here we have live pictures from the united arab emirates, dubai to be precise, about to seeing in 2020. cheering.

music.

dubai always puts on a good show, doesn't it? that is a world—class tactile list building, —— the world's tallest building, with the fantastic skyline as a backdrop to the fireworks. the new year has arrived in the united arab emirates. music. you may recall as we were saying on the screen there, when 2015 became 2016 there was a huge fire that engulfed part of a luxury

hotel in dubai very close to where those people gathered to watch the fireworks display and that particular year brought under control without any fatalities but that fire lit up the side of the address downtown hotel close to the city centre and scattering bysta nders city centre and scattering bystanders into a nearby shopping mall. but thankfully everything has passed off calmly but beautifully in dubai. four hours ahead of us. lots of controversy about whether fireworks display should be taking place and all parts of the world particularly australia. thousands of people in south—eastern australia have been forced to seek refuge on beaches and boats after becoming trapped by advancing bush fires. we have been reporting on those for weeks. in the state of victoria, 4000 people, including locals and tourists, prepared to flee into the ocean as a last resort. fire chiefs have warned that they face a "very long, difficult and dangerous night". in new south wales —

where over a hundred fires are now burning — two more people have been killed, and dozens of properties destroyed along a stretch of coastline. 0ur sydney correspondent, shaimaa khalil, reports. this is what uncontrollable blazes pushed by strong winds have done to towns across eastern australia. and this is what firefighters have been up against for weeks now. this crew trapped in their fire engine as they fight an impossible battle. in the coastal town of batemans bay in new south wales, residents have fled, taking shelter on the beach, desperately trying to escape the hellish fire conditions. 300 kilometres south in the state of victoria, thousands in mallacoota also escaped to the shores. at one point, people were told to jump in the water if the fire came their way. more than a dozen emergency level blazes, spanning 500 kilometres, have stretched across the two states

of victoria and new south wales. several holiday spots along the coast have now been cut off and the main road in the region is closed. military aircraft and vessels could be sent to help rescue efforts and to bring aid to those trapped in the worst hit areas. time and time again, people have told us that the scale of these fires is unlike anything they'd ever seen before and so too is the extent of the damage. and as these blazes continue to rage across eastern and southern australia, many are dealing with the reality of going back home when they've lost everything. the village of balmoral in new south wales has seen some of the worst devastation in recent weeks. everywhere you look is a sign of how the blazes ravaged through the area. rosemary doyle lived in this house for 13 years with her late husband. she tells me she felt relatively safe, living just across the road

from the local fire station. but nothing here has been spared. and then i stood across the road and just watched it burn, room by room, which was really, really difficult. the last room to burn was where i'd left my husband's ashes. soaring temperatures, strong winds and relentless drought have made it impossible to stop the trail of these huge fires and with no rain predicted, australians will now head into the new year with the threat of more blazes looming over them. there've been violent clashes outside the american embassy in the iraqi capital, baghdad. tens of thousands of militiamen attacked the complex, in response to us airstrikes against its members on sunday. president trump has accused iran of orchestrating the violence, and criticised the iraqi government for failing to prevent it. 0ur diplomatic correspondent,

paul adams reports. chanting. furious crowds and an american embassy, the largest in the world, under siege. protesters and pro—iranian militiamen inside baghdad's protected green zone, venting their anger. attempting to breach the embassy walls. 0ne entrance is pushed open, but the crowd is forced back by tear gas fired from inside. a sentry post is attacked. this is a heavily fortified compound. the soldiers inside seem alert, but not yet alarmed. fires are lit outside, the air thick with smoke and anti—american slogans. but the crowd is not huge. sources inside the compound say the situation appears to be under control. no one has been evacuated. directing the protests are some of the country's leading shi'ite militiamen. they are backed by iran and deeply hostile towards america.

translation: this embassy has been proved to be an embassy of plotting against iraq, the embassy of spying on iraq and the embassy of running schemes of sabotage in iraq. tensions rose dramatically over the weekend as american warplanes carried out air strikes against military targets in iraq and syria. at least 25 fighters were killed. the us blamed the pro—iranian group kata'ib hezbollah for a rocket attack on friday that killed an american civilian in the northern city of kirkuk. donald trump points the finger at neighbouring iran. iran killed an american contractor, he tweeted this morning, we strongly responded and always will. now iran is orchestrating an attack on the us embassy in iraq. they will be held fully responsible. he also warned iraq to do more to protect the embassy. but iraq's government is in a bind. the us is still an ally in the fight against so—called islamic state, but its relationship with iran

is much closer. the prime minister condemned america's air strikes at the weekend, but when the crowd moved on the embassy this morning, iraqi security forces did not stop them. paul adams, bbc news. and these are some of the latest pictures showing the protesters outside the embassy — and what is presumably the sentry building now set on fire. and we've also learned that more us troops have been deployed to baghdad from kuwait, to boost numbers at the embassy. the iraq he president has condemned attem pts the iraq he president has condemned atte m pts to the iraq he president has condemned attempts to attack and gain interest to the embassy and baghdad, saying it was a violation of binding international agreements which are meant to protect foreign missions and the government is a signatory to the agreements and. says a peaceful

protest is a right and guaranteed by the constitution but a attacking foreign missions is against its reputation. they called to protect all foreign missions and for protesters to leave the embassy. those are the latest pictures. a 10—year—old girl who was knocked down by an ambulance on an emergency call—out in nottingham has died. shaniqua loftman—smith was hit while walking in the bulwell area of the city three days before christmas. police are appealing for witnesses. a woman is in hospital after being stabbed three times in front of her child, on a street in south london. police were called to downton avenue in streatham hill yesterday evening. the met says the 36—year—old mother was attacked from behind whilst pushing her child in a pushchair — but her injuries are not considered life threatening. the lone suspect is described as a black man, who was around 6ft and wearing dark clothing, and the force is appealing for witnesses after the attacker ran

off away from the high road. the national living wage is to rise by 6 point 2 per cent, more than four times the rate of inflation. the 51 pence rise to £8.72 pence per hour will come into effect in april. the government says it'll be the biggest ever cash increase to the minimum wage. but small businesses claim they'll need government support to afford it. the former boss of the car company nissan has fled japan — where he was facing trial over allegations of financial misconduct. once one of the most powerful figures in the car industry, carlos ghosn flew to lebanon to escape what he called "injustice and political persecution". lebanon said it had no prior warning about his arrival. rupert wingfield hayes' report from tokyo contains flash photography. last march, carlos ghosn disguised himself as a construction worker as he attempted to slip past the waiting media on his release from jail.

now he has succeeded in slipping out ofjapan, perhaps in another disguise. even his own defence team have been left dumbfounded, unable to explain how mrghosn did it. translation: we didn't know anything about it. it's a complete surprise. we still have all his passports. somehow mr ghosn managed to board a privatejet and last night he landed here, in the lebanese capital beirut. he said he had not fled japanese justice, but escaped from injustice. i am now in lebanon, he said, and will no longer be held hostage by a rigged japanese justice system where guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant, and basic human rights are denied. this is a truly extraordinary development in what was already an extraordinary story. japanese prosecutors will say by fleeing, carlos ghosn is admitting his guilt. but many others agree

with carlos ghosn and his defence team that the charges against him were essentially politically motivated. and that carlos ghosn‘s real crime was trying to force a merger between a japanese company, nissan, and its french parent, renault. in the 1990s carlos ghosn helped save french car—maker renault. in the 2000s, he took on an even biggerjob, turning around japan's moribund car—maker, nissan. he rose to become one of the most powerful figures in the global car industry. but in 2018 he was arrested at tokyo airport on suspicion of financial misconduct. he was held in this tokyo detention centre for more than 100 days, facing daily interrogations. this is a conspiracy. since his release on bail, carlos ghosn has angrily proclaimed his innocence. accusing his former colleagues at nissan of conspiring with japanese prosecutors

to manufacture a case against him. the media injapan have been preparing for what was expected to be the trial of the decade. instead carlos ghosn is now far away in lebanon, a country that has no extradition agreement with japan. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. thousands of mixed—sex couples in england and wales are expected to enter into civil partnerships from today. it comes after a long battle against a law that had previously only permitted same—sex couples to become civil partners. daniela relph's report contains flash photography. cheering. finally, civil partners. something they had always wanted, but until today, had been legally impossible. rebecca steinfeld, charles keidan, and their two young daughters, mark the occasion at chelsea registry office in london. i love you. this wasn't a wedding. they didn't even call it a ceremony.

it was the registration of a civil partnership. giving the family the legal and financial protection that a marriage provides. there are lots of reasons why people don't want to get married. they might have had a previous bad experience of marriage, their own parents marriage, they might have feminist objections like we do. and we feel thrilled and honoured that we have opened up the institution of civil partnership so that everyone can now form one regardless of whether they are in a mixed sex or same—sex relationship. it is just an amazing moment for us, it is the end of a long journey and the start of a new decade and the beginning of my life together as civil partners in law. i couldn't have wished for a better moment than that. for rebecca and charles this is both a private, family celebration and public recognition of a change in the law. something they have been fighting for through the courts for more than five years. the couple took their challenge to the highest court in the land. the supreme court agreed with charles and rebecca, excluding different sex couples from civil partnership was willed incompatible with their right to a family life.

i don't believe this change would have happened without charles and rebecca. but whilst, as of today, they are civilly partnered, this is something now which will affect thousands and potentially millions of people across the uk. one of the things people just don't realise until things go wrong in a relationship is that unless they were married or now have a civil partnership, they are not legally protected. rebecca and charles were amongst the first but the government predicts as many as 84,000 heterosexual couples could become civil partners in 2020. daniela relph, bbc news, west london. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's 0lly foster. that evening to you, it has been a quiet day on the football front. but brace yourself for nine matches in the premier league tomorrow, and of course

the januray transfer window opens. the manchester united manager 0le gunnar solskjaer says he has money to spend but won't buy anyone just for the sake of it because he could upset the team dynamic. iam i am optimistic we can keep players fit and if the right ones become available, yeah, we do have the resources in a do have the backing from the board but it is also about getting the right ones. it has to be, there is no point suddenly thinking bringing someone else and 110w thinking bringing someone else and now for the sake of three or four months, if that can disrupt any not any good feeling in the group at the chemistry in the group is really good. the west ham captain mark noble has backed david moyes to turn things around. there has been a mixed response from hammers fans to the scots' return to the club. he helped keep them up 2 years ago but was then replaced by manuel pellegrini who was sacked

on saturday with the club one point above the relegation zone. noble says moyes is the best person for the job and in his first spell in charge brought out the best in the players, so everyone should support him. ian holloway is the new manager of league two side grimsby, he'll also have shares in the club and take a place on the board. in a long maangerial career, he led blackpool and crystal palace into the premier league but his last post was at qpr last year. grimsby are 21st in league two and without a win since september. when former premier league referee bobby madley stopped officiating in august 2018, the reason given was that he was re—locating for personal reasons. in a lenghty post online today, the 34—year—old has revealed that he was sacked for what he calls ‘a dark humoured joke' mocking a disabled person at his daughter's school sportsday he says he had previouslyjoked about not taking part in the parents race and had

been criticised in a national newspaper for making mistakes because he was overweight. he filmed the disabled person before sending it to a friend saying that he finally "had a chance of winning the race that year". madley says he was dismissed for "gross misconduct on grounds of discrimination". the ecb have said they're "cautiously" in favour of four day tests. that's a proposal being looked at by the icc as they try and finalise an increasingly congested cricket calendar from 2023. here's our correspondent katie gornall. supporters of this four—day limit on test matches argue it will ease congestion and ease up around a0 daysin congestion and ease up around a0 days in the grace king calendar and ease the workload on players and help cricket to become more accessible to a new audience and make the point that most test

matches these days do not know go to the distance. today they formally gave their support for this for the very first time and released a statement where they say they cautiously backed the concept of a four—day test match but acknowledged itan four—day test match but acknowledged it an emotive topic for those who have concerns about challenging the heritage, that is what they say. gerwen price and peter wright have both apologised for their conduct in their ill—tempered pdc world darts championship semi—final. wright won and will play defending champion michael van gerwen in tomorrow's final. meanwhile, fallon sherrock, who this year became the first woman to win a match at the pdc world championship and reached the 3rd round, has withdrawn from the bdo women's world championship next week. a factor behind that decision is the reduction of prize money following poor ticket sales.

don't forget a look back on the year in sport on the bbc news channel at around 8.30. from me and the rest of the team at the bbc sport centre, it is over and out. do you call that an evening shift? that is pathetic?” out. do you call that an evening shift? that is pathetic? i have been through for a press enter is pathetic? i have been through four presenters now. i will see you next decade. do not be better. me? never. celebrations to usher in 2020 are taking place in many parts of the world... auckland in new zealand was the first major city to see in the new year and a new decade — with the sky tower at the centre of celebratory fireworks. china welcomed the new year with an 0lympics themed performance ahead of the beijing

2022 winter olympics. and in the last few minutes the united arab emirates brought in 2020 at the world's tallest building the burj khalifa. dan johnson has more. a quiet moment to contemplate what's been before embracing what comes next. a new year, a new decade, and new zealand kicked it off with auckland the first major capital to welcome 2020. sydney put on a spectacular, despite calls to cancel the fireworks because of widespread bushfires. it's a global stage, after all, and the show did indeed go on. a big bong and a tub—thumping soundtrack saw the start of celebrations in japan, the first new year's eve of a whole new era. across the water, kim jong—un‘s resisted too many rocket launches this year, perhaps saving north korea's firepower for this display.

and in hong kong, the fireworks echoed the firecrackers of protests that have reverberated through its streets. in london, it will be all eyes on the wheel that has become the icon of a global city and the focus for a nation waiting to see what 2020 brings around. dan johnson, bbc news. police are warning people not to attend new year celebrations on the river thames in london without a ticket. charlotte gallagher is at embankment now where london's new year's eve event will be taking place tonight. yes and i have one of the best spots on the embankment because the london eye directly behind me, that is the main attraction for everyone coming down here. at the stroke of midnight around 2000 fireworks will be set off from the wheel and another 10,000 fireworks will be set off

from arejust 10,000 fireworks will be set off from are just marred along the river thames and it will promise to be a spectacular show, themed around football this year and the euro 2020 matches that will be hosted and landed 20/20 next year. and i've been speaking to the mayor of london about the show. well, i don't want to ruin the surprise, but i can say, hand on heart, they'll be the best fireworks london's ever seen. look, we may be leaving the european union, but we're not leaving europe. tonight's fireworks will celebrate us as a global city, a european city, but next year we are really lucky in london to have the european 2020 finals — seven games, the final, the semifinals and four other games. so there will be a football theme with the fireworks tonight but it will be a great night. and 100,000 people as they said coming down here to watch the fireworks and they are coming from all over the world, italy, japan, south korea and indian event. he

said he has come from india, why did you want to be here? there are a lot of good things that happened to me andl of good things that happened to me and i take it as a decade and i wanted to end it on a higher note and start my new year by witnessing this. that is why i am here. all the way from india just to be here tonight. yes. i want to come here andl tonight. yes. i want to come here and i was here and iq and finally i got to this spot sol and i was here and iq and finally i got to this spot so i am really happy here. i hope you have a wonderful night. people have real dedication and another person here from america, you were queuing for hours to get here as well. where are you from an america? alabama originally. why did you want to come down from london? today is my birthday and so every year and make ita birthday and so every year and make

it a tradition to go to a major city to see the fireworks display so london was the next one on the last. what is your experience in london so far. beautiful, the weather has been pretty cooperative and the rain let up pretty cooperative and the rain let up so the virus will be great tonight. not as tight as where you are from either. —— not as hot as where you are from either. lots of people down here and they cannot wait for the show to begin and we are promised music and there are people from brazil and mexico down here and apparently there will be some football anthems as well so if you like three lions, you are in for a treat tonight. thank you. lorna gordon is in edinburgh for us ahead of tonight's hogmanay celebrations. we canjoin we can join her we canjoin her now. we can join her now. yes the street here, for those of you who know it is starting to fill up and they are

respecting about 75,000 people down here and it is quite a compact city so here and it is quite a compact city so that is a lot of people in quite a small area and lots going on and streets and entertainers and performers on stilts going down the streets already and of course there are big acts as well among them. and big operation for the police and they said one of the biggest challenges of the year is this an event and they say causes the biggest difficulty but not this year because though it is nippy, it is dry. i list speaking to the chief and here is what he had to say. we're here to police the event and to make sure that the events pass safely. so, we've had real considerable engagement with our partners, the city of edinburgh council, the organisers running all that, and there's real detailed plans in place for the policing of it in the safety of it. we're quite comfortable with that. but what about the communication that's going out to local residents and staff? man yelling. that's what you can expect from your neighbours here in edinburgh! no, i think from a policing

perspective, really comfortable with the communication. there has obviously been some tensions around about visitors to edinburgh versus local residents. we're here to police both equally and that's what's going to happen tonight. and what's your message to those people who are coming to town to see hogmanay? you can probably hear in the background there's a real buzz about the town. come, enjoy the city, have fun, take care of yourselves, that's what i'd like. make sure you arrive here and you get home safely. have a plan for getting home safely, look after each other, and if you're going to have a drink, do so but don't push yourself because that's where you're more vulnerable than you would like to be. but have a good time, it's ready for you. there is simply saying have at that time but stay safe. we will speak to a few visitors from the city tonight. where you from? liverpool. lincoln share. why did you come down here? let edinburgh and love the city and the culture so just looking for a street party to get the new year going. ever been to the

celebration? now. looking forward to it. about three or four hours but my second time and edinburgh so we just thought why not come for new year. what will be the highlights for you and what are you looking out for you is. last night the torch fastball. i see you have been standing here for a while is that why, the music? and fireworks as well. yes. looking forward to it. where you from? cape town. are you here for the holiday? we came here for hogmanay. we went looking forward to the fireworks and cannot wait. you are wrapped up warm for the weather though aren't you?”

bet cold. a tree scotsman would not bet cold. a tree scotsman would not be complaining but it is a beautiful castle. just a taste of some of the this address, from south africa, liverpool and even further we have been speaking to people from brazil and australia as well. thank you very much. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello there, it's quite cold at the moment across parts of scotland and northern england but cloudier skies that we've had further south are moving their way northwards. so, for many as we head into the new year, it will be dry and cloudy. some mist and fog patches. still quite chilly though for north—eastern scotland and north east england with a touch of frost around here. and most of the mist and fog probably affecting parts of yorkshire and lincolnshire. milder weather towards the south but still quite cloudy. and it looks like the first day of 2020 is going to be a cloudy day. there may be some brightness at times but the best of the sunshine likely to be in the north east of scotland