president obama takes action against russia for alleged interference in the us presidential election. there'll be sanctions against individuals and 35 russian diplomats expelled from the us. russia says it's a very destructive move. earlier in moscow, president putin declared a ceasefire deal in syria brokered by russia and turkey. it came into effect an hour ago. and the actress debbie reynolds has died at the age of 84, just a day after the death of her daughter carrie fisher. good evening. president obama has announced a series of measures against russia and said there was evidence of ‘malicious cyberactivity‘ in the recent us presidential election. he's authorised sanctions

against anyone responsible for undermining the election process and he's also approved the expulsion of 35 russian diplomats from the us. three weeks before donald trump is sworn in as president, promising to rebuild relations with moscow, mr obama said ‘all americans should be alarmed by russia's actions‘. tonight russia said it would order ‘adequate reprisals‘ as our correspondent laura bicker reports. russia stands accused of trying to help donald trump become president. moscow had been warned but now it is being punished for interfering in us elections. the top intelligence agencies believe a cyber attack on the e—mail is of the closest aides of hillary clinton was orchestrated by the highest levels of russian government. but mr trump has always questioned the evidence.“ government. but mr trump has always questioned the evidence. if you catch them in the act of hacking you

never will. you don‘t know if it is russia or china. it could be somebody sitting on a bed someplace. but the cia and the fbi both agree. the hackers, they say, were rationed and president obama says americans should be alarmed. he has ordered 35 diplomats to be expelled. believed to have close links to russian intelligence. they have 72 hours to leave the us and he is closing, closing two russian compounds. white house officials said that russia had to pay a price for what they described as an extraordinary attack on us democratic systems. president obama warned that further action is to come at a time of his choosing. russia described the closing of its us compounds as the death throes of political corpses and warned it will hit back. the cost of expelling russian diplomats is going to lead toa russian diplomats is going to lead to a reduction or it is also of us

diplomats from russia. it is not clear how this kind of cost is going to be one in which the united states have a clear advantage. president obama has built his strongest response yet to russian hacking on us soil. but he only has weeks left in office and many are now wondering what his successor will do. our north america editorjon sopel is outside the white house. as laura was asking their, there are three weeks left in office with a president. what could he realistically achieve? i think he has a sliding scale of responses that he can give to this. from a metaphorical slap on the wrist to something much further. this is much further. i think it underlines the viewer the president that not only was it an acceptable for russia to intervene in the us presidential elections, he wants to send a warning out to other countries who may be thinking of doing likewise.

that said, the russians have said that it that said, the russians have said thatitis that said, the russians have said that it is unjustified, without merit and wrong and, of course, when have you ever heard and intelligence agency of a foreign country admit that they did wrong? russia has promised retaliation. the nature of which we do not know. the x factor in all of this is donald trump decides to do. he was skating and dismissive about early reports that said the russians were involved. ultimately he has a choice— literacy belief, vladimir putin or his own intelligence agencies? you would imagine there could only be one a nswer to imagine there could only be one answer to that question. the latest attempt to stop the fighting in syria came into force an hour ago. a ceasefire between the syrian government and main opposition groups has been brokered by russia and turkey with a commitment to taking part in peace talks. the americans who played no part in the deal welcomed the news as a ‘positive development‘. two previous ceasefires in syria collapsed within weeks as our moscow correspondent steve

rosenberg reports. for nearly six years, syria has been torn apart by civil war. a country reduced to ruins. a conflict that has left more than 400,000 people dead. there have been peace initiatives before which brought no peace. but today russia announced a breakthrough. in the kremlin, russia‘s defence minister handed vladimir putin a list of syrian opposition groups which had signed up to a ceasefire with president assad. 60,000 rebels, he said, would stop fighting. this is the moment that russia has been waiting for, the president said. he added there was also an agreement to begin peace talks. the

syrian government was persuaded, persuaded by russia. it is with seven syrian groups, the agreement. not part of the deal is the so—called islamic state or the main kurdish rebel group fighting them, the white pg. excluded as well, and armed faction known previously as oui’ armed faction known previously as our morse rap which has been linked to our qaeda. sidelined is washington. moscow said it hoped america would join the new round of peace talks when donald trump takes over. at the kremlin today vladimir putin portrayed himself as a dealmaker, a peacemaker in the middle east. after nearly six years of war, bringing peace to syria will not be easy. a

spokesman for the free syrian army, an alliance of rebel factions, admitted they had no direct contact with syrian authorities. but, he said, moscow had promised to keep syrian government forces under control. ahead of the ceasefire, a reminder of the health syria has become. a video purports to shore the aftermath of an air strike today in the suburbs of damascus. schoolchildren running and screaming through the smoke and the chaos. this is a country desperate for peace. the head of the royal college of general practitioners has warned that patients in england could be forced to wait four weeks or longer to see their family doctor in months ahead. helen stokes—lampard says surgeries are already over—stretched because of a shortage of gps and years of under—investment. but the government says it‘s investing an extra £2.1i billion in family doctor services by 2020. a review of the youth justice in system in england and wales has proposed that offenders who commit

crimes before they‘re 18 years old should be given life—long anonymity. the review says naming child offenders such asjon venables and robert thompson who murdered two—year—old james bulger in liverpool in 1993 undermines attempts to rehabilitate them. police in cornwall are investigating what they say are the unexplained deaths of two men. the bodies were found yesterday evening at a block of flats in st austell. one man was in his early thirties, the other was in his twenties. the hollywood actress debbie reynolds who starred with gene kelly in the musical singin‘ in the rain has died. she was 8a. her death was announced a day after the death of her daughter the actress carrie fisher. her son said the news had been too much for her to bear as our correspondent 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. i was supposed to be an innocent, virginal little girl and certainly, i was that. but 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. dame joan collins said she was truly heartbroken. you could make an album, i could produce it.

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. and here she is, carrie fisher, six years old, watching her mother on stage. the photographer said she didn‘t move. 54 years later, debbie reynolds‘ final words: "i want to be with carrie."

but if you want to remember what made her special, remember her like this. the actress debbie reynolds who has died at the age of 84. there is more throughout the night on the bbc news channel and on bbc 0ne it is time for news where you are. the us has expelled 35 russian diplomats as punishment for alleged interference in last month‘s presidential elections, giving them and their families 72 hours to leave the country. it will also close to compounds used for russian

intelligence gathering based in new york and maryland. president barack obama had vowed action against russia amid us accusations it directed hacks against the democratic party and hillary clinton‘s election campaign. russia has denied any involvement. tonight a kremlin spokesman said the sanctions were "ungrounded and not legal". in the last few minutes, donald trump has commented on the sanctions, saying "it‘s time for our country to move on to bigger and better things." "nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, i will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation." let‘s speak to christopher swift, and national security lawyer who previously worked as an enforcement —— enforcement officer in the us treasury department. thank you for joining us here on bbc news. first of all, there is the suggestion that the sanctions aren‘t even legal, as the sanctions aren‘t even legal, as the kremlin claims will stop any

truth in that? under us law, this is perfectly legal. you will see the president used some of the buzzwords in his language. in terms of international law, there is no obligation at one country to trade with another particular individuals. there is no obligation to work with us by affiliates in russia. in terms of scale, how do is this set of sanctions compare with previous sanctions? these are the most important sanctions imposed on russia and russian agencies and officials since the start of the

russia ukraine war in march of 2014. in terms of the expulsion of russian diplomats and the closure of the two facilities it you mentioned in maryland and new york, it‘s the biggest event of this kind since 2001 when the bush administration expeued 2001 when the bush administration expelled approximately 50 individuals. the last time the obama administration expelled at this many people, it was about a dozen individuals connected to a spy ring in new york in 2010. this is a recurring pattern with either the beginning ofan recurring pattern with either the beginning of an administration or the end of administration. it is not surprising, given the current relations between moscow and washington and moscow and the rest of the world. we mentioned that donald trump has said he will meet leaders of the intelligence community next week to get an update on the facts. it‘s notjust the caa and the fbi who have come to the same conclusions ——c i a its many

others. what is to stop donald trump having a rethink when he into power? and president has the authority to rethink the sanctions. congress is delegated the authority to the president to dial—up or dial down the sanctions on particular countries and individuals as the circumstances in the world change. that is a reasonable thing to do. the difficulty thing with this anti—trump and the people advising him, -- anti—trump and the people advising him, —— with trump. he continues to see this within the frame of the 2016 general election and not us security and a teary and relations with russia. —— deteriorating. it will be difficult for the incoming administration to deal with russia ina administration to deal with russia in a productive and pragmatic way and it will be making things difficult for our outlays in britain and western europe who are dealing with the same things with russia

within their own societies —— our allies. finally, what good does this do the united states is russia says, look we didn‘t take part in any of these hacking like you claim and we are going to introduce our own sanctions on a tit—for—tat basis. where does it get anyone? the first thing we need to do in this process is get our reporting and our understanding of what‘s happening in the world focused on facts and intelligence rather than propaganda and fake news. part of what you see the obama administration doing today is trying to reset the dial on not just internationally but also domestically. around the facts of the us intelligence agency and the fa ct the us intelligence agency and the fact they have gathered. they have to proceed on the basis of those fa cts to proceed on the basis of those facts rather than casual characterisations of the relationship with russia of how things can be better. that is important for one big reason. every

administration since the end of the cold war has come in and approached us relations with russia on an optimistic basis. bush talked about how he could see into putin‘s soul. 0bama tried to reset relations with the russian federation after they broke down during the war with russia and georgia. the trump administration has plans to do the same thing. it hasn‘t worked the past 16 years with the prior administration. taking this action 110w administration. taking this action now and doing it on the basis of the fa cts now and doing it on the basis of the facts of the intelligence agency has gathered puts us on the right footing in terms of thinking about how to deal with russia practically and pragmatically moving forward. christopher swift from georgetown university, thank you for talking with us. a new nationwide ceasefire in the syrian conflict has now been in place forjust over an hour. the deal was brokered by russia and turkey who‘ve been on opposing sides in the conflict.

but some groups, including so—called islamic state, are not part of the agreement. earlier i spoke to pavel felgenhauer, who‘s a russian military analyst in moscow. he told me about the timing and details of the deal. it happened when the agreement came together. it‘s not that it was deliberately postponed for the new year. it is a complicated agreement between a great number of different kinds of groups and forces and outside states. russia, turkey, iran, working together with the syrian assad regime and opposition groups, trying to put together some kind of agreement. an agreement that would change the basic landscape of the syrian civil war. of course this agreement came after the end of the battle of aleppo and after the battle of aleppo and after the battle was ended, it was obvious all

sides needed an operational cause. practically speaking, it happened, eve ryo ne practically speaking, it happened, everyone needed a cause even if they weren‘t going to follow up the ceasefire they needed to rearrange their troops. it was coming, some kind of agreement. of course, moscow wa nts a kind of agreement. of course, moscow wants a more lasting and strategic outcome from this ceasefire. an agreement with parts of the syrian opposition. moscow is pressing for an early beginning of talks in the capital. and agreement between the

assad government. how hard will that be? it never was for all factions to be? it never was for all factions to be involved. russia wants to split the syrian opposition. something that the russian military did it in chechnya a few years ago, split the opposition. the diehards and the extremists. the russian military effort in syria has a very serious handicap, we don‘t have good infa ntry handicap, we don‘t have good infantry there. the shia militias and has allahu —— and hezbollah are

hostile. it is like the american awakening in iran, turn part of the suny opposition, that‘s what we are trying to do. -- sunni. more now on the death of the hollywood actress debbie reynolds, just a day after her daughter carrie fisher. the 84—year—old star of singin‘ in the rain was at her son‘s home planning her daughter‘s funeral, when she is believed to have suffered a stroke. six years ago, when debbie reynolds was a guest on the bbc‘s hardtalk programme, she opened up about her three divorces, going bankrupt and bringing up two children and three step—children on her own. doi do i have to work? yes. everybody has to work. there are always bills, i raised five children. they went to university and they always had a mother who worked. they always had cars, colleges, you know. ithink

all pa rents cars, colleges, you know. ithink all parents work, don‘t they? well, especially if they have the divorce. that‘s the thing, your third husband left you bankrupt, didn‘t he? that‘s the thing, your third husband left you bankrupt, didn't he? my second husband left me bankrupt. and the third one, he didn‘t leave me bankrupt, he just left with all the money. that must be very difficult because as a hollywood star, you have massive amount of money until your second or third marriage? jono yes, but husband spend a lot of money. i could shop all day on what they spend. due regret that you trusted your husband is so much and it didn‘t work out for one reason or another? your second husband gambled another? your second husband gambled a lot and your third husband, a hotel complex at didn‘t work out? a lot and your third husband, a hotel complex at didn't work out? as a woman, i have two are you honestly. ——i have to and the u. when you fall in love, you have to believe that you are in love

otherwise you won‘t get married. i am rather victorian and i think if the man says, i love you, debbie and they want to be used for the rest of my life, you must believe him or you wouldn‘t marry him. i‘m not a com plete wouldn‘t marry him. i‘m not a complete full until after the fact. yes, i have been married three times. twice, the second one i went bankrupt and the third one went bankrupt and the third one went bankrupt but he didn‘t get anything. he took all the money and ran. it didn‘t get everything. i have great resilience, you know? they don‘t tackle me on the way out, theyjust leave me fallen like a good punch. when you are first discovered at the age of 16, what did it feel like to be on the verge of a hollywood career? who knew? i was 16, i was at school. i went in a little local beauty contest just for fun. you could win a scarf? i never had a

silk scarf or a beautiful blouse and a one the contest, there was a talent scout and they took me to warner brothers and did a screen test and asked me why i wanted to be in the movies and i said, i don‘t! they must be a bit survived —— surprised by that because every younger wants to be an actress. surprised by that because every younger wants to be an actresslj truly had no thought about it. i loved to go to movies at why would you think you are going to be in the movies? it‘s wanting to go to the movies? it‘s wanting to go to the movies in the movie stars but why would you think you are ever going to be in the movies is no one in yourfamily... if to be in the movies is no one in your family... if you were exposed to it at all. i had no dream of that. then all of a sudden i guess they thought i was so crazy that i would fit into show business because you have to be a little crazy to be into show business. i‘ve decided that. debbie reynolds speaking six years ago on hardtalk. sta rt

start with a good look at the satellite seekers —— sequence from earlier today. a bit more of a breeze and a little bit of rain. some good spells of sunshine for northern ireland, much of england and wales. we started called at —3 in some places. it led to picturesque scenery. by the time we saw the sunshine by daytime and by evening, but temperatures plummeted. there is extra cloud drifting in from the west and i suspect east anglia and south—east of england, you will see the worst of the disability by dawn. it is hovering a degree or so each side of reasoning. —— freezing. there is more cloud and some rain up in northern ireland. very little rain to speak of, some of the rain and low and a few patches of fog in wales. fog lingering in east anglia and the

south—east. it would be a slow start for some. some of the visibility is poorin for some. some of the visibility is poor in places. into northern england, a lot of cloud but very little rain. cloudy in northern ireland. double figures across much of scotla nd ireland. double figures across much of scotland for the morning but a fair bit of cloud in the north and west and that is bringing rain. a bit of a breeze as well. the weather front will be with you for some time. it is slowly slipping south. it will stay mild with the south—westerly breeze and any fault in the south—east lifts into low cloud and it will stay grey here and generally speaking, more cloud than what we saw through thursday. some brea ks what we saw through thursday. some breaks in the cloud to the east of higher ground. five degrees in norwich. new year‘s eve, we still have the weather front scott —— across scotland. south—westerly breeze will raise the temperatures across england and wales and it is largely dried through the day on new year‘s eve. as we head towards midnight, the weather front could

clear a way. south and east, largely dry and not particular cold around midnight, seven or eight degrees. we see the temperatures dipping away across northern part. through new year‘s day itself, rain on this weather front, cold air follows along behind. new year‘s day, it will be cold enough for snow showers in the north. hello. this is bbc news. we‘ll be taking a look at tomorrow morning‘s papers in a moment. first the headlines. president obama has authorised sanctions against russia over alleged interference in the recent us presidential election. he‘s also expelling 35 russian diplomats from the states in response to claims of a campaign of harassment of american officials in moscow. the kremlin denied any involvement in the hacking. russia announced a ceasefire which has come into force between the syrian government and rebel forces. several of the most important groups

are reported to have signed up. the first document is about a ceasefire on the territory of the syrian arab republic. the second document is a set of measures for monitoring the ceasefire and the third document is a statement about readiness to start peace talks. 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.