Introduced prince harrys bride to be, meghan markle. Good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. The metropolitan police has said that four young men have been stabbed to death between yesterday morning and the early hours of today in a series of apparently unrelated attacks. Three, aged 17, 18 and 20, were killed yesterday. A fourth, who was 20, died after been stabbed on an estate in the old street area of east london in the early hours of this morning. Officers say the murders highlight the scale of knife crime in the capital. During yesterday and last night there were thousands of Police Officers on duty across london, determined to ensure millions of londoners were able to enjoy the celebrations, the passing of 2017 and the coming of 2018. To those millions of londoners i would like to say thank you for your cooperation in having a safe and enjoyable night. Tragically there are fourfamilies enjoyable night. Tragically there are four families who wake this morning to the heartbreaking news they have lost loved ones to the callous use of knives as lethal weapons. Our detectives are working tirelessly today and Going Forward to bring those who have committed these murderers to justice, to bring those who have committed these murderers tojustice, and weve already made a number of arrests. We have certainly seen in recent months an increase in knife crime. We are working hard to tackle that, taking more knives off the streets of london and bringing more offenders to justice. So whilst the events of the last 2a hours are unusual, we are working tirelessly to taking knives off the streets of london and stop people committing violence on the streets of the capital. Air investigators in australia say it may take many months before they know why a seaplane carrying a prominent british businessman and four members of his family, crashed on new years eve. Richard cousins who ran the catering giant compass was killed along with his two sons, his fiance, her daughter and the pilot. Phil mercer reports. The wreckage of the seaplane lies 13 metres below the surface of the hawkesbury river. One of the victims was the british businessman, richard cousins, the chief executive of the Worlds Largest catering firm, compass, who was due to retire later this year. The company confirmed his death in a statement. Mr cousins, who was 58, died alongside his fiancee, emma bowden, and her 11 year old daughter, heather. Also on board the seaplane that crashed intojerusalem bay, william cousins, 25, who worked for open britain a pro eu group set up in the aftermath of the brexit vote. Colleagues said that they were shocked by news of his death. His brother, edward, who was 23, had recently graduated from the university of st andrews. The pilot, gareth morgan, had done more than 10,000 flying hours, 9,000 of which were on seaplanes. The pilot had collected mr cousins and members of his family from an exclusive waterfront restaurant and was heading back to rose bay on Sydney Harbour shortly after take off, the plane plummeted into the water. Investigators say it quickly sank and there were no survivors. These are people who have come out on holiday to visit australia in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. And for this to happen to them in a place like that is nothing more than just tragic. It could take months to work out how and why a routine sightseeing trip could end in utter disaster. Air crash investigators have begun their work. Their task wont be easy. The wreckage of the seaplane has been submerged in more than a0 feet of water. And although these idyllic bays and inlets are geographically close to sydney, the crash site is tucked away and hard to get to. Sydney seaplanes, which owns the aircraft, has suspended all its flights until further notice. Phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. A huge fire has destroyed up to 11100 vehicles in a multistorey car park in liverpool. The fire at kings dock, next to liverpools echo arena, is said to have started accidentally in one car and spread to others. Many people were forced into temporary accommodation as nearby buildings were evacuated. Danny savage reports. It was shortly after dark yesterday evening when fire took hold in the multistorey car park on liverpools famous waterfront. It is understood a small fire in one car spread rapidly, destroying vehicles and then moving on to all levels of the car park. It was soon a huge blaze. Merseyside fire and rescue say its one of the worst theyve ever dealt with. All the car owners could do was watch and accept they would never see their vehicles again. Ive got a vehicle in there, yes. Im unsure at the moment when its going to be. We cant get anywhere near it. Do you hold out much hope for your car . Looking at the flames, no. Nearby flats and a hotel were evacuated too as the alarming sight of the massive fire attracted lots of onlookers. The fires still going on. I canjust see black smoke everywhere. The car park is attached to the liverpool arena, where an International Horse show was taking place. All the animals were quickly led to safety. This morning, the blackened building was surrounded by fire engines as experts assess the site. The concern is that the car park may collapse. This spectacular fire certainly caused a huge amount of damage. The insurance bill for the cars alone will be several million pounds. The good fortune was that no one was hurt. Danny savage, bbc news, liverpool. Earlier danny gave us this update from the scene. The broad understanding is there was a vehicle in the car park that had an accidental fire, in the car park that had an accidentalfire, which in the car park that had an accidental fire, which rapidly spread to neighbouring cars in the area, then that moved quickly to the floors up and down so it spread throughout the multistorey car park quickly from just one small fire in one vehicle. On the ground floor there was some stabling for the International Horse show is going on here yesterday. Luckily the animals we re here yesterday. Luckily the animals were all led to safety and they are being looked after at aintree racecourse. To show you how close we are to where the animals are being kept, you can see the car park there, and here are the temporary sta bles there, and here are the temporary stables in place for the International Horse show. The animals were saved but it was a close call and there will be questions asked about how it spread so questions asked about how it spread so rapidly. Was there no system in place to stop fire spreading through the structure . As for what happens to it now, whether it will have to be destroyed or if it can be saved, thatis be destroyed or if it can be saved, that is what the are about. It is new years day, people have been coming back to the buildings after being out, but anybody who had a car in here wont be able to get them back for the time being and probably never, but the ones on the top floor may be rescuable. Danny, thank you. The archbishop of canterbury has paid tribute to emergency workers in his new years day message. Justin welby said 2018 could be defined either by human suffering or the compassionate response to suffering. Heres our religion editor, martin bashir. Paying tribute to the unrelenting dedication of the emergency services, Archbishopjustin Welby chose the London Ambulance headquarters in waterloo to deliver his new year message. And he began by describing the terror attack at nearby London Bridge and Borough Market. On the third ofjune, as the terrifying events unfolded on London Bridge and in Borough Market, staff took over 100 calls from those caught up in the atrocities. The archbishop went on to catalogue other terror attacks at manchester, westminster, Finsbury Park and parsons green, along with the tragedy at Grenfell Tower. I visited Grenfell Tower while it was still burning. I remember the desperation and sorrow. You all right . Visiting Borough Market six months after the attack, justin welby witnessed the recovery of a community that, like others, has inspired the nation. In concluding his message, the archbishop asked, what will define us in the year ahead . Will it be the depth of suffering, or the breadth of compassion . The darkness, or the light of human kindness . It is a choice. But not one we have to make alone. Jesus christ, the light of the world, weeps for our struggles, works for our healing, and invites us to walk in his light. He is right there with us in the midst of everything. May i wish you all a very happy new year. Martin bashir, bbc news, Borough Market, london. Pope francis has condemned what he called the banality of consumerism in his homily at a new year mass in st peters basilica in vatican city. He contrasted the contemplative silence of the virgin mary, the mother ofjesus in the christian faith, with the blare of commercials, saying the wave of shouting had a corrosive effect on society. To set aside a moment of silence each day to be with god is to safeguard our soul; it is to shield our freedom from being corroded by the banality of consumerism, the blare of commercials, the stream of empty words and the overpowering waves of empty chatter and loud shouting. California will today become the largest state in the us to legalise the Recreational Use of cannabis. Adults aged over 21 will be allowed to possess up to an ounce of the drug and to grow six Marijuana Plants at home. Opponents say the new law will lead to more driving under the influence of the drug and introduce young people to narcotics use. The leader of north korea, kim jong un, has warned the United States that he has a Nuclear Button on his desk, ready for use, if his country feels threatened. The comments came during a televised new years day speech in which he also said that he wanted to lower military tensions with neighbouring south korea from where our correspondent sophie long reports. Just after the first sun of 2018 rose over the korean peninsular, kim jong un delivered his new years address live on state run television, with an unsurprisingly defiant message for the United States. Translation the entire United States is within range of our Nuclear Weapons and the Nuclear Button is always on my desk. This is reality, not a threat. Perhaps more surprising was the olive branch he appeared to offer his neighbour, south korea. He said he hoped the Winter Olympics theyre about to host would be a success, and said he was considering sending a delegation to the games. That comes as music to the ears of violinist won hyung joon. For ten years he has tried and failed to organise a peace concert with these young south koreans playing together with north korean musicians. He now hopes to make that happen at the pyeonchang opening ceremony. We have hope that the olympics is coming and with the olympics, everyone is coming. And it is beyond political difficulties. So i really wish north korea would come and especially with the musicians and we will be able to play together. The south korean government has welcomed those words from the north korean leader, saying it too was willing to engage in dialogue. After a year of Nuclear Tests and missile launches, young koreans welcomed in the new year with hope that tensions might now reduce, if only in the very immediate future. As a citizen of this country, its all i can really wish for. It is obvious to anyone in the world that we are in a very tense situation right now, and i think that means we have hope for the future. Sophie long, bbc news, seoul. The headlines on Bbc News Police appealfor Police Appeal for information after four men are stabbed to death in london in month unrelated incidents in new year attacks. A huge blaze at a liverpool car park destroys around 11100 vehicles, stranding hundreds in the city centre overnight. The uk recycling industry says it doesnt know how to cope with a chinese ban on imports of Plastic Waste. Britain has been sending up to 500,000 tonnes of plastic our environment analyst Roger Harrabin reports. Way the waist, its a journey that often ends in china. About a quarter of our waste plastic heads on boats to the east. Now china has decided it doesnt want it any more and its caused a huge new year headache for the uks hard pressed recycling firms. Its a massive blow, i think its a game changer for our industry. For decades we have been relying on the Chinese Market to recycle the surplus of materials we collect in the uk that we dont have the capacity at home to recycle and reprocess. Incineration might get rid of some of the uks waste, but plans for more incinerators would be strongly resisted by green groups. If you build an incinerator, you are basically creating a market for plastics so you are encouraging us to produce more single use throwaway plastics, which is exactly the problem we need to tackle. The government is looking at taxes on deposit schemes to deter Plastic Waste but thats for the longer term. No one yet knows how britain will solve its short term china crisis. Rail users are travelling on the oldest trains since records began according to a report by a transport watchdog. The office of rail and roads says older Rolling Stock can lead to problems with reliability and poorer performance. People travelling on the Caledonian Sleeper Service between london and scotland have the oldest trains in britain at 42 years old. Merseyrail has the second oldest fleet at 38 years. Both operators plan to introduce new trains. A small passenger plane has crashed in a tourist area of costa rica, killing ten americans and two local pilots. It was travelling from the capital sanjose to the mountainous region of punta islita, an area popular with tourists on the Pacific Coast. Sarah corker reports. Only the tail of the plane is recognisable in the burning wreckage. The charter flight crashed just minutes after take off, bursting into flames and killing all 12 on board. It happened just after noon on sunday in the mountainous region of punta islita, an area popular with tourists on the Pacific Coast s. Ten of those who died were us tourists along with the costa rican pilot and co pilot. Us tourists along with the costa rican pilot and copilot. The plane had rican pilot and copilot. The plane ha d rece ntly rican pilot and copilot. The plane had recently passed a Safety Inspection about a month ago so it was authorised to fly. For a plane to be legally registered, it is inspected for airworthiness and functionality. Costa rican officials said the plane was a single engined one that belonged to a local company, flying to sanjose airport. The cause of the crash is not yet known. The Authorities Say the focus now is recovering the bodies of those who died. Sarah corker, bbc news. From sydney to hong kong, london to new york, cities across the world have been ringing in 2018 with spectacular firework displays. One of the biggest new years parties was on the banks of the river thames, where Caroline Davies report begins. Bell chimes. Even big ben couldnt miss this party. Despite being under repair, it rang, marking the start of 2018 in london along with 12,000 fireworks. This years soundtrack was dominated by female artists. 2018 is 100 years since women first got the vote. Celebrations are planned. Just one thing the year has in store. The best year ever. Were going to get our careers. Were going to get into university. Get into university its going to be good. In scotland, storm dylan had brought winds of up to 70 mph but it wasnt enough to dampen spirits for hogmanay in edinburgh. In sydney, the harbour bridge lit up in rainbow colours, a tribute to the year australia voted to legalise same sex marriage. Around the world, cities celebrated the start of 2018. Hong kong erupted. Athens glowed. And moscow sparkled. In new york, thousands watched in times square as the new years eve ball dropped. In rio, more than 2 Million People gathered on copacabana beach, welcoming in 2018 with high hopes of a bright year to come. Caroline davies, bbc news. The festivities are continuing to grow the day. Half a Million People have turned out for the new year s parade in central london. Reformers have been entertaining the crowds and ian palmer is there. Everyone looks like they are well wrapped up and enjoying themselves. Very much so, we had a bit of rain earlier but it has cleared up nicely. As you say, there is a distinct american feel to this parade with dozens of marching bands. One of them, the alabama mobile marching band, has just gone through and ive got two of their participants with me. One is katie sullivan, the alabama trails name. How has it been . Great, lots of fun. Can you explain what you are wearing . Yes, this is a southern dress, handmade and on the top 50 High School Seniors get to pass at participate in being a trail made. You are one of the marching band male members, did you enjoy it . Yes sir, its been a blast. Have you been here before . No, i have never been to london before. Describe the experience, how you felt. You see a lot of things on tv but it is different to see it in real life. There are dozens and dozens real life. There are dozens and d oze ns of real life. There are dozens and dozens of American High School and University Marching Bands here. Just explain to a british audience why marching bands are so important to american culture. There definitely isa american culture. There definitely is a cultural aspect to it. It is something that is uniquely american to us. Every high school and College Takes pride in their band and its just a lot of fun. Would you like to come again . I would love to. Thank you, both, very much indeed. Just tell you that the parade in 2009 or before 2009 i should say used to start here at Parliament Square and end at green park station but they reversed it because of the massive American Television audience in the United States if they start at green park station and end here, the americans get to see an awful lot more of the iconic views of london. And with any luck, come and spend a few more dollars here as tourists. I have to say, that dress would brighten up any ones new years day. As fireworks lit jakartas sky, over 400 couples gather to celebrate the turning of a new chapter in their lives. Though hundreds of couples we re lives. Though hundreds of couples were involved, individuals made their day special by wearing a traditional indonesian outfit and headdress. Just hours before midnight, the mass wedding commenced with the arrival of jakartas governor. It was the cost of marriage ceremonies he had come to resolve. The City Government raised money to make a legally binding marriage possible, allowing children of these unions to be legally recognised. The money also stretched to covering the indonesian wedding tradition of exchanging token gold dowries. As well as giving congratulations, the governor acknowledged that Financial Hardship can keep low income indonesian couples from taking on the cost of a traditional wedding. After a brief ceremony in front of government officials, the couples took the final step towards full recognition of their relationship by signing their marriage certificates. Those whose marriages were not certified can use this opportunity to legalise their marriage and it is especially helpful for those who cant afford to do so. Im very happy because we officially wed in the mass wedding, receiving blessing from the whole society. Im very pleased. As the happy couples society. Im very pleased. As the ha ppy cou ples left society. Im very pleased. As the happy couples left the venue to join the throng of new year party goers, jakartas governor promised the city would make marriage possible for many more couples by repeating the event the next new years eve. In iran it is thought ten people have died in Anti Government protests. President rouhani has appealed for calm. Im joined now by Rana Rahimpour from the bbc persian service. What do we know about the circumstances in which these people died . Reports are almost impossible to verify because the internet is shut down. People say it takes half an hourto shut down. People say it takes half an hour to write a tweet so we havent really received any footage and anything confirms almost impossible. State television said about ten people have been killed overnight, they say they were rioters and some of them were armed but its impossible to find out. But protesters say they have been killed by government forces. |j protesters say they have been killed by government forces. I suppose the evidence that these are serious protests is the fact president rouhani was drawn to make these very clear comments that yes you have a right to protest but no you dont have a right to be involved in violence, which sort of implies they are about to take action of some kind to try and bring these protests to order. Yes, and thats why hes given two speeches in the last 24 hours, clearly they feel there is serious tension. On top of that i think he acknowledges why people are so angry. We are talking about high unemployment. In some cities, 60 of people are unemployed. He acknowledges the fact that corruption is very serious among the political elite. Inflation has been very high. But he also spoke of possible interference in irans regional allies and thats what hes been warning the protest is about. So essentially saying to them you are being used by outside forces who are being used by outside forces who are hostile to our country. But what about the suggestions that these protests may have been started by hardliners opposed to president rouhani, and then got out of control with people with other motives about the sort of things you are talking about, high unemployment, using it as an opportunity to go public with their concerns about the way the country is run. It seems credible because many politicians have commented about how it started and it looks like they are aware of some internal rivals of president rouhani who were defeated in the recent president ial election and asked supporters to get out on the street and protest against inflation and basically president rouhanis policies. But i think they miscalculated the level of frustration among many people, especially people in the more deprived areas that we have been seeing. Many cities in the south of the country and the west of the country, they are very young. Educated, but they dont have jobs. The youth Unemployment Rate was 28. 8 last year, thats an incredibly high figure. It is, and the interior minister says in some cities it goes up to 60 , which is astonishing. On top of that there have been small scattered protests in recent months against the banks, many investment banks have been shut down because they were also bankrupt and people have lost their life savings. So there has been this thing going on, boiling underneath the surface. I think as soon as they found a chance, it erupted. Thank you for that update. Good to speak to you. Lets take a look at the weather prospects now. Good afternoon, some windy weather this week for the first week of the new year and some spells of rain. We have had rain today creeping across the south east of england, some wetter weather moving over the midlands into lincolnshire, and show was coming down from the north west on strong winds, making it feel more chilly than it has of late. A lot of showers working their way now into wales and they will move southwards over the next few hours. Probably after midnight the showers tend to fade away, the winds will drop, skies were clearfor fade away, the winds will drop, skies were clear for many for a while and we will find temperatures falling away too. The chilly night tonight, temperatures falling away in rural areas but on tuesday we have rain and strong winds in Northern Ireland in the morning. This rain will sweep eastwards, shouldnt last long but briefly we will get snow over the tops of the pennines and hills in scotland as well. But in the afternoon the temperatures will rise more as we get brighter weather and sunshine ahead of some wet and windy weather that arrives later in the day. This is bbc news, our latest headlines. Police appeal for information after four men are stabbed to death in london, in unrelated new year attacks. Tragically there are four families who wake this morning to the heartbreaking news they have lost loved ones to the callous use of knives as lethal weapons. Two of the victims of a seaplane crash in australia are identified as an 11 year old british girl and her mother, emma bowden. Also among the dead, her fiancee and the head