30/12/2017 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today.

I'm Ben Bland.

Our top stories: There are reports

of growing violence in towns

and cities across Iran.

Anti-government protests gather

momentum for a third day,

despite repeated warnings

from the authorities.

Meanwhile, thousands of Iranians

take to the streets of Tehran

in an officially sanctioned show

of support for the government.

Nepal bans solo climbers

from ascending Mount Everest

and other Himalayan peaks,

it says, to make climbing

safer and save lives.

And we'll have all the day's sport,

including: Premier League champions

Chelsea end the year in style

after beating Stoke.

Hello and welcome

to World News Today.

Some anti-government protests in

Iran have turned violent. There were

skirmishes between demonstrators and

police which continued into the

night.

police which continued into the

night. These are the latest pictures

from the capital, Tehran, as you can

see, largely peaceful during the

day, but later is, fire -- but

later, fires burning in the streets.

Separately, there have been

officially organised pro-government

rallies.

The third day of protests in Iran.

What began in small provincial

cities, now spreading

to the capital, Tehran,

and the main university campus.

These are worrying signs

for the Iranian government

and the ultraconservative Shia

clerics who have ruled

over the country since

the 1979 Revolution.

Shouting for the clerics to give him

a job, this protester typifies

the economic anger felt by many

Iranians.

They accuse the mullahs

of living in gilded palaces

and sponsoring conflicts overseas,

while the economy and

the country suffers.

But dissent in Iran is only

tolerated to a point.

Uniformed and plain clothes police

clashed with protesters and made

dozens of arrests in several cities.

I don't expect the protest

to snowball as of now

because the regime has

a response in place.

And if the protesters don't stop,

ultimately the reaction

will become heavy-handed.

We're just not there yet.

In a response on Twitter,

President Trump warned Iran

that the world was watching,

saying that Tehran should

respect people's rights

to express themselves.

Comments that the Iranian

Foreign Minister called

opportunistic and deceitful.

The government has warned people not

to take part in what it

calls illegal protests.

Organising instead large,

pro-regime counterdemonstrations,

in support of the supreme leader

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

An end to clerical rule

has been a common theme

in these protests, some

of which are now turning violent.

Wyre Davies, BBC News.

We're joined by a senior fellow from

the Middle East Institute. We have

seen protests in Iran before,

perhaps most notably in 2009. They

were put down in came to nothing,

ultimately. Is this any different

this time, do you think?

Time will

show, Ben, but I think it is clear

that this is an event that is

picking up speed at an historic

rate. It is different in that sense

from 2009. Put it in context, what

happened in 2009 was a fight within

the regime against the then

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This

time, this is not a family feud, it

is coming from street level. Can the

regime containers, given that

socioeconomic conditions are what

they are?

That is key to this, isn't

it? Because this started out as an

economic protest about the

Government's inability to control

rising prices. It has now very

clearly turned into a political

protest as well.

Within 24 hours it

did so. It started off as a slogan

for, as in, you can't keep

increasing the prices. Slogans

targeting President Rouhani, and

then within 24 hours, those slogans

targeting the entirety of the

regime. It is asking if the regime

is representative of the average

citizen. Let me point something out:

Back in May this year, President

Rouhani won in a landslide

pre-election with 24 million votes,

and now, less than six months later,

they are chanting death to Rouhani.

Many of the people who voted for

this man are now saying, you have

betrayed us. I wonder what Rouhani

is thinking right now. I think, as

we heard earlier, it won't be a

surprise of the security forces come

out and crack down, and that might

disburse as it did in 2009. But

Rouhani, who fancied himself as the

next Iranians supreme leader, a

different kind of leader, the

Iranian people are speaking loudly

against him, saying he has failed

them.

What is the alternative model

that these demonstrators would like

to see in place of President Rouhani

and clerical rule was back and

crucially, would it do anything to

improve their current living

conditions? -- and clerical rule?

And crucially...

The average person

knows that the revolution comes with

risks. They know what is happening

in the neighbourhood. They know what

happened in Egypt, Libya and Syria,

and they are watching places like

Iraq and Afghanistan, where you

don't have security, and they don't

want that. At the same time, they

are fed up with the Islamic

Republic, now 40 years into its

existence, promising change and not

delivering. In 1979, the Iranians

people did not ask for a clerical

establishment to rule over them,

they wanted a democratic system,

fundamentally, and they didn't get

that when they topple the Shah. For

40 years, they have been sitting

there basically patiently hoping

that the clerics would one day get

closer to the people and start

reflecting what average Iranians

want, and that's not happening. Look

at Syria and for the Iranians are

doing in terms of regime activity,

exporting their ideology, spending

billions of dollars doing so, while

forgetting your average man and

woman back in Iran, and that is what

is coming to want them today and

this week as we watch it on our TV

screens.

Alex, really good to get

your thoughts and analysis. Thank

you.

Mountain climbers will no longer be

able to tackle Nepal's mountain

peaks so low. The new rules ban

double amputees and blind climbers

from attempting the mountain peaks

without a valid medical certificate.

Kenton Cool is one of the world's

leading high altitude climbers,

and has tackled Everest 12 times.

Thank you for joining us.

What did you think

when you heard this from

the Nepalese Government?

I don't think it is a good thing.

Mountaineering has a rich heritage

of notable firsts from solo

climbers. One only needs to look at

the greats - these are some of the

very best climbers of their

generations, and they went out and

deliberately sought out solo climbs,

climbs where they embarked on their

own incredibly safely, and they

would get up and down these

mountains so low. For the Ministry

of tourism to blanket ban the solo

climbers I think is unreasonable.

Ulee Stec died this year while

preparing to climb one of these

peaks, and he was very experienced,

and yet even he was unable to

survive those elements. Some may say

that is a prime example, a case to

be made for tightening up the rules

to protect people.

Yes, you could

easily look at that. He was a good

friend, but of course, freak

accidents will always occur. The

ministry perhaps should look at the

more inexperienced climbers joining

teams and attempting declines such

as Mount Everest. -- attempting

climbs such as. Hundreds of climbers

will flock to that mountain every

season, many of whom don't have the

depth of experience to legitimately

be there. Generally, the deaths that

we see on the big mountains are

inexperienced climbers, whereas solo

climbers, more often than not, they

are the highly experienced climbers,

pushing themselves to the very

boundary of what is considered to be

human endeavour and endurance, and

we don't often see accidents coming

in from those climbers. More often

than not, it is the more

inexperienced climbers, who are

often part of a team.

We must leave

it there, but thank you very much.

Stay with us on BBC World News.

Still to come:

The Arctic blast hating America's

east coast looks likely to continue

into the New Year, with some of the

lowest temperatures seen in decades.

This is BBC World News Today.

I'm Ben Bland.

The latest headlines:

Police in Iran have been in

skirmishes with demonstrators in a

third day of anti-government

protests. Demonstrators were on the

streets of a number of cities

despite warnings from the goverment.

A Mississippi sheriff says

the United States has a "national

problem" with how it treats mental

health patients in

the justice system.

Greg Pollan was speaking

after an investigation by the BBC

and ProPublica into the case

of Tyler Haire.

Haire - who had a long history

of mental health problems -

was in jail for almost four years

without trial while

waiting to be assessed.

He is now serving a seven-year

sentence for stabbing his

father's girlfriend.

This is his story.

We have some good memories of Tyler.

He was very loving.

But we had problems

with Tyler when he was

probably six months old.

He started medication

when he was four.

He had generalised

anxiety, delusional,

suffered mood swings.

I remember telling him

goodbye, and I loved

him, and hugging him.

And that was the last time

that I saw him until

he was in jail.

This call is from a

correctional facility.

I remember coming out

of the bedroom and giving

him a glass of water.

That's all I remember about that.

Nothing else.

I received a phone call from

the county Sheriff's office, and he

tells me Tyler has stabbed someone

with a ten inch butcher knife.

All I can keep replaying

in my mind was,

how, why?

Tyler Haire was ordered at

the beginning of this case to have a

mental evaluation conducted,

and it took four years.

The roadblock was that there

was never a bed for him,

to put it literally.

There was never a time

that he worked his way to the

top of the list, where he was

the next person scheduled to be

evaluated.

The problem is across the street

with our legislature.

They don't properly

fund that forensic

unit, don't provide enough

psychiatrists, enough personnel.

I think that at some

point, some court

is going to force us

to spend more money,

and it'll be a federal court.

Imagine putting a 16-year-old child

that is already mentally disabled

into that little cell

for four straight years.

I can't even imagine the things that

went through his mind.

When incarcerated, the seriously

mentally ill should be seen by

health care professionals,

and their needs tended to.

That story was a collaboration

between the BBC and ProPublica.

You can watch the full documentary

on the BBC News website.

Just log on to BBC.com/news.

People around the world are

preparing to mark the arrival of

2018, many city celebrating with

open-air concerts, street parties

and fireworks, but in Europe, after

Islamist attacks in the last 12

months against civilian targets,

particular attention is being paid

to public spaces. Live music,

wine-tasting, festive decorations

and good food - all the vital

ingredients in Romania for a great

party. But the tune in other

European capitals as they prepare is

so far more sombre. France has seen

over 230 people killed in attacks by

Islamist militants in the last three

years. The pyrus chief police says

his forces prepare for the terrorist

threat, which he assessed as high.

Over 10,000 police and emergency

service workers are to be deployed

in the capital, with a large force

concentrating on the Champs-Elysees.

Large areas of central Rome will ban

cars for parking for 48 hours, and

the main two wrist sites will have

special protection. Celebrations at

Berlin's Brandenburg gate are

expected to attract 1 million

partygoers, but the authorities face

an additional challenge: Two years

ago, hundreds of women were robbed

and sexually assaulted New Year's

Eve in Cologne and other cities by

groups of men, many said to be from

migrant backgrounds. This year,

Berlin police say that women who

feel threatened will be able to go

to a special security area.

TRANSLATION: It is a Red Cross point

that was always there that is taking

on additional duties. If any woman

is harassed, they can go to a team

of trained psychologist, but it is

not a women's own. Critics say that

large events should be organised so

that us. Happen in the first place.

TRANSLATION:

What is not right is

that young women are attacked in

public places, especially at

celebrations. But that's it.

Others

say that they intend to party

regardless.

I feel pretty safe, not

scared. I think it is fear that

scares people, and I don't think...

You can't let that ruin your life.

David Kemp annihilate, BBC News. --

David Campanali.

Chelsea were three up after just a

few minutes. It is now four defeats

in a row., who are just two points

above the relegation zone.

Manchester United could have an

issue after Romalu Lukaku was

stretchered off with a head injury

as they were held to a goalless draw

with Southampton at Old Trafford.

Jose Mourinho confirmed that Zlatan

Ibrahimovic will be up on month

through injury. United slipped to

third in the table, 14 points behind

Manchester City, who play on Sunday.

Jose Mourinho was disappointed with

the referee for not giving a penalty

from what he felt was a deliberate

handball.

We played enough to score

goals. Of course, we missed easy

chances. But I'm really unhappy with

the penalty. Not with Craig's

performance overall, but with the

penalty.

Virgil van Dijk was

watching from the stands at Anfield

after his £75 million transfer from

Southampton made him the most

expensive defender in the world.

Jamie Vardy gave Leicester City an

early lead, but Mohamed Salah scored

his 16th and 17th goals this season

to secure a 2-1 win for Jurgen

Klopp's side.

Swansea City arm off the bottom of

the table after beating Watford 2-1

at vicarage Road. The new manager

has a winning start to his new job

as Swansea boss.

England's cricketers have avoided an

Ashes whitewash but a win was just

beyond them in Melbourne. They have

a chance of victory but it was

snuffed out by Australia captain

Steve Smith. A day in which England

will have hoped to complete a

dramatic and exciting first victory

of this Ashes Series ended in a

somewhat anti-climactic draw because

of Steve Smith the Australian

captain who scored his third century

of this series and he has now scored

more than 600 runs in the series. He

batted Australia through to see out

a draw. England had a glimmer of

hope when David Warner tried to slog

Joe Root's bowling. It went up in

the error and gave Root a wicket on

his birthday. England then got rid

of Shaun Marsh thanks to a good

catch from Jonny Bairstow and had

real hope of getting into the

Australian lower order. The scoring

was very slow, the pitch lifeless,

and the atmosphere drained out of

the MCG. So, there won't be a 5-0

Ashes win for Australia, as two of

the previous three England trips

here have seen, but England didn't

get that morale boosting win either.

We now go to Sydney to see if

England can get that first series

win, and we will all hope it is more

exciting than this one.

Serena Williams has returned to

tennis for the first time since

giving birth to her first child. She

showed glimpses of her best form up

against the French open champion

Jelena Ostapenko.

I was a little

worried out there. I looked at my

camp and I was like, is she OK? But

it's really good. I'm excited and

it's good to be back on the court.

First matches back are always super

incredibly hard, especially after

having a baby, but it was great, and

I was glad I could do it here.

Great

to see her back so soon. That's all

the spot for now.

Not every day you can take photos

of a frozen water fountain like this

behind me in New York.

But across vast parts of the US,

forecasters are predicting chilling

temperatures over the New Year's

celebrations, as an

Arctic blast hits.

To show you just how cold it is,

these are thresher sharks which have

washed up frozen along Cape Cod,

in the US state of Massachusetts.

Thermometers could reach the lowest

temperatures in nearly a century

over the next few days -

and stay there into

the first days of 2018.

I spoke to Michael Davies who lives

and Pennsylvania about how it is

affecting things.

I am in

Pittsburgh, but it is in the

negative teams or whatever. We have

had an inch or two of snow in the

last 24 hours. It's not too bad,

it's freezing.

And you have taken

some pretty iconic photos. Tell us

about the kayak.

That is when we had

five feet of snow over the past days

since Christmas Eve. My cousins are

from Florida, and they got a kayak

for Christmas, so they took a

picture of themselves in their

swimming pool, nice weather, bathing

suits, sun shining, and so my sister

and I said, let's get the kayak and

put it in the front yard in the snow

and show them the Christmas we are

having. That is the story behind

that. We were in the yard, taking

photos and having fun with snow.

I'm

assuming you don't particularly feel

the cold very much cinema we saw the

photo enduring a T-shirt.

We were

going to be in bathing suits, but we

knew it would be too cold for that.

We put the kayak out there, got the

picture taking, and bared the cold.

We're used to it.

How prepared for

people for this? Was at the kind of

thing they had seen before and were

they anticipating it?

They are

usually well prepared for the snow

with salt trucks, ploughs and so

forth. We weren't that prepared for

that snow that we had, five feet in

the past couple of days, and it is

still snowing up there. The city was

shut down. Snowploughs were getting

stuck in the snow. The declaration

of emergency pin e-reader. It is

still snowing up there. -- in Erie.

We'll just wait