this is bbc world news today. i'm ben bland. our top stories: there are reports of growing violence in towns and cities across iran. anti—government protests gather momentum for a third day, despite repeated warnings from the authorities. meanwhile, thousands of iranians take to the streets of tehran in an officially sanctioned show of support for the government. nepal bans solo climbers from ascending mount everest and other himalayan peaks, it says, to make climbing safer and save lives. and we'll have all the day's sport, including: premier league champions chelsea end the year in style after beating stoke. hello and welcome to world news today. some anti—government protests in

iran have turned violent. there were skirmishes between demonstrators and police which continued into the night. these are the latest pictures from the capital, tehran, as you can see, largely peaceful during the day, but later is, fire —— but later, fires burning in the streets. separately, there have been officially organised pro—government rallies. the third day of protests in iran. what began in small provincial cities, now spreading to the capital, tehran, and the main university campus. these are worrying signs for the iranian government and the ultraconservative shia clerics who have ruled over the country since the 1979 revolution. shouting for the clerics to give him a job, this protester typifies the economic anger felt by many iranians. they accuse the mullahs of living in gilded palaces

and sponsoring conflicts overseas, while the economy and the country suffers. but dissent in iran is only tolerated to a point. uniformed and plain clothes police clashed with protesters and made dozens of arrests in several cities. i don't expect the protest to snowball as of now because the regime has a response in place. and if the protesters don't stop, ultimately the reaction will become heavy—handed. we're just not there yet. in a response on twitter, president trump warned iran that the world was watching, saying that tehran should respect people's rights to express themselves. comments that the iranian foreign minister called opportunistic and deceitful. the government has warned people not to take part in what it calls illegal protests. organising instead large, pro—regime counterdemonstrations,

in support of the supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei. an end to clerical rule has been a common theme in these protests, some of which are now turning violent. wyre davies, bbc news. we're joined we'rejoined by a we're joined by a senior fellow from the middle east institute. we have seen protests in iran before, perhaps most notably in 2009. they we re perhaps most notably in 2009. they were put down in came to nothing, ultimately. is this any different this time, do you think? time will show, ben, buti this time, do you think? time will show, ben, but i think it is clear that this is an event that is picking up speed at an historic rate. it is different in that sense

from 2009. put it in context, what happened in 2009 was a fight within the regime against the then president mahmoud ahmadinejad. this time, this is not a family feud, it is coming from street level. can the regime containers, given that socioeconomic conditions are what they are? that is key to this, isn't it? because this started out as an economic protest about the government's inability to control rising prices. it has now very clearly turned into a political protest as well. within 24 hours it did so. it started off as a slogan for, as in, you can't keep increasing the prices. slogans

targeting president rouhani, and then within 24 hours, those slogans targeting the entirety of the regime. it is asking if the regime is representative of the average citizen. let me point something out: backin citizen. let me point something out: back in may this year, president rouhani won in a landslide pre—election with 24 million votes, and now, less than six months later, they are chanting death to rouhani. many of the people who voted for this man are now saying, you have betrayed us. i wonder what rouhani is thinking right now. i think, as we heard earlier, it won't be a surprise of the security forces come out and crack down, and that might disburse as it did in 2009. but rouhani, who fancied himself as the next iranians supreme leader, a different kind of leader, the iranian people are speaking loudly

against him, saying he has failed them. what is the alternative model that these demonstrators would like to see in place of president rouhani and clerical rule was back and crucially, would it do anything to improve their current living conditions? —— and clerical rule? and crucially... the average person knows that the revolution comes with risks. they know what is happening in the neighbourhood. they know what happened in egypt, libya and syria, and they are watching places like iraq and afghanistan, where you don't have security, and they don't wa nt don't have security, and they don't want that. at the same time, they are fed up with the islamic republic, now 40 years into its existence, promising change and not delivering. in 1979, the iranians people did not ask for a clerical establishment to rule over them, they wanted a democratic system, fundamentally, and they didn't get

that when they topple the shah. for 40 yea rs, that when they topple the shah. for 40 years, they have been sitting there basically patiently hoping that the clerics would one day get closer to the people and start reflecting what average iranians want, and that's not happening. look at syria and for the iranians are doing in terms of regime activity, exporting their ideology, spending billions of dollars doing so, while forgetting your average man and woman back in iran, and that is what is coming to want them today and this week as we watch it on our tv screens. this week as we watch it on our tv screens. alex, really good to get your thoughts and analysis. thank you. mountain climbers will no longer be able to tackle nepal's mountain peaks so low. the new rules ban double amputees and blind climbers

from attempting the mountain peaks without a valid medical certificate. kenton cool is one of the world's leading high altitude climbers, and has tackled everest 12 times. thank you forjoining us. what did you think when you heard this from the nepalese government? i don't think it is a good thing. mountaineering has a rich heritage of notable firsts from solo climbers. 0ne of notable firsts from solo climbers. one only needs to look at the greats — these are some of the very best climbers of their generations, and they went out and deliberately sought out solo climbs, climbs where they embarked on their own incredibly safely, and they would get up and down these mountains so low. for the ministry of tourism to blanket ban the solo

climbers i think is unreasonable. ulee stec died this year while preparing to climb one of these peaks, and he was very experienced, and yet even he was unable to survive those elements. some may say thatis survive those elements. some may say that is a prime example, a case to be made for tightening up the rules to protect people. yes, you could easily look at that. he was a good friend, but of course, freak accidents will always occur. the ministry perhaps should look at the more inexperienced climbers joining teams and attempting declines such as mount everest. —— attempting

climbs such as. hundreds of climbers will flock to that mountain every season, will flock to that mountain every season, many will flock to that mountain every season, many of whom don't have the depth of experience to legitimately be there. generally, the deaths that we see on the big mountains are inexperienced climbers, whereas solo climbers, more often than not, they are the highly experienced climbers, pushing themselves to the very boundary of what is considered to be human endeavour and endurance, and we don't often see accidents coming in from those climbers. more often than not, it is the more inexperienced climbers, who are often part of a team. we must leave it there, but thank you very much. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come: the arctic blast hating america's

east coast looks likely to continue into the new year, with some of the lowest temperatures seen in decades. this is bbc world news today. i'm ben bland. the latest headlines: police in iran have been in skirmishes with demonstrators in a third day of anti—government protests. demonstrators were on the streets of a number of cities despite warnings from the goverment. a mississippi sheriff says the united states has a "national problem" with how it treats mental health patients in the justice system. greg pollan was speaking after an investigation by the bbc and propublica into the case of tyler haire. haire — who had a long history of mental health problems — was injailfor almost four years without trial while waiting to be assessed. he is now serving a seven—year sentence for stabbing his father's girlfriend. this is his story. we have some good memories of tyler.

he was very loving. but we had problems with tyler when he was probably six months old. he started medication when he was four. he had generalised anxiety, delusional, suffered mood swings. i remember telling him goodbye, and i loved him, and hugging him. and that was the last time that i saw him until he was injail. this call is from a correctional facility. i remember coming out

of the bedroom and giving him a glass of water. that's all i remember about that. nothing else. i received a phone call from the county sheriff's office, and he tells me tyler has stabbed someone with a ten inch butcher knife. all i can keep replaying in my mind was, how, why? tyler haire was ordered at the beginning of this case to have a mental evaluation conducted, and it took four years. the roadblock was that there

was never a bed for him, to put it literally. there was never a time that he worked his way to the top of the list, where he was the next person scheduled to be evaluated. the problem is across the street with our legislature. they don't properly fund that forensic unit, don't provide enough psychiatrists, enough personnel. i think that at some point, some court is going to force us to spend more money, and it'll be a federal court. imagine putting a 16—year—old child that is already mentally disabled into that little cell forfour straight years. i can't even imagine the things that went through his mind. when incarcerated, the seriously mentally ill should be seen by health care professionals, and their needs tended to. that story was a collaboration

between the bbc and propublica. you can watch the full documentary on the bbc news website. just log on to bbc.com/news. people around the world are preparing to mark the arrival of 2018, many city celebrating with open—air concerts, street parties and fireworks, but in europe, after islamist attacks in the last 12 months against civilian targets, particular attention is being paid to public spaces. live music,

wine—tasting, festive decorations and good food — all the vital ingredients in romania for a great party. but the tune in other european capitals as they prepare is so far more sombre. france has seen over 230 people killed in attacks by islamist militants in the last three yea rs. islamist militants in the last three years. the pyrus chief police says his forces prepare for the terrorist threat, which he assessed as high. 0ver threat, which he assessed as high. over 10,000 threat, which he assessed as high. 0ver10,000 police and emergency service workers are to be deployed in the capital, with a large force concentrating on the champs—elysees. large areas of central rome will ban ca rs large areas of central rome will ban cars for parking for 48 hours, and the main two wrist sites will have special protection. celebrations at berlin's brandenburg gate are expected to attract 1 berlin's brandenburg gate are expected to attract1 million partygoers, but the authorities face an additional challenge: two years ago, hundreds of women were robbed

and sexually assaulted new year's eve in cologne and other cities by groups of men, many said to be from migrant backgrounds. this year, berlin police say that women who feel threatened will be able to go toa feel threatened will be able to go to a special security area. translation: it is a red cross point that was always there that is taking on additional duties. if any woman is harassed, they can go to a team of trained psychologist, but it is not a women's own. critics say that large eve nts not a women's own. critics say that large events should be organised so that us. happen in the first place. translation: what is not right is that young women are attacked in public places, especially at celebrations. but that's it. others say that they intend to party regardless. i feel pretty safe,

say that they intend to party regardless. ifeel pretty safe, not scared. i think it is fear that scares people, and i don't think... you can't let that ruin your life. david kemp annihilate, bbc news. —— david kemp annihilate, bbc news. —— david campanali. chelsea were three up afterjust a few minutes. it is now four defeats ina row., few minutes. it is now four defeats in a row., who arejust few minutes. it is now four defeats in a row., who are just two points above the relegation zone. manchester united could have an issue after romalu lukaku was stretchered off with a head injury as they were held to a goalless draw with southampton at old trafford. jose mourinho confirmed that zlatan ibrahimovic will be up on month

through injury. united slipped to third in the table, 14 points behind manchester city, who play on sunday. jose mourinho was disappointed with the referee for not giving a penalty from what he felt was a deliberate handball. we played enough to score goals. of course, we missed easy chances. but i'm really unhappy with the penalty. not with craig's performance overall, but with the penalty. virgilvan dijk performance overall, but with the penalty. virgil van dijk was watching from the stands at anfield after his £75 million transfer from southampton made him the most expensive defender in the world. jamie vardy gave leicester city an early lead, but mohamed salah scored his 16th and 17th goals this season to secure a 2—1win his 16th and 17th goals this season to secure a 2—1 win for his 16th and 17th goals this season to secure a 2—1winforjurgen klopp's side. swa nsea klopp's side. swansea city arm off the bottom of the table after beating watford 2—1

at vicarage road. the new manager has a winning start to his newjob as swansea boss. england's cricketers have avoided an ashes whitewash but a win was just beyond them in melbourne. they have a chance of victory but it was snuffed out by australia captain steve smith. a day in which england will have hoped to complete a dramatic and exciting first victory of this ashes series ended in a somewhat anti—climactic draw because of steve smith the australian captain who scored his third century of this series and he has now scored more than 600 runs in the series. he batted australia through to see out a draw. england had a glimmer of hope when david warner tried to slog joe root‘s bowling. it went up in the error and gave root a wicket on his birthday. england then got rid of shaun marsh thanks to a good

catch from jonny bairstow and had real hope of getting into the australian lower order. the scoring was very slow, the pitch lifeless, and the atmosphere drained out of the mcg. so, there won't be a 5—0 ashes win for australia, as two of the previous three england trips here have seen, but england didn't get that morale boosting win either. we now go to sydney to see if england can get that first series win, and we will all hope it is more exciting than this one. serena williams has returned to tennis for the first time since giving birth to herfirst tennis for the first time since giving birth to her first child. tennis for the first time since giving birth to herfirst child. she showed glimpses of her best form up against the french open champion jelena ostapenko. i was a little worried out there. i looked at my camp andi worried out there. i looked at my camp and i was like, is she ok? but

it's really good. i'm excited and it's really good. i'm excited and it's good to be back on the court. first matches back are always super incredibly hard, especially after having a baby, but it was great, and i was glad i could do it here. great to see her back so soon. that's all the spot for now. not every day you can take photos of a frozen water fountain like this behind me in new york. but across vast parts of the us, forecasters are predicting chilling temperatures over the new year's celebrations, as an arctic blast hits. to show you just how cold it is, these are thresher sharks which have washed up frozen along cape cod, in the us state of massachusetts. thermometers could reach the lowest temperatures in nearly a century over the next few days — and stay there into the first days of 2018. i spoke to michael davies who lives and pennsylvania about how it is affecting things. i am in pittsburgh, but it is in the negative teams or whatever. we have

had an inch or two of snow in the last 24 hours. it's not too bad, it's freezing. and you have taken some pretty iconic photos. tell us about the kayak. that is when we had five feet of snow over the past days since christmas eve. my cousins are from florida, and they got a kayak for christmas, so they took a picture of themselves in their swimming pool, nice weather, bathing suits, sun shining, and so my sister andi suits, sun shining, and so my sister and i said, let's get the kayak and put it in the front yard in the snow and show them the christmas we are having. that is the story behind that. we were in the yard, taking photos and having fun with snow. i'm assuming you don't particularly feel the cold very much cinema we saw the photo enduring a t—shirt. the cold very much cinema we saw the photo enduring a t-shirt. we were going to be in bathing suits, but we

knew it would be too cold for that. we put the kayak out there, got the picture taking, and bared the cold. we're used to it. how prepared for people for this? was at the kind of thing they had seen before and were they anticipating it? they are usually well prepared for the snow with salt trucks, ploughs and so forth. we weren't that prepared for that snow that we had, five feet in the past couple of days, and it is still snowing up there. the city was shut down. snowploughs were getting stuck in the snow. the declaration of emergency pin e—reader. it is still snowing up there. —— in erie. we'll just wait until the still snowing up there. —— in erie. we'lljust wait until the stone stops. that's it, thanks for watching. see you soon. —— until the snow stops. just 12 hours ago, storm dylan

didn't even exist. look at this area of cloud and you can see how things have been developing rapidly in recent hours. this cloud is hooked around a rapidly deepening area of low pressure. because it is on our doorstep, there is uncertainty about how stronger winds will be. regardless, they will bring stormy winds to northern ireland and scotland, where the met office have issued this amber warning to be prepared for strong winds. gusts could reach 80 mph, damaging strength. wet weather is pushing across northern ireland and scotland, with snow in the mountains above 200 metres. a wet and windy night for england and wales, milder further south. strong winds are with us for the morning of new year's eve. the strongest winds are heading

from northern ireland into scotland through the morning. gusts this strong could bring down trees, cause disruption to transport and also bring power cuts. we will have a band of rain across east anglia and south—east england, clearing away through the morning. through the rest of the day, it will be blustery. they have —— the strongest winds will make their way into the north sea. pretty blustery nationwide, dragging in heavy and sometimes thundery showers. there will still be snow in the mountains of scotland, and temperatures will range from 6—12dc. as we count down to midnight, we can see how the showers begin to rattle in on those brisk winds. temperatures at midnight will be 4—7dc, not as cold as recent nights. on new year's day, further rain is likely to move into the south of england, with the potential of localised flooding.

more windy weather pushing into the north—west of the uk. generally, things will turn a little cooler for a time. early next week, strong winds are likely, with heavy rain and big variations in temperature from day—to—day. this is bbc news. the headlines. i wave of anti—government protests is continuing in iran. several demonstrations have turned violent and it is least two people have been shot. nepal has banned solo climbers from scaling its mountains, including mount everest. tourism ministry officials said the had been resigned and revised to make mountaineering safer and reduce accidents. the ritual has been held in new york for the 12 people who died after a fire ripped through an block. police in the bronx apartment block. police in the bronx said the fire appears to have been started by a young boy playing with a still. security is being tightened in several european cities ahead of new year's eve celebrations on

sunday. paris will have 10,000 emergency workers on duty after the city's police chief assessed the threat as high.