster and it talked about figuring out what our intentions are as performers, as artist, and also discovering what the intentions are of the audience. instead of remembering the joy and generosity i felt and wanting to share this beautiful music that i love, i was thinking more about how awful i am if it doesn't go the way it is supposed to go. the thing that really helped bring back my love for performing is trusting and believing in people again. ifeel lucky, and thatis in people again. ifeel lucky, and that is why i share my experiences and my story so openly because a lot of people have called through this and it is really tough to quiet the negative voices and being critical of yourself. i grew to love music in

a very deep way and a very emotional way, and every intellectual way. it is like i have entered another dimension, it is kind of like an out of body experience when it is really a great performance. ifeeljust elevated, like on another plane, like i become one with the music. and the audience gives an energy and iam feeding and the audience gives an energy and i am feeding off that energy. applause. you have been watching newsday. i'm ben bland in london. and i'm mariko 0i in singapore. don't go away, i will be back with

business news. you have to watch this movie, if you haven't. we'll see why it took 30 years for this classicjapanese anime, ‘my neighbour totoro', to finally debut in china. iam i am intrigued. and before we go, we'd like to leave you with these pictures. you might know new zealand actor jason momoa from the game of thrones tv series — well, this is him publicising his new film, aquaman, by leading a haka. that's the traditional maori dance and it was performed on a special blue carpet. that's all for now. stay with bbc world news. hello. thursday at us a cold error

and frosty day across many parts of the country, but there was some blue sky and sunshine. this picture was taken by one of our weather watchers in wiltshire and acting friday morning will warn on a very similar note topic again, it will be a cold and frosty start to the day with subzero temperatures first thing. the odd spells of sunshine for many of us through the course of the day to compensate for that fairly chilly start. temperatures in the league will be below freezing something not quite as cold in the west, for northern ireland where we have more cloud bursting pride and morning keeping temperatures around for five degrees. after that cold, frosty start for many of us it will be a decent dry looking day, always a bit more cloud for northern ireland with a chance of a few showers at times topic a few showers around this exposed eastern coasts, for eastern scotla nd exposed eastern coasts, for eastern scotland and north—east england, could even be a wintry flurry towards east anglia and the south—east. for a vast majority, your south—east. for a vast majority, youer south—east. for a vast majority, your mr showers and temperatures around 4— seven degrees. into friday

evening we see the cloud bringing more outbreaks of rain parts of northern ireland and the west of scotland. eastern areas keeping in that cold air. considerably colours later on through friday and then on into saturday. the mild airjust waiting in the wings it was the south—west, that will be drawn in on this by the front. a bit of a change in conditions as we had through into the weekend, as the frontal system works in from the west, it will bring not only the mild air but also outbreaks of rain which will turn to stone. saturday, things are turning pretty wet and windy. some fairly heavy snow and also some ice across scotla nd heavy snow and also some ice across scotland and northern england combined with some strong wind. there could be some travel disruption through the day on saturday as this weather front and into that cold air. you can see snow across northern england and scotland too. it could be about 12— 20 centimetres across scotland, even more of the high ground, 2—5 centimetres across northern england. it will turn back to rain further south across the country, where we

have got slightly mild air working in but you will really notice the shrink of those wins. it will feel around —4 in half city. for northern ireland slightly mild air moving in so any billy slater turning back to rain. some heavy snow across scotla nd rain. some heavy snow across scotland could be quite dramatic through the day on saturday. that rain and snow mix slowly easing away to the east as we had through to the second half of the weekend but we keep that pretty chilly wind coming in from the west. all those things will turn milder through the day on sunday, most of those heady and wintry showers should ease away too. i'm ben bland with bbc news. our top story. the french interior minister has confirmed that police have killed the man who attacked a christmas market in the city of strasbourg on tuesday. cherif chekatt was spotted by police in the neudorf district of the city on thursday evening. when he opened fire on the officers, they retaliated, killing him in the short exchange of fire. british prime minister theresa may has urged eu members to help salvage her brexit deal but they say they won't renegotiate. ms may has been seeking assurances over the controversial irish border backstop after surviving a no—confidence vote

earlier this week. and this video is trending on bbc.com: the united nations secretary general, antonio guterres, has made a dramatic appeal to delegates from almost 200 countries to step up their efforts to fight global warming and its impact. he said failure to do so would be suicidal. that's all. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news, in a special edition of hardtalk from 0slo, sarah montague speaks to the winners of this year's nobel peace prize.