cybertruck outside the trump hotels. hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. the man who drove into a large crowd in new orleans in the early hours of new year's day has been identified as 42—year—old shamsud—dinjabbar, a us citizen and army veteran from texas. at least 15 people have died. dozens more have been injured. the attacker was killed in a shoot—out with police officers. two of those officers were injured. authorities say the attack was an act of terrorism, and jabbar wasn't the only one responsible. these images shared by earthcam show a group of police officers running toward the scene. and this picture from social media, checked by our team at bbc verify, shows law enforcement, many heavily armed, surrounding a white pick—up truck in the aftermath of the incident. an islamic state group flag was found in the vehicle along with potential explosive devices. local officials say that ensuring safety for all residents and tourists in

the area is now a top priority. our correspondent tom bateman has the lastest from new orleans. new orleans at new year's eve. this part of the city is its best known, a tourism and nightlife hotspot. just after 3am, chaos unfolds. the first signs of panic as police raced to the scene. what they find, much of which is too graphic to show, is the immediate aftermath of a ramming attack. officers say a man in a pickup truck ploughed into a crowd, trying to run over as many people as he could. he then unleashed a shoot—out with police, who fired back and killed him. it involved a man driving a pick—up truck down bourbon street at a very fast pace, it was very intentional behaviour, and this man behaviour, and this man was trying to run over was trying to run over as many people as as many people as you possibly could. you possibly could. he was hell—bent on he was hell—bent on creating the carnage creating the carnage

and the damage that he did. and the damage that he did. a british tourist, steve hyde, was in the city to celebrate his birthday. to celebrate his birthday. i was in a bar, 15 metres i was in a bar, 15 metres from bourbon street, from bourbon street, and we were having a great and we were having a great time, i had been in there time, i had been in there for about 2.5 hours, for about 2.5 hours, and then we heard shots and saw and then we heard shots and saw people running past the window. people running past the window. identified as a 42—year—old, and we did not really know and we did not really know what was going on, obviously. what was going on, obviously. but we heard the shots and we knew it wasn't going to be good. going to be good. dozens were wounded, dozens were wounded, including two police officers hit by gunfire. including two police officers hit by gunfire. police evacuated a wide area and say they found a potential explosive device in the truck explosive device in the truck and other possible devices and other possible devices outside it before they carried outside it before they carried out controlled explosions. out controlled explosions. the fbi says the attack the fbi says the attack is being investigated is being investigated as an act of terrorism. as an act of terrorism. at the latest press conference, at the latest press conference, officials have given more officials have given more information about the suspect. information about the suspect.

the subject has been the subject has been identified as a 42—year—old, shamsud—dinjabbar, a us born citizen from texas. he was driving a ford pick—up truck and we are working of this vehicle. a isis flag was located on the trailer hitch of the vehicle and the fbi is working to determine his potential association and affiliations with terrorist organisations. investigators are now scouring the scene for clues, as further details are emerging about the background of shamsud—dinjabbar, including his us military background. this afternoon, president biden gave his reaction. i have spoken to every member of the agency, from the cia to the national security team, to the fbi, and we are gathering information. what was the reaction when you

heard _ what was the reaction when you heard what happened? it what was the reaction when you heard what happened?- what was the reaction when you heard what happened? it was one of an . er heard what happened? it was one of anger and _ heard what happened? it was one of anger and frustration. - support to the city, which is now ushering in the new year, grieving its dead and praying for the wounded. tom bateman, bbc news, new orleans. president biden did speak at camp david a bit earlier this evening i think the suspect posted videos in support of islamic date just before he carried out the attack coming saying shamsud—dinjabbar was saying shamsud—din jabbar was inspired by saying shamsud—dinjabbar was inspired by ies and a desire to kill and also said the attack would not break the spirit of the city. would not break the spirit of the ci . ., , , would not break the spirit of the ci . . , , ., the city. new orleans is a lace the city. new orleans is a place unlike _ the city. new orleans is a place unlike any - the city. new orleans is a place unlike any other- the city. new orleans is a place unlike any other in. the city. new orleans is a i place unlike any other in the world, a city full of charm and jov- world, a city full of charm and joy. so many people around the world love new orleans because of his history, culture, and above all its people, so why no while this person committed a terrible assault on the city, the spirit of new orleans will never, never be defeated. it will always shine. we have seen

that time and time again throughout its history. i know we will see it again in the days and weeks ahead. donald trump also — days and weeks ahead. donald trump also reacted _ days and weeks ahead. donald trump also reacted to - days and weeks ahead. donald trump also reacted to the - trump also reacted to the attack, offering his condolences and blaming rising crime. we did mention authorities confirming the attacker was a us citizen. earlier, i spoke to freddie king, a councilmember from new orleans, which includes the french quarter where the attack took place. how are you and your community doing tonight?— doing tonight? under the circumstances _ doing tonight? under the circumstances we - doing tonight? under the circumstances we are - doing tonight? under the i circumstances we are doing doing tonight? under the - circumstances we are doing the best we can, the best we can be doing, still feels a bit surreal, things like this do not really happen in new orleans. we have our crime challenges but this is unlike

anything we have ever seen before, at least in my lifetime in the city. before, at least in my lifetime in the city-— in the city. what is your district _ in the city. what is your district like _ in the city. what is your district like at _ in the city. what is your district like at the - in the city. what is your - district like at the moment? i imagine everything is shut down, the french quarter still an active crime scene. the french quarter _ an active crime scene. the french quarter is - an active crime scene. the french quarter is a - an active crime scene. the french quarter is a part i an active crime scene. tue: french quarter is a part of

an active crime scene. tte: french quarter is a pa that an active crime scene. t'te: french quarter is a pa that is precautions in an area that is so popular and so heavily visited? t so popular and so heavily visited? ., so popular and so heavily visited?— so popular and so heavily visited? ., ~ ., ., visited? i do know there are several hundred _ visited? i do know there are several hundred police - visited? i do know there are i several hundred police officers in the downtown french quarter area, and nearby officers from different parishes, state police and opd are in the area. although the protective bollards were not in place they are being repaired, there was a police cruiser where the bollards should have been to protect the crowd on bourbon street, it was pleased at the intersection of irvin and cadell. i think everything is on the table to ensure something like this does not happen, but this is something that you really cannot plan for. this is nothing we have seenin for. this is nothing we have seen in this city in my lifetime, so this is something new. everything is on the table to make sure that we can prevent something like this as much as possible moving

forward. much as possible moving forward-— much as possible moving forward. . , ., ., forward. that is what we have from authorities _ forward. that is what we have from authorities as _ forward. that is what we have from authorities as well. - forward. that is what we have from authorities as well. it. forward. that is what we have from authorities as well. it is| from authorities as well. it is your district and community, i wonder what questions you want answered from authorities on how something like this could happen and how it can be prevented moving forward? absolutely, there is talk about, there has always meant talk about making the french quarter specifically bourbon street pedestrian only, making sure that limiting the amount of vehicles all the time that vehicles can travel down bourbon street, that is ripe for discussion right now, possibly put bollards on the sidewalk. everything is up for discussion, we do not want this to happen again, but i don't want to forget the fact that there were several hundred officers running to the scene once they have the crash, so thank you to the men and women who act so swiftly to shoot and kill the perpetrator to prevent any further loss of life.

indeed, we show the images of those police officers running directly to the scene. is there anything that we know at this point about the victims and those who are injured as well in this area? to those who are in'ured as well in this area?— those who are in'ured as well in this area? to make officers were shot _ in this area? to make officers were shot and _ in this area? to make officers were shot and injured - in this area? to make officers were shot and injured in - in this area? to make officers were shot and injured in the l were shot and injured in the exchange, i did have an opportunity to visit with some members of — family members are victims, and it was a heartbreaking situation because i spoke to one lady and she said i don't know where my son is, he is not in any hospital, and she was thinking the worst, and she was thinking the worst, and i don't know what happened, down the road with her son, was he ever found, down the road with her son, was he everfound, butjust down the road with her son, was he ever found, butjust to see people having no idea of where their loved ones are, are the alive, are the under an alias and a nearby hospital, it was a surreal event. again, something we do not typically see in our

city. we have a crime issues but something of this magnitude was a shock for everyone. tiered was a shock for everyone. new orleans is _ was a shock for everyone. new orleans is such _ was a shock for everyone. new orleans is such a _ was a shock for everyone. new orleans is such a resilient - orleans is such a resilient city, tell us what you think the coming hours and days will be like for you for the entire city? be like for you for the entire ci ? ~ ., , . , . .,. city? more resiliency. we face everything _ city? more resiliency. we face everything from _ city? more resiliency. we face everything from hurricanes, . everything from hurricanes, hurricane katrina, natural disasters, so this is... resilience is part of our make—up. we know how to put our best foot forward and move the team forward, i expect nothing less moving forward, we have already rallying around a law enforcement agencies to make sure they have what they need to continue their investigation. i received phone calls and e—mails from councilmembers around the country saying they are supporting us, anything they can do from where we are, but

to get through this, it will make us a stronger city, definitely will have better security, the things in place to make sure it is not happen again, we will to be the first class city that we are known for. �* , class city that we are known for. �*, , , w class city that we are known for. �*, ,, ., ., for. let's speak more about the attack in new — for. let's speak more about the attack in new orleans - for. let's speak more about the attack in new orleans with - attack in new orleans with colin clark, director of research, focusing on domestic and transnational terrorism. to have you with us. let's go back to what president biden said earlier in a statement, he said that authorities have indicated the attacker was inspired by the attacker was inspired by the so—called islamic state, some social media posts, what more do we know? we some social media posts, what more do we know?— more do we know? we are learning — more do we know? we are learning this _ more do we know? we are learning this was - more do we know? we are learning this was an - more do we know? we are i learning this was an individual radicalised and inspired by isis, we're going to likely find out frequently he was imbibing isis propaganda, exactly what type of propaganda, we may even learn if there was a specific affiliate or branch of the islamic state they radicalised him. islamic state or isis—k,

which on a telegram and rocket chat and other forms of social media have been advocating its role was to conduct attacks over christmas and new year. just make sure we understand, isis inspired could mean he had no direct connection with actual islamic state members but was rather inspired by those calls?— but was rather inspired by those calls? ., . ., those calls? correct, there are different levels _ those calls? correct, there are different levels of _ those calls? correct, there are different levels of isis - those calls? correct, there are different levels of isis style - different levels of isis style attacks, there was the inspiration where this is someone who was just reading propaganda and becoming radicalised and pushes them over the edge to do something, there is isis directed where isis is in touch with somebody, and they could be the case, we do not know yes, those frenzies will be done on his electronic devices. isis is picking the targets, helping him figure out what kind of tactics to use, what kind of tactics to use, what weapon, in this case a vehicle an assault rifle, and then there is isis deployed where they actually train somebody and dispatch them, and

thatis somebody and dispatch them, and that is the rarest but also frequently the most lethal, the most uncommon as well. tell us more about _ most uncommon as well. tell us more about this _ most uncommon as well. tell us more about this type _ most uncommon as well. tell us more about this type of - most uncommon as well. tell us more about this type of attack, i more about this type of attack, the cart ramming, and how typical that might be for an islamic state inspired attack? this is classic ttp, tactic technique and procedure, the former isis number two actually talked about this directly in one of his speeches where he encourage followers to use whatever means they could get their hands on whether a car or a rock or knife. we have seen a spate in the past a vehicle ramming attacks in nice in france and berlin at a christmas market and new york city in stockholm and elsewhere, so this is a very low—tech attack, very opportunistic, and almost impossible to deter. what about co-conspirators? _ impossible to deter. what about co-conspirators? authorities - co—conspirators? authorities are looking into this. authorities had gone back and forth on this and i think if i

will be critical of the response, the communications has been pretty atrocious in terms of what has been told to the public and then yanked back and forth, the press conference was fairly intra— weight earlier today and that does not inspire confidence. i will look forward to the next 24—48 hours, more clear communication about and what we don't know we hope to learn and when, so i think now the fbi is closely involved we hope things run a bit more smoothly. can involved we hope things run a bit more smoothly.— involved we hope things run a bit more smoothly. can you give us a sense _ bit more smoothly. can you give us a sense of— bit more smoothly. can you give us a sense of what _ bit more smoothly. can you give us a sense of what the _ bit more smoothly. can you give us a sense of what the fbi - bit more smoothly. can you give us a sense of what the fbi will l us a sense of what the fbi will look at in the next 24—48 hours? look at in the next 24-48 hours? ,., ., hours? going through the forensics _ hours? going through the forensics of— hours? going through the forensics of any _ hours? going through the forensics of any devices i hours? going through the i forensics of any devices the individual hard, working with our counterparts overseas to find out if allies and intelligence services if they have picked up anything, likely talking to the cia, the nsa

about any signals intelligence, looking for different relationships, and what we call pocket, anything found on the attacker was my personal and the vehicle at the time of the incident that may point to clues that may service further data or evidence that point to a motivation. we data or evidence that point to a motivation.— a motivation. we know there were discussions _ a motivation. we know there were discussions held - a motivation. we know there were discussions held about| were discussions held about possible security precautions, but the barriers, the bowlers were defective, what can be donein were defective, what can be done in the aftermath of something like this? there will have to be _ something like this? there will have to be a — something like this? there will have to be a reckoning, - something like this? there will have to be a reckoning, a - have to be a reckoning, a comprehensive after action report to look at what went wrong, how to fix that, plugging vulnerabilities, i was in new york city a couple of days ago while they are setting up days ago while they are setting up for new year's eve, a herculean event that is put on and it is all about hardening what we would call soft targets, putting up the steel bowlers, having garbage trucks block access roads, police

presence and the like, it is just that we have to do that but in order to keep people safe we often do have to harden the soft targets as a precaution.- the soft targets as a recaution. . , , ., precaution. last question before we _ precaution. last question before we let _ precaution. last question before we let you - precaution. last question before we let you go, - precaution. last question | before we let you go, what precaution. last question - before we let you go, what does an attack like this tell us about islamic state at this moment, their presence perhaps in the us? tsis moment, their presence perhaps in the us? , , , moment, their presence perhaps in the us?— in the us? isis will use this to seize — in the us? isis will use this to seize momentum - in the us? isis will use this to seize momentum and i in the us? isis will use this - to seize momentum and inspire others to follow on, they will want people to be fearful, or them to think that terrorism is ubiquitous and surrounding them, a big psychological component a place, so the next few weeks will be critical especially for the trump administration taking over to see exactly how aggressive isis may be and try to push for further attacks.— further attacks. really interesting _ further attacks. really interesting to - further attacks. really interesting to get - further attacks. reallyj interesting to get your analysis, thank you forjoining us. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. flooding has caused significant disruption in north west england, forcing people to abandon their homes and causing problems on the roads and railways.

greater manchester police declared a major incident and more than 80 flood warnings remain in force across the uk. the met office has issued a three day snow warning this weekend for parts of scotland and almost all of england and wales. nearly 37,000 people crossed the english channel in small boats in 2024, according to new figures from the home office. the figure is the second highest on record, and an increase of 25% on the previous year. 2024 was also the deadliest on record — with at leat 77 people dying as they attempted the crossing. the south korean corruption agencies as will enforce a warrant to impeach the president before it expires on 6january. the president was holed up in his home for his attempt to impose martial law. a local news agency in south korea says that the warrant could be a tutored in the coming hours. —— executed. you're live with bbc news.

another developing story out of las vegas, where a tesla cybertruck explosion outside the trump hotel there has killed one person and injured seven others. the company's ceo, elon musk, said on tesla: ——said on x: effectively saying this was not a fault with the vehicle itself. local officials have yet to confirm the cause and are looking into a number of leads. they're urging people to avoid the area around the hotel while they conduct their investigation. in the last hour president biden is that authorities are investigating any possible connection between the blast in las vegas and the attack in new orleans. we las vegas and the attack in new orleans. ~ ., las vegas and the attack in new orleans. ~ . ., . ~ orleans. we are tracking the exclusion — orleans. we are tracking the exclusion of _ orleans. we are tracking the exclusion of the _ orleans. we are tracking the exclusion of the cybertruck l orleans. we are tracking the l exclusion of the cybertruck as other trump hotel in las vegas, law enforcement and intelligence communities are investigating this as well. including whether there is any possible connection with the attack in new orleans. so far

there is nothing to report at this time. there is nothing to report at this time-— this time. we lost vegas a sheriff told _ this time. we lost vegas a sheriff told a _ this time. we lost vegas a sheriff told a news - this time. we lost vegas a . sheriff told a news conference appeared to be a number of coincidences that would be fully investigated. tt is coincidences that would be fully investigated.- fully investigated. it is a tesla truck, _ fully investigated. it is a tesla truck, we - fully investigated. it is a tesla truck, we know i fully investigated. it is a l tesla truck, we know that fully investigated. it is a - tesla truck, we know that elon musk is working with donald trump and the trump tower, so there was obviously thing to be concerned about there, and something we continue to look at. ~ ., at. would you re-examine security — at. would you re-examine security procedures? - at. would you re-examine security procedures? we l at. would you re-examine - security procedures? we need to re-examine _ security procedures? we need to re-examine community - re—examine community procedures? we were very successful the night before, i'm surprised this happened, and that is certainly something we will look at and target hardening. to your question, i did forget to mention that i have authorised what we call them a bx roster to continue for the next two days, my staffing plan of over 1000 officers both in our community, neighbourhoods as well as on these rep and downtown, in

partnership with all of the other law enforcement agencies, the marshals, just to ensure that even if we had a copycat or someone else wanting to go and conduct an attack we have the appropriate and available resources to handle it. inaudible.— resources to handle it. inaudible. ., , ., resources to handle it. inaudible. ., , inaudible. no, the question is did we find _ inaudible. no, the question is did we find any _ inaudible. no, the question is did we find any devices - inaudible. no, the question is did we find any devices that - did we find any devices that could be used as that of the explosives in the answer is no, i don't know how they are guided. clearly with what you see in there, something set them off i don't know what it is yet but we have not been able to process the vehicle yet. able to process the vehicle et. �* , �* i able to process the vehicle yet-_ i have - able to process the vehicle yet._ i have to | able to process the vehicle - yet._ i have to thank yet. inaudible. i have to thank elon musk _ yet. inaudible. i have to thank elon musk specifically, - yet. inaudible. i have to thank elon musk specifically, he - yet. inaudible. i have to thank elon musk specifically, he gave | elon musk specifically, he gave us quite a bit of additional information in regards to how the vehicle was locked after it exploded due to the force of the nature, the nature of the force from the explosion, as

well as capturing the video from the tesla charging station across the country and he said that directly to us, so i appreciated his help. let's turn to some other important news around the world. a gunman killed 10 people in montenegro. police say the suspect killed four people in a restaurant in the town of cetinje. he then killed a member of his own family and two chidren. they also said the suspect had been drinking heavily for most of the day. he has now also died from self—inflicted wounds. israeli forces carried out air strikes across gaza, reportedly killing 21 palestinians. israel said the bombardment would intensify if palestinian groups did not stop rocket fire into southern israel and release the hostages. ukraine ended a deal that allowed russia to pipe gas through its territory to europe. president zelensky refused to renew the agreement because of moscow's invasion of his country, which he said had to be resisted by any means. ajudge in ecuador has ruled that the ministry of defence

must hold a public ceremony to apologise for the murder of four children. thousands of artistic base event of the public domain in the us today after their copyrights expired, including early versions of popeye and tintin as well as he having novel a farewell to arms and hiscock film blackmail. and using a technique is being used to re—examine key moments from history. researchers capacity changes to human bones. one historian said it will revolutionise our understanding of the past. poking away in the ear socket of a small skull fragment. it's from someone who lived more than 1,500 years ago in yorkshire. the scientists are looking for a tiny bone that's a best preserved bit of all. and using a new technique, they can find out more about the individual and where

their ancestors came from. we won't understand many of these different epochs in british history, from the roman period to when the people referred to as the anglo—saxons arrived through the viking age period, and see how all of this shaped the ancestry and diversity of the nation. professor skoglund is working with archaeologists. here in the mud, carefully sifting through bones of an anglo—saxon burial site in poulton in cheshire, they find a skull and other human remains. the dna they gather from them will tell them so much more about britain's history. it's going to be revolutionary. this method will allow us to see the type of relations that are being formed with the native population. are they co—operative? is there interbreeding? are a lot of native sub—roman brits able to make their way

into the elite? dna is a spirally molecule that can be read like a barcode, and it changes over generations. so far, scientists have been able to identify only very big changes that take place over thousands of years. for example, the physical changes that take place as a result of human evolution. but now they've been able to identify more recent changes that take place over hundreds of years. so they can now tell when and how different groups of people migrated and how they interacted with native populations. well, we've been good at the deep time past or sort of average time past. now it's giving us that opportunity to look at more recent humans and people and community and migration and that's just been a big gap for us. although we could look at their dna, we couldn't really look that closely into their ancestry. it didn't make as much sense. it was too much of a mishmash. there are thousands of human remains in britain's museums

to analyse. each has their own tale to tell. the new discovery, published in the journal nature, will enable scientists to hear their stories and rewrite the history books. pallab ghosh, bbc news. that is a programme for now. thank you for watching bbc news, stay with us. hello. the new year didn't get off to the best of starts weather—wise. some parts of the uk had strong winds, heavy rain and flooding and with that rain clearing away, we've been ushering in some colder air. so frost and ice to start thursday morning, and then a day of sunny spells and some wintry showers. the satellite picture clearly shows the band of cloud that brought the heavy rain on new year's day, but then a clearance — those clear skies pushing down from the north. also a speckling of shower clouds and this cold

air digging southwards. so a widespread frost and some ice to start thursday morning. could be some slippery surfaces for the journey back to work. many places through the day, though, will see lots of blue sky and sunshine, but some wintry showers running down this east coast. some for wales, northern ireland, the odd shower for south—west england and frequent snow showers in the north of scotland — further accumulations of snow are possible here. windy up towards the north and the east. a cold day — i think there will be parts of scotland and the north of england that may not get above freezing all day long. and then through thursday night, another very cold one. but this band of rain, sleet and snow pushes southwards — that could give rise to some slippery surfaces again on friday morning. widely, those temperatures well below freezing, so another cold start on friday. again, we'll see some spells of sunshine, perhaps a bit more cloud in the mix this time. some showers for northern ireland, wales, north west england, the midlands — some of these actually i think falling as rain, particularly at low levels. still a fair bit of snow

in the showers across the north east of scotland where it will stay fairly windy — another cold day. and it stays cold into saturday. in fact, there could be some areas of low cloud mist and freezing fog, and if that fog lingers for a good part of the day, those temperatures really will struggle. some wintry showers up to the north. you can see confirmation of those low temperatures through the afternoon, but some wet weather pushing in from the south—west, and this could cause some problems. low pressure swirling in from the south—west, some wet weather, some windy weather, but bumping into the cold air, some of us could see significant snow. uncertainty about the detail at this range, but some travel disruption is possible. it is worth staying in touch with the forecast. bye for now.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. last year, during a brief visit to belfast, presidentjoe biden hailed the transformative impact of peace in northern

ireland. it had unleashed, he said, a churn of creativity and that surely struck a chord with my guest today, the actor ciaran hinds, who was nominated for an oscar in kenneth branagh's autobiographical movie about belfast, which is home city to both of those men. one generation on from the so—called troubles, northern ireland is seen as creative and cool, but have the wounds of the past really healed? ciaran hinds,

welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much.