this is bbc news, i'm gavin esler. the headlines at ham. at least 39 people have been killed after a gunman opened fire in a packed nightclub in the turkish city of istanbul. turkish authorities are still searching for the gunmen. the terrorist first shot and killed a police officer at the front and then he fired at people in the venue who were only there to have fun on new year's eve. this is the scene live. the turkish president has called it a heinous attack. the royal family are attending church at sandringham. buckingham palace says the queen will not attend a new year's day church service at sandringham because of a heavy cold. heightened security and thousands of extra police as revellers welcome in the new year across the uk. in her new year's message theresa may calls for 2017 to be a year of unity following the vote to leave the eu. as we face the opportunities ahead of us, our shared interests and ambitions can bring us together.

also in the next hour, technical problems hit the london ambulance service on one of its busiest nights of the year. it's understood that the computer system crashed, meaning calls had to be recorded by pen and paper for several hours. and, in half an hour, dateline london looks ahead to 2017. let's go to pictures from sandringham. there they are. as you can see, the church and

sandringham, people beginning to arrive. the queen will not be attending this new year's day church service because of this lingering heavy cold. she miss the christmas day service for the first time in many years. we believe the duke of edinburgh has already gone in, with the royal party. minus the queen. the turkish president says the attack on an istanbul nightclub in which 39 people died was designed to create chaos in the country. police in turkey are hunting for a gunman who opened fire in a packed nightclub in istanbul killing 39 people and injuring many more. 16 foreigners are among the dead and around 70 other people are being treated in hospital. the gunman entered the popular reina nightclub and started shooting at about 1.30am local time. some reports say he was dressed in a santa outfit. the attack happened in the ortakoy district during new year's eve celebrations. around 700 people were thought to be at the club at the time. around 500 people were thought to be at the club at the time.

chaos return to istanbul as around 500 revellers saw in 20 17th at a new year ‘s party. a little over one hour later, the gunmen launched his attack. this mobile phone footage appears to show shots being fired outside, ricocheting off cars. after shooting police outside, he went into re—cabinet. at least 39 people we re into re—cabinet. at least 39 people were killed, including 15 foreign nationals. dozens more are being treated for their injuries this translation: i had my back term, my husband suddenly told me to get on the floor. a man ran inside, two or three people started firing. then there was a fault, i fainted until special forces took us out of there.

they shot randomly, bodies were lying on the floor. turkey has suffered repeated terrorist attacks in crowded spaces over the past year. 41 people died at ataturk airport. there were also attacks on state and military targets, bringing the death toll in 2016 to 250. kurdish militants and the so—called islamic state were to blame. not clear who was responsible for this act of terrorism. translation: he went inside as he opened fire, we were told he was wearing different clothes inside, and he tried to get out. our police forces continue to assess this information. in his new year ‘s message before the attack the president told the nation it was

firing telemarketer fighting a new war of independence. in a statement since he has vowed not to give the terrorists. 2017 has begun in the most tragic ways in istanbul. carnage in a beautiful location, more innocent lives taken. we will go live to istanbul later in this hour. buckingham palace has said the queen will not attend a new year's day church service at sandringham because of a lingering heavy cold. she missed the christmas day service for the first time in many years. the palace said the queen was still recovering. we can speak to our correspondent richard galpin who is in sandringham for us. what more do we know? what is happening at the church service? it was due to get under way just now, other members of the family are there. the duke of

edinburgh, the princess royal are attending. the queen has decided to do so because of a heavy, lingering cold. we understand she is up and about. it is a precautionary measure. they don't want to take any risks. therefore she is staying indoors. the weather is horrible, wet and cold. pretty unpleasant. not the kind of place where somebody who is unwell and 90 years old would wa nt to is unwell and 90 years old would want to be. there was tightened security across the uk and around the world as events took place to celebrate the start of 2017. around 3,000 police officers were on patrol in london, as leanne brown reports. big ben chimes. the sky was lit up as big ben struck midnight. tens of thousands of people lined the thames to watch the new year spectacular in london, but among the crowded streets

was a huge police presence. we always seek to learn the lessons from horrific events around the world, whether in berlin, nice or paris, last year. we can't allow the bad guys to spoil our way of life. happy new year, london! it wasn't just london with heightened security. with memories of the berlin lorry attack still fresh, security was also stepped up at celebrations across germany. this new year's eve passed peacefully in australia, sydney was the first major city to start proceedings with a glittering display over their iconic harbour bridge. in dubai, fireworks shot from the sides of the world's tallest skyscraper in a lavish display. and in scotland, partygoers welcomed 2017 with the world famous hogmanay street party in edinburgh. fantastic, yes. brilliant, isn't it?

first time here, absolutely enthralling. it was brilliant, absolutely brilliant. you know how to party up here! heavy protection once again in america where up to 2 million people are thought to have joined the new year's eve ball in time square. but some regions of the world are still waiting for that much anticipated stroke of midnight. the 12—year—old girl who was killed in a hit and run incident in greater manchester has been named as helina kotlarova. she was holding hands with her friend when they were hit by a car last night in 0ldham. the second girl, zaneta krokova, is in a critical condition in hospital. police want to trace the driver of a black volkswagen golf. theresa may has called for 2017 to be a year of ‘unity and opportunity‘ following the eu referendum, which she says has exposed the divisions in britain. in her new year message,

the prime minister said she would work to secure a brexit deal for everyone, whether they'd voted to leave or remain. we are no longer the 52% who voted leave and the 48% who voted remain, but one great union of people and nations with a proud history and a bright future. with me is our political correspondent chris mason. i suspect many people say good luck with that, unity, that is a tough job. a colossal challenge she faces as prime minister. the detail is what follows this new year, as opposed to the revelations and headlines following the referendum campaign. how does she go about managing to negotiate a deal that

satisfies the country and as many people as possible. some people going for a hard brexit, complete breakaway from the european union, others saying they will have to be some sort of arrangement and deal that can accommodate the desire for many who voted leave you wanted something done about immigration, as against the clamour from business to give us access to the european markets. that process will begin with the triggering of article 50, then the nitty—gritty detail of trying to work out how the arrangement will look. also a story in the sunday times about isis planning a chemical weapons attack in the uk? very striking headline, the desire to plot a chemical attack. based on an interview with ben wallace, the security minister. he suggested the headline was rather overdone. the quotes in the article

are accurate, he says it is an aspiration of islamic state to carry out some sort of chemical attack. there was a cell in morocco successfully raided where various chemical weapons and the chemicals required to make them were there. 0bviously, required to make them were there. obviously, you would expect a group like islamic state to aspire to try and kill as many people in the west as they could possibly do so. whether by chemical attack, or a marauding gun attack, it is not news, but it is quite striking when it is out of the mouth of the security minister. he talks about the enemy within, traitors recruited by our enemies, working within government, or places where they could do damage. the insider threat is real, it can be exploited, there are people trying to do that we speak. hard to get in the front

door, they try to get someone inside. the big message, he was telling me, in a small way we can all do our bit. cyber security is a massive threat. really basic things like changing passwords very often, having adequate virus protection softwa re having adequate virus protection software is very crucial. not always from terrorists, but those who try and send us false invoices from companies that are not what they purport to be. maybe he should have talked to hillary clinton! let's move on. the archbishop of canterbury has also spoken of the divisions caused by the eu referendum. he's urging reconciliation, as our religious affairs correspondent martin bashir reports. surrendering to the demands of television lighting, the archbishop of canterbury prepares to deliver his new year's message in a familiar setting.

justin welby returned to coventry, the city where he started out as a clergyman. a city whose wartime suffering and forgiveness, he says, serves as an example to the nation. the story of the city says so much that is true about britain at its best, about our courage standing up to tyranny, how we stand alongside the suffering and defeated, how we stand for human dignity and hope. the archbishop visited a drop—in centre for refugees, people he called a blessing to our way of life. and he drew his message to a close by focusing on an issue that has divided so many parts of the country. the eu referendum was a tough campaign, and it has left division. but i know that if we look at our roots, our history and our culture in the christian tradition, if we reach back into what is best in this country, we will find a path towards reconciling the differences that have divided us. from coventry to canterbury, the archbishop believes that looking

back will only help us prepare for the future. let's get more on the nightclub attack in istanbul, where 39 people have died. what more do we know about the attack? the things we know about the attack, and who was behind it are quite limited. there is a media ban on reporting. we had to wait for the official statements and announcements. 0ne official statements and announcements. one of the latest ones came from the prime minister. he said it was still quite early to say who was behind the attack. the

attacker is still at large. quite early to comment on who is behind it. we can at least say in the last two years especially, in the last one and a half years turkey has been targeted by the kurdish militants, and so—called islamic state. we can also see some fingerprints of is, traditionally we have that kind of experience and observations about those attacks. now we know that the pkk is mostly targeting security forces, military groups, police forces. is mostly targeting civilians in public spaces, like istanbul airport in the last couple of months. still room for it to be

cautious. we had to wait for the official statement about this. the prime minister emphasised it is still quite early to say who is behind it. to pick up that point. this attacker has effectively attacked a way of life for many people in turkey. go out, have a party, behave normally on new year. go to party, behave normally on new year. gotoa party, behave normally on new year. go to a nightclub. is also attacked an airport. it is an attack on your way of life. not as with the pkk, something where they could be a negotiated settlement, because they wa nt negotiated settlement, because they want something political which is perhaps achievable. definitely. good to remember that turkey is carrying out ground operations against is at the moment, currently inside syria. it is involved in military sources

with the syrian groups it is supporting. this is an attack on a certain lifestyle. i was out last night to visit friends, to celebrate the new year with them. i was around this area. all the roads were empty. iam this area. all the roads were empty. i am telling this because yesterday after spending a year, through the year we have witnessed a lot of attacks. especially last night. it was quite a challenge to go out and celebrate new year in such a nice place. that means these people who have been there, they were quite decisive to keep on living their lives. despite the attacks, despite the rumours about a possible attack in the new year. this is quite heartbreaking to see those people, some of those people who have already died, in hospitals, we know 60 of them are in hospital, some of

them in critical condition. quite heartbreaking to see that. such a beautiful country, such a big country, millions of people from entering the new year with a tragic store —— tragic story. -- tragic story. very sad. the headlines on bbc news: at least 39 people have been killed after a gunman opened fire in a packed nightclub in istanbul. turkish authorities are still searching for the gunman. buckingham palace says the queen will not attend a new year's day church service at sandringham because she is still recovering from a heavy cold. theresa may has used her new year message to call for 2017 to be a year of unity, following the vote to leave the eu. sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's kat. hgppy happy new year again. liverpool

managerjurgen klopp says he will not be thinking about winning the premier league until much closer to the end of the season. liverpool have won four games in a row. they beat manchester city 1—0 thanks to ray georginio wijnaldum header. we have very difficult games, against sunderland, they had not the best result before the game. that will be the next difficult game for us. i don't care. when it stops. we need to be ready for the next fight, and we will be. antonio conte says the winning streak is meaningless unless they go one claim the premier league title. they equalled arsenal's record with their 13th win in a row. made them work for it, levelling twice. willian scored twice and

costa put away the fourth to put them six points clear at the top of them six points clear at the top of the table. jose mourinho has said anthony martial needs to listen to him, and not his agent, amid rumours the striker could move to seville. he scored only his fifth goal of the season. he scored only his fifth goal of the season. united came from behind with paul pogba scoring the winner. anthony needs to listen to me, and not his agent. he has to listen to me, in training every day. the feedback i get to try and improve players. martial, i read every day in the newspaper, he goes to seville, goes on loan, he's not happy. he needs to listen to me. he isa happy. he needs to listen to me. he is a player with amazing conditions to bea is a player with amazing conditions to be a top player. wins for both

arsenal and tottenham would push manchester city out of the top four. totte n ha m manchester city out of the top four. tottenham are at watford in the 1:30pm kick—off, while arsenal host crystal palace at four o'clock. i'm sure in the second half the season everybody is willing to go for it. not wait and see, it is going take. i'm confident in the second part of the season you will see spectacular games that we have not completed reduced. celtic start the new year with a 19 point lead at the top of the scottish premiership after coming from behind to beat rangers 2—1 in the old firm derby. scott sinclair with the winner. elsewhere, hamilton and motherwell drew. dundee are up to eighth after beating stjohnstone 3—0. partick and kilmarnock drew 0—0 but liam boyce scored twice as ross county beat bottom side inverness 3—2. there was a remarkable comeback in rugby union's premiership, exeter were losing 11—0 at half time against bath but they then scored 17 unanswered points to win it. james short with two late tries. that took them up to third in the

table. munster are now five points clear at the top of the pro 12, after beating connacht. and wing rory 0'laughlin scored twice as leinster moved into second place with a 22—7 victory over ulster. there were wins, too, for glasgow and edinburgh. i found the dow finished an injury plagued 2016 on a high, beating rafa nadal be david goffin and in straight sets to win the world tennis championship in abu dhabi. the third time he has won the trophy. he will head to the brisbane international ahead of the australian open. andy murray came third. 70,000 people watched the big bash match between the renegade stars and the melbourne stars. kevin

pietersen playing. the stars were set 134 to win. it was a bizarre final over as three batsmen run out as the stars fell short. that is all the sport. the london ambulance service says technical problems in the early hours of this morning meant staff in the control room were forced to log emergency calls by hand, delaying response times and treatment. the computer difficulties on what is usually the busiest night of the year began at half past midnight and lasted until 5.15am. it's understood ambulances had to be tracked manually using maps, while drivers had to drive without their satnavs. an investigation will take place into the cause of the problem. with me is our correspondent jon ironmonger. do we know what happened? the computer system went down at 12:30am and stayed down until 5:15am. that was because of a technical

error. all of the locking systems they usually used to log calls and emergencies went down with it. control room staff recorded everything by hand with pieces of paper, giving them to staff members, who had to prioritise he had a sion how. it meant the real—time web—based mapping of ambulance crews around london went down with it. staff had to rely on radio communications only. it meant that ambulance drivers had to input locations of where they are going to go to manually into their saturn and systems. all of these problems on new year's eve, the busiest night of the year. half an hour after the celebrations. 100,000 or more pa rtygoers celebrations. 100,000 or more partygoers on the streets of london. a lot of drinking. typically a night

when they are under a great deal of pressure. we don't know how many emergencies they responded to because the system is down. i'm told it was hundreds. they have released a statement. they said staff were trained to handle these sort of problems. they dealt with people who needed to be looked after. laws come into force today meaning that bankers, lawyers or advisers who help people to evade tax will face much stiffer penalties. anyone found guilty will be liable for the full amount of tax which went unpaid, or at least £3,000. but critics say that revenue and customs doesn't have the necessary resources to pursue offenders. hull has started its year as the uk city of culture. £32 million has been spent on a year—long programme. at this afternoon's opening event, eight city—centre buildings will be turned into giant screens which will be used to retell the city's history.

here's our arts correspondent, colin paterson. after three years of planning and preparation, the waiting is over. hull is the uk's city of culture. one of its most famous residents can hardly contain himself. it's lifted up the spirits of people. you can rebuild and regenerate and build the confidence of the people by culture, and the city of culture is what is now happening to hull. £32 million is being spent on a year—long programme of events which includes hosting the turner prize. what are you hoping the city of culture will achieve for hull? i want nationally and internationally people to see that this is a fantastic city with great stories, great people, and a lot to offer. because every city deserves its moment in the limelight. and 2017 is ours. it all starts at 4pm this afternoon, when buildings will be used as giant screens to retell hull's history. with one turning

hollywood into hullywood. people here have recreated famous movie scenes. what are you really looking forward to about the year? the 1st of january, looking at the fireworks, i don't even have to move out of my room if i don't want to. i can stay and look at my living room window. it's amazing. it's not just about looking through the window but putting hull in the shop window. the aim, 1 million extra visitors in 2017. let's see what the new year weather has in store for us. good morning. it is a day of mixed fortu nes good morning. it is a day of mixed fortunes so far. for some, a cracking day. clear the head with some sunshine. similar story in much of the northern uk to five. also a

few wintry flurries covering the pills in aberdeenshire. south west, where the skies are grey, it is wet, cold around the mountains. some of the rain starting to turn to snow. a little bit of sleep to mixed in with the rain lingering across parts of wales, the midlands and east anglia. heavy rain mixed in. in the midlands and north woods, some sunny spells in the afternoon. wintry showers in eastern scotland and north east england. feeling colder because of the wind whether you are in showers sunshine. the northerly wind will aggressively chase away the rain into the english channel. clear skies elsewhere, showers over eastern england, scotland and northern ireland. tomorrow looking like a cracking day if you want to delay the new year ‘s walk, most places dry, sunny, if you showers around the coast. —— a few showers.

—— afew —— a few showers. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: turkish president erdogan says an attack on a nightclub in istanbul was designed to create chaos in the country. 39 people were killed, including 15 foreign nationals. there was one gunmen, not multiple gunmen. he was wearing a coat and trousers. he went inside as he opened fire, and we were told he was wearing different clothes inside. the royal family are attending a church service in sandringham this morning, but the queen is not with them because of a heavy cold.

theresa may has called for unity in her new year's message to the country, and said last year's eu referendum was "divisive". the london ambulance service says there were technical difficulties in its control room in the early hours of the morning, meaning staff had to log calls by pen and paper. hello, and welcome to dateline london's look ahead to 2017. what a joyful year it's going to be.