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. it's 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 two of the gunman had been shot and killed. two more are thought to be hiding in 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, saying 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. thousands of anti—government protestors have held rallies in cities across romania. they're angered at what they see as attempts by the governing coalition, headed by the social democrats, to dilute judicial independence. the largest demonstration took place in heavy snow in the capital, bucharest. two people have died and several others were injured in a fire at a hotel in central prague. the fire occurred at the eurostars david hotel, a block away from the vltava river and near the czech capital's national theatre. the cause of the fire is not yet clear. heavy snow has disrupted traffic and left thousands without power and water supplies in many regions across ukraine. buses and trucks were restricted from travelling in several cities, while the highway between the capital kiev and odessa was temporarily closed. more snow is forecast over the next few days. 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—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. mary lou mcdonald is confirmed as the only candidate nominated to replace gerry adams as sinn fein president. 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. 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. 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. tens of thousands of women have been protesting in cities across the united states to mark the first anniversary of president trump's inauguration. in washington, demonstrators heard speeches by a number of politicians, including hillary clinton's running mate, senator tim kaine. there's been a march in new york too. but the total number of participants was much lower than the estimated 5 million who marched onjanuary 21st last year, one of the largest protests in us history. one lady here told me, i want to apologise for the rest of the world because our administration, it misrepresents the united states. another man told me that he is a teacher in a public school in dc and he has so many students coming from ethiopia, el salvador and tbb —— he believes they do love america more than the average person according to his own words so some people here have been telling me as well that they see the president as racist and incompetent and they want change and this is why they showed up here today. there was this little girl who was holding a sign saying, my generation is going to tee your wall down. everybody has been quite critical of the republicans and president donald trump and they say that it's time for a change and this is why today's rally encourages women to registerfor is why today's rally encourages women to register for votes, especially with the upcoming mid—term elections, by next november and they also call on women to run for office because they need to see more female voice is taking part in american politics. 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, 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. the international olympic committee has approved plans for north korea to participate at next month's winter olympics, and agreed teams from north and south can march under the same flag at the opening ceremony. the agreement comes after months of heightened tension on the korean peninsula over the testing of nuclear weapons by the north. imogen foulkes reports from ioc headquarters in the swiss city of lausanne. 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 olympic 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 olympics might, many hope, lead to more talking and wider agreement. imogen foulkes, bbc news, lausanne, switzerland. this is bbc news. our top stories. afg ha n this is bbc news. our top stories. afghan security forces have been fighting to secure one of the top hotels in kabul, the intercontinental hotels stormed by four gunmen. and turkey says the first day of a bombing campaign against kurdish militants has seen its air force hit 100 targets. 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 to the outlawed kurdish militant group in turkey, the pkk, which has been fighting an insurgency here since the 1980s. 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 the enclaves of manbij and afrin. that worries the turks who fear the ypg linking up with other areas they hold and creating a contiguous, autonomous zone in northern syria. turkey has been incensed by us support for the ypg which it sees as terrorists. it says american arms given to them end up with kurdish militants across the border in turkey. the ypg are effective fighters, as seen by their pummelling of is. they've got their american support. washington wants ankara to pull back and turkey risks a major confrontation with its nato ally. russian forces control the skies over afrin and have have co—operated with the ypg and they have their own military personnel on the ground. the assad regime says it would shoot down any turkish jets and would see a turkish offensive as a violation of syrian sovereignty. and there are civilians in afrin and manbij who would be at risk from a new offensive. no, turkey has form in this. in 2016, operation euphrates shield, led by turkish troops and syrian rebels, cleared is from jarablus, al—rai and al bab, and also hit ypg positions. turkey says 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. 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, busby never used to exist. however going to get the chance to become big? the most interesting point of this is facebook saying we won't wa nt to this is facebook saying we won't want to be in the business of something they are already in the business of doing. —— buzzfeed. —— 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. 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 the 20th. they've been battling winds of up to 60 miles per hour and temperatures as low as minus a0. one of the ice maidens, major nat taylor, has been speaking to the bbc about the expedition. for the past two months, we have been getting out and getting back in and there are moments where we have been running around like randomly, thinking about a jam sandwich. funny, getting off the plane, the first thing i would do is have a shower. that is the best shower i have had, and down. —— hands down. 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 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. and finally we'll leave you with these unusual pictures don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter, i'm xxx 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. 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 parts of the british isles through the day ahead. so that could cause some travel disruption — bear that in mind if you do have plans to get out and about. so this is how the day shapes up then. this wet weather pushing northwards and eastwards — anywhere from north wales, the midlands, northwards, especially over high ground. there's likely to be a spell of snow, much of that though, turning back to rain by the end of the day as the milder air begins to win out and pushes in from the west. at 3pm, there will still be significant snow falling across a good part of scotland but down to the south—west, something more mild, turning the wintry weather back to rain and a wintry mix of rain, sleet and snow across northern england, down into east anglia, could be some icy conditions also. temperatures two, three, four degrees. a chilly six in london. but mostly, it will be rain here. certainly rain across the south—west of england, heavy rain continues through the afternoon but look at the temperatures, 12 degrees for plymouth. windy weather here, 9 in cardiff, some wet and windy weather into south wales, and for north wales as things turn more mild in the afternoon sun mist 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. many areas will end up dry. a fair amount of cloud around. 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, a much less chilly start. monday will bring this rain scraping perilously close to the south of england otherwise not a bad day, a fair amount of cloud, some sunshine about, always patchy rain at times for hills and coasts in the west. temperatures 5—10. just the first sign of the milder air is winning out and it will continue to do so for 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 the mild air, we will see some wet and windy weather continuing at times through the week ahead. that's all from me for now. 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 100 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.