this is bbc news, i'm simon mccoy. the headlines at 3pm. president putin announces a ceasefire between the syrian government and rebels. he said both sides have signed documents to start fresh peace talks. translation: the first document between the syrian government and armed opposition on cessation of fire on the territory of the syrian arabic republic. the second document is a set of measures on control over the ceasefire regime. hollywood actress debbie reynolds has died just a day after the death of her daughter carrie fisher, she is believed to have suffered a stroke. a warning from gp leaders that patients could be forced to wait more than a month to see their doctor this winter. devon and cornwall police investigate the discovery of the bodies of two men ata discovery of the bodies of two men at a flat in saint austell. detectives are treating the death as unexplained. the birds migrating earlier as global temperatures rise. a study finds some species are missing out on vital resources like

food and nesting places as a result. first pictures of a rare giraffe born at chester zoo, discovered by staff when they arrived on boxing day morning. good afternoon, welcome to bbc news. the russian president, vladimir putin, says the syrian army and opposition have agreed to a nationwide ceasefire which will come into effect at midnight. there'll also be fresh peace talks. the deal was brokered by russia and turkey, who are on opposing sides in the conflict in syria. mr putin said they had signed a number of documents outlining the details of the deal. translation: three documents have been signed. the first document between the syrian government and

armed opposition on a cessation of fire on the territory of the syrian arab republic. the second document is a set of measures on control over the ceasefire regime. the third document is a statement on readiness for the start of peace talks on the syrian settlement. turkish foreign minister said turkey and russia will serve as guarantors of the ceasefire, in this statement. translation: we are thinking of enforcing this ceasefire before the new year. the leaders have expressed their will. we are working on it. we are always in touch with the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov. we've brought the russians together with the opposition. we will be the guarantor of an agreement that will be signed by russia and the opposition forces. earlier, our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg gave more details. russian television showed pictures of president putin meeting his defence minister and foreign minister.

at this meeting, it was announced three agreements had been signed in the syrian conflict. the first was a ceasefire between the syrian government and syrian rebels. the second agreement dealt with the nuts and bolts of the ceasefire, how to monitor it and so forth. the third agreement was an agreement to start peace talks in the capital of kazakhstan. astana, president putin said this was the moment russia has been waiting for and had been working hard to achieve. he said the agreements were fragile and a lot of attention had to be given to them to make sure they actually happened and were successful. he praised the defence ministry of russia and the foreign ministry and said it was their efforts in working with moscow's partners in the region that brought this about. we believe the ceasefire will go into effect from midnight, it wasn't clear whether it was midnight moscow time or damascus time. certainly this is being presented in moscow as something of

a diplomatic coup. turkey's foreign minister hinted that earlier. it appears turkey and russia will act as guarantors, what does it mean in practice? it's been clear certainly over the last few months russia has been working very closely with turkey and with iran. in trying to push the peace process in syria. certainly the fall of aleppo was key here. it seems as if the us administration, the administration of president obama, has been left behind completely by this. it was interesting at this televised meeting the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov said it was important other countries in the region get involved in these peace talks, like saudi arabia, qatar, iraq and jordan. there was no mention at all of the current us administration. earlier i spoke to our middle east correspondent lina sinjab in beirut, and i asked her what the next few

days have in store. we need to see how much leverage russia has on the syrian government and iran, who also has power on the ground. and hezbollah included. the syrian government has just announced the deal does not include fighting both islamic state and the formerly known as al—nusra front, al-qaeda's affiliate. they argued it doesn't include fighting others who are affiliated to them. in the past we've seen the syrian government mainly targeted other rebel forces, including the free syrian army supported by the west. he described all those holding up weapons against the government as terrorists. the question here is how much russia is able to guarantee syrian government is targeting in any operation would not break this deal russia has made. in terms of that word, guarantor,

what is our assessment of what it means on the ground? welcome in the past, in several other truces or ceasefire plans, even evacuation, aged delivery, we've seen russia is heavily present on the ground, they have to be leading any operation because the syrian government in many cases did not abide by words given by russia to the international community. we've heard lots of reports from locals that russian military officers were on the ground in preventing these deals. we were expecting russia would be able to monitor so closely, especially they have a big military base in assyria, to monitor what the government is doing and how they are abiding with the deal. the question is whether turkey, who said it is going to guarantee the rebels abiding by the deal, how they are going to monitor the situation. and if they will be sending any troops inside. we don't

have details yet of these three documents that have been signed. so far everything seems to be optimistic, especially that the announcement came from president putin himself, giving a lot of leverage and wait for the deal. he's put himself under pressure one suspects because he wants to get this done before the inauguration of a new american president? absolutely right, this is the case. russia has close relations with trump, it's not the case as it was with obama. president putin wants to make sure he's the one setting the ground, he is the one striking a deal and finding a solution for the syria conflict. not only because he wants to appear on the international level that he is the saviour of syria, but also because it's been a year, a little bit more than a year, for their military presence in syria, and he doesn't want to drag himself into another year of fighting, another year of war in assyria.

the hollywood actress debbie reynolds, who starred opposite gene kelly in the 1952 musical singin' in the rain, has died — a day after the death of her daughter, carrie fisher. the actress, who was 84, had been rushed to hospital with a suspected stroke. her son, todd fisher, said the stress of his sister's death had been too much for her and in her last words, she had said she wanted to be ‘with carrie'. david sillito reports. # i'm singin' in the rain, just singin' in the rain. singin' in the rain, debbie reynolds was just 19. she'd not really danced before this but this performance made her a star. it was supposed to be an innocent, virginal little girl and certainly i was that. i think it was a tough deal for poor gene to be stuck with me, who had never danced. it would have been far better for him to have a great dancer, but i worked so hard that i think

in the end when i look at that performance of that little girl, i think i did a good job. # all i do is dream of you the whole night through. 64 years later, her death comes just a day after losing her daughter, carrie fisher. she'd been planning herfuneral when she was taken ill. her son todd said the stress was simply too much. among the tributes, bette midler, who said it was hard to comprehend. damejoan collins said she was truly heartbroken. that mother and daughter relationship, meryl streep and shirley maclaine gave us a taste of the ups and downs in postcards from the edge. but it was far from the full story. indeed debbie reynolds wanted to play the role but was told she wasn't right for the part. you want me to do well, just not better than you. what she was right for was old school hollywood song and dance. the show always went on, even when she was abandoned by her husband, eddie fisher, for elizabeth taylor. my personal life is always

sort of like this. that little choo—choo train that says, "i think i can, i think i can, i think i can." i seem to marry very poorly. i have no taste in men. luckily for me god was good and i have two wonderful children. in recent years she played the role of grace's mother in will and grace, liberace's mother in behind the candelabra, and then this final moment, a mother grieving for her daughter. but if you want to remember what made debbie reynolds special, remember her like this. debbie reynolds, who has died at the age of 8a. the chairwoman of the royal college of gps has warned that patients could be forced to wait for more

than a month to see their family doctor this winter. helen stokes—lampard claims surgeries are already "skating on thin ice" because of a shortage of gps and years of serious underinvestment. here's our health correspondent robert pigott. mrs richardson? come on in. i'm doctor helen. have a seat. what can i do for you today? winter is bringing increased demands on an nhs already under year—round pressure and gps warn that their service is stretched desperately thin. they say any spare capacity has disappeared, leaving lengthening waiting times that could pose a serious risk to patients. firstly there just aren't enough gps out there. we don't have enough clinicians in the workforce but also we haven't got enough nurses and other health care professionals too, so the problem this winter is as bad as it has ever been, and that's a real worry. pressure on gps has intensified. over 1.3 million patients visit

a surgery every day and the number of consultations has rocketed to 60 million more per year compared to even five years ago. but in a recent survey, 85% of patients said they had a good experience at their doctor's surgery. gps have told the department of health that the nhs has been phenomenally successful, both in nipping disease in the bud and keeping alive huge numbers of people with chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes. but they warn this preventative care could now be undermined with potentially serious and even tragic consequences for future years. the people who will suffer are those with long—term conditions because we have to prioritise those who are sick today. if however we are ignoring those with longer term conditions, then we are storing up problems for the future, increasing their risks in the long—term. nhs england said the royal college of gps are right to remind everyone of what they describe as the most phenomenal success story of the nhs. every day tens of thousands

of people do not die who would have died 20 to 30 years ago. that's why gp services are on track to receive an extra £21; billion in real terms investment by 2020 to build on this track record of success and expand access to convenient appointments throughout the week. the royal college of gps acknowledged that more money had been promised, but said it hadn't yet reached the front line. it said similar commitments for extra funding had not yet been made in wales or northern ireland, although some investment has been promised in scotland. robert pigott, bbc news. and joined by a gp and a&e doctor from south london. that looks an awful lot of money, could it be the

a nswer to awful lot of money, could it be the answer to this crisis? it's part of the gb forward for plan, certainly a step in the right direction. my concern as a gp is it may not be anywhere near enough when you consider we have an ageing population with complex chronic conditions, often intertwined with deep—rooted often intractable social issues. it may be too late by the time that money reaches practices. it needs to be delivered much quicker. what i'd really like to see is some sort of cross—party consensus on the funding of notjust primary care, but the nhs. a lot of a nalysts primary care, but the nhs. a lot of analysts and politicians such as norman lamb from the liberal democrats has suggested a cross— party democrats has suggested a cross—party commission whereby people from all of the political parties rise above party politics to derive some sort of consensus on what proportion of the national wealth goes towards the nhs. fundamentally detaching nhs funding from party politics. let's talk

about the patient, who makes their appointment to see the gp, often waits up to a month, gets there, enters the conveyor belt, ten minutes, inc about, have they got the treatment they deserve?” minutes, inc about, have they got the treatment they deserve? i think we are facing what is fundamentally the perfect storm at the moment. you're absolutely right on the issues highlighted. we have an ageing population, complex, chronic diseases, multiple social problems. 0ften funding has stagnated over the last few years. as a result, the general practitioners working day is much more intense than it used to be, much more complex than it used to be. as a result, we have huge gp shortages. about a third of gps are planning to retire, thousands emigrating, lots of gp training places unfilled. when you have an increasing workload and reducing number of gps, i guess it should come as no surprise number of gps, i guess it should come as no surprise patients are having to wait longer than ever and

have less time to spend with gps. in essence this is something we've seen over the last few years, not a winter crisis any longer. it's the normal state of affairs u nfortu nately. normal state of affairs unfortunately. to that end, do you everfear unfortunately. to that end, do you ever fear you unfortunately. to that end, do you everfear you might unfortunately. to that end, do you ever fear you might be seen as crying wolf too much? we've had a year of the nhs on the edge of crisis, industrial action by junior doctors and you'll know all about that as an a&e doctor. are you getting patient feedback saying getting patient feedback saying getting fed up with this militant doctor stuff, we just want to be treated. it seems to be the basic failure of the. i completely empathise with patience, it's been a difficult year, couple of years, for the nhs. i agree with a lot of that, to the end that we need to put patients at the centre of this, we need to depoliticise the nhs and the working of the nhs. going back to my

point earlier, i'd like to see some sort of cross—party consensus and perhaps cross—party commission, whereby key decisions about the nhs are uncoupled from party politics. are you finding the area is a knock—on effect? that recruitment of doctors will be the next crisis? because people are being put off the profession? i think it already is, thousands of gps are emigrating, about half of my medical school friends have emigrated to other countries. ask a possibly more than that. thousands of gps, literally, are applying for work permits to work abroad every year to go to places like canada and australia and so on. why aren't you? i'm committed to the nhs, to this country, that is why there is no possibility of me doing that. a lot of my friends have and allgps doing that. a lot of my friends have and all gps will tell you the same story. at the same time very few

newly qualified doctors want to commit to general practice. about a third of training places have been unfilled over the last year in some parts of the country. a third of gps, who are able to retire, planning to retire in the next few yea rs. planning to retire in the next few years. the shortage is present at the moment and will get worse in the next few years. it's very good of you to come and talk. thank you very much. you're watching bbc news. these are the headlines this afternoon. russian president vladimir putin has announced a ceasefire between the syrian government and the rebels to come into force at midnight tonight. the hollywood actress debbie reynolds has died, just a day after the death of her daughter, carrie fisher. she's believed to have suffered a stroke. the royal college of gps is warning that patients could be forced to wait more than a month to see their doctor this winter. for a full sports round—up, it's tim

hague. sir bradley wiggins may have retired yesterday but mps on the culture media and sport select committee say british cycling hasn't shown proof a package delivered to wiggins before the 2011 tour de france contained a legal decongestant. britain and team sky have denied any wrongdoing. 0ne of wigan ‘s former team—mate say his achievement in cycling will be repeated. he agrees questions over his use of performance enhancing drugs for medical reasons has cast a shadow. it's a shame this has come towards the end of his career, this tue. in terms of the rules of sport, he's broken none, the world governing body has said there is nothing to answer for. but there is still obviously a question of, has it been ethical? i think that's a

separate issue. it's certainly not the ideal way bradley wiggins would have wa nted the ideal way bradley wiggins would have wanted to have retired. has that been potentially a push to him making this decision now? potentially. will we see him back racing in six months? who knows? tennis and andy murray is in abu dhabi for the first event of the new season, facing david coughlan, who beatjo—wilfried tsonga. season, facing david coughlan, who beat jo—wilfried tsonga. the season, facing david coughlan, who beatjo—wilfried tsonga. the belgian ranked 11th in the world finished his opponent in straight sets. the first grand slam of the season, the australian open, begins mid—january. while murray has lost there in the final five while murray has lost there in the finalfive times, he while murray has lost there in the final five times, he goes while murray has lost there in the finalfive times, he goes in while murray has lost there in the final five times, he goes in as world number one this year. final five times, he goes in as world number one this yearlj final five times, he goes in as world number one this year. i played really well there in the past and it hasn't happened for me. i need to do something a little bit different this year. i love the conditions. i enjoy the tournament a lot. i'll be

going in hopefully playing well with a lot of confidence because of the way i finished 2016. next year, not this year, you knew what i meant. david willey was in form for perth scorchers as they beat melbourne renegades by four wickets in their latest match. in the big bash. melbourne made 148 from 20 overs. and perth looks to be cruising towards their target with ian bell making a rapid 22. fax two shots like that. there was a batting collapse. it went down to the last ball with person needing three to win. they doubled back, ashton agar heating it for six. swansea city continue their search for a new manager. slaven bilic says bob bradley wasn't given a fair chance. the american was in charge forjust 11 games and 85 days before he was sacked after swansea's

11 games and 85 days before he was sacked after swa nsea's boxing 11 games and 85 days before he was sacked after swansea's boxing day defeat to west ham. slaven bilic has felt the pressure of speculation over his ownjob felt the pressure of speculation over his own job so says he has sympathy for bradley. so short amount of time, basically you depend totally on luck. the people are expecting from you to make something ina expecting from you to make something in a couple of months‘ time. with the preseason, that‘s like, straight you have a game in two days, then a game in five days. he didn‘t have any chance, to be fair, apart from he was lucky to win a few games. former world champion ricky hatton has called for more support for boxes when their career has ended. he says if there is some kind of union in place others may be able to avoid the depression he suffered in retirement. he fell into heavy drinking and drug taking. he tried to ta ke drinking and drug taking. he tried to take his own life on several occasions and said after retirement

boxers tend to spend the rest of their lives on their own. i‘ll have more in the next hour. see you then. prosecutors in germany say they are releasing a forty—year—old tunisian man whose number was on a mobile phone used by the berlin christmas market attacker anis amri. officials have also confirmed that an automatic braking system prevented a tunisian man from killing many more people when he drove a lorry into a berlin christmas market. the system kicked in when the lorry hit the first market stalls. 12 people died in the attack, which took place earlier this month. child offenders could be given life—long anonymity under new plans being considered by the government. a review into the youth justice system found that a ban on naming criminals under the age of 18 would help to reduce re—offending rates. but some critics of the idea say the most serious offenders should be named in the public interest. andy moore has more details. a blanket ban on naming any children in any circumstances where they appear in criminal courts. currently

there is a ban when children appear in youth courts. when they appear in the crown court it‘s usually the more serious cases, it‘s up to the judge to decide. cast your mind back to 1993, robert thompson and john ve na bles to 1993, robert thompson and john venables accused, convicted of murdering james bolger the two—year—old boy in liverpool. they weren‘t named by the judge at the end of proceedings. another case this month, the edlington brothers named after the village in south yorkshire where they tortured two young boys, the judge yorkshire where they tortured two young boys, thejudge decided in that case they should have lifelong anonymity. those who think the anonymity. those who think the anonymity is a good idea saying it‘s in the paramount interest of the children, that is what should be considered most of all. the nhs in england is to put barcodes on medicines and medical equipment. it‘s hoped that the scheme will reduce the likelihood of patients being given the wrong treatment — and make it easier to trace people if they are. sangita myska has the story. an angiogram designed to reveal the condition of patients‘ blood vessels is carried out in salisbury. as part of the piloting of the scan4safety scheme,

bar codes on medication and equipment record the materials used to treat patients, the time and place of the procedure and the name of the medical staff taking part. we can trace that patient very quickly. we scan all the equipment so there should be no drug errors. some drugs look very similar. it‘s to the correct patient, so we scan the patient making sure the right drug or the right blood product etc goes to the right patient and if they‘re going to roll it out to orthopaedics and other types of equipment, we can trace those back in the future again to those patients. bar coding will reduce the average of an hour a day nurses spend collecting medicines and alert staff to those reaching their use—by dates. everything from screws used in knee operations to breast implants will be bar coded so their quality can be monitored. about once a week tragically someone dies in the nhs because they‘re given the wrong medicine. we also have a number of operations where the wrong implant is put into someone‘s body and it has to be

changed at a later date. if we use modern bar code technology then we can deal with a lot of these problems. one of the biggest advantages of scan4safety could be in tracing patients when faulty products have been recalled. nearly 50,000 british women had breast implants made by the french company pip when they were revealed to be at risk of rupturing. the patchy record—keeping had made it difficult to trace the patients at the time. sangita myska, bbc news. police have launched an investigation after the bodies of two men were found at a property in cornwall. the deaths, in st austell, are being treated as unexplained. eleanor parkinson reports. the bodies of the two men were found in a rented flat in this building yesterday afternoon. police haven‘t revealed how they died but say their deaths are unexplained. officers from plymouth have been drafted in along with a forensic team and a number of fire offices. this block of flats has been sealed

off while officers search around the building and inside. all police will say at the moment is one of the men is a 31—year—old local man from saint austell, the other man understood to be in his 20s, and has yet to be formally identified. i just feel for the families, obviously i don‘t know exactly what‘s happened, it‘s appalling that something like this can happen. the flat is owned by a housing association and is yards from a school and a nursery. devon and cornwall police say investigations are at a very early stage. eleanor parkinson, bbc news. the criminologist who uncovered evidence which led to fresh inquests into the hillsborough disaster, has said he‘s turning down an 0be because he can‘t accept an honour tied in name to the british empire. professor phil scraton said he accepted his decision might disappoint some of the families whose relatives died at liverpool‘s fa cup semi—final in 1989.

keepers at chester zoo are celebrating the arrival of a very rare baby giraffe. this six—foot—tall youngster, who is yet to be named, arrived on boxing day. the rothschild giraffe is said to be one of the most endangered species of the animal, with fewer than 1600 left in the wild. the world‘s highest bridge for traffic has been opened in china. the structure stands almost 1900 feet above a gorge in the south—west of the country. it‘s taken three yea rs of the country. it‘s taken three years to build. lets get the weather. chris fawkes has the latest. feels like i‘m on that bridge up here sometimes. good afternoon. we are looking at dry weather over the next 24 hours. it‘s been a glorious day for england, northern ireland,

clear blue skies and sunshine. patchy cloud. scotland has had a fair bit of cloud, particularly to the north of the central belt. 0vernight with clear skies in place, it‘s going to be a cold night and we‘re looking at frost developing things can turn quite icy. during the second part of the night we‘ll see cloud increasing across wales and west of england, which can lift temperatures here by the end of tonight. northern and ireland and scotla nd tonight. northern and ireland and scotland stays cloudy and breezy, keeping frost at bay. tomorrow will be cloudy for england and wales, but not a wall, there will be bricks in the crowd, morning sunshine to south—west england, east midlands and eastern scotland to start the day. a few breaks elsewhere heading into the afternoon. generally mild, temperatures seven or 8 degrees for a good part of england and wales, up to 11 for northern ireland and scotland. far north of scotland looking at wet weather for tomorrow. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: vladimir putin

has announced a ceasefire between the syrian regime and the armed opposition. the russian president said that both sides had signed documents to start fresh peace talks. translation: the first document, between the syrian government and armed opposition, on cessation of fire on the territory of the syrian arab republic. the second document is a set of measures on control over the ceasefire regime. singin‘ in the rain star debbie reynolds has died aged 84 after suffering a stroke — just a day after the death of her daughter, carrie fisher. the head of the royal college of gps has warned that patients could be waiting more than a month to see a doctor this winter. nhs england says it‘s boosting funding for the sector. two men have been found dead at a flat in st austell. devon and cornwall police are treating the deaths as unexplained. let‘s get more on the news that the hollywood actress, debbie reynolds,

has died at the age of 84 — the day after the death of her daughter, carrie fisher. hollywood‘s finest have been paying their tributes. the star trek actor william shatner described her as "one of the last of hollywood royalty". he wrote on twitter, "it breaks my heart that she is gone." his fellow star trek actor, george takei, said, "there is nothing harder than having to bury a child. debbie died of a broken heart, but she‘s with her daughter now." damejoan collins hailed her as "a wonderfully warm friend and colleague", tweeting that she was praying for debbie‘s son, todd fisher, and granddaughter, billie lourd. and chat show host larry king tweeted a picture of himself interviewing the actress on his show, saying, "debbie reynolds was pure class. she was loving, talented, beautiful, unsinkable." carrie fisher paid tribute to her mother, and joked about her three divorces, when the pair appeared together at the unveiling of her star on the hollywood walk of fame in 1997. let‘s take a listen. it should be yours. you have the best hollywood memorabilia and the most and the worst ex—husbands.

it is always interesting following your footsteps. i love you, mamma, one more star and that makes each of your horrible, horrible ex—husbands. we are going for three now, come on! the entertainmentjournalist jeanie wolf was friends with debbie reynolds and her daughter, carrie fisher, and joined us from la. she said the last few days since her daughter‘s heart attack had been agonising for debbie reynolds. you have to understand, she never regained consciousness, so her mother saw her daughter lying there and sent out messages that she was ina and sent out messages that she was in a stable condition. she knew she was going to die. it was just too much for her. her son said she wa nted much for her. her son said she wanted to be with her daughter. i don‘t know all of the details, but i know that debbie has been in very, very fragile health. just last year,

she was honoured by the screen actors guild, and you love to dress up actors guild, and you love to dress up and get applause. she loved the attention. she was too ill to show up attention. she was too ill to show up and carry excepted the award for her. if all you have done is seen her. if all you have done is seen her at 19 years old in singing in the rain, you would neverforget her. she said it was a wonderful blessing, that came to her unexpectedly, and she was determined to keep up with gene kelly and the professionals, and she did. she was so sweet and lovable, so optimistic. they could see that they had magic in that movie. you have got to watch it again. it is really something. carrie fisher said, i will be princess leia for ever, and she will be tammy for ever. it was not only a

movie but a song. she could sing, dance, fund raise, charm anybody. in her later years, she had a lot of time in las vegas, doing an act. everyone thought that she was miss perfect, but i can tell you that her acting las vegas was pretty bawdy. she had a mouth on her, the audience related to her, thought they knew her, thought she was their mother as well. she was very much a beloved, fight through anything character. she would say to her daughter, go for it. because our own mother had said go for it. and she went for it! this death of her daughter, in a way that nobody could have predicted, did sink the unsinkable. in earlier

yea rs, did sink the unsinkable. in earlier years, they did not get along. when she was going through her most turbulent time, she thought she would lose her to drug abuse. then they lived in houses next door to each other and they were in and out of each other‘s kitchen and on the phone every day. you have to remember, carrie fisher had a daughter and debbie and her got a long brilliantly. they would sing and dance together, do imitations, play cards. she is in her 20s now, an actress on television. from what i understand, she is a solid creature, from all but her mother and grandmother have gone through. you can understand that billy losing her grandmother and mother within days, that is you have to worry about. in 1989, debbie reynolds appeared on wogan, telling him how her movie studio made her abandon her real name after she was discovered at the age of 16. hollywood sweetheart, welcome to

debbie reynolds. cheering and applause what is your real name? my what is your real name? my name is me francis. i‘m from texas, and everything is called something like that. how did debbie come about? mr warner, jack warner, very strong, using charge. the heads of the studios, all those famous people. he did not like mary, it was

too simple. francis was boring and mary frances was just awful. he said you will be called debbie morgan. i said, i don‘t think so. i will not be debbie morgan, i don‘t know who that is. he said, you have to be debbie. did you ever change name from your father‘s. 0f debbie. did you ever change name from your father‘s. of course, debbie. did you ever change name from yourfather‘s. of course, he had, so didn‘t do me any good. so i had, so didn‘t do me any good. so i had to change my name to debbie, but i god to keep reynolds. there are now plenty of people they laughed at me, and it is nice to be the first ever. let's have a look. right this way. that order fix it. i don't

think so. too many notes. it's not too many! can we borrow your piano for a too many! can we borrow your piano fora minute. too many! can we borrow your piano for a minute. listen. # i wanna be loved by you... # # boop—boop—be—doo. cheering and applause debbie reynolds and the wogan show

in 1989. australian please say they have smashed a drug ring bringing hundreds of kilograms into the country. police say this is the biggest hole in america‘s history. the investigation began almost three yea rs the investigation began almost three years ago. detectives believe the criminal signe —— criminal syndicate was using a trawler to meet a mothership from chile to import vast quantities of drugs. more than a tonne of cocaine has been recovered from a boat north of sydney, and on islands in the south pacific. we have seized 32 kilograms is of heroin in fiji that we believe is

destined for sydney. cocaine in tahiti that was bound for australia. 15 men have been arrested, and charged with serious trafficking offences. among them are businessmen and a former australian rugby league player. investigators allege that although the gang was resilient and determined, it has been completely dismantled. this is an international crime syndicate hoping that we will not be in the area we are in. as has been others today, through cooperation and hard work of police officers and border force offices, syndicates such as this will be taken down. law enforcement authorities say that had this huge consignment of cocaine reached the streets of australia, the result for the community would have been devastating. pakistan‘s request for all three

million afghan refugees to leave is causing chaos on its borders and plunging families into uncertainty. many afghans have spent all their lives in pakistan and fear their home country cannot provide the same standard of living. 0ur correspondent, shaimaa khalil, has followed one refugee on hisjourney from pakistan to afghanistan. this man left from a war—ravaged afghanistan with his family 13 years ago to settle here in pakistan. tonight he goes back to a homeland still marred by violence. he is one of tens of thousands of afghans who have decided to leave. a result of pakistan‘s intensive campaign to send more than 1.5 million refugees back. translation: it will be difficult compared to here, it feels as if i‘m going to a new country. i have spent my life in pakistan. this is like my own country. the unhcr says that on average

5500 people have been making their way back daily. pakistan says it is facing economic and security challenges. and recent clashes between afghan and pakistani troops have made life very difficult for refugees. many have reported harassment by the police. they say they are now being forced into an unknown and dangerous situation. there are serious challenges right now. unless the returnees are able to access basic services, lands and livelihoods they will not to be able to be successfully reintegrated. in kabul trucks carrying families arrive every day. after a long overnight drive across the border, the man‘s wife and two boys start the registration process of this unhcr centre. they learn about mines and explosives.

a daunting new reality of life in afghanistan. he gets financial aid from the un refugee agency. $400 per person. just enough for basic needs to last them a few weeks. but he has no idea what comes next and is worried about the violence here. translation: i have to look for a house now. i am worried if something happens to me, who will take care of my family? for months thousands of refugees have been crossing the border into afghanistan packing up whatever they could from a life they left behind. when you look at their faces, men, women, children, they are so exhausted from the long and draining journey. but the hardship doesn‘t end here. most refugees have nowhere to go. especially those who come from areas where fighting is still ongoing with the taliban. they left the only life they knew back in pakistan.

and for now these trucks seems the closest thing to home. the headlines on bbc news: vladimir putin has announced a ceasefire between the syrian government and the rebels, to come into force at me like tonight. debbie reynolds has died just a day after the death of her daughter, carrie fisher. gps are warning that patients could wait more than a month to see the doctor this winter. scientists may have discovered new insights into brain diseases such as alzheimer‘s and parkinson‘s through studying the work of famous painters. they‘ve found artists who went on to develop the conditions started using different brush—strokes several years before becoming ill — an insight which may help understand what‘s happening in the brain of people who develop the diseases.

0ur health correspondent, dominic hughes, has more. who‘s this painting by? vermeer. can you remember what the painting is called? the girl with the pearl earring. it is one of my favourites that he did. living with dementia, joyce cope still enjoys painting. but today, her work is very different from the highly detailed pictures she used to produce before the disease took hold. there was these really good copies of the masters, and very detailed. she‘s not as detailed now. she can remember things from years ago, but generally if you ask what she had for breakfast this morning, she can‘t remember. but can art, and more specifically the way artists work, tell us something about the development of dementia and other degenerative brain diseases? much of the research into dementia has obviously been very medical. but now, a new approach combines both maths and art, and offers an intriguing

insight into what might be going on in the brains of those artists who develop dementia, long before any symptoms become obvious. there is some fractal content in this, which is what we call very low—level fractal dementia... fractal analysis is a complex, mathematical method of looking at recurring patterns. the recurring patterns of our brainwaves and heart beats are fractal. the same applies to the individual brushstrokes of artists, it is a bit like their handwriting. now, an analysis of more than 2,000 works by 17 artists has revealed tiny changes in those patterns. artists who went on to develop dementia or parkinson‘s disease, the fractal patterns started to change, in an unusual way. so what we find is, up to 20 years before they actually had a diagnosis of a neurological disorder, the fractal content within their paintings had started to decrease. so anything that helps us understand

more about how the brain operates is a useful way to inform future directions for research. the artist willem de kooning was diagnosed with alzheimer‘s disease after his death in 1997. the brushstroke patterns seen in his earlier work were different when compared to later paintings. but in the work of picasso, who died free of any known neurological disease, the patterns remain constant throughout his life, regardless of what he was painting. so is it easier to use oils than it is to use watercolours? yes, yes. this won‘t help diagnosed dementia, or similar diseases, but it does give a valuable insight into changes that are taking place in the brain, years before the illness appears, and so could help answer questions about these devastating conditions. people across the uk are gearing up for new year‘s celebrations this weekend — and, in central london, partygoers are being urged to be vigilant as they enjoy the annual fireworks celebrations. 0ur correspondent, frankie mccamley,

is at the met police headquarters in central london to see how they‘ve been preparing. we are in the special operations room for the metropolitan police, which on new year‘s eve will be a hive of activity, not only will you have fire brigade crews but also ambulance crews and police officers, monitoring the screens around us making sure london is as safe as it can be. joining me now is superintendent phil langworthy. thanks forjoining us. you are expecting more than 100,000 people, how long have you been planning this? we spent a long time carefully planning this operation with our partners, the mayor's office, the city council and many others to make sure people can come into central london on new year's eve and have a fantastic time. security is a big thing and will be on the minds of people following the events in berlin, what extra measures have you put in place this year? we want people to feel reassured that they can come

and have a great time, i asked them to look at the website to make sure they only bring items that they need, wrap up warmly and when they come to give us extra time because there will be a search regime in place. there is something like 3000 police officers on duty in central london alone and there will be stewards as well. thank you. just to say, make sure you give yourself extra time this year and only turn up to the event if you have a ticket. south african satirists say they‘re struggling to keep up with the pace of events, at the end of a year when president zuma has survived several attempts to force his resignation. the established comedians are urging a new generation to step forward and hold their leaders to account through humour — both on stage and on social media. 0ur southern africa correspondent, karen allen, reports from cape town. politics has long been fair game for comedians and south africa,

but brawls in the national assembly have offered extra food for thought. 0rder, order! it has been a year when truth has been stranger than fiction. dubious political influence, shady deals, internal party feuds, and a succession battle, all rich material for others, in a country with a proud history of speaking out. south africa‘s leaders have long been lampooned. the problem is, it no longerfeels like a joke. the mood here is ugly. the mood is angry. the mood is kind of desperate. meetjonathan shapiro. he has dodged jail for his biting satire. but in his latest drawings, which show president zuma out of control, looks like reality is having the last laugh. you are dealing in the hypothetical and the hyperbole. you exaggerate things, and you say, what if it got even worse? but, when it gets so crazy,

how much worse can you even think of a scenario, than some of the things we have got at the moment? it makes it quite difficult to be a cartoonist. we can't accuse him of this! press freedom has been robustly defended here. it has allowed one of the oldest satirists in the business to do hisjob. irregular expenditure. what does that mean? means stealing! he credits the late nelson mandela for using humour to heal divisions, and wants to see younger satirist taking leaders on. if you are angry enough to take youranger, and make me laugh at that anger, that i don't want to think about, then you are on the right track. and you will find people who want to kill you. and just do enough to make them laugh so loudly that, by the time they shoot the gun, you are out of sight. but the younger generation has found new ways to poke fun of power through social media, with memes and captions like this. it has been an inspiration

for mainstream comics like marc lottering. as a comedian, i am sometimes quite annoyed by it, because sometimes you think you‘re so clever, and you are thinking about a gag. and already, ten minutes later, it is a meme, and out there for everyone to see. for us, as south africans, it is very important to be looking at the funnier side of life as well, and in many respects i think that has been our saving grace, at times. people say to me, marc, you mustn‘t diss the politics of the candidate. it keeps you comedians in business! migrating birds are arriving at their breeding grounds earlier as global temperatures rise, a study has found. the research, conducted by scientists at the university of edinburgh, says some species are missing out on vital resources like food and nesting places as a result. anisa kadri reports. up, up and away. at least 4,000 different species of birds on regular migrants,

with some flying thousands of miles from one continent to another, many moving between north and south from where they breed to where they spend the winter. scientists already believe changes in temperature are having an effect on how some plants and animals behave, and now a new study from the university of edinburgh has found that some birds are reaching their summer breeding grounds earlier, on average one day soon for every one degree increase in temperature. they say reaching their breeding grounds at the wrong time, even by a few days, might mean birds miss out on food and nesting places. and it‘s those with further to go that may miss out most, which may then affect when their young is born and their chances of survival. researchers hope their findings will help scientists improve predictions of how different species respond to current and future environmental change. earlier today the ornithological consultant david darrell—lambert told us more about why the disruption in the migration time

of birds could cause problems. we have problems at both ends. we have problems with habitat loss in africa, reduced areas in which they can winter and food source availability. then when they land in the uk we have got them arriving at the wrong time, so maybe the foliage hasn‘t grown at the right time so reduced nesting facilities. not enough food availability. if you are a tired migrant you need to restart your energy levels as soon as possible. sometimes the plants aren‘t adapting with the insects aren‘t adapting at the same rates as the birds are changing so there is a disparity between the two. some species are young and the production time is designed for the maximum time for caterpillars. therefore if you are out by a few days and you are producing eight young, you don‘t have enough caterpillars, a higher mortality rate and then that affect the whole population. we take you now to the weather. good afternoon. it has been a decent

day today. some lovely sunny skies in places. in the valleys, some fairly extensive low cloud. the file cooling and in some places. a lovely day for many central and eastern parts, lovely spells of sunshine. further north, thicker cloud and more of a breeze as well. you can tell that by the number of isobars on the chart. that i will bring somehow brexit rain to the north and west of scotland overnight. further south, would like to wince, we are likely to see some patches of bog forming. by the end of the night, do we go there to be some reports east anglian and the south—east of england. that is where we will see the lowest temperatures as well. it will be pretty grey across wales and south—west of england first thing.

some drops of rain, but nothing too significant. cold and frosty in places, and patchy fog can give poor visibility at times. further north, not too much fog but a lot of cloud, also cloudy in northern ireland, where there may also be the odd spot of rain. the worst of the red cross in north and west of scotland. that will be very slow moving on friday. if anything, that has heavier times on the western side of scotland. it will be breezy, but there is a south—westerly breeze which will keep things in double figures for many places. further south, the fog lifted you low cloud, which will be remaining in place into the afternoon. tebbit is between five and 7 degrees. however that is still there in northern scotland on new year‘s eve. less cold for many

places, around double figures. in two new year‘s eve evening, and head towards midnight, that weatherfront is slipping away from southern scotla nd is slipping away from southern scotland and northern ireland, getting to north wales and northern england. south of that, relatively mild, seven or 8 degrees around with that. north of that, much colder. that will take this into new year, cold ca re that will take this into new year, cold care flooding down which will reach all parts on new year‘s day, bringing a cold blast of air with it. temperatures dropping away into the early parts of new year. with that, it will be cold enough for some snow of the highlands of scotland. more details online. this is bbc news, i‘m reeta chakrabarti. this is bbc news, i‘m reeta chakra barti. the this is bbc news, i‘m reeta chakrabarti. the headlines at 4pm. president putin announces a ceasefire between the syrian government and the rebels. he said both sides had signed documents to start fresh peace talks. translation: the first document between the syrian government and armed opposition on cessation of fire on the territory of the syrian

arab republic. the second document isa arab republic. the second document is a set of measures on control over the ceasefire regime. stars pay tribute to hollywood actress debbie reynolds who has died just a day after the death of her daughter carrie fisher. the royal college of gps warns patients could be forced to wait more than a month to see their doctor this winter. devon and cornwall police investigate the discovery of the bodies of two men ata discovery of the bodies of two men at a flat in saint austell. detectives are treating the