this is bbc news, broadcasting in the uk and around the globe. i'm frankie mccamley and these are the latest headlines: the us braces for its coldest christmas in four decades as a major storm sweeps across the country with temperatures plummeting to minus 45 degrees celsius in some places. misery awaits passengers arriving at britain's busiest airports — with warnings of delays at passport control as border force officials begin an eight day strike over pay and pensions. i know things are difficult, but it is right that there is an independent body that makes recommendations to the government, and the government accepted those. it increased its offer, matched all those recommendations,

i think that is the reasonable thing to do, and the right thing for the country to help it beat inflation. join it beat inflation. us at gatwick airport where the travel join us at gatwick airport where the travel plans of thousands of people are affected. arrests continue in afghanistan as protests persist against the new ban by the taliban on women and girls attending universities. police in pakistan say at least two people, including a police officer, have been killed in a suicide blast in the capital islamabad. china insists it has its current covid outbreak under control reporting fewer than four thousand new cases, and no deaths for the third day running. but forecasters warn the true number could be as much as one million, with five thousand deaths a day. and going green — we meet the teenage entrepreneur who rents real christmas trees each year to save them from being thrown out after the festive period.

a fierce arctic winter storm has triggered emergency alerts across large parts of the united states, and forced the cancellation of more than 2000 flights. forecasters say the cold snap could bring the coldest christmas in decades. presidentjoe biden has encouraged everyone to heed warnings and bring forward christmas travel plans where possible. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes reports. this is what it looks like when a bomb cyclone descends on north america. these huge banks of snow in north dakota are the result of an intense blizzard that swept through the state. conditions that are set to engulf almost the entire country, just in time for christmas. but this is no winter wonderland. the storm could prove deadly. great swathes of the us

will experience some of the lowest temperatures ever recorded here. there is already chaos at the airports. this is new york. for many, it should have been the first normal christmas after covid. but across the country, thousands of flights have been cancelled. some people have been forced to abandon their trip plans to travel, while others are scrambling to find another way to get to theirfamilies. flustered. we are trying to search on our phones, figure out other routes, maybe even taking a bus from here to atlanta, which it'll take us about 21 hours, so that's really inconvenient, but anything we can do just to get there, it's what we are going to do. president biden has urged people to take extreme care. this is really a very serious weather alert here. it goes from oklahoma all the way to wyoming, and wyoming to maine, and it's of real consequence,

so i encourage everyone, everyone, please heed the local warnings. the rapidly deepening low pressure system will bring snow, strong winds, ice and frigid conditions all the way from canada to the deep south, including texas and the border with mexico. the midwest will be particularly badly hit, where it could be the coldest christmas since the 1980s. even florida, the sunshine state, will experience temperatures well below freezing. in new york, intense blizzards are expected to last for several days. americans are being advised to travel earlier than planned, or hunker down for christmas. peter bowes, bbc news. i spoke to cbs correspondent jarred hill, who's at laguardia airport in new york city and told us about flight cancellations. not necessarily here, lots and lots of cancellations, but that's something that has been happening across the country. and as the weekend goes,

that is expected to follow. what is interesting with the storm, as big as it is and as big as the country is, is that it is impacting almost every community differently, but one unifying factor is the fact that during the christmas weekend, a lot of people are trying to travel and a lot of them are getting caught in similar snags. and we're seeing this weather snap coming through and we're hearing from the us president is saying how dangerous it could be. do you feel that people are prepared? it depends where you are. one of the plus sides is that a lot of these communities have known about this for a couple of days and we've seen places where they're starting to salt the roads or treat the roads to make sure they're not as slippery as they could be. and we've seen a lot of places, especially in the south, which are not used to such temperatures, developing warming

centres and shelters for anyone who may lose power or doesn't have a home. we've seen some preparation here, but the real test will be over the next couple of days to see how those systems hold up. texas ended up losing power in some areas on the coldest day of the season. they're promising not to have a repeat of previous years, where a cold snap really hit the power grid in a way that was crippling and incredibly dangerous. we've seen some locations promising they will do a betterjob than they might have done in the past. but we'll have to see over the next few days. two people have been killed in central paris after a man opened fire on the street, the french prosecutor's office said. a 69—year—old man has been arrested by police. it happened in the tenth arrondissement, near a kurdish centre. four others were injured,

two of them seriously. we are looking at live pictures, you can see that emergency services are on the scene. there seems to be accorded a little further back, that area remains cordoned off. if you look either side of the scene, you can see emergency services there. this police investigation is ongoing, and that is following a shooting on the street in central paris. two people reported to be killed, and the attacker is believed to be in his 60s. we are going to be getting more on this and all the developments around it in the next few minutes from our correspondent, who is there in paris for us. across the uk, several work sectors are being hit by strike action

in the run up to christmas — including rail, trains and post. we will start our coverage of the idustrial action with passengers using some of the uk's busiest airports are being told to expect delays at passport control as border force staff begin eight days of strike action. around 1000 staff at six airports, including heathrow and gatwick — and the port of newhaven — are taking industrial action as part of a row about pay, pensions and job security. here's more from our employment correspondent, zoe conway. hello, madam, are you all right? where have you flown in from today? border force officers have the job of keeping the country safe while also being as welcoming as possible. there you go. thank you. have a good day. but for the next few days, most of them won't be staffing these desks. the public and commercial services union says 75% of officers are going on strike. theirjobs will be filled by members of the armed forces and home office volunteers. industrial action is a last resort, a last resort because the government is treating our members worse than anybody else in the economy, giving them a 2% pay rise.

the effects of the industrial action are most likely to be felt in the international arrivals halls at heathrow, gatwick, glasgow, manchester, birmingham and cardiff airports. there are fears of lengthy queues, although border force managers are hopeful no airports will have to close. flying into heathrow from costa rica on a strike day later this month is jasmine 0'donoghue. she's been told she can change her flight, but she can't get through to her airline. i am feeling anxious just around the uncertainty of it. i think if i knew that i could change my flight or if i knew i had to go on the same flight, i wouldn't feel as worried because i would have a plan. but right now i don't know whether i am getting on the flight on the 27th or if i will change my flight. while arriving might not be as welcoming as normal, airlines and airports have been keen to downplay the idea

of travel chaos. flights are not being cancelled. the government says passengers should be prepared for disruption and it's advising them to check with operators before travelling. zoe conway, bbc news. the uk prime minister rishi sunak says he's disappointed by the disruption being caused by all the winter strikes. let's hear what had to say about the public sector industrial disputes. i'm really saddened and disappointed about the disruption that is being caused to so many people's lives, particularly at christmas time. you know, when it comes to... it's a difficult question of setting public sector pay. the government has acted fairly and reasonably in accepting all the recommendations of the public sector pay review bodies. it's an independent process the government has listened to. i'd urge everybody who is travelling at the moment to just please check before you make yourjourney so you know what's happening. you're risking a dangerous escalation, though, aren't you?

you're obviously trying to hold your nerve with the unions, but the fact that more strike dates have been announced is a sign of failure, right? what i'm trying to do is make the right long—term decisions for the country, for everybody�*s benefit. and i think we all know the major economic challenge we all face now is inflation. it's inflation that is eating into everyone�*s pay packets, rising the cost of living, and i want to make sure we reduce inflation. part of that is being responsible when it comes to setting public sector pay. that's why we have an independent process. i know things are difficult but it's right that there is an independent body that makes recommendations to the government and the government accepted those. it increased its offer, matched all those recommendations. i think that's the reasonable thing to do. and in the long term, it's the right thing for the whole country that we beat inflation. are you ruling out a one—off pay offer? there's a great deal of sympathy, when it comes, including from tory voters, to nhs workers striking. are you ruling out a one off—pay offer there? i'm really grateful to all our public sector workers, including those in the nhs for the fantastic job they do for us.

and as the health secretary and i have previously said, our door is always open. you know, the government is always wanting to talk to people, to engage with them about, you know, what we can do to make sure that theirjobs are fulfilling, rewarding. there's lots of things that people have raised as things we might make a difference to, and we would be happy to talk about all of those things. the health secretary has been clear — his door and the government's door is always open to have those talks. duncan kennedy is at london gatwick airport. we know that soldiers and civil servants are meant to be stepping in at the border to try and keep things running smoothly, how is it working where you are? i running smoothly, how is it working where you are?— where you are? i think the word is smoothly so _ where you are? i think the word is smoothly so far. _ where you are? i think the word is smoothly so far. it _ where you are? i think the word is smoothly so far. it is _ where you are? i think the word is smoothly so far. it is only - where you are? i think the word is smoothly so far. it is only going i where you are? i think the word is smoothly so far. it is only going a| smoothly so far. it is only going a few hours, the strike, we havejust had two huge flights through from cancun in mexico and one from brolin. i spoke to a gary mccann mechanic in flight, he said he went through in his passport was checked from someone from the royal navy. another couple came through with a

child and said there passport was checked by a member of the raf. another chap came through on the berlin flight with his partner and got through electronically. everyone in this arrivals lounge says there are lots of military view people in their uniforms, and the vast majority are being supervised by managerialfigures majority are being supervised by managerial figures from majority are being supervised by managerialfigures from border managerial figures from border force. managerialfigures from border force. certainly at gatwick things seem to be smooth, we have had reports from manchester and heathrow where there are also no reports of any big issues or any kind of chaos so far. of course, the unions are saying that these people are not fully trained, these army, raf, navy people, they are not trained to look at things like forged documents, they are not trained to look out for things like people being trafficked are involved in modern day slavery.

they say they could be a minor glitch that could really set the system back, a difficult person to deal with, some people might get through, they say, and that would expose the system and the weaknesses in the system. what they are saying is the border force, in the system. what they are saying is the borderforce, the government, should come forward and settle dispute, aim for more than 2% that is currently on offer, and that is the later resolve this dispute which will be lasting all the way through to the 31st of december, just one break on the 27th, which the leniency is not a peak day, but every other day for the next eight days they will be on strike at the six airports. —— which the unions say. staying with strike action, a second day of ambulance strikes planned in england and wales for next week has been called off by the gmb union. that date has now been suspended and a further day of strike action is now planned

for the 11th of january. the union said it was scrapping the action next week so that "the public will be able to enjoy christmas without "additional anxiety". 0ur health correspondentjim reed says the gmb union had been planning to strike across wales and most of england next wednesday. that's now been, essentially, scrapped and postponed, pushed back to the 11th of january as they said. the reason they gave was so the public would be able to enjoy christmas without anxiety, but we do know the nhs and ambulance services have been under tremendous pressure recently, and you imagine that might have gone into some of the thinking. holding a second day of ambulance strikes in the 11th is an interesting day to pick, as it is when another ambulance union, unison, is planning on striking, so it looks like coordinated action on that day. it's notjust ambulance strikes. we have just had an update from the nurses union, haven't we? this is the royal college of nursing.

this is action across northern ireland, wales, and some of england, not all of england. we've already had two days of nurses strikes, just announced another two for the 18th and 19th of january, two consecutive days there of january, a wednesday and a thursday. also, more trusts in england are involved, so it will go up from 44 trusts in england last time round, to 55. pat cullen, the general secretary, says, "i do not wish to prolong the dispute any longer, but the prime minister has left us with little choice but to go ahead with these extra strike dates." and we've been hearing from unions, and a lot of them just saying that these talks at the table just aren't going anywhere? that's right. in scotland as well, in scotland today you have hamza yusuf, the scottish health secretary meeting with unions there. a number of unions, the royal college of midwives, the royal college of nursing in scotland have rejected an increased pay offer in scotland. some quite intense talks are going on to avert a strike there. in england, these strikes on pay don't seem to have gone very far, which is why you're now seeing these

extra strike dates at the start of next year. at the moment, it is looking like an exceptionally busy january for the health service anyway, but also with these strikes on top of that. royal mail staff who are part of the communications workers union, are back on the picket line again today and tomorrow. it's over an ongoing dispute about pay and job conditions — but as many of these strikes have taken place in the run—up to the festive period, businesses relying on christmas sales say they've suffered as a result. earlier, dave ward, general secretary of the communications workers union updates us on talks to avoid the inductrial action. we have not been able to find enough progress in order to suspend the strike action. we did make an offer to royal mail to suspend the current strikes, it was the second offer we have made in the last three weeks to suspend strike action, we asked the company to confirm in response that they would stop

introducing an agreed change in response that they would stop introducing unagreed change to enable the talks to reach a full and final agreement. we asked them to confirm that they would not be bringing in an alternative resourcing model, in other words what they have been trying to do is bring in unlimited numbers of self—employed workers who have to pay for the use of their own vans, who do not get holiday pay, sick pay or pensions, and we have asked them to not introduce an army of agency workers, an army of casuals, and to allow our members to actually do the work they can do best. unfortunately, the company would not agree to those conditions, so the strikes went ahead. however, we did make a bit of progress, and we are going to offer the company again a further opportunity for a period of calm, and we hope this time they will pick it up. we are willing to carry

on talking after christmas, between now and the new year, and early injanuary. i have to say, we have agreed in principle other strike dates, but whether that goes ahead, we have not announced them yet, because we want to get involved in meaningful negotiations to conclude an agreement. the strikes have been taking place over christmas, a lot of people will be worried that may be the christmas presents and christmas cards are not going to make it on time. are you concerned that you might lose some sort of support of striking especially over the christmas period? we don't think we will, because we think that people understand, as a lot of our posties talk to the customers on a daily basis, apart from when, unfortunately, we are on strike action. even then, the amount of customers that come off and talk to people

that come up and talk to people on picket lines showing their support, i think more and more people in the uk understand this particular dispute is really about the very future of the jobs of posties across the uk, and also the future of the service. one of the things royal mail want to do around the service is they want to introduce up to three—hour later start times for deliveries. we know that will lead to the end of daily deliveries in the uk, and the company want to turn royal mail effectively another parcel courier. what we are saying is that is not a good proposition for customers. what i will say to customers is that our members are fighting for the service as well as their own jobs. george cohen, who was part of england's 1966 football world cup winning team, has died. he was 83. cohen, who played all of his club football for fulham, was described by the late george best, as "the best full back"

he ever played against. now, to afghanistan where security forces have arrested several women as protests continue against the new ban by the taliban on women attending universities. social media is awash with videos showing women protesting in kabul. the taliban have since stopped the protests and have arrested at least five women. earlier, ali latifi, a journalist in kabul sent this update. there aren't necessarily new protests, but people are taking different actions,

more than 60 faculty members at universities in kabul and other provinces across the country have resigned in protest. we saw yesterday students at a medical faculty refusing to take their final exams, and being told they would not be allowed to resume their studies. we saw similar actions in kandahar. people are finding ways of making a statement. the protests are difficult to keep going, because as you said, people get arrested, they could get beaten. the taliban has basically covered the street with police and security officials to make sure that not too many people gather. just because people are not taking to the street doesn't mean they are not finding ways to show their descent. you mentioned that women may be beaten, what could happen to people who have been arrested for protesting? the scary thing is that we do not know what happens when they get arrested. when they are released, they are usually held for weeks

if not months at a time. once they are released, they are very scared to speak, with good reason. they have been in detention for... i mean, we had one female activist who was in detention for more than a month, may be almost two months. two of her other colleagues are still in detention until very recently, and her family could not even visit her to see her physical state. there are reports what they may be going through, but first—hand accounts are very difficult to come across. 0bviously, once you have been held by the taliban for a long lead time, 0bviously, once you have been held by the taliban for a long time, you're not likely to write and speak, especially if you're instilling the country or you have family in the country who have not been able to get out.

china is continuing to grapple with a major covid outbreak following a lifting of restrictions. health officials say they're expecting a peak of infections within the next week, but despite this they've reported n0 new deaths for a third day running. i spoke to emiiy feng, beijing correspondent for npr. we are continuing to see a string of ongoing infections notjust in notjust in beijing, but in other cities like shanghai. a hospital in shanghai warned this week that it was preparing for up to half of shanghai's population, about 12.5 million people total, who could be infected by the end of this week. all of this is put a strain on china's health care system, one which was just not prepared to deal with this. predictions came out in may that showed if china opened up, what it's doing now, rolling back restrictions, within the first six months of that, there would be 15 times the amount of demand for icu beds than china has available. what i've seen is that the health

care service is holding up, but there is supposed to be more in the coming weeks. how have people reacted to the sudden lifting of restrictions, i understand there have been anger around, but other people are not so angry? must people have a sense of relief, but ironically, know they can go out, many people are opting to stay at home, because covid is so prevalent in the community. there's been a significant labour crunch as a lot of businesses have had to shut down because too many people are getting sick. now the line for the chinese government is, even if you are infected, go out and work even if you have light symptoms. this completely contrary to what they were saying before, and what public health experts in the us and the uk were saying. india is going to make negative

covid—i9 test reports health officials in the uk are warning people with flu symptoms to stay at home this christmas, to avoid passing illnesses on to elderly people. hello, again. today, we've got a band of heavy rain pushing northwards, and as it does so, it's going to drag in some milder air behind it. and this mild weather is set to continue right the way up until christmas day evening when the cold air in the north of scotland sweeps south across us all. so these weather fronts bringing in some rain, pushing northwards, engaging with the cold air. we'll see some hill snow for a time. and then as we head on through the next few days, you can see how the mild air stays with us, except for in the far north of scotland, but it's on christmas day evening that all pushes south in time for boxing day. this morning, though, we've got this heavy rain that's been fairly persistent through the course of the morning, some thunder and lightning embedded in it. and as it crosses the hills in northern england, you'll find that it will have some transient snow in it.

ahead of it, the cloud will build, but for the rest of scotland, largely dry with some sunshine, a few wintry showers in the north and behind it, sunshine and showers. but generally today, it's going to be a windier day than of late. now, tonight, we've got this band of rain continuing to push northwards, taking its sleet and hills snow with it. might lead to some disruption in some of the higher routes in scotland where, of course, the snow will be starting to accumulate. behind it, still in the comparatively mild conditions and we're not anticipating any frost. we'll also have some clear skies. so as we head through christmas eve, this band of rain, snow mainly on the hills and sleet pushes northwards, getting into the northern isles. there'll be a lot of dry weather, a fair bit of sunshine, still some pokey showers out towards the west where it will still be windy. and these are our temperatures 5 to 12 degrees. so you can see how the milder air is slowly pushing northwards. then, of course, we head into christmas day itself. now, what's happening on christmas

day is we've got this area of low pressure. you can see this weather front wrap round it and its as round it and it's as this comes south, the colder air follows on behind. we've also got another weather front close to the southeast. so during the course of boxing day, look at the blues crossing us, indicating that it is going to turn colder across the board. so, as we head up towards the christmas weekend and beyond, you can see that it does remain unsettled. it does stay mild for a time, but then it turns colder. but as we move on into next week, while temperatures will rise a bit again. but if you are on the move don't forget, you can find out what the weather is like where you are or where are you going on our bbc weather app.

this is bbc news. i'm frankie mccamley and these are the latest headlines... the us braces for its coldest christmas in four decades as a major storm sweeps across the country with temperatures plummeting to —45 degrees celsius in some places. misery awaits passengers arriving at britain's busiest airports, with warnings of delays at passport control as border force officials begin an eight—day strike over pay and pensions. soldiers and civil servant volunteers have been trained to conduct checks to try to minimize disruption. arrests continue in afghanistan as protests persist against the new ban by the taliban on women and girls attending universities. tuesday's late—night announcement has triggered international outrage.