01/01/2016 BBC News

Police in Germany are looking for up to seven Syrian and Iraqi men

after the New Year's Eve terror alert in Munich.

Authorities say they received concrete information that extremists

from so-called Islamic State were planning attacks

at two railway stations.

A gunman opens fire in a bar in Israel, killing two people

and wounding several more.

New guidance about safe drinking levels are expected to include

recommending no alcohol for at least two days a week.

And, inside Dubai's burning skyscraper.

New pictures of the rescue effort, as a fire swept

through a luxury hotel.

Good evening.

Police in Germany say last night's terror alert in Munich was based

on concrete information about a planned suicide attack.

Officials say a tip-off from the French intelligence service

suggested that there were up to seven suspects,

including Syrians and Iraqis linked to so-called Islamic State.

Our security correspondent, Gordon Corera, has more details.

Everyone

Everyone out.

Minutes before midnight and German security forces usher people away

from Munich's busiest rail stations.

Intelligence, received just hours earlier, suggested a group

of between five and seven Iraqi and Syrian suicide bombers

would attack new year's celebrations here.

With the level of detail, including names, coming in from two

separate foreign countries, German officials today said they had

no choice but to act.

It was not a false alarm, it was information and we have

to do our job and we have to investigate this and we have

to guarantee the security and the safety for our

people in Munich.

Today, the stations were open again.

A police presence visible, although authorities now say

they can't be sure if the attackers really are in the city or even

in the country.

New Year celebrations have been the focus of real security concerns.

It wasn't only Germany with the closure of rail stations

in Munich, two-days ago Turkey arrested two men in Ankara,

said to be planning a suicide attack on celebrations.

The Belgium capital, Brussels, cancelled its fireworks

after a group of men were arrested, also said to be plotting

to strike targets.

And, in New York, the FBI arrested one man said to be planning a knife

attack on a restaurant yesterday to demonstrate his support

for so-called Islamic State.

Paris had also cancelled its usual fireworks, instead projecting

a video

onto the Arc de Triomphe amid tight security.

In his new year's message, France's President warned

the terrorist threat was still at its highest level.

TRANSLATION: I owe you the truth, we're not done with terrorism.

The threat is still there.

It's even at its most strong.

We regularly foil attacks.

In central London 3,000 police were on duty,

including a visible armed presence, but last night's celebrations

past without incident.

Europe has been on edge and while the new year passed

peacefully, concerns for the year ahead will still remain.

Gordon Corera, BBC News.

A gunman has opened fire in a bar in Israel, killing two people

and wounding a number of others.

Hundreds of police are searching the area in Tel Aviv.

Detectives say there is a strong possibility

of terrorist involvement.

This report from our Middle East correspondent, Kevin Connolly.

Video cameras captured the moment of the shooting,

the killer calmly raising his weapon and opening fire.

In an area of Tel Aviv filled with packed bars and cafes,

it was a terrifying moment.

The gunman escaped on foot and a huge manhunt began.

The security forces quickly sealed off the scene,

working to save the seriously injured inside the shattered bar.

Armed police units have been combing Tel Aviv,

it's not clear if there have been credible sightings of the gunman

since the attack.

The father of one of the victims saw his son's body on the ground.

"His older brother ran to him", he said, "but I passed out

because I knew he was dead."

At first, the motive for the shooting wasn't clear.

There was speculation it was linked to criminality or may even have been

a hate crime against the gay community, but gradually it emerged

that the police had identified a suspect and that the killings

were almost certainly linked to the long-running dispute

between Israel and the Palestinians.

As the day ended, in the winter rain, mourners remembered the lost.

For months, tensions between Israel and the Palestinians has been

rising, but the legacy of every single attack is this palpable sense

of shock and grief among those left behind.

Kevin Connolly, BBC News, Tel Aviv.

In a major rethink of the UK's guidance on alcohol consumption,

it's believed that people are to be advised to avoid alcohol

for at least two days a week.

The daily alcohol limit for men is also expected to be lowered,

bringing it into line with that recommended for women.

Sarah Campbell reports.

A new year, and even in busy pubs and bars,

there's a common resolution.

Yeah, I suppose try and cut down little bit on the drink, save money.

Cut down on alcohol, and possibly go to the gym.

No dry January for you?

A drier January.

Many will have overindulged over the Christmas period,

but medical experts agree heavy drinking is increasingly

a year-round problem.

Liver disease, of course, is one of the major consequences

of alcohol excess and we've seen liver disease rise to be the fifth

most common cause of mortality in the UK.

The top four causes, such as heart disease and cancer,

the rates of mortality are dropping, whereas liver disease

continues to rise.

The new guidelines are expected to recommend at least two days

per week without alcohol, advice already given in Scotland,

and a maximum of three units consumed on any one day,

which, for the first time, would bring men's daily limits

in line with women's.

The current guidelines on alcohol consumption were last revised

in the mid-1990s, but have been criticised as confusing

and ineffective, with research suggesting many people just don't

know how much they're drinking.

It's a release, it's a relax, but sometimes you just need to maybe

take a step back.

But then, what is two units, what is six units?

Most people are reasonably clued up, but you have to let people

make their own choices.

The country has a little bit of an alcohol problem,

I think, in terms of the damage it does to society in numerous ways.

So more guidance, I think, is useful.

The new drinking recommendations are due to be published this month,

just in time to reinforce those new year resolutions.

Sarah Campbell, BBC News, Richmond, Surrey.

Newly released documents show that a number of prominent figures wrote

letters in support of a Bishop who was under investigation

in the 1990s, following allegations of sexual offences.

George Carey, who was then the Archbishop of Canterbury,

was among those who defended Peter Ball.

Ball was jailed in October, for abusing 18 young men

over three decades.

Here's our home affairs correspondent, Tom Symonds.

Aged 83, Bishop Peter Ball is the most senior Anglican

clergyman to have been convicted of sexual abuse,

but it was more than 20 years before he finally admitted

what he had done.

Famous for dressing in a monk's habit in the '70s, '80s and '90s,

he groomed and exploited the young men who followed his teachings.

Police investigated in 1993, but Ball wasn't charged.

Instead, he was given a caution after 2,000 letters,

some of which have now been released by prosecutors,

were written in his support.

In a letter to police, the then Archbishop of Canterbury,

George Carey, wrote that on hearing the allegations that Ball

was an abuser.

"This seemed to be at first most improbable, his whole ministry

appeared to show he is an honourable man, firmly concerned

for the welfare of young people."

The Archbishop said he didn't want to interfere.

"Special pleading would be entirely inappropriate."

But he said he felt justified in pointing out the "excruciating

pain and spiritual torment" Ball was suffering.

Another letter came from a senior judge.

Lord Justice Anthony Lloyd described Ball as "the most gentle,

upright and saintly man I have ever met."

Phil Johnson accuses Ball of indecently assaulting him

in the late '70s.

It's highly worrying that these letters even exist and were sent.

You know, you've got the former Archbishop of Canterbury,

who says, you know, "I don't wish to influence events."

Well, if you don't wish to influence events,

why are you writing the letters?

You know, you've got a Lord Justice who is supposed to be impartial.

With no prosecution, Ball's victims were left in limbo.

One of them, Neil Todd, deeply damaged by his experiences,

took his own life in 2012 and never saw justice.

Tom Symonds, BBC News.

Police have released CCTV pictures of the last confirmed sighting

of a woman who went missing on Boxing Day.

Sally Allan, who's 59, was seen walking on Newcastle's

quayside

early on Boxing Day, wearing pyjamas and a waterproof jacket.

She'd left her home in Ponteeland in Northumberland

three hours earlier.

The authorities in Dubai have begun an investigation into how a huge

fire broke out in a 63 storey luxury hotel,

close to where crowds had gathered to watch

New Year's Eve fireworks display.

New pictures have emerged of the blaze, as Lisa Hampele reports.

This morning, after last night's inferno.

How everyone managed to escape from the 63-storey

building is remarkable.

Last night, the luxury Address Downtown Hotel went

up in flames.

The fire started on the 20th floor, less than three hours before

the city's planned firework display and metres away

from the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.

The flames were ferocious.

They spread quickly.

There was panic inside, as fire alarms went off.

One man was trapped on his 48th floor balcony for two hours

after being beaten back by smoke.

Eventually, he filmed his escape when rescue teams took

him to safety.

A jazz band had been performing at the hotel

when the fire broke out.

I cannot explain to you how frightening it was.

We were all separated.

My husband was tearing my hand to get down the stairs

and to get out.

We broke through a barrier to get out.

Emergency services got to the scene within minutes.

One person suffered a heart attack, others minor injuries.

It wasn't long before the whole building was engulfed.

A British tourist carried his mother, who uses a wheelchair,

down 15 flights of stairs.

I wasn't going to hang around on the 15th floor waiting to see

what to do, so I put Mum on my back and carried her down 15 flights.

It was lucky for us itwas only on the 15th floor,

rather

than the 68th, or I might have been struggling by the end of that.

We still don't know what caused the fire.

Dubai's spectacular fireworks display did go ahead nearby.

It will be these images the city will want to remember,

and not ones of a burning building.

Lisa Hampele, BBC News.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has called on the nation to welcome

refugees by offering them hospitality and love,

which he described as "our most formidable weapons

against hatred and extremism."

Justin Welby delivered his New Year message from a school in Kent

as our religious affairs correspondent, Caroline Wyatt,

reports.

Justin Welby filmed his message at Marsh Academy, a school

in his own diocese of Canterbury, there he met some of the students.

Away from the cameras, he met one boy who'd come here alone

as a refugee,

aged just 14, fleeing war in North Africa.

This is just one example of the many desperate journeys children

are making on their own to save their lives.

This school represents the best of what we can do in this country.

It welcomes, it loves, it serves, it teaches and equips people

and demonstrates our ability to live up to our long-established tradition

of warmth and hospitality.

The Archbishop's message comes at the start of a year that's likely

to see many more people fleeing persecution,

war and poverty, risking all on their perilous journey.

In 2015, just over a million refugees and migrants reached Europe

by sea hoping for a new life.

Justin Welby points out that Jesus himself started life

as a refugee seeking shelter.

He tells us to be those who welcome the alien and stranger,

the poor and weak.

As a nation, we have always done so.

In today's world, hospitality and love are our most formidable

weapons against hatred and extremism.

The Archbishop of Canterbury said that through the centuries we'd

always offered asylum to those fleeing oppression and tyranny

and that theme, of the need to reach out and help,

was one echoed in Rome today by Pope Francis

in his New Year's homily.

Addressing the crowds, on St Peter's Square,

the Pope spoke of the injustice and violence that wounded the human

family every day.

He said that, "on the world day of peace today mankind must

cultivate peace because the enemy of peace was not only war,

but also the indifference of others to the violence and the hatred that

affected so many innocent victims."

Caroline Wyatt, BBC News.

That's all from us.

Now, on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.