this is bbc news. the headlines at 5pm. the mayor of sydney says the new year fireworks display will go ahead as planned — despite a petition calling for it to be cancelled because of nearby bushfires. five people have been stabbed in new york state during hanukkah celebrations at the home of an orthodox rabbi. this is domestic terrorism. these are people who intend to create mass harm, mass violence, generate fear. calls for an independent inquiry after the new years‘ honours data leak — in which the addresses of celebrities, politicians and police officers were published online. the family and friends of a british man and his two

children, who drowned in a spanish resort‘s swimming pool say they are ‘devastated' by the news. restoration work on big ben will pause for one night only, so its famous bongs can ring in the new decade in london. the mayor of sydney says the city s famous new years eve fireworks display will go ahead despite a call for the event to be cancelled because of the bushfire crisis affecting parts of australia. more than a quarter of a million people have signed a petition urging the authorities to spend the money on fighting the blazes instead. (tx more than 80 fires are still

raging across large areas of new south wales. tens of thousands of people in the australian state of victoria have been told to evacuate amid worsening bushfire conditions. officials are warning that temperatures of over a0 celsius, combined with strong winds, thunderstorms and a change of wind direction mean that the danger of fires will be particularly high tomorrow, with some areas facing a ‘catastrophic‘ risk. a warning that this report — from phil mercer in sydney — contains flashing images. it's arguably the world's most dazzling fireworks display, but thousands of people want sydney to scrap its new year's eve spectacular. they say it would be an insult and could traumatise some of those affected by the bushfire crisis. sydney's lord mayor, clover moore, said she shared the deep sympathies of those who'd signed the petition, but stressed that the fireworks were planned months in advance and most of the budget had already been spent.

so, barring catastrophic fire conditions in sydney on new year's eve, the event seems certain to go ahead. in—between now and then, the authorities are warning of severe—to—extreme fire dangers across much of south—eastern australia, much of the heavily populated parts of australia. that includes south australia, victoria, tasmania and new south wales, where more than 80 fires continue to burn. volunteers are a vital part of the emergency effort. many have been fighting the flames for weeks. the government says they'll be able to apply for about £3,000 in compensation — for taking time off work to battle the blazes. good morning, ladies and gentlemen. this is a very prolonged fire season. this is putting additional demands on ourfirefighters in particular, and it means that the turnouts and the callouts have been far more extensive than in previous years,

going well and beyond and above what is normally expected of those who are engaged in volunteer service. the money and the gesture from the government are broadly welcomed by the volunteers on the front line. it's tough. the payment isjust a recognition of what we're doing. it doesn't compensate us for what we're losing, but it's recognition. when your brigade is tired and exhausted and you're seeing people going out again and again and again, and you're doing 12—hour shifts and it's really strenuous, hard work, you really do feel like you want to be helping, and you really do feel like you're obliged to do that. so, like, for me, it means i use my annual leave. their work is far from over. dangerous fire conditions and extreme heat are forecast for south—eastern australia from tomorrow. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney.

two people are in a critical condition in hospital in new york state after a man wielding a machete, attacked people attending hanukkah celebrations. three others are also being treated for stab wounds. eyewitnesses said the attacker entered the home of a rabbi in monsey, with his face covered and began stabbing people. leigh milner has this report. it was supposed to be a night of celebration at this rabbi's house in monsey, just north of new york city, then this happened. someone came in, face covered with a scarf, started stabbing people. five people, in total, were stabbed. two of them were taken from the scene in a critical condition. equally, one of them is senior and in a very critical condition. according to the 0rthodoxjewish public affairs council, one of the victims was stabbed at least six times. it comes just a day after new york city police said officers were stepping up patrols in heavily jewish districts like monsey, after a spate

of anti—semitic threats and attacks. we were scared, but we were not surprised, because this is not the first incident in new york. this is not the first incident in rockland county. it's horrible. you know, my parents were survivors of the concentration camps and they told me how fearful it was to be jews. and, you know, they always said, we can't let it happen again, but i'm scared that it's happening again. shortly after the attack, the suspect fled, but was later taken into custody by the police. his motive is not yet clear. leigh milner, bbc news. this afternoon, the governor of new york state andrew cuomo described the attack as domestic terrorism. if anyone thinks that something poisonous is not going on in this country, then they are in denial, frankly. how many incidents do you have

to see from coast—to—coast? hostility based on religion, based on race, based on creed, based on immigration status. it's all across the country. it is an american cancer that is spreading in the body politic, an american cancer, turning one cell of the body against the other. once we become intolerant of differences, then we are intolerant with america. i also believe the situation has gotten so bad, frankly, that we have to increase our legal enforcement, notjust with more police, but we have to change the laws to call this what it is. this is terrorism. it is domestic terrorism.

these are people who intend to create mass harm, mass violence, generate fear, based on race, colour, creed. that is the definition of terrorism. and just because they don't come from another country doesn't mean they are not terrorists, and they should be prosecuted as domestic terrorists, because that is what they are, and i want this state to be the first state to have a domestic terrorism law. 0ur correspondent chris buckler gave us this update from washington. andrew cuomo spoke surrounded by members of law enforcement, as well as members of thejewish community, and there is a real anger inside thejewish community because, as was mentioned, there have been a spate of anti—semitic attacks.

there was a real concern in new york in particular about the number of attacks on members of thejewish community and a real feeling they need to be protection. it must be said that new york police had stepped up patrols, the new york city mayor, bill de blasio, had talked at length about his concerns and want people more need to be done, —— warned people more needed to be done. but ultimately the jewish community feels that it is not being protected in the way it should do, and this area has got a very large, ultraorthodox population, and they feel that more still could be done, and certainly andrew cuomo believes more could be done, talking about the idea that potentially there could even be a domestic terrorism state law of some sort put in in new york, in an attempt to tackle these problems. if you look at the last year, we had an attackjust over 12 months ago in pittsburgh in a synagogue,

and earlier this year an attack in san diego in a synagogue there, all which led to deaths. there is a feeling that this needs to be addressed, that hate is a real problem in america at the moment and that something needs to be done. i noted that andrew cuomo was broadening the debate in that press conference, talking about attacks on lgbtq communities, and saying it was notjust a case of anti—semitism, but talking about an american cancer of intolerance of other people and other peoples views. he is a democrat, and i was waiting for a more political point which didn't come in the bit i heard, but i wonder if there has been a response from the white house? not as yet, and andrew cuomo only spoke a short time ago, but there is no doubt that it was to an extent a political statement as well as a reaction to the attack, and there is a concern about division inside america which goes right to the white house and some of what president trump has said. for example, some critics have attacked him for at times appearing to suggest that there was an equivalence involving white nationalism,

that was a famous moment in which president trump appeared to, as critics would say and he would deny, flirt with white nationalism. the white house would argue that they have done their very best to tackle anti—semitism, and earlier this month there was an executive order signed specifically to try and tackle anti—semitism on college campuses in the united states, and that is a recognition by the administration that there is a problem, that they are trying to do something, as people keep on saying. but i think that pressure is only going to grow, particularly when you hear the testimony of some of those who were inside that house. remember, it was a religious ceremony, there to celebrate chanukah, with their friends and fellow members of thejewish community, and then they were subjected to something that was just horrific, an attack in which some people were stabbed multiple times, they are still in hospital, and the suspect will be charged with five counts

of attempted murder. he was not named in that news conference, but he will be charged with five counts of attempted murder. you can imagine that among those people who witnessed it, and some have talked of seeing blood and seeing people being seriously injured, it will scar that community for some time. chris buckler there in washington. there are calls for an independent inquiry after a data breach — which saw the addresses of more than a thousand people on the new year honours list made publicly available online. the files included the details of celebrities , senior police officers and politicians — one of those affected, iain duncan smith, called the leak a "complete disaster". katharine da costa reports. more than 1,000 people will be honoured, among them celebrities, sport stars, and politicians, including musician sir eltonjohn, cricketer ben stokes, former tory party leader iain duncan smith, and former director of public prosecutions alison

saunders. there are also security, counter—terror, and justice personnel, as well as chief co nsta bles. but a list containing their home addresses was accidentally published by the government on friday evening. iain duncan smith, who is due to be knighted, described the data breach as a "complete disaster". he told the sunday times... new data protection laws were brought in last year, giving regulators more power to penalise those who fail to protect personal data. the cabinet office confirmed the list was only visible for an hour. in a statement, it said...

the former head of the civil service, lord kerslake, is leading calls for an independent enquiry. the cabinet office says it has report the matter to the information commissioner's office and is looking in into how this happened. but privacy campaigners have expressed concern at what they say is an inexcusable mistake. data experts warn the government could face legal action, notjust from the data watchdog, but from those who've seen their personal details leaked. information many may have wanted to keep private. katharine da costa, bbc news. well, earlier, ispoke to our correspondent katy austin and asked what the reaction to the leak has been. reaction has reflected the seriousness of the incident. there are several things to think about here. it is not just that there are celebrities who want their privacy protected, there are also security figures, senior policing figures, and their address in the wrong hands

would really pose a security risk. we have heard iain duncan smith, who is being knighted, calling this a complete disaster and saying very serious questions need answering, and also lord kerslake, the former head of the civil service, has expressed shock at this, and he says that is because the honours process is a well—worn process, it happens every year, it's very well established, so the fact a mistake has been made looks bad and has serious consequences. what do you think the implications are for the cabinet office, who oversee this? when we contacted them yesterday, they acknowledged it had happened and apologised and they said they had tried to take it down as soon as possible, so the list with the addresses on was only up for around an hour, perhaps less. the cabinet office also says it is contacting everybody affected, although that will not happen immediately, because there are lots of people on the list and maybe they are being prioritised.

tae kwon do starjadejones told the bbc last night she had not been contacted yet. there is also the fact that data protection regulation has been tightened very recently, with gdpr coming in, which many viewers will have heard of, and we know the information regulator will be making enquiries. that's the information commissioner's office, which has powers including being able to levy a fine. we can await the outcome of their investigation, but many experts say, if a fine is levied, it would not be stratospheric levels, like millions, because although this is a serious breach because of the nature of those involved, the scale of it is relatively small, so we will have to see what happens. whatever happens with the ico enquiry, questions are being raised because we live in an era where the importance of data protection is very high in everyone‘s awareness, so how this got onto the internet for even a short time is the key question.

the headlines on bbc news... a quarter of a million people sign a petition calling for sydney's new year's eve fireworks to be cancelled and the money spent fighting nearby bushfires instead five people are injured in a knife attack in new york state during hanukkah celebrations at the home of a rabbi. calls for an independent inquiry after the new years' honours data leak — in which the addresses of celebrities, politicians and police officers were published online. police in london are investigating a racially motivated hate crime in the hampstead area during the jewish festival of hannukah. it follows the appearance of offensive graffiti in a number of locations in north london, including a synagogue and shop fronts.

the images include a reference to 9/11 and an anti—semitic conspiracy theory over the new york attack. the conservative councillor for hampstead, 0liver cooper, said he was sickened to find such anti—semitism in his neighbourhood. no arrests have been made. the family and friends of a british man and his two children, who drowned in a spanish resort‘s swimming pool, have expressed their devastation. gabriel diya, 52, his daughter comfort, who was nine, and his son praise—emmanuel, aged 16, died on christmas eve. spanish police believe the deaths happened after they got out of their depth — but mr diya's wife, 0lubunmi, says all three could swim, and she believes there was a fault with the pool. people who know the family have been speaking to the bbc. it's very devastating, because ijust broke the news to my older sister this morning. she has made a u—turn from where she was going and she is coming to see her as well. the family is upset.

my mother is 92 years old. i can't tell my mum. we are in a devastated state at the moment, very devastated. i saw the name diya and it didn't immediately register that it was my friend. i saw the name diya and i said, ok, this has to be a nigerian family, most likely a british minority family, so i went to look for gabriel diya on google, and then i saw the twitter account, and when i clicked on the twitter account, i saw this picture and i saw my friend right beside him, and immediately i was just broken. i was broken, i was upset, i was sad, i was weeping. and i was angry. i was really angry, no, this can't be happening to someone so close to home.

at least five people have been killed by an explosion at a military graduation parade in yemen. authorities say the blast happened in the southern town of al daala. no one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. for more on this i've been speaking to our world service middle east analyst, alan johnston. this attack coming in a town north of the port city of aden, in the ad dali governorate. this is territory where a powerful military organisation called the security belt forces likes to recruit young men into its ranks. and this attack happened during a parade that was celebrating the passing out of the latest batch of recruits to the security belt forces, images we have coming from the scene showing a crater

of the blast, it had gone off at stand where guests were watching the parade as it unfolded although we understand the parade finished moments before the blast went off. security belt forces are backed by the united arab emirates but they are part of the yemeni government coalition which confronts the houthi rebels which are based on the north. soon after this attack, the security belt forces blamed this attack on the houthi rebels, saying it was a missile strike and they say they had arrested people close to the scene who were linked to the houthis, suggesting these people may have been coordinating the strike in some way. alanjohnston alan johnston reporting there. boats carrying 31 migrants have been picked up as they attempted to cross the english channel. two have been taken by french authorities to france and the british border force intercepted a third. all of those found, including a pregnant woman, are thought to be in a safe condition. a group of former labour mps who lost their seats in the election

have called for "fundamental change" at the top of the party. in a letter to the 0bserver, the group — which includes former mp for wakefield mary creagh — said "cronyism" in the party and labour's "unwillingness" to stand up to anti—semitism were repeatedly raised as issues on the doorstep. and that issue shamed the traditional values of the labour party. cctv footage which appears to show a missing firefighter on the night he disappeared has been released by police. 33—year old anthony knott went missing during a work night out in lewes in east sussex, on the 20th of december. sussex police are hoping the footage — showing his distinctive walk — may help them to track his movements before he disappeared. it's been more than two years since big ben's famous bongs were paused to allow for essential maintenance work to be carried out. but on new year's eve

they will return to ring in the new decade in london. tim muffett reports. it's one of the world's most familiar and regularly misnamed buildings. but, for two years, the elizabeth tower, which houses the giant bell, big ben, has been surrounded by scaffolding. repairs that have left big ben itself largely silent. here it is, big ben. here it is, big ben, yes, indeed, all 13 tons of it. it's been quiet largely for the last few years. feels a bit odd? it does feel very odd. it's been way too quiet for my liking. this is, what, the biggest refurbishment project that's ever ta ken place since it was first built. so, the clock mechanics are taking apart every single small piece and then putting it all back together, which hasn't been done before. so, a massive challenge for them. it's that clock mechanism which, for more than 150 years, activated the hammer that strikes big ben. so, for special occasions during the repairs, such as remembrance sunday and new year's eve,

a new device has been needed. what we've got here is a tolling — automatic electric tolling motor, which obviously wouldn't have been available when this was first built. this produces the power needed to then lift the big ben hammer, which is, as i say, very heavy, 300, 400 kilograms, and strike it 12 times. last new year's eve, all went to plan. big ben bongs. are you nervous in the run—up to midnight? i think there's always got to be a bit of nerves because it shows, one, that you care, and also, that it's obviously a really, really big moment. cheering. the new speaker of the house of commons, lindsay hoyle, has said he won't stand in the way if mps vote for big ben to also be struck on january the 31st, the day the uk's set to leave the eu. during a tumultuous time in british politics, hidden from view, this four—year refurbishment has continued. all of the stone that we put onto the tower is hard—carved, which is a phenomenal thing to say,

brilliant, and it may take them between three and four weeks to produce a carving such as this crown that you can see along here. so, a real labour of love. so, this is the eastern clock face, high up the elizabeth tower, and the most striking thing is the colours. it's not the black paint we're familiar with, but gold and blue. so, we found that as we scratched back through the layers, we were scratching, basically going back through time, and found that this was the colour that it was originally. so, it's really exciting to find that blue colour as we went back through the layers. and it's prussian blue. prussian blue, yeah. this is gold leaf. and we've reglazed the whole of the clock face with hand—blown opal glass. even standing here, on a rainy day, surrounded by scaffolding, you see that — that's one of the faces of elizabeth tower...big ben. yes. it's so iconic. to actually be able to stand here and — i won't touch the gold, but i will touch in between — it's — not many people can do that. in 2021, the scaffolding will disappear and the world's most

famous bell will again be heard not just on special occasions, but every hour, every day. tim muffett, bbc news. the scottish author and artist alasdair gray has died, aged 85, after a short illness. a graduate of the glasgow school of art, his murals feature in many public buildings in glasgow while his debut book, lanark, has been described as one of the masterpieces of 20th century fiction. the first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon said he was one of scotland's literary giants. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. it's been a mild day across the uk and today and tomorrow will be every bit as mild. temperatures in southern parts of the uk will be higher. there is sunshine focus

but not for everybody. just like today, cloudy across the western isles, northern ireland has no rain but it is windy. this air has travelled from the subtropics which is why it is mild here today. but look at the rain. to the south of that, the skies will be clearer across the north of england and that will have a bearing on the temperatures on monday morning. maybe two or 3 degrees in the colder spots but where the cloud lingers, mist and fog in places. tomorrow, i mention the cloud across scotland and northern ireland, a little bit more widespread, rain getting into glasgow and edinburgh and possibly belfast. to the south we have the sunshine. here is new year's eve. we have cloud across parts of the midlands. there parts of the midlands. could be light rain or drizzle there could be light rain or drizzle in the south—west of the country. in the daytime in northern england,

looking fairly sunny. colder in edinburgh, 5 degrees. towards midnight, the weather looks fine, we are lucky high pressure is building across the uk so for many of us it will be clear skies, if you are unlucky it will be overcast with some temporary drizzle. the only thing into a early new year's day is something mist and fog but he does the high—pressure, very much in charge of the weather across the uk and the continent, down to the mediterranean as well. here is the first day of 2020, southerly when so thatis first day of 2020, southerly when so that is a mild direction, temperature is not far off 10 degrees in the south of the country and the same for the western isles. the weather will change towards the end of the week across scotland, northern ireland and the north west of england. a weather front will bring rain and possibly some cold weather and wintry showers on friday

but it will only be the far north of the uk.

the governor of new york describes the knife attacks at a jewish celebration as an act of domestic terrorism. five people were injured — two seriously — at the home of an orthodox rabbi during hanukkah. this is terrorism. it is domestic terrorism. these are people who intend

to create mass harm, mass violence. as bushfires in australia worsen, sydney's famous new year fireworks display will go ahead, despite calls for it to be cancelled. we meet the uk's first paramedics trained to prescribe in an effort to ease pressure on the nhs. and england's cricketers have lost the first test against south africa in centurion. good evening. the governor of new york, andrew cuomo, has called the knife attack at a jewish celebration in new york state "domestic terrorism". five people were injured,

two of them critically, during a hanukkah gathering at the home of an orthodox rabbi. a man has been arrested. in recent weeks, police have stepped up patrols in jewish neighbourhoods, following a series of anti—semitic hate crimes. 0ur washington correspondent, chris buckler, reports. members of new york's largejewish community had gathered to celebrate their religion, only to be attacked because of it. they were at the home ofa because of it. they were at the home of a rabbi here to mark hanna ka, when a man forced his way into the house and started stabbing people, in some cases multiple times. he pulled out a knife and he started running to the left side, and i have thrown tables and chairs and shouted he should get out of here. the injured are still being treated in hospital and this community has been left scarred by the stabbings. monsey is just north of new york city police had stepped up patrols

because of a series of anti—semitic attacks in recent weeks, and across the uk -- us, attacks in recent weeks, and across the uk —— us, thejewish community has raised concerns about an increase in hate crimes. just over a year ago increase in hate crimes. just over a yearago in increase in hate crimes. just over a year ago in pittsburgh, 11 worshippers were killed in a mass shooting at the tree of life synagogue. in april there was a similar attack at a synagogue in san diego. and another shooting earlier this month at a kosher supermarket in newjersey is also thought to be fuelled, at least in part, by anti—semitism. fuelled, at least in part, by anti-semitism. what are we waiting for? first it was just a verbal and 0k, for? first it was just a verbal and ok, but now we have people being assaulted and stabbed. so the governor should announce an emergency in the state of new york. the new york governor seems to be listening. he said words were not enough and that it was time for action. it is domestic terrorism. these are people who intend to

create mass harm, mass violence. generate fear based on race, colour, creed. that is the definition of terrorism. many claim hate is on the rise in an increasingly fractured america where differences too often end not just america where differences too often end notjust in division, but violence. and chris is in washington for us this evening. strong words from the governor, clearly because he feels that this is not an isolated incident. yes, very pointed in what he said, rita, and he talked about notjust anti—semitism, but more broadly about racism, homophobia and bigotry all fuelling hate crime in america and there might be a political point of that because he is a democratic governor and democrats have accused president trump in some of his policies, particularly on immigration and his more

controversial comments which they argue were designed to appeal to some white nationalists, for example, has fuelled that kind of division in this country. that will be very strongly denied by the white house and they will argue, for example, that in the last month president trump has signed an executive order specifically designed to tackle anti—semitism, for example, on college campuses and they are doing what they can, but there is no doubt there is a problem in this country with hate and it will only fuel calls to deal with that, this very latest attack. chris butler there in washington. well, police in london are investigating a racially motivated hate—crime which also took place during hanukkah. it follows the appearance of offensive graffiti in a number of locations in north london, including a synagogue and shop fronts. the images include a reference to 9/11 and an anti—semitic conspiracy theory over the new york attack. the conservative councillor for hampstead, 0liver cooper, said he was sickened to find such anti—semitism in his neighbourhood. no arrests have been made. the mayor of sydney says the city s

famous new years eve fireworks display will go ahead — despite a call for the event to be cancelled because of the bushfires raging in parts of australia. more than a quarter of a million people have signed a petition urging the authorities to spend the money on fighting the blazes instead. more than 80 fires are still burning across large areas of new south wales. this report from phil mercer in sydney contains flashing images. it's arguably the world's most dazzling fireworks display, but thousands of people want sydney to scrap its new year's eve spectacular. they say it would be an insult and could traumatise some of those affected by the bushfire crisis. sydney's lord mayor, clover moore, said she shared the deep sympathies of those who'd signed the petition, but stressed that the fireworks were planned months in advance and most of the budget had already been spent. so, barring catastrophic fire conditions in sydney on new year's eve, the event seems

certain to go ahead. in—between now and then, the authorities are warning of severe—to—extreme fire dangers across much of south—eastern australia. volunteers are a vital part of the emergency effort. many have been fighting the flames for weeks. the government says they will be able to apply for about £3,000 in compensation. for taking time off work to battle the blazes. good morning, ladies and gentlemen. this is a very prolonged fire season. this is putting additional demands on ourfirefighters in particular, and it means that the turnouts and the callouts have been far more extensive than in previous years, going well and beyond and above what is normally expected of those who are engaged in volunteer service. the money and the gesture from the government are broadly welcomed by the volunteers on the front line. it's tough.

the payment isjust a recognition of what we're doing. it doesn't compensate us for what we're losing, but it's recognition. it's really strenuous, hard work, you really do feel like you want to be helping, and you really do feel like you're obliged to do that. so, like, for me, it means i use my annual leave. their work is far from over. dangerous fire conditions and extreme heat are forecast for south—eastern australia from tomorrow. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. the cabinet office is contacting all those named in the new year's honours list after their home addresses and contact details were accidentally published online. it has now apologised and referred the data breach to the regulator. the list included the addresses of politicians, military figures and counter terrorism officials, as well as celebrities such as sir eltonjohn. 0ur correspondentjohn mcmanus is with me now. very embarrassing for

the government, is this now going to be a huge headache for them? there could be very serious consequences because of the seriousness and sensitivity of this data, the addresses of more than 1000 people released online, some of whom who really do need to keep their privacy and addresses secret, such as the four director of public prosecutions, and many others as well. the cabinet office has apologised and says it is contacting all of those affected. i imagine those will be pretty difficult conversations, and it's also reported itself to the information commissioners office, the data watchdog. the ico could potentially find the government millions of pounds for this data breach but there could be another financial headache for the government as well, because if any of those affected choose to take the government to court and sue them, there could be several more hefty bills for the government, and ultimately to the taxpayer. 0ne government, and ultimately to the taxpayer. one of those affected, former cabinet minister iain duncan smith, has called this a complete disaster and there are calls for an

investigation into how what is an annual process has gone so wrong this year. many thanks, john. let's take a look at some of today's other news. a missing firefighter‘s distinctive walk may help police track his movements before he disappeared. anthony knott went missing during a work night out in lewes in east sussex on december 20th. sussex police hope cctv footage of the "slight bounce" in his step willjog someone's memory. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe is to go on hunger strike in solidarity with another dual national being held in iran. kylie moore—gilbert, a british—australian academic, started an open—ended hunger strike six days ago in protest at being sentenced to 10 years on espionage charges. she has been held in solitary confinement since october 2018, while ms zaghari—ratcliffe was jailed four years ago. the scottish writer and artist, alasdair gray, has died in hospital in glasgow at the age of 85.

gray blended themes of realism, fantasy, and science fiction, and often illustrated his own books, which included "janine" and "poor things". his first novel, lanark, took nearly 30 years to write and was described as "one of the landmarks of 20th—century fiction. " as the nhs braces itself for the new year period — often it's busiest time — a pioneering scheme in wales is aiming to take the pressure off hospitals and doctors surgeries. five members of the welsh ambulance service have graduated to become the uk's first advanced prescribing paramedics — and the team can be deployed across the nhs. our health editor hugh pym has been on the road with some of them. it enhances the role greatly and it makes our role a lot more flexible. patients don't always phone 999 because they think they have a life—threatening emergency. so we probably see on average 19

or 20 patients a day and deal with them and the gp will have time for those more complex patients. we can speak to them and say rather than put them in the back of the ambulance and take them, how about we get one of our cars to attend? mike is one of a new breed of prescribing paramedics, one of the first five. theirjob, where possible, is to keep people out of hospital. here, he is called to a diabetic patient with an infected wound. so you are an insulin—dependent diabetic, yeah? he checks her medication and is able to adjust her pain relief so she can stay at home. a less qualified ambulance team might have had to take her to a&e. 0k? it was sore last night. georgina is helping take the strain off gps. her shift on this occasion is in a surgery, seeing a range of different patients. with her new qualifications, she can write them prescriptions. previously, i would decide

what they need and i would have to go and wait, knock on the doctor's door, wait for them to finish with their patient. whereas now it's my decision, i'm an autonomous, independent prescriber. very impressed with the paramedics. it's like seeing a doctor. exactly like seeing a doctor. they are qualified people, use them. here at this ambulance control centre in south—east wales, around 700 calls come in every day. some will be life—threatening cases, but the challenge is to identify those patients who can be treated closer to home and he won't need to be taken to hospital. you see that call in pontypridd... elton, another of the prescribing paramedics is deployed here to make help staff make the most efficient use of resources. he says with huge demands on the system, this new approach was essential. years ago, anyone calling 999 we would take them to one of the emergency departments in the hospital, but now we have

overwhelmed the service, so in response to that we have had to change the way we approach these patients and signpost them more appropriately. caring for an ageing population with long—term conditions and complex health needs is an immense challenge for the nhs. empowering staff like these is one response. more will be trained in the drive to cope with the rising demand on the service. hugh pym, bbc news, in south wales. with all the sport now, here's holly hamilton at the bbc sport centre. good evening. england's cricketers were set yet another improbable task — but this time, failed to conjure another miracle as they finished 2019 with a 107 run defeat in the first test against south africa. chasing a record 376, wickets fell quickly on day four, as the hosts claimed their first victory in five tests. jo currie was watching. in a year full of special moments for england cricketers, could they squeeze in one more high

before the end of 2019? 376 runs would be england's highest ever successful run chase, and joe denly set about putting a dent in it. but the man that south africa really wanted, rory burns, they were not farfrom getting him. his innings yesterday had given england a chance but with a swipe and a grab he was out. no century in centurion, but still a valuable 8a. like a lot of his team, joe root has been struggling with illness, but he looked on the road to recovery. he was about to lose his fellowjoe, joe denly, trapped lbw by dwaine pretorius. that meant the arrival of ben stokes, but what was left in the tank? it turns out just fumes. from the reaction of the south africans, and stokes himself, it shows how crucial this was. with jonny bairstow following shortly after, it was starting to feel

like south africa's day. joe root‘s dismissal only made that feeling stronger. with the captain gone, england put up little resistance. and the result was confirmed. a difficult week on and off the field for the captain. as a group, we had to deal with a lot of things outside the game itself, but we stood up, especially in the last two days, and we've really come out and shown a lot of character. it's very frustrating that's all we've got to take from the game. england move on to cape town for the second test on friday. rangers ended their long wait for victory at celtic park in the scottish premiership — claiming a 2—1 win to narrow the gap at the top. a towering headerfrom nikola katic was the match winner in another tempestuous old firm derby. it moves rangers within just two points of the league leaders with a game in hand. elsewhere there were wins for livingston, hamilton and st mirren while aberdeen drew at hearts, as did ross county at st johnstone.

on to the premier league, liverpool have a 1—0 lead over wolves. sadio mane with the only goal there so far after wolves had a goal ruled out by var. manchester city are in action later against sheffield united. but in the early kick off, two goals in the space of four minutes saw chelsea stage a stunnig comeback to claim a 2—1victory over arsenal at the emirates. tammy abraham with the winner there, in what was a disappointing first home game for new gunners boss mikel arteta. the former world number one, andy murray, has pulled out of next month's australian open because of a pelvic injury. the three—time grand slam champion was aiming to play in his first grand slam singles event since melbourne 12 months ago. it means murray will not play a match until february at the earliest. exeter returned to the top of the english premiership with a comfortable victory over saracens. two converted tries either side of the break —

including this from nic white who won the race to the line in the first half — gave the hosts an early advantage. sarries were awarded a penalty try in the final moments of the game to finish 14—7, a result that moves exeter back above northampton. there's more on the bbc sport website, including the pdc world championship quarter finals. but that's your sport for now. that's it for now. we're back with the late news at ten. now on bbc one it's time for the news where you are. goodbye.

officers say they are treating the incident as ‘a racially motivated hate crime.‘ a synagogue and several shops were among the places targeted. james waterhouse reports.

this time on why the world is... climate change really hit the headlines. i find that were polar scientists are looking into the past. hello. this is bbc news. denmark is to start using live video to help people who call

the emergency services in and around the capital, copenhagen. anyone with a camera phone will be able to stream video direct from the scene to call handlers without installing an app. there's been a year—long trial, which the authorities say was successful. karl riley reports. denmark's main emergency call centre where dispatchers give critical advice to callers as ambulances make their way to the scene. from the start of 2020, callers here may be asked to share live video as a trial of the technology becomes permanent. translation: it makes a big difference. we find we use the video calls a lot where there is a lot of panic or when people are having difficulty understanding the instructions that we're giving over the phone. this in the year—long trial of 700 video calls, more than 40% of the emergencies were re—categorised once dispatchers could see the scene live. so, how does it work? operators can send an sms to mobile

callers with a link that opens up their camera and shares video from their device, but only if there's another person at the scene to administer the first aid. translation: it's a way to guide the patient since we can monitor the situation. so, someone can help put an unconscious person in position. if it's a cardiac arrest, are you pumping the right place at the chest? are you pumping deep enough? all this happens when the ambulance is on its way, as fast as possible. the scheme has already been credited with saving one life. this person has a heart attack and was helped by colleagues on a video call. he's welcomed the roll—out, saying he's sure it will help many others. karl riley, bbc news. a group of charities has bought a zoo in the brittany region of france with the aim of returning the animals to the wild. they raised more than five hundred and fifty thousand pounds on crowd —funding

platforms and have ambitious plans. gail maclellan reports. zoo de pont scorff in brittany. closed to visitors for the immediate future. if the rewild team's plans succeed, then the zoo will reopen to the public in the middle of 2020, but it won't be the kind of zoo you might expect. for one thing, the animals will not be on public view. translation: actually, we don't want to close the zoo to the public. for us, it's very important that this place stays alive, that people come and continue to have a relationship with living beings. we want to change our vision of wild animals, which are notjust consumer goods. we want to take another approach — one that's sensitive and educational. but first, they need to assess the animals that crowd funding helped them to buy. they want, they say, to get them out of the conditions in which they currently live. translation: the rhino is not well. you can really feel the weight of captivity on his shoulders.

a black rhino is a folivore, and here, he never has access to foliage. the new owners have asked all 17 of the zoo's employees to stay and help look after the animals. their plans are ambitious and expensive. they are keeping the appeals for funding going as they aim to rehabilitate their charges and, in some cases, reintroduce them to the wild. but not everyone thinks this is a good idea. the european association of zoos and aquarias think that public contributors are misguided. they point to the difficulty of reintroducing animals to the wild and suggest the conservation arena is no place for amateurs. but they agree that animal species are in serious trouble and it could be that the pont—scorff zoo experiment is at least a small step in the right direction. gail maclellan, bbc news. hundreds of people have taken part in ice dragon boat races

on a frozen river in china. 18 teams — consisting of ten paddlers, a drummer and a helmsman — propel their boats equipped with skate—like blades. they've competed in 100m and 200—metre races injinzhou city in northeast china. it's part of an initiative to boost ice and snow related industries in jinzhou. now for a look with the weather. it has been a mild day today across the uk and tomorrow will be every bit as mild. in fact, the temperatures across southern parts of the uk could be a little bit higher. there is some sunshine in the forecast as well but not for everybody. just like today, the clouds are pretty thick across the western isles of scotland and in northern ireland as well. we've got some rain here and it is also very windy but the air has travelled all the way from the subtropics so that is why it is mild here today across scotland

and northern ireland but we have the rain. tonight to the size of that these guys will probably clear across parts of northern england, the midlands, probably in the south as well. and whether the sky clears or not, that will have an effect on the temperatures first thing on monday morning. maybe two or three degrees in the cold spots but worthy cloud lingers it will be closer to six or 7 degrees. tomorrow, i have mentioned cloud across scotland and northern ireland. it is a little bit more widespread. also some rain getting into glasgow, may be edinburgh, possibly belfast later in the day as well. to the south we have got some sunshine. now to new year's eve. it is you are state of the year and we have thicker time tear across part of the midland and there could be some light rain or drizzle in the south—west of the country but in the daytime it is in much of northern england and in areas further north. we are looking fairly sunny. it is a little bit cold there, it is 5 degrees in edinburgh. then, as we head towards midnight, the weather is looking absolutely fine. we are lucky this year.

high pressure is building across the uk so for many of us it is going to be a case of clear skies. if you are unlucky it will be overcast with just a temporary drizzle. that is about it. the only thing we'll be watching out for in the early new year's day will be some mist and fog. here is the high pressure, it is very much in charge of the weather, notjust across the uk but a large chunk of central europe. here it is, the first day of 2020. we have got southerly winds, so that is mild. temperatures will be not far off 10 celsius across the south of the country and the same goes in the western isles as well. temporarily the weather is going to change towards the end of the week across scotland, northern ireland and maybe north—west of england. a weather front is going to move through and bring some rain. that means possibly colder weather and wintry showers from friday but it is just going to be in the very far north of the uk.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 6pm. five people have been stabbed in new york state during hanukkah celebrations at the home of an orthodox rabbi. this is domestic terrorism. these are people who intend to create mass harm, mass violence, generate fear. the mayor of sydney says the new year fireworks display will go ahead as planned — despite a petition calling for it to be cancelled because of nearby bushfires. we meet the uk's first paramedics trained to prescribe —