01/01/2018 BBC News at Ten

A fifth day of unrest in Iran -

a police officer is shot dead

and several others have been

wounded.

SHOUTING AND WHISTLING

Demonstrations over the rising cost

of living have turned political -

at least 12 protestors

have been killed.

Searching the wreckage

after one of Britain's most

successful businessmen,

and his family, die in a seaplane

crash in Australia.

The aftermath of a fire that swept

through a multi-storey

car park in Liverpool -

1,400 vehicles destroyed.

How China deals with our plastic

waste - but what happens

now that they say it's time

for the UK to take care

of its own rubbish?

Manchester United are back in second

place in the Premier League

after a 2-0 victory

against Everton.

Good evening.

In Iran, a police officer has been

shot dead, and three

others have been wounded,

after a fifth day of

anti-government protests.

What began as a protest

against the rising cost of living

now seems to be taking

on political overtones.

A dozen protesters have been killed

in the last 24 hours.

The foreign secretary,

Boris Johnson, has called

on the Iranian government to allow

meaningful debate on the issues

raised by protestors.

Our correspondent Rana Rahimpour,

from the BBC's Persian

Service, has the latest.

Once again, thousands of people have

taken to the streets.

A poster of the supreme leader set

alight and torn down before the

crowds rush over the wall of the

Town Hall in this city.

They are angry at unemployment,

rising prices, and what many think

is widespread corruption.

It's the boldest challenge

to the country's leadership

in nearly a decade.

The demonstrations began

in the north-western city

of Mashhad, a key base

for President Rouhani's

most outspoken critics.

But it has quickly

turned into a widespread

antiestablishment movement,

including the supreme leader.

This is the biggest show

of dissent in Iran since

the post-election rallies of 2009.

They were large in size,

but limited to urban areas

of the country, like

the capital, Tehran.

This time, the protests

are more widespread,

with towns and cities

all over the country looking

for social, political,

and economic change.

Authorities are continuing

to suspend social media platforms

out of fear they will be used

to organise more protests.

The BBC has received reports of text

messages, like this one,

being sent to people urging them not

to take part.

A handful of pro-government marchers

are attempting to counter

the wider demonstrations,

but with limited information coming

out of the country, it's

difficult to gauge how many

people are involved.

In the last 24 hours,

President Rouhani has spoken out

twice against the protests.

Downplaying their significance and

instead...

Accusing Iran's enemies

of instigating the unrest.

TRANSLATION:

Our victory against

the US and the zionist regime

is unbearable for our enemies.

Our success in the region

is intolerable for them.

They are after revenge

and are trying to provoke people.

But his words have failed

to calm the situation.

In certain areas of the country,

unemployment is as high as 60%,

and reports of extreme corruption

have Iranians frustrated

and hungry for change.

Tonight, Iranian state TV is

reporting that a police officer has

been shot dead. It is the first

reported attack on a member of the

security forces since the

demonstrations began last week, a

move that may escalate the

confrontation between protesters and

the State, and attention league lead

to more bloodshed.

Rana Rahimpour, BBC News.

Air accident investigators

in Australia say it may take months

before they know why a seaplane

carrying a prominent British

businessman and his family

crashed on New Year's Eve.

Richard Cousins, who ran

a multi-billion pound catering

company, was killed along

with his two sons, his fiancee,

her daughter and the pilot.

They were on holiday and returning

to Sydney after a family outing.

Phil Mercer reports from Sydney.

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 world's

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 into Jerusalem Bay -

William Cousins, who was 25,

worked for Open Britain,

a pro-EU group set up

in the aftermath of the Brexit vote.

Colleagues said they were shocked

by news of his death.

His brother, Edward, who was 23,

had recently graduated

from the University of St Andrews.

Losing both my godson

and his sibling, and my

brother-in-law as well,

has left a huge hole.

They had a lot of friends.

They had...

They were very, very popular lads.

And that's because they've had

a fantastic upbringing,

from both my sister and Richard.

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.

This is people that have come over

on holidays to visit Australia.

They were in one of the most

beautiful parts of the world.

And for this to happen to them

at 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 won't be easy.

The wreckage of the seaplane has

been submerged in more

than 40ft 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.

Four young men have been

stabbed to death in London

in a 24-hour period either side

of the New Year celebrations.

Three men, aged 17,18 and 20,

were killed yesterday.

Three men, aged 17, 18 and 20,

were killed yesterday.

A fourth victim, another

20-year-old, died after being

stabbed in the early hours

of this morning.

Police say the deaths are unrelated.

Ben Ando reports.

Late morning, Enfield, north London.

The victim, aged 18.

Early evening, West Ham,

the victim, 20 years old.

Three hours later, Tulse Hill,

south London, a teenager of 17.

And then in the early

hours of New Year's Day,

a 20-year-old man killed

in Old Street.

All four, stabbed to death,

but according to the police,

none of the murders are linked.

Tragically, there are four families

who awoke this morning

to the heartbreaking news that

they've 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've committed

these murders to justice.

The three murders before midnight

take the total number of fatal

stabbings in London for 2017 to 80.

That compares with 60 in 2016.

Police say the reasons

for the increase are complex,

but it underlines the importance

of stop-and-search.

My mum needs me alive...

In November, a campaign to convince

teenagers not to carry

knives was launched.

London needs me alive...

One campaigner who lost a son

to knife crime says youngsters need

more help to make the right choice.

So, I don't carry a knife...

They are living in total fear.

They weren't born killers.

They didn't just become like that.

It's a process.

And now, what we've got to do

is unravel that process,

stage by stage by stage,

to get to the core of

the individual, which is the state

of their heart and the state

of their mindset.

As work goes on at the scene

of the first knife killing of 2018,

the question is, will this

worrying trend continue?

Ben Ando, BBC News, south London.

Police investigating the death

of a woman who was killed

in a North London park over

Christmas have arrested

a 31-year-old man on

suspicion of murder.

The body of Iuliana Tudos,

who was 22 and of Russian and Greek

origin, was discovered

in Finsbury Park last Wednesday.

Police say she died of a stab wound

to the abdomen and a head injury.

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.

In a televised New Year's Day

speech, he said that the whole

of the US was within range,

but he had warmer words

for neighbouring South Korea,

saying he wanted to ease tensions.

Eye witnesses have been describing

a huge fire which destroyed up

to 1,400 vehicles in a multi-storey

car park in Liverpool.

The blaze at King's Dock,

next to Liverpool's Echo Arena,

is said to have spread after one

vehicle caught fire

yesterday afternoon.

Firefighters worked

through the night and many people

were forced into temporary

accommodation as nearby

buildings were evacuated.

Danny Savage has the story.

It was shortly after dark yesterday

evening when fire took hold

on the multistorey car park

on Liverpool's famous waterfront.

The Fire Service says a small fire

in a Land Rover spread rapidly.

This is a photo taken

of it at the time.

As the blaze spread,

cars could be heard exploding.

The car park is next

to the Liverpool Arena,

where an international horse

show was taking place.

Those attending helped get

the horses to safety.

I just took it upon myself.

I said, right, OK, everyone,

listen to me, we are going to bridle

up the horses and we're

going to get them out.

I want you to all leave calmly now,

use this exit or use the tunnel.

It was soon a huge blaze.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue say

it's one of the worst

they've ever dealt with.

This was a challenging incident.

Let's be under no

illusions about that.

The crews worked very hard indeed

to prevent the spread of this fire.

The fire burned for

much of the night.

All the car owners could do

was watch and accept they would

never see their vehicles again.

I've got a vehicle in there, yeah,

so I'm unsure at the moment

what it's going to be.

We can't get anywhere near it.

Are you holding out

much hope for your car?

Looking at the flames, no.

CHUCKLES

This morning the blackened building

was surrounded by fire engines.

It's likely it will have

to be demolished.

In the remains of this

multistorey car park are many

hundreds of cars which have

been totally destroyed.

But we understand that right

on the rooftop level are some cars

which are almost untouched.

And after the fire had been put out

this morning, after many hours,

some dogs, which had been left

in those cars, were safely rescued

and reunited with their owners.

As the dogs were handed back

to their owners, there was a hug

of gratitude for the firefighters.

The insurance bill will run

to millions of pounds

but thankfully no one was hurt.

Danny Savage, BBC News, Liverpool.

Football - and in today's

Premier League action,

Brighton and Bournemouth drew,

there were wins for Liverpool,

Leicester and Newcastle.

And, at Goodison Park,

Manchester United beat Everton 2-0

to go second in the table.

David Ornstein watched the game.

A new year and two sides

in need of fresh impetus.

The sort Wayne Rooney gave

Manchester United for so long

and which Everton want from him now.

But here, it was Rooney's former

team who stole the show.

After a dour first half,

United sprung into life.

Everton had been warned.

Soon they were punished.

Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial

combining for a goal

of the very highest order.

For a period, the home manager saw

more of the ball than his players.

They did summon a response,

though it could not be converted.

And that opened the door

for United to close the game.

An opportunity they

wouldn't let slip.

Jesse Lingard's weaving run capped

with a spectacular finish.

The celebration indicated

the importance of this result.

Goodison silenced,

United back on track.

David Ornstein, BBC News.

Now, if you've been bagging up

all that excess plastic packaging

from your Christmas presents,

have you thought where it ends up?

Each year, a quarter

of our plastic waste

is shipped to China -

that's hundreds of

thousands of tonnes.

But, from today, China will not

allow the import of what it calls

"hazardous foreign waste".

That's likely to have

a big impact here.

In the first of a series of reports

on how we deal with plastic waste,

Robin Brant reports from Shanghai.

China has been

recycling for decades.

He has made a living out of bashing,

breaking up and disassembling.

He's been doing it for five years.

It's hard work, he tells me.

Tiring.

But he's not a green warrior.

He does it because

there's money in it.

China needs the raw materials.

So much so that Chinese workers have

been sorting through your waste

shipped in from abroad.

But the government is stopping that.

New environmental protection has

made the business difficult, he

says.

China has long been the destination

of much of the world's waste.

It has imported 7.3 million tonnes

of plastic alone in 2016.

The UK sent 1200 tonnes

of it to China every day.

But most of that is

ending, and here is why.

China has become a much richer,

but much dirtier country.

It's blighted now by

home-made pollution

and contamination on a vast scale.

The government claims some foreign

waste is dangerous and the last

thing this country needs is even

more of that.

TRANSLATION:

China is putting

the onus back on all of the

waste-exporting countries.

You need to show the responsibility

of disposing your own waste

and your own sources of pollution.

The ban presents a problem

for China, though, because it

still needs the cardboard,

the paper, the high-end clean

polystyrene like this

which is easy to ship here,

easy to turn into something to sell,

and sometimes selling it back

to the country it came from.

Somewhere in there are

polystyrene fish boxes

from Grimsby.

This business on the outskirts

of Shanghai ships them,

chips them, heats them,

and turns them into this -

billions of tiny plastic pellets.

Because it recycles them

into skirting boards

and picture frames -

some of them heading your way.

But China's ban means the boss will

now have a problem with his supply.

Some people in China are very angry

about importing recycled

plastic.

Just keeping the factory running,

we need about 50,000 tonnes

of recycled plastics.

When you only recycle

China is not enough.

The tough new restrictions

on foreign waste will hurt

some business here,

but the government's

view is - tough.

Delivering a cleaner

China is paramount for

the Communist party politicians.

A green revolution,

you might call it.

Robin Brant, BBC News, Shanghai.

It's called the Loony Dook -

when more than a thousand people

who've paid for the privilege dive

into the freezing waters

of the Firth of Forth to celebrate

New Year's Day.

Many of the revellers

at South Queensferry wore fancy

dress, while others stuck to more

traditional swimwear.

The annual fundraising event

has been taking place

for more than 30 years.

The participants were rewarded

with a bowl of porridge

for taking the plunge.