i'm on london's south bank where people are gathering to see the fireworks mark the beginning of 2025. but there's disappointment in some parts of the uk as yellow storm warnings put paid to many of the outdoor celebrations. fans of 70s, johnny walker with you until five o'clock. tributes are paid to the veteran bbc radio dj johnnie walker who has died at the age of 79. from number 10, to the silver screen. former prime minister borisjohnson bags an unlikely cameo — in a ukrainian christmas film. hello and welcome to bbc news. in the past couple of hours, new year celebrations have been getting under way across much of asia. this was the spectacular fireworks display in hong kong.

taipei also put on quite the show to welcome in 2025. here's the celebrations in sydney. as always a fireworks bonanza focused on the harbour bridge. this one went on for 12 minutes.

and this was new zealand with a spectacular fireworks display at the auckland sky tower. we'll bring you plenty more of those celebrations in the hours ahead — as 2024 ticks to an end. across the many time zones it will take us 26 hours for the entire world to welcome in 2025. and we'll be live in london as preparations get under way shortly. here in the uk, it's proving quite a stressful new year countdown for organisers of some of the many outdoor events due to take place. the traditional outdoor hogmanay celebrations have been cancelled because of strong winds there, and newcastle and blackpool have called off their outdoor celebrations too. in london, authorities say tonight's traditional fireworks display over

the river thames will go ahead. 0ur correspondent greg mckenzie is there. hello to you, greg. it is look exciting. it is looking as if there is a party about the get under way. what is it like? good evening, yes, this is the london embankment. in a couple of hours 100,000 people will be alongside the river to witness that spectacular. the london eye will come alive at midnight with 12,000 fireworks. this year's theme we are told by the london mayor is hope. last year's theme was unity, trying to bring the whole country together. we are told there will be some special things happening this year. there is a light show. . he said people would be surprised at what is in store this year. there will be music and there will be speeches being played out from a number of high profile

people. last year it was the king, king charles read a message out. people will experience this for 12 minutes and then you will hear auld lang syne and people will dance away into the wee hours. the weather is mild for london, with the rest of the country some severe weather warnings in the north. here in the south it is relatively calm. we are expecting some rain later. they will let people in in around an hour's time. the tickets sold out within hours after they were put on sale. there is a crew of 30 individuals getting the final preparations under way for what is the biggest fireworks display in europe. 15 fireworks display in europe. is it really, greg? it _ fireworks display in europe. is it really, greg? it is _ fireworks display in europe. is it really, greg? it is indeed. i it really, greg? it is indeed. and look, — it really, greg? it is indeed. and look, this _ it really, greg? it is indeed. and look, this is _ it really, greg? it is indeed. and look, this is my - it really, greg? it is indeed. and look, this is my third i and look, this is my third year, i'm a veteran now. this will be alive. you will smell

the gun powder in the air. the chimes of big ben will ring and we will officially be in 2025. a lot of countries are using drones. is that something that we are seeing increasingly in london? ~ ., , london? well, there were drones last ear london? well, there were drones last year and _ london? well, there were drones last year and i — london? well, there were drones last year and i can _ london? well, there were drones last year and i can tell— london? well, there were drones last year and i can tell you - last year and i can tell you there is no drones this year. in part, because the weather is so unpredictable. but we are told there will be a lighting show, a spectacular never seen before. apparently you are only going to see this here on the bbc. ~ , ., ., ., bbc. well, listen to that. how is that an _ bbc. well, listen to that. how is that an for _ bbc. well, listen to that. how is that an for advert. - bbc. well, listen to that. how is that an for advert. greg, - is that an for advert. greg, our veteran new year's eve correspondent. i love it. 0ur scotland correspondent catriona renton is in edinburgh and gave me the latest on the situation there.

it's still a little bit blowy here, louisa. in fact, the yellow warning for wind and rain, which caused the things to be cancelled yesterday, is still in place for wind in the central and southern parts of the country. so, it is still windy here. and of course, we've been watching quite enviously the pictures coming in from around the world of landmarks that are being lit up by fireworks as the new year is welcomed in. and of course, we're a little bit disappointed here, because normally the beautiful edinburgh skyline behind me here, it would be part of that, but not this year. 115,000 people have been planning to come to the street party, which was of course cancelled yesterday, as well as the live music and the fireworks, which are always quite a sight to see. we've been talking to some very disappointed people who we've met who have come from all over the world. people come here from new zealand, australia, malaysia, dubai, all sorts of places to come and specifically see and experience edinburgh's world famous

hogmanay, but not this year. people, of course, understanding that the organisers had to cancel on safety grounds. now in scotland today, the weather has been pretty atrocious in some places up in the north of scotland, in aviemore, fort william, inverness area there was an amber warning which has only recently expired and of course we've seen some flooding as well. so in those areas, so it has been difficult. and that was part of the organisers' consideration that they had to give people notice, because if people were going to be travelling long and dangerous journeys to get here, they wanted them to be well warned in advance that it was not going to be going ahead. now, let me tell you, though, edinburgh, even indoors, is one of the best places in the world to spend hogmanay, as we call it, and to bring in the bells to see in the new year. and of course, we wish everybody a happy new yearfrom all of us here in edinburgh.

and you canjoin my colleague nicky schiller to see in 2025 with full coverage of the world—famous london fireworks, along with the best of the new year celebrations from around world — here on bbc news. the special prgramme starts at eleven thirty gmt tonight. here, it's been announced that the former radio presenterjohnnie walker has died at the age of 79. he stepped down from his bbc radio 2 show sounds of the �*70s in october due to ill health. his wife tiggy says she couldn't be more proud of how he kept broadcasting "almost to the end with dignity and grace". this is how his colleague and friend, bob harris, made the announcement on bbc radio, a little earlier. welcome along, i'm bob harris, i'm with you here on bbc radio two. and, to start the programme, i bring you some very sad news, because we've heard from tiggy

walker thatjohnnie walker has passed away. i've knownjohnnie since the 1960s, when i first started listening to him on pirate radio. and we know what an incredible, warm, wonderful, superb broadcaster he was. we also know how passionate he was about his music, he went out on a limb many times to defend the music that he loved, and he was passionate about radio. and as the �*60s moved into the �*70s, he and i became increasingly close friends, a friendship that endured right up to the present day. david sillito now takes a look back atjohnnie walker's life. bell rings you're tuned to radio caroline on 199, england's first commercial radio station, and your all day music station. the voice ofjohnnie walker broadcasting from the boat that changed his life —

radio caroline. at the age of 21, suddenly from selling cars and being a car mechanic in birmingham, out on the high seas, you know, 20 million listeners — it's fantastic. the rebel spirit of �*60s pirate radio rather suited his temperament. born peter dingley, he had left public school without passing any exams, but he didn't need 0—levels for what he wanted to do. i went to the locarno ballroom and saw this dj playing records and it was really loud and this was the beginnings of discotheques and i thought, "what a greatjob!" # johnnie walker on radio 0ne!# by the early �*70s, he was though part of the broadcasting establishment on bbc radio one, but he railed against being told what to play. # bye bye baby, baby.# it all came to a head one day when he declared the bay city rollers to be "garbage". # bye—bye, baby,

don't make me cry...# he left for america and over the years there were many ups and downs. when he returned to the bbc, his cocaine habit led to him being briefly suspended. radio two sounds of the �*70s, johnnie walker with you till 5:00. but more than 50 years after the �*60s pirate broadcaster first arrived at the bbc, he was still there, behind the microphone, playing the music he loved. it'sjohnnie walker saying thanks for everything, bye—bye and have a nice day. earlier on i spoke to roger day, who worked withjohnnie walker right back in those very early days. we started out day one together back in april 1966. asjohnny said, he was from birmingham, calling himself peter dee, and i was from kent doing the disco circuit there,

calling myself roger day, as i still do. and we worked for this american radio station, just starting up. and they wanted, you know, some english djs to relate to the uk audience. but i was hired first. so, "peter dee", they said, "we've got a day, we can't have a dee as well, you've got to change your name." so he becamejohnny walker and i often used to joke when we met up, as we did often, that in other circumstances i'd have been johnny walker and he'd have been peter dee, and perhaps i'd have been on radio two. but, heigh ho! and he used to see the the funny side of that. but we were also, we were so close because i'm born, we would have been 80 in march. i was born on the 29th of march, and johnny was born on the 30th. so isn't that spooky that we should both start our start our careers and be so close in age? so i was looking forward to celebrating our 80th next march. sadly, that's not going to happen. but that small radio station,

we went on to radio caroline, which really did both of us the power of good, because that was a much bigger radio station and had more listeners, and it made our careers basically. and johnny, of course, was the most popular. he did a great late evening show, and to prove we had listeners, he used to ask people to come down to the coast and flash their lights on his frinton flashy, and the coast guards hated it, but it it lit up. and of course, harold wilson made a law that said if english people worked for a radio station, they'd get put in jail for two years. and also a heavy fine just for playing pop music, for goodness sake. that was roger day. let s get some of the day s other news now. a new report by the un s human rights office says hospitals in gaza have become deathtraps because of attacks by israel. the report, which examines the period between october 2023 and june of this year, says the attacks raise serious

concerns about war crimes and crimes against humanity. israel has rejected the report as a further example what of it says is the inherent obsession of un human rights with vilifying israel officials in south korea have acknowledged the design of the runway and the landing systems at muan international airport may have contributed to sunday's fatal plane crash. almost everyone onboard thejeju airliner died after it skidded off the end of the runway following an emergency landing. it smashed into the concrete platform housing a guidance system. the boeing 737, which had remained intact until it hit the structure, then burst into flames. china has dismissed claims by the us that it was involved in a hack of the us treasury department. a spokesperson for the chinese foreign ministry described the accusations as �*groundless and politically motivated'. officials in washington said they believed the hack was carried out by chinese state—sponsored actors, who were able to gain access

to staff workstations. aaron brown, the cnn anchor whose continuous, live coverage of the september 11 terrorist attacks in new york, has died aged 76. mr brown's reporting of the unfolding atrocities from the roof of cnn's office in manhattan became one of the most recognised and memorable records of the day and he went on to win major awards for the reporting, which happened on his first day inb the job when he wasn't even expecting to be on tv. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

ukraine says one of its sea drones has shot down a russian helicopter off

the coast of occupied crimea. officials say it's a world first. this video, released by ukrainian intelligence and which we've not been able to independently verify, appears to show an explosion in mid—air and a large splash in the sea. in his new year address, president putin has told russians that the country will move forward with confidence in 2025 and that he's proud of his achievements. vladimir putin, who's been in charge for 25 years, paid tribute to the soldiers fighting in the war in ukraine, calling them true heroes. but as steve rosenberg reports, many people inside russia are struggling economically and want to see an end to the conflict. this festive season, moscow feels very surreal. it's "happy holidays" and "joy to the world" from a country that is waging war on its neighbour.

when i ask russians what they're hoping for most from the new year, everyone replies, "for the war in ukraine to be over". "peace is what i want," she says. "for the war to end and for us to win it." this man wants talks, a negotiated settlement. weapons, he says, won't solve anything. the festive lights are bright, but patriotic fervour? that's fading. well, this is gorky park. 0ne difference i've noticed from a couple of years back. in december 2022, along with the traditional tree, there were giant letter zs, the symbol of the so—called special military operation. this year, no zs, no slogans. it's all very traditional. i think that after three years of war, russians don't want to be

reminded of this war. and i think the authorities sense that, which is why this new year, it's more snowmen than soldiers. but you cannot simply tinsel over a war or its consequences. "i want the military operation to be over," she says, "so that we can forget all about it. "everyone becomes friends again and no one dies. "my nerves are on edge." for russians, there are economic consequences, too, of this war. so even after three years of sanctions, as you can see, there's still a lot of food on the shelves. but it's the prices that are the problem. inflation's a problem. so, for example, this year in russia, the price of potatoes has gone up by 88%, the price of butter by 35%. and there in fact there have been lots of reports of people stealing butter from shops, which is probably why in this supermarket, they're selling some butter in special security

anti—theft boxes. few here believe they can change what is happening. "the russian people are patient," alexander says. "they stay silent." some trust their government. but there is also fear and resignation here ahead of the new year. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. have you ever celebrated new years eve on a train? well, that s the festive backdrop for a new film titled december 31st express, which has been shot — despite the ongoing war — in ukraine. it's billed as a touching comedy about love, friendship, and miracles that only happen at new year. the story unfolds aboard an iconic ukr—zaliz—nytsia train, bound for lviv and carrying an unlikely group of passengers who find themselves stuck in the middle of nowhere.

and the cast includes a guest cameo from... speaks ukrainian. ..former uk prime minister, borisjohnson, playing himself. zoya soshenko, the producer of december 31st express, explained to me earlier why they decided to invite borisjohnson to the movie and how difficult it was to reach out to him. why boris johnson? why borisjohnson? well boris johnson is specialfor why borisjohnson? well boris johnson is special for ukraine. and he was the one of the first western leaders who came to kyiv when the war started. he showed courage and support for ukraine at the time we needed more. so for many people in ukraine, borisjohnson, is a symbol of solidarity. as you

mentioned, the main setting of our movie was in the train, so we realised it would be amazing if he appeared in some moments in our movie. and at the same time we understood it would be really hard, because he is quite a busy person, he is a former prime minister, and so our partners from the ukrainian railways, they know about our idea and once they called to us and said ok guys, we have information that probably one day he will be in kyiv again and if you still want to involve him, please prepare some documents, some ideas and we will get him in. one day, again, they inform us that he has agreed. for us it was

amazing, it was a little miracle. i think ukrainians will with be happy to see him. yes, this is or story. i will with be happy to see him. yes, this is or story.— yes, this is or story. i know he is fondly _ yes, this is or story. i know he is fondly known - yes, this is or story. i know he is fondly known in - yes, this is or story. i know. he is fondly known in ukraine asjohnson uk, how challenging was it to produce a film in ukraine with the war going on, what challenges did you face? thank you for this question. actually it is really quite difficult now, because we almost every day face alarm and for us it means we need to stop shooting in any moment and go to the shelter. and we have the curfew. for us and the producer we don't have any limit on time and shooting days. and many of many colleagues are now in the army and are in the front line. this is a big loss, not only

for the industry and for ukraine, because part of them passed away, and so this is stressful all the time of course. but, despite of these challenges, we still continue working in ourjob and we, because pit is important for our heart, it is important for the country's spirit. we have the country's spirit. we have the incredible talented people, actor, writer, creators, and we want to show this way that we, show the world we are still fighting. and before i say goodbye, let's take one more look at how the world is welcoming the new year, 2025. here's the sky over sydney harbour is lit up by a spectacular fireworks display as australia welcomes the new year. hundreds of fireworks lit up the sky in hong kong throughout the 12—minute spectacle.

fireworks are launched from taipei s 101 tower to mark the start of 2025. thailand welcomes new year with a countdown and fireworks over the chao phraya river in bangkok. and this was new zealand with a spectacular fireworks display at the auckland sky tower. we'll bring you plenty more of those celebrations in the hours ahead — as 2024 ticks to an end. across the many time zones it will take us 26 hours for the entire world to welcome in 2025. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. good evening. well, it's been a blustery and a wet end to 2024 for many of us, and there's more severe weather to come in the forecast as we head into the new year too, with more heavy rain. it stays windy on new year's day. it is going to be turning colder, but for the rest of tonight, well, it's certainly mild out there for the vast majority. more rain across the central

swathe of the uk, these fronts pushing further southwards. and if we just zoom in as the clock chimes midnight, you can see wintry showers and now colder air across the far north of scotland. still some more showers across these flood affected areas. it's windy across the central belt. strong gusts still across northern england, southern scotland and this is where we're likely to see the heaviest of the rain too, across the north midlands and into north wales. further south, it is largely dry for the rest of the night, but some squally gusts of wind just ahead of this cold front as it continues to push further southwards as we head through the rest of the night. so turning wet into tomorrow morning across the south of england and into south wales. some sunshine a little further north, squally gusts of wind as that front goes through, and on the second front then there will be some wintry showers over the higher ground of the pennines and the cumbrian fells. and this is where that colder arctic air is starting to dig in. temperatures even in the south dropping as we head throughout the day with that colder feeling and that northerly wind starting to take hold across the whole of the uk as we head through wednesday night and into thursday morning.

so on thursday, then watch out for some icy stretches and there will be quite a widespread frost to start the day as well. many of our temperatures already below freezing. let's take a look at thursday morning, then, more wintry showers just piling into the far north of scotland on that northerly wind. also into the far north of northern ireland and down through these north sea—facing coasts. watch out for the icy patches in places. the winds lightening a little inland, but temperatures won't get much past low single figures. it will be largely dry. there'll be some sunshine, but it will be feeling cold, particularly in exposure to that northerly wind. and for some of us, it will feel as if it's below freezing for much of the day. let's take a look at the pressure chart for friday. high pressure out towards the west, a slight switch in wind direction to more of a north westerly, and that will help to drive some of these wintry showers further inland across north west scotland, northern ireland, the midlands and into north wales. still feeling very cold. bye for now.

this is bbc news. the headlines... from hong kong to delhi, the clock has already struck midnight in some cities around the world. stay with bbc news for all the key new year celebrations as they happen. but there's disappointment in some parts of the uk as yellow storm warnings put

paid to many of the outdoor celebrations. ukraine says it's fired a missile from a sea drone to take down a russian helicopter. the attack is thought to be the first of its kind. sounds of the 70s, johnnie walker with you until five o'clock. and radio dj johnny walker has passed away at the age of 79. the former england manager gareth southgate and the actor stephen fry are among those awarded a knighthood in the 2025 new year honours. the olympic gold medallist — and this year's bbc sports personality of the year — keely hodgkinson has also been made an mbe. our correspondent lizo mzimba has been looking at who else has been honoured.