this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. street clashes break out in paris after three people were shot dead at a kurdish community centre — riot police have fired tear gas at crowds of protesters earlier, french police arrested a 69—year—old man — whom the paris prosecutor says had previously been charged with acts of racist violence. a powerful arctic storm sweeps across swathes of the us and canada — more than 200 million people are under weather warnings, with temperatures dropping to minus 45 degrees celsius in some places. nurses in england will go on strike twice injanuary

unless pay talks are opened, with even more hospital trusts expected to walk out than the december strikes. meanwhile, union chiefs say borderforce strikes could go on for six months unless the government joins pay talks. china continues to grapple with a major covid outbreak following a lifting of restrictions with growing questions about the government's official death tally. and the british husband and wife duo who've had more uk christmas number one singles than the beatles — meet ladbaby who've bagged the spot for a record fifth time.

for you watching in the uk, on pbs in the us and around the globe, welcome to bbc news. the french president, emmanuel macron, has condemned a shooting at a cultural centre in paris as an odious attack on the country's kurdish population. three people were killed and three injured by the gunman, who had just been released from detention for targeting a migrant camp a year ago. clashes later broke out between police and a large crowd which had gathered at the scene. protesters started a fire in the street — and threw chairs and bricks. police clad in riot gear responded with tear gas. hugh schofield reports. shouting not long after the attack, rioting in central paris. these are people from the city's turkish kurdish community, angry because it was three

of theirs who were shot and killed. it was just before midday when the man described as white and quite old, pulled out a handgun and started firing outside a kurdish community centre, not far from the gare du nord. he was overpowered and detained by police. to the authorities, the most plausible theory is that this was a racially motivated anti—foreigner attack. translation: obviously, - he wanted to attack foreigners. we will find out from thejudicial inquiry if he was specifically targeting kurds. for the moment, it's impossible to know. the man has been identified as a 69—year—old former train driver. he'd onlyjust been let out ofjail in connection with an attack with a sword on an african migrant camp in paris a year ago. translation: it concerned people who were living in tents, _ and the person concerned attacked the tents. an investigation was opened at the end of 2021 and the person concerned has

recently been released. this evening, the area remains tense. many in the kurdish community here accusing the french government of failing to protect them. hugh schofield reporting. millions of homes across north america are without electricity because of a powerful winter storm battering the country. people in the united states and canada have been sheltering from plunging temperatures, fierce winds, and heavy snow. forecasters say the cold snap could bring the coldest christmas in decades — with wind blasts taking it as low as minus 55 celsius in places. more than half the population is under weather alerts or advisories and seasonal travel is badly disrupted. our north america correspondent, john sudworth, has the latest. it couldn't have come at a worse time. america's peak travel season hit by a once in a generation storm.

two days before christmas, two thirds of the country are now under extreme winter weather alerts stretching from here on the canadian border all the way to florida. on airport runways, planes have been replaced by de—icing trucks... we're out here, period. i mean, we'll be out him until it stops snowing, really. ..leading to thousands of cancelled flights with the city of chicago the worst hit. flustered. we're trying to search on our phones, figure out other routes, maybe even taking a bus from here to atlanta. it will take us about 21 hours, so that's really inconvenient. but anything we can do just to get there is what we're going to do. a once in a generation bomb cyclone is actually causing i temperatures to plummet. on the us networks, there's talk of little else. the term bomb cyclone describes a drop in pressure of 2a millibars in 2a hours. whatever you call it, the risks are clear.

exacerbated by the strong desire to travel at this time of year. all of those things coming together i think make a very dangerous, dangerous situation. people normally expect to be with family and friends. i know every family is going through those calculations now. the storm is expected to last through the weekend. after the years of covid, millions of americans face another disrupted christmas. jaden pappenheim is a professional storm chaser who's spent the day on the roads on indiana. he told me about some of the conditions he's seen. very cold out here, how cold, around -29 very cold out here, how cold, around —29 fahrenheit with the wind chill run —5 without. frost and so quickly, we are definitely bundled

up quickly, we are definitely bundled up like the previous clip, though somejust up like the previous clip, though some just north of here. white out blizzard conditions and my car was claimed by the weather today. glass claimed by the weather today. gloss controller had _ claimed by the weather today. gloss controller had to _ claimed by the weather today. gloss controller had to abandon _ claimed by the weather today. gloss controller had to abandon it? we - claimed by the weather today. glossl controller had to abandon it? we had to abandon it — controller had to abandon it? we had to abandon it in _ controller had to abandon it? we had to abandon it in the _ controller had to abandon it? we had to abandon it in the ditch _ controller had to abandon it? we had to abandon it in the ditch and - controller had to abandon it? we had to abandon it in the ditch and a - controller had to abandon it? we had to abandon it in the ditch and a tow l to abandon it in the ditch and a tow truck driver, even out in the elements, even we can get ourselves into sticky situations and everybody. yet, the heavy snowfall does last night, as parking lot was completely barren. and i can watch guys over here just to show you the snow is really about a 2k hour period here in the southern indiana and very heavy snow totals here. what are conditions like on the roads and our people actually out

and about?— roads and our people actually out and about? , .,, ., , ., and about? yet, people are still out and about? yet, people are still out and about? yet, people are still out and about and _ and about? yet, people are still out and about and actually, _ and about? yet, people are still out and about and actually, we're - and about and actually, we're hearing reports about pile—ups, especially in ohio, 30 car pile—ups with fatalities. it's about four hours to the east of my location right now. still, a lot of people travelling and trying to get the families we just ask that they do that safely and in the east, bring that safely and in the east, bring that warm year and bring extra phone charges for your phone and be careful out here. things can happen so quickly. careful out here. things can happen so cuickl . �* , ., so quickly. and terms of the power, has indiana — so quickly. and terms of the power, has indiana suffered _ so quickly. and terms of the power, has indiana suffered much - so quickly. and terms of the power, has indiana suffered much power. has indiana suffered much power outages? has indiana suffered much power outaues? �* , ,., has indiana suffered much power outaues? �* , ., ., , outages? there've been power outages re orted outages? there've been power outages reported across — outages? there've been power outages reported across a _ outages? there've been power outages reported across a large _ outages? there've been power outages reported across a large portion - outages? there've been power outages reported across a large portion of- reported across a large portion of the united states where the splash freezes hitting and moving to the nation. millions left without power, we don't know how many exactly in indiana but definitely widespread issues and forwarding after

christmas. i issues and forwarding after christmas.— issues and forwarding after christmas. ~ ., ., , christmas. i know the warning is in lace until christmas. i know the warning is in place until 7pm _ christmas. i know the warning is in place until 7pm this _ christmas. i know the warning is in place until 7pm this friday - christmas. i know the warning is in place until 7pm this friday evening j place until 7pm this friday evening but things will tend to warm up apparently and does that bring its own problems? it apparently and does that bring its own problems?— apparently and does that bring its own problems? it could bring some roblems own problems? it could bring some problems for _ own problems? it could bring some problems for the _ own problems? it could bring some problems for the south, _ own problems? it could bring some problems for the south, it - own problems? it could bring some problems for the south, it could - problems for the south, it could actually cause some form of flash flooding but i don't think the warming up will cast too many big problems of the place prone vast flooding. problems of the place prone vast floodinu. . . , problems of the place prone vast floodinu. ., ., , , ., problems of the place prone vast floodin.. ., , ., . now let's turn to the wave of industrial action affecting different sectors of the uk economy. a second day of ambulance strikes planned in england and wales for next week — has been called off. up to 10,000 workers had been due to walk out on 28th of december, but the gmb union says the strike has now been suspended — so the public can enjoy christmas without �*additional anxiety�*.

however, other walk—outs will continue. starting with disruption today among postal workers, who've begun another two—day strike. a further day of industrial action by ambulance workers is planned for the 11th of january. meanwhile — thousands of nurses will go on strike onjanuary 18th and 19th — with more dates to be confirmed in the new year. the royal college of nursing, says the stoppages will continue, until pay negotiations with the government are opened. 0ur heath editor hugh pym has more details. 0ur health editor hugh pym has more details. people backed us on the picket lines this week, and we don't want to make them anxious at this time of year. that was the gmb�*s argument for postponing next wednesday's strike by ambulance staff. but there's a new strike date, january the 11th and a message to the government. we beg you to come to the table now. talk to us and call this off, because there will be further days

of action in the new year without a resolution to this dispute. and the royal college of nursing has set two more strike days in england next month. that will happen, they say, unless ministers agree to pay talks. we cannot have another meeting like the last where my boss, pat coghlan, our general secretary, is called to a meeting to go into a room to ask several times, please, can we talk about pay and be told no. is it not? the prime minister visiting a homeless support charity said pay had been set according to independent review proposals, but he would talk to unions about anything else. 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, i our door is always open. you know, the government's always| wanting to talk to people, to engage with them about what we can do

to make sure that theirjobs- are fulfilling, rewarding. so, as of now, we know there will be four separate strike days injanuary involving health unions, two back to back called by the royal college of nursing and at more hospitals than on previous strike days. health leaders say the escalation is deeply concerning. and again, they're urging ministers and unions to start pay talks without delay. in scotland, the royal college of nursing says members will be striking at some stage next year after a new government offer was rejected. all right. i thank you so much. so, challenges for the nhs across the uk, a sharp rise in flu cases in hospitals is causing concern, with official warnings to the public to reduce the risk of spreading infection to the most vulnerable over christmas. while flu is a worry for hospitals, figures today showed another increase in covid infections in the community. all that's adding to other pressures and the prospect of further strikes in the new year. hugh pym, bbc news.

border force officers at some of the uk's busiest airports, have begun an eight—day walk out. alanjones — the industrial correspondent at pa media — told us there's no apparent end in sight, to industrial action by many unions over pay and conditions. well, there's absolutely no sign of that happening. the government's position right the way through all these strikes has been that they're not prepared to give any more money to the nurses, to the ambulance workers, to physiotherapists and midwives, to the railway workers, to royal mail workers, civil servants. so, no, there doesn't look like any prospect of the government's position changing. and if that happens, it won'tjust be civil service strikes going on for months, it'll be all these strikes going on for months. i thought the tipping point would come when the health worker when the health unions threatened to go on strike. those strikes have happened now. more strikes are planned next month. i think the next tipping point will be next month because as well as all these health strikes next month, we could potentially have fire fighters and control room workers on strike.

we could have teachers on strike. we could have junior doctors on strike, you know, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that we could be looking at a million workers on strike next year. and if that isn't a tipping point, then i genuinely don't know what is. china is insisting that covid infections are under control, despite growing signs of a huge surge since restrictions were eased. health officials say they're expecting a peak of infections within the next week. authorites have reported no new deaths for a third day running. joining me now is dr louise blair, head of vaccines and epidemiology at airfinity, a british health analysis company, which has made its own estimates about what likely to be going on in china. thank you forjoining us here in bbc

news what is likely or truly to be going on in china? will going on in china? will be forecasting _ going on in china? will be forecasting at _ going on in china? will be forecasting at the - going on in china? will be | forecasting at the moment going on in china? will be i forecasting at the moment is going on in china? will be - forecasting at the moment is the fifth millions of cases a day and thousands of deaths per day in the whole of china. and this is just part of the growth curve and we expect cases to peak around mid—january across the whole of china at about 4 million cases a day. we do think there will be variations between provinces and different regional areas in beijing may well peak in the next couple of weeks. but in terms of the whole of china, we think there's a lot of growth in cases yet to come. abs, growth in cases yet to come. a contrast to what official figures are saying. there saying there's been only 3000 cases a day but there was the sleek, wasn't there from the deputy director of the cdc in china

who alleged to have said, just over 2% of the population has been infected. that equates to 37 million just on tuesday. that is a huge disparity. just on tuesday. that is a huge disari . , , , disparity. yes, the numbers coming out of china — disparity. yes, the numbers coming out of china are _ disparity. yes, the numbers coming out of china are very _ disparity. yes, the numbers coming out of china are very mixed. - disparity. yes, the numbers coming out of china are very mixed. they . out of china are very mixed. they sayjust out of china are very mixed. they say just a few thousand whereas this leaked information is at 37 million on a single day. the estimate is somewhere in between that and we are looking at different information sources to get the feel of what's really going on in the country within 37 million, that figure is quite high we have not seen that case rate for such a large country and elsewhere in the world. it's really quite shocking and we think there may be overestimating asymptomatic cases. and we will be

expecting around 700,000 deaths to have occurred in this month alone which is, for example, much higher than we see and officially reported in india over the course of the pandemic. so, quite mixed numbers coming out of china but in terms of modelling for growth rates that we have seen before, they dropped mass testing and we are estimating roma .5 million cases.— .5 million cases. playing that throu:h, .5 million cases. playing that through, despite _ .5 million cases. playing that through, despite it _ .5 million cases. playing that through, despite it being - .5 million cases. playing that through, despite it being an | .5 million cases. playing that - through, despite it being an awful disease and there are deaths associated with it. does for community is working its way to the population? is this a good thing and are they doing the vaccinations? they are increasing vaccinations but not quick enough. 0n the problem .7 million a day and that does sound quite high up at a previously reached 22 million a day and at the

rate of cases, it's a little bit too late and vaccinations and they take a little bit of time to respond to a vaccination and have that immunity and protection. and so those protected now will not be protected from the cases that are tearing apart the country today. they need to slow the curve the infections to vaccinate to have an impact. individuals will give natural immunity from this wave, but we are expecting a lot of death to occur within the population, as well. it is quite a cost to weigh out the number of deaths we are expecting about 1.7 million deaths over the course of this in the current model. one more question in. in terms of the strain, do you know which strain it's working through the chinese population and do you know if that is spreading globally? is

population and do you know if that is spreading globally?— is spreading globally? is likely to be in omicron, _ is spreading globally? is likely to be in omicron, highly _ is spreading globally? is likely to l be in omicron, highly transmissible variant within china. we are seeing in other is multiple images circulating at the same time with similar transmissibility we believe thatis similar transmissibility we believe that is what is happening in china at the moment. there are reports that there are increasing genome sequencing but they're not making the publicly available a global level and so we do not have access to that data what's happening in similar neighbouring countries is that omicron subsequent images so circulating together in the population. for people forced to flee ukraine this year because of the war there, this will be their first christmas away from loved ones. jo black has been speaking

to ukrainians who moved to cambridgeshire earlier this year about how they'll spend the festive period — knowing some of their friends and relatives back home are enduring the misery and horror of conflict. carol singing it is the time of year when many of us are with those we love most. but for ukrainians escaping the war and living here in the uk, christmas and new year is likely to feel very different this year. bogdana came to cambridgeshire with her young daughter in april, leaving her husband behind in kyiv. now a resettlement officer for the local council, she helps to run this community hub for ukrainian people. today's get together is marking christmas with a 12 course lunch of traditional ukrainian food. the mood is festive, but there is also a deep sense of sadness. we don't feel much like christmas and not much like christmas tree or anything. but anyway, we put on lights because we want the kids not

to miss this feeling. war or no war, life goes on, so, we'll have a small celebration. antonina, an artist from irpin, tells us shelling has destroyed her family home. she says this christmas will be a painful one. translation: i cannot feel festive at the moment, - because i worry very much about my friends and my family who are left and who cannot leave ukraine at the moment and they are staying there and enduring what they have to endure. svitlana, a neurologist from zaporizhzhia, is here with her three children and her mother. she says this christmas is made more bearable because of people like her host, les. translation: he's notjust given us accommodation. i he's opened his heart to us and opened his home to us. and, really, he's like a grandfather to our children. he's taken them to the park, helping them with school, helping with english lessons.

and i can't be more grateful to les and to all other people who open their hearts and homes for us, because this christmas, maybe have no christmas this year, if not for these people. my aim is really to try and make it as normal as it possibly can be. i so, we're going to have everybody at home on christmas day, - 17 people around the table. so, that will be very nice, i think. at this special time of year, these families are putting on a brave face. they are glad they are safe, but also hopeful that they'll soon be reunited with the people they love. jo black, bbc news, ely. several people have been arrested in afghanistan as protests continue against the new ban by the taliban on women attending universities. a number of social media platforms are full with videos showing women protesting in kabul. the taliban have since stopped the protests and have arrested at least five women. sodaba bayani,

is a women's rights activist and founder of "the afghan girls�* online classes". she says she was shocked by the taliban�*s ban, and decided to join the demonstrations. so, when we saw the reactions on social media, and so many people were against this, we thought maybe this time when we protest, everyone would join us and everyone will be with us but, unfortunately, it was us women again all alone and the protests, the taliban allow us to do our work protest and complete it. they arrested five protestors and three journalists as well. the protesters were released but one of them is still in custody, a woman named roqia. we still don�*t know where she is. british youtubers ladbaby have gained their fifth consecutive uk christmas number one, beating a record set by the beatles. colin paterson reports.

they�*ve only gone and done it again. ladbaby are number one! the moment that ladbaby found out that they had beaten the beatles. # it's christmas time # let's come together forfood aid...# this is lad baby�*s fifth christmas number one. the fab four only had four. and celebrations have begun. where is the fifth one? it's on its way, is on its way down to us. i don't think they knew if we were going to get it right until the last minute. i think it's in traffic- on the motorway, actually! it's leaving london like everyone else, probably, yeah. # feed the uk...# bob geldof gave them permission to change the words of band aid�*s do they know it�*s christmas to make it about the uk�*s cost of living crisis. this is no all—star singalong. those are all lookalikes. the only famous name, money saving expert martin lewis. and he got the bono line, i so what an incredible thing. and he did show mark up- with his singing because he's a lot

better at singing than mark! i was like, stop showing me up here. # tonight we�*re reaching out and helping you.# # feed the world...# having a christmas number one may not be quite what it once was. the original band aid sold i million copies in a week. ladbaby have managed 65,000. # i need some love like a never needed love before... #. but it�*s still a huge achievement. the spice girls only had three christmas number ones. the same total as cliff richard. even the x factor only managed cloud in a row. they have beaten that total too. how nice is it now that the history books are tied to food banks? that is what is so special about what we�*ve been doing. charity wins! colin paterson, bbc news,

nottingham. don�*t forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i�*m @lukwesaburak. today, we�*ve been following the band of clouds and rain on that weather front of that�*s been pushing its way northward since going to be heading into scotland and to some slightly colder air. into scotland and to some slightly colderair. notjust into scotland and to some slightly colder air. notjust rain here but also some sleet and snow, many of the hills to the north and central belt. a few centimetres by the end of the night. for the south, few sharp showers and those will die away later in the skies were clear, temperatures will drop to around five or 7 degrees and a little bit colder in scotland but i desperately called which is why most of the snow will be over the high ground and that wintry mix for the across northern parts of scotland on christmas eve morning.

that wintry mix, really around northern parts of scotland on christmas eve morning and that should tend to move away. we will see bands of showers coming into northern ireland, a few showers into scotland, around some more western parts of england and wales. for large parts of england and wales, it should be dry and there will be some sunshine at times, still mild and temperatures in the double figures and that milder air is pushing its way northwards in the scotland, as well. we�*ve got a southerly wind, it will be quite brisk actually through the irish sea and that�*s southerly wind is pushing mild air across the whole country. by christmas day morning, later in the day, there�*ll be some colder air arriving in the far northwest. for england and wales it will be milder on christmas day, maybe some early sunshine and a few showers. in the south, cloud will thicken and we have some rain pushing and especially towards the southeast later and we may keep a few more showers in scotland and northern ireland. so, temperatures here will be around 7 degrees and gets a bit colder

in the far northwest of the country and the northwesterly breeze will push colder air across northwest scotland later in the day. it is here where we could see a white christmas later on. other parts staying in the mild air. not so though, on boxing day because the colder air in the north—west is going to push down across the whole of the country. we�*ve got a west to northwesterly wind and that�*s going to bring more frequent wintry showers on boxing day to scotland and northern ireland, northern england and north wales. most of the snow will be over the hills and there could be some difficult travelling conditions for higher routes in the north—west of scotlan. in the north—west of scotland. further south, acorss england and wales, very few showers. and some pleasant sunshine actually even though temperatures are going to be a bit lower and it will feel a bit colder. that cold air only with us, briefly, i suspect as we head to say we have a south—westerly wind that will bring us some rain and some windy weather as we head to the new year.

this is bbc news, the headlines. clashes have broken out in paris after three people were shot dead at a kurdish community centre. police have arrested a 69—year—old man with a history of acts of racist violence. and the us faces its coldest christmas in four decades as a storm sweeps across the country, with temperatures dropping to minus 45 degrees celsius in some places. the uk health secretary says he is "disappointed" by the announcement that nhs nurses in england are to stage further strikes on january the 18th and 19th. also in the uk, the head of the union representing striking border force staff says walkouts could go on for six months unless the government enters talks about pay.