this is bbc news — i'm lukwesa burak with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. there's pile—ups galore in some parts of the us as frigid temperatures turn roads into death traps. the roads are freezing, the roads are going to be like an ice rink and your tyres can't handle this. violent clashes grip paris after three people are shot dead at a kurdish community centre. covid cases soar in china after restrictions are lifted — and the government's official death tally is being questioned. nurses in england, wales and northern ireland threaten to strike again injanuary unless pay talks are opened.

and lad baby bag the christmas numberi spot for a fifth time — giving them more number one singles than the beatles. more than two hundred million people in america, are under extreme weather alerts, and more than one and a half million people have no power, as temperatures in some areas are predicted to drop, to as low as minus 45 celsius. an arctic storm is approaching, predicted to hit canada... and extend down to the deep south and the border with mexico, including texas. our north america correspondent, john sudworth, has more.

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 on airport runways planes have been replaced by de—icing trucks...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. the roads are freezing, the roads— the roads are freezing, the roads are _ the roads are freezing, the roads are going to be like an ice—skating rink and your tires cannot— ice—skating rink and your tires cannot handle this and that lends — cannot handle this and that lends itself to a great possibility of pile—ups, they can be _ possibility of pile—ups, they can be dangerous, people can .et can be dangerous, people can get stranded. the storm is expected to last through the weekend. after the years of covid, millions of americans face another disrupted christmas. john erickson is usually la based and had been trying to get home to his family for christmas in milwaukee wisconsin and he's stranded in denver. how are you feeling? hello,

i've had better _ how are you feeling? hello, i've had better christmases | how are you feeling? hello, i i've had better christmases to say the least.— say the least. john, you're in denver. _ say the least. john, you're in denver. you _ say the least. john, you're in denver, you are _ say the least. john, you're in denver, you are trying - say the least. john, you're in denver, you are trying to - say the least. john, you're ini denver, you are trying to get to la via wisconsin and what went wrong?— to la via wisconsin and what went wrong? everything went wron: went wrong? everything went wrong and — went wrong? everything went wrong and it's _ went wrong? everything went wrong and it's really - wrong and it's really concerning the airlines chose profits of the people of this christmas will have thousands and thousands of people stranded in the airport, especially here in denver without any accommodations or any type of wherewithal to make sure we got home safely. so, i'm not spending christmas with my family, i'm going back to los angeles and southwest airlines, and wanted to make sure i go back some of the time to give christmas gifts to my family members quite deeply missed and have mrs covid—i9. you have been travelling since wednesday, is that right? yes. wednesday, is that right? yes, ben stranded _ wednesday, is that right? yes, ben stranded in _ wednesday, is that right? yes, ben stranded in denver- wednesday, is that right? yes, ben stranded in denver for - wednesday, is that right? 1&1: ben stranded in denver for two ben stranded in denverfor two

days. ben stranded in denver for two da s. ~ ., ., , ., days. went to the warnings, not to travel. _ days. went to the warnings, not to travel. why — days. went to the warnings, not to travel, why did _ days. went to the warnings, not to travel, why did you _ days. went to the warnings, not to travel, why did you going - days. went to the warnings, not to travel, why did you going to l to travel, why did you going to risk it to get your family? i took off on wednesday because the horrible weather was supposed to start hitting wisconsin in the area that i was out until thursday and so, when i travelled, i travelled a day early to try to make sure i got there at a time and then denver was completely unprepared for any level snow or anything. while other airlines and be flying out on wednesday, southwest airlines stranded thousands of people here in denver and i'm flying back to la tonight on a completely different airline. how much money if you spend so far and not reached your destination?— far and not reached your destination? i've spent over $1000 in — destination? i've spent over $1000 in mind _ destination? i've spent over $1000 in mind you, - destination? i've spent over $1000 in mind you, they . destination? i've spent over| $1000 in mind you, they say destination? i've spent over i $1000 in mind you, they say it is weather, so they cannot put you up in a hotel nor the hotels are booked because families and are trying to get to a safe place and i've probably paid over $1000 though never see again over multiple

flights to try to get home and it's been an traumatising experience to say the least. you've booked multiple flights and just in case you booked two flights, just to cover your bets, but there is something that we cannot see, you appear to be on crutches, what happened?— to be on crutches, what happened? the day i was leaving. _ happened? the day i was leaving. i _ happened? the day i was leaving, i hurt _ happened? the day i was leaving, i hurt my - happened? the day i was leaving, i hurt my foot i happened? the day i was. leaving, i hurt my foot and i've been hobbling all around the airport and here in denver, there's been no accommodation for people with any type of disability it's been really off—putting and so, to say the least that i've been hobbling along in the denver airport would be an understatement as i've been running from gate to gate in trying to make a flight and i've been in a lot of pain because of it.— because of it. it's really difficult _ because of it. it's really difficult but _ because of it. it's really difficult but i _ because of it. it's really difficult but i just - because of it. it's really difficult but i just wantl because of it. it's really i difficult but i just want to say, can you stay safe, try to get home safely and are you going to get any of your money back? �* ., ., , ., back? i'm going to try and get my money _ back? i'm going to try and get my money back _ back? i'm going to try and get my money back but _ back? i'm going to try and get my money back but knowing l back? i'm going to try and get -

my money back but knowing these corporations, will probably have to see, they'll probably give me a free drink coupons but hopefully i can get some of my money back and so my costs and get over to see my family and get over to see my family and see my nieces and nephews opened their christmas presents, just not on christmas.— presents, just not on christmas. ., christmas. you can make christmas _ christmas. you can make christmas any _ christmas. you can make christmas any day - christmas. you can make christmas any day of - christmas. you can make christmas any day of the | christmas. you can make - christmas any day of the year. just stay safe and get home. i plan to. fingers crossed. safe travels and — plan to. fingers crossed. safe travels and thank— plan to. fingers crossed. safe travels and thank you - plan to. fingers crossed. safe travels and thank you very - plan to. fingers crossed. safe travels and thank you very much indeed and merry christmas. 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. following the attack us

secretary of state antony blinken �*his deepest sympathies... to the victims of the attack at the kurdish cultural center in paris.�* also saying via twitter that �*my thoughts are with the members of the kurdish community and people of france on this sad day.�* 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 the judicial 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. let's get some of

the day's other news a french serial killer who's been convicted of 2 murders — and linked to 20 others, is on his way back to france. charles sobhraj says he feels "great" after being released from jail in nepal. the 78—year—old — whose crimes were dramatised in the tv series the serpent — served 19 years for killing two americans in 1975. twitter has in the past few days removed a feature that promoted suicide prevention hotlines to users that look up certain content. the removal of the safety feature — hashtag there is help — has not been officially announced, but various organisations noticed its disappearance and expressed concern. twitter and its new owner elon musk have not commented. just over a week ago twitter disbanded its trust and safety council. ethiopian investigators have completed their final report into an ethiopian airlines crash nearly

four years ago in which one—hundred—and—fifty—seven people were killed. they say a software failure was to blame. 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 2—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 on january 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. our heath 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 i 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. 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. this is bbc news, the headlines. there's pile—ups galore in some parts of the us as frigid temperatures turn roads into ice—rinks. violent clashes grip paris after three people are shot dead at a kurdish community centre.

the united nations, says the ban on women going to university in afghanistan, is a dramatic setback, denying a future for the country. girls had already been banned from attending secondary school, by the taliban. the new restrictions affecting higher education, were announced this week and have prompted protests across the country, as our diplomatic correspondent, caroline hawley reports. defying the taliban in a show of fury, and of extraordinary courage. here in the north of afghanistan they were chanting, "why won't you let us study?" and the taliban used water cannon to disperse them. we've blurred their faces to protect them from taliban reprisals. translation: i beg you, please, please, just let . us continue learning. chanting "let us in" in kabul yesterday,

women vowing to stand together against oppression, but several were arrested. others, beaten. translation: they gave all the girls lashes. - they had brought their own female enforcers who whipped the girls. we fled, but others were taken by the taliban. only a few weeks ago, young women were sitting their university exams, separate from men but still it gave secondary school girls hope that they'd soon be allowed to resume their education. a dream that's now been snatched away. this was the reaction at one university in kabul when they heard the news. in kandahar, some young men walked out of their studies in solidarity. on national television, the minister of higher education accused women students of not properly following the taliban's dress code, trying to justify a decision that's caused

an international outcry. this is a dramatic setback. denying women the right to education is denying a future to afghanistan, to the country and to the people. we are asking for this to be immediately reversed and we are working on it. malala yousafzai, campaigner for girls�* education, survived an attack by the taliban in pakistan a decade ago. we always feared that it would get worse, which is happening right now. it�*s getting worse for women. and this is two decades of progress that women in afghanistan fought for. the bbc�*s sana safi grew up in afghanistan under the taliban�*s previous rule and could only go to underground schools. ifeelangry, ifeel sad, because those women will lose the precious time that i lost. they will lose the childhood that i lost. everything we have seen from the taliban in regards to their decision—making indicates that they�*ve not changed. whatever happens with the protest, these afghan women

are sending a very clear message to the world. caroline hawley, bbc news. 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. dr louise blair is head of vaccines and epidemiology at airfinity. it�*s a british health analysis company. she told me her company has made its own estimates about what likely to be going on in china. what we are forecasting at the moment is around 1.5 million cases a day and approximately 7000 deaths per day in the whole of china. and this is a part of a 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 in different regional areas in beijing may well peaked in the next couple of weeks but in terms of the whole of china, we think is a lot of growth in cases yet to come. that is quite a contrast to what official figures are saying. there�*s been just over 3000 cases a day but there was this leak, wasn�*t there from the deputy director of the cdc in china. and it is alleged they said that nearly just over 2% of the population has been infected and that equates to 37 million just on tuesday. that is a huge disparity. the numbers coming out of china are very mixed. just a few thousand

whereas as you say, this leaked information, 37 million on a single day. in terms of the strain, do we know which strain is working to the chinese population and do we know if that is spreading globally? is likely to be in omicron varian spreading through china we varian spreading through china may think there me overestimating we may think there may be overestimating asymptomatic cases but without further information, that number seems quite unlikely and if that was the case, will be expecting around 700,000 deaths 12 around 700 , 000 deaths 12 occurred around 700,000 deaths 12 occurred on this month alone. which is much higher than what we have seen officially reported in india over the whole course of the pandemic and so, really quite mixed numbers coming out of china. in

terms of modelling, from growth rates that we have seen before, they dropped mass testing and we are estimating roma .5 million cases.— we are estimating roma .5 million cases. despite it being an awful disease _ million cases. despite it being an awful disease and - million cases. despite it being an awful disease and there - million cases. despite it being | an awful disease and there are debts associated with it, does that mean group community is working its way to the population? is that a good thing and are they doing the vaccinations?— vaccinations? they are increasing _ vaccinations? they arej increasing vaccinations vaccinations? they are - increasing vaccinations but really not quick enough. so, to be vaccinations and 1.7 million a day seems quite high but china has previously reached 22 million a day and at the rate of cases going to the population, it�*s a little bit too late. vaccinations, the body takes big amount of time to respond to vaccinations and have that immunity and protection and so, those vaccinated now, will, they need to slow the curve of the

infections in order to vaccinate and have an impact. of course, individuals with good natural immunity from this way but we�*re expecting a lot of deaths to occur as well within the vulnerable population and so, it�*s quite a cost to way out that number of deaths and we are expecting 1.7 million deaths over the course of this wave and model. i want to squeeze _ of this wave and model. i want to squeeze one _ of this wave and model. i want to squeeze one more - of this wave and model. i want to squeeze one more question| to squeeze one more question in. excuse me. in terms of the strain, do we know which strain is working to the chinese population and do we know if that is spreading globally? it�*s likely to be in omicron variant spreading through china and a very transmissible variant within china and what we ill be seeing in other countries is perhaps multiple images circulating at the same time and similar

transmissibility and what is happening in china at the moment, there are reports that there are increasing genome sequencing but they are not making that publicly available on a global level and so, we do not have access to that. but what is happening in similar neighbouring countries is that omicron images are circulating together within the population. king charles is expected to pay tribute to his mother, the late queen, in his first christmas day message. a photo released in the uk on friday evening, shows the recording being made, in st george�*s chapel, at windsor castle, where a committal service was held during the queen�*s funeral in september. british youtubers lad baby 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 ladbaby found out that they had beaten the beatles. # it's christmas time # let's come together for food aid...# this is ladbaby�*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, it's 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 sing—along. 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! - at one point, 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 a million copies in a week. ladbaby have managed 65,000. # i need some love like a never needed love before...# # i need some love like i never needed love before...# but it�*s still a huge achievement. the spice girls only had three christmas number ones. # mistletoe and wine...# the same total as cliff richard. even the x factor only managed four in a row. ladbaby 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. hello. it looks as if for most it will stay mild in the run—up to christmas but there is the hint at some colder air returning. the reason is because we have got these mild south—westerly winds at the moment. this is the band of rain, the weather front, that swept right the way across the uk during friday, giving ten to 15 millimetres of rain turning to snow over the scottish highlands and grampians, even at lower levels temporarily in the north. showers elsewhere but largely frost free away from the chilliness in the north. so, not particularly cold to start but perhaps one or two mist and fog patches to watch out for the first thing this morning but then a lot of dry and bright weather for england and wales, the showers get going quite quickly across northern ireland, pushing into northern england another western extremities.

our rain band with its hill snow slow to drag away and it will stay in the cold air up in the shetlands all day, a lot of cloud behind but temperatures will be higher, notably for scotland, than they were on friday. and it is miles across, not as windy. then through the evening and overnight, those showers pushed their way gradually eastwards and then just the hint of a north—westerly return to the north and west of scotland so again not particularly cold as we head into christmas day morning, just local frost, really, and quite a bit of showery weather around through the day. some brightness around but there is a question mark as to a weather front coming up to the south which might give cloudy wet conditions later on across southern conditions and eastern areas. and we�*ve got those showers across the north, probably brightening up with some sunshine behind, but that is when it turns chillier with the chance of some wintriness, as you can see. temperatures are still foremost at eight to 12 degrees on the higher side of normal but as i say there is a chance that we could see the definition of a white christmas, snow falling across the north and west in the showers as we go

through the second part of the day. and that is because the cold arctic air is coming back, and it might well push right the way across the uk as we go into boxing day but it will be shortly to chilly spell, and it doesn�*t mean snow for all, we still got that question mark over rain later on christmas day in the south, dragging its heels to clear on the south—east on boxing day. and then a wintry mix of showers with hail, sleet, hillsnow, mostly, temperatures will fall to eight degrees celsius, that is a few degrees down on those of christmas day. but as i say, it does look like a short lived cold snap because the mild atlantic influence returns, it looks like there is wet and windy weather on the way. the warnings, as ever, are on the website.

this is bbc news, the headlines 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. more than 2,000 flights have already been cancelled with more expected to follow. clashes have broken out in paris after three people were shot dead at a kurdish community centre. police arrested a 69—year—old man with a history of acts of racist violence. 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