this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines at one. president putin says he will not expel anyone in response to president obama ordering the expulsion of 35 russian diplomats over the us election spying row. the syria ceasefire between the government and rebel groups appears largely to be holding, despite reports of isolated clashes. drivers are told to take care in fog and freezing conditions, as a coach overturns on the mao in oxfordshire, injuring 17 people. also in the next hour — learner drivers could be allowed on motorways. it's part of proposals to give learners a voluntary target for a minimum number of lessons before taking their test. and newly released government files reveal that guards at faslane naval base were ordered to shoot suspected intruders in 1990. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news.

in the past hour the russian president, vladimir putin, has said he won't expel any american diplomats in retaliation for a range of sanctions announced by washington yesterday. president obama said he would give 35 russian officials 72 hours to leave the country, after allegations that moscow interfered in the us presidential elections. sir tony brenton was the uk's former british ambassador in russia between 2004 and 2008. he explained the reasoning behind president putin's decision not to expel us diplomats. the thing that will be at the top of his mind now is how to establish a good working relationship with trump, and this is a part of preparing for that. a new relationship starting from a very low point. he wants to present himself as, "i want a good relationship, i am the peacemaker in syria,

we all hate isis and need to work together", he is trying to build a good relationship with trump. trump, as you know, has said, "we want a better relationship with russia." let's not kid ourselves, and it's sad that british politicians haven't really got the message yet, we were in a very extraordinarily dangerous situation with regard to russia and america, when both sides‘ generals were talking about shooting down the other side's planes. russia was demonstrating nuclear—tipped missiles in kaliningrad and so on. we need to get away from that. trump's arrival and his talk of a thaw give us an opportunity to do that, and everybody, including here in the uk, should be encouraging it. with me is alexander nekrassov, former adviser to the kremlin. some raised eyebrows that president putin is not retaliating. first of all, let's be clear, this is an attack not on putin or russia but on

trump. what president obama is doing is questioning the legitimacy of his election win. that is the most important point, and that is why president putin, understanding that very well, is sending a signal not to obama but to trump and saying, we understand what is going on, we are not going to retaliate, because this is politics and games and we are waiting for you to be sworn in. that is how it looks now. talking to the fritz —ish —— british former ambassador, he said being followed was part of daily life, part of the job. your smile says it all.” was part of daily life, part of the job. your smile says it all. i heard that! do you believe that russia was behind a hack on hillary clinton's tea m behind a hack on hillary clinton's team in the run—up to the election? i think that the problem with

0bama's version is that he has to show specific concrete proof. you can'tjust say, show specific concrete proof. you can't just say, my boys show specific concrete proof. you can'tjust say, my boys in the cia and fbi are sure it was russian hackers. you need to show exactly the time, dates, names. i know some russian it people and some british it people and they worked for me when i had my small media empire and ican when i had my small media empire and i can set up an operation from my bedroom and do exactly the same and then lead the trail to somebody else with remarkable ease. unfortunately such allegations, and they are very serious, they have to be proven by specific data. you can'tjust claim that we know. perhaps the point is that we know. perhaps the point is that everybody is doing it anyway. they are, but unfortunately it is the american spy community,

intelligence community, which was caught red—handed spying against everybody, the nsa scandal, so nobody took any action against america, nobody took any sanctions. the russian prime minister and president were targeted but they didn't throw out any diplomats, they understand it is the name of the game. what does it mean on a personal level for those diplomats who are kicked out? what does it mean for them? christmas sales are just starting. no, seriously, it is a big problem for people. they have children, they go to school, they have plans. 0n children, they go to school, they have plans. on a human level it is outrageous when you give 72 hours for people to leave without any explanation. i still think that 0bama explanation. i still think that obama is experiencing the bitterness ofa obama is experiencing the bitterness of a lost election, because he basically lost it as well as hillary

clinton. he is now bitter that his legacy has fallen apart and that is it. it is more about hysteria than specific aims. but again i stress this is against trump. this is not against putin. putin will not lose any popularity because of this scandal, he probably might gain a few notches. it is trump who is now ina few notches. it is trump who is now in a difficult situation, what does he do? does he brush aside the intelligence community and say, look guys, i don't like it? he is in a pickle that putin isjust watching. good to see you, thank you ray much. —— very much. a ceasefire agreed by the syrian government and opposition forces appears to be largely holding across the country on its first day. fighting is said to have stopped in much of the country, but there have been reports of some clashes. a number of rebel organisations are excluded from the truce, including the group so—called islamic state. 0ur correspondent lina sinjab spoke

to us a little earlier from beirut and said the ceasefire appeared to be holding, but with a few local exceptions. it is holding nationwide but there are reports of isolated sporadic shooting, especially in the suburbs of damascus, in the area called wadi barada. we have been hearing from activists and the syrian 0bservatory for human rights that there were a couple of air strikes followed by shooting between different sides. we can't call the ceasefire as collapsed after this incident, it is an isolated case, and people are hoping that this time the ceasefire will hold and continue, although president vladimir putin said himself when announcing the deal that it would be fragile. but the hope is that it will continue. there are plans for peace talks next month for a political settlement for the conflict in kazakhstan, followed by un—brokered talks

in geneva soon after that. we are watching the situation and will continue watching the ceasefire and how it will go over the coming hours and days in the hope that it will keep holding. coming up in a moment we'rejoined by viewers on bbc one for a round—up of all the day's news. stay with us. the russian president, vladimir putin, says he won't expel american diplomats in response to us sanctions over alleged hacking. it follows accusations moscow interfered in the american elections by hacking into e—mails, a claim denied by russia. mr putin says he will wait until president—elect donald trump responds, before taking any action. also today — the ceasefire in syria appears to be holding, the day after an agreement was announced. 17 injured after a bus crashes in thick fog in 0xfordshire. and, newly released records reveal

how anti—nuclear protesters gained access to a royal navy submarine. good afternoon. the russian president, vladimir putin, has said that he won't expel any us diplomats from the country, in a surprise response to president 0bama's decision to order russian diplomats out of the united states. mr obama, who's also imposing sanctions, had accused russia of interfering in the us presidential election. despite advice from his foreign minister, mr putin has decided not to retaliate — for now — as steve rosenberg reports from moscow. following accusations of cyber attacks on america, the us had

expeued attacks on america, the us had expelled 35 russian diplomats. so how would moscow respond? well, today, russia's foreign minister proposed tit—for—tat. he said he had asked president putin to expel 35 american diplomats. but the kremlin leader said no. no americans would be expelled. he would wait to see what kind of policies donald trump pursued in the white house. that doesn't change what america's top intelligence agencies believe to be true, that state sponsored hackers, backed by the highest levels of russian government, interfered in the us presidential election, with a cyber attack on the democratic party. the aim, to embarrass hillary clinton. was president putin behind it? washington suspects he was. last week, i got a chance to ask him myself. mrpresident, your country has been accused of state sponsored

hacking with the aim of influencing the result of the us presidential election. and president obama revealed that he told you personally to cut it out. what did you tell him in response? the kremlin leader refused to say, dismissing all the talk of hacking as sour grapes from the democratic party. the losing side always tries to pass the buck, he said. but president obama had decided there was enough evidence to merit retaliation. as well as expelling diplomats, he ordered russian government compounds in new york and maryland to be shut down. us officials believe they were being used for intelligence. washington has announced sacks sanctions against —— announced sanctions against —— announced sanctions against individuals too. including these men wanted by the fbi. moscow is furious. today, the prime

minister posted this. it is sad that the obama administration would start out by restoring our ties, is ending its term in anti—russia death throes. rip the russian embassy in the embassy in the uk had nothing good to say either. soon there would be a pro—moscow president in the white house. judging by president putin's decision not to expel any americans, it could be that putin and donald will get along just fine. steve, how big a surprise was this decision today by president putin? well, this was vintage vladimir putin, just when you think the kremlin leader is going to follow convention and do what russian and american leaders have been doing since the cold war, in other words, tit—for—tat, you kicked our guys out, we are going to kicked our guys out, we are going to

kick your guys out, he doesn't do that. he side—steps that and instead says i am not kicking anybody out. i am not going to lower myself, he said, to the level of irresponsible diplomacy and the key phrase that russia will build its future relations with the united states based on the policies that donald trump will follow, and by the way, he said, happy new year, president 0bama. happy new year, donald trump and he also invited the children of all american diplomats accredited in moscow to a new years party in the kremlin. vintage vladimir putin, an attempt, i think, kremlin. vintage vladimir putin, an attempt, ithink, to kremlin. vintage vladimir putin, an attempt, i think, to try to take the moral high ground. thank you very much. a nationwide ceasefire that came into effect overnight between the syrian government and rebel factions appears to be holding across most of the country, although some clashes have been reported. the deal was brokered by russia and turkey with the backing of iran in an attempt to end the civil war that began in 2011. the united states was not involved. here's richard galpin. this was the moment

when the tide of syria's devastating civil war turned. buses lined up earlier this month to evacuate thousands of rebel fighters, defeated in their key stronghold in aleppo. a huge blow to the opposition movement, leaving the syrian regime in a commanding position. and giving the regime an opportunity to negotiate a ceasefire from a position of strength. translation: this reflects the reality that after aleppo's liberation the situation is now different. there is a real opportunity to reach a political solution for the crisis in syria that ends the bloodshed and establishes the roots for the future of the country. but it is syria's key ally, russia, which is leading this push for an end to the five—year civil war. a chance for president putin to portray himself as a peacemaker, although he admits the ceasefire is fragile.

and already some rebel groups are disputing the terms of the truce. 0sama abu zeid of the free syrian alliance insisting that the ceasefire applies to the whole country and all rebel groups, including islamist extremists, which the syrian army says it will continue to target. two ceasefires agreed by russia and the united states earlier this year did fall apart quickly. but this time the americans and other western powers have been completely excluded, with russia working instead with turkey and iran. and so far this latest ceasefire has held in many parts of the country, although there have been some government air strikes. this lull a welcome respite for a country, so much of which has already been destroyed.

richard galpin, bbc news. seventeen people have been injured after a coach veered off a motorway slip road and overturned in heavy fog in 0xfordshire. the vehicle came off the mao slip road near thame. the met office has issued a weather warning of fog across much of southern england and parts of wales and is advising drivers to take care. our reporter helena lee has the latest. it was in the early hours of this morning in thick fog the coach veered off a slip road off the mao before rolling into a ditch and on its side. its mangled remains and the damage done clear when it was turned back over. 16 passengers were on board, travelling from heathrow to oxford. remarkably, none were seriously injured but all were treated in hospital, some for broken bones, others for cuts and bruises. the bad weather made the recovery operation challenging. all three emergency services attended. with 17 people on board in total,

very intensive for the paramedics and the ambulance crews that attended assisted by fire and the police services, as well. obviously, probably a chaotic scene to start with and dense fog not helping. the oxford bus company said the driver was very experienced and had been doing overnight shifts for a number of years. now the coach has been taken away, the investigation turns to how it happened. was the thick fog to blame? and, why did the coach come off a junction earlier than it should have done? things are getting back to normal here but driving conditions are still very challenging. the met office has issued a new fog warning, extended until a.00 this afternoon because the fog took much longer to lift than they expected and visibility in some places is less than 100 metres. also, if you are

catching a plane today, you may face delays. thank you very much. the ftse100 has closed 2016 at a record level. the benchmark index closed up 7,1a2 points, marginally beating the previous record reached yesterday. the sharp fall in sterling, following the brexit vote, has boosted ftse companies, which are largely global firms which general rate much of their revenue in dollars. people in india have until the end of the day to hand in discontinued bank notes, or risk their money becoming worthless. last month, the government announced it was withdrawing the two most popular notes, which account for more than 80% of all cash. the move was designed to tackle corruption and tax evasion, but it has caused widespread chaos. the billionaire philanthropist bill gates has warned that the world's health systems would struggle to cope with a majorflu epidemic. mr gates said the recent ebola

and zika outbreaks showed the world was too slow to respond to health emergencies. he said that complex regulations and lack of organisation meant drug companies took too long to produce vaccines. learner drivers will be allowed on to motorways for the first time, if new government plans are approved. the lessons will not be compulsory and driving instructors will decide when their students are ready. ministers hope the move will make roads in britain safer. sangita myska reports. britain's road network is amongst the safest in europe and today's proposed changes to both driver and motorcyclist training aims to build on that record. under the plans, for the first time, learner drivers will be able to have lessons on motorways, but there are caveats. learners would have to be accompanied by an approved instructor. the lessons would be voluntary and the instructor would decide if learners are ready. any proposed change to the law would be well publicised. at the moment you can't learn on the motorway until you have passed your driving test. there's a small take—up which means that people learning by trial and error afterwards. much better that they get taught properly right at the outset and encouraged actually to make long

journeys using the motorways rather than other roads. novice motorcyclists would face changes too. they would have to take a theory test online and those holding a provisional licence could have their compulsory basic training certificate revoked if they accrue more than six penalty points. the proposals also include a trial of target number of hours of lessons for all learner drivers before they take their tests. the government stresses that there are no plans to make any target compulsory. sangita myska, bbc news. theresa may has criticised president 0bama's policy on israel, after the us administration described the government injerusalem as the "most right—wing" in the country's history. downing street said the comments were inappropriate. i'm joined by our political correspondent chris mason. it's unusual for britain to criticise the united states, why is number 10 saying this? it's unusual

and striking for another reason, this is a row that downing street didn't need to get involved in but decided that it felt it should. it's criticised the barbed language of the outgoing administration, twice. firstly on that language around the description of the government in israel, downing street said it wasn't appropriate to attack the composition of the democratically elected government of an ally. on theissue elected government of an ally. on the issue of settlements in the occupied palestinian territories, it said yes it believed they were illegal, but mrkerry‘s focus on this one issue in a deeply complex dispute was not the way to negotiate peace, that a reference tojohn kerry's speech, the outgoing secretary of state the other day. those remarks from downing street have been criticised by a senior conservative, the chairman of the foreign affairs select committee. the state department in washington said it is surprised. so, why are they doing it? firstly, it is their view but secondly, diplomatically it's useful for theresa may to align herself relatively close to donald trump, given that in three weeks' time he will be president.

thank you. newly released government files reveal that guards at the faslane naval base were ordered to shoot suspected intruders, after three people broke into a nuclear submarine. the prime minister at the time, margaret thatcher, said she was "horrified" that the intruders had succeeded. nick higham reports. faslane, home to britain's nuclear submarines and one of the most secure military establishments in britain. or so you would think. yet in october 1988, three anti—nuclear demonstrators broke into the base at night and got aboard a nuclear sub. documents released at the national archives show the prime minister was appalled. when mrs thatcher was first told of the security breach, the thing that evidently horrified her most was that the intruders had managed to get into the control room of a polaris submarine. her adviser charles powell wrote, "had there been armed terrorist the consequences would have been incalculable". and mrs thatcher herself noted at the top of the page,

"i am utterly horrified. we could all have been put in grave danger." polaris was the forerunner of today's trident. the vessel was hms repulse. this is me. philjones, then a young peace activist, was one of the demonstrators. he says they were astonished at how easy it was, and shocked. when the commander of the submarine came into the control room, and he was shouting at us, "who the f are you? who the f are you?" over and over again. we were shouting back at him. "this is outrageous, we could have been the ira", because they were still active. the files show staggering security failures starting with the perimeter fence. the alarms had been switched off. as a result of the incident, royal marine sentries were given orders to shoot anyone suspected of trying to damage the sub, but it didn't stop the same thing happening again at least twice — once in 2002, once in 201a. an unnammed chinese football

club offered real madrid around £250 million to buy cristiano ronaldo — according to the player's manager. jorge mendes claims the portugal captain would have earned around £85 million a year under the deal but insists his client wasn't interested. ronaldo's current deal with real was signed in november and runs untiljune 2021. there's more throughout the day on the bbc news channel, now on bbc1 time for the news where you are. goodbye. in england you either have sunshine

01’ in england you either have sunshine or you have fog, and that fog is expensive, it will linger throughout the day today in a number of places. there have been some flight delays and cancellations at heathrow. the weather will linger across parts of southern england but some places will see some sunshine. some of the best sunshine and clear blue skies today will be across north—east england, a fine afternoon in prospect. for northern ireland and scotla nd prospect. for northern ireland and scotland it stays cloudy but relatively mild. some rain across the far north—west. fog will continue to linger throughout the afternoon and is likely to re—thicken overnight. there could well be some further disruption to travel plans through the night. elsewhere it stays cloudy, especially for wales, western england and northern ireland. the band of rain sinking southwards

across scotland, meaning the rain is more extensive in the highlands. most of the weather stays away from the central belt overnight. on new year's eve the weather front slowly sinks southwards. by the afternoon it will turn wet in glasgow, with rain also pushing into northern ireland. england and wales, a lot of cloud, the best breaks to the east of the pennines. elsewhere it is cloudy and the fog should lift as the breeze picks up. the band of rain then sinks southwards, so what do we have weather—wise for midnight? across wales and northern england you may well get wet if you are outside. for a lot of the south—east a lot of mild weather, but the cold weather continues to surge southwards through the night and into new year's day. some rain

to start 2017 across east anglia and south—east england. some showers across the north of scotland, falling as snow across the scottish hills as it turns colder. hello. this is bbc news with simon mccoy. the headlines at 13.30. president putin says he will resist calls to retaliate against america's expulsion of 35 russian diplomats. the us has accused the kremlin of hacking the emails of senior democrats and then publishing them during the american presidential campaign. a nationwide ceasefire appears to be largely holding in syria, although some clashes have been reported. islamic state fighters and militants linked to al-qaeda are not part of the deal. 17 people — including the driver — have been taken to hospital, after a coach overturned in thick fog on the mao in oxfordshire. the vehicle came off the slip road near thame in the early hours. the government is considering plans to allow learners to drive on motorways.

they'll be given access for lessons under plans to improve road safety. let's cross to the bbc sport centre — and join tim hague.