welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. our top stories: far—right firebrand jair bolsonaro‘s sworn in as brazil's president. he promises to rule with an iron fist. history caught on camera — the first image of a distant world on the edge of our solar system. thousands turn out in tokyo for emperor akihito‘s last new year address before his abdication. and in russia, a remarkable rescue — a baby boy's pulled from rubble 36 hours after a gas explosion. the right—wing populist, jair bolsonaro, has been sworn in as the new president of brazil.

in his inaugural speech, he promised to revive brazil's economy and clamp down on corruption and violent crime. he also said he'd liberate brazil from socialism and political correctness. but mr bolsonaro is a deeply divisive figure whose homophobic and misogynistic comments have angered many. katy watson reports from brasilia. a historic day for brazil, one that evenjair bolsonaro and his fans probably never expected could happen. but he made it, and for the next four years, this will be the man in charge of latin america's biggest economy. a man who's promised to lead brazil down a very different political path to that of his predecessors. in front of dozens of world leaders and amid cheers from his supporters, he was handed the presidential sash. and once again, repeated his campaign promises of changing the way brazil does politics.

translation: corruption, privileges and unfair advantages have to end. favours to certain parties must not go on. the government and economy have to serve all of the nation. thousands came to see mr bolsonaro take power. dressed in the colours of the brazilian flag, they shouted support for the man they call a legend. after 13 years of a very corrupt government in brazil, so now we have a hope that with bolsonaro, he will clean up. he wants to unite families, not divide. we are not black, white, poor or rich, we are a nation. for people in this crowd, bolsonaro represents change, a fresh start for brazilian politics. but his fiery rhetoric during the campaign means many people are worried, especially from brazil's minority groups, about what the next four years will mean for their future.

for the country's many indigenous communities, bolsonaro represents a huge threat. he's made it clear he supports the powerful and lucrative farming industry, and said he won't give a centimetre more land to the indigenous once he's in power. translation: we are left worried whether he will try and finish us off or give us the land we deserve. he supports landowners, they're more valuable to him than we are. as mr bolsonaro gets to work, his to—do list to fix brazil is long. his priority, he says, is bringing back order to this country, promising to rule with an iron fist, to make brazil great again. but there are plenty of doubters about how he's going to achieve all that he's promised. katy watson, bbc news, in brasilia. i'm joined now by an expert on brazilian politics, brian winter, who is editor—in—chief of the americas quarterly. he's in new york city. what did you make of the tone of the

president's speech? what does it reveal about how he might intend to govern. the tone was similar to what we heard during the entire campaign. he was speaking mostly to his base, his message at the end about rooting up his message at the end about rooting up socialism, also the tough m essa 9 es up socialism, also the tough messages on corruption and crime, these are all designed to signal to his base that he is still with them as well as to the broader population that this nightmare that rebel has lived through these last three, four yea rs lived through these last three, four years with the worst recession in modern history, with huge corruption scandals, he is trying to show them that that is over and they have a newsta rt that that is over and they have a newstart ahead. i suppose he has raised expectations on the economy, corruption and crime. our youth seeing him surrounding himself by the people who will be able to help him implement the policies that will then feed into his fan base?”

him implement the policies that will then feed into his fan base? i think on the economy, he is likely to be quite good. brazil ring —— ranks terribly in the international rankings of countries for ease of doing business, just 109th out of 190 countries. that is one reason that can't be —— economy has been such a wreck. budget has been an other. he may also do well on the anticorruption agenda. there is more toa anticorruption agenda. there is more to a big country like reveal that just that, and on issues like the environment, on issues like human rights, i think there is reason to be quite sceptical of what he will do. if he does badly in those areas, there is a risk that those things will lead into the economy as well. all those references to family values, ideology and socialism, is that red meat for his base, or do you see that he is going to try and enact substantive policies? that is the question facing brazil right

now, a good question. i think for his supporters who want to see a crackdown on socialism and on communism, which is a bit absurd because communist haven't really been a majorforce in brazilfor a very long time, but what most of the country here is when they hearjair bolsonaro talk about this campaign against socialism is they hear him wanting to turn the page on these last 1a years during which the workers party, the left—wing workers party ruled for most of that time. that is something most brazilians wa nt to that is something most brazilians want to see, and i think that for some people, they take it at his discourse was socialism symbolically. the question a lot of people have right now is how symbolic is it? or will he go down a path where he might seek to disrespect democratic institutions and repressed minority groups? including socialist. wejust don't know. what about his international

outlook? how do you see that developing in the coming months? he is going to seek an alliance with the us and i think he's going to find a willing partner in donald trump. we all know how much president trump liked leaders around the world seem to be following his example and there is no question that jair bolsonaro has followed and is following the donald trump playbook with his talk of fake news and a tough line on crime, among other things. there is still a lot of doubt about what that will mean in practice, even in washington people say ok, we see a guy who clearly wa nt people say ok, we see a guy who clearly want to be our friend but that means we will do a deal on trade or at unified front against china, or venezuela with the humanitarian and economic crisis there? again, that is a big question mark. in fairness to them, it is the first day of his government. there are still tied to see where this

will lead. we will see. thank you very much. let's ta ke let's take a look at a few more stories now. 1a people have been caught trying to steal a fishing trawler in the fishing port of bologna. it is the latest in this and that an incident where a micro has tried to steal a vessel to make the crossing to britain. women in the southern indian state of kerala have formed a 620—kilometre human chain in a row over access to a prominent hindu temple. the sabarimala shrine was historically closed to women of menstruating age, defined as between 10 and 50. india's top court overturned the ban in september, but protesters have since attacked female visitors. the family of an american arrested in russia for spying say he is innocent and was in moscow to attend a wedding. relatives of ex—marine paul whelan learnt of his arrest from news reports. the us state department has asked for consular access to mr whelan. if found guilty,

he could be jailed for ten years. a nasa spacecraft has flown past the most distant world ever studied in our solar system some 4 billion miles away. there were celebrations from scientists at mission control when confirmation came through that the new horizons probe had achieved the historic fly—by of the mysterious, icy world known as ultima thule. our science correspondent palab ghosh reports. ten, nine, eight, seven, six... it's not the new year they‘ re counting in, but the arrival of nasa's new horizons spacecraft. ..one! go, new horizons! it's just arrived at the most distant object that humanity has ever explored. this simulation shows the mission‘s target. it's called ultima thule. 4 billion miles away, it's one of the building blocks that planets are made from. we're here to tell you that last night, overnight, the united states spacecraft

new horizons conducted the farthest exploration in the history of humankind and did so spectacularly. thousands of operations on board the spacecraft had to work correctly in orderfor us to be able to tell you this, and now we know that it all did. so far, the spacecraft has only sent back low resolution pictures. but over the coming days, the images will become increasingly clearer. nasa confirmed that the spacecraft had acquired gigabytes of photos, the latest of which they released today. and it's ok to laugh, but it's better than the one we had yesterday. there it is! meet ultima! applause. ultima thule seems to be peanut—shaped. what a difference a day makes! and ultima thule is finally revealing its secrets to us, and even though it is a pixelated blob still, it's a better pixelated blob!

and this analysis suggests it might be rotating like a propeller. new horizons has flown towards the edge of our solar system, sending back these spectacular images of pluto on its way. these are real images of one of the solar system's most distant worlds. and very soon, we'll be able to see ultima thule in such incredible detail. and then, the team hopes that new horizons will be able to journey even further out. pallab ghosh, bbc news. police in the uk say a counter—terrorism probe —— police in western germany have arrested a man suspected of driving his car into a group of people in what they believe could have been a xenophobic attack. at least four pedestrians, including syrian and afghan nationals, were severely injured in the attack after midnight in the city of bottrop. police say the suspect made racist comments on his arrest, and there are indications that he's mentally ill.

37 people have been killed by gunmen in central mali. armed men raided the village of koulogon in the mopti region in the early ours of the day. authorities said the gunmen were dressed as traditional donzo hunters. some of the victims were children. according to the malian government, hundreds of people were killed last year in ethnic violences across the country. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: a gentle rock from his rescuers — a baby boy in russia survives a gas explosion and 36 hours stuck under rubble. the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got underway with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow in holland, we're going to use money we picked up in belgium today, and then we'll be in france,

and again, it'll be the same money. it's just got to be the way to go. george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed at his oxfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. i think it looks good. just good? no, fantastic. that's better. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: a new year and a new direction

for brazil as the country's populist president promises to drive out corruption and crime. a space probe sends the first image of an icy world from the very edge of our solar system. nasa calls it a moment in history. police in the uk say a counter—terrorism probe is still ongoing after an incident at manchester's victoria railway station. on monday night, three people, including a police officer, were stabbed. a 25—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and is being held under the mental health act. police say there is no evidence so far he was acting with anyone else. the victims' injuries are serious but not life threatening. our correspondent danny savage reports. a railway station in central manchesterjust before nine o'clock last night. this time last night the area behind me was sealed off after three people were stabbed by a man. a bbc journalist

a bbcjournalist was on the platform at the time and saw what happened to. it is new year's eve, people have had a drink and it isjust a fight that will fizzle out shortly. but then i heard the guys shout allah and thought they did not sound good. at that point he was pepper sprayed and tasted they came and swarmed on him and brought him down. three people were stabbed, one of them was a policeman, the other two were a couple, a man and woman in their 50s. all the injuries were serious, but not life—threatening. allahu akbar! a short time later the man was taken away from manchester victoria station by police, shouting "god

is greatest" in arabic. the chief constable says it is being treated as a terrorist incident. we are treating this as a terrorist investigation, which is being led by counterterrorism officers with support from greater manchester police. they were working throughout the night to piece together the details of what happened and to identify the man who was arrested. at the same time, they announced they were searching a property in the cheetham hill area of the city, where police now stand guard. the city's mayor is trying to reassure people. manchester is strong, it's united. we will not allow anybody to divide us. we will continue to work closely with colleagues in the government and other public services over the coming days. but, as i say, people should not be unduly alarmed. we would ask people

to remain vigilant. but we believe this has all the hallmarks, and appears to be an isolated incident. the injured policeman is now at home. but the couple attacked here last night are likely to be in hospital for some time. the us secretary of state has told the israeli prime minister that president donald trump's decision to pull troops from syria will not change cooperation between the countries. he met with benjamin netanyahu countries. he met with benjamin neta nyahu at countries. he met with benjamin netanyahu at inauguration of the brazilian president. this decision no way changes anything that the administration is working israel. our commitment to middle east stability continues in the same way it did before the decision was made. now to tokyo where japan's emperor akihito has greeted well—wishers for his last new year appearance at the imperial palace before his abdication.

let's talk to mariko oi who has been watching this moment of history. what did he say? he made a short speech wishing everyone who gathered their a very happy new year. he will appear at the balcony a few more times throughout the day as tens of thousands of people gathered there to see him before he abdicate at the end of april. he spoke a lot longer last week, celebrating his 85th birthday. back then he spoke about how he is relieved that his era is coming to an end free of war in japan. here's a known pacifists who visited many countries in the region that were affected by the japanese wartime aggression and he spoke about a lot of natural disasters

that devastated his country. and what does the public make of his abdication? it is a rare event, isn't it? it is. i think it is abdication? it is a rare event, isn't it? it is. ithink it is fair to say that he is very well loved and well respected by the japanese public, but at the age of 85 when he made a speech saying that he would like to abdicate because of his health, many people felt that he should probably deserve a little break. at the same time, as i said, he is at well respected, notjust by the older generations who still see him as somewhat of a divine figure. just 80 years ago, many people were willing to die in the name of his father. but even though willing to die in the name of his father. but even thouthapan‘s constitution today said that he is a symbolic figure, the older generation still see him as divine. the younger generation, i remember an incident where a young high school pictured tweeted a picture of

the emperor and the press with casual language and that drew some criticism. it really does show that the younger generation also admires the younger generation also admires the couple. and what do know about his successor? he will be succeeded by his eldest son on the first of may 2019. that is when the new era will begin. the new era ‘s name will be announced on april one. it comes ata time be announced on april one. it comes at a time whenjapan‘s royal family... there has been a lot of talk about how they have not had many male children except for one little boy born eight years ago. a lot of royal wedding rumours as well, the daughter of the youngest son of emperor akihito announced a royal wedding bout was postponed. forjapan, quite an unusual amount of tabloid interest on what happened to that royal wedding but the public

has been prepared, i dare say the government and the imperial household agency ‘s have been announcing plans to the abdication at the end of april before the new emperor takes place on may one. you we re emperor takes place on may one. you were talking about stories in the tabloids. how much deference is there for the royal family injapan? iamjust there for the royal family injapan? i am just thinking of how we of the royalfamily i am just thinking of how we of the royal family hearing the uk. i am just thinking of how we of the royal family hearing the ukw i am just thinking of how we of the royalfamily hearing the uk. it is quite different. when i was doing a report about them i was talking to my british colleague about how i should do my report and she suggested i asked a young person to draw a cartoon of the emperor's face and toa draw a cartoon of the emperor's face and to a japanese person that is com pletely and to a japanese person that is completely to boot. you do not draw the face of the emperor. nor depicted in a sarcastic way like the british tabloids do. but there is a lot of public interest in the royal family and especially the younger

generation because the granddaughters of the emperor are in their teenage years and their early 20s so there is a lot of interest in their love life. there is still a lot of privacy and they are respected in the japanese media. thank you very much indeed. prince charles and the first minister of scotland have attended a service of remembrance on the isle of lewis — to mark the 100th anniversary of one of britain's worst peacetime disasters at sea. more than 200 men returning home after the end of the first world war died in the early hours of new year's day 1919, when the iolaire sankjust yards from the shore. there's been a second deadly incident in the russian city of magnitogorsk, where an apartment block collapsed on monday. the local governor says a minibus has exploded, killing three people. russian media are blaming

the vehicle's gas powered fuel system. a suspected gas leak has also been blamed for monday's apartment block explosion. several people are still missing, but there was a moment of hope as an eleven month old baby was pulled alive from the rubble. our moscow correspondent sarah rainsford has more. rescuers are calling this a new year miracle. the moment they reached baby ivan, clinging to life beneath the rubble of his home. he'd lain trapped and injured here for over 30 hours. the emergency team shouts to hurry as the baby boy is first checked and then bundled away by medics. translation: one of the rescuers heard a child crying. after that, we stopped all our equipment to make sure, and listened. but when we said quiet, the baby went quiet, too. it was when we said, "where are you?", that the child started to cry again in response.

ivan isjust 11 months old. as he was rushed to a local hospital, doctors discovered fractures, severe frostbite and a head injury. his mother, who was beside him when the blast tore through theirflat, escaped unharmed. translation: i was sleeping on the sofa, the baby was sleeping in his cot. my elder son and i fell with the building. i don't know what happened to the cot, but we fell down, so we got out faster. she and her husband were left waiting then, anxious for news, clutching baby ivan‘s clothes. ever since the disaster on new year's eve, teams have been searching the ruins here, all that remains of almost 50 apartments. officials at first said the blast was caused by a gas leak, then a minibus exploded on the same street, killing three. as reports began linking the blasts, investigators said experts had found no trace of explosives so far. baby ivan, though, has been given a chance.

tonight, he was airlifted to moscow and the best specialists. his condition is described as serious, but stable now. sarah rainsford, bbc news, moscow. before we go out like to leave you with these pictures. hundreds of people plunging into the cold waters of the north sea at dunkirk. this traditional event is a bracing way to start 2019 and as you can see, some people even dress up for the occasion. in my opinion, they are not wearing nearly enough! hello there.

after a bland week of weather over the festive period, the new year brought some contrasting weather conditions. colder with some shower, cloud up into the far north—east, a window of sunshine for far west scotland and northern england. but thicker cloud further west and that weather front is still to clear away and here we had cloud and drizzle and it stayed pretty mild. behind that weather front, that northerly flow will start to take hold and for the rest of the week, a stark contrast in the feel of the weather. that northerly flow will also bring the risk of cloud along the east coast, but we start with some clear skies and a touch of frost to begin with. but it will be a sparkling start to wednesday, the further west you are, with some lovely spells of sunshine coming through. all the time because of that northerly wind on exposed east—facing coast, we could run the risk of more cloud and a few scattered showers across east anglia and that kent coast as well. but further west with the sunshine, temperatures maybe out to 3—5d, maybe to the west, where there's

a little more coastal cloud, temperatures of maximum seven degrees. the high pressure stays with us for much of the week but it changes its position a little, and that allows the wind direction to change very subtly. we still keep that northerly flow across those east coasts but further west, we start to drag in a return to a milder south—westerly, a slightly milder air source, but that will also bring with it a little more moisture as well and more cloud. so south—west england, wales, northern ireland, west—facing coasts of scotland could start off pretty cloudy and murky, maybe with a little bit of freezing fog in places. further inland, the best chance of seeing some sunshine, but again, still not a particularly warm day on thursday. highest values of three to five degrees perhaps in the far north—west of scotland. as we move out of thursday night, we keep the clear skies and those temperatures are likely to fall away, the exception again is the further west you are. temperatures will tumble

and we could have a widespread cold and frosty night across the country, maybe the coldest night throughout the week. overnight lows generally down to —3, “4, maybe even lower in rural parts. but it does look as though we will continue to see some lovely spells of sunshine on friday. indications of things clouding over a little though for the start of the weekend, and as we get into sunday, the high pressure could weaken off and we could see a weather front pushing into the far north—west, which could bring more significant rain. take care. this is bbc news. the headlines: brazil's new populist president jair bolsonaro's been sworn in, vowing to rule the country with an iron fist. the far—right firebrand, often dubbed the ‘trump of the tropics', has vowed to crack down on corruption and crime and hailed the end of socialism in the country. nasa's scientists have been celebrating after their space probe new horizons successfully flew by the most distant object ever encountered.

this is the first image it captured of an icy world on the very edges of our solar system. they called it an historic moment. an 11—month—old baby boy has been pulled from the rubble of a block of flats in russia 36 hours after the building collapsed following a gas explosion. eight bodies have so far been found. now on bbc news, victoria derbyshire looks back on some of the memorable moments from her programme in 2018 —