:00:08. > :00:16.A huge fire engulfs a luxury hotel in Dubai -
:00:17. > :00:24.Close to where New Year celebrations are being held. Eyewitnesses said
:00:25. > :00:28.that the flames spread rapidly through the 300 metre tall
:00:29. > :00:32.skyscraper. The debris was raining down and it shot up through the
:00:33. > :00:43.hotel, everybody was screaming, everybody was running. The fire did
:00:44. > :00:49.not stop a spectacular fireworks display from going ahead. Moscow
:00:50. > :00:51.becomes the latest major City to welcome in the New Year. This is the
:00:52. > :01:19.scene live in the Russian capital. Hello and welcome to the programme.
:01:20. > :01:25.Authorities say that 14 people have been injured just hours before the
:01:26. > :01:30.'s celebrations were due to begin. It is still not clear how the fire
:01:31. > :01:35.started in the 63 story Address Downtown hotel. Part of the same
:01:36. > :01:40.complex where the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, is
:01:41. > :01:43.situated. Despite the blaze the firework display to herald the New
:01:44. > :01:51.Year did take place as planned a few hours later.
:01:52. > :01:59.Literally a towering Inferno, and intense blaze sweeping through a
:02:00. > :02:03.luxury downtown hotel. A dramatic and terrifying picture. Hardly what
:02:04. > :02:07.the crowds had come for. The blaze broke out less than three hours
:02:08. > :02:14.before the City's planned spectacular New Year firework
:02:15. > :02:18.display. Just a few metres away from the Burj Khalifa, the world's
:02:19. > :02:24.tallest building, the fire apparently started on the hotel's
:02:25. > :02:32.20th floor, and before long flames engulfed the side of the 63 story
:02:33. > :02:35.building, sending out billowing smoke and scattering blazing debris.
:02:36. > :02:40.Inside one resident said as the alarms went off there was absolute
:02:41. > :02:44.pandemonium as people rushed to get out of the building. Amazingly with
:02:45. > :02:48.the help of the fire brigade and civil defence teams it seems
:02:49. > :02:52.everybody was evacuated. Officials said that apart from one person who
:02:53. > :02:56.suffered a heart attack there were only moderate and light injuries.
:02:57. > :03:04.One jazz singer was performing inside the hotel as the blaze
:03:05. > :03:08.started. It was a stampede. It was incredible. I was never so
:03:09. > :03:14.terrified. All of the glamorous women took off their high heels and
:03:15. > :03:20.everybody ran. We left everything. There was debris falling down. It
:03:21. > :03:26.shot up through the entire hotel. Everybody was screaming, running.
:03:27. > :03:30.Honestly, I thought... The wind has been really strong all week but
:03:31. > :03:34.especially tonight. And the smoke and the fire really took hold of the
:03:35. > :03:40.building. Right through. I can't imagine it not being in the
:03:41. > :03:44.interior. After little more than an hour the fire subsided, what caused
:03:45. > :03:48.it is not clear. There have been no signs so far that it was deliberate
:03:49. > :03:54.despite fears around the world of possible terror attacks. The Dubai
:03:55. > :03:57.authorities did not want to stop the party. Admit neither celebrations
:03:58. > :04:04.went ahead, but it won't be the fireworks that the start of 2016
:04:05. > :04:11.will be a member to fall but a massive hotel fire that miraculously
:04:12. > :04:15.did not cause more injuries. Let's get the very latest on what's
:04:16. > :04:20.happening in Dubai with Marcus George joining us from there now. In
:04:21. > :04:26.terms of the fire itself in the hotel, is it still going on? It
:04:27. > :04:30.appears that firefighters have certainly got it under control over
:04:31. > :04:38.the last half an hour or so. From what was as we heard many times a
:04:39. > :04:43.towering Inferno, to a much more stable size and extent. I believe
:04:44. > :04:47.that the fire is still going on. I spoke to an eyewitness in the last
:04:48. > :04:52.15 minutes and he told me that whilst the flames have died down a
:04:53. > :04:56.grade eel, that it was still there. Firefighters still have a job to do
:04:57. > :05:01.and no doubt it will be some hours before they consider the fire to be
:05:02. > :05:05.out. Certainly this has been a dramatic evening for Dubai, it has
:05:06. > :05:10.wanted to be part of the world stage to see in the New Year and instead
:05:11. > :05:16.as Bridget Kendall reported, it is seeing a different picture, one in
:05:17. > :05:20.which an enormous fire has broken out, one which fortunately so far is
:05:21. > :05:24.not thought to have claimed any lives but one which certainly not be
:05:25. > :05:29.the image that the Dubai authorities want to have appearing around the
:05:30. > :05:33.world. Indeed. At the height of the fire, the images we are seeing, it
:05:34. > :05:36.was incredibly intense and miraculous no one was killed?
:05:37. > :05:40.Certainly is. That is testament to the fact that this enormous
:05:41. > :05:45.fireworks display which the warranties were laying on, had
:05:46. > :05:49.attracted tens of thousands of people, going to watch. And of
:05:50. > :05:59.course with that many, many security teams and firefighting teams
:06:00. > :06:04.on-site, we don't know what has caused this yet, but of course those
:06:05. > :06:09.security services and rescue teams were able to step in very quickly.
:06:10. > :06:15.And I think, judging by how fast people were evacuated following
:06:16. > :06:18.social media, it is always extraordinary how quickly the events
:06:19. > :06:24.unravelled. Certainly judging by the panic and concern at the area, then
:06:25. > :06:30.this is a very significant incident. Let's hope that it remains the case
:06:31. > :06:37.that no loss of life has taken place. Indeed, let's hope so. 14
:06:38. > :06:42.people injured is what we are told by officials. Marcus George joining
:06:43. > :06:47.us live from Dubai. We will stay in Dubai because now we can speak to
:06:48. > :06:51.the BBC producer who is stuck in gridlocked traffic and she has been
:06:52. > :06:54.stuck for hours close to the scene of the fire. I know you were
:06:55. > :06:57.actually on holiday there. When this took place. Tell us about the
:06:58. > :06:59.situation you are in Well, I have been in traffic for
:07:00. > :07:19.almost three hours now. I while and almost every route has
:07:20. > :07:23.been shut by police. It seems that there are only a couple of roads
:07:24. > :07:29.that everybody has do take out of the downtown area. It is really
:07:30. > :07:33.gridlocked. I have been trying to get out of this one road for 45
:07:34. > :07:37.minutes now. That must be incredibly frustrating but it would have been
:07:38. > :07:43.an incredibly busy area anyway given this spectacular fireworks display
:07:44. > :07:47.but has it been intensified by what happened at the downtown hotel? I
:07:48. > :07:51.think it would have been bad either way. There has been an increased
:07:52. > :08:08.police presence. I people were evacuated from the area.
:08:09. > :08:14.A lot of people who were going to watch the fireworks, closer
:08:15. > :08:18.Burj Khalifa had to go to the roads and some of them park their
:08:19. > :08:31.the middle of the highway and watched from there. I know you
:08:32. > :08:42.we were stuck in traffic. -- oh, yes. I thought
:08:43. > :08:46.thought they were a bit shorter and maybe it was related. That is
:08:47. > :08:50.certainly something that Dubai and the UAE prides itself on, postcard
:08:51. > :08:53.to the world, incredible fireworks. With this fire, that will give the
:08:54. > :09:01.image that they don't want transmitted across the world. That
:09:02. > :09:05.is very true, and I have to say, it really did not feel when I was
:09:06. > :09:11.watching the fireworks, it was surreal. Less than an hour ago there
:09:12. > :09:16.was this massive fire and the fireworks still went on, thousands
:09:17. > :09:21.of people were able to watch them, and it was quite spectacular, I have
:09:22. > :09:26.to say. Well, we wish that you do get home safely back to your
:09:27. > :09:31.location and out of the gridlock. That was the BBC producer, speaking
:09:32. > :09:37.from Dubai. Stuck in gridlocked traffic following the immense fire
:09:38. > :09:41.that took place at the Address Downtown hotel and 14 people are
:09:42. > :09:44.believed to have been injured but with no fatalities even though it
:09:45. > :09:48.was an extraordinarily intense fire. The images that we are showing,
:09:49. > :09:56.these were earlier images, earlier on today. Of course we will continue
:09:57. > :09:58.to monitor all of the events in Dubai but now let's bring you
:09:59. > :10:02.up-to-date with the other news today.
:10:03. > :10:04.Security has been stepped up across Europe for
:10:05. > :10:07.In Brussels, official festivities have been abandoned
:10:08. > :10:09.after information came to light about an alleged plot
:10:10. > :10:18.The traditional Paris fireworks were also called off and across France
:10:19. > :10:26.more than 100,000 police are being deployed.
:10:27. > :10:32.It should be the busiest night of the year but tonight Brussels will
:10:33. > :10:38.be one of the quietest capitals in Europe, New year's party plans
:10:39. > :10:41.cancelled after a decision by nervous authorities. This is the
:10:42. > :10:46.main stage where the celebrations were due to take place and
:10:47. > :10:51.being deconstructed. Security officials say that they believe this
:10:52. > :10:54.is the area where terrorists were targeting and Charles Michel Bopanna
:10:55. > :11:01.Panthers says that having tens of thousands of people here was a great
:11:02. > :11:06.risk. -- the Prime Minister says. If they stop huge doing what you want
:11:07. > :11:09.to do then they have won so you just carry on. You are aware of the risk
:11:10. > :11:13.and you make sure you are comfortable with what you're doing
:11:14. > :11:17.and where you are. I don't care there is a risk of terrorism, for me
:11:18. > :11:23.it is not a risk and I'm not afraid and I will be here for the New Year.
:11:24. > :11:27.I will be happy anyway. The intelligence follows police raids
:11:28. > :11:32.earlier this week, two men charged in connection to planning attacks
:11:33. > :11:35.and another 60 detained today. The mayor of Brussels said the decision
:11:36. > :11:41.to cancel was based on sound information. There is a threat and
:11:42. > :11:44.we at an alert level three, there is a risk with fireworks in the City
:11:45. > :11:49.centre and I won't take a risk with the public and that is what is most
:11:50. > :11:53.important to me. In Paris too celebrations were scaled down, in
:11:54. > :11:57.place of the usual fireworks there will be a five-minute video
:11:58. > :12:01.displayed at the Champs-Elysees instead. Extensive security measures
:12:02. > :12:04.will also be in force in Berlin when people will attempt to screen
:12:05. > :12:09.thousands as they gather at the Brandenburg gate. The London
:12:10. > :12:13.firework display will go ahead with 3000 police officers on duty. People
:12:14. > :12:16.planning to attend Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh were
:12:17. > :12:22.reassured that necessary measures are in place. The balance for
:12:23. > :12:25.European officials is on how to maintain security with minimum
:12:26. > :12:29.impact on everyday life. For people here in Brussels this cancellation
:12:30. > :12:43.is another sign that extreme security measures are becoming the
:12:44. > :12:47.new normal. President Lon of France has -- President Francois Molins has
:12:48. > :12:53.said he will carry on attacking Isis as long as it was necessary. He said
:12:54. > :12:58.that protecting people was necessary. France has to make good
:12:59. > :13:03.decisions. Above and beyond, partisan divisions. And have basic
:13:04. > :13:08.principles. I will do so because I am a guarantor and I will never
:13:09. > :13:15.accept that we can cause divisions because after all, that is what the
:13:16. > :13:21.extremists want. I will not accept that a secular republic should be
:13:22. > :13:28.attacked. Or that a place of worship could in fact be attacked. Just as
:13:29. > :13:32.was done recently in Corsica. Those kind of gestures will never remain
:13:33. > :13:38.unpunished, whether we are talking about a mask, synagogue, Temple or
:13:39. > :13:43.church. It is France's on to defend those places. US authorities say
:13:44. > :13:47.that have arrested a man said to have been planning a deadly attack
:13:48. > :13:57.on a bar in Rochester in New York state. Laura Bicker explained what
:13:58. > :14:01.we know so far. 25-year-old man planning to attack a restaurant in
:14:02. > :14:05.Rochester with knives and machetes on New Year's Eve. In just a few
:14:06. > :14:14.hours' time. He is said to have been in contact with a member of Isis is
:14:15. > :14:18.overseas and he is said to have been willing to do anything to join the
:14:19. > :14:22.ranks of the group and be in Syria. His contact overseas said he should
:14:23. > :14:27.be tested, and this was one of the things he should do. He went to buy
:14:28. > :14:32.the knives, he bought machetes and plans which restaurant he would
:14:33. > :14:37.attack. He also recorded a video message in which he admits planning
:14:38. > :14:42.the attack, and that was obviously meant to be released after the
:14:43. > :14:49.attack. And he also pledges allegiance to the leader of Isis.
:14:50. > :14:55.This 25-year-old is a self-confessed Muslim convert, he has a history of
:14:56. > :15:01.mental illness, and also a criminal record. One of the interesting thing
:15:02. > :15:05.is when you read the indictment is that he was arrested with the help
:15:06. > :15:11.of an insider, an undercover agent who was working with the FBI. Laura
:15:12. > :15:15.Bicker on that arrest reporting from Washington. Stay with us on BBC
:15:16. > :16:22.News. We have lots more still to come.
:16:23. > :16:29.Hello and welcome to BBC News. The main headlines this our... United
:16:30. > :16:33.Arab Emirates celebrates the New Year despite a massive fire in the
:16:34. > :16:41.centre of Dubai. The blazing gold the 63 story Address Downtown hotel.
:16:42. > :16:47.No one was reported to have been killed. We will stay with the
:16:48. > :16:52.massive fire that in God the skyscraper in Dubai, incredibly
:16:53. > :16:58.there have so far been reports of fatalities. -- that improved it. The
:16:59. > :17:03.jazz singer Anita Williams will is actually performing at the hotel
:17:04. > :17:07.when the fire began on an upper floor. It was incredible, we were
:17:08. > :17:11.performing at the Address Downtown which is right next door to the Burj
:17:12. > :17:16.Khalifa. It is the best place to be fireworks. My bass player and one of
:17:17. > :17:25.the musicians said that there was a fire on the balcony, which was three
:17:26. > :17:31.floors above. To be honest we did not think much of it. And within a
:17:32. > :17:36.minute the entire hotel was on fire. And after that I can tell you it was
:17:37. > :17:42.just absolutely stampeding, it was incredible. I was never so
:17:43. > :17:47.terrified. All of the glamorous women took off their high heels and
:17:48. > :17:51.everybody just ran. We left everything on the stage, we left
:17:52. > :17:57.everything. There was debris falling down. It just shot up through the
:17:58. > :18:02.entire hotel. Everybody was screaming and running. Honestly, I
:18:03. > :18:08.thought it was like a film. It was incredible. Just to clarify, was the
:18:09. > :18:15.fire inside the hotel, within the building? Because we were performing
:18:16. > :18:22.outside we had an outside stage, we were outside the hotel. The hotel,
:18:23. > :18:25.it went straight up the exterior. It went up so quickly that I don't
:18:26. > :18:31.think anyone actually realised how quickly it went up. It went up in
:18:32. > :18:36.minutes. The images are absolutely extraordinary, the fire and the
:18:37. > :18:44.intensity of it. What is miraculous is that nobody was killed in this.
:18:45. > :18:48.When we were running, my husband and I, everybody literally just ran and
:18:49. > :18:53.the band went in five different directions. We were all running. I
:18:54. > :18:59.thought this is it, my goodness. I have never ever seen the way the UAE
:19:00. > :19:12.and how they got it under control is incredible. It is incredible. Within
:19:13. > :19:15.five minutes. There were tankers, emergency crews, incredible. I've
:19:16. > :19:19.never seen anything like it. They blocked the roads and everything. We
:19:20. > :19:24.were running in between, running under, down under the hotel and then
:19:25. > :19:35.we ran across and then under and we ended up in the Dubai Mall. She was
:19:36. > :19:39.performing at the hotel when the fire took place and she shared with
:19:40. > :19:44.those remarkable stories of how they managed to escape. Of course we will
:19:45. > :19:49.continue to monitor those events because the fire is still going but
:19:50. > :19:54.it's very much under control. Russia's involvement in Syria has
:19:55. > :20:00.dominated Vladimir Putin's New Year message. Appearing against the
:20:01. > :20:02.backdrop of red Square in Moscow, he gave special mention to military
:20:03. > :20:09.personnel deployed abroad in what he described as the fight as
:20:10. > :20:13.international terrorism. He said he was defending Russia's national
:20:14. > :20:17.interest. The Russian air force has been conducting air strikes in Syria
:20:18. > :20:22.for three months. In some of the days of the news to people were
:20:23. > :20:26.sentenced to death in Bangladesh for killing a secular blogger nearly
:20:27. > :20:28.three years ago. Six others were convicted in the involvement of the
:20:29. > :20:35.murder of the man hacked to death after campaigning against Islamist
:20:36. > :20:39.leaders accused of war crimes. One of China's most controversial laws,
:20:40. > :20:45.the one child policy, has officially ended and couples can now have two
:20:46. > :20:49.children, the one child policy was introduced nationally in 1979 to
:20:50. > :20:53.curb rapid population growth but there are now concerns that the
:20:54. > :21:00.ageing population will reduce the workforce and exacerbate elderly
:21:01. > :21:05.care issues. The American comedian Jerry Seinfeld has begun the seventh
:21:06. > :21:10.series of his web series comedians in cars getting coffee with a
:21:11. > :21:16.top-level guest, Barack Obama. They drove
:21:17. > :21:20.White House in 1963 Corvette stingray the Ford ditching it for
:21:21. > :21:26.the presidential limo known as the Beast. Let's go. I'm glad you had
:21:27. > :21:36.some free time. I really like this car. Be careful about hidden... You
:21:37. > :21:42.look a little nervous. Are you always so nervous? This is a little
:21:43. > :21:49.different. You are not like this with David letter man! We will run
:21:50. > :22:01.out for a coffee. That's not possible. I do this show. You are
:22:02. > :22:07.going nowhere. Back it up. Do you ever think about every person you
:22:08. > :22:17.talked to is putting on an act? It's a problem. Don't you think every
:22:18. > :22:22.American child is growing up loving the president? I do very well with
:22:23. > :22:27.the 0- eight demographic. Partly because my ears are big and I look a
:22:28. > :22:30.bit like a cartoon character. And little kids love to say my name. But
:22:31. > :22:42.it's all one big name. It is one of those names you could compress into
:22:43. > :22:51.one word. It is like Nickelodeon. It's fun. This is called the Beast.
:22:52. > :22:59.It's a Cadillacs on a tank frame. Oh my God. I could call a nuclear
:23:00. > :23:08.submarine right here. I don't have that! That is a cool feature. And De
:23:09. > :23:16.Rossi warmers. -- there are seat warmers. That is pretty standard?! I
:23:17. > :23:20.like the security guard the most. It is already 20 16,000 people but in
:23:21. > :23:28.London we just have to wait a few more hours. -- it is already 2016,
:23:29. > :23:36.but for people in London... Here are some of our memories. I am still the
:23:37. > :23:42.president, even suspected, I am the president and I'm not ashamed. I
:23:43. > :23:47.regret but I'm not ashamed. If the Turkish government has decided this,
:23:48. > :23:50.that is up to you. I just want to say, everybody else can get stuffed
:23:51. > :23:56.if they think women aren't strong enough. We have been putting up with
:23:57. > :23:59.this for years and now when we start talking about it everybody is
:24:00. > :24:04.pretending like it's our imagination. There is no tolerance
:24:05. > :24:13.towards those who are not willing to help if help is needed. We need the
:24:14. > :24:21.world to know that we are heading to a low emissions, climate resilient
:24:22. > :24:27.future. Yesterday the American space programme took another historic leap
:24:28. > :24:31.for humankind. We expected to come here and play our best. If the team
:24:32. > :24:38.is better than us on the day so be it. We want to give ourselves a
:24:39. > :24:42.pretty good chance. In Europe, it is not the future of austerity. It is
:24:43. > :24:49.the future of democracy, solidarity and cooperation. Compromise,
:24:50. > :24:57.compromise, without being compromised. I know that I have
:24:58. > :25:02.always carried a habit of submissiveness with the idea that it
:25:03. > :25:14.makes me more likeable and I had to say something because we need to
:25:15. > :25:21.talk about it. Je Suis Charlie. We must confront this evil and it's
:25:22. > :25:23.time for us to do our bit in Syria. They stole away the life of an
:25:24. > :25:45.exceptional person. I am officially running for
:25:46. > :25:49.president of the United States. The majority of votes in favour of the
:25:50. > :26:11.proposal, 467,000 307. -- 467307. Hello there. New Year's Eve has
:26:12. > :26:15.brought a bit of everything weather-wise across the country. We
:26:16. > :26:20.started off with sunshine today but more rain to come, not as heavy or
:26:21. > :26:24.persistent as in recent days but sharp showers moving their way from
:26:25. > :26:29.west to east and then behind as temperatures fall away we will see
:26:30. > :26:33.snow on higher ground and also into Scotland. Anywhere above 200 metres
:26:34. > :26:38.will continue with snow showers and icy stretches as the rain eases off
:26:39. > :26:41.into the North Sea leaving clearer skies for the New Year's Eve
:26:42. > :26:45.celebrations which will be perfect for seeing firework displays. It's
:26:46. > :26:49.going to turn quite cold as temperatures in towns and City
:26:50. > :26:55.centres are close to freezing and perhaps in raw parts below freezing.
:26:56. > :26:58.Frost is not out of the question first thing on New Year's Day. We
:26:59. > :27:03.start off with some sunshine, those up early enough. It won't be long
:27:04. > :27:08.before the cloud starts to gather down into the South ahead of the
:27:09. > :27:12.next rain arriving. The wins will strengthen again from a southerly
:27:13. > :27:20.direction. It will be a largely fine and dry start up and into the North
:27:21. > :27:27.and east of the country. It will be a wet start for Cornwall. 15 mph not
:27:28. > :27:31.out of the question. There should be sunshine around into the afternoon
:27:32. > :27:36.and predominantly dry albeit feeling chilly across northern England and
:27:37. > :27:40.Scotland. Outbreaks of showery rain pushing into Northern Ireland and
:27:41. > :27:44.eventually into the western fringes of Scotland as well. That area of
:27:45. > :27:49.low pressure slowly meanders north and east for the start of the
:27:50. > :27:52.weekend so there will be outbreaks of rain before another system moves
:27:53. > :27:57.in by the end of the day. More wet and windy weather. As we move into
:27:58. > :28:01.the weekend it is decidedly unsettled again. On Saturday there
:28:02. > :28:05.will be outbreaks of rain and strong winds pushing the rain across the
:28:06. > :28:13.country. It will again field milder than of late. I suspect temperatures
:28:14. > :28:22.are academic with the wind and rain 7-12d. The rain stays consistent and
:28:23. > :28:26.at the same time urges with another band of rain in the West and this
:28:27. > :28:31.time it could be heavy and fairly persistent as well.