Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20171231

Fireworks starting as thailand says goodbye to 2017 and hello to 2018. Studio that was thailand, where they have been welcoming in 2018 on they have been welcoming in 2018 on the river kwai. Celebrations taking place around the world, and we are following them on bbc news. We have seen a number of celebrations, starting off in the southern hemisphere. First it was new zealand, and then sydney and hong kong, who brought in the new year just an hour ago above the historic victoria harbour. And this was the scene in sydney earlier. Where the harbour and its iconic bridge took centre stage as usual. Apparently people were queuing up to secure a good Vantage Point more than nine hours in advance of the show. Around 1. 5 Million People were there to watch. This year the display featured a rainbow theme to celebrate the passing of the countrys same sex marriage law. North korea has held a firework display in pyongyang to mark the new year. The fireworks display was held by the taedong river. Later, the countrys leader, kim jong un, plans to deliver his annual new year address. He is expected to talk about his countrys relationship with the usa, and president trump, as you could imagine. In edinburgh, preparations for hogmanay are firmly under way. Up to 150,000 people are expected in the scottish capital. 0ur correspondent andrew black is in edinburgh. And its the second day of preparations . It is indeed. Things already well underway on princes street, at the centre of edinburgh. Just out of shot we have a special kids hogmanay concert well underway and they will get a special fireworks display at around 6pm. Princes street is pretty empty behind me but later tonight some 60,000 people will gather for the world famous 60,000 people will gather for the world famous street party 60,000 people will gather for the world famous street party to see in the new year. There will be plenty of live music from the likes of human league and hurag n bone man. Security is a big factor. Earlier i spoke to the Police Officer in charge of the event. Clearly, given the events that have taken place, particularly over the last 12 months across the uk, we have to be cognisant of the potential for an attack. Because of that, this year i have moved to an overt deployment of armed Police Officers. Thats purely for a precautionary measure and to provide a greater level of public reassurance. And we also have a greater number of road closures to make sure the event is as safe as possible. But there is no specific intelligence about a threat to this event. Everything is building up later to the big crescendo, the big fireworks that are being launched from the ra m parts of that are being launched from the ramparts of edinburgh castle. All that kind of thing is timed to the second. But the one thing we can never be sure about at this time of yearin never be sure about at this time of year in scotland is the weather, with parts of scotland taking a battering from storm dylan. But it looks like things will be ok for tonight, generally speaking. No matter how bad the weather is, though, people tend to turn out for hogmanay on princes street. All in all, shaping up to be a pretty good night. Here, the metropolitan police say a proportionate number of officers will be on londons streets this evening, to ensure the safety of new year revellers. Scotland yard say there is no intelligence to suggest any threat against the celebrations in Central London or anywhere else. A spokesman said there would be a visible police presence, and gave this advice to people coming to celebrate. If youre coming to this particular event, please only come with a ticket. There wont be Tickets Available on the door, as it were. But there are going to be a lot of people here, so we dont want to get overcrowded, if we can help it. For all those people who wish to come to Central London, first of all, wrap up warm. Its pretty chilly at the moment. If you are coming on transport, please plan yourjourney. Its never easy to travel through london at new years eve. And if you are meeting people, set yourself up a prearranged Meeting Place so people dont get lost. But above all, be reassured. The metropolitan Police Service and our Emergency Service partners are here to look after you. It is safe to come to london on this new years eve, but please be alert, dont be alarmed. If you see things that you think look out of place or suspicious, please tell us. A seaplane has crashed into a river near sydney, australia, killing all six people on board. Reports suggest four of the victims are british, although this has not been confirmed by police. The Foreign Office here is in contact with officials in australia. The aircraft on a sight seeing trip ahead of the new Year Celebrations came down in a river close to the suburb of cowan. Ian palmer reports. Police divers have spent the day searching for bodies. The seaplane is underwater. The party was returning from a trip to a restaurant, before crashing into the river. Six people were on board. For reasons that are not known at this stage, the plane has hit the water and it has subsequently sunk. It is sitting in approximately 13 metres of water. At the time of the collision, the plane had a pilot and five passengers on board. I can confirm the six people on the plane are deceased. The aircraft crashed just after three in the afternoon local time. It is operated by the Company Sydney seaplanes. A major tourfirm, it offers many sightseeing trips across australia. In a statement the company says sydney seaplanes is deeply shocked by this incident and the resulting loss of life. We wish to pass on our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the passengers and pilot who were tragically killed. An eyewitness says he saw the single engine plane make a tight turn before dipping its wings and nosediving into the water. Police have recovered six bodies from the wreckage. Their identities have yet to be confirmed. People in the area of Hawkesbury River described the flying conditions just before the crash happened. A little bit bumpy coming over with the weather, but it was nothing to be concerned about. Like, i mean, iwasnt frightened. There are unconfirmed reports that four people from britain are among the dead. The Foreign Office says officials from the british consulate are in contact with local authorities. It says staff are ready to provide consular assistance. Ian palmer, bbc news. A short time ago, phil mercer gave us this update on the crash. An eyewitness said that shortly after take off, the single engine aircraft took a tight right hand turn and then nosedived into the Hawkesbury River, to the north of sydney. A full scale search was 0011 underway, but there were no survivors. Australian Police Divers saying that they have recovered six bodies. On board the sea plane were five passengers and a pilot. They were leaving a waterfront restaurant at Jerusalem Bay near the town of cowan on their way to rose bay in Sydney Harbour. Now, this is a journey that would normally take about 20 minutes. Australian police say they will not be speculating on media reports that four of the victims were british nationals, and that one of the passengers was an 11 year old boy. We know air crash investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau are expected at the accident site early on new years day. Theirjob is to piece together the last moments of the seaplane and to establish how and why an aircraft on a routine flight from a beautiful wilderness area on the Hawkesbury River to Sydney Harbour should end in catastrophe. The authorities in iran have used water cannon to try to disperse crowds whove turned out to protest against the government in defiance of official warnings. Theyve also moved to restrict social Media Networks that have been used to organise the protests. Both the us and uk have said they are watching events closely. I asked bbc persian Tv Correspondent kasra naji how this was being received in iran. It will be generally seen by the demonstrators as a sign of encouragement, a positive sign. They would like it so that all these powers outside the country will support them, in a sense. But of course, the authorities, the government, the leaders of iran will be very angry. They will see this as interfering in irans internal affairs, pressurising iran not to deal with or confront the demonstrators. Talking about pressure, up until now we have not heard from mr rouhani, but we understand we will be hearing from him later tonight. Thats the latest news drop. Thats all we have at the moment. What is he likely to say . I have no idea. We will have to wait and see. In fact, there was a news item that he would speak today, and then they cancelled that and all the News Agencies took back that news item. And now again they have come up with the same thing. It looks as if there is quite a bit of doubt about the effectiveness of his speech. But nevertheless, he is going ahead, it looks like. He has to try and, i suppose, calm the situation rather than provoke the situation. And given the fact that iranians, these Anti Government demonstrators, have been denouncing him on the streets in the last few days, i am not sure whether he is in a good place to try and placate the demonstrators, try to calm down these protests. Its notjust him that has been denounced. Significantly, we are also hearing criticism of the Supreme Leader. And there is a question now of when we are likely to see the appearance of the revolutionary guard. Do you think it will go that far . It might well do. As you say, the revolutionary guards have held back so far. Are you surprised by that, the soft approach . I am surprised. There is not even a statement from them as an organisation. We had one or two revolutionary guard commanders saying this and that, but they havent issued a statement. They havent come out on the streets to deal with the protests in a way that we expected, a very high handed way, beating people up and trying to disperse the crowds in various parts of the country, they have not done that. And i assume they havent done that for fear of provoking the demonstrators and protesters. But they would do that. The iranian Supreme Leader has not said anything either. People on the streets have been calling on him to step down, the end of the clerical regime in iran. Basically calling for the overthrow of the government. He has not said anything. Well have to wait and see what line he will take. But generally, when you hear the politicians, the hardliners, even the reformists, the islamic reformists, and islamic hardliners in iran, speaking these days, they seem to agree that we have to acknowledge that there is widespread discontent, particularly on economic issues. But can iranians really achieve change via the street . Its difficult to say. I dont know where this is going to go. Nobody seems to know. And we havent been here before, because these are very spread out throughout the country, even in small towns. So we just have to wait to see how this is going to develop. 0ne Police Deputy has been killed and five officers shot, and two civilians have also been injured after a shoot out at an apartment complex in colorado in the us. The Douglas County Sheriffs Office issued a statement saying they were called to a domestic disturbance early in the morning at the copper ca nyon early in the morning at the Copper Canyon apartments near denver. Police say the suspect was shot and is believed to be dead. The headlines on bbc news six people have died after a seaplane crashed into a river in australia. Its thought four of the victims may be british. Iran imposes restrictions on social media as demonstrations against the countrys ruling clerics continue. Fireworks and festivities usher in new year. Hong kong welcomed in 2018 with a spectacular display above victoria harbour. Disruption is continuing for thousands of rail travellers as workers from two Train Companies stage 24 hour strikes. Members of the rmt union on South Western Railway and crosscountry are taking action in disputes involving the role of guards, and rosters and sunday working. Anisa kadri has been assessing the disruption at the uks busiest train station, london waterloo. Anisa kadri is at london busiest station waterloo for us now. Hello this evening from london waterloo, the uks busiest station. I have been in and out all day checking on the situation. We have seen a checking on the situation. We have seen a few cancelled trains, checking the boards above everybodys heads. The disruption is expected to continue into the evening. There are posters and signs up evening. There are posters and signs up inside which suggest it is this evening they are particularly concerned about. Getting into some of the specifics. South western railway said there will be reduced services on some lines and no services on some lines and no services at all on others. They expect three quarters of trains to run, meaning a quarter will not be running. Is not here strike action is expected to take its toll. 0n crosscou ntry is expected to take its toll. 0n crosscountry services, those journeys between edinburgh and newcastle and also glasgow and aberdeen. The advice is to check online for updates. The rmt union says this is perhaps the way the government and Rail Companies will listen to their concerns over safety. They believe driver only trains are unsafe and you should have guards as well on the trains. They also have some concerns about working conditions and rotas. The government say they are causing misery for companies at new year. Rail Companies Say the strikes are unnecessary. But you should check websites to make sure the strikes dont disrupt your new year plans. A photo of a man found collapsed outside a hospital in london has been released in a bid to find his family. The man has been placed in an induced coma at University College hospital, having suffered a heart attack outside the site at about 4 30 on boxing day afternoon. His condition is described as life threatening and the metropolitan police wants to trace his family as soon as possible. At least 36 people have died in a head on collision between a lorry and a bus in kenya. The crash happened on a notoriously dangerous stretch of the main road between eldoret and nakuru. Its believed that over 100 people have died in the same area in recent weeks. Criminal gangs who claim benefits under a false identity are to be targeted by the government using artificial intelligence. The department for work and pensions says it will use sophisticated Computer Programming to detect fraud taking place to claim universal credit and jobseekers allowance. Political leaders have been reflecting on the past 12 months in their new years messages, with theresa may calling 2017 a year of progress for the uk. The labour leader, jeremy corbyn, said the hope of a new britain is closer than ever. With more, heres our political correspondent, emma va rdy. After a Political Year dominated by brexit, its no surprise the subject played a key part in theresa mays new years message. She said the government has pursued our brexit objectives with steady purpose and progress will continue in 2018 as the talks move on to trade. But not for the first time, theresa may made clear she wants to be more than madame brexit. Making a success of brexit is crucial but it will not be the limit of our ambitions. We also have to carry on making a difference here and now on the issues that matter to peoples daily lives. That means building an economy fit for the future and taking a balanced approach to government spending. So we get our debt falling but can also invest in the things that matter our schools, our police and our precious nhs. Mrs may says next year we will continue the fight against all forms of extremism and she believes 2018 can be a year of renewed pride in our country. Meanwhile, the tone ofjeremy corbyns address was rather different. He said we are being held back by a self serving elite and pointed to the gains labour made at the general election, saying this was a year when people said, no more. The old political consensus is finished. We are staking out the new Centre Ground in british politics, backing the things that most people want but are blocked by vested interests. We are a government in waiting while the conservatives are weak, divided and stuck in an outdated rut with no new ideas. The hope of a new britain, which runs in the interests of the many, not the few, is closer than ever before. The new year messages draw to a close what has been politically dramatic 12 months. Emma vardy, bbc news. In his new year speech, the chinese president , xijinping, has suggested that his country will play a greater role in International Affairs in 2018. Mr xi said the world now expected a clear stance from beijing on international issues. He said china would maintain the authority of the United Nations and pledged to tackle Climate Change. The un secretary general has called for global unity in his new years message. Antonio guterres urged leaders to bring people together around common goals. He also expressed his concerns about deepening conflicts and violations of human rights. On new years day 2018, i am not issuing an appeal. I am issuing an alert a red alert for our world. Conflicts have deepened and new dangers have emerged. Global anxieties about Nuclear Weapons are the highest since the cold war and Climate Change is moving faster than we are. Inequalities are growing and we see horrific violations of human rights, nationalism and xenophobia on the rise, and as we begin 2018, i call for unity. I truly believe we can make our world more safe and secure. We can settle conflicts, overcome hatred and defend shared values, but we can only do that together. Technology is giving historians a new insight into everyday life in ancient egypt. Researchers at University College london have developed scanning techniques that show what is written on the papyrus that a sarcophagus case is made from. 0ur science correspondent, pallab ghosh, has this exclusive report. The hieroglyphics found in the tombs of the pharaohs show the lives of the ancient egyptians, but the paintings are what the rich and powerful wanted the people to know. They are the propaganda of their time. But now theres a wealth of information about ordinary people being discovered using a new scientific technique. With a specially modified camera, researcher cerys jones takes photos of a mummys case at Chiddingstone Castle in kent. You cant see anything with the naked eye, but using infrared, a name is revealed, irethoreru. A common name in ancient egypt. It is a stephen or david of its time. It is amazing. Everyone in the room gasped and people jumped up and ran for the computer, because in that one image, you could read it. These scraps of papyrus are more than 2,000 years old. They were recycled to make the breastplate that covered a mummified body. The writing is obscured by the plaster and paste that hold them together, but researchers can see what lies beneath by scanning them with different kinds of light which makes the inks glow. These now constitute one of the best libraries we have of waste papyrus that otherwise would have been thrown away, so it includes things like tax receipts, and everyday information that we would nowadays throw away. Back then, they would have thrown it away, but fortunately it was recycled into these objects. Our knowledge of ancient egypt is through the eyes of pharaohs and the very wealthy who were buried with their possessions, but this new imaging technique is enabling researchers to find out about the lives of ordinary egyptians. Until now, the only way to see what was written on the papyrus was to destroy these masks, leaving egyptologists with a dilemma. Do they destroy these precious objects or do they keep them untouched, leaving the stories within them untold . I am really horrified when i see objects like these papyri cartonnage being destroyed in order to get at the text inside. They are finite resources and we now have the technology to both preserve those beautiful, precious objects that tell us about ways of dying, but also looking inside them in order to understand the ways that the egyptians lived. There are hundreds of cases and masks that can be scanned, each one telling its own individual story of everyday life in ancient egypt. Pallab ghosh, bbc news. An update on events from iran. You have probably been following the story of the protests taking place. We are in the fourth day. We havent up we are in the fourth day. We havent up until now heard from president ruganl up until now heard from president rugani. President rouhani. We are beginning to get lines reported from various News Agencies. He has been reportedly saying that iranians understand the sensitive situation of iran and the region and will act based on national interest. He goes on to say that criticising and protest in is the right of the people and should not lead to violence, so there should not be any violence. Also early reaction to comments made by donald trump. Mr rouhani saying during a Cabinet Meeting that those who call iranians terrorists have no place to sympathise with our nation. Just a reminder of what donald trump has said, his last comment on iran was, big protest in iran, the people are finally getting wiser as to how their money and wealth has been stolen and squandered on terrorism. This is what mr rouhani is referring to. The usa is watching closely for human rights violation, said donald trump. And Boris Johnson human rights violation, said donald trump. And borisjohnson said he was monitoring events closely from the uk. Darren bett has the weather. Hello there. The worst of storm dylan has now passed. Earlier in the day we had peak gusts of 76mph. Some big waves, rough seas, some travel disruption as well, but some areas missed all that action and enjoyed some sunshine. Today its been a real mixture. The focus now turns to showers and squally winds in the south west of england, driving their way along the south coast as those showers get blown into eastern areas over the next few hours. If you are planning to see in the new year, expect some showers around, particularly in northern ireland, western scotland. Eastern scotland and north east england may well be dry. It will not be as windy as it was early on. It will feel quite chilly. We have bands of showers running east across england and wales. 0ne lot clearing away from the east coast, another area coming into wales and the south west. This is midnight. As we head into the first day of the new year, there is storm dylan, out into the north sea, heading towards scandinavia, a secondary low will bring showers from the north west on new years day and this developing low could bring stormy winds across the channel and into parts of france. We will see a spell of rain, probably running east across southern parts of england and wales in the morning on new years day and some sunshine before gusty winds blow more showers into northern ireland, across scotland, into northern england, wales and perhaps the north midlands. It will be quite a cold day in scotland, even in the north east where it should be largely dry. Those temperatures fairly typical for this time of the year. As the showers fade away and the winds drop overnight, so it will get colder and we are more likely to get a touch of frost in some rural areas, but in the south west, it will be milder because we will see rain coming in towards the end of the night and a spell of rain will push its way across the whole of the country on tuesday, giving snow over the pennines, and the Higher Ground in scotland. It will be replaced by sunshine and showers and a gusty westerly wind. That is a milder wind, so 11 12 degrees in the south west. In the north east, temperatures struggling at 4 5. I have put the jet stream on to show you what is happening over the coming few days. It is quite a strong jet and it picks up areas of low pressure and runs them towards the uk. It is a very changeable outlook for the first week of the new year. Youre likely to find some gales, even some severe gales, and there will be showers and even longer spells of rain at times. This is bbc news. Our latest headlines a seaplane has crashed into a river north of sydney, killing all six people on board. Police say the aircraft was on a sightseeing flight when it came down. Iran imposes restrictions on social media, as demonstrations against the countrys ruling clerics continue. It uses watercolour on water cannon on protesters. A spectacular fireworks display has ushers in the new year in hong kongs historic victoria harbour. Thousands of rail travellers face disruption as workers from two Train Companies stage 24 hour strikes in separate dispute about the role of gods and working conditions. The role of guards. Lets get a round up of all the sport. Hello again, after 18 league victories in a row, manchester citys winning streak has finally come to an end. They were held to a goalless draw at Crystal Palace. They might have lost the match had it not been for a late penalty save. They were hit by injuries from jesus and de bruyne. But they are 1a points clear at the top of the league. Howeverfar back, murray stretchers, its hard to remember a tea m stretchers, its hard to remember a team quite like this manchester city. Never has a side being so far ahead at the end of the year. Their ambition seems to have no end. Victory at Crystal Palace would have seen victory at Crystal Palace would have seen them equal the european record. Palace had their own names. Spring a surprise, possible, but unlikely. The first half marred by injury. Jesuss year ending in tears. It was his replacement, sergio aguero, that when the closest in the first half, firstly hitting the post and then getting the wrong side. This was not the city footballers have come to fear. Encourage and for palace, growing with each missed opportunity. Pressure increasing. Palace, for their part, had their chances, with which they should have done better. That, ultimately for them, will be how this is remembered. Late drama at the end of the year. Luke 0livier giroud unable to see it out. Not the perfect end to see it out. Not the perfect end to the year. But for city ko, Better Things to come. Sooner or later, that should happen. Crystal palace had a big chance to win the game at the end. I think the first half was like that. We didnt control, we conceded a lot of free kicks. In the second half, it was much, much better. We created enough chances. They had won, and the penalty. Disappointment for both teams. Now it is just focusing on. Disappointment for both teams. Now it isjust focusing on. When disappointment for both teams. Now it is just focusing on. When we didnt win, focusing on the next one. Because i said many times, it will be a long road to be first. We need points. Its nice when you play well, and before the game, nobody would have expected us to get a point from the game, so one shouldnt start being too critical, because a point against a team of this quality is always good for us in our position. But on a couple of occasions now with the late penalties awarded we have filled to capitalise. You know, you look at those got a poise, if only we could have got those, we would have been further away from the relegation zone. But the lads are doing a wonderful job, zone. But the lads are doing a wonderfuljob, im full of praise for their Performance Today and im very proud. Arsene wenger is taking charge of a record 111th premier league matchday. They are all fours, facing bottom of the table West Bromwich albion. The second half has just kicked off. Arsenal have had most of the possession. Alex iwobi had their best effort, putting it over the top. He is in us at us all, who has a knee injury. It is goalless at the hawthorns. Manchester uniteds ashley young has been charged with violent conduct by the football association. He was caught on camera elbowing southamptons dusan tadic in yesterdays goalless d raw southamptons dusan tadic in yesterdays goalless draw at old trafford. The incident was spotted by the referee, craig pawson, the time. Mark warburton has been sacked by Nottingham Forest after nine months in charge following their defeat by sunderland yesterday, their fifth in seven, defeat by sunderland yesterday, theirfifth in seven, there defeat by sunderland yesterday, their fifth in seven, there are currently 14th in the championship. Director of football frank matt palmer has also left his post. They are trying to find a permanent replacement. Forest have had a change of owners. Exeter chiefs have stretched their lead by ten points, beating leicester 30 6 with four second half tries at sandy park. That is their sixth league defeat in a row, theirfirst run in over 50 yea rs. A row, theirfirst run in over 50 years. 2017 will go down as a great year. Champions for the first time, devon now a must stop shop for the england coach. With the chiefs career at the top of the table, 2018 could be a memorable one too. The only point early against leicester came from the boot. The hands for making too many errors. Chances missed and the visitors keeping in touch thanks to george ford. It took root strength to put the League Leaders in from somewhere in charge. A gap emerged between the sides. Exeter certainly didnt need any help, yetjohnny may within a giving mood. Straight into the homes of henry slade. The simplest of finishes. Those supporters may well have stayed on their feet. Jonny hill went over not long after. There was time for more. A bonus point winning try with the last play of the game. Jack yeandle with the perfect end to a monumental year for exeter. A couple of matches in wales today in the pro 1a. Dragons against 0spreys is getting underway. Scholars beat cardiff blues 14 11. Cardiff lead at half time thanks to an Ellis Jenkins cardiff lead at half time thanks to an ellisjenkins try. But scarlets fought back soon after the break, rhys patchells try with their second of the match. Englands have arrived in sydney ahead of the final ashes test which begins in khacheridi. England wicketkeeper Jonathan Bairstow has given his backing to moeen ali, who has only taken through backing to moeen ali, who has only ta ken through wickets backing to moeen ali, who has only taken through wickets all series and averaged just 19 runs stop your its unquestionable to think that hes not in the best 11, he wouldnt have played the first battery test matches if hes not in it. Theres not many finger spinners that will come to australia and bold teams out. Its important that you get behind my win, he can take a game away from you. Ben stokes is not going tojoin up the england one day squad and australia, he is still waiting to hear if hes going to be charged following a fracas outside a bristol night club back in september. The five match series sta rts september. The five match series starts in september, and it is unlikely that stokes will play any part, dawid malan will replace him. Anthonyjoshua says a deal to fight the wbo champion joseph anthonyjoshua says a deal to fight the wbo championjoseph parker in the wbo championjoseph parker in the new year as nearly done. Parker had been holding out for a bigger share of the purse, believed to be around 30 35 . Joshua is looking to unify the Division Next year with you on the wilders wbc title also on his radar. To hold all four belt has never been done before. I wont let negotiations get in the way of securing my legacy at what i can achieve. We are 95 of the way there and completing withjoseph parker. Johanna konta starts how season tomorrow with a match against the american madison keys at the bristol international. It will be her new coach with her her first tournament with her new coach. Weve been working together for about a month, not that long, this is our first tournament together, we are both excited to getting the season started and trying to get better. That is all the sport. Much, much more on all those stories on the website. I will have more in sports taking the next hour. Next, nick hope looks ahead to the british prospects at next years winter 0lympics prospects at next years Winter Olympics in the past the pyeongchang. It takes a special kind of athlete to succeed at the Winter Olympics. Traditionally, british success has been sporadic at best. But in recent yea rs, been sporadic at best. But in recent years, team gb has finallyjoined the party. A bobsleigher bronze following the russian doping scandal. British athletes are winning more major medals than at any point in history. There is every chance that pyeongchang 2018 in south korea could be Great Britains best ever game. One of the best medal prospects is a short track speed stakeout, who will prospects is a short track speed sta keout, who will compete prospects is a short track speed stakeout, who will compete in three events. She is looking to put her 0lympic events. She is looking to put her olympic team and is firmly behind her after a devastating sochi 2014. Oh, 0h, theyve gone down. Therefore gone down. I cant believe it. Chrissys been penalised again. Its been tough. I cant even describe how hard it was. Shes suffered a lot after it in my normal life too. I had a crush at the game. I received a lot of Death Threats and online abuse from the South Koreans. It changed me as a person. You know, i lost a lot of confidence from it. But since then i have actually had a massive turnaround. Christie, the first british woman to win a short track world title people became fans and they were really sorry for how people had treated me. And actually the majority of the South Koreans really support me. I think its nice to see how much ive moved forward since then. Im a totally different skater. Ive developed so much. I dont know how ill survive if it happens again and i have a terrible olympics and i mess it up. When i go to the olympics, im hoping to win a gold medal. I definitely want it more than anything else. But at the same time, part of me does need it, just with what happened in sochi and to get redemption for what mistakes i made. If i won a gold, it would be incredible, indescribable. The british bobsleigh four man team finished fifth, an agonising 0. 11 seconds from the medals at sochi 2014. But they are in line for an upgrade to bronze following the disqualification of two russians for doping offences. Corruption on an unprecedented scale. 1,000 russian athletes are accused of doping. The russian government organised and directed a sophisticated doping programme. From london 2012 through to sochi 2014 and beyond. Great britain look set to win a bobsleigh bronze medal, the ioc banned three more russian athletes for doping. Weve been stolen our moment, basically. I feel like we fought so hard, knowing we were good enough to get on the podium. Its hard to take. As were seeing across all sports in the world right now, this is happening all too frequently. Its a really sad state. It would have been a massive family achievement, more than anything. Theres no escaping that, it would have been different. The funding would have been much higher. Obviously, the personal reward of it. Potentially, though, there would have been opportunities for us to further our careers. We did come third but until weve got the medal. How much would you like it to be resolved by pyeongchang . One of the things that is mentioned is, how do you feel about your moment being stolen away from you . In some cases, that could be corrected by being presented the medal in the pyeongchang. Silver for Great Britain. Bronze last week. You have another chance to do it at the games themselves. The team is going in the right direction . It is. The team is going really in the right direction. Previously there had been one competitive team, now there is two. The possibilities are huge for this team. We are going to get a podium. The british four man team from sochi 2014 should learn whether they will receive a retrospective bronze medal by late january. Sliding sports wont enter the winter paralympics until beijing 2022. But for pyeongchang 2018, britain possess some medal prospects. Here are some of the ones to watch. Like britains wheelchair curlers, its gb olympic curlers have enjoyed plenty of medal success at recent games. The women won bronze and the men silver at sochi 2014, and both collected european honours in the last few months, suggesting that they are in career best form. And both teams will be boosted by the presence. Eve will skip the womens team, whilst her older and younger brothers will line up for the team gb men. Competing alongside my brothers will make it exciting and extra special. Its not every day you can compete at the Olympic Games alongside two of your brothers with Great Britain on your back and family watching and that makes it really exciting. I guess there is a little bit of added pressure, having been medallists before, you kind of have that podium to kind of step up to. But theres nothing stopping us being as good as we were last time, if not even better. The Winter Olympics have been revitalised by freestyle skiing and snowboarding events in the 21st century. And at the last games, Great Britain claimed a first ever winter olympic medal on the snow, withjennyjones claiming a bronze medal. Although she isnt competing any more, theres still plenty to be excited about. Ski sundays ed leigh has more. Ive spent more than a quarter of the century reporting on winter sport, and i can say hand on heart, going into pyeongchang, britain has never had so many medal contenders. The first one you have to talk about is katie ormerod, she just missed out on sochi four years ago, and in the period since she has established herself as one of the best slopestyle riders on the female tour. The next rider you have to talk about is billie morgan, the first man to land the hallowed trick in snowboarding right now, billy is another serious contender. Jamie nicholls is my dark horse. He is pound for pound one of the best rail riders in the world, and has been working hard on hisjump tricks. He is now a brilliant all round rider. He could be a serious hope for a medal. We cant forget about the skiers. There is no shortage of talent in that corner either. James woods is top of the list. Fifth in sochi whilst carrying a hip injury, the last 12 months have been a brilliant build up to the games. He has had world cup goals. Izzie atkin is an ex american skier who claimed third in slopestyle at the World Championships. Katie summerhays has bagged a silver. Im very excited about team gbs prospects in pyeongchang. So, theres certainly plenty of medal potential from a freestyle perspective. Next, we take a look at the other prospects on the path to pyeongchang. Britain has struggled in Alpine Skiing for decades, but slalom specialist dave riding now has world cup success to his name. This athlete will be competing in her fourth olympics, the first as a mother. She gave birth to her daughter, leah, in 2016, and is already training herfor a future in the sport. Ice dancers penny combs and Nick Buckland and have been one of sports most unlucky in recent years. He needed heart surgery before the last olympics, and combs shattered her knee in 2016. But they are back on the up. Andrew musgrave is on top of his game, and competes at one of the olympics toughest events, Cross Country skiing. The british bobsleigh womens team had all of their Financial Support pulled months before the game. But a Crowdfunding Campaign saw them raise over £40,000. Also keep an eye out for this skeleton athlete. She has won world cup honours in recent years and will be looking to make an impact on her olympic debut. Britains leading slider remains lizzie yarnold, the olympic champion from sochi 2014, who has taken a one year career break since the last games. She has returned refreshed, but has struggled to find the consistency of old. Lizzie yarnold is the olympic champion oh, my goodness since i was a little kid i always wanted to go to the olympics. To say i am an olympian and a gold medallist, its mind blowing. I think after sochi, there was this niggling feeling that i hadnt been world cup champion, i hadnt been World Champion or european champion. My mind skipped immediately to that. To be able to achieve all four titles within two seasons, 407 days, was awesome. But i was so exhausted. So im really glad that i did take that time off. Training was a lot harder than i had remembered. Itsjust constant. Everything we do is in a basement of a gym, just lifting weights, trying to get stronger, trying to get faster. I think the past 18 months have been very up and down. Lizzie yarnold takes the bronze medal shes way back in tenth, 11th spot, im surprised the olympic champion may struggle to get a second heat after that run. At the moment, my results are not where i want them to be. Ill believe in myself and have confidence. The goal of trying to become the first british winter olympian to retain my title is so motivating. Thats what gets me out of bed every morning. As youve been seeing, we have more medal prospect for Great Britain in Winter Sports than at any point in history. There is every chance that pyeongchang 2018 could be record breaking game for Great Britain. Hello there. The worst of storm dylan has now passed. Earlier in the day, we had peak gusts of 76 mph. Some big waves, some rough seas, some travel disruption as well. But some areas missed all the action and enjoyed some sunshine today. Its been a real mixture. The focus now turns to showers and squally winds, this time in the south west of england, driving their way along the south coast, as those showers get blown into eastern areas over the next few hours. If you are planning to see in the new year, expect some showers around, particularly in northern ireland, western scotland, eastern scotland. North east england may well be dry. It wont be as windy as it was earlier on. It will feel quite chilly, mind you. We do have bands of showers running eastwards across england and wales. One lot clearing away from the east coast. Another area coming into wales and the south west. This is midnight, of course. As we head into the first day of the new year, theres storm dylan, out into the north sea, heading towards scandinavia. The secondary will bring showers from the north west on new years day. This developing low could bring stormy winds across the channel and into parts of france. We are going to see it by friday, probably running eastwards across southern parts of england and wales in the morning on new years day. And then some sunshine before those gusty winds blow more showers in the northern ireland, across scotland, into northern england, wales and perhaps the north midlands. Itll be quite a cold day day in scotland, where it should be largely dry. Should be largely dry. Those temperatures fairly typical for the time of year. But the showers fade away and the winds drop overnight, so it will get colder. We are more likely to get a touch of frost in some rural areas. But in the south west, it will be milder towards the end of the night. A spell of rain will push it away across the whole of the country on tuesday. It may give us some snow over the pennines, the Higher Ground in scotland. It will be replaced by sunshine and showers, and a very gusty westerly wind. But some milder winds. So, 11 12d towards the south west. In the north east, temperatures struggling to get above four or five. Now, put the jet stream on to show you whats happening over the coming few days. Its quite a strong jet, and it picks up areas of low pressure. And runs them towards the uk. So, its a very changeable outlook for the first week of the new year. Well likely to find some gales, even severe gales. There will be some showers, and even some longer spells of rain at times. Good evening and welcome to bbc news. Its six oclock. In a few minutes well be joined by viewers on bbc one for the main news but first lets take a look at how the new year is being welcomed in around the world. In hong kong fireworks were fired from the rooftops of skyscrapers in a ten minute musical display above the historic victoria harbour. And this was the scene in sydney earlier, where the harbour and its iconic bridge took centre stage as usual. Around 1. 5 Million People were there to watch