are attacking a high profile hotel in the capital kabul. the deputy spokesman for the interior ministry said as many as four militants entered the intercontinental hotel through the kitchen and opened fire on staff and guests. afghan special forces are at the scene, and they have reportedly shot dead two of the attackers. this file picture of the intercontinental hotel gives you an idea of the size of the building, and the number of floors and rooms which would need to be secured. these pictures show the afghan troops approaching the building. several casualties have been taken to hospital. there are unconfirmed reports that some hotel staff and guests were taken hostage. here's what one eyewitness saw happening: translation: at first i heard some gunfire and then after 15 minutes a worker from the hotel approached and had suicide attackers were in the hotel. our correspondent in kabul, zia shahreyar, has been following developments, and he gave us this update: security forces have set the attackers, two others are still inside the hotel. they have cleared the first and second floor of the hotel, according to the interior ministry but the other three floors, the third, fourth and fifth, i still not cleared. the operation is ongoing —— ongoing to clear those flaws and they are uncertain exactly where the two remaining gunmen are and which floor they are wrong, which room they are, they also believe they may have taken some hostages inside the hotel. eyewitnesses have said that they had seen dead bodies although afghan officials have not confirmed anyone has been killed so far. they said five people have been taken to hospital and the afghan special forces are in the area. nato forces are also set to be in the area or close to and we have also heard that foreign citizens were among the guests in the hotel. a wedding was going on in the hotel hall and security forces are saving that all the guest of the wedding have been evacuated and no—one has been injured amongst them. turkey has begun a new intervention in the conflict in syria — by launching an offensive against kurdish held territory near its border. it has long fought kurdish separatists within its own country and is now shelling kurdish militia in the afreen region of northern syria. mark lowen reports from near the turkey—syria border. it began today, operation olive branch. turkish f—16 fighter it began today, operation olive branch. turkish f—16fighterjets pounding an enclave of north and syria under the control of the syrian kurdish militia. rebel fighters are on the ground as part of the offensive. turkey sees the ypg as a terrorist group. links to their own pkk. they have been fighting an urgency here in turkey since the 1980s. it is a dangerous operation because the americans support ypg in the fight against islamic state. this —— operation puts turkey in confrontation with its nato ally the us to america's support for the ypg has consistently infuriated the turkish government and the regime has said they will shoot down any turkish jet violating syrian airspace. yet they have gone ahead, determined to reduce the territorial control of the ypg, fearing that they will consolidate territory. this operation could bog turkey down in a long and potentially deadly military offensive. i spoke to fadi hakura, who is the manager of the turkey project at chatham house. i asked him whether this opens up yet another front in the war in syria. no doubt that the military intervention by turkey in north—western syria is another complication in a very complicated war. turkey wants to make certain that the ypg, which are closely linked to the pkk, do not establish their contiguous territorial autonomous zone. how will that go down in turkey? there are many kurdish people in turkey, could it become a risk for the president?m this military intervention becomes a long and protracted conflict and there is a serious possibility that there is a serious possibility that the kurdish people in turkey will become increasingly agitated and will express sympathy with their brethren in northern syria. however, if this is a swift military operation in the risk will be minimised. is a message to the us, who are arming and supporting the kurdish people as they fight in syria against the outside forces? —— assad forces. could there be tensions between turkey and america now? if the turkish military intervention is quick and swift then i think the likelihood of a rupture between the us and turkey will be reduced. after this operation, in all likelihood, i think there will be some sort of rapprochement between the two countries because neither can afford for the declining relationship to continue much longer. put us into the biggest picture. this is the middle east and a lot of countries well beyond the middle east, all fighting on different sites for different reasons. how close are we to all our war between these countries? how close are we to perhaps a middle eastern war? is that that fragile?” would not go that far. turkey's intervention in northern syria took place with the tacit support of russia. without russia's approval there is no way that turkey was met fighterjet could there is no way that turkey was met fighter jet could undertake there is no way that turkey was met fighterjet could undertake these bombardments that we saw today or that any turkish soldiers could cross the border into northern syria. we see simply that turkey and russia and iran are coming closer together to bring a lasting settle m e nt together to bring a lasting settlement to syria, through what is called the astana agreement. it is not built much result but as long as they are talking the likelihood of a greater war is reduced. donald trump has been marking his first year in office while trying to work out one of the trickiest problems washington politics has to offer — getting the republicans and democrats to agree. their failure to reach a budget deal — despite the president's personal intervention — means the us federal government has been largely shut down since midnight on friday. david willis reports. marking the first anniversary of president trump's inauguration, protesters took to the streets here in washington and across the country, as the government of the largest economy in the world went into shutdown. the yays are 50, and the nays are 49. last night, a stopgap funding measure came up ten votes short. that after the democrat leader in the senate, chuck schumer, met with president trump at the white house. progress was made, he said, before the dealmaker—in—chief changed his mind. negotiating with this white house is like negotiating withjell—o. it's next to impossible. as soon as you take one step forward, the hard—right forces the president three steps back. the white house branded the democrats "obstructionist losers" what we've just witnessed on the floor was a cynical decision decision by senate democrats to shove aside millions of americans for the sake of irresponsible political games. the government shutdown was 100% avoidable. as the vote collapsed, outside on the streets of the capital were the people whose fate democrats wanted to tie to this funding agreement — young people brought into the united states illegally, whom president trump is threatening to deport. republicans want their fate linked to funding for a wall along the mexican border, a pet project of president trump. members of congress are working over the weekend to try to find a solution to the crisis. hundreds of thousands of nonessential government workers will be placed on temporary unpaid leave. and not even members of the military will be paid until a breakthrough is reached. president trump took issue with that today, tweeting that democrats are holding the military hostage over their desire to have unchecked illegal immigration, can't let that happen. the last government shutdown here, in 2013, caused the closure of national parks and led to around 800,000 government workers being placed on leave. nobody here wants to see history repeat itself. a year ago, the president was celebrating sweeping to power on the platform as the ultimate deal—maker. he starts his second year with the government in shutdown and his approval ratings at an all—time low. david willis, bbc news, washington. we'll have more on president trump's first year in office — and what those who voted him in think today — later in this bulletin. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. police in nigeria say fourforeign hostages have been freed in the north of the country. they were found during a joint military and police operation. the two americans and two canadians, who were working on a solar power project, were seized earlier this week. they were ambushed in a forested area north of the capital, abuja. police in thailand have arrested a man accused of leading one of the biggest wildlife trafficking networks in asia. boonchai bach was captured near the border with laos, one of the main routes for smuggling animal parts from africa to buyers in china and vietnam. six women from the british army have become the largest all—female group to ski coast—to—coast across antarctica. the ice maiden team began the 1600 kilometre expedition on november the 20th. they've been battling winds of up to 60 miles per hour and temperatures as low as minus a0. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: how trustworthy is the news on facebook? the social media giant says it's going to start giving sources reliability ratings. the people of saigon have just heard that, at last, there is to be a ceasefire. the reaction of american servicemen was predictable. i'm going home. demonstrators waiting for mike gatting and his rebel cricket team were attacked with tear gas and set upon by police dogs. anti—apartheid campaigners say they will carry on the protests throughout tour. they called him the butcher of lyon. klaus altmann is being held on a fraud charge in bolivia. but the west germans want to extradite him for crimes committed in wartime france. there, he was the gestapo chief klaus barbie. millions came to bathe as close as possible at this spot, a tide of humanity that is believed by officials to have broken all records. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: afghan special forces are responding after a group of up to four gunmen attacked the intercontinental hotel in kabul. turkey has launched air strikes against kurdish—held territory in syria following two days of artillery bombardment. let's get more now on the anniversary of donald trump's inauguration as president. pennsylvania was one of the key states in delivering his victory. he inspired hope among many working class voters in places like bethlehem, a former steel town that hadn't voted for a republican for president since the 1980s. the bbc‘s nick bryant went there to see how people rate his performance one year on. it was rust—belt towns that helped put donald trump in the white house — one—time steel powerhouses such as bethlehem, pennsylvania, which hadn't gone republican since the 1980s. democratic strongholds that became trump country. so, all this is new? all this is new, all this is new. keith hornet runs his own construction firm and has built 300 new apartments since donald trump became president. he knows there's been a rise in business and consumer confidence. it's seen him double his workforce. as long as i see builders happy, shovels going in the ground and there is work ahead of me, i'm happy. you're seeing a trump bump? absolutely. ioo%. no doubt in my mind. this is a direct result. he might turn out to be one of the greatest presidents we ever had. joe d'ambrosio runs a barber shop but keeps a close eye on the stock market, which has reached record highs and has risen about 30% since this time last year. a registered democrat, he is proud to have voted for the billionaire. he's getting all of the politicians shook up. no business as usual. and i like what he's doing. what about his behaviour? well, you know... what are you going to do? i mean, you don't like his tweeting — nobody likes his tweeting — but in my mind, for my customers and everybody else, it's what everybody‘s thinking but won't say. but there are people in bethlehem who regard donald trump not as a messiah, but a pariah. pensionerjulie rae is worried about the new president's temperament. it's a common complaint from republicans as well as democrats. i don't think he has a real grasp on any kind of reality, in a way. you know, in a theatrical reality, yes, he's great. but as far as leading our country, i think he has no clue what he's doing, and i don't think he realises the seriousness of it. people in these communities aren't consumed by the fire and fury gossip coming from the white house. they are not following every twist and every tweet. manyjudge this presidency with an economic yardstick and, financially, many feel better off than they did this time last year. for all the chaos and controversy in washington, there's a sense of resurgence in the rust belt. nick bryant, bbc news, pennsylvania. the international olympic committee has approved plans for north korea to participate in next month's winter olympics in south korea. pyongyang will send 22 athletes, accompanied by officials and journalists. but the most eye—catching part of the agreement is for the teams from the north and south to march at the opening ceremony under onejoint flag. imogen foulkes reports from ioc headquarters in switzerland. two koreas face—to—face. such is the tension on the korean peninsula that this meeting, ostensibly about the olympics, became something much more. here in lausanne, the two sides spoke together for hours. they emerged with an agreement and the blessing of the international olympic committee. the ioc has approved their request to have their delegations marching together as one under the name korea. for the first time, the two koreas, divided since the 1950s, will field a unified team — women's ice hockey — and the olympic committee has relaxed its strict qualification deadlines to allow 22 north korean athletes to compete. handshakes, smiles and public signatures — these are not political leaders, but representatives of north and south korea's national 0lympic committees. still, some believe this could be a sign of much more harmony to come. the olympic spirit is about respect, dialogue and understanding. the olympic winter pyeongchang 2018 are hopefully opening the door to a brighter future on the korean peninsula. given the long divisions between the two koreas, it is probably over optimistic to hope that real peace is just around the corner. but the cooperation here and the contact the two countries will have at next month's 0lympics might, many hope, lead to more talking and wider agreement. imogen foulkes, bbc news, lausanne, switzerland. the jamaican government has declared a state of emergency around montego bay in the west of the country after a number of "shooting incidents". british tourists travelling there are being advised to stay in their resorts after a surge in gang—related violence in the area. nick davis reports. for a country that depends on tourism, the pictures of troops on the streets in montego bay, jamaica's biggest resort, isn't ideal, but the government says it's something that needs to be done. the security forces are expected and have been directed to treat citizens with respect, and protect the dignity and safety of all. most of the tourists who visit montego bay and much of the north coast stay in gated and guarded all—inclusive hotels where security isn't an issue. but the growing reality for people who live in the city is that crime has spiked. last year saw over 1,600 people murdered in jamaica, 325 of them in stjames, the area where montego bay is. —— 335 of them in stjames, the area where montego bay is. most of the crime is gang—related and focused in a number of small communities. the foreign office has advised holidaymakers that they should only travel to and from the airport to their hotels and when they do take excursions, to make sure they are arranged by official tour reps. authorities say there will be more roadblocks and vehicle searches as they go after the gangs and their guns. a similar state of emergency in 2010 in kingston saw the murder rate drop to its lowest levels in years a statistic that meant lives saved. in montego bay, it's hoped the same will happen again. there are changes afoot at facebook. the vast all—powerful social networking site has over two billion users, and has been blamed spreading unreliable information and endless advertising. ceo mark zuckerberg has been announcing plans to "fix" the problems. tiffany sweeney reports. when facebook launched, the platform became the one place for social interaction. for many people, it was a chance to stay in touch with friends and family around the world. but now, the same social networking site pushes a lot of advertising. that is how it makes $500 billion. and it has been heavily criticised for allowing stories thatjust not true to spread. last week, ceo mark silberberg said the site will make posts from businesses, brands and media much less prominent. news content will soon make up about 4% of what appears on your newsfeed, down from 5%. to order from one 800 flowers. . . down from 5%. to order from one 800 flowers... and on friday the company said it will prioritise trustworthy news sources on its newsfeed. it will use surveys to let users determine which news outlets they find reliable but it will not make the results public. some worry that big—name media brands like the bbc will do better than other new names that may be just as rigorous in their journalism. that may be just as rigorous in theirjournalism. tiffany sweeney, bbc news. paul bocuse, one of france's most famous chefs, has died aged 91. his restaurant held a 3—star michelin rating for more than half a century, earning him the nickname of ‘the pope of gastronomy‘. rhodri davies has more. paul bocuse was lauded for most of his life as a greater french cuisine. he was twice named chef of the century, a moderniser french fruit, and he revolutionised the idea of the chef and to those in power and in kitchens are feeling his loss. the country's president tweeted that chefs throughout france are crying in their kitchens. spanish—american chefjose andreas said the angels would be having a feast while anthony war dance said he was a hero. he reportedly died in his restaurant collonges—au—mont—d'or, where the saying is at the bottom of the pot like the truth. he inherited the restau ra nt like the truth. he inherited the restaurant from his father, part of afamily restaurant from his father, part of a family whose cooking was known since the 17th century. this long lineage led to his restaurant having three michelin stars by 1965. ten yea rs three michelin stars by 1965. ten years later, he received fromthe highest honour that is after pushing forward new vote cuisine. that advocated reducing calories and portion sizes of france's traditional dishes. ahead of his time, he was also a great self publicist and his stature grew to globalfame. that's publicist and his stature grew to global fame. that's led to having the bocuse d'0r named after him, the so—called chef 0lympics. he inspired ripple across generations and borders, from france to japan to the usa. he really changed the perception for chefs, three years was considered to be the role of like a domestic servant, he really thrust it, more involved that perception as a chef, to be elevated asa perception as a chef, to be elevated as a very prestige level which so many of us today have really him to thank the movement, i mean, he looked at the role of a chef very differently than anyone else ever did. a large but disarming personality who was also known to his affairs at least two long—term ones and many others. bocuse died aged 91 after several years with parkinson's disease. don't forget, you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter. i'm @chrisrogersbbc. including lots more on the first year since donald trump's inauguration. hello. every something milder on the way through the coming days but with how we are starting sunday morning, you may need a bit of convincing off that because cold air is still very much in place will stop while depot trying to push in from the south—west but as it does, it is bringing a band of rain and this could be quite a troublemaker actually because running into the cold air, it is going to bring some snow and indeed some ice, particularly across central and northern part of the british isles through the day ahead. it could cause some trouble disruptions, bear that in mind if you do have plans to get out and about. it is harboured a shakeup, the get out and about. it is harboured a sha keup, the weather get out and about. it is harboured a shakeup, the weather pushing forward from north to east, from north wales, the midlands, northwards, especially over high ground, there is likely to be a spell of snow, much of it though turning back to reign by the end of the day at the milderair begins to reign by the end of the day at the milder air begins to win out. it pushes in from the west. at 3pm there will still be significant snowfall in across a good part of scotla nd snowfall in across a good part of scotland but down to the south—west, something more mild, turning the wintry weather back to reign and an wintry weather back to reign and an wintry mix of rain, sleet and snow down into east anglia, some icy conditions also, temperatures two, three, four, six in london but rain. rain across the south—west of england, heavy rain continues through the afternoon but look at the temperatures, 12 degrees for plymouth, when the weather here, known in cardiff, some wet and windy weather into south wales, and for north wales as things turned more mild in the afternoon sun missed and merck and fog likely to develop across parts of northern ireland as well. as we get through sunday night, we will push away the rain and what is left of the snow, any areas will end up right, a fair amount of cloud, this area of rain close to the south coast and certainly the channel islands so wet weather continuing and look at the temperatures for monday morning, 1— 10 degrees, much less chilly start. monday will bring the rain scraping perilously close to the south of england otherwise not a bad day, a fairamount of england otherwise not a bad day, a fair amount of cloud, some sunshine about, always patchy rain at times for hills and coast in the west. temperatures 5— ten. just the first sign of the milder air is winning out and it will continue to do so to the most part through the week ahead, something colder, never too far away from northern areas so temperatures in the north will tend to go up and down but not as cold as it has been, certainly mild further south, 12— 13, but with a mild air, we will see some wet and windy weather continuing our times through the week ahead. it is all from me for now. this is bbc news. at least four gutmann have launched an attack on one of the main hotels in trouble. special forces killed it one of the main hotels in trouble. specialforces killed it none one of the main hotels in trouble. special forces killed it none of the attackers in one local officials reported to have said that the gunmen were shooting at guest. turkey says it has carried out air strikes in northern syria against over 100 targets. dozens of warplanes were involved in the attacks against the syrian kurdish ypg militia. recriminations have begun over the failure of the us senate to pass a new budget and prevent the shutdown of many federal services. to fund the federal government for the coming weeks failed to receive the required 60 boats. the most celebrated french chef has passed away at the age of 91. he was suffering parkinson's disease for several years. now on bbc news,

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