it s arguably the world s most dazzling fireworks display, but thousands of people want sydney to scrap its new year s eve spectacular. they say it would be an insult and could traumatise some of those affected by the bushfire crisis. sydney s lord mayor, clover moore, said she shared the deep sympathies of those who d signed the petition, but stressed that the fireworks were planned months in advance and most of the budget had already been spent. so, barring catastrophic fire conditions in sydney on new year s eve, the event seems certain to go ahead. in between now and then, the authorities are warning of severe to extreme fire dangers across much of south eastern australia, much of the heavily populated parts of australia. that includes south australia, victoria, tasmania and new south wales, where more than 80 fires continue to burn. volunteers are a vital part of the emergency effort. many have been fighting the flames for weeks. the government says they ll be able to ap
in a moment it will be time for sportsday, but first a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news. in half an hour, beyond 100 days have the latest on the arrest of us actorjussie smollett as police accuse him of pretending to be the victim of a racist and homophobic attack. we ll hear from a disability campaigner about delays to payments with people with long term disabilities. and we ll be taking a first look at what s making tomorrow s front pages in the papers. i ll be joined by katy balls deputy political editor of the spectator, and the writer and broadcaster steve richards. that s all ahead on bbc news. now on bbc news it s time for sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday i m hugh ferris. the headlines this evening. arsenal eradicate their europa league deficit in the blink of an eye at the emirates as they try and reach the last 32 along with chelsea and celtic. the six nations coaches reveal their cards as england wales and scotland all make chan
our main story is the rising cost of parking at many of england s hospitals. more than a third of nhs hospitals have increased their prices, with some patients and staff now paying double. some trusts have defended the higher charges, insisting that some of the extra money is spent on patient care. parking charges have been abolished in welsh hospitals and in most of scotland, but they still remain in england and northern ireland, as our correspondent duncan kennedy reports. hospital car parks where the debate over the nhs goes from inside to outside. this is the royal surrey county hospital in guildford. just try bringing up the subject of parking fees to visitors. what do you think of the parking charges here? i think they are expensive, but like everywhere else we have to pay it, don t you? i think the system is very complicated and people are real. you don t come here through choice. you know this is the most expensive hospital there is in terms of parking? typical surr
won the battle for the title may be fought further north, at the halfway point of the season there is renewed optimism on the south coast. after one win from their first 16, under ralph hasenhuttl, southampton have w011 ralph hasenhuttl, southampton have won their last two, the austrian bringing precision and paste to the side. clearfrom the bringing precision and paste to the side. clear from the start. bringing precision and paste to the side. clearfrom the start. but bringing precision and paste to the side. clear from the start. but with four wins already this season, chances for four wins already this season, cha nces for west four wins already this season, chances for west ham were always going to come. theyjust needed to ta ke going to come. theyjust needed to take them. lucas perez the man who should have done better. but the opportunities were coming and after the break, southampton found themselves in a position that was too good to waste. nathan redmond played onsi
news. in iceland, three british tourists, including a child, have died after their vehicle crashed while crossing a bridge. four other passengers were critically hurt in the accident. according to local media, the crash happened on a bridge in a popular tourist area in the south east of the island, as our correspondent ben ando reports. the two families were in a toyota land cruiser, which crashed through railings and fell around 20 feet onto a dry riverbed below. first on the scene were the police and a local tour guide, who did all he could to help. i tried to talk a little bit to the driver to calm him down. he was trapped inside the car. i was trying to tell him to save his energy and try to be patient, we will try to get him out of there. it was a very difficult situation. two adults and the child died ar the scene, before others, including two children aged seven and nine, were airlifted to hospital in critical condition. it was immediately clear that this was a very se