noor nanji, bbc news.over four hours to go. 0ur correspondent greg mckenzie has been down by the thames in central london to see how preparations are going. 100,000 people are expected to be here along london's embankment to experience spectacular from midnight as the london eye lights up the london skyline. 20,000 fireworks, and we are told the theme this year is unity. 100,000 people managed to get those tickets, and many of those have travelled from all over the world. london has come out on top as one of the most desirable destinations to be for new year, so many with those lucky tickets. the fireworks will start at midnight as big ben will chime, the bongs, and at the beginning of 202a. that is true. we will be here to see you into the new year. there is a special live page on the bbc news website with reaction from around the world. in the next 25 minutes or so, we will be live in dubai, where the world's tallest tower will be part of their festivities. they are going to fire 15,682, very precise num

our culture reporter noor nanji has been finding out more. big ben bongs. most famous chimes, broadcast to the country live twice a day every day, as well as three times on sundays. this is the other side of the clock. the bells and the clock itself have mattered hugely to generations of people over the years. the bongs are one of the most recognised sounds around the world. big ben has been broadcast now because it has become a symbol of freedom. so the people who were hearing it during the second world war realised that there was one country which was still free. thereafter it was part of the meaning, the symbol of freedom. it's a seamless operation, getting the bongs transmitted from here to the homes of radio listeners. but it hasn't always been this easy. big ben's bongs were first broadcast on new year's eve in 1923. bbc engineers were not allowed in the building. instead, they had to climb onto a rooftop opposite the houses of parliament with a microphone to capture the sounds of the chimes. from february 192a, the bells were regularly transmitted on

our culture reporter, noor nanji reports.k in broad daylight, within an hour of the street artist confirming it was his. that prompted the local council to make an appeal for its return. banksy put this art here for the people of peckham. the local community want it back. the council represents the local community and we are going to get it back. we have already contacted the borough commander and we've also submitted a formal report to get it back, and also we notice that there is quite strong resolution footage of the people taking it down, so we kind of hoped that they would bring it back. the metropolitan police say they have arrested a man on suspicion of theft and criminal damage. it says the man remains in custody and investigations are ongoing. anyone who may have information about the incident is being asked to call the police. the artwork was taken down from this spot at around lunchtime on friday, in full view of a crowd of assembled passers—by. a new traffic sign has since been put up for safety reasons. local bus

noor nanji, bbc news.le won't be able to spend christmas in their own homes this year because of safety issues with the blocks of flats where they live. on average, one block a month has been evacuated this year, because of concerns about fire safety or cladding panels. in the wake of the grenfell tower disaster in london in 2017, almost 4,000 tower blocks are under scrutiny. phil hendry reports. all wrapped up for christmas, and the hammers ring out. for residents of the south london flats, a white christmas takes the form of protective plastic sheeting, while their cladding panels are stripped and replaced. as first—time buyer satara sorts out her presents, there's another presence that keeps on giving. talking about workmen stuff straight outside your bedroom window from first thing in the morning until the very end of the day. i can't even think about christmas, to be honest. i'm going to be probably leaving the flat for as long as possible. the building's management are apologetic, offering compensati

our culture reporter noor nanji reports.two men took down a banksy work in broad daylight, within an hour of the street artist confirming it was his. that prompted the local council to make an appeal for its return. banksy put this art here for the people of peckham. the local community want it back. the council represents the local community and we are going to get it back. we have already contacted the borough commander and we've also submitted a formal report to get it back, and also we notice that there is quite strong resolution footage of the people taking it down, so we kind of hoped that they would bring it back. the metropolitan police say they have arrested a man on suspicion of theft and criminal damage. it says the man remains in custody and investigations are ongoing. anyone who may have information about the incident is being asked to call the police. the artwork was taken down from this spot at around lunchtime on friday, in full view of a crowd of assembled passers—by. a new traffic sign has since been put up

noor nanji, bbc news. parts of scotland last night. it's what is sometimes known as a mother—of—pearl cloud. it is rarely spotted in the uk because of the exceptional conditions needed, not least air that is around minus 80 degrees celsius. tiny ice crystals form and reflect sunlight, which is what gives the cloud its pearly colours. time for a look at the weather. here's sarah keith—lucas. yes, they are very rare because of that really— yes, they are very rare because of that really cold air which is needed for them _ that really cold air which is needed for them to— that really cold air which is needed for them to form, and they are in fact about — for them to form, and they are in fact about ten miles above our heads — fact about ten miles above our heads. ~ , , ., ., ., , heads. when the sun is at a really low angle. — heads. when the sun is at a really low angle. it _ heads. when the sun is at a really low angle, it can _ heads. when the sun is at a really low angle, it can illuminate - heads. when th

noor nanji, bbc news.trip around the world. santa claus, father christmas, whatever you may call him, has departed along with his reindeer from lapland in finland to begin the long annualjourney to deliver christmas gifts around the world. it means he has a big to—do list. here in the us, norad begins tracking santa's flight on christmas eve. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. we had some heavy rain in scotland on saturday, and as a result of that there are a number of flood warnings in force across the north of the country. we have had some disruption too. for most of the uk it was a very mild day, but not for everyone. massive contrasts in northern scotland as the mild air butted up against the cold. 10 degrees in braemar, ten miles down the road in balmoral, just 1. and with those lower temperatures across the far north and east, well, on saturday we did see some snowfall. so for some, a winter wonderland. however, since then the snow has been turning back to rain and our main concern as we get

noor nanji, bbc news.to have become the fastest woman to ever complete a solo ski expedition, to the south pole. captain preet chandi or "polar preet" as she's become known, covered the 1130 kilometres in a record time ofjust over 31 days. this was her third trip to the antarctic region, and faced temperatures, of minus 30 degrees celsius. and just before we go, here's something you don't see every day. this is the moment a meteor went flying over england in the early hours of saturday. footage posted on social media showed what appeared to be a shooting star, which could be seen from locations including kent, london and birmingham. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. 2023 is finishing on an unsettled note. it's a day of sunshine and showers today. the showers will be heavy with some hail and thunder at times as well. we have the same area of low pressure with us today that we had yesterday. the centre of the low, which is just here, is not that windy. we do have stronger winds affecting the south—west o

noor nanji, bbc news.eing crowned the best female player at the european championships at the weekend. bodhana sivanandan from harrow in northwest london isjust eight years old, and this was her meeting the prime minister this summer. next week she'll be competing at the international chess congress in hastings. she's been speaking to the bbc about how she got interested in chess. when one of my dad's friends was going back to india in covid times, all the charities were closed so then he gave us a few boxes and in those boxes there was a chessboard. and then i was interested in the pieces so then i started playing. time for a look at the weather. here's darren bett. some windy weather on the way in the run—up to christmas and the wind will strengthen overnight tonight and continued very strong into tomorrow. it is during this period that we have the greater risk of

noor nanji, bbc news. thank you forjoining us. my name is tanya beckett. hello there, good evening.stern areas of scotland. further south, across northern england and the midlands, there has been some sunshine, a very pretty end to the day here with red skies, with sunset. the mild air coming in on the south—westerly winds, and it's really quite brisk. it's blustery towards the north—western facing coast, and that wind is driving in further rain overnight tonight across western scotland. the rainfall totals will really start to stack up. in fact, some spots, particularly for western slopes of the highlands, by the time we get to the end of the day on sunday, could see as much as 200 millimetres of rainfall. there's a met office amber weather warning in force across western scotland for heavy rain from argyll and bute stretching as far north as sutherland. there could possibly be some landslips, most likely across the south highlands and argyll. and the rain just continues overnight tonight, it sinks a little further southwards. it's still dry for eastern scotland. a few breaks in th

our culture reporter, noor nanji has more details.op sign with three military drones painted onto it and was widely interpreted as being a reference to the war in gaza and perhaps calling for a ceasefire there. on friday, around lunchtime, there was an instagram post by banksy which revealed that this was indeed his work and within one hour of that the art work was removed by two men who went there with bolt cutters to take it down, in full view of a crowd of people. one passer—by said people didn't know what to do and other witnesses were taking pictures. southwark council have reported the incident to the metropolitan police. this evening the met police say that a man has been arrested on suspicion of theft and criminal damage. officers said the man remains in custody and that investigations are ongoing. a new traffic sign in the meantime has been put up to help with safety and anyone with information about the incident has been urged to contact police. what's the reaction been like? well, southwark council have said they want the a

with more on this we now cross to the newsroom, to our culture reporter noor nanji.ay a iece of hello, what do we know? on friday a piece of street _ hello, what do we know? on friday a piece of street art _ hello, what do we know? on friday a piece of street art was _ hello, what do we know? on friday a piece of street art was unveiled - hello, what do we know? on friday a piece of street art was unveiled on i piece of street art was unveiled on commercial way, piece of street art was unveiled on commercialway, in piece of street art was unveiled on commercial way, in peckham, south—east london. the artwork showed a red stop sign with three military drones painted onto it and was widely interpreted as being a reference to the war in gaza and perhaps calling for a ceasefire there. on friday around lunchtime there. on friday around lunchtime there was an instagram post by banksy that revealed that this was indeed his work and within one hour of the post the work was removed by two men who went there with bolt cutters to take it down, in full view of a crowd of people.

our culture reporter noor nanji has more on this.se in la in october. at the time, the postmortem was inconclusive but on friday the la county medical examiner put out a statement. it said he had died from the acute effects of ketamine with contributing factors to his death, drowning and coronary artery disease plus a drug used to treat opioid disorder. the manner of his death was recorded as an accident. at the height of his fame, he had been battling various addictions — painkillers and alcohol — and he attended a rehabilitation clinic on multiple occasions. in his memoir, he wrote that he had been mostly sober since 2001, save for about 60—70 mishaps. an extraordinary career, and that outpouring of affection for him when the news first broke. i'm sure now lots of people will be distressed by the details here. that's right. he was well—loved and he rose to fame playing chandler bing in friends, six young people navigating dating, and he was one of the key characters. it aired for a whole decade between 19911—2004. there was more to

our culture reporter noor nanji has more on this.mortem was inconclusive, but on friday the la county medical examiner put out a statement. it said he had died from the acute effects of ketamine with contributing factors to his death, drowning and coronary artery disease, plus a drug used to treat opioid disorder. the manner of his death was recorded as an accident. at the height of his fame, he had been battling various addictions — painkillers and alcohol — and he attended a rehabilitation clinic on multiple occasions. in his memoir, he wrote that he had been mostly sober since 2001, save for about 60—70 mishaps. an extraordinary career, and that outpouring of affection for him when the news first broke. i'm sure now lots of people will be distressed by the details here. that's right. he was well—loved, and he rose to fame playing chandler bing in friends, six young people navigating dating and careers, and he was one of the key characters. it aired for a whole decade between 1994—2004. there was more to him thanjust friends. he al

cheering and applause our culture reporter noor nanji is in the newsroom. song contest-— tell us more about the eurovision song contest. a lot of excitement, and that was _ song contest. a lot of excitement, and that was just _ song contest. a lot of excitement, and that was just announced - song contest. a lot of excitement, and that wasjust announced at - song contest. a lot of excitement, | and that wasjust announced at the and that was just announced at the strictly come dancing final, which ended about 20 minutes ago. this is the former years and years front men who will be hoping to prove on the uk's disappointing performance at eurovision. he was well—known across europe. he's also a bafta nominated he's played the lead role in the channel 4 trauma it's a sin. he at the time said he was an absolute honour and he was really looking forward to taking part. find honour and he was really looking forward to taking part.— forward to taking part. and this announcement _ forward to taking part. and this announcement took _ forward to taking part. and this ann

with more on this, our culture reporter noor nanji is in the newsroom.hisjudgment is this judgment is surprise? is thisjudgment is surprise? let's is this “udgment is surprise? let's no is thisjudgment is surprise? let's no back to is thisjudgment is surprise? let's go back to the _ is thisjudgment is surprise? let�*s go back to the beginning. in 2022, february, there was a study published in the mail on sunday and online, which claimed that prince harry tried to give a legal battle over his security arrangements in the uk as a secret from the public. prince harry is now suing associated newspapers limited, bought anl, you are liable for that article. he said the study was an attack on his honesty and integrity. anl argued that the article expressed an... today, thejudge has given his written ruling over at this preliminary issue. thejudge refused to... the court concluded that the newspaper's defence of honest opinion has a real prospect of success and that it should look forward to trial, so in other words, this will now go forward to trial unless it i

our correspondent noor nanji joins me now. so what does this mean exactly?tles involving prince harry, haven't? this latest one involves an article published by the mail on sunday and online in february 2022. the article claimed that prince harry was trying to keep the details of a separate legal claim involving his security arrangements while in the uk as a secret from the public. prince harry is taking associated newspapers limited to court over libel for that article. his lawyer said the story was an attack on his honesty and integrity. the company said the article expressed an honest opinion and was not defamatory. harry's lawyers made a bid to strike out the honest opinion defence or to grantjudgment in harry's favour. today, thejudge refused to grantjudgment in harry's favour. today, the judge refused to throw out the defence and said it had a real prospect of defence and should go through to trial. it is now expected to go to trial at some point next year. earlier this week, prince harry also made a separate high court challenge against the home offic

our culture reporter, noor nanji reports.daylight, within an hour of the street artist confirming it was his. it is no act incident taxi should choose peckham, it is brimming with artists. we have the art college down the road and we have plenty of artists and we have plenty of artists and creators, businesses and we service all of these estates you can see behind me with plenty of budding artists. we would like it back. give it back. ~ ., back. the metropolitan police sa the back. the metropolitan police say they have _ back. the metropolitan police say they have arrested - back. the metropolitan police say they have arrested a - back. the metropolitan police say they have arrested a man| back. the metropolitan police i say they have arrested a man on suspicion of theft and criminal damage, it said the man remains in custody and investigations are ongoing. anyone who may have information about the incident is being asked to call the police. meanwhile one local resident has taken matters into her own hands. a new traffic sign

our culture reporter noor nanji gave us this update earlier.e was a story published in the mail on sunday and online, and that story claimed that prince harry tried to keep a legal battle over his security arrangements in the uk as a secret from the public. now, prince harry is now suing associated newspapers ltd, or anl, over libel for that article. now, his lawyers said that the story was an attack on his honesty and integrity. anl argued that the article expressed an honest opinion and was not defamatory. now, in march of this year, prince harry's lawyers made a bid to strike out the publisher's honest opinion defence, or to grant judgment in harry's favour on it. today, thejudge has given his written ruling over this preliminary issue. mr justice nicklin refused to strike out anl�*s defence. the ruling said the court had concluded that the newspaper group's defence of honest opinion has a real prospect of success and that it should go forward to trial. so in other words, this will now go forward to trial unless it's resolved in some other w

our culture reporter noor nanji looks back at all the action from last night.! -- dancing champions 2023. ali and vito! —— ellie. dancing champions 2023. ali and vito! -- ellie.— vito! -- ellie. the moment of victo . vito! -- ellie. the moment of victory- after— vito! -- ellie. the moment of victory. after 12 _ vito! -- ellie. the moment of victory. after 12 weeks - vito! -- ellie. the moment of victory. after 12 weeks of- vito! -- ellie. the moment of. victory. after 12 weeks of tangos, and foxtrot �*s, ellie and her dance partner vito finally got their hands on the coveted glitter ball trophy. i actually, genuinely cannot believe this. this i actually, genuinely cannot believe this-_ this is _ i actually, genuinely cannot believe this._ this is the - i actually, genuinely cannot believe this._ this is the first i this. neither me! this is the first time i this. neither me! this is the first time i have _ this. neither me! this is the first time i have seen _ this. neither me! this is the first time i have seen him _ this. neither me! this is the first time i

noor nanji reports.'ve been confirmed as 15 banksy and this happening. two men with bold cutters to get down in full view of a crowd. the red stop sign with three military drones painted on it was widely interpreted as being a call for a ceasefire in gaza. the council says the work should return to pakenham. it is no act incident taxi should choose peckham, it is brimming with artists. we have the art college down the road. up there we have plenty of artists and creators, businesses and we service all of these estates you can see behind me, with plenty of budding artists. we would like it back. get our banksy back. the metropolitan police say they have arrested a man on suspicion of theft and criminal damage. it said the man remains in custody and investigations are ongoing. anyone who may have information about the incident is being asked to call the police. meanwhile, one local resident has taken matters into her own hands. a new traffic sign has now been put up for safety reasons. a local street artis

our culture reporter noor nanji has more on this. friday, the la county medical examiner put out a statement, it said he had died from the acute effects of ketamine with contributing factors to his death, drowning and coronary artery disease plus a drug used to treat opioid disorder. the manner of his death was recorded as an accident. at the height of his fame, he had been battling various addictions, painkillers and alcohol, and he attended a rehabilitation clinic on multiple occasions. in his memoir, he wrote that he had been mostly sober since 2001, save for about 60—70 mishaps. an extraordinary career, and that outpouring of affection for him when the news first broke. i'm sure now, lots of people will be distressed by the details here. that's right. he was well—loved and he rose to fame playing chandler bing in friends, six young people navigating dating and he was one of the key characters. it aired for itaired fora it aired for a whole decade between 1994-2004. there was more to him thanjust friends. he also starred in numero

our culture reporter noor nanji has more on this including drowning and coronary artery disease and thef his death was an accident. at the height of his fame, matthew perry had been battling various demons, battling addiction to comic trading painkillers and alcohol, and he had also attended rehabilitation clinics on multiple occasions. in his memoir, he wrote that he had been mostly separate since 2001 save for about 60—70 mishaps. mostly separate since 2001 save for about 60-70 mishaps. extraordinary career, extraordinary _ about 60-70 mishaps. extraordinary career, extraordinary kind _ about 60-70 mishaps. extraordinary career, extraordinary kind of- about 60-70 mishaps. extraordinary| career, extraordinary kind of comedy talent, and that outpouring of affection for him when the news first broke. i am sure now lots of people will be distressed by the details. . . , people will be distressed by the details. . ., , , ., people will be distressed by the details. . ., details. ya, as you say, he was a really well _ details. ya, as you say, he was a really well loved _ details. ya, as you

noor nanji, bbc news.ey always come up and give me a cuddle or recognise me. and when they used to go past in the car they used to peep their horn. and i used to say, "who's that?" you know, it's been lovely. really, really. she's been awarded a bem. she's a medallist of the order of the british empire for services to child road safety. i didn't open the letter because i was in bed very poorly with pneumonia and my daughter opened it. she read it to me and i said, "i don't think i'll be able to do this." but i will do my utmost to get myself better to do this. when people goes out of their way to say such lovely things about me, then i've got to do it. mary no longer dons her hi—vis on a daily basis. the school is advertising for a new lollipop person, but they've got some pretty big shoes to fill. what you put into life, you get out of life. that's my motto. beth parsons, bbc news, summerbridge. very, very many congratulations, quite a yearfor very, very many congratulations, quite a year for her. and ver