this is bbc news. the headlines: the imperial senate will not stand for this. the actress carrie fisher, best known for playing the princess leia in the star wars films, has died aged 60. she was taken ill last week. carrie fisher's co—star mark hamill, who played luke skywalker, tweets to say he's devastated, adding: "there are no words." ministers reject criticism that plans to require voters to show id at polling stations are a "sledgehammer to crack a nut". the author of watership down, richard adams, has died peacefully aged 96, his family has announced. japan's leader is at pearl harbour ahead of an historic visit, when he and president obama will pay their respects together. i'll be looking back at a diverse

yearin i'll be looking back at a diverse year infilm. i'll be looking back at a diverse year in film. that's reviewed 2016, the year in film. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the star wars actress carrie fisher has died. she became ill several days ago on a flight from london to los angeles. she was 60. lizo mzimba looks back at her life. what the hell are you doing? somebody has to save our skins. clever and confident, occasionally caustic. i take orders from just one person, me. it's a wonder you're still alive. will somebody get this walking carpet out of many i way? carrie fisher's leia wasn't your typical princess

waiting to be rescued. her most famous character was outspoken on screen. i should have expected to find you holding vader's leash. i recognised your foul stench when i was brought on board. carrie fisher was often equally plain speaking in real life, sharing details of her volatile relationship with her mother, screen legend debbie reynolds, and her own struggles with addiction. people used to ask me, right after i got sober initially, so are you happy now? i would say among other things, happy is one of the many things, the many emotions i'll go through in a day. you're notjust skipping around, spouting hallmark cards, but you know, yeah, i'm in a much better place. somehow you lay the entire blame for your drug taking on me. i do not, mother. the film postcards from the edge was based on carrie fisher's semi—autobiographical novel of the same name. the central character — an actress and recovering drug addict —

played by meryl streep. fisher was a teenager when she made her cinema debut, opposite warren beattie in a romantic comedy shampoo, before star wards made her one of the most famous faces. throughout her career, she continued working behind the camera, often as a script doctor, as well as in smaller roles in front of the camera, in movies like when harry met sally. restaurants were to people in the ‘80s what theatre was to people in the ‘60s. in 2015 she reprised her role as princess leia in star wars: the force awakens. that's how millions will remember her — a groundbreaking, modern heroine from a galaxy far, far away. carrie fisher, who has died at the

age of 60. joining me now via webcam is steve sansweet, who is the ceo of the star wars memorabilia collection, rancho obi wan, and who worked with carrie fisher when he was head of fan relations at lucasfilm. thank you so much for it being with us. thank you so much for it being with us. how important do you think she was to the star wars movies, the star wars brand? well, she was certainly vital to the star wars movie. she was not —— the princess who was not in distress. star wars was a first in some anyways, and one of those ways was having carrie fisher as the strong woman, the woman who sort of lead the rebellion ina woman who sort of lead the rebellion in a way. but it was more than that. it was her approach to fans over the yea rs. it was her approach to fans over the years. many thousands of fans had met her, had seen her in her live shows. and she was always generous and warm. and was almost, she was

pa rt and warm. and was almost, she was part of the family. you know how people see actors on tv and they approached them in public and it's like, i know you? it was more than that with carrie, because she really was there in person. at hundreds of fan conventions all over the world, plus her show. she was one of a kind. she was so young when she started ? kind. she was so young when she started? 19 years old. she always had funny stories. she continued with those stories. even our latest book, the big scandal about her affair with harrison ford, which really was no big shock. that story sort of had leaked out there over the years. but here is carrie mining some more of her past memories and sharing it with fans. she was always goofy and funny. i can remember one particular time when she really came

together. she was behind the stage, this was a big performance at one of oui’ this was a big performance at one of oursan this was a big performance at one of our san diego international events. there were 6000 people in the room, i was the moderator. carrie comes in. we were promoting a dvd set. she came in carrying a shopping bag and she looks like she is 97 years old. and i thought, she's never going to make it on stage on time. i start to introduce her. i see she is working her way up the ramp towards the stage. as soon as i announced her name, it was as if the adrenaline coursed through her body. she came out, she got the applause and she made it through the nightly day. perfect. she was such a star. born into a hollywood acting dynasty. and

at the same time she was a very troubled soul? she was. and she was very open about that. that endeared her to millions of star wars fans even more. she was open about her addictions. she was open about her mental problems. she would say during her one—woman show, now i may have to get fed lines from offstage, because i do undergo electroshock once a month and it does have a way sometimes unscrewing me up a little, but i'm in the best shape i have ever been. we all loved carrie. she was really such a light in our galaxy as well as someone who was... she was famous but approachable. that is a lovely way of putting it. thank you for sharing your memories. the head of fan relations at lucasfilm and new carrie fisher for

many years. thank you. 0ur correspondent, peter bowes, is in la for us. peter, she made such a mark. she was such a big star in hollywood? she made a huge mark. you only have to look at social media right now to see the thoughts yes of her fellow actors, famous people paying tribute, but ordinary fans as well around the world. this really has hit people hard. we had an inkling that something like this might happen because we knew from friday that he had apparently suffered a massive heart attack and was seemingly fighting for her life in hospital. but nevertheless, she was only 60 years old. she really touched the hearts of some need people through of course being princess leia in those original movies, those original star wars films back in the 1970s, the trilogy. but then the most recent films as well. that is why we are

seeing this outpouring from summoning people, young and old, across many generations, that she had found a new fan base and a new respect for her work. some need talents, acting and writing, and riding so honestly about herself? —— so riding so honestly about herself? —— so many talents. yes, and that is what people here have been talking about and have been over the weekend. she was a hugely talented writer and often did not get the credit for the writing work she did. she didn't want the credit. she worked at adapting other people's screenplays, maybe to eat them or rewrote them. she was effectively working as a ghost writer. she was hugely talented. writing on her own behalf as well, all of those books. her latest was her age. 0ften talking in personal detail about herself and the demons she has battled. these problems spanned many yea rs, battled. these problems spanned many years, drugs and drink and

depression. she saw herself as a mental health advocate. she wanted to help other people through her own experiences. she was very eloquent, passionate, self—deprecating. sometimes in her tumour she saw the funny side. you always knew when you saw carrie fisher on a red carpet, she wasn't an ordinary celebrity. she was someone fans felt was approachable. she was almost living the dream on your behalf. thank you, peter. a little earlier, hollywood journalist jeanie wolf shared her personal memories of carrie fisher with us. this is one of the first times i have ever thought of someone i deeply cared for and wanted to cry but also, even more importantly, wa nted but also, even more importantly, wanted to say something hilariously funny and witty because that is what she would have done. i have been to carry‘s home, i knew her motherfor

many years. carrie said, sure, i will always be known as princess leia. but think of this, my mother, debbie reynolds, will always be known as tammy! she didn't want to be an actress and that is how she became one! she told me one of great lessons in life was writing a movie her mother, elizabeth taylor and shirley maclaine, and how these old broads, how they faced, in a fictional movie, how they faced all the things they had been through and made friends. she said she learned from those women and learned from her mother that the motto always has to be, go for it. go for it in love, evenif to be, go for it. go for it in love, even if you fail. go for it on the page. sometimes you make it, sometimes you don't. she told me she had finally, go to the realisation

that you can't have it all at once so that you can't have it all at once so you have to step back and what —— think of what you're grateful for. number one, she was grateful that her entire family was fun and funny. ifi her entire family was fun and funny. if i had gone through all of the things that i had gone through with mental health and romance, and having a wonderful daughter, and i hadn't been funny, i would have missed it all. i want to be grateful that i had a family. i didn't have a normal upbringing, she would say. nothing like it. my life was eccentric from the beginning, but my mother was a mummy and my mother took care of me. and she was so proud that her daughter was starting to act. 0ver proud that her daughter was starting to act. over the weekend i went to see the new star wars. i don't want to tell exactly what happens, but let mejust to tell exactly what happens, but let me just say that carry appears briefly in the movie. and since people had heard the news about what was going on with her, you could

feel the emotion in the theatre. young people, older people, then i got teary and worried about her. she was a great broad. i think carrie was a great broad. i think carrie was most proud of the fact that she had gotten herself together and that she had been through, she talked about being in a mental hospital being the lowest point of her life and that she helped other people. i think she also was proud that her mother divorced from eddie fisher. there was bitterness. carry‘s daughter's father is one of the most famous agents in town. when she and brian worked together, carrie was determined that the girls would have a family. they stayed friends. they spent holidays together. she said

she also wanted to be a mummy to her daughter. she was very proud of that. she was proud of her relationship with her sisters. she remained angry at her dad, eddie fisher, mostly because she said, i write funny thing is, my dad wrote cruel things and that was not right. i think that she would say that she had a very rocky but a very eventful life. she loved the drama. remember, she showed up at a film premiere with her dog? she understood herself very well. she was proud she got things together and created some wonderful moments. jeannie wolf sharing memories of carrie fisher. tributes are flooding in from those who knew and worked with carrie fisher. mark hamill has tweeted a picture of himself with his star wars co—star with simply: "no words — devastated." carrie fisher, who has died at the

age of 60. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages later this evening in the papers. our guests tonight are the parliamentaryjournalist, tony grew, and the political journalist, sean dilley. it's just after quarter past eight. the headlines: tributes are pouring infora the headlines: tributes are pouring in for a carrie fisher, who played princess leia in the star wars movies and who has died aged 60. ministers have rejected criticism that plans to require voters to show id at polling stations are a sledgehammer to crack a nut. and the author of watership down, richard adams, has died peacefully aged 96, according to his family. let's get a full round—up of the sports news now. good evening.

bob bradley has been sacked as manager of swansea city. bradley was appointed in october, as successor to francisco guidolin. swansea have been on a poor run and yesterday lost 4—1 to west ham. they're currently second bottom of the premier league, level on points with bottom place hull after just three wins in 18 games this season. liverpool are up to second after a 4—1win at home to stoke. they're now six points behind chelsea. jack skelton reports. there was just one ticket in town today, the england manager had his. the manchester city boss had his. all assessing liverpool's title credentials. without a world—class goalkeeper some have questioned those credentials. simon mignolet could not prevent jon those credentials. simon mignolet could not preventjon walters giving

stoke the lead. peter crouch used to delight the cop with his goal—scoring. he frustrated them with his goal stopping today. glen johnson's error gifted adam lallana it deserved equaliser. roberto firmino made it 2—1. they continued to get some help putting the ball in the goal. there was little imbula could do but deflect the ball into his own net. ryan shawcross continued the charity. sturridge had not scored all season, he had been on 55 seconds when he scored. six points behind chelsea and their title credentials looked in fine shape. they were brilliant tonight. in our difficult moments he fought against the two centre halves. he created a lot of moments. we need all of them, and especially daniel, of course. in four days there is

another game. hopefully they'll stay healthy and fit. two days later there is another game. definitely enough opportunities for everybody who is fit. hopefully they are all fit. i thought we gave a decent amount account of ourselves. we thought we would try something different. for the most part i thought it was a problem for them. but at key moments of the game you have to defend correctly. we gave too many easy goals away. we gave too many easy goals away. hearts our leading kilmarnock and the scottish premiership. aberdeen beat hamilton academical. in rugby's premiership, harlequins survived a frantic finish to beat gloucester 28—24 in a thrilling match at twickenham. a cagey game came alive in the last half hour, as quins centrejoe marchant scored his second try of the game to put the hosts 28—10 ahead. gloucester struck back soon after with this try from james hook,

before motu matu'u scored from a maul to set up a tense finale. but quins held on to move into the top six. in the pro 12, 0spreys have beaten scarlets 19—9 in a scrappy welsh derby at the liberty stadium. it was a battle of the boot in the first half as scarlets led 9—6 at the break, before this penalty try put the hosts ahead. scarlets penalised for pulling down the maul. the visitors had three men sent to the sin bin in total — wales fly—half dan biggar punishing them with 1a points overall, including this late penalty, as 0spreys move up to second in the table. and trainer colin tizzard has claimed his second major victory in as many days after the favourite native river won the welsh grand national. tizzard's horse thistlecrack claimed the king george yesterday. that's all sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. a little bit more on carrie fisher,

the actress who has died at the age of 60. she shot to stardom as princess leia in star wars. her star wa rs princess leia in star wars. her star wars co—star, our —— harrison ford, has just wars co—star, our —— harrison ford, hasjust paid a wars co—star, our —— harrison ford, has just paid a tribute as well. harrison ford saying she was one of a kind who lived her life bravely. his thoughts are with her daughter, billy, her mother debbie, her brother todd and her many friends. we will all miss her. harrison ford, carrie fisher's star wars co—star, saying she was one of a kind. the government has defended its proposal to make some voters in england show id before casting their ballot, saying it will preserve the integrity of the electoral system against fraud.

trials will be conducted using a range of methods during the 2018 local elections. but critics believe the pilot schemes could deter some people from voting. here's our political correspondent, carole walker. these were the scenes when lutfur rahman was elected mayor of tower hamlets in east london two years ago. the people of this borough, i have said, willjudge me on my record. but he was accused of corruption and illegal practices and thrown out of office amid claims of voter fraud and intimidation. now the government is to try out new plans requiring voters to present photo id or proof of address in some local elections in england in 2018. when it comes to ensuring people from vulnerable backgrounds, vulnerable communities, are given the right to vote, we are determined everyone should have their say and one of the reasons we are bringing this measure in is to make sure nobody faces undue influence or intimidation and that that person has the right to cast their ballot in an election to the person

they are choosing. it follows a review of election rules by the former cabinet minister sir eric pickles. his report said authorities were turning a blind eye to corruption and the worrying and covert spread of electoral fraud. he accused some authorities of a state of denial, failing to tackle alleged vote rigging because of political correctness. he said there was evidence of pressure put on vulnerable people to vote according to the will of elders in some communities of pakistani and bangladeshi background. the government has accepted many of the report's recommendations and says it wants to protect anyone who is at risk of being tricked or bullied out of their democratic rights. though the case here in tower hamlets captured the headlines, there were fewer than 700 allegations of electoral fraud in 2015 — a year in which more than 51 million votes were cast. and just a handful of people were actually convicted.

critics say the government's response is disproportionate and could deter some people from voting. some labour mps believe the government has a hidden agenda. it is a generalisation, but if you accept that more people who do not have a passport, or a driving licence, are likely to be from poorer communities and that people from those communities are more likely to vote labour, then absolutely i think it does disproportionately affect potential labour voters. the evidence shows most elections in the uk are free and fair, but ministers believe they do need to do more to do more to ensure people have confidence in the system and if the trials are successful, all voters may have to show proof of id before they can vote in the next general election. carole walker, bbc news. the author of watership down, richard adams, has died, aged 96. his tale about a family of rabbits was a bestseller and also became a celebrated film.

a statement from his family said he died on christmas eve. nick higham looks back at his life. they seem sad, like trees in november. it became a worldwide bestseller and animated film and made its creator a millionaire. not bad for a story about intrepid rabbits originally devised by a civil servant to entertain his children in the car. watership down was a fantasy, but one as compelling as the classical myths its author loved, and its setting was authentic. richard adams had grown up near the real watership down in hampshire. in one respect, the book is anything but fantastic because the topography and landscape in which it takes place is completely real. this is the country where i was born and where i grew up, and i know it all like the back of my hand, and everything in the story, down to very often individual gates and trees,

is perfectly real. the novel's phenomenal success sent its author into tax exile in the isle of man. he wrote more books. none quite matched the success of watership down, but one grew out of his passion for animal welfare and hatred of vivisection. it was called the plague dogs. it featured animals which escaped from a research laboratory. richard adams became president of the rspca but resigned over a clash over how radical the organisation should be. something has gone wrong with the planet. 0ne species has become so mostly dominant that it is threatening to crowd the others off the face of the earth. it is villainously exploiting and ill—treating other species and many it has destroyed altogether off the face of the earth simply for its own greed. as the years grew by, richard adams became increasingly

eccentric but not before he had created a modern myth with enduring appeal. rescue teams have found the main flight recorder from a russian military plane that crashed into the black sea on sunday. the recorder could help investigators identify the cause of the crash, which is not believed to be terrorism. all 92 people on board died — including many members of a russian army choir. the japanese prime minister, shinzo abe, is in hawaii for an historic visit which will see him pay his respects at the site of the japanese attack on pearl harbour in 19111. in just a few hours, he will be accompanied by the us president barack obama, the first visit by the leaders of both countries since the attack, in which nearly 2,500 americans died. 0ur north america correspondent, laura bicker, reports. archive: we interrupt this programme to bring

you a special news bulletin. the japanese have attacked pearl harbor by air, president roosevelt has just announced. pearl harbor proved to be a deadly turning point in world war ii. as the battleships burned and the bodies of over 2,000 american servicemen were counted, the us declared war onjapan. it has taken 75 years for an enemy to become a close ally. shinzo abe will be the first japanese leader to show such penitence that he'll pray at a memorial in the harbour for the sailors and marines who were killed. there will be no apology. but there will be expressions of regret. japan's neighbour china feels those signs of contrition are not enough and tokyo should mend fences closer to home. translation: japan cannot turn over a new page of history without reconciliation with china and other asian victim countries. the japanese leader should not keep

beating about the bush and evading the crucial point. back in may, barack obama was the first sitting us president to see the site of the hiroshima bomb, a symbol of how important this diplomatic friendship has become. we force ourselves to feel the dread of children confused by what they see. we listen to a silent cry. he has made asia his focus, developing strong trade ties. however, this warm relationship may be about to come to an end. president obama is preparing to leave office and the president—elect has, in the past, questioned aspects of the alliance. i'm going to issue our notification of intent to withdraw from the trans—pacific partnership. donald trump suggested japan should pay to have us troops stationed in the country and consider developing its own nuclear weapons to defend itself from a strengthening north korea. shinzo abe was the first foreign

leader to meet with mr trump. he flew to new york just days after the election. perhaps a sign ofjust how nervous he is, how keen to build trust. the public show of reconciliation and remembrance at pearl harbor comes at yet another turning point for us—japanese relations. by openly facing up to the actions of the past, tokyo's hope is that its western ally will not turn its back on them now. in the pressure on at age 60. —— on the death of carrie fisher. george lucas says carrie and i have been friends for most of our adult lives. she was extremely smart and talented actress and comedienne and writer

with a very couple personality and brotherly love. he also says that in star wars she was