this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh. the headlines at 3pm: a manhunt is underway in turkey for the gunman responsible for killing at least 39 people in a packed nightclub in istanbul. this is the scene live outside the club this afternoon. the turkish president has called it a heinous attack. police in oldham are looking for a hit—and—run driver who killed 12—year—old helina kotlarova and seriously injured her 11—year—old cousin. they were holding their hands together. they were crossing the road, and the car was, like, driving too fast. the royal family have attended a new year's day church service in sandringham, but without the queen, who still has a heavy cold. also in the next hour: hull officially becomes the uk's city of culture. the year—long arts festival gets underway with a huge fireworks display over the humber estuary later. and at 3:30pm, click films live in front of its first ever studio audience.

good afternoon, and welcome to bbc news. a huge police operation is underway in istanbul to find a gunman who shot dead 39 people at a nightclub. the man opened fire at the reina club at around 1:30am local time. dozens of injured remain in hospital. 15 foreigners, from israel, saudi arabia and morocco, were among the dead. our turkey correspondent selin gerit has just sent this report. we are only seconds away from a new

year... one of the most famous nightclubs in istanbul, reina, packed with a jubilant crowd, ready to welcome in the new year. five, four, three, two... they are counting down to what they hope will be a fresh new start. but then this happens. a man armed with a long—barrelled weapon opens fire outside the venue. he kills a policeman and another civilian as he rushes his way in. the club immediately turns into the scene of a massacre, as the attacker fires on the people partying inside. dozens are killed and wounded. survivors still in shock of what they have been through. translation: i had my back turned. my husband suddenly told me to get on the floor. a man ran inside, two or three people started firing, and then there was a fog. i fainted at that moment until special forces took us out of there. they shot randomly. there were bodies lying on the floor. there has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, and authorities did not name any suspects. this man was a security guard

at the club last night. he said he heard gunfire and ran away. everyone is nervous at the moment, he said. the attacker still remains at large. translation: the security forces say the assailant was alone rather than there being many attackers. he was wearing a jacket and trousers when he opened fire, but there is separate information that he tried to leave wearing a different set of clothes. the nightclub area remains sealed off this morning. heavily armed police block the street leading to reina club. crime scene investigators were inside searching for evidence. this is as close as we can get to the scene of the attack that shook istanbul last night. in a span of 18 months, more than 500 people have been killed in this country in similar attacks. now, civilians got hit on a night of hope and joy. this already feels like it is going to be yet another difficult year for this country.

turkey faces the islamic state threat, a renewed conflict with the kurdish rebels in the south—east and across the border in syria and iraq, and big cities like istanbulfeel increasingly vulnerable these days. the 12—year—old girl who was killed in a hit—and—run incident in greater manchester has been named as helina kotlarova. helina, seen on the left, was crossing the road holding hands with her 11—year—old cousin when they were hit by a car last night in oldham. her cousin, zaneta krokova, seen here on the right, is in a critical condition in hospital. police want to trace the driver of a black volkswagen golf. a short while ago, the sister of the dead girl spoke to the bbc and recounted what she witnessed last night when her sister was struck. they went to the shop. and when they came back, they were crossing the road. they were holding

their hands together. and when they were crossing the road, the car was, like, driving too fast and he just crashed... smashed into them. yeah. when we went there, we were running, she was on the floor and she had blood over her face. i was touching her, seeing if she was going to breathe or something, but she couldn't breathe or nothing. and i've seen herface. it was all bleeding. there was nothing to do. it's just hard to believe that she's gone. because she was too young, you know. she still had her life. she liked dancing. listening to songs, singing. she was always singing. she likes spending time with the family. that's what she does. we can cross now to our correspondent danni hewson, who's in oldham for us now. what are the police saying about the

investigation into this dreadful incident? at the moment the police are saying very little about this investigation. we do understand that they have had a meeting in the last hour, and we are expecting some kind of update from them later on this afternoon. obviously they have put out an appeal for information about the vw golf, and for the driver to come forward. and we have had a steady police presence here at the scene all day, with many people knocking on doors, asking for information about this incident last night. and what do we know about how the 11—year—old zaneta crossover is doing at hospital? well, we understand that she is in a critical condition, and we do understand that she is incredibly poorly indeed. obviously this was a tragic incident that happened last night. we

understand that the girls had just p°pped understand that the girls had just popped to the shop over the road to get some crisps. it is an incredibly busy road here. we have seen people dashing backwards and forwards, despite the fact that there is a crossing just a few yards up the road behind me. we do understand that they were crossing the road, that they were crossing the road, that they were crossing the road, that they had sisters and cousins with them who had crossed ahead of time, but that they had crossed separately, and obviously met with tragic circumstances. and what have people in the local area been saying to you? while obviously we have already seen a great number of people coming to deliver floral tributes. some lovely words about the family. many people saying that they just can't the family. many people saying that theyjust can't believe that the 12—year—old had lost her life, that she simply died far too young. everybody is absolutely shocked by what happened here last night. ahead of what was supposed to be a celebration, a new year's eve party, heralding in 2017. now ended in

tragedy. thank you, danni hewson in oldham. five people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man died in a fall at flats in a seaside resort early on new year's day. the victim died after falling through a utility room ceiling at a flat in st leonards—on—sea, near hastings in east sussex, in the early hours of the morning. the queen was absent from the annual new year's day church service in sandringham this morning because of a lingering heavy cold. she also missed the christmas day service at her norfolk estate because she was unwell. buckingham palace says the queen has been up and about in recent days, but is still recuperating, as our royal correspondent peter hunt reports. for a second time during the holiday season, the royals headed to church. and for a second time, the queen was a notable absentee. her 95—year—old husband, who has also been ill, did attend. he was described by one observer as "chipper". during these security—conscious times, the windsors over christmas

are an attraction for the dedicated, and despite the weather, they gathered outside the sandringham church. but once again the monarch was not on display. a little bit disappointed because the queen was not there, but that is understandable at 90 years of age. she's in the best place, and i wish her all the best for 2017. she's not well, and we do not want to see her come out in this weather. at christmas, our attention is drawn to the birth of a baby some 2000 years ago. the queen recorded her christmas message early in december, and will not have taken the decision to miss church lightly. the supreme governor of the church of england has a deep personalfaith. but on the advice of her doctor she is exercising caution in the face of a heavy cold she's had for nearly two weeks. the queen has been laid low and left feeling pretty miserable at the end of yet another significant year in her long reign. as well as celebrating her landmark birthday, she's started

to acknowledge her advancing age and reduce her workload. just last month, the queen severed her links with 25 organisations she had been patron of for many decades. palace officials insist the queen is up and about, and she hasn't been to hospital or had tests. as head of state, she continues to deal with the government documents she receives. and she is clearly doing all she can to get rid of a lingering cold, rather than make it worse. peter hunt, bbc news, buckingham palace. let's return to allow the lead story, and the hunt for a gunman in istanbul responsible for at least 35 deaths. let's talk now to rengin arslan, who's in istanbul. what news is there about the hunt for the killer? unfortunately we don't know much about this. the prime minister recently has been the last official who made a statement,

an announcement to the press lately about what is going on at this end. he preferred not to mention what the research, what is the level of the research, what is the level of the research at the moment. but instead he denied reports of this attacker was wearing a santa claus outfit. you might have remembered that this was one of the initial reports that came outjust was one of the initial reports that came out just immediately was one of the initial reports that came outjust immediately after the attack. and he said he was not wearing anything like this. he also said that he left, the attacker left his gun. he just escaped. said that he left, the attacker left his gun. hejust escaped. and still there is a research going on. an investigation going on about who he is and what might be his possible connections. but there is no information about the bigger picture. and wejust information about the bigger picture. and we just know that 39 people died, and there are several, at least 60 wounded. and some of them, some of the dead from foreign

nationalities. this is what we know so nationalities. this is what we know so far. and i can't tell, the information is coming very slowly to the news rooms from the officials. and i'm sure there must be a lot of discussion about why turkey is falling victim to a string of terrorist attacks? yes, i mean turkey is a quiet, resilient country. and it has quite a lot of attacks in its parts. but this has been quite much. 2016, during 2016 we have witnessed quite a lot of attacks, one after another. and only recently there was another one in december. tragically enough, somebody who survived one of the attacks in istanbul in decemberjust died in last night's attack. this show is actually the possibility of

dying in istanbul, in central parts of istanbul, the high possibility is just quite apparent, to be honest. and now it is getting harder to take in. because yesterday, last night, it was a night where people would raise hopes about the new year. and just two hours into this new year, u nfortu nately most of just two hours into this new year, unfortunately most of those hopes have just died out. just finally, is the polarisation that we have seen in turkey over the last 12 months or so, is there any sense of that in terms of the reaction to this latest attack? are people pulling together and unifying in condemning it or not? it is getting harder and harder to unify around that kind of painful attacks and horrific events. u nfortu nately attacks and horrific events. unfortunately in turkey. some of the people are just ain't that, i mean, those people who are attacking the

nightclub, behind us, there foreign countries and strangers behind kind of thing. the countries who don't wa nt turkey of thing. the countries who don't want turkey to be a stronger country is just playing a dirty game. want turkey to be a stronger country isjust playing a dirty game. on want turkey to be a stronger country is just playing a dirty game. on the other hand, there are people looking into what has happened in turkey and what kind of policy, foreign policy, that turkey followed in the last four or five years when we had such a huge walljust one hour border in syria. so it is a kind of very difficult situation. and also a situation for any sensible voices in turkey at the moment. but i can tell that people are furious, and getting very tired of those subsequent attacks in istanbul, in major cities of turkey and everywhere in every corner of turkey now. rengin arslan,

thank you for that update in istanbulfor us. the headlines... a manhunt is underway in turkey for the gunman responsible for killing at least 39 people in a packed istanbul nightclub. the turkish president has called it a heinous attack. police in oldham are looking for a hit—and—run driver who killed 12—year—old helina kotlarova, and seriously injured her 11—year—old cousin. the royal family have attended a new year's day church service at sandringham, but without the queen, who still has a heavy cold. sport now, and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's katherine downes. it's olly, happy new year. hello there. there are two games in the premier league. the first of them has almost finished, and tottenham are thrashing watford 4—0 at vicarage road. they are almost into injury time.

it was 3—0 at half—time. harry kane scored their first after a neat ball from kieran trippier. it was the same combination for the second. just after the half—hour mark. and dele alli got in on the act after more woeful defending from watford. the fourth came just a minute after the break. kane the provider for alli. hejust he just tucked it in at the near post. it is still 4—0, almost over. as it stands, spurs are third in the table. arsenal can jump above them with a win in the late kick—off against against crystal palace — while palace are hoping to turn their season around and climb clear of the relegation zone under new manager sam allardyce. this one kicks off at apm. i'm sure in the second part when everybody ready to go for it, it's not any more weight and see, it's go and take now, and i'm confident that in the second part of the season, you will see spectacular games. we

have not completely produced. manchester united manager jose mourinho says anthony martial needs to listen to him, and not his agent, amid rumours that the striker may move to sevilla. martial was united's top scorer, with 17 last season. he scored his fifth yesterday in their win against middlesbrough. mourinho says he needs to stay focused to improve. anthony has to listen to me, and don't listen to his agent. he has to listen to me. and he has to listen to me in training every day. i am trying to improve the players. with martial, everyday i read the newspaper, martial goes to seville, martial goes to rome, martial is not happy. martial has to listen to me. he isa happy. martial has to listen to me. he is a player with amazing conditions. there are four more matches in the

aviva rugby union prmiership today. sale sharks against bristol was a 2:30 start. sale lead that one seven points to nil. all the other matches kicked off at three. george north has returned for northampton in their match at gloucester. gloucester are leading that by a penalty. leicester are 3—0 against saracens, saracens could return to the top with a win, they are currently losing. there are two patches in the protocol. all of the wales regions are playing. —— in the pro12. scarlets had an early try. ospreys or dragons. that one starts at five 5pm. —— 5:05pm. a crowd of 70,000 at the mcg watched the big bash match between the two melbourne sides — the renegades and the stars. the renegades won by nine runs on the duckworth—lewis method. former england captain kevin pietersen took a terrific catch for the stars, despite declaring he was "rubbish in the field". the renegades went

on to reach 171—11. cameron white hitting a hefty 64 off 43 balls. after a rain interruption, the stars were set 159 to win — pietersen only made 15 and in a bizarre penultimate over, three batsmen were run out. adam zampa breaking his bat in frustration, as the stars fell short. perth scorchers beat sydney thunder by 50 runs. ian bell hit two sixes as he top scored with a5, as scorchers reached 177 for four. eoin morgan — playing for thunder — was dismissed forjust eight runs, the defending champions fell short of their target, making 127 for eight. they remain without a win in this campaign watford have pulled a goal back, but it's a bit too late for them. spurs are still winning 4—1. the full—time

whistle has gone at vicarage road. birds orup to whistle has gone at vicarage road. birds or up to third. —— spurs or up to third. keep up—to—date on the bbc sport website. i will be back in the next hour. 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. a very aspirational message from theresa may. it's going to be a very tall order for

theresa may. it's going to be a very tall orderfor her to theresa may. it's going to be a very tall order for her to deliver the sort of unity and opportunity she's talking about. any prime minister is going to want the badge themselves for unity and by the personification of the country that they lead. on the subject of brexit which dominated her new year message and will dominate her time as prime minister, there are divisions everywhere you look. there is the trade—off between the 52% and 48%, there are divisions geographically. the first minister of scotland is going to constantly making the argument that the was a different resort north of the border. there divisions within the conservative and labour party. keir starmer is staying today that he thinks there has to be some sort of immigration control imposed as part of the deal. jeremy corbyn has sounded more liberal around immigration. from the prime minister's perspective, the real slog of the nitty—gritty of brexit is what 2016 —— 2017 is going to be all about. the triggering of article 50 within the next couple of

months. and then the whole business ofa months. and then the whole business of a long ago she asian. she is optimistic that can be a good outcome to that, but it will take time —— the negotiation. outcome to that, but it will take time -- the negotiation. the continuing fight against terrorism is going to be a big story of 2017. the security minister ben wallace has been talking about so—called islamic state having an aspiration to use chemical weapons in the uk. we have been talking giving new year about the enhanced security around the new year celebrations, thinking about those lorry attacks in nice and berlin particularly. but these chemical attacks, that's what ben wallace is talking about. yes, he is saying that isas have an aspiration to use chemical weapons within the uk. he says there is no moral objection from them to the use of chemical weapons. he points to the arrest of members of a terror cell in morocco last year, he worked in possession of toxic chemicals that could have been used as weapons, as evidence that that aspiration is that —— who were in possession. he

is also concerned about what is called the enemy within, terror groups and foreign governments hiring people who work within governments and businesses in the uk to try and undermine the uk from within. he also makes the point that out is‘s territory in the middle east shrinks, that is seen by many of its enemies is a good thing, those britons who have gone out there to fight what i is made want to return home, and could pose a real threat to us here if they manage to get back in —— who went out there to fight for ids. thank you, chris. 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. the computer difficulties on what is usually the busiest night of the year meant that response times of hundreds of calls and treatment were delayed. our news correspondentjon ironmonger is outside the headquarters for the london ambulance service. well, an investigation has been carried out into the cause of the technical problems which happened last night, as you say, from 12:30am.

the computer system is now back online, but it has been a troubled night, as you can imagine for staff working here. who, in the face of great difficulty, had to cope with the huge amount of pressure, and inflated number of calls for members of the public. i'm grateful to bejoined now by peter mckenna, who is the deputy director of operations here at london ambulance service. perhaps you can give us a better idea of the tackle what happened, peter? i'm pleased to say that the service is up and running and has been running normally since 5:30am this morning. we did have some technical difficulties in the night, and we reverted back to using pen and paper. this is a system that our staff in the control rooms are well versed in and are trained in throughout the year. but it must have come as a shock to everybody working here when the computer system suddenly went down, on what is historically the busiest night of the year for you.

we had planned to have extra staff on duty. knowing that it would be the busiest night of the year, we did have extra staff in. the busiest night of the year, the staff are trained in dealing with issues such as this. we do fall back throughout the year and the running and pen and paper, and the staff are trained in dealing with that. can the system work as effectively and pen and paper? surely calls are lost in the process? it can't be as well organised as when it is on a computer. obviously it will take as long to attend to some of these calls, calls, but as always, we would prioritise our most seriously ill and critical patients to be seen first. are you confident that all of the people, all of the emergency calls you received last night, all of the patients you attended to, received the best care, given the circumstances? we do have tests where we do move back to pen and paper. and the staff are trained in doing that. so the staff did do that overnight.

peter, tell me about what the mood was like in there when the computer system went down? was it a state of panic? the staff knew it was going to be a busy night. we had extra staff in to help us cope with that. and when the system would go down, we automatically move into a tried and tested system, and the staff automatically move over to working with pen and paper. it's not that long ago that we've got some staff in the room that that was the normal operating process. so there were some staff in the room that have worked in that system for many years. just finally, it's not the first time this computer system has gone down. is this a worry that it seems to happen a lot? we plan for all eventualities. one of the eventualities we do plan for is the system going down, which is why we automatically work and pen and paper. the update on the difficulties

facing the london ambulance service last night. hull has started its year as the uk city of culture. £32 million has been spent on a year—long programme. from hull, colin paterson reports. after three years of planning and preparation, the waiting is over. hull is the uk's city of culture. and 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 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 retail hull's history. with one turning hollywood into hullywood. people here have recreated famous movie scenes. what things 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 out 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. colin paterson, bbc news, hull, city of culture. gorgeous shot of the humber bridge. we will have more from hull throughout the day. right now, it's time for the weather forecast. happy new year. contrast in weather conditions for the 1st of

january 2017. the northern half of the country is brighter and colder with lots of sunshine, a few showers across the north. for much of england and wales, trapped underneath a blanket of cloud and a weather front, damp end to the day here. the rain will continue to slip southwards, turning dry for many. we will continue to see showers across northern and eastern scotland and north east england, these will be wintry, particularly over high grounds. we could see some problems with frost and ice. it will be cold as well across the south. we lose the cloud across the extreme south. a brighter day across the board. there will continue to be a few showers in northern and western scotland, maybe north—east england. these will be wintry over the high ground. it will be cold, if you factor in the wind, much colder than the temperatures suggest. varying amounts of cloud, particularly in the north and west on thursday. hello. this is bbc news — the headlines: there's been widespread condemnation

of the massacre at a nightclub in istanbul in which 39 people were shot dead. police are still searching for the gunman who struck in the early hours of this morning. police in oldham are looking for a hit and run driver who killed 12—year—old helina kotlarova and seriously injured her 11—year—old cousin.