this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines. police appeal for information after four young men are stabbed to death in london — in separate new year attacks. tragically draft for families awaiting this morning to the heartbreaking news that they have lost loved ones to the callous use of knives as lethal weapon. a mother and daughter are identified as being among five british tourists killed in a seaplane crash near sydney. iranian state media says 10 people have been killed overnight in anti—regime protests. president trump uses twitter to say it's "time for change". also this hour — m00 vehicles are destroyed in a new year eve's fire in a liverpool car park. one eyewitness said she saw a ‘ball of fire‘ coming from a land rover — before the flames spread to other cars. and i will look back over a landmark yearin and i will look back over a landmark year in the world of business. markets obsessed over brexit, the

first year in office for president trump and big developments for some of the world's most influential companies. that is a year in business. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the metropolitan police has said that four young men have been stabbed to death between yesterday morning and the early hours of today in a series of unrelated attacks. three, aged 17, 18 and 20, were killed yesterday. a fourth, who was 20, died after been stabbed on an estate in the old street area of east london in the early hours of this morning. officers say the murders highlight the scale of knife crime in the capital. there were thousands of police

officers on duty last night across london determined to ensure millions of londoners were able to enjoy the celebrations. and to those millions of londoners i would like to say thank you for your cooperation in having a safe and enjoyable light. tragically there are four families who awake this morning to the heartbreaking news that they've lost loved ones to the callous use of knives as lethal weapons. our detectives are working tirelessly today and going forward to bring those who committed these murderers tojustice. and we have already made a number of arrests. we have seen in recent months and increase in knife crime, we're working hard to tackle that and we have taken more knives off the streets in london and we're bringing offenders to justice. the streets in london and we're bringing offenders tojustice. while the events of the last 2a hours are unusual, we are working tirelessly to ta ke unusual, we are working tirelessly to take lives off the streets of london and stop people committing violence across the capital. with me is pastor lorrainejones — her son dwayne simpson was fatally stabbed in 2014.

she has set up the charity dwaynamics — which helps young people develop life skills through boxing. thank you for being with us today. i guess thank you for being with us today. i gu ess every thank you for being with us today. i guess every time you hear of an incident like this you think back to what happened to your son. incident like this you think back to what happened to your sonm incident like this you think back to what happened to your son. it is a nightmare, it sends tremors down me when i hear of another person being stabbed. being killed is even more traumatic. doing died when he intervened trying to help someone being pursued by a man who turned out to have a knife and turned on him. what do you say to young people about the carrying of knives because young people i have spoken to, young men have said to me we do not carry knives because we want to be assa ila nts knives because we want to be assailants or attack people but because we're frightened we might be attacked ourselves and want to be able to defend ourselves. you're totally right, that is what they say. but the problem we need to

address is the fear, why they're carrying those knives. through a lot of study and interviews, there are psychological effects and emotional and mental effects that young people suffering. always on edge. you're a lwa ys suffering. always on edge. you're always on edge and we have heard, for attacks on just two days. but we need to really keep focus on the positives, which has been put into place and that is with the police, with the community groups, organisations, to stop children being killed on the streets. organisations, to stop children being killed on the streetslj organisations, to stop children being killed on the streets. i was struck with your account of what happened, in an interview with the bbc a while ago and people can search for that using your name and dwayne. you spoke of the poor relationship some people had with the police in communities. how partly the boxing club has helped to turn that around. what is it about

the policing relationship that has been so difficult? well let's be frank about things, when police are trained their being trained how to enforce the law and if you see the kind of crime that is being committed in this day and age, it is horrific, a terrifying job to do. the part where they have been lacking, which they are now addressing and i can boldly say that, it is a community relations aspect. they need to know how to communicate with the community and thatis communicate with the community and that is where the gap had been totally destroyed. but now it is being built. i've spoken to many young officers and officers that have been in the force up to 30 yea rs have been in the force up to 30 years and when you have such a serious responsibility, you could almost lose the human side of you. and through meetings and events, whichjust and through meetings and events, which just hosted a stop and sturridge event where much of the

community came out with the police, and through events like that police can then see the human side of young people, those important conversations so people, those important conversations so that they can build on that. so when they see them in the streets it is not you know, hands up, it is more of a dialogue of communication to do with whatever problem it is. and i suppose it works both ways, for young people to see these guys they see in uniform, that they have wives and families and all the rest of it. well someone else who lost his son in a violent attack said to me a couple of hours ago when he was here that there is still a problem where some people will not give information to the police because of that distrust. and thatis police because of that distrust. and that is why sometimes people talk about knife crime being a black on black crime. is that changing? i would say it has started to change

but we still have a long way to go. a number of community leaders have been part of the consultation with the london mayor in forming the new strategy. and the key parts of a policy whether support to families. these young people, they're coming from families, notjust alone and the root of this is within the family home. there is a lot of support needed within the family home, with the parents and the young people and it is not all down to the social services. so now we are going to address those issues, we have to be fair with the london mayor, the strategy was just launched last year, it is relatively new. and there are things that have been put in place but now we have to work on those things and build that trust. and that is what is happening. the families and the community as to claim their part as well. and encourage young people to give information if they have it and to

stop carrying the weapons. easier said than done. but it is being done and with what we have experienced in just two days, we need to enforce that even more. and enforce that in a positive, in positive light on the law enforcement side because these are young children committing these crimes, they're at a state of tragic emergency mental, emotional breakdown, where they can take a knife and stab another human being. so that is the level of mental state. not something you do when your rational thinking calmly. exactly so we need to take that approach. the metropolitan police commissioner cressida dick when she was appointed she said trying to reduce knife crime in london, and it is not only a london problem but quite acute in london, she said it is her priority. what would you say to her about this? i would say to

her, i've had conversations with her before, with what has taken place over these two days, we really need to keep that momentum, that energy in dealing with the problem. because we do not wanted to get any worse. things which have already been set in stone, which are positive, that does materialise them. it should not ta ke does materialise them. it should not take another child to be killed for us take another child to be killed for us to say yes we need to do this. we need to be on it and there are community leaders like myself, i lost son, so that is why i'm so passionate because i have six other children. we are ready to do the job, supporters and together let's deal this. coming job, supporters and together let's dealthis. coming up to job, supporters and together let's deal this. coming up to the fourth anniversary of dwayne? death, it cannot get any easier. to be honest, everyday is struggle. just last week, i usually have a picture of dwayne in my room and because you

have to go through having to accept that he is gone. but i find, it is in my room but every time i look at that picture it is like a piercing because of how he was taken, he was not ill, he was killed. i've had to remove that picture for my own well—being. it took me three years to do that. i have got a massive picture in the sitting of him, that is going nowhere. butjust trying to let you the process of healing. it isa let you the process of healing. it is a daily struggle. a daily fight. because i have seven other children, i'm in this world, we are a community and we need to deal with the problems at hand. and we all have our part to play. and my part is to secure our young people to be safe. the best possible tribute you could pay to your son, thank you so much. five men have suffered stab wounds in a fight during new year celebrations in a bar in sheffield.

two of the men were left with life—threatening injuries, as mark ansell explains. emergency services were called here to crystal bar in sheffield city centre about 2:20am this morning in the early hours of the new year with pa rtygoers the early hours of the new year with partygoers here celebrating. we know there were reports of an altercation in which several men suffered stab and/ wounds. five men were taken to hospital, two of them suffered life threatening injuries and remain in hospital in a critical but stable condition. the other three men suffered superficial injuries. south yorkshire police today have closed this bad temporarily, you can see behind me the tables are still full of drinks that had not been cleared away because the police have closed this area. they are asking anyone who was here last night and who saw what happened to come forward. air accident investigators in australia say it may be months before they know why a seaplane carrying a prominent british businessman, and four members of his family,

crashed on new year's eve. richard cousins, chief executive of the catering firm compass, died along with his two sons, his fiance, her daughter and the pilot. phil mercer reports. the wreckage of the seaplane lies i3 metres below the surface of the hawkesbury river. one of the victims was the british businessman, richard cousins, the chief executive of the world's largest catering firm, compass, who was due to retire later this year. the company confirmed his death in a statement. mr cousins, who was 58, died alongside his fiancee, emma bowden, and her 11—year—old daughter, heather. also on board the seaplane that crashed intojerusalem bay, william cousins, 25, who worked for open britain — a pro—eu group set up in the aftermath of the brexit vote. colleagues said that they were shocked by news of his death. his brother, edward, who was 23, had recently graduated from the university of st andrews. the pilot, gareth morgan, had done

more than 10,000 flying hours, 9,000 of which were on seaplanes. the pilot had collected mr cousins and members of his family from an exclusive waterfront restaurant and was heading back to rose bay on sydney harbour. shortly after take—off, the plane plummeted into the water. investigators say it quickly sank and there were no survivors. these are people who have come out on holiday to visit australia in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. and for this to happen to them in a place like that is nothing more than just tragic. it could take months to work out how and why a routine sightseeing trip could end in utter disaster. air crash investigators have begun their work. their task won't be easy. the wreckage of the seaplane has been submerged in more than a0 feet of water. and although these idyllic bays and inlets are geographically close

to sydney, the crash site is tucked away and hard to get to. sydney seaplanes, which owns the aircraft, has suspended all its flights until further notice. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. the labour mp and former shadow business secretary chuka umunna worked alongside will cousins at the open britain campaign group and paid tribute to his colleague. it's absolutely devastating. i cannot compute this happening. it's an utter tragedy for the family. will, i knew him best, he was an incredible young guy, starting off in his life, just 25. he was so passionate and so energetic and so utterly dedicated to the pro—european cause in this country. we really have lost one of our very

best and one of the last conversations i had with his father a few weeks ago, i was telling him how important will was to 0pen britain as an organisation. he was telling me how proud he was of his son. and forwill, richard, compass, the whole family, his fiancee, to lose their lives in this way, it is just horrific. they will be really sorely missed. you can't compute this. it is too awful to compute. a fire has destroyed many hundreds

of cars in liverpool. danny savage has more. it was soon a huge blaze. merseyside fire and rescue say it's one of the worst they've ever dealt with. all the car owners could do was watch and accept they would never see their vehicles again. i've got a vehicle in there, yes. i'm unsure at the moment when it's going to be. we can't get anywhere near it. do you hold out much hope for your car? looking at the flames, no. nearby flats and a hotel were evacuated too as the alarming sight of the massive fire attracted lots of onlookers. the fire's still going on.

i canjust see black smoke everywhere. the car park is attached to the liverpool arena, where an international horse show was taking place. all the animals were quickly led to safety. this morning, the blackened building was surrounded by fire engines as experts assessed the site. the concern is that the car park may collapse. this spectacular fire certainly caused a huge amount of damage. the insurance bill for the cars alone will be several million pounds. the good fortune was that no one was hurt. danny savage, bbc news, liverpool. the headlines on bbc news. police appeal for information after four men are stabbed the headlines on bbc news. to death in london — in separate new year attacks. the six victims of a seaplane crash

near sydney are identified — among them the british boss of one of the world's largest catering companies. a huge blaze at a liverpool car park destroys around iii—hundred vehicles — stranding hundreds in the city centre overnight. sport now and a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. we begin with a new year's day football matches up and down the country... five of today's games come from the premier league, and 4th placed liverpool earned a dramatic 2—1 win hotly contested match against burnley at turf moor. johann berg gudmunsson headed in an 88th minute equaliser after forward sadio mane crashed in a superb opener for liverpool. only for defender ragnar klavan to bundle in a 94th minute winner forjurgen klopp's team. they now stay fourth. the character

of the boys is fantastic. you have to use that all the time. the boys showed that tonight. it was a cold, rainy and windy afternoon. the pressure will increase on stoke city manager mark hughes after their i—nil defeat at home to newcastle united. ayoze perez got the winner in the second half for rafa benitez‘s side. hughes though, won't quite believe stoke failed to score after a number of missed chances and a superb goalkeeping performance from newcastle's karl darlow. we were working hard, you could see that the team spirit for them was also there. sometimes you have m ista kes also there. sometimes you have mistakes but they were working very ha rd mistakes but they were working very hard and it is always a pity when you lose a game like that. for us it was good, for them it was bad but

both teams were giving everything. leicester have beaten huddersfield three—nil at the king power. all the goals came in the second half — riyad mahrez scored the first before setting up islam slimani for the second, marc albrighton then adding the third in injury time. leicester stay 8th. the first game of the day was an entertaining derby which ended in a 2—all draw between brighton and bournemouth. it was watched by maz farookhi. waiting in the new year on the south coast. for many 2018 offers a clean slate. for these sides their resolutions are as they wear, premier league survival. but after festive workload players were feeling the strain. anthony lockhart had to receive treatment in the warm up had to receive treatment in the warm up and minutes later finished sharply. brighton had a great start, bournemouth equaliser against the

run of play but partially finished by steve cook. still the home side continued to dominate. they start the second half as they did the first, glenn murray this time on the end of the path. brighton ahead again. the win should have been secured by izquierdo 20 seconds from time. bournemouth hope to salvage something but it was such an entertaining game and a shame that the final note was ugly. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website and we'll have more for you in sportsday at half past six. more protesters have been killed in anti—government demonstrations in iran. state—run media says ten people have died in protests in the last week. president rouhani says people have the right to protest, but violence is unacceptable. rana rahimpourfrom the bbc‘s persian service has been telling us that the circumstances surrounding

the deaths remain unclear. reports are almost impossible to verify because the internet is shut down. people say it takes half an hour to write a tweet so we haven't really received any footage and anything confirms almost impossible. state television said about ten people have been killed overnight, they say they were rioters and some of them were armed but it's impossible to find out. but protesters say they have been killed by government forces. i suppose the evidence that these are serious protests is the fact president rouhani was drawn to make these very clear comments that yes you have a right to protest but no you don't have a right to be involved in violence, which sort of implies they are about to take action of some kind to try and bring these protests to order. yes, and that's why he's given two speeches in the last 2a hours, clearly they feel there is serious tension.

on top of that i think he acknowledges why people are so angry. we are talking about high unemployment. in some cities, 60% of people are unemployed. he acknowledges the fact that corruption is very serious among the political elite. inflation has been very high. but he also spoke of possible interference in iran's regional allies and that's what he's been warning the protest is about. so essentially saying to them you are being used by outside forces who are hostile to our country. but what about the suggestions that these protests may have been started by hardliners opposed to president rouhani, and then got out of control with people with other motives about the sort of things you are talking about, high unemployment, using it as an opportunity to go public with their concerns about the way the country is run.

it seems credible because many politicians have commented about how it started and it looks like they are aware of some internal rivals of president rouhani who were defeated in the recent presidential election and asked supporters to get out on the street and protest against inflation and basically president rouhani's policies. but i think they miscalculated the level of frustration among many people, especially people in the more deprived areas that we have been seeing. many cities in the south of the country and the west of the country, they are very young. educated, but they don't have jobs. the youth unemployment rate was 28.8% last year, that's an incredibly high figure. it is, and the interior minister says in some cities it goes up to 60%, which is astonishing. on top of that there have been small scattered protests in recent

months against the banks, many investment banks have been shut down because they were also bankrupt and people have lost their life savings. so there has been this thing going on, boiling underneath the surface. i think as soon as they found a chance, it erupted. from sydney to hong kong — london to new york — cities across the world have been ringing in 2018 with spectacular firework displays. one of the biggest new year's parties was on the banks of the river thames, where caroline davies' report begins. bell chimes. even big ben couldn't miss this party. despite being under repair, it rang, marking the start of 2018 in london along with 12,000 fireworks. this year's soundtrack was dominated by female artists. 2018 is 100 years since women

first got the vote. celebrations are planned. just one thing the year has in store. the best year ever. we're going to get our careers. we're going to get into university. get into university! it's going to be good. in scotland, storm dylan had brought winds of up to 70 mph but it wasn't enough to dampen spirits for hogmanay in edinburgh. in sydney, the harbour bridge lit up in rainbow colours, a tribute to the year australia voted to legalise same—sex marriage. around the world, cities celebrated the start of 2018. hong kong erupted. athens glowed. and moscow sparkled. in new york, thousands watched in times square as the new year's eve ball dropped. in rio, more than 2 million people gathered on copacabana beach, welcoming in 2018 with high hopes

of a bright year to come. caroline davies, bbc news. darren bett has the weather. the first week of the new year looks like being very unsettled. windy with some gales at times and spells of rain. and when the rain comes along it could be heavy. we had some rain today. we did see some improvement further west across hampshire and many of us become dry overnight. but at the moment we still have heavy showers driving south. later on they tend to fade away and the wind will ease as well. soa

away and the wind will ease as well. so a bit colder tonight. frost likely in scotland, some patchy frost elsewhere in rural areas but quickly tomorrow morning, the weather changing again, rain arriving from the atlantic so wet start across northern ireland. some frost early on in the north—east of scotland. wetter weather driving over the irish sea. quite a cold start. the wet weather soon arriving in wales and the south—west of england. the rain will work eased through the morning. not lasting for too long. briefly some snow over the pennines and the hills in scotland. and becoming a little milder through the afternoon. still some gusty wind ahead of some rain arriving in northern ireland later in the day. the rain coming on this deepening

area of low pressure. uncertainties about the exact track but at the moment gusts of up to 70 miles an hour likely across southern scotland, northern ireland and northern england overnight. we're left with some widespread gales across left with some widespread gales a cross m ost left with some widespread gales across most of england and wales on wednesday. bright sunny intervals and sharers in the west. —— showers. temperatures still not bad for the time of year. the unsettled theme continues. we could see the wind eventually easing down by thursday morning but another area low pressure is to arrive bringing war wind and rain to the south—west. this is bbc news — our latest headlines: police appeal for information after four young men are stabbed to death in london — in separate attacks over new year.