this is bbc news. our top stories: travel chaos in some parts of north america as frigid temperatures ground planes and 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. the handshake that brings hope to a war torn part of the democratic republic of congo as rebels agree to withdraw. and the case of the actress who wasn't there. we'll explain why universal studios is being sued for $5 million.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. more than 200 million people in america are under extreme weather alerts, and more than 1.5 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. this thermal satellite imagery shows the huge spread of the coldest areas — with the midwest enduring the lowest temperatures. and this satellite image, from the national oceanic and atmospheric administration, gives an idea of the spread of the cold weather system, with the lowest temperatures underneath the clouds at the top of the picture, across the northern us states and canada. we begin our coverage with this report from our north america correspondent, john sudworth. 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 on airport runways planes have been replaced by de—icing trucks...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 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 are going to be like an ice—skating rink and your tires cannot handle this and that lends itself to a great possibility of pile—ups, they 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. charles garner is running some of the homeless and warming centers in buffalo. hejoins us now. what are conditions like at the moment, how bad is it? currently we are at 12 degrees,

windchill is 11 below zero, it is extremely cold here, visibility is virtually non—existent, and we are doing our best to keep the homeless population of the streets. currently, my organisation restoration societies operating to homeless shelters in the city, we have 100 people on each one of our sites right now. ., , , , ., , each one of our sites right now. ., ,, , ., , now. homeless people at this time of year _ now. homeless people at this time of year and _ now. homeless people at this time of year and generally - now. homeless people at this. time of year and generally very vulnerable to weather conditions, how worried are you about pete who may be haven't made it to your centres?- made it to your centres? well, i'm not too _ made it to your centres? well, i'm not too worried _ made it to your centres? well, i'm not too worried because i made it to your centres? well, | i'm not too worried because we have an outreach in our team who has been out in the frigid temperatures, along with our law enforcement making sure our population, our vulnerable population, our vulnerable population is bought of the

streets, especially those who would not normally come to a homeless shelter. there are places they reside at and we are doing our best and we have done our best to give those people off the street and to more warm shelters. i people off the street and to more warm shelters. i guess you are t in: more warm shelters. i guess you are trying to _ more warm shelters. i guess you are trying to get _ more warm shelters. i guess you are trying to get your— more warm shelters. i guess you are trying to get your message i are trying to get your message out to people who have slipped through the net, what are you calling for those people to do? if anybody is out whether your car is start you are homeless or you are seeking shelter if your lights are out have no power, we have two shelters one is at 586 dennis st in the city of brockel the other shelters that for 12 niagara street in the city of rothwell, if you can't make it there, call 911, so we can make sure you can get to safety. so we can make sure you can get to safe . ., ., , so we can make sure you can get to safety-— to safety. you are used to cold conditions _ to safety. you are used to cold conditions in _ to safety. you are used to cold

conditions in buffalo, - to safety. you are used to cold conditions in buffalo, have - conditions in buffalo, have ever seen anything this before? i have, but i would say, within the past two or three years, this is the worst. we just overcame a big storm two, three weeks ago, it wasn't as bad as this, in terms of the freezing temperatures, the visibility, the rain which has caused a lot of trees to fall, we have huge power outages throughout the city of rothwell, so that is a major concern and that is why we don't want anybody out on the street, if you don't need to travel, please don't travel stop an important message. charles garner live from buffalo. earlier, i spoke to our news reporter, tom brada, who explained more about the disruption caused

by the storm. there's rain, blizzards, snow, ice, extreme cold across the country and i can give you some of the numbers, which should give you a sense of the scale of the disruption that people are seeing out there. at the moment, there are around 1.5 million people who are currently without power, there have been strong winds which are uprooted trees, they have knocked down powerlines, as a result there are lots of blackouts. many eastern states in the us are most affected by this, for example, in north carolina and virginia there are at least 150,000 people in both those states currently without power. ik should add that across border in canada there is also a lot of power outages in quebec and ontario, around 300,000 people are currently without power. this is a real ongoing issue for people in the cold. i should also tell you that transport is an area that has been really badly affected. that's obviously a massive problem for people who really want to get home for christmas, for their christmas plans. more than 11,500 flights have been cancelled, airports are really struggling. also trains have been affected. the train company amtrak has suspended 20 of their routes.

the roads, we have spoken a lot about how there are icy conditions on the roads, the roads are treacherous the moment, people are still driving in spite of their warnings as they try to get where they feel they need to be. deaths from road accidents have been reported in kentucky, kansas, tennessee. i should be able to show you pictures, this is in ohio, at least one person is reported to have been killed in this pilot. clearly there are seriously dangerous conditions out there in the country is bracing for even worse weather in the coming days. it is notjust the snow and ice there are other hazards out there as well. that's right. as if the snow and the ice and extreme cold is not enough to contend with, the eastern states have a lot of flood warnings in place, so there are coastal flood warnings in parts of maine, parts of massachusetts, this is new york state you can see cars underwater, floodwaters rising to cover the bottoms of these homes. the reason it has been happening in new york state is that there has been heavy rain and strong winds, that pushes the seawater

towards the land and that is why we are seeing the kind of submersion of the cars missing in new york state. with cold weather still to come, there may be something called flash freezing, means basically when there are wet patches that could freeze over and cause more ice an opportunity for danger. tom brada. much more about this story on our website, including details of what a bomb cyclone is, how it forms, and how long it might last, just log on to bbc.com/news or go via the bbc app. 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 yearago. following the attack, us secretary of state antony blinken sent "deepest sympathies "to the victims of the attack at the kurdish cultural center in paris."

also saying via twitter: "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 farfrom 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. 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. the french police have said that they believe the killings were likely a hate attack against minorities, but have not said that the attacker set out to kill kurds specifically. but in the wake of the attack, leading members of the kurdish community around the world have asserted their belief that the attack was targeted against them. the kurdish democratic council of france is a rights group

based in the kurdish centre where the attack took place, and they gave this statement. one of the victims assassinated today was one of the leaders of the kurdish women smooth and in france. this is why there is a political element with this attack. this is why there is terrorist nature to this attack, let no—one attempt to convince us this is a simple attack orchestrated by the far right. for more on the reaction of the kurdish diaspora to this attack, let's speak to kurdish affairs analyst for voice of america, mutlu civiroglu. what response have we seen from the kurdish? /we have seen a united kurdish reaction, that is in disbelief, such an attack

has been happening in paris, the heart of europe and in the heart of paris, the kurdish leaders and political leaders are very sad, very upset, very angry that this attack is happening. fist angry that this attack is happening-— angry that this attack is happening. angry that this attack is haueninu. �* happening. at the same time there is a disappointment - happening. at the same time - there is a disappointment among there is a disappointment among the leaders that kurds are not being protected, this sentiment is shared by the french kurds as your report mention. i can tell you the kurds of syria, right on iran are under a lot of pressure, we see the reaction is that there is a united, strong voice condemning this attack, calling upon europe especially french government to do more to protect the kurds, let's say, the general democratic forces

have been fighting against isis, we heard the statement from the imprisoned kurdish leader, and the kurdistan president, they called for a strong, united voice from the kurds condemning this attack and calling upon president micron and other french officials to do more to protect the kurds. officials to do more to protect the kurds-_ officials to do more to protect the kurds. , the kurds. there has been some criticism by _ the kurds. there has been some criticism by a — the kurds. there has been some criticism by a -- _ the kurds. there has been some criticism by a -- about _ the kurds. there has been some criticism by a -- about the - criticism by a —— about the response by french authorities and the police.— response by french authorities and the police. through the day i have and the police. through the day i have spoken — and the police. through the day i have spoken to _ and the police. through the day i have spoken to many - and the police. through the day i have spoken to many kurdish l i have spoken to many kurdish leaders in france and elsewhere, the comment is this attack is against them, what i was told by multiple sources, the location the attack took place is multicultural, there are different ethnic groups there, iranians, lebanese, moroccans, africans, but only kurdish cultural centre and kurdish cultural centre and kurdish businesses were

attacked. there are comments this is an attack against them, this is an attack against them, this is a planned and systematic attack, they also say when the attack happened, there were scheduled to be a community meeting, but due to some traffic problems and technical problems meeting was delayed for two hours, had it not been for this delay there would have been more people they are afraid they were focused on this meeting. they believe this is a targeted attack and they say are not worried about why, we are concerned about who, that is why disappointment of the french officials like your report also mentioned, french officials had been saying this as a possible racist attack with racist motives but kurdish

officials and leaders, kurdish people on the street they are not thinking this way, they believe they were targeted and were not protected, almost ten days later it was attack on another... days later it was attack on another. . .— days later it was attack on another... , ., , another... sorry to interrupt ou, another... sorry to interrupt you, that is all _ another... sorry to interrupt you, that is all we _ another... sorry to interrupt you, that is all we have - another... sorry to interrupt j you, that is all we have time for, thank you for giving thoughts on your response. stay with us on bbc news. still to come — the case of the actress who wasn't there: we'll explain why universal studios is being sued for $5 million. the world of music has been paying tribute to george michael, who's died from suspected heart failure at the age of 53. he sold well over 100 million albums in a career spanning more than three decades. the united states' troops have been trying to overthrow the dictatorship of general manuel noriega. the pentagon says it's failed in its principle objective — to capture noriega and take him to the united states to face drugs charges.

the hammer and sickle| was hastily taken away. in its place, the russian flag - was hoisted over what is now no longer the soviet union, but the commonwealth i of independent states. day broke slowly over lockerbie, over the cockpit of pan am's maid of the seas, nose down in the soft earth. you could see what happens when a plane eight storeys high, a football pitch wide, falls from 30,000 feet. christmas has returned to albania after a communist ban lasting more than 20 years. thousands went to midnight mass in the town of shkoder, where there were anti—communist riots ten days ago. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines — travel chaos in some parts of north america as frigid temperatures ground planes and turn roads into death traps. violent clashes grip paris after three people are shot dead at a kurdish community centre.

a rebel group in the east of the democratic republic of congo known as the m23 has withdrawn from a strategic position near the city of goma following peace talks. the town of kibumba was handed over to an east african military force in line with the agreements of a regional leaders summit in angola last month. the gesture could mark a return to peace in the region after years of conflict. daniel dadzie reports. glimmer of hope after years of war. m23 spokesman william gomer and a general of the congolese army, seen here on the right, ion opposing sides of the conflict which broke out in 2012. on friday, they met to implement a truce agreement. several diplomatic initiatives have been launched in a bid to ease tensions. the breakthrough was reached in the angolan

capital on november 23. under the deal, the m23 rebels were meant to lay down their arms then pull back from occupied territories. this ceremony marks their withdrawal from an important town in the disputed region. kibumba lies on the frontline on a key highway leading to the regional hub of more than1 million people. the fighters are meant to withdraw to positions around the border between congo, uganda and rwanda. translation: indie between congo, uganda and rwanda. translation: we hope that the government _ rwanda. translation: we hope that the government in _ rwanda. translation: we hope that the government in kinshasa l that the government in kinshasa will seize this opportunity with both hands and also work to bring peace to our country. the hope now is the people who have fled the fighting around kibumba can return home. m23 secret takeover _ kibumba can return home. m23 secret takeover by _ kibumba can return home. 14 secret takeover by east africa radio forcing areas under control is a positive indicator

that the agreed—upon strategy of restoring normalcy in the eastern region remains on course. , ., . , course. the unhcr pro'ects 150,000 refugees h course. the unhcr projects 150,000 refugees from - course. the unhcr projects 150,000 refugees from the | course. the unhcr projects - 150,000 refugees from the drc will have fled the country over the course of this year. this agreement opens up the possibility that some could begin 2023 at home with their families. daniel dadzie, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. ethiopian investigators have completed their final report into an ethiopian airlines crash nearly four years ago —— the former fijian army colonel sitiveni rabuka has been confirmed as fiji's prime minister after a coalition

of parties voted to support him, ending frank bainimarama 16 years in power. the appointment ends ten days of uncertainty in fiji, when the election delivered a hung parliament. rabuka accused the outgoing government of stoking �*fear and chaos' to derail his return to power. ethiopian investigators have completed their final report which led to the worldwide grounding of boeing 737 max aircraft. all 157 people on board were killed. the nairobi—bound plane came down minutes after take—off from addis ababa. the investigation concluded that a software failure was to blame. 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, #thereishelp, 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. the canadian government says that one of the best—known polar bear populations in the world is in serious decline almost certainly as a result of climate change. the town of churchill, in manitoba province, is known as the polar bear capital of the world but a survey has found the number of polar bears around the town of has dropped

by 27% in just five years. canadian rapper tory lanez has been found guilty of shooting fellow artiste megan thee stallion in july 2020. the trial in los angeles heard how the two left a party in the hollywood hills, arguing. as stallion got out of the car, witnesses said lanez ordered her to dance and shot at her feet. the musician said she needed surgery to remove the bullet fragments from her feet. he could now face more than 20 years in prison and could be deported from the us. ajudge in the us has ruled that two movie fans can sue the universal film studio for false advertising over the trailer it issued for the 2019 movie yesterday. that clip featured the actress ana de armas, but her part was entirely cut from the finished movie. the plaintiffs say they only rented the movie because they thought ms de armas was in it and they have now been cleared to take their claim for $5 million in compensation to court.

i've been speaking to entertainment lawyer domenic romano, founder and managing partner of romano law, and asked him whether he was surprised a judge would allow this suit for two fans to be heard. well, first of all, it's not on behalf of the two fans. it's on behalf of a class of other viewers of the film that were deceived. so i'm not surprised that the judge allowed this suit to go on. the trailer features a well—known actress who does not appear in the film, and it's understandable that a court would deem that not just these two but other viewers of the trailer might be misled. and do you think this will therefore have implications for trailers and the industry as a whole in the future? 100%. now, universal, the studio, argued that the trailer was an artistic, expressive work and should be protected free speech under the first amendment in the united states. but the court ruled that a trailer is a commercial, not only speech but commercial speech, and that there was a likelihood that others may be misled, or at least was arguable, if an actor is featured in the trailer and then doesn't appear in the film. it's important to note too that although that $5 million has

been claimed on behalf of this class of viewers that were misled, the film itself grossed a reported $154 million at the box office alone, not including streaming and other revenue. so, to put it in context, it's not an outrageous amount. sure, and to be — apologies for being naive, but where does that $5 million go if they're successful with this? well, the next step would be discovery. and if they're successful in certifying as a class, it would go to the viewers that can make a claim that but for those seeing ms de armas in the trailer, they would not have paid the $3.99, or whatever they paid, to watch the film. and in terms of legal practice, will be set a precedent, do you think, of other similar cases being opened? i think it will make studios and other distributors cautious about misleading viewers, and from a consumer perspective, this

is not a bad thing. so for you, do you think this is a sort of landmark moment that people will refer back to in the future? well, you know, ithink it's rare that a trailer will feature an actress or an actor then cut from a film. but i think misleading scenes — the judge also said scenes in a trailer that are misleading, as a consumer protection mechanism as more and more people consume streaming media — i think the ruling will have an effect on the way entertainment content is advertised in the future. king charles will deliver his first christmas day message on sunday — the television tradition begun by queen elizabeth. he is expected to pay tribute to his mother, and her legacy. 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. that's just about it from me,

you can find me at twitter. from me and the team, thanks for watching. hello. it looks as if for most it will stay mild in the run—up to christmas, but there is the hint of some colder air returning. the reason is because we've 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 10—15mm 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 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 and other western extremities.

our rain band with its hill snow slow to drag away, and it will stay in the cold air up in shetland all day. a lot of cloud behind, but temperatures will be higher, notably, for scotland than they were on friday. and it's mild across, not as windy. then, through the evening and overnight, those showers push their way gradually eastwards, and then just the hint that a north—westerly returns 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 round through the day. some brightness around, but there's a question mark as to a weather front coming up to the south which might give cloudy, wet conditions later on across southern and eastern areas. then we've got those showers across the north, probably brightening up with some sunshine behind. but that's when it turns chillier with the chance of some wintriness, as you can see. temperatures still for most at 8—12 degrees — on the higher side of normal. but, as i say, there is the 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's 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 a short—lived chilly spell, and it doesn't mean snow for all. we've still got, as i say, 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, hill snow. mostly temperatures, though, 4—8 degrees celsius. that's 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, looks like with wet and windy weather on the way. the warnings, as ever, are on the website.

this is bbc news. the headlines: frigid temperatures and heavy snowstorms in the us and canada have grounded planes and turned roads into ice rinks. hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses are without power and meteorologists say temperatures could drop to minus 45 celsius in some places. there's been violent clashes in paris after three people were shot dead at a kurdish community centre. the french president, emmanuel macron, has described the attack as odious. the alleged attacker was a 69—year—old frenchman who had previously targeted an african migrant camp in paris. the m23 rebel group in the east of the democratic republic of congo has withdrawn from a strategic position near the city of goma following peace talks. the gesture could mark a return

to peace in the region