armed security patrolling the roads around kabul‘s internet —— intercontinental hotel. these pictures taken at midnight, three hours after the shooting began. officials said four gunmen began firing on saturday evening, shooting at staff and guests. translation: at first i heard some gunfire and after 15 minutes, a worker from the hotel approached and said suicide attackers entered the hotel. local media reports say several people have been killed, unclear how many, yet it is believed the security guards at the entrance to the hotel may be among those injured. the intercontinental hotel in kabul is popular with foreign guests, situated on a hilltop outside the city and has been the target of an attack before in 2011 when 21 people died. security forces said to the gunman had been shot and killed. two more thought to be hiding the building with reports they had ta ken hiding the building with reports they had taken hostages on the upper floors. the attack comes days after the us embassy in kabul issued a warning about hotels in the city, saving extremist groups may be planning an attack and saying hotels as well as public gatherings could be potential targets. it is still not clear how many people have been injured in this attack or how many guests and staff are still inside the hotel. andrew plant, bbc news. our correspondent in kabul, zia shahreyar, has been following developments. he gave us this assessment: the security forces have said htey killed two of the attackers, two others are still inside the hotel. they have cleared the first and second floor of the hotel, according to interior ministry officials, but the other three floors, the third, fourth and fifth, are still not cleared. the operation is ongoing to clear those floors and they are not sure where exactly the two remaining gunmen are and which floor they are on, which room they are, they also believe they may have taken some hostages inside the hotel. eyewitnesses have said that they have 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 said to be in the area or close to the are and we have also heard that foreign citizens have been among the guests in the hotel. a wedding was going on in the hotel hall and security forces are saving a wedding was going on in the hotel hall and security forces are saying 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. bill hayton reports. heading to the border, a turkish invasion force is getting ready. so far, these tanks have not crossed into syria. the turkish government wa nts into syria. the turkish government wants the world to see what it is doing, releasing this video of leaders directing the operation. translation: depending on the developments, our land forces will carry out necessary activities as well. apart from the turkish armed forces, there are also components of the free syrian army participating in this operation. these are some of those three syrian army fighters moving through turkey to join the battle. just like the turkish government, they are opposed to the kurdish why p&g setting up enclaves inside syria. some of the fsa factions have alreadyjoined the fighting against them. turkey sees a huge threat in northern syria because of the kurdish forces and these forces are supported by a us— led international coalition which includes britain and some european countries. they see a practice in that region. this is what they are fighting over, the area around afreen. the ypg has been expecting an attack workers but two years and they are well prepared that turkey has a power and artillery on its side and its pounding the turkish positions. this battle pits to american allies, the ypg and turkey, against each other and trapped in the kurdish enclave, more than1 million people waiting for peace. bill hayton, bbc news. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. a fire afire in a fire in a hotel in central part —— central prague has injured to people. it was near the national theatre. the cause has not yet clear. thousands of anti—government protesters have held rallies in cities across rumania. they are angered at what they see as attempts by the governing coalition to die thejudicial by the governing coalition to die the judicial independence. by the governing coalition to die thejudicial independence. the largest demonstration took place in heavy snow in the capital. both us houses of congress will be back in session on sunday to try to rectify the failure to pass a new spending bill. a vote in the senate is then scheduled for one in the morning local time or earlier if democrats and republicans can find agreement. if the vote is passed it would end the current shutdown allowing government services to begin working normally on monday morning. our washington correspondent david willis reports. went into shutdown. the yays are 50, and the nays are 49. 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. a major military operation is underway injamaica's northwest parish of stjames which includes montego bay — the country's second city and one of its top travel destinations. the area has seen a recent surge in gang—related killings and a state of emergency has been declared. troops have been deployed to restore public safety. britain and canada have advised holidaymakers to stay inside their resorts. the increase in violence is connected to criminal gangs running lucrative lottery scamsm an industry worth an estimated billion dollars a year. the international olympic committee has approved plans for north korea to participate at next month's winter olympics. the north will send a team of 22 athletes, accompanied by officials and journalists. the ioc has also agreed for teams from north and south korea to march under the same flag at the opening ceremony. 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 1,000—mile expedition on november 20. they've been battling winds of up to 60 miles per hour and temperatures as low as —40. stay with us here on bbc news, still to come: pope francis calls on latin america to do more to combat violent crimes against women. sinn fein has announced who will succeed gerry adams as its party president. mary lou mcdonald, who's a member of parliament in the irish republic, was the only candidate for the role. the two come from very different backgrounds, as our ireland correspondent chris page reports. many would say gerry adams has been handing over to mary lou mcdonald for some time. and today, sinn fein confirmed she would be the new leader of irish republicanism. please welcome the president—elect of our party, mary lou mcdonald. she indicated she'd put her own stamp on the job. i won't fill gerry's shoes. but the news is that i brought my own, and we together will walk a journey which marks a defining epoch, a defining chapter in our achievement of a united ireland. her own politicaljourney has been very different to her predecessor. gerry adams comes from a working—class area of west belfast, the crucible of the conflict in northern ireland. security sources believe he was a senior ira member, though mr adams has always denied being in the organisation. mary lou mcdonald was brought up in an affluent suburb of dublin. shejoined sinn fein during the peace process, just as the party was starting to score electoral success in the irish republic. she's become a robust parliamentary adversary of the prime minister, leo varadkar. sinn fein's opponents still focus on the party's links to the ira and sinn fein is continuing to defend the ira campaign, but it prefers to talk about the present rather than the past. as well as being the second biggest party here in northern ireland, it is also now the third largest in the republic. the first challenge for mary lou mcdonald will be negotiations to restore power sharing with unionists at stormont. but in the coming years, she'll be talking a lot about brexit, which republicans believe has changed the picture and renewed the debate about irish unity. chris page, bbc news, belfast. pope francis has celebrated a huge outdoor mass in peru's northwest coastal region of trujillo, which was badly hit by floods last year leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless. from there, the pope will head for lima, the final stop on his week—long south american tour. mend ,dedicatitm and t e, ,dedicatitm and $4.32]; byi :§ an ,dedicatitm and $4.32]; byi zjég an estimated ,dedicatitm and $4.32]; byi _v:§ an estimated 200,000 the seaside. an estimated 200,000 people turned out for this open—air mass on a beach in trujillo. a festive, joyous spirit, almost a year after much of this area was devastated by flooding and landslides. a desperate situation recognised by pope francis. translation: you know the power of nature, you've experienced its force, you had to face the brunt of el nino whose painful consequences are still present in so many families, especially those who are not yet able to rebuild their homes. afterwards the pope visited buenos aires, not the argentinian city of his birth but another town in this region which was badly affected by last yea r‘s region which was badly affected by last year's catastrophic weather. some hoping his visit will bring a new sense of optimism and renewal. translation: i am new sense of optimism and renewal. translation: iam really new sense of optimism and renewal. translation: i am really happy, new sense of optimism and renewal. translation: iam really happy, said this woman, we were able to come and see him and be here with all our brothers and sisters. i think they needed it. the fact the pope chose this community is a blessing for everyone. a little stumble but soon the pope was back in the capital, lima, for the final stage of his trip. on sunday, more huge crowds are expected for another open—air mass. tim allman, bbc news. our headlines. gunmen have launched an attack on one of kabul‘s top hotels — the intercontinental. afghan special forces have killed two of the attackers. turkey says its airforce hit more than 100 targets, on the first day of a bombing campaign against kurdish fighters in northern syria. well let's get more on the turkish air strikes on kurdish positions in northern syria. the bbc‘s mark lowen explains why they are happening now. let's just say, the turkish government doesn't see it that way. turkey feels threatened by the kurdish militia in syria, known as the ypg and insists they are linked ina kurdish the ypg and insists they are linked in a kurdish militant group in turkey, the pkk. the ypg have been the main force fighting the islamic state group. they have cleared the jihadists from vast swathes of syria, increasing their own territory. the kurds now control a huge strip of the border with turkey, including these conclaves. that worries the turks who fear that the ypg linking up with other areas they hold and creating an autonomous zonein they hold and creating an autonomous zone in northern syria. turkey has been incensed us support for the ypg which it sees as terrorists. it's as american arms given to them and up with kurdish militants across the border in turkey. —— end up. the ypg are effective fighters with american support. washington wants and corrupt a pullback in turkey risks a major confrontation with each nato ally. russian forces control the sky at bath and have their own military personnel on the ground —— above. the assad regime said it would shoot down any turkish jets. and there are civilians in manbij who would be at risk of an offensive. no, turkey has form in this. in 2016, operation euphrates shield, they hit ypg positions. turkey said this offensive will be a continuation with syrian rebel support. what it boils down to is yet another front in the syrian conflict. a seven year long civil and proxy war that has killed an estimated half a million people. one year since president trump's inauguration we're looking back at his first year in office. 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. nick bryant went there to see how people rate his performance so far. 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 hornik 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. 100%. 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 rhea 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, you know, 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 french president has suggested the uk could get a bespoke trade deal with the european union after brexit, but again warned it could not expect full access to the single market unless it accepted its rules. in an interview to be broadcast in full on the andrew marr show tomorrow, emmanuel macron said he respected, but regretted, the brexit vote. this special way should be consistent with the preservation of a single market and our collective interest. and you should understand that you cannot, by definition, have access to the single market if you don't tick the box. and to get full access to the single market, you need contribution to the budget and you have to accept... the freedoms. the freedoms and the jurisdiction. as soon as you decide not to join this preconditions, it's not a full access. so it's something perhaps between this full access and a trade agreement. and you can see the full interview with the french president on the andrew marr show tomorrow morning from 9am on bbc one. there are changes afoot at facebook. the vast all powerful social networking site has more than two billion users, and has been criticised for spreading unreliable information and endless advertising. its 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, that same social networking site pushes a lot of advertising — that's how it makes $500 billion. and it's been heavily criticised for allowing stories thatjust aren't true to spread. last week, ceo mark zuckerberg said the site will make posts from businesses, brands and media much less prominent. news content will soon make up around 4% of what appears on your newsfeed. it's down from 5%. to order from 1800 flowers... and on friday, the company said it will prioritise trustworthy news sources on its newsfeed. it's going to 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 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: the pope of gastronomy. rhodri davies has more. paul bocuse was lauded for most of his life as a great of french cuisine. he was twice named chef of the century, he was a moderniser of french food, and he revolutionised the idea of the chef. and 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 andres said the angels will have a feast today, while celebrity chef anthony bourdain said bocuse he was a hero. he reportedly died in his restaurant, l'auberge du pont de collonges, near lyon, where the insignia reads "at the bottom of the pot lies the truth". truths learned at home. bocuse inherited the 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 years later, he received france's highest award, legion d'honneur. that's after pushing forward nouvelle 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 global fame. that led to having the bocuse d'or, or so—called chef olympics, named after him. he inspired people across generations and borders — from france to japan and the usa. he really changed the perception for chefs. for years was kind of considered to be the role of, like, a domestic servant, he really thrusted, or evolved that perception as a chef to be elevated at a very prestige level which so many of us today have, really, him to thank that movement. i mean, he looked at the role of a chef very differently than anyone else ever did. bonjour. ca va? a large but disarming personality who was also known for his affairs — at least two long—term ones and many others. bocuse died aged 91 after several years with parkinson's disease. rhodri davies, bbc news. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter, i'm @duncangolestani. the weather now with ben rich. hello. there is something milder on the way through the coming days but with how we are starting sunday morning, you may need a bit of convincing of that because cold air is still very much in place. mild air, though, trying to push in from the south—west but as it does, it's bringing a band of rain. remember, the cold air remains in place is the wet weather will turn to snow and also bring ice in places during sunday. if you are travelling, bearing in mind in central and northern parts, there could be disruption because from anywhere from wales and the midlands northwards, especially over high ground, the weather is likely to turn to snow for a time at least. during the afternoon, as the mild and starts to win out, much of the wintry weather will tend to turn back to rein. —— rain. significant snowfall in the parts of north—east scotla nd snowfall in the parts of north—east scotland over the high ground, down to the south—west, more likely rein to the south—west, more likely rein to the south—west, more likely rein to the afternoon and temperatures over northern ireland are really starting to lift. —— rain. the sleet and snow in east anglia but for south wales and the south—west, this will be rain because it will be windy and temperatures in double digits. during sunday night and into monday, we lose rain and what is left of this note of the band of rain will flirt with southern areas. the temperatures, most of spot starting up of freezing on monday. on monday, it doesn't look like a bad day. lots of dry weather with spells of sunshine. large areas of cloud and patchy rain and drizzle for weston, coastal areas. the temperatures, 5— 10 degrees. that is the story for the week ahead. the most part, air dominating, something colder and never too far away from northern areas. we look at the forecast, down in the south, highs of 12 or 13. a bit cooler in northern areas. wind and rain at times. generally, the week ahead, milderfeel but times. generally, the week ahead, milder feel but wet and windy as well. this is bbc news. the headlines: afghan security forces have been fighting to gain control of a luxury hotel in kabul, after it was stormed by heavily—armed gunmen. the interior ministry said two of the four suspected attackers were killed. the gunmen burst into the intercontinental hotel, shooting at guests and staff. turkey has carried out airstrikes in northern syria against more than one—hundred targets belonging to kurdish militants — as it opens a new front in the syrian conflict. the turkish military said that dozens of warplanes were involved in the attacks against the syrian kurdish ypg militia. donald trump's first anniversary as us president has been marred by the failure of the us senate to pass a new budget and prevent the shutdown of many federal services. a bill to fund the federal government for the coming weeks did not receive the required 60 votes by the deadline of midnight on friday. british tourists travelling to jamaica are being advised to stay

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