this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at 9: campaigners warn commuters are being priced out of work with the biggest rise in rail fares for five years. railway officials say more money has to be spent on infrastructure. we have had decades of underinvestment and we are beginning to address it and we are beginning to address it and we are making real improvements but we need the money to make those improvements. nine people die overnight in iran during clashes between police and anti—government protestors. the president dismisses the unrest as nothing. health officials say children should be limited to two low—calorie snacks a day in a bid to reduce tooth decay and childhood obesity. leading hollywood actresses come together to launch a project to fight sexual harassment in the film industry and other workplaces. coming up in half an hour, join us

for weather world. none of this is real. plus a look back at the year's biggest weather stories and storms. good morning and welcome to bbc news. the biggest increase in railfares in five years has come into force, prompting protests at several stations as many commuters return to work after the christmas break. in some cases, travellers will find themselves paying more than £100 extra a year. campaigners warn the rise is pricing ordinary people off the railways. the government says it's investing more in faster, more reliable trains. here's our transport correspondent, richard westcott. hi, there. can i see your tickets, please?

another new year, another fare rise. regulated season tickets go up 3.6% this year. it will add just shy of £150 to the price for commuters coming into london on the strick—riddled line from hove in east sussex. nearly £100 to a yearly ticket from liverpool to manchester. and commuters going into birmingham from gloucester must find £140 more this year. many now pay between £3,000—5,000 to get to work, with the most pricey tickets in the south of england. the government says it's spending record amounts on improving the network, with more seats being provided on newer trains and more reliable electrified lines. but campaigners argue that ordinary people are being priced off our trains, with the latest figures showing a drop in the number ofjourneys

made using a season ticket. i think this fare rise really throws the spotlight on value for money. passengers want to see a more reliable train service, they want to have a better chance of getting a seat and better information during disruption. and train companies can take sting out of this by offering direct debit payments for annual season tickets and just helping the passengers pay for this big lump sum. they say that fares have been outstripping wages for years and are calling for a price freeze. let us go to the general secretary at the rmt union, mick cash, at king's cross station. we can see from the placards behind you, the rmt says, cut fares, but the government say they need the money for the biggest modernisation of the ra i lwa ys for the biggest modernisation of the railways since victorian times. well, the government are hiding the fa ct well, the government are hiding the fact that in our privatised rail network it is very expensive and the fa re payers

network it is very expensive and the fare payers and taxpayers are paying for privatisation and we did not have such a fragmented privatised rail network, spending hundreds of millions of pounds going to the private sector shareholders who just pocketed it, we could be using the money to reinvest in the rail network and actually keep fares low 01’ network and actually keep fares low or cut them. they are saying... i hear what you say about privatisation, but that is the system we have, and they say they need modernisation like the crossrail project, the new thameslink rail service, and so on. the point we are making is you can have both, you do not have to have a situation where passengers have to keep increasingly seeing fare increases because it is the rail privatisation that is one of the most expensive fare systems in europe and the system that is very expensive indeed, you could save £1 billion a year without privatisation. that money could be reinvested into more trains, better

facilities, and keep fares down or cut them, that is the point we are making, the system is creating the increases we are seeing today. some people might say, the railways are not always that reliable, but part of the reason a strike action by your union, could you say to commuters and rail passengers that in 2018 there will be a little less disruption on the railways? we do not want disruption, we do not want to be ina not want disruption, we do not want to be in a situation where we are taking strike action. but we are running a campaign at the moment where they will cut the guards of the trains because they want to put profit before safety. we want a safe network, profitable network, with safety at its heart, or we have a situation where they cut costs and get rid of the guards. the choices there. the private operators want to make the money, pay shareholders, and the people who pay for that the taxpayer, the fare payers and our members whosejobs

taxpayer, the fare payers and our members whose jobs are under threat. the price rises we have got on tickets, an average of 3.4% across the uk, the department for transport says they are capped in line with inflation. yeah, but the point is, people's wages are not going up at the same rate as fare rises. some people are getting priced off the ra i lwa ys people are getting priced off the railways because particularly if you are railways because particularly if you a re low railways because particularly if you are low paid, 20% of your income will be spent on fare rises and it is not good enough. there is an alternative, renationalising the railways, use the money saved from that, either reinvested back into the rail industry and better investment or cut fares or reduce them. there are alternatives and this government for some reason will not see it and allow the alternative to happen. are you saying there should be no railfare rises at all today? i am saying there is an

opportunity, if you wanted to, to turn around and get rid of privatisation and use the money from that... you have told us that already. i am asking you, are you saying there should be no price rises at all on rail ticket prices? at the end of the day, i am trying to say the system we have got is very expensive, costing people and armando leg in some cases, and there is an alternative, to ensure we have a nationalised rail system —— an arm and a leg. that is not going to happen unless there is a change of government, is it? that is not going to happen under this government. government, is it? that is not going to happen under this governmentm can happen if they wanted it to. at the moment you have a situation where the rail franchises, the moment you have a situation where the railfranchises, they the moment you have a situation where the rail franchises, they want to keep giving them more money, they could take the franchise is back,

east coast, an example of that, and use the money to be reinvested or keep fares low or cut them. thank you for being with us, general secretary of the rmt rail union. thank you. the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, has called for a meaningful debate in iran where more than 20 people have been killed in protests since thursday. demonstrators, who are angry about living standards, attacked police stations late into the night as they took to the streets in a number of cities. jon donnison reports. iran has not seen anything like this in almost a decade. the country's leadership under fire in the biggest protests since 2009. people are angry about high unemployment, rising prices and corruption. police stations have been attacked. authorities say one policeman was shot dead on monday in najafabad. three other officers were injured. at least 13 people have been killed

since the unrest broke out last thursday. the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, has called on the iranian authorities to permit debate about what he called the legitimate and important issues raised by protesters. in recent days, the country's elected president, hasan rouhani, has sought to downplay the protests and their significance saying they were instigated via iran's enemies. translation: our victories against the us and the zionist regime are unbearable for our enemies. our success in the region is intolerable for them. they are out for revenge and trying to provoke people. so far, his words have done little to stem the protest. there have been large counterdemonstrations organised in support of the country's leadership. but as the protests enter a sixth day, the message from many iranians is that they want change.

john donnison, bbc news. with me is bbc persian service's rana rahimpour. let us get the latest. the protest seem very widespread, there have been protests before in iran, but these are in a number of different towns and cities. that is the difficulties the iranians security officers have. before it was concentrated in tehran and major cities and it was more easy to contain them. we are receiving reports of scattered protests, smaller in size, all over the country and little towns and cities. at least two security officers have been killed overnight, although the iranians authorities say that last night the protests were smaller compared to the previous nights, but at least 100 people have been arrested and nine people have been killed, which suggests it is not as

small as the iranians authorities say, but it is very difficult to confirm anything because they have cracked down on the internet and very little is coming out of the country. is the crackdown on social media successful from the point of view of the authorities? it seems very successful because we are the bbc persian service were receiving hundreds of videos on the first three days, but as soon as they put a ban on the messaging app, it went down. it seems they are managing to control the flow of information and they only get things out they want they only get things out they want the rest of the world to hear. how big a threat to the regime do you think the protests are? it is definitely the trouble for the regime. will they be able to contain it? it will not be impossible. but they are very aware of the fact that there is president trump in the

white house who has been very vocal about the protests in iran and there is the crown prince philippe saudi arabia who is openly opposing the iranians regime. as the iranian authorities are warning, the situation is rife for meddling in the internal affairs of iran and they are very cautious. what is the root cause, is it economic grievances, social and economic grievances, social and economic grievances, or is it essentially political? i think a bit of both. four decades of mismanagement and a crackdown on social and political freedom and the economy. the reason it started was the economy, inflation has been contained under president rohani but still about seven, 8%. in some parts of the country where we have seen some of the bigger protests, the unemployment rate is about 60%, so there are many young people who do not see any future in iran under the

current regime and they are absolutely fed up with it. thank you so absolutely fed up with it. thank you so much for being with us and i am sure you will keep us updated throughout the day. let us bring you some breaking news coming from woburn safari park. a fire has broken out there at the monkey house within the african forest drivetrain closure. staff and fire crews attended the scene but devastatingly, none of the 13 animals could be saved. that is according to a statement we are showing you there. all of the other animals are being monitored but early signs suggest they have not been affected. an investigation is under way and woburn safari park saying they are grateful for the quick response of the bedfordshire fire brigade. none of the 13 animals

in the monkey has survived in the fire. we are hearing from london zoo also that the annual stock take at the zoo has been postponed after a fire that killed one aardvark and four meerkats. this was a fire on the 23rd of december in the animal adventure section at london zoo, and they are saying that annual stock ta ke they are saying that annual stock take has been postponed after the fire at london zoo. parents are being urged to give their children a maximum ofjust two low—calorie snacks a day to help safeguard their health. public health england says the snacks should be no more than 100 calories each. the advice is being given after it's emerged primary school children are consuming three times more sugar than the recommended limit, as our health correspondent, james gallagher, reports. half the sugar us kids eat and drink each year comes from snacks and sugary drinks. kids get through a mountain of sugary snacks each year. cake, ice cream, pop, juice, biscuits, sweets, and chocolate.

children eat three times more sugar than official advice, just over half of it comes from snacking between meals. it's one reason more than a quarter of children have rotten teeth by the time they turn five. this public health england campaign is warning that snacking has got out of hand and is increasing the chance of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. we're very concerned about snacking. our children have unhealthy diets, they're eating too many calories. they're eating too much sugar and snacking is part of the problem. we're encouraging parents to be aware of snacking and try to cut back and replace unhealthy snacks with better snacks. so, how do parents feel about snacking? i know kids like sweets, and all of the sugar and stuff that you get from shops and mcdonald's and things like that, but it is for the parents to keep an eye on them and their intake. public health england is advising snacks are limited to just 100 calories and eaten no more

than twice a day. it says fruit and veg are ideal and even malt loaf, fromage frais that's low in sugar, and crumpets are better than anything you will find in the confectionery aisles. we are going to take a look at a few examples. what public health england are calling unhealthy snacks. so your average pastry, cake or bun has about 270 calories. a chocolate bar contains 200 calories. a packet of crisps contains around 190 calories. so maybe what are the alternatives? let's talk to drjenny harries, deputy medical director at public health england. she's in our salford studio this morning. tell us more about this warning today and why you felt compelled to issueit? today and why you felt compelled to issue it? yes, what we've done is

we've analysed some national dietary data and we know that children on the hole are eating about three times more than the maximum amount of recommended sugar and more than half of that is coming from snacking. so an average child will be eating three unhealthy snacks or sugary drinks a day and about a third of them will be eating four or more. so it's a major problem going forward and i think snacks, it is a misnomer, we are thinking of snacks asa misnomer, we are thinking of snacks as a small addition occasionally, whereas children are consuming these ona whereas children are consuming these on a daily basis and regularly. you say it is a major problem. explain to parents why it is exactly. why is ita to parents why it is exactly. why is it a bad problem? many parents will ta ke it a bad problem? many parents will take their children to school and see the rising weight and obesity and when children leave primary school, a third of them will be obese or overweight. and as children grow up, that translates into

serious health risks around cardiovascular zerks type 2 diabetes which people are developing in childhood frequently and not forget teeth, dental problems as well. the highest admission rate for five to nine—year—olds to hospital is for dental extraction. so there are major concerns, not just dental extraction. so there are major concerns, notjust for children in their childhood, but as they progress through life. so you are saying cut down on the unhealthy snacks and substitute the snacks for healthy food. are you saying eat fruit instead? so, effectively what we are trying to do is establish a healthy nutrition pattern for children which they will take forward as they grow up and hopefully pass on to their own families when they have children. it isa families when they have children. it is a rule of thumb. it is an aid to pa rents to is a rule of thumb. it is an aid to parents to help them translate through what is a healthy nutritious snack. the guideline is for around 100 calories, maximum, for two snacks a day. and what we have done

is try to make that an easier translation into real life for busy families and we've developed a food app which people can download on their phones and even use it with children to scan products in supermarkets and get a go ahead effectively so, looking for packaging and seeing whether this comes out as a nutritious snack. packaging and seeing whether this comes out as a nutritious snackm they don't have the app, give us a rough idea of what you might eat instead of a packet of crisps or a bar of chocolate? the app is a fun way of doing things potentially with children, but the sorts of things one could have are rice cakes are very low—fat, low sugar snack to have. they are quite crunchy and crispy and children tend to like them. if you want something softer, low—fat, low sugar fromage frais or low—fat, low sugar fromage frais or low sugar jellies. malt low—fat, low sugar fromage frais or low sugarjellies. malt loaf is another one that people don't realise. that's one that is enticing for children. all right, good

advice, thank you very much for being with us. happy new year. the headlines on bbc news: rail commuters face the biggest rise in fares for five years. campaigners warn that people will be priced out of work. clashes in iran between protestors and security services have seen nine people killed overnight. the protests in cities across the country are the largest since 2009. parents are being urged by health officials to reduce the number of sugary snacks they give their children to two a day in a bid to curb tooth decay and obesity. phil taylor bows out from darts. the 16 time champion is billion beaten by new comer rob cross. andy murray pulls out of the brisbane international ahead of his first match this week. he sl still suffering from a long—term injury to his right hip. manchester united are back up to

second in the premier league after a 2-0 second in the premier league after a 2—0 victory at he everton. i will be back with more on those stories after 9.30am. thanks, jessica. 80 people were stabbed to death in london last year — a rise of a third compared to 2016. the figures come as police are investigating the murders of four young men in the capital who were stabbed in unrelated incidents during a 2k hour period. the youngest victim is 17 years old. so far detectives have arrested six people in connection with their inquiries. 0ur correspondent chi chi izundu is at new scotland yard. latest figures are really shocking? they are indeed. the mayor of

london, sadiq khan put out quite a strong message saying if you use a knife, the full force of the law will come down upon you. he says he and his teams are working tirelessly in 2018 to try and stamp out knife crime. in particular, he wants to use community—led initiatives to help clamp—down on knife crimes, that's messages in schools, youth groups and volunteers going around the capital looking for and picking up the capital looking for and picking up knives that have been stashed in places by gangs. the metropolitan police have expressed their concern about how younger and younger knife crime victims are getting. 80 people we re crime victims are getting. 80 people were stabbed in death last year in the capital. of those 80, 18 were under the age of 19. as a result, the deputy commissioner says that there will an increase on stop and search. it is a very unusual happenstance. we do look look at trends. we look at trends an awful lot across london. the reality is we saw knife crime starting to rise. we've spoken during the last year

about our focus on knife crime and we've talked a lot about the work we're doing to try and tackle it. what this does is, it gives that work more impetus and particularly says to wider london community, what can we all do to tackle knife crime? and as people return to schools today and go back into their offices to work, it is worth thinking what can they do, what can they get involved in from community knife sweeps to mentoring schemes, there is lots we can all do. we can do the work that's around enforcing the law and we're absolutely clear on that. bringing people tojustice and enforcing the law, putting people through the courts is our role, but we need others to help us on this. the culture around knife crime and particularly with younger and younger victims and younger and younger people carrying knives, we need others to work with us on this. be that schools, parents, educators, we need of people to work with us. there are good plans out there, theyjust require everyone to work together to make this a success. so the metropolitan police say that

knife crime and clamping down on it is now their number one priority. but they do need the help of communities to make it happen. thank you very much indeed. south korea has proposed high—level talks with pyongyang, a day after north korea's leader, kimjong—un, said he was open to dialogue. at a news conference, the south korean unification minister suggested a meeting at the border in a week's time. he said the discussions were likely to focus on bringing a north korean delegation to next month's winter olympics in south korea. 0ur correspondent sophie long is in the south korean capital, seoul. after so much sabre—rattling, does it look like we might be in for a period of quietness in the new year? this comes off the back of kim jong—un‘s new year message in which

he said he was open for dialogue with south korea and he was considering sending a delegation to the olympics due to take place in south korea next month. this morning, we had a response from the south korean government and they proposed that talks should take place in the demilitarised zone, a fortified zone that separates the countries on tuesday of next week. that will be 9th january, a month before the olympics are due to take place. president moon of south korea made many overtures to kim jong—un over the past year inviting him to send a delegation to the olympics, about eight times. he feels that it could be a turning point in deescalating the tensions that have increased on the korean peninsula over the last year as north korea carried out its sixth and most powerful nuclear test and a missile test it said could reach mainland america. so it does seem, many people here in south korea feel

positive. they feel if pyongyang we re positive. they feel if pyongyang were to send a delegation to the 0lympics there would be no cause for them to cause any disruptions around that time. 0thers them to cause any disruptions around that time. others are sceptical, saying this could be a canny move by the north korean leader to drive a wedge between seoul and its ally, washington. sophie, thank you very much. sophie long reporting from seoul. china has banned the import of millions of tonnes of plastic waste, such as the packaging that we throw into our household recycling bins. until now, the uk government has exported our plastic waste, shipping it to china, to go into landfill there. as a result, this will put the british recycling industry under huge pressure, with experts warning that local authorities could reduce collections because of the costs. 0ur correspondent, dan johnson is at a recycling plant in southwark in south london. dan, good morning to you. yes, good morning. this is a council tip effectively. the sort of place that

will be busy over the next few days because there is lots of rubbish to get rid of after christmas and as you can see already there are a few christmas trees to be dealt with here. this is a huge site and they deal with all sorts of waste. the recycling they do here, means none of the waste ends up going to china, but lots and lots of our rubbish does. millions of tonnes of rubbish every year being shipped to china and that is what's at the heart of this problem. one solution is to actually reuse items so that they don't become rubbish. that's something they try and promote here. there is all sorts of stuff that's available, available to pick up, you can geta available, available to pick up, you can get a late christmas prp for the kids if you need one! let's chat to alistair, an expert in environmental management. this problem with china, what's going on? why are we sending the rubbish there and why don't they wa nt the rubbish there and why don't they want it? what china said in july

la st want it? what china said in july last year was that there was certain waste streams that it doesn't need anymore from the international market and... they have enough waste of their own. they have got enough and there is others that they say they will accept, but they want a really high quality. there is certain wastes that it will be possible to send there, but there is others that we will either have to send to other overseas markets and there are some available or we will have to in the short—term deal with through other means. what do you think the most likely solution is? we are going to have to deal with our rubbish ourselves or we're going to have to make it cleaner before we send it abroad to china or other countries? exactly, yeah. in the short—term we will have to look for other overseas markets. possibly, send more waste streams to energy from waste, incineration or landfill, but... burning more rubbish or put it in landfill? that's not ideal. we need to be looking to be reducing the amount of waste that we produce in the first place. we need to be trying to make

our resource productivity higher so, for every unit of natural resources that we use, we get more product out of it. and then also designing our products so they're easy to recycle and making the householders aware of exactly how they can recycle and make it as easy as possible for them to do that will. it is complicated. a huge problem and pile of rubbish that are mounting up because championship has stopped taking a lot of our plastics and paper. an issue the government needs to deal with urgently some people are now saying. dan johnson reporting. more than 300 women from hollywood's entertainment industry have launched an initiative to tackle sexual harassment in workplaces. the campaign is called time's up and includes hollywood stars such as meryl streep and jennifer lawrence. it will provide legal support for women and men who suffer abuse. let's get out the new year weather

prospects. here is matt taylor. if it is not raining with you yet, it will do. one exception will be the far north of scotland. rain spreading east. it will not rain all day long. the rain will linger longest in east anglia and the south—east. brighter skies this afternoon in many parts before more rain arrives in wales later. fairly mild for the time of year and a mild night to come because of storm eleanor, set to strengthen the winds for all but the northern half of scotland, wild —— widespread gales.