this is bbc news world news. i'm mike embley. our top stories: president obama expels 35 russian diplomats, accusing them of interfering in the us elections. moscow says it will retaliate. president—elect trump says it's "time to move on," but he will meet intelligence chiefs for a briefing next week. president putin declares a ceasefire deal in syria, brokered by russia and turkey. it came into effect a few hours ago. road to nowhere — why this street in a french town is causing controversy. hello. president obama has imposed sanctions on russian individuals and intelligence agencies, a response to russian cyber attacks during the presidential election and harassment of american officials. 35 russian diplomats have been given 72 hours to leave the country

and two compounds are being closed. the government in moscow, which has denied any involvement in hacking, is considering retaliation. laura bicker reports from washington. 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. america's top intelligence agencies believe a cyber attack on the e—mails of hillary clinton's closest aides was orchestrated by the highest levels of russian government. but mr trump has always questioned the evidence. once they hack, if you don't catch them in the act, 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 russian, and now mr trump is softening his stance. president obama said all americans should be alarmed.

he has ordered 35 diplomats to be expelled, believed to have close links to russian intelligence. they have just 72 hours to leave the country, and he is closing two russian compounds, one in new york, and one in maryland. 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. because the cost of expelling russian diplomats is going to lead to a reduction or expelling of us diplomats from russia, it is not clear how this kind

of cost is going to be one in which the united states has a clear advantage. president obama has dealt 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. ukraine's government is also complaining of cyber—attacks — more than 6,000 hits, officials say, over the past two months. president petro poroshenko says investigations have shown russia was directly or indirectly involved. targets included key infrastructure and government agencies. moscow denies all the allegations. for more analysis and background on the sanctions ordered by president obama in response to moscow's alleged interference in the us presidential election through computer—hacking operations, go to bbc.com/news. a new ceasefire brokered by russia and turkey

has come into effect in syria. the kremlin said president assad's forces and what it called the "moderate opposition" had signalled their commitment to hold peace talks. turkey described the truce as an historic opportunity. the announcement was made in moscow, from where our 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 and working for,"

the president said. he added that there was also an agreement to begin peace talks. the syrian government was persuaded by russia to sign today's agreement. it's with seven syrian rebel groups. turkey's role was crucial in convincing them. not part of the deal are so—called islamic state, or the main kurdish rebel group fighting them, the ypg. excluded, too, an armed faction known previously as al nusra, which has been linked to al qaeda. the us has welcomed the ceasefire but it has been sidelined and snubbed white moscow. john kerry's countless meetings with the russians seemingly counted for nothing. moscow said it hoped america would join the new round of peace talks when donald trump moves into the white house. at the kremlin today vladimir putin portrayed himself as a dealmaker, a peacemaker in the middle east.

but 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'd 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 hell syria has become. the video purports to show the aftermath of an air strike today in the suburbs of damascus. schoolchildren running, screaming through the smoke and the chaos. this is a country desperate for peace. earlier i spoke with andrew tabler, a senior fellow on arab politics, focusing on syria, at the washington institute. he explained that not all of syria will fall under this ceasefire agreement. this deal is mostly for the western

part of the country, not the eastern part of the country, where isis is located, or the kurds, so it is a tentative process. the question is, are the 7 groups which have allegedly signed on to the agreement, will they go through it? one of them has been on the fence. it is not clear whether they have agreed to it or not. that is nothing new. it has happened in the past. it undermines almost every attempt at a ceasefire in syria. well, i know you know syria and the assad government quite well. what do you think, will it hold, will they go through with it? it is a very good question. i think it will hold in some places and in other places it won't. it has the benefit of buy—in from turkey and the russians as well. the question is, to what end? the regime and opposition forces that will be sitting at the table do not agree on almost anything and i don't think either one of them really are ready to give up.

the question is, are the regional powers, and the international powers, going to pressure their different clients towards some sort of peace agreement at the table? at the very least it seems a very clear sign of some kind of new world order, doesn't it, the us pretty much excluded and turkish strategic interests very much to the fore? absolutely, this is another sign of american retreat on the middle east. from the middle east. taking itself out of the equation, which is a shame, especially after all this effort, particularly onjohn kerry's part, to negotiate with the russians since last year. where do you think russian and iranian military operations go to next? well, they could go to a number of places. as the regime, with iranian and russian help, captured aleppo, they lost palmyra and other parts of the centre of the country. they could turn their attention to that but it is hard, supply lines would be exposed.

otherwise they could turn their attention to idlib province, where there are a lot of extremists mixed amongst rebel battalions. we will have to see if that is possible. those who sign on to this agreement will be spared bombardment according to the terms of the agreement. those who don't will be fair game and we will have to see who jumps on the bandwagon in the coming days. let's round—up some of the other main stories: the iraqi military says its forces are advancing, after launching a fresh wave of attacks against so—called islamic state militants, in mosul. in recent weeks there's been a lull in the fighting. the military says clashes are going on in several areas. mosul is the last big city held by the militants in iraq. a tunisian man arrested in berlin by police investigating the killing of 12 people at a christmas market in the city has been released without charge. investigations are continuing across germany and italy to see if anis amri, who was shot dead in milan last week, had any help carrying

out the attack. russian officials believe technical failure or human error are likely to have caused the plane crash that killed 92 people on sunday, but they can't rule out the possibility of an attack. they said that, although investigators had found no signs of an explosion onboard, it's possible an external impact could have downed the plane. eleven nobel peace prize winners and a number of world figures have written an open letter to the un security council calling for urgent action to protect the muslim rohingya population in myanmar. tens of thousands of rohingya have fled to bangladesh since october when the military launched a violent crackdown. the un estimates that about a third of the world's food produced for human consumption is thrown away and yet millions of people still go hungry every day. in the uk, one charity collects surplus food from supermarkets to make meals for the homeless and lonely. elainejung went to find out more here in london.

the spread ingredients destined for the spread ingredients destined for the trash was rescued by volunteers in london because of food handling laws there is no meat but it is transformed into free, healthy meals to many living in isolation and poverty. what brought me here the first time is i did not any money. i was sceptical about vegetarian food. at the hollywood or me off but when i got here i was pleasantly surprised. food cycle has 30 hubs across the uk. the patient is simple, at least once a week volu nteers simple, at least once a week volunteers collect food. it is then taken to a community centre like this one. as you see, it will be

transformed. this woman is a regular volunteer. in the uk, most people have access to very basic needs but increasingly this is less and less of the case. you can see how projects like this work well at a community level and this is just one of thousand in initiatives worldwide that are powered by volunteers and run on a shoestring. collectively they are only able to chip away at they are only able to chip away at the greater problem of food waste. roughly one third goes uneaten. the amount of land use would roughly be the size of china, mongolia and india combined. that also gives us some idea of the global scale of deforestation and pressures on resources and habitat. 800m in people around the world still go hungry every day. it is shocking,

basically, to think that food goes to waste and i really pleased that we care. rescue it and present a three course meal. 100 mils was served using 7a kg of surplus food from two supermarkets. policymakers are starting to take note. italy and france adopted new laws to cut food waste at a retail level but an deal a waste not want attitude is truly embraced, there is a long way to go before feeding the world can become sustainable. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the polish government buys a unique art collection for $2 billion but critics say it was undervalued. the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got underway with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow, in holland, we're gonna use money we picked up in belgium today, then we'll be in france, and again it'll be

the same money. it's just got to be the way to go. george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed in his 0xfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. i think it was good. just good? no, fantastic. that's better. president obama expels 35 russian diplomats after accusing them

of interfering in the us elections. moscow says it will carry out reprisals. earlier in moscow, president putin declared a ceasefire deal in syria brokered by russia and turkey came into effect a few hours ago. 200 million women around the world are living with the effects of female genital mutilation. in spite of years of campaigns against the harmful practice, some communities still hold on to it. but among the kalenjin in kenya, traditional fgm is slowly fading away and an alternative rite of passage that does not include being cut, has been introduced. bbc africa's health correspondent anne soy reports from iten in western kenya. a celebration to mark passage into adulthood. these girls now have the knowledge they need to be leading women in that culture but in a break

from tradition, they did not to genital mutilation. they call it a new kind of initiation. it is the brainchild of doctor susan, the product of her ph.d. research. brainchild of doctor susan, the product of her ph.d. researchlj discovered it was not easy for the community to abandon fgm because most of the answers they were giving, how are we going to send them away for marriage? without being taken through the ceremony was to mark in this ceremony would not be taken alone. they had to be accompanied by fgm. doctor chebet tried to blend modernity and old tradition and now local leaders supporter. in many villages in kenya and other countries, the traditional practice of female genital mutilation, it is to dhaka —— it has been difficult to stamp out that here, they have embraced alternative rites of passage and it is beginning

to show signs of change. for 13 yea rs, to show signs of change. for 13 years, teenage girls have gathered in schools near their homes during holidays for teaching is about culture, how to conduct themselves in adulthood and prepare them for marriage and motherhood. to date, more than 16,000 girls have gone through the programme. this young woman is one of them. she completed her high school education last month. i wanted to get some mental ship and be exposed in a way. how to behave, how to conduct myself and prioritise in my education and how to bea prioritise in my education and how to be a future wife in the future mother. her aunt agnes introduced her to the programme and she got a tip are nieces to return to the lessons. she does not want to see a return to the painful past. the

girls, they deny them their rights. when they get married, they don't and then another thing is, it causes so and then another thing is, it causes so many problems. on denise pozner ‘s graduation day, agnes couldn't be proud of. —— on denise's. she is confident girls in her community can become responsible adults without going through a harmful practice. police in rio dejaneiro have found a body in a burnt out car which had been rented by a grease's ambassador to brazil. he had travelled from rio to brazil. he had travelled from rio to brasilia for the new year celebrations in copacabana. the polish government has bought a huge private art collection for a fraction of its estimated market value of around $2 billion.

it includes leonardo da vinci's lady with an ermine. but as catrina renton reports, the sale was not without controversy. leonardo da vinci's lady with an ermine painted in 1490, is one of only four portraits of women by the italian master. it is one of the pieces in the czartoryski foundation's collection. the treasure trove consists of around 86,000 objects and also includes a rembrandt. it has been housed in the foundation's museum in krakow which is being refurbished. now the polish government has amended its budget to raise 100 million euros to buy it although it is thought to be worth 2 billion. the foundation's president adam czartoryski said he felt like making a donation. it seems the government has got a good deal. translation: this collection which was in polish hearts is now

the property of the polish nation. the entire czartoryski foundation's collection which is housed in krakow and any future works of art claims now belong to the polish nation. but the sale at a fraction of its worth has not gone down so well with the foundation's board. it has resigned over the bargain price saying it was not consulted but others see the purchase as a precious legacy for poland's future. as 2017 looms — new york is gearing up for the mother of all new year's eve celebrations. it's become a festive focal point, notjust for america, but for much of the world. andy beatt reports. drumroll, please! three, two, one! new york prepares for the new year and plans to see in 2017 in style. new years eve, we expect, as per usual, over1 million people. i'm not quite sure why1 million people want to stand in the freezing cold for long periods of time,

but they do, and we'll be ready for them. times square is set to welcome one in every eight new yorkers. 200 million more americans will be watching. they'll bejoined by a global audience of over a billion. it's truly a global celebration where the world comes together for one moment. we are all doing the same thing at the same time as we count down the final seconds of the year with the hope and a dream of a betterfuture. newsreel: america hails the new year. revellers have been celebrating the event in times square for over a century and enjoying its most enduring tradition, the new year's eve ball drop. hopes that 1939 will give the boys as good a time as she would. this year's ball is made of waterford crystal and illuminated with thousands of leds. crowds hoping to see it fall will need a tough constitution. temperatures are dropping to zero, there'll be no public toilets and hotdog and halal stands will remain closed. while the focus is on fun,

security is at the heart of the city's plans. this is where everybody‘s gotta be on their toes. i know complacency can set in at times but certainly not in an event like this. everybody knows how important this is and that the eyes of the world are upon times square. there's no specific security threat but no one's taking any chances. some 8,000 police officers are on patrol while 65 garbage trucks will line the square, acting as bomb barriers. manhole covers will be sealed shut, bins removed and metal and radiation detectors put in place. there will be sweeps of hotels, theatres and parking garages for potential threats. on new year's eve, you will see extraordinary assets deployed by the nypd. you will see a lot men and women in uniform. a lot you will see and as per usual, a lot you will not see. that's the combination that keeps us safe and that's

what the nypd has perfected. new york won't be the first to see in 2017 but with celebrations amongst the world's biggest, the city that never sleeps is promising another party to remember. there's now an official ‘brexit street‘ in france — and, perhaps unsurprisingly, it leads nowhere. the mayor of beaucaire says it's a tribute to the uk's vote to leave the european union. the naming has caused a fair amount of controversy — just like the referendum itself — as janey mitchell reports. not the most glamorous of locations on an industrial estate providing access to the community rubbish dump. it is also a circular road, leading nowhere. but the mayor of beaucaire, a member of the far right national front party says it is especially fitting that the road to be christened rue du brexit, meets avenue robert schuman,

the name of one of the founders of the european union. translation: it's a homage to the news and history. history is not the year 1500 or 1600, its written daily. i think britain made history in 2016 with brexit and we wanted to pay tribute. but some on social media and the town itself are rubbishing the gesture and anglicism. translation: there are famous names in provence. there's no need to use english names. let's stick with what's french. translation: what's the point? is this to encourage french people to choose frexit? i don't think so. france is france, the uk is the uk. they could have named the street elizabeth ii, why not? brexit? this is nonsense, really. translation: the english have made a good choice and i think the mayor is right to stand beside them.

the town of beaucaire sits in one of the front national‘s heartlands. the party leader marine le pen has promised a referendum on france's eu membership if she's elected president in may. could frexit boulevarde yet grace the streets of beaucaire? janey mitchell, bbc news. serena williams has taken to reddit to announce engagement to reddit founder alexis 0'hanlon. at the restau ra nt founder alexis 0'hanlon. at the restaurant in rome where they first met, he got on her knee —— is neat and she said yes. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter, i'm @bbcmikeembley. not as much fog around england and wales as friday begins

but still the potential for some dense patches. do not drop your guard just yet. still worth checking the situation where you are, especially across parts of east anglia, south—east england where it's a cold start once again but a few fog patches elsewhere. also into wales and midlands. a very different story in northern scotland. a weather system hanging around throughout the day with wind and rain. that rain is more on than off across the north and the western isles. actually to the east of that, parts of north—east scotland will see a bit of sunshine occasionally. this is the picture at 8am, plenty of cloud around and in the west in the west—facing coast and hills, damp and drizzly at times. that a feature of the weather throughout the day. many of us getting off to a fairly mild start but where we have some of that fog around and particularly across east and south—east of england, temperatures there close to freezing.

some starting with a frost. despite the cloud, it turns out milder than thursday. especially when you can see a bit of brightness, maybe north—east wales, north—east england and eastern parts of scotland. still, north of scotland throughout the day you have rain and wind. 11 degree temperatures for glasgow but just five celsius in norwich. into friday night you will probably be struck by the fact that this weather system is still hanging around the same parts of northern scotland. as we look further south we see plenty of cloud. there will still be a few fog patches but not as much as we get friday morning. thatjust easing away from being a majorfeature of our weather. as new year's eve begins, this is how it looks for the final day of 2016. finally this weather system is getting a move on and taking the rains southwards through scotland and northern ireland. the good news is that if you are out and about and celebrating the arrival of 2017, that should push away from you although cold air

behind it with wintry showers. the start of 2017 you can see the band starting to push towards parts of england and wales, especially the further north you are. for much of england and wales it will be fairly mild to be out and about. that will not last long. look at it for new year's day. the rain clears its way southwards and all of us will find ourselves in colder air with a few coastal showers around. cold air for the start of the new year. this is bbc world news. the headlines: washington is expelling 35 russian diplomats and closing two compounds, in response to evidence that hackers tried to subvert the us presidential election. the us also says american diplomats have been harassed in moscow. kremlin officials say they will retaliate. president—elect trump has said it's "time to move on, to bigger and better things." but nevertheless, he said, in the interests of the us he will meet intelligence chiefs next week to be updated on the facts of this situation. a partial ceasefire in syria has come into effect in the past few hours. president putin, who helped broker it, says the warring parties have

declared their readiness to start peace talks. but he described the agreements as "fragile". extremists from the so—called islamic state