Detecting language using up to the first 30 seconds. Use `--language` to specify the language Detected language: English [00:00.000 --> 00:04.720] in the breeze. And the breeze gets stronger through Monday night into Tuesday. A significant [00:04.720 --> 00:09.080] strength in other winds linked into this deepening area of low pressure. Another stormy low. [00:09.080 --> 00:12.920] We've seen some over the past few weeks. Another one to come through Monday night into Tuesday. [00:12.920 --> 00:17.680] Prompting the Met Office to issue an early warning of strong winds across the UK. Fifty [00:17.680 --> 00:21.560] to seventy mile an hour gusts possible quite widely across the country. Even more than [00:21.560 --> 00:26.220] that around the coasts and the hills. We will see heavy rain as well to begin the day, easing [00:26.220 --> 00:30.120] to the south east for the afternoon. Snow then packing into northwest Scotland, but [00:30.120 --> 00:33.560] there will be the risk of some minor flooding from that rain. Temperatures lifting a little [00:33.560 --> 00:38.320] bit. Temperatures will lift further on Wednesday after a chilly start. Dry as bright as for [00:38.320 --> 00:42.320] longest to the south and the east, but more cloud and rain. And hill snow for Scotland [00:42.320 --> 00:47.280] starting to push in from the northwest later. Temperatures are 7 to 10 Celsius. So a topsy-turvy [00:47.280 --> 01:12.280] week of weather. Your five day forecast are online. And there's more later on the news [01:12.280 --> 01:20.300] is extremely tense here right in the heart of Athens. The United Nations World Food Programme [01:20.300 --> 01:25.340] saved 10 million others in this corner of Africa are going to need their help in the [01:25.340 --> 01:29.540] next few months. This is the image of London that has flashed around the world. It was [01:29.540 --> 01:35.340] a day which changed America and the world. One fighter told me that Mama Gaddafi said [01:35.340 --> 01:40.780] to him, what did I do to you? He said he took the decision for the good of the country. [01:40.780 --> 01:46.780] Are we better off outside the hero? You bet we are. Extraordinary events, unparalleled [01:46.780 --> 02:16.540] coverage in 2012. Staying BBC News. You're busy. That's why [02:16.540 --> 02:21.220] renewing your TV license is easy. Visit tvlicensing.co.uk. [03:16.540 --> 03:28.620] The final countdown begins for London 2012. But there's a new warning about betting syndicates. [03:28.620 --> 03:32.980] Celebrations as the Olympic year gets underway. But the government says it's concerned about [03:32.980 --> 03:37.580] those who want to spoil the party. I'm very worried about it. And it's not just me. The [03:37.580 --> 03:41.900] President of the International Olympic Committee thinks that this is the biggest threat facing [03:41.900 --> 03:46.620] sport this year. Also tonight, grim tidings. Europe's leaders [03:46.620 --> 03:52.020] warned 2012 will be even more difficult than last year. But insist the Eurozone will emerge [03:52.020 --> 03:58.300] from the economic crisis. Plans to make subletting council houses a criminal offence. Tenants [03:58.300 --> 04:03.460] who rent out their homes could face jail. The Duke of Edinburgh walks to church to join [04:03.460 --> 04:13.020] the other royals for a new year's day service. And Sunderland snatch it with a last gasp [04:13.020 --> 04:31.700] goal against league leaders, Manchester City. Good evening. Events have taken place today [04:31.700 --> 04:36.780] to mark the start of the Olympic year. The chairman of London 2012, Lord Co, said the [04:36.780 --> 04:41.860] Games would show that Britain was open for business. But the dangers ahead were highlighted [04:41.860 --> 04:46.740] by the Olympic's minister. He warned that betting syndicates are aiming to fix the outcome [04:46.740 --> 04:51.460] of competitions. Our sports correspondent, James Pierce, is in London's Trafalgar Square [04:51.460 --> 04:57.660] now, James. Good evening. This countdown clock seems to hold special significance this [04:57.660 --> 05:04.460] evening. 208 days to go, but one wait is over. Here we are now in 2012. Today there have been [05:04.460 --> 05:09.420] special celebrations on this part of London, Olympic theme with the Lord Mayor's New Year [05:09.420 --> 05:16.620] Parade. I should warn you that this report contains some flash photography. The dawn [05:16.620 --> 05:22.500] of a new year over London's Olympic Stadium. 2012, the year for which all of this has been [05:22.500 --> 05:30.540] built. In the centre of the city, the annual New Year's parade with an Olympic theme as [05:30.540 --> 05:36.500] a build-up to the Games intensifies. Economically, the coming months carry uncertainty, but the [05:36.500 --> 05:43.660] message from London 2012 is that the party's spirit mustn't be dampened. This is a country [05:43.660 --> 05:49.180] that is open for business and we need to use every opportunity we can off the back of the [05:49.180 --> 05:57.940] Games to showcase the fantastic creativity, our fantastic businesses, our artistic endeavour, [05:57.940 --> 06:04.380] our sporting endeavour and most crucially what we are as a nation. But many challenges [06:04.380 --> 06:09.660] still remain. In November, three Pakistani cricketers were jailed for their involvement [06:09.660 --> 06:15.180] in a betting plot. Today the sports minister warned about the risk of a similar scandal [06:15.180 --> 06:20.780] at the Olympics. It absolutely is a possibility and the real danger lies in spot fixing. Just [06:20.780 --> 06:25.700] consider how easy it is to bet on something like the first short corner in a hockey game, [06:25.700 --> 06:30.960] any team sport you can bet on an individual action or a current. So you look at the number [06:30.960 --> 06:38.100] of team sports that there are in the Olympics and the real threat becomes very obvious. [06:38.100 --> 06:43.060] This being London, one of the other great unpredictables is the weather. Those taking [06:43.060 --> 06:49.980] part in today's parade got soaked. Not that that deterred one Olympic champion who's hoping [06:49.980 --> 06:55.140] that by August he'll have another medal to hold alongside his gold from Beijing. [06:55.140 --> 06:59.660] I think what's most exciting about 2012 is not the fact that we can necessarily go and [06:59.660 --> 07:04.700] win grand medals but the amount of enthusiasm that the country has for the Olympics. We've [07:04.700 --> 07:09.100] been competing for this Olympics for years but it's really exciting to see the country [07:09.100 --> 07:13.900] sort of almost wake up and have that moment of revelation. The fact that 2012 is the Olympic [07:13.900 --> 07:17.700] year and we as a country are going to celebrate it and come away with some fantastic gold medals [07:17.700 --> 07:25.220] to do. The venues are almost ready. The year is here. The London Olympics suddenly feel [07:25.220 --> 07:32.060] very close. The organisers will hope that when that countdown clock gets to zero the [07:32.060 --> 07:36.020] weather is going to be very different than it has been today. We've had torrential rain [07:36.020 --> 07:40.140] throughout the afternoon but the organisers have done a good job so far getting us to [07:40.140 --> 07:44.100] where we are at the start of 2012 with all those venues pretty much ready for action [07:44.100 --> 07:48.740] but as the sports minister has highlighted there are still some very big issues to be [07:48.740 --> 07:55.220] faced before the games can begin. James thank you very much. Eurozone leaders have given [07:55.220 --> 08:00.860] a gloomy assessment of the year ahead. Exactly ten years after Euro coins and banknotes first [08:00.860 --> 08:05.620] went into circulation. The French President Nicolas Socozzi warned that the worst economic [08:05.620 --> 08:11.740] crisis since the Second World War would continue to hurt households in 2012 while Angela Merkel [08:11.740 --> 08:16.260] said that for millions of Germans this year would be more difficult than last. Stephen [08:16.260 --> 08:23.380] Evans reports from Berlin. Nobody's crying for 2011. The year of riots in Greece has [08:23.380 --> 08:29.020] belts got tighter and tighter and friends fell out as Euro tensions got tougher and [08:29.020 --> 08:40.460] suffer and leaders got shunted out as voters got less and less patient. So welcome 2012 [08:40.460 --> 08:46.860] with fireworks over the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and the annual message to her people [08:46.860 --> 08:54.220] from Chancellor Merkel. She did not promise a happy new year. Europa wächst in der Krise [08:54.220 --> 08:59.580] zusammen. Europe is growing together in the crisis. The path to overcoming this remains [08:59.580 --> 09:05.140] long and won't be free from setbacks. But at the end of it Europe will emerge stronger [09:05.140 --> 09:14.060] from the crisis than it went into it. And in Paris the fireworks were subdued but a [09:14.060 --> 09:20.020] new year's glow shone over the Eiffel Tower. A glow in the gloom of the message from the [09:20.020 --> 09:29.140] president. We have to be courageous and we have to be lucid. What's happening in the [09:29.140 --> 09:35.660] world announces that 2012 will be a year full of risks but also full of possibilities. Full [09:35.660 --> 09:42.220] of hope if we know how to face the challenges. Full of dangers if we stand still. There is [09:42.220 --> 09:48.500] a new year ritual in Germany. Everybody watches a remake of an old British comedy about a [09:48.500 --> 09:54.740] Dutchess and her butler. This year there was a twist. A spoof with Chancellor Merkel and [09:54.740 --> 10:09.860] President Sarkozy. In real life they are now linked together to save the Euro. They meet [10:09.860 --> 10:17.420] again in a few days time to try to agree on greater integration of Euro's own policies. [10:17.420 --> 10:22.860] In here in Germany Europe's strongest economy the forecasts are for growth not much more [10:22.860 --> 10:29.620] than zero. Throughout the rest of Europe it may well be recession. 2012 does not promise [10:29.620 --> 10:37.700] to be better than 2011. Germans take to the icy water in another new year ritual. Their [10:37.700 --> 10:43.500] government is not promising any warm up of the economy. Quite the contrary. And that's [10:43.500 --> 10:52.780] bad news for every economy in Europe. Stephen Evans, BBC News, Berlin. A soldier killed in [10:52.780 --> 10:57.500] an explosion in Afghanistan was named today as Private John King from First Battalion [10:57.500 --> 11:02.340] the Yorkshire Regiment. Private King who was 19 and from Darlington was killed in a blast [11:02.340 --> 11:09.900] in the Aesiraj district of Helmand province on Friday. Council tenants who sublet their [11:09.900 --> 11:14.580] homes for money will face prosecution and could be jailed under new government plans for England [11:14.580 --> 11:19.300] and Wales. Higher earners may also be forced to pay the market rate for living in their [11:19.300 --> 11:26.940] council property in proposals outlined today. Political correspondent Vicky Young reports. [11:26.940 --> 11:31.780] Their pocketing money at the taxpayers expense. That's what ministers think of council tenants [11:31.780 --> 11:38.100] who sublet their property. Around 160,000 tenants move out and take up to a thousand [11:38.100 --> 11:43.340] pounds a week in rent from someone else. The government says it's a form of fraud to profit [11:43.340 --> 11:47.700] from accommodation that's no longer needed. And they're promising to change the law to [11:47.700 --> 11:53.420] make it a criminal offence. It's not fair, it's not right. Hardworking taxpayers pay [11:53.420 --> 11:58.180] billions of pounds to build social housing. It should go to the people who really need [11:58.180 --> 12:02.660] it, not people who are committing that kind of fraud and abuse. Many local authorities [12:02.660 --> 12:07.380] already tell their tenants not to sublet. But often the worst penalty they face is [12:07.380 --> 12:13.300] losing the property. In future they could go to jail. Around 8 million people in England [12:13.300 --> 12:18.220] and Wales live in a home owned either by the council or a housing association. But there's [12:18.220 --> 12:24.260] a lengthy waiting list too, with almost 2 million families hoping to be housed. Ministers [12:24.260 --> 12:29.580] believe that making subletting illegal is one way to try and provide council homes for those [12:29.580 --> 12:35.380] who really need them. The government is also considering allowing councils to raise rents [12:35.380 --> 12:41.660] for high earning tenants. Those with an income over £100,000 may have to pay more, although [12:41.660 --> 12:48.220] only 6,000 people are likely to be affected. But leavers say these measures won't do anything [12:48.220 --> 12:54.100] to tackle a far deeper problem. The reality is the housing crisis is only going to be [12:54.100 --> 12:59.660] solved by building new affordable houses and grant shafts as housing minister should stop [12:59.660 --> 13:05.980] re-announcing things aren't going to make an immediate big difference and get on with building new houses. [13:05.980 --> 13:10.580] The government will consult on its proposals soon but the housing charity shelter has called [13:10.580 --> 13:16.300] for bigger and bolder solutions, not more tweaks to social housing policy. Vicki Young, BBC [13:16.300 --> 13:19.900] News. The Archbishop of Canterbury has said in his [13:19.900 --> 13:25.860] new year message that society is letting down young people. Dr Roan Williams says the suspicion [13:25.860 --> 13:32.180] and negativity shown towards young people is driving them into unhappiness and anxiety. [13:32.180 --> 13:38.620] He said last August riots in England were part of a much bigger and more serious problem. [13:38.620 --> 13:43.420] Iran has test fired a new medium range missile during naval exercises close to the Strait [13:43.420 --> 13:48.180] of Hormuz, one of the world's busiest shipping routes for transporting oil. The announcement [13:48.180 --> 13:53.300] of the test firing was followed shortly afterwards by Tehran saying it has successfully tested [13:53.300 --> 13:59.220] a nuclear fuel rod made from uranium enriched from within Iran for the first time. Nick [13:59.220 --> 14:05.700] Childs reports. Iran's naval forces show off their firepower, [14:05.700 --> 14:10.740] maneuvers at sea that look like a repost to western diplomatic maneuvers to tighten sanctions [14:10.740 --> 14:18.260] on Iran over its suspected nuclear ambitions. This naval commander says Iran is able to defend [14:18.260 --> 14:24.260] all its coastline and hit any target at any time it chooses. In the midst of ten days [14:24.260 --> 14:29.340] of exercises, it warned last week that it would shut the Strait of Hormuz if its own oil exports [14:29.340 --> 14:33.700] were squeezed. It may have backed off those comments later, but it's all a reminder of [14:33.700 --> 14:39.220] the fears for the oil market, fragile western economies and stability in the Gulf. [14:39.220 --> 14:43.500] Iran straddles the narrow Strait of Hormuz, the mouth of the Gulf. The waterway's strategic [14:43.500 --> 14:48.620] significance stems from the fact that it carries more than a third of all oil shipped by sea. [14:48.620 --> 14:53.540] That's one reason the US Navy has the headquarters for its fifth fleet in the Gulf, in Bahrain. [14:53.540 --> 14:57.060] Britain stations a small force of naval mine hunters there too. [14:57.060 --> 15:02.540] The decision to test a missile is simply to engage in some sort of brinksmanship to show [15:02.540 --> 15:07.300] that in the event of any attack they would have retaliatory capabilities, but it's also [15:07.300 --> 15:12.020] a gesture, a way of upping the pressure to make audiences in the West feel they should [15:12.020 --> 15:15.340] stay back. [15:15.340 --> 15:19.620] Iranian television also today proclaimed a new milestone in its nuclear developments, [15:19.620 --> 15:24.780] the production of its first fuel rod with domestically produced uranium. The images were meant to [15:24.780 --> 15:29.900] reinforce its position that its nuclear plans are purely peaceful. It's also hinted it might [15:29.900 --> 15:35.260] be ready to resume negotiations on its nuclear program. But President Obama has just signed [15:35.260 --> 15:40.980] a bill that could tighten US sanctions on Iran, even as the West ponders this mixture of [15:40.980 --> 15:43.140] new messages from Tehran. [15:43.140 --> 15:45.740] Nick Childs, BBC News. [15:45.740 --> 15:48.980] The Duke of Edinburgh has joined the rest of the royal family for the New Year's Day [15:48.980 --> 15:53.660] service at Sandringham. Prince Philip was greeted by hundreds of well-wishers as he walked to [15:53.660 --> 15:58.260] church just a few days after he was released from hospital following surgery for a blocked [15:58.260 --> 16:02.100] artery. Mark Worthington reports. [16:02.100 --> 16:06.220] After more than a week's rest, the Duke of Edinburgh's New Year message was that he's [16:06.220 --> 16:12.540] now firmly back on his feet. Striding as usual at the head of the royal party, he made the [16:12.540 --> 16:19.740] short walk to the morning Sandringham church service to the sound of spontaneous applause. [16:19.740 --> 16:24.660] The hundreds of well-wishers who lined the route far more than normal and all visibly [16:24.660 --> 16:29.940] pleased that just a few days after leaving Papworth Hospital, Prince Philip appeared [16:29.940 --> 16:31.500] to be in good health. [16:31.500 --> 16:36.260] As he came up, people were clapping and genuinely pleased and were all excited saying he's here, [16:36.260 --> 16:38.580] he's here, so yeah, I think everyone was really pleased to see him. [16:38.580 --> 16:43.660] I'd like to think I looked as good when I'm 91, but yeah, he looked good, yeah. [16:43.660 --> 16:47.620] A very well-looking Prince Philip, yes, he looked really well and it was nice to see [16:47.620 --> 16:50.300] him out walking. [16:50.300 --> 16:54.780] After the service, the Duke of Edinburgh emerged from the church to be greeted once [16:54.780 --> 17:05.300] more by applause. It was a show of support, he clearly appreciated. [17:05.300 --> 17:10.300] The Queen may have made the journey to and from church by car, but by arriving and leaving [17:10.300 --> 17:15.340] under his own steam, Prince Philip was sending a clear message that his Christmas health [17:15.340 --> 17:19.020] scare is behind him. [17:19.020 --> 17:25.340] And the whole royal family can now look ahead to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee year. [17:25.340 --> 17:28.900] Mark Worthington, BBC News, Sandro. [17:28.900 --> 17:33.300] Onto football, Manchester City still lead the Premier League, but only on goal difference [17:33.300 --> 17:39.020] after suffering a shock defeat against Sunderland. Joe Wilson, watch the action. [17:39.020 --> 17:43.340] For Mancini's Man City, 2012 promises the Premier League title, it's simple enough [17:43.340 --> 17:48.500] to say. Manchester United's defeat to Blackburn was a reminder of the dangers that lurk [17:48.500 --> 17:52.700] throughout the league, and here rejuvenated Sunderland should have opened the scoring [17:52.700 --> 17:56.780] after two minutes, Nicholas Bentner, the squanderer. [17:56.780 --> 18:01.620] City rested their star forwards, well, some of them, there was still Edin Jekyll, thwarted [18:01.620 --> 18:08.340] by Sunderland's keeper, the masked minulee, with recently fractured nose and eye socket. [18:08.340 --> 18:14.420] Stale mate Mancini added sparkle from the substitutes, Aguero and Silva both on, no change. [18:14.420 --> 18:19.660] City dominated possession, but time and time again, Sunderland kept them out with organisation [18:19.660 --> 18:25.260] bravery and a bit of good luck. A goal of straw seemed well-earned until the third minute [18:25.260 --> 18:32.700] of injury time at a young South Korean called G-Dong Won. Possibly offside, no-one cared [18:32.700 --> 18:39.540] in Sunderland. Teams managed by Martin O'Neill never give up, as Man City have just discovered. [18:39.540 --> 18:42.460] Joe Wilson, BBC News. [18:42.460 --> 18:47.860] Everton climbed into the top half of the Premier League table after a 1-0 win at West Brom. [18:47.860 --> 18:52.540] With just three minutes of the game left, substitute Victor Anchebi, playing his first [18:52.540 --> 18:57.460] game since August because of injury, pounced on some poor defensive work to score from [18:57.460 --> 19:04.660] close range. In rugby's Aviva Premier ship, struggling Bath beat London Irish by 33 points [19:04.660 --> 19:09.860] to three. The pick of the tries for the home side came in the 58th minute when they ran [19:09.860 --> 19:15.220] the ball from inside their own 22. It was South Africa's scrum half Michael Klassens. [19:15.220 --> 19:21.380] We finished off the move by going over in the corner. [19:21.380 --> 19:25.940] As we've heard today marks the start of a big year for Britain and it began with a spectacular [19:25.940 --> 19:31.740] fireworks display in London, the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games. The display featured [19:31.740 --> 19:37.740] 12,000 fireworks, producing some 50,000 projectiles and lasted nearly a quarter of an hour. [19:37.740 --> 19:44.180] Theresa Baldini takes another look. [19:44.180 --> 19:49.780] Big Ben chimed in the new year in London, leading a magnificent fireworks display for which [19:49.780 --> 19:57.980] thousands have gathered along the banks of the Thames. [19:57.980 --> 20:02.940] The fireworks at Edinburgh Castle saw the longest ever midnight display put on for the [20:02.940 --> 20:12.420] Hogmanay celebrations. Across the pond in New York, Lady Gaga was at the centre of proceedings [20:12.420 --> 20:22.260] in Times Square with Mayor Michael Bloomberg. [20:22.260 --> 20:28.380] The celebration in Moscow was more muted but Red Square lit up by fireworks was a breathtaking [20:28.380 --> 20:34.180] spectacle as ever. It was cold there but in Brazil it was wet, though the heavy rains [20:34.180 --> 20:43.820] didn't put off 2 million people from seeing in the new year on Copacabana beach in Rio. [20:43.820 --> 20:48.700] Back in London it was wet too but that didn't dampen the celebrations which were welcoming [20:48.700 --> 20:58.860] in not just another new year but the Olympic year with a bang. [20:58.860 --> 21:03.500] Happy New Year to you. I'll be back with more from the newsroom at 10 past 10. Now on BBC [21:03.500 --> 21:14.300] One it's time to join our news teams where you are. [21:14.300 --> 21:17.660] Hello, good evening. You're watching BBC News with me, Anita McVey and let's get a little [21:17.660 --> 21:24.660] more on the Olympic Games. We're just 208 days away from the opening ceremony and our [21:24.660 --> 21:28.740] sports news correspondent James Pierce has been in Trafalgar Square where the New Year's [21:28.740 --> 21:32.500] Day Parade has been taking place with an Olympic theme. [21:32.500 --> 21:38.660] Behind me you can see the countdown clock, just 208 days to go. Here in Trafalgar Square [21:38.660 --> 21:43.700] in 2005 many people gathered to watch the announcement that London was going to be the host city [21:43.700 --> 21:48.620] for those 2012 games. It seemed so far away at the time but here it is. I'm delighted to [21:48.620 --> 21:52.500] say alongside us we have an Olympic gold medalist, hopefully a two times gold medalist by the [21:52.500 --> 21:57.020] end of this year and his fiancee, Fliss, thank you very much for joining us and to say that [21:57.020 --> 22:00.020] medals were awarded today, you should get one, you've come all the way from Oxfordshire [22:00.020 --> 22:06.500] just for this but here's a medal that really matters, your Beijing medal. Try and put into [22:06.500 --> 22:11.260] words what it feels like as a British athlete to wake up and look at the calendar and see [22:11.260 --> 22:16.420] that it really is 2012. Well you know what, it didn't really hit me until we saw the fireworks [22:16.420 --> 22:20.020] going off last night, we sat home watching the TV and we saw those fireworks going off [22:20.020 --> 22:24.100] the eye and they saw the Olympic theme to them and you just realised that there's only as [22:24.100 --> 22:27.940] you said 208 days to go and time to really get cracking with some training. Does that [22:27.940 --> 22:31.980] actually feel different this morning being in Olympic year? I really hope it's not raining [22:31.980 --> 22:35.420] like this in August, I'll tell you that but no it feels really special. We used the water [22:35.420 --> 22:38.980] being in a rowing boat anyway. Yeah, we used the water but hopefully it won't be coming [22:38.980 --> 22:45.820] down from the sky. What do you now have to do? Obviously the days get closer and closer, [22:45.820 --> 22:49.700] is it just a matter of training and training or is there a lot of mental work to be done? [22:49.700 --> 22:55.100] What's the secret to success now? The secret for us is going to be real consistency, we [22:55.100 --> 23:00.740] know we can be good, we've won the last world championships and for us it's about putting [23:00.740 --> 23:05.180] in the right work at the right time and making sure whatever we do is really effective and [23:05.180 --> 23:08.900] it's not going to go too much to the wrong way. Let's talk more in a moment but let's [23:08.900 --> 23:13.100] introduce Fliss as well. You're getting married in August this year? That's right, two weeks [23:13.100 --> 23:17.620] after the Olympics finish which is great planning. What's it like being engaged with someone [23:17.620 --> 23:22.020] who's focussed probably isn't on the wedding right now? Well, I'll let him off, I'll let [23:22.020 --> 23:25.300] him off I think. He's got a lot of work to do and I'm happy to be doing most of the [23:25.300 --> 23:28.740] planning whilst he's away and on training camps it's fine by me. Do you find yourself [23:28.740 --> 23:33.300] a bit of a sporting widow at the moment? Yeah, I think as that goes away in another four [23:33.300 --> 23:37.500] days time on a three week training camp that will be hard as always but you sort of get [23:37.500 --> 23:41.460] used to it. We've kind of got used to it by now haven't we and it's been sort of six [23:41.460 --> 23:46.980] years of the same routine now so yeah, I'm really excited. The key question for you Zach [23:46.980 --> 23:52.620] is are you going to do it? You've done it once with your partner Mark Hunter. Confident [23:52.620 --> 23:55.900] you can do it again this year? I think that with the form we've shown in the last few [23:55.900 --> 23:59.900] years then if things go right then there shouldn't be any reason why the opportunity doesn't [23:59.900 --> 24:03.580] represent itself in a good way. Obviously there's a lot of stuff to do between now and [24:03.580 --> 24:07.260] then injury and illness permitting we should come out on top. And rowing really perhaps [24:07.260 --> 24:11.340] should be the strongest sport for Team GB. We have a fantastic tradition in sport you [24:11.340 --> 24:15.100] know, throughout the years we are the only sport that's come out with the gold medal [24:15.100 --> 24:19.500] at every single Olympics the last two times so it's really exciting to be part of that [24:19.500 --> 24:22.860] and that history really spurs us on. We can be sitting down on the start line knowing [24:22.860 --> 24:28.340] that we are part of not only a very successful team within Team GB but a very successful [24:28.340 --> 24:31.860] rowing team as part of that and it's really inspiring to be part of that team. I don't [24:31.860 --> 24:34.700] spend too much time looking at the clock behind you because I tell you what it's going down [24:34.700 --> 24:37.860] all the time. It's getting close but thanks so much for joining us. You've done a much [24:37.860 --> 24:42.980] better job than me of keeping your hair dry as well so from one Olympic gold medalist [24:42.980 --> 24:47.220] back to you in the studio. James Pierce there in a very wet Trafalgar square let's check [24:47.220 --> 24:52.020] out the rest of the weather forecast now that's with Matt Taylor. Hello there persistent rain [24:52.020 --> 24:56.060] we've seen across eastern areas this afternoon we'll clear through and as it goes we introduce [24:56.060 --> 25:01.300] much colder air across the whole of the UK. Now that colder air comes with some showers [25:01.300 --> 25:05.900] that colder air chasing away the persistent rain we've seen in the east quite quickly [25:05.900 --> 25:09.420] but eastern areas do become dry and clear for a time but it's in the west the showers [25:09.420 --> 25:13.940] will continue and for north west singlin northern Ireland and Scotland they'll become increasingly [25:13.940 --> 25:18.700] wintry. For all temperatures very close to freezing much colder than recent nights frost [25:18.700 --> 25:22.900] and where the ground is damp a risk of ice that is more of a significant risk for north [25:22.900 --> 25:26.100] west singlin, Scotland and northern Ireland where there will be wintry showers throughout [25:26.100 --> 25:30.100] the day tomorrow. North west singlin northern Ireland rain and sleet, Scotland sleet and [25:30.100 --> 25:34.380] snow even to lower levels mainly rain across southern counties of England during the morning [25:34.380 --> 25:38.100] but they will gradually clear through I think for the most part. Eastern areas generally [25:38.100 --> 25:42.500] drier and brighter than the west where the showers will continue through the day but [25:42.500 --> 25:47.580] for all it will be a much colder day particularly in the breeze 4 to 7 Celsius at best. Turn [25:47.580 --> 25:54.580] the story on Tuesday more details on that online and then half an hour. [26:17.580 --> 26:30.420] Hello and a very good evening to you this is BBC News with me Anita McVeigh the summary [26:30.420 --> 26:35.300] of our main stories now at almost half past five. Events have taken place across London [26:35.300 --> 26:41.260] today to mark the start of the Olympic year. The chairman of London 2012 Lord Coe said the [26:41.260 --> 26:45.620] games would show that Britain was open for business. However there was a warning from [26:45.620 --> 26:50.940] Olympic minister Hugh Robertson who's described event fixing by betting syndicates as the [26:50.940 --> 26:58.260] biggest threat to the 2012 games. European leaders have given a somber assessment of [26:58.260 --> 27:02.820] the financial prospects for the year ahead. President Sarkozy said the Eurozone debt [27:02.820 --> 27:07.700] crisis was not yet finished while the German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe was [27:07.700 --> 27:14.620] experiencing its most severe test in decades. Here council tenants who subled their homes [27:14.620 --> 27:19.500] could face prosecution under proposals to be set out by the government. Tenants on high [27:19.500 --> 27:24.740] wages may also have to pay market rates for their homes or face eviction. It's estimated [27:24.740 --> 27:32.220] that up to 6,000 people living in social housing have incomes of more than 100,000 pounds. [27:32.220 --> 27:37.220] A British soldier killed in an explosion in Afghanistan on Friday has been named by the [27:37.220 --> 27:42.860] Ministry of Defence as 19 year old Private John King. The serviceman from 1st Battalion [27:42.860 --> 27:50.980] the Yorkshire Regiment was killed in an explosion in the Nare Siraj district of Helmand province. [27:50.980 --> 27:55.420] Hundreds of well-wishers gathered at Sandringham earlier to see Prince Philip make his first [27:55.420 --> 28:00.060] public appearance since having surgery on a blocked artery just before Christmas. The [28:00.060 --> 28:07.540] Duke of Edinburgh joined the rest of the royal family for a New Year's Day church service. [28:07.540 --> 28:11.900] More from me at six o'clock but right now it's world Olympic dreams Matthew Pinscent [28:11.900 --> 28:16.020] meets young athletes from around the world aiming to make it to London 2012. [28:41.900 --> 28:53.060] Welcome to world Olympic dreams the series that follows 26 athletes from all across the [28:53.060 --> 28:59.540] globe in their preparations for the London Olympics. This is Lords and the long room [28:59.540 --> 29:07.420] the home of cricket and it's through these doors that players walk on their way to bat. [29:07.420 --> 29:13.220] It has been played here since 1814 but this week old Father Time is looking down on the [29:13.220 --> 29:20.300] world's best archers as they compete in a London archery classic. [29:20.300 --> 29:25.460] It's an official test event for London 2012 giving around a hundred of the world's top [29:25.460 --> 29:31.380] archers the perfect chance to acclimatise to conditions here in central London and hopefully [29:31.380 --> 29:41.140] I'll be able to have a go myself. Also coming up in this edition of world Olympic dreams [29:41.140 --> 29:47.140] my Linda Calmendi a judo fighter whose Olympic aspirations are threatened by political wranglings [29:47.140 --> 29:54.780] in the former Yugoslavia. From the war ravaged banks of Baghdad's River Tigris to the idyllic [29:54.780 --> 30:02.540] calm of Lake Bled in Slovenia. Iraqi rower Haida Rashid tells me about.