hello. i'm carl nasman. the world's only reigning queen says she's stepping down from the thrown. denmark's queen margrethe ii made the surprise announcement in her new year address. the 83—year—old will formally step down onjanuary 1a — that's 52 years to the day since she came to power in 1972. her son, crown prince frederik, will take her place as king of denmark, and head of the state in the country. for more on the queen's reign and what's next, the bbc�*s naomi choy smith sent this report. a surprise announcement, live on national television, during queen margrethe�*s traditional new year's address. translation: on the 14th of january 2024, _ 52 years after succeeding my beloved father, i will step down as the queen of denmark. the 83—year—old danish queen

said time had taken its toll on her health and she made the decision to abdicate after undergoing back surgery in february. translation: the surgery naturally gave rise - to thinking about the future, whether the time had come to leave the responsibility to the next generation. i have decided that now is the right time. queen margrethe plans to hand the throne to crown prince frederik, the eldest of her two sons. for many danes, queen margrethe is the only monarch they have ever known. she's seen here visiting windsor castle in 1974, two years after she succeeded herfather, king frederik. after the death of queen elizabeth ii, queen margrethe became the longest serving monarch in europe. denmark's prime minister thanked queen margrethe for her service, saying it was difficult to understand that the time had come for a change of throne. a feeling echoed across denmark as the nation prepares to welcome the next royal generation. naomi choy smith, bbc news.

the queen caused a stir last year when she downsized the danish royal family, stripping four of her grandchildren from their royal titles. she apologised, but did not reverse the decision, calling it "necessary future—proofing of the monarchy." her son — crown prince frederik — will take the throne alongside his wife. he's known for his environmentalism, and for being a bit of a daredevil, which has landed him in the hospital after sledding and scooter accidents. unlike british royal tradition, there will be no formal crowning ceremony for crown prince frederik. his accession will be announced from amalienborg castle in copenhagen. danish journalist betty kandindima has more on the future king. i would say basically he is very popular because he is very, very down to earth. i mean, usually you will see him at festivals we have here in denmark during the summertime. he also has a royal run,

and a lot of people sign up because they want to run with the future king of denmark. so he is very, very down to earth and a very modern person. he has four kids. and for most of his kids, they actually went to public school instead of private schools. so people feel very connected to him. there was no pause in the war between israel and hamas as the new year began. israeli air strikes intensified on sunday. the hamas—run health ministry says they killed at least 48 people. hamas fired rockets into israel throughout the night, most of which were intercepted by the country's iron dome defence system. the barrage didn't deter these revellers in tel aviv, but many israelis were in a more sombre mood. some families of the 129 israeli hostages held by hamas in gaza marked the new year with a protest, demanding their government secure their immediate safe return. as 2024 begins, the israel defense force says it expects the war in gaza to continue throughout the entirety of the new year,

and it is adjusting its troop deployments accordingly. the idf says some reservists will be withdrawn from gaza to allow them to regroup, and to return to their normaljobs, shoring up the economy over what it expects to be a year—long conflict. more than 80% of gazans have been displaced since the war began, food is now running low. the outgoing israeli foreign minister says his country is prepared to allow aid shipments to gaza immediately as part of a proposed sea corridor from cyprus. it would mark the first time israel has eased its naval blockade on gaza since it imposed it when hamas took power in 2007. the un's relief agency warns gaza is at risk of famine without immediate aid. shaima khalil now has the latest from jerusalem. street by street, the battles on the ground in gaza rage on. israel is concentrating its ground offensive on the centre and the south of the strip. with hamas fighters continuing

to resist the idf�*s advances. translation: the war is at its height. - we are fighting on all fronts. we have huge success, but we also have painful cases. central gaza is the latest focus of israel's military operation, with heavy bombardment on the densely populated nuseirat refugee camp. further south in neighbouring deir al—balah, palestinian rescue workers stand around the body of their colleague. he was killed in a strike near the al aqsa hospital where many of the wounded are being treated. this is one of what israel says are safe areas where palestinians were told to go to escape the fighting in the centre. but as the military operation expands, safe areas for gazans keep shrinking. the southernmost city of rafah has now become the last stop for hundreds of thousands of displaced people fleeing the heavy bombardment

in khan younis. many using makeshift shelters near the border with egypt. there is nowhere else to go from here. translation: | hope - that the war would end soon. i hope we can return to our homes, go back to school, return to everything that is familiar in the new year. the fallout from the war in gaza continues to be felt in the red sea with yet another houthi attack. the us central command said that navy helicopters destroyed three of four small boats used by the iranian—backed militants as they attempted to board a container ship. the houthis have released a statement confirming that ten militants were killed in the us�*s response to their attack on the vessel, saying the united states would bear the consequences and vowing to continue targeting what they described as israeli—linked ships. as this year draws to a close, there is no end in sight for the war in gaza or the suffering of its people.

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, jerusalem. as we heard, the us says it has destroyed three boats following an attack on a container ship in the southern red sea. the us says the raid by iran—backed houthi rebels got as close as 60 feet to the vessel. a fourth boat fled the area. it was the second assault within 2a hours on this ship, the hangzhou, operated by the danish shipping giant maersk. i think they are under a lot of pressure to maintain what they call freedom

of navigation in that red sea area through the suez canal and beyond because it is such an important economic route for the whole world, around 10% world of trade flows through that area. they are also, of course, responding to these provocations because they believe iran is behind groups like the houthis and others who have been launching attacks against american bases in iraq and syria, which they have also been responding to. but this is a significant escalation and what we have here is us navy pilots coming effectively face—to—face with houthi fighters in the red sea, killing 10 of them and sinking three of their boats, and i think it will mean in future are certainly a lot of pressure from republicans to do more to combat the threat from the houthis including according to one republican, the house chair of the intelligence committee, potentially striking their capacities inside yemen itself. for more on the situation in the red sea and the us attack on houthi boats, we heard earlier from rear admiral chris parry, a former royal navy warfare officer, strategic forecaster and writer.

one of the things i've said over the years is that the sea is the physical equivalent of the world wide web, and you get sort of choke points where the geography constrains the maritime routes. so, you get it in the english channel, the malacca straits near singapore, and the bab al—mandab, which is off aden, and you get quite a lot of shipping going through, it's very high density and, of course, much of the oil and gas that the west uses comes through that route. the only alternative, really, is to go around the cape. and it's quite significant, of course, that the houthis, as the agents of iran, are not constraining oil and gas that is going to china and india, but they are constraining the oil and gas that is coming to europe and the rest of the free world. now, with 2024 under way in ukraine and russia, the war has ticked into its third calendar year, nearing another anniversary in february. leaders of both countries gave a new years address with a message that indicates the war is still far from over.

russian president vladimir putin called for united support of his military without explicitly referring to the war in ukraine. translation: we have proven more than once that we know how to solve the most difficult tasks, and we will never retreat. because there is no force that can divide us, make us forget the memory and faith of our fathers and stop our development. ukraine's president zelensky vowed to continue to fight back. translation: next year, i the enemy will feel the wrath of domestic production. ourweapons, our equipments, artillery, our shells, our drones, our naval greetings to the enemy and at least a million ukrainian fpv drones, all of which we will generously use on land, in the sky and, of course, at sea.

their speeches come after a deadly weekend in ukraine and russia. russia's massive bombardment of ukraine on friday killed at least 45 people, one of the biggest missile bombardments of the war so far. and officials in the russian city of belgorod say 2a people have died in ukraine's retaliation on the city saturday. it was one of the deadliest attacks on russia since it invaded ukraine. our correspondent james waterhouse looks at the latest strikes between ukraine and russia. it's certainly not like for like with russia always being able to mount the larger attacks, and this week has been no exception in the most deadliest of terms, really. in a week where we saw its biggest ever aerial bombardment, we saw ukraine respond and russia hit back, it seems the northeastern city of kharkiv over the last 48 hours has really bore the brunt, with several dozens of missiles landing in the city, causing extensive

damage to medical buildings, we're told, residential blocks, including a hotel popular among foreignjournalists. our team was there only a few days ago. so i think this is a deadly tit—for—tat in the aerial sense, but it almost takes place in tandem with what goes on on the front line, when you have putin as you say, saying he will never retreat. i don't think anyone expected him to say otherwise, but certainly, it's been — there were fears russia had been stockpiling missiles as we approached the new year celebrations, but i think that moment has already arrived. that's the view from kyiv. let's switch gears now to russia, and many russians are still willing to believe the kremlin�*s narrative that the west is to blame for the war. the bbc�*s russia editor, steve rosenberg, one of the few remaining western journalists in the country, takes a look at what people in russia think

about the future of the war.

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at a story out of the uk now. the singer rick astley was featured this evening on a bbc new year's eve show. the appearance capped off a great year for the �*80s icon as he enjoys a major comeback in the uk and around the globe. our entertainment correspondent colin paterson caught up with him as he rehearsed for sunday's big show, and spoke with him about the song that made his career, never gonna give you up. yeah, it's funny. obviously that song, never gonna give you up,

has been part of my dna now for 30—odd years and as mad as people may find the fact that i still enjoy singing it, i still do, because it kind of — it kind of solidifies in my own mind how lucky i've been. what were your real highlights for 2023, then? playing glastonbury has to be a highlight because i never thought i'd get to play that stage. i never thought i'd get to play glastonbury, never mind the pyramid stage. the bbc one new year's eve special traditionally attracts one of the biggest tv audiences of the year. astley follows in the footsteps of robbie williams and alicia keys, who've also played the concert. you're live with bbc news. let's take a look at some other stories making headlines around the world. a record number of migrants and asylum seekers arrived at the us border with mexico in the past month — that's according to internal us government data obtained by our media partner cbs news. immigration officials

were on track to record 300,000 migrant crossings in december. 80% of them were detained. officials say a surge in migration from venezuela is a driving factor behind the figures. felix tshisekedi has been declared the winner of democratic republic of congo's presidential election. opposition parties have alleged widespread irregularities and fraud but the government has refused calls for a fresh vote. the election was held on december 20th. it was marred by widespread logistical problems. the voting had to be extended to a second day in some parts of the vast country. the world has been celebrating the start of the new year, as hour—by—hour, time zone by time zone, fireworks have lit up the skies in cities around the globe. in rio dejaneiro, fireworks exploded over the beaches of copacabana as thousands celebrated by the waves. it's tradition there to wear

white to ring in the new year. over in london, big ben rang the uk into the new year. our correspondent greg mckenzie was in the middle of the celebrations as the fireworks display was underway. this is it! this is live here in london at the london eye! this is the ten—minute spectacular, the biggest fireworks display in europe. more than 100,000 people are here along the river thames to watch this spectacular. we're expecting a speech from the king, a message will be played out, along with many other messages but this is the spectacular, that 100,000 people got tickets for and ultimately, this will go on for about ten minutes. it is the biggest fireworks display in europe. 20,000 fireworks, as you can see them — incredible sight. you can actually smell the gunpowder. the — the air, you can smell it. it's fireworks night here. big ben, the chimes have rang and we are now officially in 2024.

a bit farther north, fireworks and celebrations kicked off 2024 in edinburgh where our scotland correspondent lorna gordon was among the crowds. you know, hogmanay, new year in scotland is a really big deal — traditionally bigger than christmas. you can see the fireworks behind me above edinburgh castle. it is a magnificent setting for a fireworks display. and here enjoying it all is some of the 50,000 people who've lined the street in the centre of the city. they're having a hooley — a scottish word for a party. all sing: # when i wake up. # well, i know i'm gonna be. # i'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you. all enjoying themselves! down on the main stage, we've the british band pulp have been

on headlining tonight. they're gonna come back when the fireworks display is over but this is four days of celebrations here in scotland's capital. started with a torchlight procession on friday, carries on tomorrow with what's called first—footing. at night, though, the main party, a big night of celebrations and fireworks — a ton of them — going off above the party. so, that's the view from the uk. our correspondent sean dilley wraps up how some of the other major cities of the world have been ringing in 2024. crowd: five, four, three, two, one! i happy new year! this is how new zealand welcomed 2024 in auckland. it was the first major city to show off its stunning display. fireworks were launched from its tallest building, the sky tower, and its harbour bridge.

over the water, australia used two of their most recognisable landmarks to light up their skies. seoul welcomed 2024 at 3pm uk time. tokyo celebrated with 108 strikes of this bell, the last landing at midnight. crowd: happy new year! shortly after, hong kong marked their new year with this fireworks musical. dubai kicked their year off in serious style from the top of the burj khalifa. and before we close out 2023, we wanted to bring you a round up of some of the good news from this year. in october, the world health organization approved a new anti—malaria vaccine that could give countries an affordable and more accessible option to combat one of the leading causes of child deaths in africa. the vaccine costs $2—$4

per dose and is expected to be available by mid—next year. a miraculous rescue in november freed 41 construction workers who were trapped inside a tunnel in northern india for 17 days. no one inside the tunnel was killed or seriously injured. the tunnel had collapsed following a landslide. deforestation in the amazon rainforest in brazil fell to a five—year low in 2023. the country's national institute of space research says there has been a 22.3% decline in trees lost since 2022, reducing brazil's greenhouse gas emissions by more than 7%. and for the first time in 47 years, every animal at a pennsylvania animal shelter was adopted. 90 cats and dogs, as well as a couple of ferrets, found new homes in the weeks leading up to christmas. the adams county spca says it was able get nearly 600 animals adopted this year. that's all from the team here for 2023. i'm carl nasman. wishing you the very best for the year ahead. thanks for watching.

i have been told not to put on these glasses but happy 2024. happy new year! hello there. many of us are glad to see the back of december 2023 because it's felt as though it's not stopped raining. now, of course, we've got to collate the official statistics but it does look likely that the december of 2023 was wetter than average. many of us seeing twice the monthly average rainfall but eastern scotland looks likely to have seen three times the average monthly rainfall. and we are going to start off the new year with an area of low pressure, keeping things pretty unsettled, but it is not expected to last. so, the first few days will be unsettled with some wet and windy weather at times but it does look likely to turn a little bit colder and drier into next weekend. not a bad start, actually, to new year's day on the whole. many of us starting off with some sunshine and keeping the sunshine across scotland, northern ireland and northern england.

clouding over from wales, central and south west england — the wind strengthening, the rain will gradually turn quite heavy as darkness falls. here, we'll keep double figures, but where we've got that sunshine, let's say from liverpool, lincolnshire north, it will be relatively dry. but it's worth bearing in mind if you're travelling back after seeing friends and family over the new year period, there will be a spell of wet and windy weather through the early evening of monday, and that continues to sweep its way eastwards overnight and then, it's going to be replaced by another batch of heavy rain and strong winds during tuesday. so, we will start off on tuesday with some wet weather moving through scotland. a little bit of wintriness to higher ground. a brief window of fine weather before yet more wet and windy weather pushes in across england and wales. we could see gusts of winds close to 50 miles an hour inland, so that's worth bearing in mind. temperatures generally around 6—13 degrees. and then we see another area of low pressure keeping things on the showery regime, until we get to the end of the week because high pressure potentially builds in from the west.

that high pressure, however, will bring a change to the feel of the weather story. we're going to lose the yellows. the milder air is pushed out of the way, going to be replaced by some colder air and a north—easterly wind. so, on those exposed east coasts, it really will feel quite different. but at least as we head towards next weekend, we're likely to see single figures but, yes, a lot of dry, settled and sunny weather. happy new year.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. six years ago, a remarkable investigative journalist was assassinated on the mediterranean island of malta. her name was daphne caruana galizia. in life, she refused to be silenced about the scale of corruption in her homeland. in death, she has become the inspiration for a continued struggle forjustice and accountability. a struggle now led by her three sons, one of whom, paul caruana galizia, is my guest today.

what are the lessons of this tragic death in malta? paul caruana galizia, welcome to hardtalk. thank you so much for having me. it is a great pleasure to have you here and, indeed, also a pleasure to read your book. you've just published it — a death in malta: an assassination and a family's quest forjustice, you call it. you've worked on this book for a long time. it is six years since your mother was murdered. working on the book, do you feel you have come

to understand her in a new way? a different way?