pictures from tokyo. we showed you what happened one hour ago in hong kong, a more low—key celebration because the annual firework display did not happen because of security concerns. there was instead a light show. but now the scenes in bangkok and i think you will probably agree that they are pretty good. plenty more capital is to visit, of course, in the coming hours, and we will show you some of the preparations going on in this country as midnight approaches a little bit later on this evening as well. to the menus down —— to the menus now... thousands of people in south—eastern australia have been forced to seek refuge on beaches and boats after becoming trapped by advancing bush fires. in the state of victoria, 4000 people, locals and tourists alike, prepared to flee into the ocean as a last resort. military aircraft and naval ships are being deployed to carry out evacuations and support firefighters. in new south wales, two more people have been killed and dozens of properties destroyed alo

has been 20 of snow in tokyo tonight. —— plenty of snow. in moscow they have had to quietly lay artificial snow around red square and other landmarks because it has been the mildest winter in russia since about the 18805. winter in russia since about the 1880s. they have not had snow at all and people were failing to get worried, the authorities were worried, the authorities were worried what it might mean for the moscow citizens. we will see the effects in moscow in about a couple of hours. about ten o'clock this evening. we will have all the fireworks and bbc news. let's go back to look at the north korea and japan approaches. a contrast. near neighbours was not that friendly relations. japan is nervous where north korea may fire a missile onto its territory. the floor show for north korea and we have singers from the army singing in unison with a spectacular display behind. i love the snowman in affairs. —— a fez. everybody is waving like sex. i don't know if we get to see kim jong—un. the new king. —— waving light sticks. a ne

that means athletes will have to be flown to tokyo for the closing ceremony. there has been a lot of discussion regarding start times across the game which led to some reviews. the move to sapporo and knowing that it was done to protect the welfare and the athletes and knowing that sapporo is significantly cooler generally at the time of year than tokyo, that allowed us a little bit more flexibility, so in terms of the actual start times that were confirmed with tokyo and world athletics, the marathons are both at 7pm. this was the original planned start time before they were brought forward to six ams. it allowed us to go back to that originally planned time of seven am. and all the sports news is available on our website, but we are totally out of time, so from me and all of the team, goodbye. some of us have got quite murky conditions to come over the next few hours. the fog patch is to the south—east of this weather front but if we zoom out of the uk and look at what is upstream of us we can see the next area of low pressure showing its hand and this wil

rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. new year celebrations have been taking place across the world. australia and new zealand fireworks launched us into the new decade. this now from tolu adeoye on the celebrations so far.... auckland was the first major city to welcome 2020 with a bang. the sky tower at the centre of celebrations. in sydney, the traditional display went ahead, despite some calls for it to be cancelled because of the bushfire crisis. there was singing, dancing and fireworks in pyongyang, as north korea saw in the new decade. whilst a traditional buddhist ceremony was the focus injapan. the fireworks show was scaled back in hong kong because of the recent unrest. protesters formed human chains in the city. so, not the usual big display in the middle of victoria harbour on this occasion. but still, there was quite some show. and this in bangkok... 2020 making quite the entrance. tolu adeoye, bbc news. london's new year fireworks is organised by mayor of london's office. i'm joined now by the mayor, sadiq k

rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. well, here with the latest is our economics correspondent andrew walker. this is quite extraordinary. absolutely. it's hard to... i can't think of any precedent for a major international business figure, and let's be clear, i don't think there isa let's be clear, i don't think there is a bigger name in the global motor industry, one of the biggest industries on the planet, there is no precedent for someone being arrested in this way, and then fleeing the country... one couldn't say exactly like a common criminal, firstly because he protests his innocence, but also it must have taken considerable innocence, but also it must have ta ken considerable resources innocence, but also it must have taken considerable resources to organise this kind of flight from the country, from under the noses of the country, from under the noses of the japanese authorities. without a passport because they'd been taken away. taken away but it's possible to have more than one passport for a particular countr

this woman wins damages in a tokyo courtroom after accusing a prominent journalist of rape. as mps return to parliament after the uk‘s prime minister says there‘ll be a new law to finish brexit trade talks by the end of next year.

0lympics. that could take us right up until the tokyo olympics. the final decision will be with them and it will then go to the individual governing bodies, fifa, the ioc, to implement sanctions, but there is possibly a long way to go and this could still get very messy. the president of wada, sir craig reedie, says the decision shows its "determination to act in the face of the russian doping crisis". some people have said the sanctions don't go far enough and are calling for a blanket ban. you can say this is not enough, but what i would say is this. every world championship for the last four years, not just any other games, but every world championship, there won't be a russian president there, no government officials, no team. neutral athletes only, no russian flag. that is a significant sign and message that says you, by your conduct, have forfeited your place at the top of world sport. if that's not enough we may have to go next time. but yes, we want to try and get a message across without punishing innocent athletes. arsenal have their fir

looking ahead to tokyo 2020, what is a realistic expectation? what are you hoping for? i am not really putting any expectations on myself. it is my first 0lympic putting any expectations on myself. it is my first olympic games so to go there and swim and god knows how will they? it is just about... taking it all in and experience, experiencing it. now, it is a question that many sportspeople grapple with, what to do when you're career ends? a boxer is now using his skills with the brush is to stay involved in the sport and heavyweight champion anthonyjoshua is sport and heavyweight champion anthony joshua is amongst sport and heavyweight champion anthonyjoshua is amongst his fans. we went to meet him before saturday's fight. it probably started with doing pieces of tyson, and then a local hero. and it hasjust grew pieces of tyson, and then a local hero. and it has just grew and pieces of tyson, and then a local hero. and it hasjust grew and grew and grew. my and grew. my name is pat killian, i am best known for painting boxers. welcome to my studio. it has happened if y

rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. thousands of mixed—sex couples in england and wales are expected to enter into civil partnerships from today. it comes after a long battle against a law that had previously only permitted same—sex couples to become civil partners. daniela relph's report contains flash photography. cheering. finally, civil partners. something they had always wanted, but until today, had been legally impossible. rebecca steinfeld, charles keidan, and their two young daughters, mark the occasion at chelsea registry office in london. i love you. this wasn't a wedding. they didn't even call it a ceremony. it was the registration of a civil partnership. giving the family the legal and financial protection that a marriage provides. there are lots of reasons why people don't want to get married. they might have had a previous bad experience of marriage, their own parents marriage, they might have feminist objections like we do. and we feel thrilled and honoured that we have opened up the institution of ci

rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. we can speak to a former nissan executive who knows carlos ghosn well. she's carla bailo, president and ceo of the center for automotive research whojoins me from michigan. great to have you with us. you know him well, are you surprised by his appearance in lebanon?” him well, are you surprised by his appearance in lebanon? i think the whole case surprises me, from the very beginning, from the arrest through the amount of entering men in jail through the amount of entering men injailand now the through the amount of entering men in jail and now the escape. through the amount of entering men injail and now the escape. and through the amount of entering men in jail and now the escape. and the whole thing is a surprise. and unexpected event that happened in the automotive industry this year and all the countries that had supported him throughout the entire time has been lebanon. the people had supported him the government has come out and supported him sale of all the places to return

rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. well, our correspondent, quentin sommerville, is in beirut now. quentin, what are the authorities there saying about all of this? they are saying very little. as you heard in rupert's report, he arrived by private jet, heard in rupert's report, he arrived by privatejet, on heard in rupert's report, he arrived by private jet, on sunday evening. carlos ghosn was born in brazil but is of lebanese heritage and is one of lebanon's favourite sons. he's extremely well regarded in this country, to such an extent that they even issued a postage stamp with his face on it. he owns one of the big vineyards in the country. he is a super well connected to the political elite here in lebanon. he has many high ranking friends who will doubtless offer him protection. so lebanon will hold on very tightly, despite the factjapan gives hundreds of millions of dollars in aid of this country, lebanon will hold on very tightly to carlos ghosn. all the while, while he has been locked up injapan, there has bee

rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. andrew walker. it certainly was unexpected and the reports coming from lebanon as he arrived in a privatejet reports coming from lebanon as he arrived in a private jet coming from turkey and got into the country using a french passport despite the fa ct using a french passport despite the fact his lawyer injapan body had all fact his lawyer injapan body had aler fact his lawyer injapan body had all mr ghosn passports. is a possibility if you international traveller —like ears you may have another one to travel. he has an lebanese identity card the lebanon government position as he is very welcome. the senses he has got very strong support within the establishment of lebanon. i remember when he was head of the car company one point he wanted to be interviewed for hard talk and the interviewed for hard talk and the interview didn't get done but he wa nted interview didn't get done but he wanted it done there. i think it will be very difficult for him to resume any major career in the international m

this woman wins damages in a tokyo courtroom after accusing a prominent journalist of rape. taiwan's foreign minister tells the bbc the free world should stand with the island democracy — in the face of growing pressure from china. and anger in ukraine — protesters say new land reform proposals will benefit oligarchs and foreign investors. president trump has lashed out over his imminent impeachment in a 6—page letter to top democrat nancy pelosi, accusing her of declaring "open war on american democracy". on the eve of the crucial vote in the house of representatives, which is dominated by the democrats, he's claimed he's been denied his most fundamental rights — even though he's turned down an offer to give evidence himself, and have his legal team question witnesses. in his letter to the house majority leader mr trump claims the charges he faces are "completely disingenuous, meritless, and a baseless invention of your imagination" and also claims the impeachment process, which is set out under the us constitution, is "nothing more than an illegal, partisan attempt

this woman wins damages in a tokyo courtroom after accusing a prominent journalist of rape. as mps return to parliament after the uk's prime minister says there'll be a new law to finish brexit trade talks by the end of next year. president trump has lashed out over his imminent impeachment in a 6—page letter to top democrat nancy pelosi, accusing her of declaring "open war on american democracy". on the eve of the crucial vote in the house of representatives, which is dominated by the democrats, he's claimed he's been denied his most fundamental rights — even though he's turned down an offer to give evidence himself, and have his legal team question witnesses. in his letter to the house majority leader mr trump claims the charges he faces are "completely disingenuous, meritless, and a baseless invention of your imagination" and also claims the impeachment process, which is set out under the us constitution, is "nothing more than an illegal, partisan attempted coup that will, based on recent sentiment, badly fail at the voting booth."(biv) now the fear that —— badly

rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. here, the national living wage is set to rise by more than four times the rate of inflation. the increase takes hourly pay for people over the age of 25 to £8.72 from april. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. it's been promoted by the new government as the biggest cash increase ever for those on the lowest pay, an extra £930 a year, if they're full—time. for the employers that have to pay it, though, their income isn't going up anything like as fast. many low—paying industries like restaurants and hotels don't dare raise their prices to cover the extra costs for fear of losing customers. the chancellor set out a plan for raising the wage to 66% of average earnings, or about £10.50 by 202a. i think politicians need to understand that that kind of rise doesn't come for free and they'll need to be looking at the kind of supportive policies around that that will help businesses. in the past decade, boosting wages for the lowest paid has reduced income inequality, the

gareth barlow, bbc news. 60,000 people have packed into tokyo's new national stadium to celebrate its opening ahead of next year's olympics and paralympics. they cheered the retired jamaican sprinter usain bolt as hejogged around the track. mark eames reports. expect a few more drums when they do this for real next year. in just over seven months time, the tokyo 0lympics get under way and the stadium that will be the centrepiece for the games and also the paralympics has officially been opened. the success of the recent rugby world cup, aided by the host nation's run to the quarter—finals, has given sport injapan a big boost. the stadium, which cost nearly $1.5 billion, will hold 68,000 for the olympics. those lucky enough to get tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies will see more of this nextjuly but on a far bigger scale. if you are celebrating the opening of your olympic stadium you need a highly decorated 0lympian. they don't come much bigger and better than this man, usain bolt certainly knows a thing or two about winning 0lympic titles. the crowd delighted to welcome

officials in tokyo say they're trying to confirm the reports. american news sources have quoted his friends as saying he'd left japan without permission after deciding he wouldn't get a fair trial. mr ghosn, who's awaiting trial for financial crimes denies enriching himself at his company's expense and mis—stating his income. gareth barlow has more. carlos ghosn was one of the great tycoons of the car industry, known for turning around the fortunes of some of the world's biggest brands. at one point, nissan, renault and mitsubishi were all under his control. a citizen of brazil, france and lebanon, ghosn established himself injapan where he was considered a hero for transforming nissan. he was a very powerful car executive who was particularly known for his efficient cost—cutting, which saved nissan, in essence, yeah. so, a hard—nosed businessman who seemed to have a very good touch in turning companies around. following accusations of significant acts of misconduct, including under—reporting his pay and the personal use of company asset

rupert, in tokyo, just under six hours to go but a very happy new year to you there. made him happy... he could have said something back to me but he didn't. there you go. you are watching bbc news. let's bring you our headlines this hour. thousands of people seek refuge on the beach and in the sea to escape bushfires in australia — military helicopters and the navy are deployed to help them. former nissan boss carlos ghosn flees to lebanon, despite being under house arrest in tokyo on financial misconduct charges. the national living wage is to rise in april by 6.2%, four times the rate of inflation. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here'sjohn watson. good morning, john. good morning, john. good morning, john. good morning, simon. it is a good morning this morning, i wonder if it will be tomorrow morning with that early start to come. we begin with football. football's rule makers have suggested the video assistant referee is being used too forenscially in the premier league. a number of contested offside calls has led fifa to consider a ru

still to come: talking pictures, tutankhamen and tokyo. we look ahead to 2020's cultural highlights. the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got under way with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow in holland, we're going to use money we picked up in belgium today. and then we'll be in france and again, it will be the same money. it's just got to be the way to go. george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed at 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. reporter: it was just good? no, fantastic! that's better! big ben strikes the hour this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: the former head of renault— nissan, carlos ghosn, has fled japan, where he was awaiting trial on charges of financial misconduct. in a statement, mr ghosn confirmed that he was now in lebanon. blazes continue to rage across australia. weather conditions, already described as catastrophic, are exp

this woman wins damages in a tokyo courtroom after accusing a prominent journalist of rape. scientists say they've developed a new theory president trump has lashed out over his imminent impeachment in a 6—page letter to top democrat nancy pelosi, accusing her of declaring "open war on american democracy". on the eve of the crucial vote in the house of representatives, which is dominated by the democrats, he's claimed he's been denied his most fundamental rights — even though he's turned down an offer to give evidence himself, and have his legal team question witnesses. in his letter to the house majority leader mr trump claims the charges he faces are "completely disingenuous, meritless, and a baseless invention of your imagination" and also claims the impeachment process, which is set out under the us constitution, is "nothing more than an illegal, partisan attempted coup that will, based on recent sentiment, badly fail at the voting booth. now the fear that impeachment could backfire, politically, on democrats is in the minds of some members of congress, as our north

tokyo's olympic national stadium is offically opened. violent storms bring floods and mudslides to large parts of western europe, as they brace for even more heavy rain. and liverpool are crowned champions of the world, with an extra—time goal against brazilian side flamengo. the australian prime minister, scott morrison, has acknowledged public anger at his decision to go on holiday while his country faces a bushfire crisis. mr morrison said if he could go back he would have made a different choice. the fires are expected to worsen with more hot dry weather expected. mr morrison did acknowledge the role of climate change, but said warming temperatures couldn't be connected to any single fire. gareth barlow reports. this is the remarkable, almost apocalyptic scene facing firefighters tackling australia's deadly and devastating wildfires. fire chiefs described saturday as an awful day. as thousands of personnel tackle raging infernos, the country's prime minister, scott morrison, has been heavily criticised for being on holiday in hawai

rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. a mother was taken to hospital after she was stabbed three times in front of her child, according to police in london. officers were called yesterday afternoon to a report of a stabbing in in streatham, south london. the 36—year—old was attacked from behind while pushing her child in a pushchair. the man did not speak when he stabbed the victim, who was was taken to hospital but her injuries are not considered life—threatening or life—changing. the lone suspect is described as a black man, who was around 6ft and wearing dark clothing. there have been no arrests and police officers are appealing to witnesses to come forward. the headlines on bbc news... thousands of people in south—eastern australia have been forced to seek refuge on the coast after becoming trapped by advancing bushfires. thousands of iraqi militiamen have attacked the american embassy in baghdad, angry at us air strikes on theirforces. lebanon says the former nissan boss carlos ghosn entered the country leg

tokyo's olympic stadium has officially been opened. sixty thousand people were given a glimpse of how the 2020 opening ceremony might look, with traditional drummers and a parade of dancers in vivid colours. the first sporting event to be held at the national stadium will be the emperor's cup soccer final on new years day. now on bbc news, it's the clickmas special with bags of seasonal tech fun. we hear from tim peake on the year in space and pitch man against robot to see who's the fastest driver around an f1 circuit. ohohoh merry clickmas! anyway, this festive week we have cars, dogs, astronauts, and lots and lots of singing furbies. # oh christmas tree... # your leaves are so unchanging...#

russia will appeal against their doping ban — that will prevent athletes competing under their flag at tokyo 2020. and arteta to arsenal? the new manager at the emirates looks set to be confirmed on friday. cricket‘s most lucrative league in the world has been redistributing some of its rupees into the pockets of the players at the indian premier league auction. australia's pat cummins will take home the largest ever salary for an overseas player, as the spending on new recruits for the 2020 competition stretched into the millions. austin halewood has been crunching the numbers. 338 players went in with millions of dollars spent by the teams. who were the standout buys? the kolkata buyers made the biggest purchase of all, pat cummins, the number one test builder in the world for a massive $2.2 million —— bowler, that makes him the most expensive overseas player in the league does make history. but that still doesn't make history. but that still doesn't make the most expensive player in the history of the rbl, it was just short of the $2.3 million paid for yuvraj. read and was delighted

tokyo's olympic stadium has officially been opened. sixty thousand people were given a glimpse of how the 2020 opening ceremony might look, with traditional drummers and a parade of dancers in vivid colours. the first sporting event to be held at the national stadium will be the emperor's cup soccer final on new years day. the death toll from a storm that battered spain, portugal and france has risen to eight people, with the affected areas bracing for the arrival of more violent weather. a strengthening storm, given the name fabien, is expected to bring downpours and strong winds to parts of western europe. now as we've been reporting, martin peters who scored england's second goal in the 1966 world cup final against west germany, has died aged 76. he'd been diagnosed with alzheimer's disease. he spent a large part of his career at west ham. the club saying the 1966 world cup winner passed away peacefully in his sleep in the early hours of saturday morning following a long and courageous battle with illness. tributes have been paid. o

so here i am, a year out of tokyo. and i am just so excited to step up and race, and that is something i am good at. standing on top the podium injapan, i think i will go back to that little russian girl who truly believed she could do anything, and here i am. being in tokyo, standing up there, just thinking that, i hope i made her proud. i always give 110%. i thinking that, i hope i made her proud. ialways give 110%. i know that in this next year i will have to make sacrifices. i don't think i can fail. and we'll leave you with this as cristiano ronaldo has received plenty of praise for an impressive towering headerforjuventus. and thatjump hasn't gone unnoticed by the 16—time grand slam champion novak djokovic, who decided to get some tips as the pair trained together in the gym. looks like ronaldo narrowly won that one. that's all from sportsday. there's more on the bbc sport website, including coverage of wolves v manchester city in the premier league. have a lovely evening, and coming up next it's the travel sho

former nissan boss carlos ghosn flees to lebanon, despite being under house arrest in tokyo on financial misconduct charges. the national living wage is to rise in april by 6.2% — four times the rate of inflation. heterosexual couples in england and wales will be able to enter into civil partnerships from today, giving them similar rights to people who are married. meet the seal that commutes between the isle of man and cornwall — as record sightings of whales, dolphins and seals are reported in british waters. coming up in half an hour, we bring you some of the highlights of the victoria derbyshire programme from the last year, including our exclusive film on the burning of plastic waste in indonesia. and the ii—year—old liverpool fan who knocked himself unconscious on a bmp knocked himself unconscious on a lamp post after running out after his hero, mo salah. devastating bushfires across large parts of australia have claimed two more lives. the latest victims, a 63—year—old man and his 29—year—old son, died in new south wales. in the neighbouring state of victoria, thou

for the next four years, so there will be no russian flag or anthem at next year's olympic games in tokyo. it'll be the same at the winter olympics in beijing in 2022, and also at the world cup in qatar later that same year. our reporter alex capstick has been in lausanne where wada's executive committee made their decision today. leading members of while the‘s executive committee have explained to us in this hotel in central notts and the reason they came to this decision to ban russia for four yea rs decision to ban russia for four years is because russia are repeat offenders. they have found to be covering our positive drug tests. as to the punishment, they think they have the balance right, that ape—like ban and the world calls for ape—like ban and the world calls for a total ban on athletes and officials, that would have been unfairon the officials, that would have been unfair on the competitors who were untainted by the doping conspiracy. so they have banned the russian flag, russian anthem, leading sports official, leading government officials from next year's olympics, and o

our correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes is in tokyo. what more can you tell us about this statement he has released? this has come within the last hour or so, released by mr ghosn's agent or advisers in lebanon. it is, as you said in your introduction, quite a dramatic declaration that mr ghosn has said, entity said" eye and fleeing a rigged japanese justice system" he said guilty is presumed, discrimination rampant, and human rights are denied. he said he was not fleeing just as part escaping injustice and political persecution. he is essentially saying what he has said before and what his defence tea m said before and what his defence team has said before, that the case against him was politically motivated by nissan and that they had conspired with the japanese prosecutors' office to trumped up charges against him in order to get him out of his position as the chairman of nissan and mitsubishi motor corp. that has been the allegation all along by mr ghosn and his defence team. now he has taken this very, very dramatic step to flee ja

of europe in the lead up to christmas, which is what we do not want. 60,000 people have packed into tokyo's new national stadium, to celebrate its opening, ahead of next year's olympics and paralympics. they cheered the retired jamaican sprinter usain bolt as hejogged around the track. and there was a taste of how the 2020 opening ceremony might look, with traditional drummers and a parade of dancers. mark eames reports. expect a few more drums when they do this for real next year. in just over seven months time, the tokyo olympics get under way and the stadium that will be the centrepiece for the games and also the paralympics has officially been opened. the success of the recent rugby world cup, aided by the host nation's run to the quarter—finals, has given sport injapan a big boost. the stadium, which cost nearly $1.5 billion, will hold 68,000 for the olympics. those lucky enough to get tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies will see more of this nextjuly but on a far bigger scale. if you are celebrating the opening of your olympic stadium you need a highly decorated olympian.

he says he's put that disappointment behind him and is focussing on getting it right in tokyo. i was gutted with my performance and gave an intense interview afterwards because i felt it was amateurish. i was upset and emotional. it showed me that i can still mix it with the world's best. people were reminded that i could still run. that's what i could do with the full year of training so i will show you what i can do with two years of training at tokyo. that's all the sport for now, more from us on afternoon live. a teenager who stabbed a popular lawyer to death as he walked through a shopping centre to get home after a day at work has been jailed for a minimum of 15 years. 18 year old ewan ireland — who was 17 at the time stabbed lawyer peter duncan to death with a stolen screwdriver at the entrance to newcastle's eldon square shopping centre in august. as we've been reporting, the next archbishop of york will be the current bishop of chelmsford — stephen cottrell. he takes over from john sentamu, who steps down in 2020. he has been talking to our religion editor — mart

a court in tokyo has ordered a television presenter to pay damages to a woman who accused him of rape. shiori ito was seeking compensation from noriyuki yamaguchi in a civil case, alleging that he raped her after inviting her to dinner to discuss a job opportunity in 2015. now on bbc news it's 22 years since a british driver broke the sound barrier and the world land—speed record by driving a car across an american desert at 763mph. today, the same man is trying to smash his own record with a new car, the bloodhound — this time, in africa. andrew harding has been following his progress. well, the thing about the land speed record is it is the last of the amateur corinthian sports. it is done purely for the love, the fascination of it. some people argue, well, the old cars are no more, but forget it is a car, we are pushing the boundaries of engineering to its absolute limit. every day i go, why are we doing this? it may be the last land speed record as we know it. this is a story about stubbornness and ingenuity, and yes, about speed, too. it is the story of a quest to design and

former nissan boss carlos ghosn flees to lebanon, despite being under house arrest in tokyo on financial misconduct charges. the national living wage is to rise in april by 6.2% — four times the rate of inflation. heterosexual couples in england and wales will be able to enter into civil partnerships from today, giving them similar rights to people who are married. the government says it will raise concerns with the cypriot authorities about the fairness of a trial of a british woman convicted of lying about being gang raped. now on bbc news, sarah campbell looks back on the key events of the year for the royal family — in review 2019: the royal year. and just a warning, this film does contain some flash photography. archie's first royal tour. the duke and duchess of sussex make headlines in southern africa and reveal the pressures of life in the royal spotlight. for me and for my wife, of course, there is a lot of stuff that hurts, especially when the majority of it is untrue. i will not be bullied into playing a game that killed my mum. a no—holds—barred interview by prince and

tokyo's olympic stadium has officially been opened. 60,000 people were given a glimpse of how the 2020 opening ceremony might look, with traditional drummers and a parade of dancers in vivid colours. mark eames reports. expect a few more drummers when they do this for real next year. in just over seven months time, the tokyo 0lympics get under way in the stadium that will be the centrepiece for the games and also the paralympics has for the games and also the pa ralympics has officially for the games and also the paralympics has officially been opened. the success of the recent rugby world cup, aided by the host nation's run to the quarter—finals, was given sport injapan a big boost. the stadium, which cost nearly $1.5 billion will hold 68,000 for the olympics. those lucky enough to get tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies will see more of this nextjuly closing ceremonies will see more of this next july but closing ceremonies will see more of this nextjuly but on a far bigger scale. if you are celebrating the opening of your 0lympic scale. if you are celebrating the opening

tokyo's olympic national stadium is offically opened. violent storms bring floods and mudslides to large parts of western europe, as they brace for even more heavy rain. and liverpool are crowned champions of the world,

russia will appeal against their doping ban — that will prevent athletes competing under their flag at tokyo 2020. and arteta to arsenal? the new manager at the emirates looks set to be confirmed on friday. cricket‘s most lucrative league in the world has been redistributing some of its rupees into the pockets of the players at the indian premier league auction. australia's pat cummins will take home the largest ever salary for an overseas player, as the spending on new recruits for the 2020 competition stretched into the millions. austin halewood has been crunching the numbers. 338 players went in with millions of dollars spent by the teams. who were the standout buys? the kolkata buyers made the biggest purchase of all, pat cummins, the number one test builder in the world for a massive $2.2 million —— bowler, that makes him the most expensive

a bird's eye view of tokyo's national stadium. it is ready, set, go ahead of next year's olympic games. translation: it is 220 days to the opening of tokyo's 0lympics. i can already imagine the scenes where the athletes are sprinting in this field and spectators are cheering for them in this auditorium. hello, our stadium! "hello, stadium," that's the words on everyone's lips as anticipation builds ahead of the opening ceremony injuly. it has five floors above ground and two underneath which engineers say has the latest earthquake protection technology. the grand space has the capacity to fit 68,000 people and it cost almost 1.5 billion us dollars, but it is a far cry from the original design. this masterplan, which critics likened to a giant bicycle helmet, was scrapped due to its hefty 2 billion us dollar price tag. local residents demanded the stadium be scaled back and this is the end result. japanese officials say its universal design is suitable for all athletes and abilities. translation: it blends with its surrounding natu

he now needs a cane to navigate in his local skate park near tokyo. dropping in off large ramps and riding rails are all done by feel rather than sight. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories, including on aston villa's league cup win over liverpool, on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport. hello. if you are driving this morning this picture gives it away. a word of caution, there could be some thick patches of fog around, almost anywhere in england and the fog could linger into the early afternoon, particularly across northern parts of england. there is fog out there right now. it could actually get denser as we go through early wednesday. we are in between weather systems. there is wind and rain heading our way. but that won't arrive until later in the day on wednesday. at least that is the case for most of us. in the morning we have the fog in the south, the midlands, northern england, temperatures in some areas will be close to freezing. that means some icy patches are possible here and there, especially out

no official russian team, anthem or flag will feature at next year's tokyo olympics and paralympics, the winter games in 2022, or the world cup a few months later. but as ever with anti—doping, there are caveats. a loophole means russia will be allowed to play and host matches at football's euros next year because it's not a global event. and as at last year's winter olympics, russian athletes who can prove they're clean will be allowed to compete under a neutral banner. that's dismayed those who wanted wada to issue a blanket ban. i wanted a complete ban but we had two choices. i support as long as we can get today. i am afraid that if we supported or didn't support the cfc, the irs the water it out. the duplicity, deceit and deception that they've exhibited isjust beyond the pale. wada under this particular administration has not really stood up for the athletes the way that we deserve. london 2012 was just one of the events sabotaged by russia's cheating. seven years on, the fallout from sport's greatest—ever scandal continues. dan roan, bbc news. arsenal players haven't had m

alexandra bell is considering legal action against uk athletics after being overlooked for funding for the tokyo olympics. she was the top british woman over 800 metres at the world championships but wasn't selected for the world—class programme. australian open organisers have increased the prize money to more than £38m with the biggest gains in the early rounds. first round losers will receive just under 50,000. the winners have had a small increase to 2.1 million. talking about money in sport, solheim cup winner bronte law has said that prize money in women's golf needs to increase if the game is to progress. the british player was a rookie in the european team that beat the usa at gleneagles in september. an increase in prize money is always good. it gets us that little bit closer to where the men are. i think we have to grow the game ourselves from our side. we cannot really focus too much of what the men are doing. we can encourage more participation on our side and more buzz around the game with more people watching women's golf and those two go hand in hand. what are your hopes for ne

a bird's eye view of tokyo's national stadium. it is ready, set, go ahead of next year's olympic games. translation: it is 220 days to the opening of tokyo's olympics. i can already imagine the scenes where the athletes are sprinting in this field and spectators are cheering for them in this auditorium. hello, our stadium! "hello, stadium," that's the words on everyone's lips as anticipation builds ahead of the opening ceremony injuly. it has five floors above ground and two underneath which engineers say has the latest earthquake protection technology. the grand space has the capacity to fit 68,000 people and it cost almost 1.5 billion us dollars, but it is a far cry from the original design. this masterplan, which critics likened to a giant bicycle helmet, was scrapped due to its hefty 2 billion us dollar price tag. local residents demanded the stadium be scaled back and this is the end result. japanese officials say its universal design is suitable for all athletes and abilities. translation: it blends with its surrounding natu

it's the final day of the trampoline and tumbling world championships in tokyo and there's another medal for great britain. elliott brown powered his way to silver in the men's tumbling final after his second passe scored high on difficulty — to place second in this event for the second year in a row. his team mate jaydon paddock placed fifth. that's all from sportsday. we'll have more throughout the evening. now it is time for a quick stop —— click.

favourite, jothohn florence, for the final qualification spot on the us olympic team for next year in tokyo — slater needs to finish two places ahead of florence to take the qualification spot as he bids for an 8th pipeline title. i served this whole year behind the eight ball, i would rather surf from the front, so it is just a mindset you put yourself in, and shortly after that, just relax, breathe, smile, enjoy the moment, you might as well enjoy at. kawai leonard has gone back to the ra ptors, kawai leonard has gone back to the raptors, flippers are up by the end of the third quarter. by for now. we have already had two deep areas of low pressure affecting the weather here in the uk. this was tuesday's brain. the day on wednesday brought lots of showers. this massive cloud is coming in for the day ahead, and we have got further lumps with those weather fronts laying across the atlantic to bring us some further spells of rain. it's notjust rain for the concern for the day ahead, as it comes into the cold air we can see some hill snow as well. we've seen snow showers and thunderstorms w

tokyo's olympic national stadium is offically opened. violent storms bring floods and mudslides to large parts of western europe, as they brace for even more heavy rain. and liverpool are crowned champions of the world, with an extra—time goal against brazilian side flamengo. hello and welcome to bbc news. the australian prime minister, scott morrison, has acknowledged the role climate change is playing in the severe wildfire season

it's the final day of the trampoline and tumbling world championships in tokyo and there's another medalfor great britain. elliott brown powered his way to silver in the men's tumbling final after his second passe scored high on difficulty — to place second in this event for the second year in a row. his team mate jaydon paddock placed fifth. that's all from sportsday. we'll have more throughout the evening. next up it is the travel show. we are starting off a iceland this week. here, just off the eight —— right coast of iceland we are searching. because apparently there is something in the water. notjust one of them, either. there are 23 species of them. every now and then, the whole by rushes over trying to see what is going on. and then we go to another direction and we go there. we never know where things are going to pop up. we are watching votes cast off to see every day in excellent in the hope of catching a glimpse of these mammals. you have got a great spot here. it is the best spot. main key to a clock. we have a minky whale at our two o'clock. wow! how do you even try and f

alexandra bell is considering legal action against uk athletics after being overlooked for funding for the tokyo olympics. she was the top british woman over 800 metres at the world championships but wasn't selected for the world—class programme. australian open organisers have increased the prize money to more than £38m with the biggest gains in the early rounds. first round losers will receive just under £50,000. the winners have had a small increase to 2.1 million. talking about money in sport, solheim cup winner bronte law has said that prize money in women's golf needs to increase if the game is to progress. the british player was a rookie in the european team that beat the usa at gleneagles in september. an increase in prize money is always good. it gets us that little bit closer to where the men are. i think we have to grow the game ourselves from our side. we cannot really focus too much on what the men are doing. we can encourage more participation on our side and more buzz around the game with more people watching women's golf and those two go hand in hand. more prize money is defi

he believes he can push the world record holder all the way to tokyo 2020 and, crucially, carve his own mark along the way. we chat and get along and it is really good to have that good bit of competition. every now and again, when we go head—to—head there is always a bit of, you know, a bit of a race off but other than that it is really good spirited because, at the end of the day, we are both pushing each other on. i always wanted to win international medals and i want to be the best i can be and have that gb flag on that number one spot. and you'll be able to follow wilby and the rest of the british team in scotland from tomorrow through to sunday with live coverage of the finals each day via the bbc iplayer, connected tvs and the bbc sport app. that's all from sportsday. coming up in a moment, the papers. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are caroline wheeler, deputy political editor of the sunday times, and the assistant editor for the new statesman, george eaton. welcome to you both. glad to have you with us. still sta

it is not something that fazes him, he believes he can push the world record holder all the way to tokyo 2020 and crucially carve his own mark along the way. we chat and get along and it is really good to have that good bit of competition every now and again. then when we go head—to—head there is always a bit of, you know, a bit of a race off but other than that it is really good spirited — at the end of the day we are both pushing each other on. i always wanted to win international medals and i want to be the best i can be and have that gb flag on that number one spot. nick hope reporting there. and you'll be able to follow james wilby as well as the rest of the british team at the european short course championships in glasgow from tomorrow through to sunday with live coverage of the finals each day via the bbc iplayer, connected tvs and the bbc sport app. that's all from sportsday. we'll have more throughout the evening. some breaking news, this is a statement from one of the people who was injured in the attack last friday. at fishmongers' hall. just adjacent to london bridge.

anticipated slowdown after next yea r‘s an anticipated slowdown after next year's summer olympic games in tokyo and there are signs the trade war between the us and china is impacting japan adversely. it is a trade —dependent economy and in october we saw exports tumbling at the fastest pace in three years. will this add to its already huge debt? look at this chart, it shows the ratio of various countries pass debts against the size of their economies —— countries' debts. it is more than double that of the us. so is this a good idea? i put that question tojohn, is this a good idea? i put that question to john, an is this a good idea? i put that question tojohn, an expert. they had a high ratio, as your chart likely shows, for a long time and it hasn't caused crisis yet. their fiscal deficit this year is going to be about 2%, 3% of gdp so it's not a big deficit by global standards. certainly japan is following the global trend of increasing fiscal spending because monetary policy is basically... has done as much as it possibly can do. it's the last resort to bump up growth, especially, as

about his disappointment and how his decision making in that race won't set him back in the lead up to tokyo 2020. ijust ran i just ran scared. ijust ran scared. knowing that i was the favourite. my training partner was on the outside and i knew i had to get off the bend in