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 forfamilies tragically for families are waking this morning to the heartbreaking news that they have lost loved ones to the callous use of knives as lethal weapons. tributes are paid to a british family of five killed in a seaplane crash in sydney. the youngest victim was 11 years old. in iran, there are reports of another night of anti—government protests breaking out in at least five cities. also this hour — up to 1600 vehicles are destroyed in a fire in a liverpool car park on new year's eve. one eyewitness said she saw a ‘ball of fire‘ coming from a land rover — before the flames spread to other cars. good evening and welcome to bbc news.

some breaking news coming in from reuters, from iran. and quoting the state broadcaster saying that a protester fired shots at police killing one of them and wounding three officers. a police spokesman talking to the state broadcaster reported by reuters so serious incident if this has been accurately reported in the ongoing iranians protest. state media also said today ten people have died over the past week in protests that on thursday and which are spread to a number of cities around iran. reports that police in teheran had used water cannon to disperse demonstrators. some of those demonstrators have been calling for ayatollah khomeini,

the supreme leader of iran, to step down. others complaining about corruption and high unemployment, up to 60% in some cities as we heard earlier. but if correctly reported this is the most serious incident we have heard about, an iranian protester has fired shots reportedly at police officers killing one of them and wounding three. more details of course if we get them. 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. our correspondentjon ironmonger sent this update from west ham in east london. yes, four fatal stabbings of young men right across london in the space ofjust 15 hours. i am at the scene in west ham where a 20—year—old man

was found with stab wounds. there is a tentjust beyond the railings behind me which indicates where he fell. and i have spoken to a young student nurse who lives in the area. she was alerted by residents to give cpr to the man. she said she found him with a blanket covering him, which she removed to discover three stab wounds, one of which she thinks had punctured his heart. there was a great deal of blood and sadly she said she couldn't do anything to save him. an air ambulance was also called and they pronounced the man dead at the scene. this incident was preceded by another attack in north london in enfield, it happened mid—morning at half past 11. an 18—year—old man was stabbed apparently inside a block of flats. and then that night at half past ten 17—year—old man was fatally stabbed in norwood road in tulse hill. and finally a 20—year—old man was fatally stabbed in old street, near central london. this was reportedly after a fight

broke out in the courtyard of a council estate, in an area that is likely to have been very busy with partygoers at the time. a second man who is also in his 20s was taken to hospital and is suffering from critical injuries. london is in the midst of a knife crime epidemic. latest figures released in october suggest that the number of incidents of knife crime have increased by around 50% over the past 12 months and in fact the metropolitan police specifically launched a crackdown on knife crime in november. over the space of two months they recovered 278 knives and a similar number of arrests were made. so clearly a spate of fatal stabbings of such a short period of time will be of deep concern to the police and of course londoners. earlier i spoke to pastor lorraine jones whose son dwayne simpson was fatally stabbed in 2014. she explained to me why last night stabbings sent a chill down her spine. being killed is even more traumatic.

dwayne 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 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 are suffering. always on edge. you're always on edge and we have heard, four 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. 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‘s name. 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 they're 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 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 years and when you have such a serious responsibility, you could almost lose the human side of you. and through meetings and events, we just hosted a stop and search 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 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 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 that policy were 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 has 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 you're 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 want it to get any worse. things which have already been set in stone, which are positive, lets materialise them.

it should not 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 my son, so that is why i'm so passionate because i have six other children. we are ready to do the job, support us and together let's deal this. coming up to the fourth anniversary of dwayne‘s death, it cannot get any easier. to be honest, every day is a 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 room, that is going nowhere. butjust trying to 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. five men have suffered stab wounds in a fight during new year celebrations in a bar in sheffield. police were called to crystal bar in carver street this morning following the altercation. two of the men were left with life—threatening injuries, 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 13 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 headlines on bbc news. a british family of five who died in a seaplane crash near sydney are identified — among them the boss of one of the world's largest catering companies. police appeal for information after four men are stabbed to death in london — in separate new year attacks. a huge blaze at a liverpool car park destroys around iii—hundred vehicles — stranding hundreds in the city centre overnight. liverpool earned a 2— nil win over

burnley today. sadio mane had crashed in a superb opener. there is no doubt about the character. the character of the boys is fantastic. you have to use your character all the time. the boys really showed tonight. obviously it was cold and rainy and windy. the pressure will

increase on the stoke city manager mark hughes after their defeat at home to newcastle united. paris took the winner in the second half. stoke city drop to 16th, two points above the relegation zone. the key is eve ryo ne the relegation zone. the key is everyone sticks together and we get on with it. no good feeling sorry for ourselves and looking to blame people. we just need to take it on board and take responsibility for what you're doing. and just get on with it. you're confident you can do it? who else is going to do it. in terms of the knowledge of this group, the time i've been here, i'm best place to do that. we just need to be allowed to get on with their job. and we go again. the opening game of the day was an entertaining derby and ended 2—2 between brighton

and bournemouth. waving in the new year on the south coast. for many 2018 offers a clean slate. but for these sides their resolutions are as they wear, premier league survival. but after a festive workload the players are beginning to feel the strain. and the knock—on had to receive treatment in the warm up but proved later that his finishing was sharp. bright and proved later that his finishing was sharp. brightand had proved later that his finishing was sharp. bright and had a great start, bournemouth equalised half an hour in against the run of play from steve cook. but still the home side continued to dominate starting the second half as they did the first. this time glenn murray on the end of the powers from izquierdo. brighton ahead again. the winner should have been secured by izquierdo, but he did not finish. bournemouth hope to salvage something but for such an

entertaining game it was a shame that the final mode was ugly. ping—pong football in the box. elsewhere leicester city beat huddersfield 3— nil to end a run of back—to—back defeats. in the tea—time kick—off currently goalless between manchester united and everton at goodison park at half time. in the championship queens park rangers came from behind to beat cardiff city 2—1. that gave milbourne nick and his team a fourth straight defeat. elsewhere bolton moved out of the relegation zone with a win over hull city. and tony pulis got his first win as boro boss. a couple of big matches in the pro 1a rugby union today. leinster

strengthened their hold with a narrow win. two tries from mal scanlon help to give munster lead over ulster. and that is all the sport for now. more on all those stories on the bbc website and we will be back with more in the next hour. more protesters have been killed in anti—government demonstrations in iran. a police spokesman said today on state television that a protester has killed one policeman and injured three. president rouhani says people have the right to protest, but violence is unacceptable. rana rahimpourfrom the bbc‘s persian service is here. reuters has quoted intelligence

officials say at least one police officer has been shot dead in the centre of the country. we are trying to get more details about what has exactly happened. but it is difficult because the online connection is slow and we have received a very few videos of the protest. but as night fell we heard protesters had been out again and in tehran we received footage from a city close to the capital and there we can hear shots being fired at protesters. and so far we know at least 12 people have been killed in the last five days. well protests have happened before in iran without leading to any dramatic change but 110w leading to any dramatic change but now a police officer has died and that could be the chance for the authorities to crack down. so far

they have been cautious, earlier today a revolutionary guard commander said, try to downplay the importance of these protests saying they had not been significant enough for the revolutionary guard to get involved. so it seems they are being cautious, they do not want to violently cracked down on these protests because it is a very dangerous and volatile situation. and if it turns into chaos as president rouhani warned, foreign players may decide to get involved as well and that is the last thing they want. thank you very much for that update. the leader of north korea, kimjong un, has warned the united states that he has a nuclear button on his desk, ready for use, if his country feels threatened. the comments came during a televised new year's day speech in which he said he wanted to lower military tensions with neighbouring south korea — from where our correspondent sophie long reports. aidan foster carter, a research

fellow at leeds university is here. how much of an olive branch does this represent being offered out to south korea? on the surface it is a huge change, it is the u—turn in the position of kim jong huge change, it is the u—turn in the position of kimjong un huge change, it is the u—turn in the position of kim jong un towards the south. it had puzzled me, south korea for the past seven months has had a left leaning government. the previous president was forced from office and is now injail. some viewers will remember at the sunshine policy when the north and south got along better. and he has been keen is a veteran of that to have some form of engagement. up until now kim jong—un

have some form of engagement. up until now kimjong—un had completely cold shouldered his south korean counterpart. north korea controls the agenda completely. is itjust a case of divide and rule, that he just wants to damage the relationship between south korea and the united states? i fear that could be right, cynical as it may sound. i thought he was missing a trick not doing this because this is what his father was very adept at during the sunshine era. whatever you think of that and in general i was in favour of that. but clearly any government in washington would not want south korea to go too far and now there will be big dynamic setting for the south korean government. huge relief from south korea that the olympics can now go ahead peaceably. but with the nuclear and missile programme

still recover the trent... and that reference to having the button on the desk, just more kind of average or call response between him and president trump? my button is bigger than your button, that sort of thing? perhaps. one thing we should not misunderstand, the rhetoric from both sides, from john yang and washington, has often been very extreme. but north korea, it is carefully calculated. i wish i could say the same about president trump and his tweets. they have completed the nuclear force, and and his tweets. they have completed the nuclearforce, and saying and his tweets. they have completed the nuclear force, and saying that, maybe we will get fewer of these tests now and there could be an opening for diplomacy. thank you

very much forjoining us and a happy new year to you. a huge fire has destroyed up to 11100 vehicles in a multi—storey car park in liverpool. the fire at king's dock, next to liverpool's echo arena, is said to have started accidentally in one car and spread to others. many people were forced into temporary accommodation as nearby buildings were evacuated. danny savage reports. it was shortly after dark yesterday evening when fire took hold in the multistorey car park on liverpool's famous waterfront. it is understood a small fire in one car spread rapidly, destroying vehicles and then moving on to all levels of the car park. 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. well in just

well injust a well in just a couple of minutes with the national and international news. that is after the weather forecast. we have some lively weather waiting for us in the week ahead with some pretty intense spells of rain to come. overnight tonight a little bit of a lull in proceedings, the wind falling and any showers tending to clear. and actually quite chilly overnight. but the fine weather will be short lived, largely dry to start but by rush—hour already rain into northern ireland and moving across scotla nd northern ireland and moving across scotland and the north of england, wintry for a time. brighter skies following on behind and quite mild

for a time to the south. this quiet speu for a time to the south. this quiet spell is short lived, low pressure set to sweep right across the uk bringing in stormy conditions tuesday night into wednesday. one of britain's most successful businessmen, killed with his family in a seaplane crash in australia. the plane plunged into a river near sydney — richard cousins, his two sons, his fiance, her daughter and the pilot were on board. his fiance, her daughter 11100 cars destroyed after a ferocious fire ripped through a multi—storey car park in liverpool. police are investigating the overnight deaths of four young men in unrelated knife attacks across london. deal with your own rubbish — china's message to britain as it stops recycling imported plastic waste. good evening.

air accident investigators in australia say it may take months before they know why a seaplane carrying a prominent british businessman and his family crashed on new year's eve. richard cousins — who ran a multi—billion pound catering company — was killed along with his two sons, his fiance, her daughter and the pilot. they were on holiday and returning to sydney after a family outing. phil mercer reports from sydney. to sydney after a family outing. the wreckage of the seaplane lies 13 metres below the surface of the hawkesbury river. metres below the surface one of the victims was the british businessmen 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, who was 25, worked for open britain, a pro—eu group set up in the aftermath of the brexit vote. colleagues said they were shocked by news of his death. brother—in—law as well, has left a huge hole. they had a lot of friends. has left a huge hole. they had... has left a huge hole. they were very, very popular lads. has left a huge hole. and that's because they've had a fantastic upbringing, from both my sister and richard. a fantastic upbringing, the pilot, gareth morgan, had done more than 10,000 flying hours, 9,000 of which were on seaplanes. more than 10,000 flying hours, 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. restaurant, and was heading back

shortly after take—off, the plane plummeted into the water. investigators say it quickly sank, and there were no survivors. this is people that have come over on holidays to visit australia. they were in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. and for this to happen to them at a place like that is nothing more than just tragic. at a place like that is nothing it could take months to work out how and why a routine sightseeing trip would end in utter disaster. and why a routine sightseeing trip air crash investigators have begun their work. their task won't be easy. have begun their work. the wreckage of the seaplane has been submerged in more than 40ft of water. been submerged in more 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. until further notice. four young men have been stabbed to death in london

in a 2k hour period either side of the new year celebrations. three men, aged 17, 18 and 20, were killed yesterday. a fourth victim, another 20—year—old, died after being stabbed in the early hours of this morning. police say the deaths are unrelated. hours of this morning. ben ando reports. hours of this morning. late morning, enfield, north london. hours of this morning. the victim, aged 18. hours of this morning. early evening, west ham, the victim, 20 years old. three hours later, tulse hill, south london, a teenager of 17. and then in the early hours of new year's day, a 20—year—old man killed in old street. all four, stabbed to death, but according to the police, none of the murders are linked. but according to the police, tragically, there are four families who awoke 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've committed these murderers to justice. the

these murderers tojustice. three murders before r take the total number of fatal the three murders before midnight take the total number of fatal stabbings in london for 2017 to 80. take the total number of fatal that compares with 60 in 2016. take the total number of fatal police say the reasons for the increase are complex, but it underlines the importance of stop—and—search. in november, a campaign to convince teenagers not to carry knives was launched. teenagers not to carry london needs me alive... teenagers not to carry one campaigner who lost a son to knife crime says youngsters need more help to make the right choice. to knife crime says youngsters need so i don't carry a knife... to knife crime says youngsters need they are living in total fear. to knife crime says youngsters need they weren't born killers. to knife crime says youngsters need they didn'tjust become like that. to knife crime says youngsters need it's a process. to knife crime says youngsters need and now, what we've got to do is unravel that process, stage by stage by stage, to get to the core of the individual, which is the state of their heart and the state

of their mindset. of their heart and the state as work goes on at the scene of the first knife killing of 2018, the question is, will is worrying trend continue? ben ando, bbc news, south london. will is worrying trend continue? police investigating the death of a woman who was killed in a north london park over christmas, have arrested a 31 year old man on suspicion of murder. christmas, have arrested a 31 year the body of iuliana tudos — who was 22 and of russian and greek origin — was discovered in finsbury park last wednesday. was discovered in finsbury police say she died of a stab wound to the abdomen and a head injury. eye witnesses have been describing a huge fire which destroyed up to 1,400 vehicles in a multi—storey car park in liverpool. in a multi—storey car the blaze at king's dock, next to liverpool's echo arena, is said to have spread after one vehicle caught fire yesterday afternoon. vehicle caught fire firefighters worked through the night and many people were forced into temporary accommodation as nearby buildings were evacuated. accommodation as nearby danny savage has the story. accommodation as nearby it was shortly after dark yesterday

evening when fire took hold on the multistorey car park on liverpool's famous waterfront. the fire service says a small fire in a land rover spread rapidly. this is a photo taken of it at the time. as the blaze spread, cars could be heard exploding. the car park is next to the liverpool arena, where an international horse show was taking place. those attending helped get the horses to safety. ijust took it upon myself. the horses to safety. isaid, right, ok, everyone, listen to me, we are going to bridle up the horses and we are going to get them out. i want you to all leave calmly now, use this exit or use the tunnel. it was soon a huge blaze. use this exit or use the tunnel. merseyside fire and rescue say it is one of the worst they'e ever dealt with. it is one of the worst this was a challenging incident. it is one of the worst let's be, let's be under no illusions about that. the crews worked very hard indeed

to prevent the spread of this fire. the fire burned for much of the night. all the car owners could do was watch and accept they would never see their vehicles again. was watch and accept they would i've got a vehicle in there, yeah, so i'm unsure at the moment where it's going to be. so i'm unsure at the moment we can't get anywhere near it. so i'm unsure at the moment are you holding out much hope for your car? looking at the flames, no. much hope for your car? chuckles much hope for your car? this morning the blackened building was surrounded by fire engines. it's likely it will have to be demolished. in the remains of this multistorey car park there are many hundreds of cars which have been totally destroyed. but we understand that right on the rooftop level are some cars which are almost untouched. on the rooftop level are some cars and after the fire had been put out this morning and after the fire had been put out this morning after many hours, some dogs, which had been left in those cars were safely rescued and reunited with their owners.

in those cars were safely rescued as the dogs were handed back to their owners there was a hug of gratitude for the firefighters. to their owners there was a hug the insurance bill will run to millions of pounds but thankfully no one was hurt. to millions of pounds danny savage, bbc news, liverpool. to millions of pounds in iran, another ten people have been killed overnight in anti—government protests — that's according to state tv. these are the latest deaths after days of country—wide unrest which began as a protest against the falling standard of living. against the falling but now some of the anger has been directed at the all—powerful islamic clerics who rule the country. directed at the all—powerful islamic rana rahimpour reports. directed at the all—powerful islamic on and on. once again, thousands of people have taken to the streets. they are angry at unemployment, rising prices, and what many think is widespread corruption. it's the boldest challenge to the country's leadership in nearly a decade. the demonstrations began in the north—western city, a key base for

president rohani's most outspoken critics. and has quickly turned into a widespread antiestablishment movement. this is the biggest show of dissent in iran since the post—election rallies of 2009. they we re post—election rallies of 2009. they were large in size but limited to urban areas of the country like the capital, terence. this time the protests are more widespread with towns and cities all over the country looking for social, political, and economic change. —— the capital, tehran. authorities are continuing to suspend social media platforms out of fear they will be used to organise more protests. the bbc has received reports of text messages, like this one, being sent to people urging them not to take part. a handful of pro—government marchers are attempting to counter the wider demonstrations, but with limited information coming out of the country it's difficult to gauge how many people are involved. in the last 2a hours, president rohani has spoken out twice against the

protests. accusing iran's enemies of instigating the armrest. translation: our victory against the us and its regime is unbearable for our enemies. our us and its regime is unbearable for our enemies. oui’ success us and its regime is unbearable for our enemies. our success in the region is intolerable for them. they are after revenge and are trying to provoke people. but his words have failed to calm the situation. in certain areas of the country unemployment is as high as 60%, and reports of extreme corruption have iranians frustrated and hungry for change. at least 12 people have died since the protests began. and with no sign of stopping that number looks set to rise. rana rahimpour, bbc news. the leader of north korea, kim jong—un, has warned the united states that he has a nuclear button on his desk, ready for use, if his country feels threatened. but his televised new year's day speech also seemed to open up the possibility of better relations with neighbouring south korea — from where our correspondent

sophie long reports. just after the first sun of 2018 rose over the korean peninsula, kim jong—un delivered his new year's address live on state—run television, with an unsurprisingly defiant message for the united states. unsurprisingly defiant message translation: the entire united states is within range of our nuclear weapons — and the nuclear button is always on my desk. and the nuclear button this is reality, not a threat. and the nuclear button perhaps more surprising was the olive branch he appeared to offer his neighbour, south korea. he said he hoped the winter olympics they're about to host would be a success. they're about to host and said he was considering sending a delegation to the games. that comes as music to the ears of violinist won hyung joon. for ten years, he's tried and failed to organise a peace concert with these young south koreans playing together with north korean musicians. playing together with he now hopes to make that happen

at the pyeongchang opening ceremony. we have hope that the olympics is coming, and everyone is coming, and it's beyond, you know, political difficulties. so, i really wish north korea will come, and especially with musicians, and we'll be able to play together. come, and especially with musicians, the south korean government has welcome to the appeal for dialogue, saying it, too, is willing to engage. after a year of nuclear tests and missile launches, young people living in seoul welcomed the new year, writing down their wishes with hope that tensions might now reduce, if only in the very immediate future. i feel optimistic, i think everything is attitude, and if we go in here with the right attitude, the right approach, i think we can solve the situation. attitude, the right approach, as a citizen of this country, that's all i can really wish for. it is obvious to anyone in the world that we are in a very tense situation right now. that we are in a very tense and i think that means we have hope for the future.

sophie long, bbc news, seoul. hope for the future. now, if you've been bagging up all that excess plastic packaging from your christmas presents, have you thought where it ends up? each year, a quarter of our plastic waste is shipped to china in vast quantities. of our plastic waste is shipped but from today, china will not allow the import of what it calls "hazardous foreign waste" — that's likely to have a big impact here. that's likely to have in the first of a series of reports on how we deal with plastic waste, robin brant reports from shanghai. on how we deal with plastic waste, tono has been recycling for decades. —— china has been. he has made a living out of bashing, breaking up, and disassembling. he's been doing it for five years. it's hard work he tells me. tiring. but he's not a

green warrior. he does it because there is money in it. china needs there is money in it. china needs the raw materials, so much so that chinese workers have been sorting through dual waste shipped in from abroad. but the government is stopping that. —— your waste. china has long been the destination of much of the world's waste. it has imported 7.3 million tonnes of plastic alone in 2016. the uk sends 1200 tonnes of it to china every day. most of that is ending, and here is why. china has become a much richer but much dirtier country. it is blighted now by home—made pollution and contamination on a vast scale. the government claims some foreign waste is dangerous and the last thing this country needs is even more of that. translation: china is putting the onus back on all of the waste

exporting countries. you need to show the responsibility of disposing your own waste and your own