is up against ryan january. he is up against ryan joyce. joyce has two of the antei and find the level he has never found before if he is to beat luke later on. stephen bunting gets the evening session going, the world number eight and with his walk on song, titanium, ithink number eight and with his walk on song, titanium, i think this arena will be rocking. that's all from sportsday. have a lovely evening. let's return to our top story this hour. edinburgh's famous new year's eve celebrations, known as hogmanay, have been cancelled due to bad weather. strong winds, rain and snow are forecast in the scottish capital. the festivities were due to feature a huge street party, a concert and midnight fireworks

display above edinburgh castle. let's speak to scotland corresponent catriona renton, who's in edinburgh. hello. i wonder if you could start with what exactly has been cancelled?— with what exactly has been cancelled? ., ., ., , ., cancelled? the outdoor events that were due to — cancelled? the outdoor events that were due to take _ cancelled? the outdoor events that were due to take place _ cancelled? the outdoor events that were due to take place tomorrow . were due to take place tomorrow night have all been cancelled. that is the world famous street party. the concert in princess street gardens which was going to be headlined by texas and of course, the spectacular fireworks that bring in the new year every year here in edinburgh, usually. but this year it has been cancelled. preparations were being made right up until the last minute. we only heard it was cancelled around about 3.30 this afternoon and organisers had been hoping the events would go ahead tomorrow night. indoor events will

go ahead but it is those world famous street parties that attract people from all over the world, 45,000 people from all over the world, 16,000 people were due in the centre of edinburgh tomorrow night to enjoy the preparations. we were going to be there to report on it live, but it is now not happening. the organisers have put out a statement and said it is because of safety concerns they have had to cancel. they have not done this lightly, they didn't want to do this but the met office predictions of high winds and rain for tomorrowjust meant it was going to be too dangerous to go ahead with the outdoor events. for the tickets that have been sold, will there be compensation? yes. the tickets that have been sold, will there be compensation? yes, the oruanisers will there be compensation? yes, the organisers have _ will there be compensation? yes, the organisers have said _ will there be compensation? yes, the organisers have said they _ will there be compensation? yes, the organisers have said they will - will there be compensation? yes, the organisers have said they will be - organisers have said they will be getting in touch with people who have bought tickets to organise refunds. that is something, people will not be out of pocket. but some

will not be out of pocket. but some will have travelled to edinburgh to stay here. but they will get to see in the new year in the place that is probably most famous for it in the world. we have spoken to people this afternoon who are very disappointed that the street party is in going ahead tomorrow night but understanding that safety in these conditions come first. the last time that hogmanay events were cancelled in edinburgh due to adverse weather conditions was back in 2006. it's not something that happens very often and very disappointing for people who have travelled from far and wide to come and see the fireworks and be part of that event tomorrow, which now unfortunately has been cancelled. i tomorrow, which now unfortunately has been cancelled.— has been cancelled. i wonder if you could remind _ has been cancelled. i wonder if you could remind us— has been cancelled. i wonder if you could remind us about _ has been cancelled. i wonder if you could remind us about hogmanay, | has been cancelled. i wonder if you - could remind us about hogmanay, what is it and what are the traditions? hogmanay is what we call new year's eve here in scotland. it is a very traditional time of year so people will first foot, that is what they

do, people come round to your house, chat at the door and you hope it will be somebody he was tall, dark and handsome and that is a good sign for the new year. they used to be a tradition of course that people would bring a lump of coal. things like that have moved on but there are still very many traditional events and some of my colleagues in aberdeenshire in stonehaven, where they were preparing for the stonehaven fireballs. that is literally weaving around balls of fire tomorrow night and they are hoping that will still go ahead because the weather they have forecast for their still seems to think it can go ahead. but enormous disappointment he had that people are not going to link arms and sing auld lang syne and bring in the bells, as we call it, and that is when the bells ring midnight, we call it the bells and people wish each other a happy new year and hope

for the best for the year ahead. tall dark and handsome with bells, i will have that, thank you very much. very quickly, a celebration isn't a celebration without the food. what will be on the menu? if celebration without the food. what will be on the menu?— celebration without the food. what will be on the menu? if you go to my mum's you — will be on the menu? if you go to my mum's you will _ will be on the menu? if you go to my mum's you will get _ will be on the menu? if you go to my mum's you will get steak _ will be on the menu? if you go to my mum's you will get steak pie - will be on the menu? if you go to my mum's you will get steak pie and - will be on the menu? if you go to myj mum's you will get steak pie and you will get scotch broth and probably some dumplings. that is really scottish and i am sure lots of other people will be celebrating in different ways. traditionally it is turkey at christmas and steak pie at new year. i turkey at christmas and steak pie at new year. ., ,., ., ., new year. i will have some of that, [us a bit new year. i will have some of that, plus a bit of— new year. i will have some of that, plus a bit of gravy- _ new year. i will have some of that, plus a bit of gravy. thank— new year. i will have some of that, plus a bit of gravy. thank you - new year. i will have some of that, plus a bit of gravy. thank you very. plus a bit of gravy. thank you very much indeed. you are watching bbc news. an 18—year—old british man has begun a year long jail sentence in dubai,

after he was convicted of having sex with a 17—year—old british girl who he met on holiday. marcus fakana from north london and the girl who is now 18 and also from london, began their romance while on holiday with theirfamilies. the girl's mother reported the relationship to dubai police — who arrested the teenager at his hotel. sex with someone under 18 is illegal in the united arab emirates. 0ur reporter harry low gave us this update. marcus fakana went on his on holiday with his parents back in september and started this holiday romance with another londoner. she was aged 17 at the time. a couple of months younger than him. and marcus told his family about this relationship, but she hadn't told her family and when they returned to the uk, her mother went through her phone and found messages and pictures between the pair and decided to report him to the authorities. now the dubai police went to his hotel and arrested him. marcus fakana has remained in the country ever since and on the 9th of december, he was sentenced to one year in prison because in the country

of dubai, as you mentioned, it is illegal to have sex with a minor. he was hoping potentially to appeal, but it appears that he's decided against doing that now and as a result, he's going to start his jail term today. he said that this is going to be a long fight. he's hoping for a royal pardon. he's thanked people for their support, and he's previously said that his family is devastated and in shock. he said that, "i never intended to break the law. it didn't occur to me at the time and for that i'm sorry." and he's asked for forgiveness and to be pardoned. he said, "let me go home. please give me my life back." the welsh government says it will push ahead with plans for a visitor tax, due to be introduced in 2027, despite opposition from the tourism industry. this new tax will mean an extra £1.25 per person, per night, for anyone using hotels, guest houses and self—catering accommodation — or 75p each for campsites and hostels. 0ur wales correspondent, hywel griffith reports. packed in summer, peaceful as winter washes in, pembrokeshire draws around a million

overnight visitors every year. come in and have a look. for helen, they are a lifeline. her self—catering cottage is just off the coast. she's worried what customers will think if her county decides to tax tourists. it's giving the impression that we don't want people to come in. it's almost as if to say, you know, you've got to really pay a lot to come and see us, to come here and enjoy the countryside and what we offer. she's not the only one that's vexed. rob runs alpaca trekking trips on his farm, alongside a glamping site. in a competitive field, he thinks the price conscious will wander elsewhere. an extra £20 a week could be — i'm not saying it would be, but could be enough for them to go to another county. and you're worried you'll lose out? possibly, yeah. of course, if we've got less people coming into the county,

less people are staying. less revenue for us. and obviously then, percentage—wise, less people are coming walking the alpacas also. wales isn't going it alone on this. a similar levy is on the way in scotland. and places like manchester already have a city visitor charge. but there is concern that just the idea of taxing tourism may put some people off and push them elsewhere. it will be up to councils if they want to impose the charge and receive the cash. the welsh government doesn't believe the levy will be a deterrent. visitor levies are very common in other parts of the world, and they're becoming increasingly common in the united kingdom as well. and the hard, empirical evidence is that visitor levies do not change people's minds as far as where they choose to spend their holidays. so what about those who have chosen the town of tenby for a winter break? to be honest, i don't think it would make the slightest bit of difference to us. we travel a lot. we go to lots of places where we get charged a tourist tax, especially over in europe.

so we're happy to pay. it wouldn't put me off at all. £1.25 per night, £2.50 a couple wouldn't put me off visiting at all. terrible — everywhere is terrible. but they all want money. they're all after our money. how that money will be spent is another concern for the tourist industry. nervous of what may lie on the horizon in the years ahead. and that's get the weather with louise. hello there. the weather turning increasingly unsettled as we step into the new year. if you have plans on new year's eve, keep listening to this forecast because it's going to be dominated by this area of low pressure, particularly across the far north of the country. it's bringing increasingly wet and windy weather across scotland in particular. there will be some snow as well to the far north and east. the met office has issued an amber warning for the intensity of the rain from inverness down to for william, so there's potential of some localised flooding and some travel disruption

on what is a very busy day. so heavy rain moving its way south out of scotland, but a rash of showers tucking in behind the rain will tend to sit across northern england and north wales by the middle part of the afternoon. that means central and southeastern england. windy to end the day, but largely fine and dry. the rain across wales, across northern england and then to the north and west of that. it's a case of sunny spells and scattered showers to close out the day. still double digits here, but in the far north of scotland, already in the cold air, just a couple of degrees above freezing for the northern isles. so as we move out of new year's eve into new year's day, we'll have this conveyer belt of moisture pushing in from the west. that means a day of relentless heavy rain sinking its way across central and southern england, and it will linger throughout the afternoon, windy with it as well. behind sunny spells and scattered showers here, the wind direction swinging around to a northerly. some of those showers could be wintry in nature, with the strongest of the gusts, perhaps with the

heaviest of the rain. gusts in excess of 55 to 60 miles an hour. here it will stay still. relatively mild, but the colder air starting to dig in across scotland. and once that rain clears through, well, we see that arctic air taking over right across the country, a strong northerly wind as well. that means clear skies by day, but also through the night. hard frost to greet us first thing on thursday morning. plenty of clear skies continue, so there will be some sunshine. but because of the direction of that wind, it means that any showers could be a little wintry in nature as well. so thursday and friday we see more in the way of sunshine, but it will be cold with it somewhat milder, but a little more unsettled from sunday onwards.

live from london, this is bbc news. edinburgh's world—renowned hogmanay new year's eve celebrations have been cancelled due to severe weather conditions forecasted across the uk in the coming days. relatives of those who perished in sunday's tragic plane crash in south korea demand answers from the government as the agonising wait for the recovery of their loved ones continues.

russia and ukraine carry out one of the largest prisoner of war exchanges since the onset of the full—scale invasion of ukraine. and astronomers prepare to get a glimpse of a dazzling star system that hasn't been visible to the naked eye for eight decades. hello, i'm lukwesa burak. high winds and extreme weather has forced the cancellation of edinburgh's world—famous hogmanay celebrations on new year's eve. tens of thousands of tickets had already been sold, but organisers say high winds and extreme weather mean they've been unable to continue with preparations for the outdoor events both today and tomorrow.

amongst the events called off, a concert by the rock band