Skip to main content

tv   BBC News  BBC News  January 2, 2017 4:00am-4:31am GMT

4:00 am
welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is gavin grey. our top stories: caught on camera. cctv footage of the moment the gunman launched his attack on party—goers in an istanbul nightclub. a huge manhunt continues. another twist in the south korean corruption scandal as danish police arrest the daughter of president parks‘s closest friend. questions for indonesia after 23 people are killed when fire breaks out on a crowded ferry. others are still missing. queen elizabeth has missed a second church service as she continues to recover from a heavy cold. police in turkey are hunting for a gunman who opened fire
4:01 am
at a nightclub packed with new year revellers, killing at least 39 people. another 69 were wounded, four of them critically, in what istanbul's governor described as a "terrorist attack". officials say some 15 foreign nationals were killed in the shooting at one of the city's most popular nightspots. the attack marks a bloody end to a year that saw ankara and istanbul targeted by several attacks carried out by the so—called islamic state group, and separately, kurdish rebels. mark lowen reports from istanbul. the mood was of celebration. one of istanbul's top nightclubs, reina, counting down to 2017. five, four, three, two... they expected a night ofjoy, a fresh start — not this. less than two hours into the new year, a gunman opened fire outside, bullets ricocheting
4:02 am
as he shot a policeman and a civilian. another camera showed people cowering as the attacker struck before he stormed the club. inside, his killing spree continued — turks and foreigners murdered, others jumping into the freezing bosphorus to escape. dozens more were injured, some critically. the gunman is still at large. witnesses spoke of the horror. translation: i had my back turned. my husband suddenly told me to get on the floor. a man ran inside. two or three people started firing. then there was this fog. i fainted at that moment, until special forces took us out of there. they shot randomly. there were bodies lying on the floor. today, the scene was heavily guarded. too late for the victims of last night's security breach. there's still no word of who was behind it. well, this is as close as we can get to what was one of turkey's most renowned nightclubs, which has become a scene of mass murder. turkey is now worryingly accustomed to these attacks, and as perhaps the most turbulent
4:03 am
year in its modern history ends, another begins, yet again marked by terror. at the mortuary, they counted up the bodies. those waiting feared the worst. some already knew it. muhammad from iraq told us one of his friends was killed and two others injured. "we'd come here on holiday," he said. "now we are taking my friend's body home." visiting the wounded, the prime minister sounded defiant, but after more than 20 attacks in the past year, killing almost 400, many will see his words as empty. translation: terror cannot intimidate us. we will intimidate terror. we will continue to fight against it. our biggest insurance is to see our people standing in solidarity and supporting our resolve. turkey now faces huge security threats. kurdish militants have bombed soldiers and police in a worsening
4:04 am
insurgency, recently targeting a football stadium in istanbul. and as turkish forces became more embroiled in syria, so—called islamic state have hit back, attacking istanbul airport, for example. since turkey launched a ground offensive against is and kurdish militias in syria, it is more vulnerable than ever. and so a scene that's becoming almost routine here. today they bid farewell to ayhan arik — a brother, husband, father. after driving tourists to the nightclub, he was gunned down outside. they grieved for him, and for a country they once called safe, as they're left to wonder — what has happened to turkey? mark lowen, bbc news, istanbul. the scandal surrounding south korean president park geun—hye has intensified with the arrest by danish police of the daughter of a close friend and confidante. the daughter, chung yoo—ra, who's a medal—winning dressage rider, is wanted for questioning over allegations that she got
4:05 am
preferential treatment at a top university because of her mother choi soon—sil‘s friendship with the president. president park was accused of colluding with her confidante to extort money and favours from big business. parliament voted last month to begin impeachment proceedings against her. the bbc‘s steve evans is in seoul. he says the investigation into corruption allegations is widening. it's very wide indeed, and labyrinthine. but the nub of the whole thing is, did the president and her close friend get money from companies and favours from companies in return for favouring them? this particular aspect today concerns the daughter of the friend, who is alleged to have got into university simply on the strength of her mother's friendship. it is not clear if she is being questioned, or will be questioned, as a suspect, oi’ more
4:06 am
likely as a witness. the police here had put out a warrant. they said they wanted to talk to her. she did not respond, so they put out an international warrant and the danish police have now arrested her. so with protests on new year's eve there, thousands of people out on the streets, this is certainly, obviously, putting more and more pressure onto the president. it is, but the real pressure will come from the investigation. we simply don't know the truth of the matter. it may be, for example, that the friend overexerted her friendship, if you like. both the women deny wrongdoing. they both said sorry, though it is not clear exactly what for, but the suggestion is it is misjudgement rather than crime. in the case of president park, she says she was too trusting. they both deny that central corrupt allegation, that they used
4:07 am
the friendship to get money from companies in return for favouring companies. and what next in the timetable of events? if the court does come back with a decision and confirms her impeachment, elections will have to be held in 60 days. but we are still some way from that. we are. at the end of it all, the national assembly has impeached the president. the president remains president, but she is stripped of all power pending a decision by the supreme court, the constitutional court. that will take some months. if the constitutional court says, yep, there was criminal corruption, she is then out and is open to a normal trial in an ordinary court, and could well face jail if then found guilty. so we are moving slowly down a legal process. you can't also divorce
4:08 am
the political process. that is that the whole thing, in the eyes of the media here, has a whiff of corruption, and of people being entitled to power and favours because of their closeness to the president and their closeness to companies. that political discontent is manifested every single saturday evening with a big demonstration here. a former head of the us environmental protection agency says she fears for the future of her grandchildren with donald trump in the white house. christine todd whitman, a republican, told the bbc the president—elect was ignoring compelling scientific evidence on climate change. she said mr trump's anti—environmental policies could harm the whole planet and accused him of betraying the republican heritage of conservation. 23 people have died and i7
4:09 am
are still missing after a fire broke out on a tourist ferry in indonesia. passengers jumped into the sea to save themselves as flames engulfed the boat that was heading for a holiday island north of the capital, jakarta. officials believe a short circuit in a generator caused the ferry to catch fire. around 200 people were rescued. caterina moh reports. what's left of the zahro express ferry. officials say it burst into flames shortly after setting sail from muara angke port injakarta. more than 230 people were on board, heading to tidung island to celebrate the new year holiday. witnesses say a lot of passengers jumped into the sea. survivors were treated at a hospital injakarta, where relatives of the dead also gathered. translation: thick smoke suddenly emerged, blanketing the cabin. everybody panicked and ran up to the deck to throw floats into the water. in a split second, the fire became bigger. it was coming from where the fuel is stored. rescuers and investigators
4:10 am
are continuing to search the boat, with people still unaccounted for. the ship was carrying more than double the number of passengers listed on its manifest, according to a disaster agency spokesman. ferries are often overcrowded and poorly maintained in indonesia, and sea accidents are frequent. nevertheless, for a country made up of thousands of islands, it remains a key form of transport. catharina moh, bbc news. in other news: syrian activists say government forces have again bombarded a rebel—held area north—west of the capital, damascus. government aircraft are reported to have attacked wadi barada. opposition groups warned on saturday that they'd abandon the ceasefire brokered by russia and turkey three days ago, unless the attacks were halted. 35 russian diplomats expelled from the united states
4:11 am
by president obama have left the country. the plane carrying all the affected personnel and their families took off from virginia. mr obama ordered the expulsion in response to alleged hacking during the recent presidential election. bahrain‘s interior ministry has ordered an investigation into how ten prisoners convicted of terrorist offences were able to escape during an armed attack on a jail. a policeman was killed when at least four gunmen launched the assault onjaw prison. inmates at the jail south of the capital, manama, include those convicted in connection with a wave of anti—government protests in 2011. here in the uk, the queen's daughter princess anne has said her mother is feeling better, after the monarch missed the traditional new year's day church service, because of what is described as a "lingering heavy cold". queen elizabeth, who is 90, was also absent from the christmas day service. our royal correspondent, peter hunt, reports. for a second time during the holiday season, the royals headed to church. for a second time, the queen was a notable absentee.
4:12 am
her 95—year—old husband, who's also been ill, did attend, and was described by one observer as "chipper." protected from rain and walking alongside her husband, anne, a princess in purple, told someone in the crowd her mother was feeling better. during these security—conscious times, the windsors over christmas are an attraction for the dedicated, who, despite the weather, gather outside the sandringham church. once again, the 90—year—old monarch wasn't on display. a little bit disappointed because the queen wasn't there, but that is understandable at 90 years of age. she's in the best place, yes, and i wish her all the best for 2017. obviously, if she's not well, then you don't want to see her come out in this weather, do you, you know? at christmas, our attention is drawn to the birth of a baby some 2000 years ago. the queen, who recorded her christmas day message early in december, will not have taken the decision to miss church lightly — the supreme governor of the church of england has
4:13 am
a deep personalfaith. but in her tenth decade, and on the advice of her doctor, the monarch is exercising caution in the face of a heavy cold she's had for nearly two weeks. the queen has been laid low and left feeling pretty miserable at the end of yet another significant year in her long reign. as well as celebrating her landmark birthday, she's started to acknowledge her advancing age and reduce her workload. just last month, the queen severed her links to 25 organisations she'd been patron of for decades. palace officials insist the queen is up and about and she hasn't been to hospital or had tests. as head of state, she continues to deal with the government documents she receives. the queen is clearly doing all she can to get rid of a lingering cold, rather than make it worse. peter hunt, bbc news, buckingham palace. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: more than 50 officers injured as a
4:14 am
thousand migrants make a mass bid to break into the enclave of ceulta. the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got under way with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow, in holland, we're gonna use money we picked up in belgium today, then we'll be in france, and again it'll be the same money. it has just got to be the way to go. george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed in his oxfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. i think it was good. just good? no, fantastic. that's better. this is bbc news.
4:15 am
the latest headlines: a huge manhunt continues in turkey for a gunman who opened fire on revellers celebrating the new year at an istanbul nightclub, killing at least 39 people. there has been another arrest in the unfolding corruption scandal in south korea. the daughter of the president's best friend has been held by danish police, and will return to seoul to face questioning. more than 50 moroccan and spanish security officers have been injured trying to prevent migrants storming a barrier protecting the spanish territory of ceuta, in north africa. the enclave is often targeted by sub—saharan africans trying to get into the eu. greg dawson has the latest. this is the moment where their
4:16 am
struggle to enter europe was stopped. at the top of the six metre barbed wire fence, facing rows of spanish officers waiting to turn them back to morocco. authorities say the attempt to storm this border had been extremely violent, with migrants armed with wire cutters, iron bars and rocks. one border guard lost an eye. it had begun hours earlier when more than 1000 people surprised the moroccan border patrol and ran for the fence. this man was one of dozens who made it to the top. when he finally agrees to come down, he is met by a spanish border policeman. a bottle of water is his only consolation, therefore, eventually, his quest ends in failure and he is ushered back to the moroccan side of the border. each year, hundreds of migrants living illegally in morocco attempt to enter ceuta as they try to reach
4:17 am
mainland europe. along with another spanish conclave, melilla, it is the eu's only land border with africa. just last month more than 400 migrants succeeded in breaching ceuta's fence. most were detained in what was the biggest breach of security at the border in more than a decade. apart from two men who we re a decade. apart from two men who were treated in a spanish hospital for the injuries, all of the migrants were turned back on this occasion. but their determination for a better life in europe means this failed attempt is unlikely to be their last. thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of hong kong, demanding full democracy. they accuse the government of cracking down on pro—democracy legislators, and say beijing has interfered in hong kong's affairs by interpreting its local laws. helier cheung has more. it may be new year's day, but hong kong's protestors aren't celebrating. instead, they're marching through hong kong streets calling for democratic reform. activists hold pro—democracy marches
4:18 am
every year in hong kong, but this time there is a new source of tension. these protests come months before hong kong's chief executive elections. but the protesters here argue that none of the four respective candidates have any credibility, because they won't have been democratically elected. the government says the legislators gave invalid oaths, and so should be disqualified. but critics accuse the government of a political crackdown. translation: i voted for nathan law. the government has the nerve to try and disqualify him after he's already been sworn in. i feel furious about this. i feel i can't just sit at home anymore. if you're sitting at home, you might as well come out and protest. translation: the government shouldn't do that. why are they stirring up so much trouble? they're just trying to do theirjobs. why is the government trying to destroy voices that it doesn't agree with? this stops the legislators
4:19 am
from doing theirjobs. hong kong's unpopular leader, cy leung, will step down next year. but protesters argue that, without democratic reform, there is no guarantee the next leader will be any better. public opinion in hong kong is split. some argue that pro—democracy groups have not achieved anything, and are distracting the government from more important issues. we do notjust want to disqualify cy leung, but also we are asking for a fundamental reform of the system. but these activists say they are determined to fight on, so hong kong is likely to see more protests over the coming year. helier cheung, bbc news, hong kong. all this week, bbc news is focusing on what the big global stories might be in 2017. today, we look at health. tulip mazumdar reports. hello, i'm the bbc‘s global
4:20 am
health correspondent, tulip mazumder, and these are the top global health stories to look out for in 2017. it is the biggest health crisis facing the world today. some of the drugs we have taken for granted to help us get over common infections are no longer working, partly because we have over—used them. it means an estimated 700,000 people are dying from infections that are now hard or impossible to treat. the world urgently needs new antibiotics to fight these so—called superbugs. the issue will continue to be high on the international agenda, with the powerful g20 countries due to discuss how best to deal with the crisis in germany injuly. dealing with depression, or the black dog, as it is sometimes called. the world health organization will make getting people to talk about their depression and anxiety a top priority in 2017. in some countries, there isn't even a word for those conditions, that is despite them affecting around one in ten people. expect lots of campaigning in countries such as chile,
4:21 am
ethiopia and sri lanka, as their governments work to improve access to mental health services, and also in high—income countries, where only half of those suffering with depression are actually getting any treatment. zika is no longer considered a global health emergency. that is what we were told by the world health organization at the end of last year. but the announcement came with a stark warning that zika is here to stay, and it remains a major threat to pregnant women. there are still many unknowns when it comes to zika, but there are high hopes that 2017 will be the year we get some urgently needed answers, and tools to fight the virus. scientists are working hard to come up with a vaccine to protect women of child—bearing age. findings are also due to be published into how great the risk of zika actually is to newborn babies, which will help doctors advise mums—to—be. there was a very public and embarrassing end to 2016
4:22 am
for mariah carey, who had a massive technical meltdown during her performance at the new year's eve party in new york. we can't hear, but i'lljust get through emotion, ok? as her hit song emotion started, the singer told the audience she couldn't hear, and looked as if she was struggling with her earpiece. she also appeared to be lip—syncing at points throughout the performance, which was being watched by thousands in times square and millions on tv. the singer later told fans and critics that life does not always go as planned. more than 8,000 performers from around the world have taken part in london's new year's day parade. this year's theme was blockbuster movies, and despite the rain, londoners and tourists lined the route. ayesha bakhsh was there. it is a positively cheery start to 2017, watched by millions around the globe. the annual new year's day parade
4:23 am
in central london gets bigger every year and, in light of recent terrorist attacks in europe, 3,000 extra police were drafted in. both the mayor and scotland yard have said there would be extra security this new year's day parade. organisers say they want people to feel safe. the theme of this year's parade was hollywood movies, and many of the londoners who took part acted out famous films. we've got 17 london boroughs that are represented here today, 8,500 performers, about 4,000 of which have come in from the states. they've got a wonderful, magical marching band culture there, and they've really embraced this event fully. we are a marching band from delaware, in the us. what's it like to be in london for this? it's so beautiful. i love it here. it's amazing! i'm moving here! for some, the event had extra meaning. these children were from
4:24 am
the st christopher's hospice in south london. i was asking them, how does it feel to participate, and it was really beautiful, because when i asked how it felt to participate, they said it felt like they were part of a larger community. that they were being represented, they were being seen and also honouring the work of st christopher's. for some it could be one of the last big things they do in their life. even leaving their house and commuting to the hospice can be exciting, never mind going to central london for a parade. there was heavy rain late in the afternoon, and the parade ended in westminster. and, staying with the new year celebrations, this one is known as the new year's day dip, an annual tradition in some parts of europe, diving, swimming or running into seas or rivers, which as you can imagine can be, let's say, refreshing at this time of year. here is a look at some of the brave. i don't think they were screams of
4:25 am
enjoyment, somehow. ithink i don't think they were screams of enjoyment, somehow. i think that might have been a bit of a pain. 20 more details on our main stories on oui’ more details on our main stories on our website. stick with us here in bbc news. hello.
4:26 am
well, many of us had a bit of a wet new year's day, but that wet weather was courtesy of a cold front. the cold front has cleared through, introducing much chillier air, but much clearer, sunnier conditions as well for many of us today. a bright, crisp, but distinctly chilly start to your monday. some ice around after yesterday's rain, so watch out for that. could be quite slippery, particularly across the north and the east, where we've got some wintry showers, in actualfact. so it is not dry everywhere, but for the majority there will be blue skies as you step out first thing in the morning. this is 9:00am. a lovely start to the day, if you wear a few layers, that is, across most of wales and northern ireland. some of those wintry showers still peppering some northern areas of the province. the snow settling on the highest ground of northern ireland, and down to quite low levels, actually, across the north of scotland. so yes, it could be an icy start here, but for the central belt southwards, it should be largely clear and sunny. some showers, wintry showers, will be pecking away at the north—east coast of england, a few making it inland. but for most of us, actually, it will be a dry start to the day,
4:27 am
with a lot of sunshine. a bit of patchy cloud, perhaps, filtering down across east anglia, but it should stay largely dry here. further west, though, temperatures close to freezing, so as i mentioned, watch out for one or two slippery surfaces. but it should be dry, and stay dry, for the majority of us as we go through the day. the wintry showers continuing across the north of scotland, though i think that the snow will tend to turn back to rain, at lower levels, at least, and most other places will stay fine. still some showers down that east coast of england, and maybe one or two filtering through the irish sea, eventually into some north—western coasts of england. a cold —feeling day, despite all that sunshine. temperatures much, much lower than they have been for the last couple of days in many places, so three to five degrees will be typical. we soon go into frost across the southern half of the uk, and there could well be some slippery surfaces, so watch out for those. if anything, though, temperatures will recover further north, with increasing cloud, and a somewhat milder wind pushing in from the north—west, carrying some showers,
4:28 am
principally to the west of scotland. so a different sort of day here as we go through tuesday, a lot more cloud around. some showery rain for a time, on a stiff old breeze, especially across the north of scotland. some of this cloud will filter its way down across england and wales. but, bar the odd shower, actually, still plenty of dry weather, with some sunshine across these more southern and eastern areas. after that chilly start, temperatures slow to recover, but a degree or so higher than they will be today. but on wednesday we see some cold air coming back in again, particularly into the more northern and eastern areas. here the best of the sunshine. further south and west, we will hold onto a bit more cloud. the latest headlines from bbc news. i'm gavin grey. turkish police are hunting for the gunman who opened fire on revellers celebrating the new year at a nightclub in istanbul. nearly two thirds of the victims were foreigners, including five from saudi arabia. funerals have been held for some of the 39 people killed. the scandal surrounding south korean president park geun—hye has intensified with the arrest by danish police of the daughter of a close friend and confidante.
4:29 am
the daughter, chung yoo—ra, a medal—winning dressage rider, is wanted for questioning over allegations that she got preferential treatment at a top university. queen elizabeth has missed the traditional new year's day church service at sandringham, because of a lingering heavy cold. she also missed the service on christmas day. but her daughter, the princess royal has said the 90—year—old monarch is feeling better. now on bbc news, hardtalk.
4:30 am

162 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on