this is bbc news. i'm jane hill. the headlines at three. people aged between a0 and 60 are being urged to drink less alcohol and lose weight, after a warning from public health england that they're facing a ‘health crisis‘. german police have detained a ao—year—old tunisian man in connection with the fatal lorry attack on a berlin christmas market last week. one woman has died and several people are injured, afterfour accidents involving 20 vehicles on the aao in oxfordshire. a search operation is continuing off the kent coast for two crew members missing after a fishing boat capsized last night. also in the next hour, fans and friends pay tribute to the actress and author, carrie fisher. the hollywood star, best known for her role as princess leia, has died at the age of 60 after suffering a cardiac arrest. and in half an hour i will be

looking back at a momentous year in science, one that saw tim peake return to earth at their six month stay in space. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. some breaking news, coming through from sir bradley wiggins announcing his retirement. he hasjust made that announcement on social media. to give you a couple of comments from a statement he is put out... "i've been lucky enough to live the dream and the feel my childhood

aspiration of making a career out of aspiration of making a career out of a sport i fell in love with out at the age of 12." 2016 is the end of the age of 12." 2016 is the end of the road for this chapter, onwards and upwards." he says, said bradley wiggins announcing his retirement in the last few moments. we will talk more about his remarkable career and hear more about what he might do next. we will discuss all that with oui’ next. we will discuss all that with our sports corresponded to willjoin us our sports corresponded to willjoin us later in this half—hour. middle aged people are putting themselves at risk of serious health problems unless they take action to change their lifestyles, according to health officials. public health england says 80% of a0 to 60 year olds are overweight, drinking too much and not getting enough exercise. it says ‘modern life' is putting middle aged people at a greater risk of developing diseases like type 2 diabetes. here's our health correspondent robert pigott. lee parker is running for his life.

aged 41 and weighing 22 stone, lee was told by his seven—year—old son that he loved him even though he was fat. it was the nudge lee needed. since august, when he changed his diet and began to exercise, he's lost five stone. it was a case of, should we just order a pizza tonight? we had food in but we couldn't be bothered cooking it. i think you just become a bit lazy and a bit drawn out with the daily grind of routine. there are many people in lee's position. almost 80% of women aged 40—60 are either overweight, obese, physically inactive or drinking more than official guidelines. among men, almost 90% fall into the same category. among the potentially devastating outcomes of this accumulation of health risks is diabetes. it has doubled in this age group in the last 20 years and already costs the nhs in england an estimated £14 billion per year.

we are ageing as a population but too many of us are ageing with a number of chronic diseases. the reason why we are seeing this increase in chronic diseases such as cancer, stroke and heart disease is in large part because of behaviours which are adopted in the 40—60 age period. for example, still smoking or not getting enough physical activity, or perhaps drinking too much alcohol. the big impact, of course, is this will put a huge burden on health services. to get the message across, in march public health england launched a health quiz as part of its one you campaign. it says more than 1 million people have now taken the quiz and now have a route map to change their lives. and lee parker, who you saw in that report has been telling me what impact living a healthier lifestyle has had had on his life. before i started my fitness journey i was 22.5 stone. back in august. i have lost five stone one

and a half half pounds, to date. at what age were you this weight? this year, at a0. with changing everything about my eating habits and all my fitness and my running. for you it is a combination, it is changing what you are eating, what or how much and taking part in physical exercising. the exercise was a big part of it, it had to mirror the food optimisation part. without doing the prepping for work, shopping, cooking, prepping, it had to change. i had to ditch the takeaways and get back on the healthy bandwagon. what i'm so interested is that you seem to have had a lot of family support and i wonder whether that is a real clincher. if a couple are doing it together, or a parent or a child doing it together, is that beneficial?

definitely, myself and my partner started the slimming world journey. we have an eight—year—old boy and he inspired me to get off the sofa because he said to me, "daddy, i love you so much even though you are fat. " those words were harsh, children say what they see because they are so innocent. people say they don't have time to get out, go running, go on the bike would you say to that? you have to make the time you have to find the time in your life to change something about it. for me, coming home from work, taking the dog for a walk. you have to fit it in your lifestyle as much as you can. lee parker there, talking to me a little earlier. police in germany have detained

a forty—year—old tunisian man in connection with the lorry attack in berlin earlier this month. officials have until tomorrow to decide whether to arrest him. prosecutors say he'd been in contact with anis amri, the twenty—four year—old tunisian criminal who drove the lorry at high speed into a christmas market, killing twelve people. amri was shot dead in milan last week by italian police during a routine stop and search operation. joining me now from berlin is our correspondent, damian mcgiunness. they have raided his home and workplace and they have another day, too desired whether they have

another evidence to formally arrest him. like now he isjust as pain. what is interesting, officials across europe are piecing together the route that anis amri talk after the route that anis amri talk after the attack, but before he died in a shoot out in milan. with italian police. it seems, according to italian investigations, he went via holland, before going to france and ending up in milan. they know that because they found 20 cards in the book sat belonging to anis amri, sim ca rd book sat belonging to anis amri, sim card only distributed at certain shops at a certain time at the end of december in holland. we're getting a lot of details about the movements of the attacker of that christmas market. and that gives us a sense, the scale of this continuing investigation because it is one man is detained because his number was is one man is detained because his numberwas in is one man is detained because his number was in anis amri's bone, can we issue never quite a few numbers

in his bone and quite a lot of leeds? -- in his bone. that is the big worry because german officials say there are a lot of people in germany who are suspected islamist ‘s and possibly dangerous. so, right 110w ‘s and possibly dangerous. so, right now officials across europe, are trying to piece together anis amri's movements and his contacts. the worry is that he wasn't acting alone and that is really what people are concerned about here. if he was alone attack at that would mean his is accident would be over. if he had people working with him it would be the danger was still there. as you know, so—called islamic state has claimed responsibility for that attack so officials here in germany are taking very seriously any leads. all anyone connected to anis amri,

could be seen as suspicious as they could be seen as suspicious as they could be seen as suspicious as they could be dangerous for future attacks. the big worry in germany is the debate about how to prevent something similar happening again. a woman has died and a man is seriously injured after a series of crashes on the aao in oxfordshire. up to 15 people with minor injuries have been treated by the emergency services at the scene. the incidents have taken place between burford road and the a415 witney town centre turn off. 0n the line is nicky cowan who was in the crash this morning. i trust you are ok, you and injured, but it sounds like it was pretty nasty experience for a lot of people this morning. yes, it was horrendous. not helped by the fact that it was freezing cold. what

happened to you ? that it was freezing cold. what happened to you? i had just come onto the 840, come off the junction, and they went on to the outside lane and they went on to the outside lane and you could see they're was hazard warning lights and that something had happened up in front. as you would naturally do, i applied the bra kes would naturally do, i applied the brakes and i kept going. i skated across and as they tried to veer away from the line of traffic that was stationary, i kept going. and straight into it. hence, me hitting a car that had a lady any young son and partner in it. because it was selling credibly icy? it was icy and freezing fog. but, it wasn't so much binny the issue of the fog it was because it was total lack ice. when you step out of the car afterwards you step out of the car afterwards you have to be careful but you weren't going to slip over. honest

opinion, it didn't seem that the road had been gritted, even though, me watching bbc news, i saw and that whether that it was going to be freezing fog and temperatures below zero, so i know it was going to potentially be icy. you don't expect that when you hit a main road. i've literally just come that when you hit a main road. i've literallyjust come onto it, so the speedin literallyjust come onto it, so the speed in my section was it was the fa ct speed in my section was it was the fact that there was ice. where you never setting out in those conditions? 0r never setting out in those conditions? or did you set out with confidence that the 840, would be 0k? on a side confidence that the 840, would be ok? on a side road you would absolutely expect you would know you had to be cautious and more powerful, but it wasn't similar to get stilley manga about speed because i had anyjust come onto the road. but i can't fault this fire and rescue service, they were amazing and constantly kept checking if we were 0k. amazing and constantly kept checking

if we were ok. we discussed with each other how everyone in each section of accidents where. behind me, as soon as i had struck the car, then another car came up hit a mini debt was behind then smacked into... so, you could all hear. the road has only just been opened so, you could all hear. the road has onlyjust been opened on the opposite site and we concede there are at least another two accidents after where i was. —— we can see. how long were you an overdrive is still? almost two hours. i'm glad you are home safe and an injured. i'm sure it was terrifying. cars are replaceable, lives on. they are material things, and they? replaceable, lives on. they are materialthings, and they? we replaceable, lives on. they are material things, and they? we wish you all the best. it is very good for you to talk to is after a

frightening experience. —— very good of you. let's get a few more details about sir bradley wiggins's retirement. here is our sports correspondence. statement on sir bradley wiggins on his facebook page saying he has been lucky enough to live a dream and the bill his childhood aspiration of making a career out of the sport. but coming he says this is enough, he reflects on 2012, the london 0lympics we have so much success, but he says 2016 is the end of the road for this chapter. he says kids from kilburn don't win 0lympic goals and tourde from kilburn don't win 0lympic goals

and tour de france but they do now. he reflects on the success he has enjoyed over the career. he was one of britain's most decorated 0lympians. five gold medals, the first briton to ever win the tour de france. first briton to win three 0lympic medals at the same games coming thousand and four. he is one of the country's most decorated sportsmen. but, he has decided that this is the end of the road by him and he will end his career as a professional cyclist. everyone will wa nt to professional cyclist. everyone will want to know what he does next. he has a professional cycling team which i'm sure he would devote a lot of attention to but the other thing is it comes at a time when his career has been under a lot of scrutiny, because of the claims that we re scrutiny, because of the claims that were made against him following his use of therapeutic use exemption is, these medical certificates that came to light via a hat of medical information. this certificate showed that he had legitimately applied for

the use of a substance to treat a allergy, but lots of people looked at it and asked whether it was morally right. it is performance enhancing. he told andrew marr on bbc that this was above board that he had nothing to hide. but he has had a lot of scrutiny at this stage at the end of his career. looking back on the big moments when he has used his medication. a difficult time was there badly begins but he wa nts to time was there badly begins but he wants to go out on a high and the statement reflects that is what that is striking, final thought, whether everything you are talking about their plays into this decision, did we all wasting his is going to go 110w we all wasting his is going to go now anyway? and expected decision or announcement would come a couple of months ago. we thought he wrote some events that would be a swansong but the announcement didn't come. maybe he was thinking things over, thinking whether he could do one more season. but, he thought enough is another now now the right time to

go. people aged between 40 and 60 are being urged to drink less alcohol and lose weight, after a warning from public health england that they‘re facing a ‘health crisis‘. german police have detained a 40—year—old tunisian man in connection with the fatal lorry attack on a berlin christmas market last week. one woman has died and several people are injured, afterfour accidents involving 20 vehicles on the a40 in oxfordshire. let‘s ta ke let‘s take a look at the rest of the sports news. a busy day. we're starting with the breaking news, in the last 50 minutes or so sir bradley wiggins has announced his retirement from professional cycling ata retirement from professional cycling at a career spanning more than 20 yea rs. at a career spanning more than 20 years. he is course became the first

briton to win the tour de france in 2012. he can boast eight 0lympic medals, five gold. as well as seven world titles across track and road cycling. in that statement on his facebook page the 36—year—old said he had been lucky enough to live a dream and fulfil his childhood aspiration of making a living and a career out of the sport i fell in love with at the age of 12. he said he had worked with the best coaches and managers that he will always be grateful to. now, the acting head of russia‘s anti—doping agency has said she has not described doping in sport as an international. she says her words were distorted and taken out of context, a newspaper report suggested she‘d admitted there had been a widespread there had been a widespread doping operation in the country but she now says her words were distorted

and taken out of context. she is reported to have told the new york times that is an institutional there is seemingly no contrition giving the evidence that is against it, so we will have to see how the state ta kes it, so we will have to see how the state takes it forward from this point. it is maintaining that there is no state involvement in doping and that any problems were at an individual level. swansea city hope to have a new manager in place by monday — with manchester united legend ryan giggs and current wales manager chris coleman the leading candidates. it follows the sacking of bob bradley last night. the new manager will be the club‘s fourth of 2016 and giggs has been linked with the club before. giggs was interviewed for the dog when bradley was appointed in 0ctober. —— for the job. when bradley was appointed in 0ctober. —— for thejob. we understand that swansea are still keen on him, he has not managed in

his career yet. but he has coaching experience with man united. the other candidates, wales manager, chris coleman, nigel pearson and x birmingham manager. why a few names in the frame but ryan giggs is the early favourite. —— with a few names in the frame. the everton manager ronald koeman says he is looking to do business in the january transfer window. reports have linked the club with a move for teenage charlton forward ademola lookman and they‘ve also been linked with manchester united‘s morgan schneiderlin. at his press conference, the dutchman was asked if he‘d be active in the window. yes, of course we're working on that and we have certain interests in some players. 0k. and we have certain interests in some players. ok. but that is what we need to keep inside. some names up we need to keep inside. some names up through and some names are not through. that is all speculations. crystal palace winger wilfried zaha has been named in the provisional squad for the ivory coast for next month‘s africa cup of nations. zaha has played two friendly matches

for england but last month he applied to fifa to switch his international football allegiance to the ivory coast. 0ther premier league players in the squad include manchester united‘s eric bailly and stoke‘s wilfried bony the fifa president gianni infantino says the world‘s football federations are "overwhelmingly in favour" of plans for a 48—team world cup. earlier this month, the head of the sport‘s governing body outlined his vision for an expanded tournament comprising of 16 groups of three teams. the top two in each group would progress to the knockout stages. a decision is expected injanuary but even if approved it would be unlikely to take effect before 2026. that is all the sport now but a reminder of the breaking news the bradley wiggins has announced his retirement from cycling. two crew members are still missing after a fishing vessel capsized off the kent coast last night. the coastguard search and rescue helicopter based at lydd, two lifeboats from ramsgate and the coastguard rescue team

from margate were scrambled tojoin the search earlier our correspondent, simonjones had the latest on the search from kent. the emergency services were first alerted at daylight when a passing boat saw the upturned fishing vessel with one of the crew members standing on it and he was able to tell them that a further two of his colleagues were unaccounted for. let‘s talk now to someone from the coastguard. this is a big search. it is quite extensive, there are three lifeboats still engaged in the search of the area that we have identified. earlier on in the search there was eight uk coastguard helicopter. and also one belgian search and rescue colleagues. so, the crew member

who was found, he had been potentially standing on top of his fishing boat for hours. yes, we hadn‘t established at what time, what ever happened to the fishing vessel happened. but, it would have certainly applied during the hours of darkness, which inevitably meant that the individual could have been sitting on top of his fishing boat but quite some time. lucky to be alive? absolutely, at this time of year in the southern north sea, water temperature is very low so a significant risk of risk of hypothermia. but he is in the proper care of the hospital authorities at the moment. hope must be diminishing as every hour goes on? yes, but we are operating to quite a body of data with regards to survivability. so, we have not yet passed the point in which the data would indicate that a person in the water couldn‘t survive. so, still hope?

of course. there is still hope. how unusual is this? we hear about problems at sea, but unusual for someone to be stuck on top of that fishing vessel for so long. that situation has occurred before in my experience. the different national authorities. accidents can happen but in terms of winding crewmen or all—time fishing vessels i can recall a number of other incidents in the past but it is not an everyday occurance. what will be investigating look in to to try and establish how this happened? the investigating authorities will examine everything and reconstruct a trip or a voyage from the moment it departed its port up until the accident point. they are very thorough.

the fact that there is a crew man alive will help the investigating authorities. what conditions is he in? i am afraid i can‘t comment on the condition that he is in but he‘s certainly in the right place at the present time. the search is continuing, being coordinated from here in dover, focusing on an area along the coast from here, and continuing into this afternoon. the film industry and fans around the world have paid tribute to carrie fisher who‘s died aged 60. the actress, who was best known for her role as princess leia in star wars, had been in hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest on a flight to los angeles last friday. harrison ford described her

as ‘brilliant, original, and emotionally fearless‘. i spoke to anthony daniels who played c3p0 in the stars wars films a little earlier. he shared his memories of working with carrie fisher. we were on set together quite a lot and it was wonderful to be back with her at though, we‘d been together an episode seven, but she wasn‘t born when the prequel is happened, so in eight she had become, as she got older she has become a general, she is a very graceful figure. she was full of authority, charm and that face. herface had serenity that perhaps it didn‘t have before. i am enjoying remembering her. it is a gift to deal to come and share this. what was she like to work with, to film with?

she was everything, depending on the day but always crazy, always warm and friendly and giving. she was a wonderful icon, not all icons have the ability to look into you and be safely there and... i have very happy memories of her, working with c-3p0. to work with a gold face that twitters at you, she did i remembering, kind though she was, she did switch me off at the end of the she thought that was a joke? it was in the script, she found the off button. in terms of her acting career, did she mind that she was defined as princess leia, i as princess leia, know she referred to herself as a writer. and that became part of her life. ritchie except that that had been a gift that came along at the age of 20? what a gift, 20 for 40 years.

a good question because some actors do resent the being known... do i mind being known for c—3p0? i‘m so proud and grateful for the gift, that she got and i gotback then by george lucas. so, i don‘t think she minded from minute. let‘s pause and catch up with the weather prospects. we are seeing fog thickening up. we have visibility down in the peterborough area down to 60 metres. nasty travelling conditions and that is just the start of things. tonight, but will become more extensive and the visibility much worst. england and wales will have the problems but

bogs and i see patches adding to problems. a lot of cloud. keeping the frost at bay. tomorrow morning, focusing on this foggy weather across england and wales, there is some potential for across england and wales, there is some potentialfor some across england and wales, there is some potential for some transport disrupted. difficult driving editions, we could see some output affected by fog as well. the fog, will be slow to clear where it forms. tomorrow, there areas affected by fog or they will be far greater. a murky, cold day, temperatures only above freezing. northern ireland, scotland, cloudy and that bit milder. that is your weather. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines at 3:30pm: 80% of middle—aged people in england are overweight, don‘t exercise or drink too much, experts have warned. public health england says

the medical system is facing a crisis because of unhealthy lifestyles. a woman has been killed and a dozen people have been hurt this morning at a40 in oxfordshire. around 20 vehicles were involved in the four crashes, which happened in fog and ice. police in germany say they have detained a 40—year—old tunisian man in connection with the fatal lorry attack on a berlin christmas market earlier this month. ships and helicopters are still searching the channel 42—mac members ofa searching the channel 42—mac members of a fishing boat, their boat sank off the kent coast yesterday evening. a third man was found clinging to the hole and was flown to hospital. —— hull. now on bbc news — rebecca morelle looks back

on the year in science — from british astronaut tim peake‘s adventures in space, to a discovery that will transform our understanding of the universe. that‘s review 2016: the year in science. from the mission of a lifetime, this was the year british astronaut tim peake spent six months in space. to a colossal feat of engineering. in 2016, the world‘s largest radio telescope was unveiled. we also learned about the secret life of seals and what they get up to underwater. and saw advances in a controversial new genetic technique. human organs are growing inside these pigs. this was also the year a global climate deal came into force

but the election of donald trump placed a question mark over its future. and after decades of searching, scientists have detected gravitational waves. it‘s been called the discovery of the century, making 2016 a truly momentous year for science. i‘m here at thejodrell bank observatory in the north of england. for more than half a century, scientists have been using this vast telescope to gaze up into the heavens, transforming our understanding of the universe. some people have been lucky enough to experience the wonders of space first—hand. this year it was the turn of british astronaut tim peake. blasting off, the start of a remarkable mission. tim peake was on his way. he was heading for the space station tojoin its international crew for the next six months. the first british

astronaut now on board the international space station. in his first live broadcast, he said the experience was out of this world. we always talk about seeing the view of planet earth and how beautiful it is. but, when you look the opposite direction and you see how dark space is, the black is black and you realise how small the earth is in that blackness. his space moves, though, still needed a bit of work. practise makes perfect. but, before long, tim got a chance to put on his space suit and head outside, joining nasa astronaut tim kopra, for a spacewalk. tim, it‘s really cool seeing the unionjack going outside. it‘s explored all over the world and now it‘s explored space.

thanks, scott. it's great to be wearing it. the task was to carry out essential repairs. at 400 kilometres above the earth, what better place to take a selfie! science was also key for this european space agency mission. tim became a human guinea pig, seeing how the body changes in this weightless environment. he even found time to squeeze in the london marathon, and, of course, perfected his somersault. but, after six months, it was time to say goodbye and head home. undocking confirmed. strapped into the soyuz capsule, tim and his crew mates began their descent. awaiting them, a support team circling above the grassy plains of kazakhstan. then, suddenly, above the clouds, the capsule appeared. and, with a firing of its thrusters, it finally touched down.

tim was back. weak after six months in space but happy to be home. just truly elated. just the smells of earth. they‘re so strong. and it‘s wonderful to be back in the fresh air. really good. hi, guys. since his return, tim‘s been meeting schoolchildren around the uk. welcome for tim peake. it‘s been pea ke—mania. he hopes his mission mightjust inspire the next generation to reach for the stars. jodrell bank was built back in the 1950s and this dish is nearly 80 metres wide. at the time, the biggest ever built. in china, the government is investing heavily in science and they‘ve decided it‘s time for their own record—breaker, a radio telescope that‘s

half a kilometre across. hidden in the remote mountains of south—west china, a new giant of science. this is the largest radio telescope ever built. earlier this year, as it neared completion, i was given rare access and a chance for a view unlike any other. it‘s only when you get up close that you really get a sense of this thing‘s scale. it‘s simply colossal. bigger is better when it comes to astronomy. the larger the dish, the more signals can be collected from space, helping us to see deeper into the universe than ever before. in china, astronomy, we are far behind the world. i think it is time for us to build something in china and used by a lot of chinese users,

and also welcome the international users. the telescope works by listening to radio waves emitted from the cosmos. the dish is so big it will reveal the first stars and galaxies and even hunt for signs of extraterrestrial life. building it has taken the chinese just five years. at a cost of $180 million, it is part of the country‘s unprecedented investment in science, that‘s on the verge of outstripping even the us. by september, the final pieces were slotted into place. the telescope was switched on. china is now hoping its super—sized project will transform it into a world science leader. for the medical world, it‘s also been a year of breakthroughs. these are miniature brains, called organoids.

they‘re grown from a single cell, donated by patients. and they‘re helping scientists to understand the origins of mental illness. we can actually compare the organoids to the patient and see if we can see some of the features of the disorder and try to understand what caused those features. i think it‘s a really huge step toward some hopefully really amazing breakthroughs in what has been a desert in the field of biomedicine. and in poland, this man was completely paralysed from the chest down. now he is relearning how to use his legs. two years ago, he had a cell transplant to repair his spinal cord. now scientists want to see if these outstanding results can be repeated in others.

and, in america, the technology called gene editing is pushing the boundaries. here, human stem cells are being injected into a pig embryo. scientists are attempting to grow a human pancreas inside a pig. our hope is that this pig embryo will develop normally. but the pancreas will be made up almost exclusively out of human cells. so that then that pancreas could be compatible with a patient for transplantation. these pigs are pregnant with the embryos. they won‘t reach full term — they will be removed after a month and carefully analysed. every organ we try to make, be it kidney, liver or lung, we will look at what is happening in the brain. if we find it is too human—like, we won‘t let those foetuses be born. the hope is this technology could eventually solve organ shortages but it also raises profound ethical questions. in 2016, we‘ve also been learning about the inhabitants of our oceans.

these incredible animals were found in the mariana trench, as scientists explored the deepest place on the planet. and an animal that‘s a record—brea ker. scientists believe the greenland shark can reach 400 years old, making it the world‘s longest living vertebrate. and this year, we learned about the secret lives of seals. beneath the waves, these animals are a mystery. they spend two thirds of their time in the water. but down here, they have been little studied.

we travelled to their home in the north of england, the farne islands. it‘s a grey seal haven. can you see them up on the land? yeah. all the pups. baby seals! yeah. it was a chance to join these animals in the freezing north sea. the animals seemed as interested in us as we were in them. it is cold but if you want to study these incredible animals up close, you do have to get into the water. around the coast of the uk, nearly 40% of the world‘s grey seals live here. there are 5000 here in the farne islands. this is ben, who has been diving with seals for years. now he is capturing them on camera. recording behaviour that surprisingly has never been seen before. what we are seeing is a lot of mating behaviour under water, down to depths of nearly eight metres. a lot of bull seal activity where they will wrestle each other, pushing each other and turning each other.

by having these competitions underwater, whether that reduces that conflict on the land and they remember that behaviour. we are getting an intriguing glimpse of a hidden world. understanding these animals could be the key to keeping their population thriving. with this beautiful and intricate model, you can see our solar system at a glance and explore how the planets move around the sun. there is one world that dominates all others, that‘s jupiter. it‘s the biggest planet in our solar system and this year it had a new visitor. beneath its swirling clouds, jupiter is a world shrouded in mystery. these images, though spectacular, were taken from afar. nasa wanted to see this giant up close. three, two, one.

ignition, and lift off. in 2011, the mission blasted off. the spacecraft called juno embarking on an epicjourney. as it neared its destination, it faced its biggest challenge — to get into orbit, it had to slam on its brakes and survive everything jupiter could throw at it, including its deadly radiation. whenjuno goes into orbit around jupiter, we‘re going to go through a really nasty, hazardous region, radiation belts that are very close to the planet. they are nasty and can destroy and attack all the electronics. so we have to be careful. scientists faced a tense wait at mission control in california to learn the fate of their billion—dollar spacecraft. then, a signal. cheering and applause. the mood is pure elation here.

after more than a decade of work and a journey through space, juno is the closest we have ever been to jupiter. we prepared a contingency procedure. guess what? we don‘t need that any more. and then came the pictures. for the first time, its south pole was revealed. covered in storms, many even bigger than the earth. in the north, it‘s blanketed by a thick atmosphere. in this infrared view, at the top you can see jupiter‘s northern lights. and the sound was captured as the spacecraft flew through the spectacular light show. the team's reaction was amazement. look at these images! they are coming from jupiter. we're flying over the pole for the first time.

it isjustjaw—dropping. we are expecting more images like this over the course of the mission. scientists sayjupiter is like nothing they have ever seen before. but mars was the destination for the european space agency. the mission had two aims. firstly to get a spacecraft into orbit, which went exactly as planned. scientists also wanted to set down a lander on the planet‘s surface. but a signal was never sent back to earth. days later, these images revealed a crash site. the spacecraft had failed in the final moments of its descent. this year, we have been pushing the boundaries of space exploration. our focus has also been very much on our own planet. 2016 has been declared

the hottest year on record, putting climate change and how to tackle it in the spotlight once again. this year, our planet united, at least for a while. for the world‘s countries, a plan to cut greenhouse gases became international law. the groundwork was laid at a climate summit in paris last year. after years of negotiations, an historic global agreement had been reached. countries must now move away from fossil fuels and instead adopt a green energy approach. butjust as the paris deal came into force, donald trump was elected as the us president. he once called climate change a hoax. in 2012, he tweeted it was invented by the chinese to harm us businesses.

during his campaign, he said this is what he would do. we are going to cancel the paris climate agreement and stop all payments of the united states tax dollars to un global warming programmes. island nations affected by rising sea levels pleaded with him to change his mind. president—elect trump, i formally invite you to fiji and promise you the warmest of welcomes. we will show you how we are already having to move entire communities out of the way of the rising seas. with its reliance on fossil fuels like coal, the united states is the second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. its participation in the global climate deal was seen as vital. no—one knows what trump will do. he has recently appointed a climate sceptic to lead on the environment.

some fear the future of the paris deal now looks uncertain. in 2016, protection for the animals living in the icy wilderness of antarctica was also a focus. in october, a great swathe of its ocean was declared a marine protected area, the largest in the world. it is hoped, even for tiny creatures like krill, the foundation of the food chain, the future of this unique and fragile environment will be preserved. and this will be vital for the continent‘s most charismatic animals. these penguins started nesting here just ten years ago. it is thought they may have moved because of climate change. now scientists have set up a network

of cameras to monitor them. it shows how the colony is changing, hour by hour, over the course of a year. at another site, scientists are counting the birds but numbers are down. we are here in a colony of penguins. this particular region, this particular species, has seen a decline in the past few decades. those declines are likely associatd with climate change and there may be a link with competition from fisheries, as in humans obtaining the same food, krill, as these penguins would normally eat. scientists say only by tracking these birds will we see how they fare in this changing world. and coming soon to antarctica, boaty mcboatface, well, almost. while the polar research ship was under constrction, the british public overwhelmingly voted for boaty to be its name. the government overruled them. instead, it opted to dedicate the vessel to sir david

attenborough, a more fitting title, they said. but the public‘s choice will live on. boaty mcboatface is now the name of the ship‘s robotic submersible. in the world of tech, there was a battle between man and machine. a champion player of the ancient game of go went up against an artificial intelligence programme developed by google‘s deep mind. after four hours, the human resigned. the computer had won. advances in al are also enabling developments in driverless cars. this vehicle was made by tesla, a company owned by tech entrepreneur, elon musk. only a car that is not self—driving in the long—term will be like owning a horse.

you would own and use it for sentimental reasons but not for daily use, really. but the burgeoning industry came under the spotlight earlier this year. joshua brown was a huge fan of tesla cars and their autopilot feature. it takes all the stress out of it. but his vehicle collided with a lorry and he was killed. it seems his car failed to recognise the truck crossing in front of it on a florida highway. the vehicle‘s safety features have been upgraded and elon musk maintains they‘re still safer than a car with a human in control. in 2016, it was time to take a last look at this comet, as we said farewell to the european space agency‘s rosetta mission. it had given us these stunning

images, revealing an alien world in incredible detail. two years before, scientists attempted something many thought was impossible — landing a robot on the comet‘s surface. it was a moment of space history in the making. fantastic! the robot stopped working after a few days but it did manage to collect vital data. continuing the mission was the rosetta mothership, which remained in orbit around the comet. this year, its power began to fade and it was time to bring the mission to a close. the spacecraft would go out with a crash landing. the rosetta spacecraft was designed to fly to the comet, around the comet, but not to land on it. there is no doubt that as soon as it touches down, it is going to be destroyed.

but it gives scientists the chance to squeeze every last drop of science out of this mission. all the way down, it will be taking close—up photos and collecting data. we will be listening for the signal from rosetta. this time the mood was emotional, as scientists waited for rosetta to descend. the signal vanishing forever. and so, this is the end of the rosetta mission. thank you and goodbye. it is like rip rosetta. it's really sad, really, really sad. the legacy lives on. you just know when you do these things, it comes to an end. but, you know, it is the end of a long, long mission. but with more than 100,000 photos a nd cou ntless scientific observations, the work for the team is not over. the mission has captured the world‘s imagination and we may well be hearing about its discoveries

for years to come. for researchers at this observatory, and around the world, 2016 is a year that will go down in history. after decades of searching, scientists finally discovered gravitational waves — invisible ripples that pass through our cosmos. it is a breakthrough of simply astronomical proportions. it all started with albert einstein. this is the equation behind his theory of general relativity, conceived 100 years ago. a pillar of modern science. it told us everything from the motion of the planets to the presence of black holes. but this year, the final piece of einstein‘s puzzle was found. we have detected gravitational waves.

we did it. the idea is, as any object moves through the fabric of the universe, it gives off waves of gravitational energy, much like the ripples that emanate across the surface of the water when you throw a stone into a pond. and the ones we have spotted emanated from this cataclysmic event which took place 1.3 billion light years away. two black holes moving ever closer together. eventually they smashed into one another, merging. the collision generated a surge of gravitational ripples that eventually reached earth. they were spotted by this vast experiment in america. tunnels carrying laser beams, sensitive enough to pick up the minute disturbances caused by the oscillations. these black holes actually spiralled in over a billion years ago. the signal has been travelling to us since then and we turned on our detectors atjust the right

time to detect it arriving. it is a discovery that not only provides another feather in einstein‘s cap. he has been proved right once again. it also heralds in a new era in science. gravitational waves provide a completely new way of looking at the universe. the ability to detect them has the potential to revolutionise astronomy. until now, even our most advanced telescopes could show us only a fraction of the cosmos. the rest was dark, unseen. now we can detect gravitational waves, we will be able to look deeper into space and further back in time than ever before, perhaps all the way to the big bang. we end the year with a brand—new perspective of the universe, one that will usher in new discoveries for decades to come. it's

it‘s been a funny day, for many of us it‘s been a funny day, for many of us it has been pleasant with plenty of sunshine, reasonable temperatures but for some, where fog has stuck all day long, it is nearfreezing throughout the day. the fog will be an issue, overnight it will become widespread, dense and will cause problems. it will be more widespread than this morning. check out your bbc local radio stations, looking nasty overnight, especially for england and wales. thick, dense and freezing patches of fog as temperatures tumble on the other side of zero. northern ireland and scotland, lessen the way of frost fog, some pockets across england and wales, wintry first thing. not eve ryo ne wales, wintry first thing. not everyone has fog or frost, if you

are on the move tomorrow morning, ta ke are on the move tomorrow morning, take care and be steady on the roads. warnings are in force. the odd pocket of frost about, in eastern scotland it is further west. at eight clock in the morning, pretty strong winds. drizzle as well. some brightness for scotland and northern ireland, and further southin and northern ireland, and further south in england and wales it is a lottery. some sunshine and a lot of cloud but for some of us, where that forgoes all day, it will be especially called. it is difficult to know exactly where it will be but there will be more areas than we saw today which will be misty and gloomy asa today which will be misty and gloomy as a consequence, very cold without fog. the fog could reform once more as we go through the night tomorrow but by friday morning, not as extensive as it is going to be in the next day or so. more of a breeze and across the

other end of the country, this front brings in persistent rain. here, a lot of rain over the next couple of days. be careful of that, hopefully not many problems. this weather front is still there on new year‘s eve. assistant and heavy rain in the north and west of scotland, and further south it is try and mild. these temperatures pick—up on new year‘s eve. this band of rain and behind a shot of arctic air comes down from the north pole. it will be called as we begin the new year, some frost about and snow showers, especially across north scotland. the latest weather warnings are on the website. goodbye for now. this is bbc news,

the headlines at four. the five—time olympic champion cyclist sir bradley wiggins announces he has retired from the sport. the 36—year—old, who has also won the tour de france, said he had fulfilled his "childhood aspiration" of making a career out of cycling. people aged between 40 and 60 are being urged to drink less alcohol and lose weight, after a warning from public health england that they‘re facing a ‘health crisis‘. german police have detained a 40—year—old tunisian man in connection with the fatal lorry attack on a berlin christmas market last week. one woman has died and several people are injured, afterfour accidents involving 20 vehicles on the a40 in oxfordshire. a search operation is continuing off the kent coast for two crew members missing after a fishing boat capsized last night.