welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm gavin grey. our top stories: massacre in turkey — at least 35 people are killed in a gun attack at a packed nightclub in istanbul. a0 others are wounded. the city's governor described it as terrorism, and a brutal and merciless attack on innocent people celebrating new year. in other news — the un security council unanimously votes to support russia and turkey's latest efforts to end violence in syria. london rings in the new year in style with a huge fireworks display on the river thames. we start with breaking news from turkey. at least 35 people are dead

after an armed attack at a nightclub in istanbul. local media say shots were fired during new year celebrations at the popular reina nightclub. it's thought that more than a0 other people have been wounded. the attack happened in the ortakoy district during new year's celebrations. between 500—600 people were in the club at the time. istanbul's governor called it a "terrorist" attack. translation: today, around 1.15, a terrorist attacked an entertainment venue using a firearm. the terrorist first shot and killed the police officer in front. he then fired at people in the venue, who were only there to have fun on new year's eve. at least 35 people have unfortunately been killed. one of them is a police officer. at least a0 people are in hospital. the investigation is ongoing. earlier i spoke to our turkey correspondent, mark lowen, who gave me the latest.

we are hearing at least 35 people have been killed and at least a0 people injured, some in a critical condition. the attack targeted the reina nightclub in istanbul, close to the bosporus bridge. it is one of the most popular nightclubs in istanbul, indeed in turkey. it happened shortly after midnight when at least one attacker entered the nightclub. he sprayed bullets outside the nightclub before entering. there are reports that at least one was dressed in a santa claus outfit and then entered the nightclub, spraying bullets from a kalashnikov rifle inside, killing civilians and we understand at least one police officer. we are told at least 500 or 600 people were inside the nightclub when the attacker struck. they were of course celebrating new year's eve, bidding farewell to a very traumatic year in turkey's modern history. there are reports that some of those people inside the nightclubjumped

into the bosphorus, the sea on which the nightclub was situated, in order to try to evade the attack. some 17,000 extra police officers on duty on new year's eve across turkey just to try to contain such an awful eventuality. public events had already been cancelled in taksim square and other areas of the city. istanbul has been on high alert. this has been a year that has seen a wave of deadly terror attacks. both by so—called islamic state, but also by the kurdish militant group, the pkk. at least 22 terror attacks this year have killed 360 people. it has been a very, very distressing year for turkey. a very grim year. this nation was hoping to put that behind them,

and therefore people were celebrating tonight, albeit in an atmosphere of heightened security with people prevented from going into the centre of the city. areas of istanbul were cordoned off as well as areas of ankara. this appears to have been a targeted attack on a very popular nightclub, that will send shockwaves through the country, and showjust how vulnerable turkey remains after a very grim year of terror attacks. one of the national television stations is saying special police force officers are currently still searching the nightclub. you mentioned the pkk and islamic state. the answer is we still do not know yet. yet the governor of istanbul is coming out with a very strong statement, saying without doubt this was terrorism. yeah. clearly this was a terror attack. this country sadly has become accustomed to such terror attacks that have targeted public areas, police, security forces. what has tended to happen

is that the pkk, the kurdish militant group, has targeted the security forces, police and the army. a few weeks ago, there was a twin bombing in instanbul outside a football stadium which targeted police. that was claimed by a kurdish militant group. but there have been more public attacks, such as on the airport, which was claimed by islamic state. the fact this hit a nightclub with revellers and civilians among the casualties, that would point, isuppose, towards the islamic state group. at this stage it is too early to tell who is behind this attack. we know is has released a video saying that turkey is very much targeted by the group, that they are trying to wreak havoc in turkey. turkey has become ever more embroiled in the war in syria.

there was a ground operation in syria earlier this year to try to target is. i think the finger of suspicion will probably point towards is. as i say, kurdish militancy is at play here as is a homegrown left—wing group as well, that is classified by turkey as a terrorist group. this is a vulnerable country, and that is the sad state of affairs that turkey bids farewell to 2016 and begins 2017 with another terror attack in the heart of turkey's most popular and biggest city. aykan erdemir is a former turkish member of parliament, now a senior fellow with the foundation for defence of democracies, a policy institute based in washington. i asked him whether the attackers were likely to be targeting the nightclub or the celebration of new year's eve. this was not only targeting one of istanbul's top nightclubs, but also a symbolic target, that is targeting secular lifestyle,

targeting western lifestyle. it is in fact quite similar to the paris attack in the sense that islamic state, if it is confirmed they were behind the attack, is yet again trying to undermine turkey's secular western lifestyle. so from that point of view, this is not only a matter of hard security, but at the same time, an ideological battle. it is a clashing of different world views, and therefore it is not only limited to the islamic state, because in the run—up to this attack, for the last two weeks, turkey has had quite an intense debate about christmas celebrations,

new year's celebrations, and other islamists, maybe not as violent or radical as islamic state, have also been involved in pointing the finger to the seculars in turkey, the more western—oriented citizens in turkey, and by targeting them and threatening them not to celebrate new year's, conflating new year's with christmas, and arguing this is illegitimate and a kind of christian propaganda undermining islam. that cultural battle, unfortunately, seen within the first hours of the new year with this terrible, bloody attack. have various organisers of christmas or new year's events been pressured or threatened not to hold events by islamists? yes, there were billboards.

turkey is a country where freedom of speech, expression, it is not necessarily guaranteed. but when islamist organisations and movements decide to target people celebrating christmas or new year's through billboards, through public announcements, the government has been extremely tolerant of such discourse. in fact, many people this year chose to stay home. they don't feel secure enough to go out. many of the street parties were cancelled. so this was quite a low—key year in terms of new year's celebrations, but that still did not prevent this attack. in other news, the un security council has unanimously supported efforts to end fighting

in syria, following a ceasefire brokered by russia and turkey. bill hayton reports. total support for the latest attempt at peace. after so many years of fighting, is this finally a route out of war? the latest agreement is backed by some of the key players, but doubts stopped the us and other countries giving it wholehearted endorsement. instead, they simply welcomed it. we have voted in favour of this resolution because it strikes the right balance. cautious optimism and support, predicated on hope, but tempered by a realistic need to wait to see how this arrangement is implemented before casting the full weight of the security council behind it. many details of the agreement remain secret. but the russian government, which brokered it along with turkey, says other countries should not obstruct the process. translation: i don't

want to criticise, but i would like in the most delicate way to just hint to colleagues it is a very complicated process. everything we have been able to achieve is the result of enormous work. so, please, let's keep things clear. please help us. if you don't want to help, just make sure that you don't complicate things. in syria, many questions remain. will aid get through to everyone? how will breaches of the truce be handled? what will happen to groups that haven't signed the deal? and, the biggest of all, will president assad remain in power? the rebel grouping with support from the eu and united states still says he has to go. all of the war crimes he has committed here, these crimes, you cannot expect someone like him to go on ruling syria. so, if he doesn't go, it means there will be no peace in syria.

it is the third truce in less than a year, but for the time being it appears to be holding. but peace is more than the absence of war. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: fireworks held in new year around the world. here in london, a spectacular fireworks display on the river thames. the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got under way with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow, in holland, we're gonna use money we picked up in belgium today, then we'll be in france, and again it'll be the same money. it has just got to be the way to go. george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed in his 0xfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder.

i think it was good. just good? no, fantastic. that's better. this is bbc news. i'm gavin grey. the latest headlines: at least 35 people have been killed in a gun attack on a crowded nightclub in istanbul. another a0 have been wounded. the city's governor has described it as terrorism, calling it a brutal and merciless attack on innocent people celebrating new year. let's stay with that story. 0ur reporter selin gerit joined me from istanbul. she gave me an update on the latest developments. the ambulances at the scene have been leaving, one after another,

so from what we understand is that there is no more happening at the scene of the attack. there are 35 people dead, the governor has told us, and there are at least a0 people wounded at the scene of the attack. we were told by the governor of istanbul that there was probably one attacker, but we don't know, because the witnesses at the scene were speaking of probably another attacker. the ambulances have left the scene at the moment, but there is still a police presence. that's where we are, we are a kilometre away from the scene. we are not allowed to go near the scene. but the governor spoke to us. he told us that 35 people were actually dead. and a0 wounded are being treated at the nearby hospitals

and there is of course increasing concern over whether the casualties will rise. do we know any more what happened to the gunman? we don't actually know what happens to the gunman, we don't even know whether there was one oi’ more of. the governor told about one gunman, but eyewitnesses from the scene have been speaking about more than one. people have been speaking about... because this venue is just by the sea, people have been speaking about people just throwing themselves into the two to rescue their lives, to save their lives, and we are hearing about all sorts of things about what happens to those people. there are still people being treated at the hospital and we are still...

we still have to learn how many people were wounded and how many people were dead, but the governor told us that at least 35 people have been killed in this incident that has taken place at this nightclub in istanbul. people were worried about anything that could have happened in istanbul because istanbul has been the scene of many attacks recently. for instance, at ta ksim square people were expecting something could happen, but at a nightclub this is something new. the fact that these people disguised themselves as father christmas is of course a concern as well. we still need to learn about how many people are being treated at the hospital.

we are not allowed at the scene at the moment and there is still a lot of police presence at the moment and we are about a kilometre away from the scene. all the ambulances have been sent away and from what we understand there are not any more people who will be treated and we probably could expect the casualties to increase. i spoke to zafer arapkirli — a turkishjournalist & broadcaster — on the line from istanbul. well, i don't know how to speak about it, but the very sad part of the story, we were expecting this. you won't ask why we were expecting

this, there were two past attacks and three weeks ago we were outside the besiktas stadium, there was a twin bomb attack where 35 people...a5 people died and hundreds injured. i narrowly escaped that attack by a couple of minutes. last summer there was an attack on the main airport of istanbul. it wasn't a matter of if anything would happen but it was a matter of when and how and how many casualties there would be. it came just on the night of new year's eve and at the very moment when people, including me, hundreds of thousands, maybe tens of millions of people, were exchanging goodwill messages for the next year. believe me, honestly, everyone was using the same sentence. they were saying to each other that never again should we repeat 2016.

it came just at the moment when we were exchanging these sorts of goodwill messages. 25 policemen and women, security was taken all around the city. street parties were cancelled. there was a small street party at the 0rtakoy district, just a few hundred yards away from the scene of the night's attack. we were hoping nobody would be injured there but the reports were that these killers went and hit the most popular nightclub of the city, maybe the country. sorry to interrupt, but president erdogan has promised to stub out terrorism in the country, but there's been a long list of attacks last year, there is this attack on the first day of 2017 and as you say

the city was expecting it. in short, do you think people have confidence that he can stamp it out? there is little confidence, honestly. your reporter reminded us that the enemies... there's a long shortlist. we are suffering threats from the islamic state terrorists, we are suffering threats from the pkk, we are suffering threats from left organisations. i mean, it is very difficult to chase them. senior government ministers in the democratic republic of congo have signed an agreement with the opposition to end the growing political crisis, but presidentjoseph kabila is yet to put his signature to it. under the terms of the deal, he will stay on until elections are organised by the end of 2017 to replace him. a position politician will be no

need a in a transitional government. previous attempt to get both parties to sign have failed at the last moment. from today, companies in france are required to give their employees the right to avoid work in males outside office hours. the new law is known as the right to disconnect. companies with more than 50 workers will be obliged to set out the hours when staff may decline to send or answer e—mails. in indonesia — two local environmental volunteers have held a unique celebration to highlight their campaign to clear their river of rubbish. ari and sandra chose to navigate down the waterwayjust outside jakarta as part of their wedding celebration. they explained that it was their way to express their love for each other and the environment. for ari and sandra verne special day

had to look and feeljust right. for the happy couple, it is the river taking them to their wedding symbolising how dreams through better life can become a better. 0ver better life can become a better. over 100 better life can become a better. 0ver100 kilometres long, this river has brought prosperity to tens of thousands of people. translation: this is very meaningful and i hope it can be inspiration for other young people. we have shown a love for our language and culture and now we need to show our love for our environment. this wedding has inspired everyone, including myself. running free and clear now, this river has not always been a pleasure to cruz. just over one year ago, this is how it looked. the garbage joking river comes from illegal dumping but the battle to clear the river is contemplated. it flows through the greater jakarta river is contemplated. it flows through the greaterjakarta area, parts of which are subsiding. it is

estimated that some areas of the mega city have sunk by four meters. the river can no longerflowing mega city have sunk by four meters. the river can no longer flowing to ja ka rta the river can no longer flowing to jakarta bay. converted into canals, the water quality has declined as more people in illegal settlements throw the waste into the river. officials say they are enforcing the law and have a strategy which is working. translation: so far we collected fines from those who were caught but some residents were unable to pay so they clean the city by picking up trash from one to two oui’s. by picking up trash from one to two ours. the sanitation department said it remains the government to clear all the rivers by 2020. activists say the fight to keep the rivers clea n say the fight to keep the rivers clean will require stronger action against industries and not the poor. new year celebrations have been taking place around the world as people welcome in 2017. auckland in new zealand was the first main city to celebrate as the rest of the world caught up.

many countries have had to add a lea p many countries have had to add a leap second to the clock. that change is required because standard time lags behind atomic clocks. catriona renton reports. big ben tolls as midnight struck, london flooded with colour, from the banks of the river thames, as the uk became the latest country to ring in the new year. many musical references to the great names many musical references to the great na m es lost many musical references to the great names lost last year, prince and david bowley. —— bowie. sydney australia was one of the first major cities to welcome 2017. the harbour bridge, the focus of its spectacular display. tokyo, 2017 burst onto the

scene. the japanese celebrated with a sea of white balloons. and look at this. the world's tallest building was lit up as dubai partied to see in the new year. then, in germany, berliners came out in their thousands to one of your‘s largest street party at the brandenburg gate. security was tight here this year after the attack on the christmas market which killed 12 people. millions of others don't have too much longer do we now for 2017 to begin. good morning and a very happy new year to you.

the change of year brings a change in the weather. if we take a look at the recent satellite picture, you can see this strip of cloud sinking its way southwards. there is rain coming from this cloud. it is associated with a weather front, and in fact, it is a cold front. and as that continues to journey southwards and eastwards through new year's day, we will see increasingly cold air digging in from the north. and that really is the pattern for the next couple of days. but back to the here and now, the first part of new year's day increasingly wet across southern parts of the british isles. so this is the story at 9:00am this morning. across south—west england, some quite heavy bursts of rain. that's stretching up through the south midlands and into east anglia. to the south—east, a mild start. seven degrees in dover. a lot of cloud, but the main body of rain won't have got here by this stage. and then, on the back edge of the weather front, with cold air starting to dig in, and we could see sleet, possibly some wet snow developing, particularly up over high ground, the pennines.

wintry showers for northern scotland. rain close to the coast, but inland, over high ground, some snow. windy here, potentially some icy stretches on untreated roads, as there could be in the north—west and northern ireland. then for wales, we're back into our weather front, with rain and wintry weather up over high ground. remember, cold air is digging into the back of the weather front. and our front essentially stalls across south—eastern areas, so here we can expect rain throughout new year's day. but further north, some bright skies, some sunshine, and wintry showers, particularly for exposed coastal areas. and a really chilly day, four or five degrees, mild air holding on across the far south and south—east. but then, as we go through the night, that cold air works its way southwards across all parts of the country, as we finally push our weather front away. and we will see quite a widespread frost, as well, and potentially icy stretches, particularly where we see showers through the night on exposed coasts. and these are increasingly turning wintry, even to quite low levels.

some of these will continue into monday. for most for monday though, it is a beautiful day with sparkling sunshine. however, it won't do much for the temperatures, 3—6 degrees at best. as we go deeper into the week, high pressure is in charge of the weather, particularly out to the west. a north—westerly wind, so not a particularly warm wind direction, but slightly less cold air will work into the mixture on tuesday and wednesday. with it, a fair amount of cloud, but for many it will stay dry. just a few showers for exposed coasts. the latest headlines from bbc news. i'm gavin grey. at least 35 people have been killed in a gun attack on a crowded nightclub in istanbul. another a0 have been wounded. up to 600 people are thought to have been inside the reina club when the shooting happened. the city's governor has called it a terrorist attack. the united nations security council has unanimously welcomed efforts

by russia and turkey to stop fighting in syria and says it supports the start of a political process. peace negotiations are due to begin next month in kazakhstan which have the backing of russia, iran and turkey. london has marked the start of the new year with a spectacular fireworks display on the river thames. tens of thousands of people crowded on to the banks to watch. revellers are expected at times square in new york to join the celebrations in a few hours' time. security has been stepped up in major cities around the world. now on bbc news, it's time for click.