20/01/2018 BBC Weekend News

Good afternoon.

The US national government has

officially shut down,

a year to the day after Donald Trump

took office as President.

Senators failed to agree

a stop-gap budget -

amid a bitter dispute

between President Trump's

Republicans and the opposition

Democrats over immigration

and border security.

They're meeting now to try to do

a deal to allow hundreds

of thousands of Federal workers

to return to work on Monday morning.

David Willis reports

from Washington.

The ayes 50, the nays are 49.

With a

midnight deadline looming they came

up well short of the 60 votes

needed. Without a funding agreement

in place, the government of the

largest economy in the world was now

only minutes away from shuts down.

Three fifths of the Senators duly

chosen and sworn not having voted in

the affirmative, the motion is not

agreed to.

That after the Democrat

leader in the Stennett, Chuck

Schumer, had had an hour-long

meeting with President Trump at the

White House. He called out the

deal-maker in chief for failing to

deliver.

The way things went today,

the way you turned from a bipartisan

deal, it's almost as if you were

rooting for a shuts down. And now

we'll have one. And the blame should

crash entirely on President Trump's

shoulders.

The White House in a

statement branded the Democrats

obstructionist losers.

What just

witnessed on the floor was a cynical

decision by Senate Democrats to

shove aside millions of Americans

for the sake of irresponsible

political gameness. The government

shutdown was 100% avoidable.

As the

vote collapsed, outside on the steps

of the Capitol, were the people

whose fate Democrats want to tie to

this funding agreement. The

so-called Dreamers- young people

brought into the United States

illegally who President Trump is

threatening to deport in a few

weeks' time. Many Republicans

support legitimising their status,

but they want it to be part of an

immigration bill that would also

provide funds for a wall along the

Mexican border. A pet project of

President Trump. The president was

hitting the hash key hard this

morning. This is the one-year

anniversary of my presidency and the

Democrats wanted to give me a nice

present hashtag Democrat shutdown.

The last government shutdown here in

2013 caused the closure of many

national parks and monuments and

lead to around 800,000 government

workers being placed on temporary

leave. Nobody here wants to see

history repeated.

I'm just very

disappointed that we couldn't all

come to an agreement about this.

There is common ground in the

middle, I just am shocked that our

government is this dysfunctional.

For President Trump this is a

political embarrassment. One year

ago amid considerable pomp and

ceremony he was celebrating his

inauguration having switched to

office on the platform of the

ultimate steel-maker. At the end of

a tumultuous year, such credentials

are now in question. Members of

Congress are gathering right now to

try to find a solution to this

crisis, with most government offices

closed over the weekend, the worst

effects of this government shutdown

aren't expected to be felt until

Monday. But if some sort of solution

isn't found by then, thousands of

American government workers could

turn up to find their offices are

locked and their pay is being

docked. Kate. David, thank you.

In the past few minutes reports are

coming in of an attack on a major

hotel in the Afghan capital,

Kabul.

At least four gunmen

are reported to have entered

the Intercontinental Hotel

and opened fire on guests inside.

As yet it's unclear

if there are casualties.

Sinn Fein has announced

who will succeed Gerry Adams

as its party president.

Mary Lou McDonald, a member

of parliament in the Irish Republic,

was the only candidate for the role.

Mr Adams emerged from

Northern Ireland's turbulent history

to become leader more

than 30 years ago.

Ms McDonald comes from a very

different background.

Our Ireland Correspondent

Chris Page is in Belfast.

Tell us a little bit more about her.

She's been favourite for some time

hasn't she?

Yes, that's right, Kate,

it's been thought for some years now

that Mary Lou McDonald was the

likely successor to Gerry Adams.

She's been a very strong presence at

Mr Adams's side at keep political

events recently. The personal

political journey has been very

different to her predecessor. Mr

Adams was brought up in west

Belfast, the working-class area, the

crucible of the conflict in Northern

Ireland. Security sources believe he

was a senior member of the IRA so

he's always denied being in the

organisation. Mary Lou McDonald grew

up in a middle-class suburb in

Dublin and joined Sinn Fein during

the peace process. Sinn Fein

confirmed she was the only nominee

to succeed Mr Adams as president and

she said she would put her own stamp

on the dog.

-- job. The truth is

nobody will ever feel Gerry Adams's

shoes, that's the truth. The truth

is, my friends, I won't feel Gerry

's shoes. But the news is that I

brought my own.

So she will take

over officially as Sinn Fein

president at a special party

conference in three weeks' time. It

mark something of a generational

shift in the party away from people

who had IRA connections, towards new

figures who have no direct

connection with the troubles. Now

Sinn Fein's political opponents will

still continue to focus on links to

the IRA and Sinn Fein will indeed

continue to defend the IRA campaign.

But these days the party prefers to

talk about present-day politics

rather than the paramilitary

violence of the past.

Chris, thank

you.

British tourists travelling

to Jamaica are being advised to stay

in their resorts after a state

of emergency was declared

around Monteego Bay.

There's been a surge in gang-related

violence in the area.

Every year, around 200,000 Britons

visit the popular holiday

destination as 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 unguarded 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

1600 people murdered in Jamaica. 335

of them in Saint James, the area

where Montego Bay is. Most of the

crime is gang-related and focused in

a small number of communities. The

Foreign Office has advised

holiday-makers 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 a official tour wraps.

Authority 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 dropped to its lowest levels in

years. A statistic that meant lives

saved. In Montego Bay it is hoped

the same will happen again. Nick

Davis, BBC News, Jamaica.

A minute's applause has been held

at Premier League football grounds

today as a mark of respect

for Cyrille Regis, the England

striker who died last weekend.

In today's football -

Chelsea are now up to third

in the table after their win over

Brighton, as Ade Adedoyin reports.

A minute's applause to mark

the death of Cyrille Regis,

who passed away last Sunday

at the age of 59.

The players in black armbands

to honour the former

England international,

widely regarded as a pioneer,

who helped break down racial

barriers in the game.

Brighton were hosting

the Premier League champions,

Chelsea, who were missing a number

of first-team regulars

through injury and suspension.

One man who was playing

was Eden Hazard.

And it didn't take long

for him to make his mark.

Three minutes later,

half the Brighton team could do

nothing to stop this

intricate passing move.

The Brazilian international,

Willian, with a well worked goal,

which again involved Hazard.

And things didn't get any

better for the home side,

who felt they should have had

at least one penalty

in the first half.

Brighton did have their

chances after the break,

but it was that man again,

Hazard.

A brilliant solo effort to put

Antonio Conte's side 3-0 up

and on course for all three points

for the first time this year.

But they weren't finished just yet.

Victor Moses making it four.

An emphatic victory for Chelsea.

It was a memorable day

for Eden Hazard, the man

of the match, and perhaps even more

memorable for this young fan.

Ade Adedoyin, BBC News.

There's more to the evening on BBC

News Channel. I'll be back with the

team for the late news. That