At least 10 people have died after a man intentionally drove into a large crowd in New Orleans and then began firing a weapon, according to police; they said the attacker was "hell-bent on carnage". Also in the programme: Russian gas has stopped flowing into the European Union through Ukraine after President Zelensky refused to renew transit agreements; and.the children from Gaza finally reunited with their families. (Photo shows police cars attending the scene on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. on 1 January 2025. Credit: ABC Affiliate WGNO via Reuters)
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK hello and welcome to NewsHour from the BBC World Service.
We're coming to you live from London.
I'm James Menendez.
And we're going to start with that developing story out of New Orleans.
In the US at least 10 people have been killed and more than three times that number injured after a vehicle drove into a crowd celebrating New Year.
And in the heart of the city's historic French Quarter, the incident happened just after three in the morning local time around Bourbon street and Canal Street.
Police say the driver plowed into the crowd at speed and then opened fire with police officers among the injured.
This man was working in a nearby hotel when the attack took place.
A little bit before 3:20 this morning, we heard loud banging sounds coming up.
We were in our room just pretty much closing down for the evening after the end of all the events and everything.
And when we looked out the window, we noticed there was a lot of bodies laying on the ground.
Truck was speeding away, immediately ran downstairs to see if there was some people that can help out.
And unfortunately, some people did perish during that event.
There were some people we pulled into the hotel for assistance, and it was just, you know, the scene was just horrific.
The mayor of New Orleans, Latoya Cantrell, urged people to stay away from the scene of the attack.
What I'm asking at this time are prayers for those who have lost their lives in the city of New Orleans due to this tragedy.
In addition to that, I'm asking the public to stay clear of eight blocks around Bourbon Street.
Stay clear from Bourbon street, eight blocks around, very active.
And again, a unified command is in place right now.
Well, we can talk now to the BBC's Rowan Bridge, who's following the story from Washington.