this is bbc news. i'm julian worricker. the headlines at 3: a beatle, 3 bee gee and a ballerina. ringo starr and barry gibb are knighted in the new year honours. strictly judge darcey bussell is made a dame. the labour peer lord adonis, who's quit as the government's infrastructure adviser, claims brexit is infecting the entire conduct of government. a hyper defensive government which has got its backs against the wall in the mishandling of brexit, and it is seeking to scapegoat advisers and any others who come across its path. thousands of iranians take to the streets of tehran in a show of support for the government after two days of opposition protests. millennials will enjoy the biggest "inheritance boom" of any post—war generation, but not until they're into their 60s, a report says. captain steve smith scores yet another century as australia bats out the final day to save the fourth ashes test against

england in melbourne. and we investigate why africa is in the midst of a baby boom. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the beatles drummer ringo starr and the last surviving member of the bee gees, barry gibb, are among those who have been knighted in the new year honours. the ex—deputy prime minister nick clegg is also knighted and the former ballerina turned strictly come dancing judge darcy bussell becomes a dame. this report from our entertainment correspondent, lizo mzimba. # twist and shout! more than 50 years after beatlemania, the fab four‘s drummer

has been honoured with a knighthood... # what would you do if i sang... ..recognising ringo starr's half—a—century—long contribution to music. # i get by with a little help from my friends. # tragedy! former bee gee barry gibb said he was humbled and very proud to be made sir barry. # with no—one to love you, you're going nowhere. war horse author and one—time children's laureate michael morpurgo, who too has been made a knight, hopes his award highlights the importance of literature for young people. reading is a great bastion against stupidity and bigotry and ignorance. it is the greatest weapon we have, really. and the greatest assistance we can give them is to make them readers.

strictlyjudge darcey bussell, who has occasionally performed on the programme, too, is to be made a dame for services to dance. i'm dickie roper. i'm the night manager. those being made cbes, the next highest level of award, include actor hugh laurie for services to drama. are you english, pine? and best—selling riders authorjilly cooper. absolutely knocked out. knocked out, i was thrilled. i couldn't believe it. i mean, suddenly to get a letter, you know, and one thinks, "0h, god, it's a bill, a gas bill or something". and it's this heavenly thing, saying "you're a cbe". it's wonderful. # i've got to run away. singer and campaigner marc almond is made an obe for services to arts and culture. musician and producer wiley, known as the "godfather of grime", is made an mbe. commentator: the pass to warburton.

brilliant catch by the captain! in the world of sport, sam warburton, who has captained wales and the british and irish lions is made an obe. most of those being honoured are ordinary people doing extraordinary work, like efe ezekiel, who acts as a mentorfor young people. of course, young people are everything to me. i'm passionate about them and passionate their life, their well—being and their welfare, so for me to be recognised for my passion is one of the greatest honours ever, so i'm in complete gratitude and appreciation. the majority of honours do go to people who are not in the public eye but who have given exceptional service. and in 2018, the honours committee say they will be looking to particularly recognise individuals who were involved in the response to, and the aftermath of the london and manchester terror attacks, and the fire at grenfell tower. lizo mzimba, bbc news, buckingham palace. in iran, thousands of people are attending pro—government rallies following two days of street protests against the authorities.

state television has shown crowds of people in the capital, tehran. the anti—government protests, in several parts of the country, saw people demonstrating against what they say is corruption and falling living standards. our persian service correspondent, kasra naji, reports. the third day of anti—government protests in iran. this one in central tehran, around the main university campus. here they are shouting a slogan against iran's supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei. "shame on you", they say. "let go of the country and leave." small protests, but significant, and there are reports of more demonstrations elsewhere in the country. not far away, in north tehran, this is a government—sponsored rally, planned before the latest wave of anti—government protests of the past three days.

the authorities hope the nationwide rallies will be a show of force, a way of claiming back the streets. the focus of this rally is to show support for the supreme leader. the anti—government protests broke out on thursday with what was supposed to be a small demonstration against rising prices and continuing unemployment. this man is urging the ruling clerics to give him a job. demonstrators have a favourite slogan that says, "the young are sitting idle, while the mullahs are sitting in palaces." many are angry that the authorities are using iran's money on war efforts abroad, in places like syria, iraq and yemen, instead of spending it at home. clearly there is seething discontent. scenes we have not seen in iran for several years. kasra naji, bbc news.

egypt's former president mohamed morsi has been sentenced to three years in prison and fined over half a million dollars for insulting the judiciary. 17 other defendants will also be jailed. they were all accused of inciting demonstrations, defaming judicial personnel, and attempting to topple the state using twitter accounts. mr morsi is already serving a life sentence for allegedly conspiring to commit terrorist acts. lord adonis, who resigned last night as the government's infrastructure adviser, has accused ministers of becoming "hypersensitive to any criticism". the former labour cabinet minister says brexit has "infected" the entire conduct of whitehall. supporters of brexit have responded angrily to the resignation, with the former conservative leader iain duncan smith accusing him of "pontificating." lord adonis spoke earlier to my colleague shaun ley. i have a right to give my opinion. i have been doing that. i was actually appointed as a government adviser

to give independent advice. one of my great regrets is that the government, which said it wanted independent advice, then decided they did not like the advice if it was truly independent. i am afraid that is part of the malaise which is sweeping whitehall, a hyper—defensive government which has got its back against the wall in the mishandling of brexit, which is turning into a very serious national crisis. is not mr duncan smith though, and others, entitled to say that there is more than a whiff of partisanship in what you write? i read your resignation letter and it talks of the european union withdrawal bill as the worst legislation of my lifetime, i feel duty bound to oppose it relentlessly from the labour benches. then you go on, in your letter, to compare theresa may to anthony eden for presiding in suez, and you say, what the country needs is a radical reformist government in the attlee mould. it is a labour propaganda exercise, isn't it? we live in alice in wonderland at the moment. all of those opinions which you have just read out

would have been held by mainstream conservatives until two years ago. they are not much different from what david cameron was saying in his arguments as to why britain should stay in the european union in the referendum campaign, and of course, conservatives of the generation of michael heseltine, john major, ken clarke, this is precisely what they were saying. remember, john major was saying, when he was prime minister, that his policy was for britain to be at the heart of europe, whereas the policy of theresa may is now to wrench us out of virtually every institution with the word europe in the title, evenif it sacrifices british jobs and trade. this is not partisan, unless being sensible is being partisan and being lunatic is somehow being loyal to the true cause. the government has been quick to respond to the accusations made by lord adonis, calling them ill—judged, and as our political correspondent pointed out earlier, a labour peer criticising conservative policy isn't going to trouble the government much. the government was quick to lessen

the impact of his resignation by briefing the media to say, actually, if he had not resigned he would have been sacked anyway. he has been incredibly outspoken and brexit, making attack after attack on the government. you could say, perhaps, that a labour peer resigning, the second such resignation in a month, we had the head of the social mobility commission resigned last month, that the one criticism for theresa may could be that she is struggling to create a centre growing consensus with cross—party working. those in the tory party will say, it was not before time, his resignation was overdue. what of the point that he raises, about the fact that the civil service is obviously having to concentrate a great deal and brexit related policy, presumably his argument is that they could be doing other more important things? exactly. other more important things? exa ctly. h e other more important things?

exactly. he is not the first person to make the point that brexit is sucking up all the political energy and time and space on the airwaves. it is very difficult to focus on other things. we have heard theresa may say that she wants to be something other than mad brexit. it is very difficult because brexit is dominating and the eu withdrawal bill, which is set to go to the house of lords next year, is one of the most significant pieces of legislation ever to go through. this is not the last we will see of lord adonis. he will continue to be a thorn in the government's side. he said he will relentlessly oppose the withdrawal bill when it gets to the house of lords next year. where does this leave infrastructure planning? a new chairman of the commission will need to be appointed. projects like hs2, hs three, he was a big spokesman on them. these are the things that have taken a back—seat to brexit, so the government will have to consider carefully who will

fill those shoes, when we saw the chairand all fill those shoes, when we saw the chair and all the members of the social mobility commission resigned last month. one of their key complaints was they were having to ta ke complaints was they were having to take a back—seat, that brexit was sucking up all the energy and leaving the cause is underfunded and under resourced. a fifth man has been arrested and properties are being searched in sheffield as part of an investigation into an alleged terror attack plot. four men were arrested last week by counter terrorism officers involved in the same operation which is being described as "intelligence led". our correspondent corinne wheatley has sent us this update. well, counterterror police say they arrested a man at about i! o'clock last night here in firth park area of the city. he is 21, he is from nearby fir vale, and he was detained on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. we know that two properties were searched by police today. one was a residential address, and another was a business. people in this area have reported seeing police activity today

and we know that police csos have been maintaining a visible presence to try and reassure the local community today. all this comes after those four earlier arrests this month in connection with this investigation. two people appeared in court yesterday charged with terror offences. another was released without charge just before christmas and another remains in custody. south yorkshire police have said today that they know that all this will be causing some concern in the local community, and they say their priority is to work with counter terror police and to keep the public safe. they say that anybody with concerns about suspicious activity in their area should contact police. younger people will enjoy the biggest "inheritance boom" of any post—war generation, that's according to the think—tank the resolution foundation which analyses living standards. those born in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, known as millennials, will inherit more wealth than previous generations. there's one snag, though. they'll be in their 60s on average

before they can enjoy the windfall, as our business correspondent joe lynam explains. we've long been told that millennials, aged between 17 and 35, face major financial challenges. they are paid less than their parents, they won't have generous pensions, and they can't get on the housing ladder. but there may be some good news for them. so we know there's a big generational wealth divide. millennials are accumulating wealth at a far slower rate than the baby boomers before them did. we have looked at whether inheritances are going to solve that problem for them. and they will play a really big role. there will be lots more money coming down in the coming decades. and it will be a bit more widely spread because of high home ownership among the parents. but this isn't the silver bullet for millennials' living standards woes. according to the resolution thanks to baby boomers aged between 50 and 70 leaving behind expensive property and investments.

but the think—tank says the average age someone inherits is 61, meaning too late for many of today's house hunters. soaring property prices, especially in the south—east, lie behind the expected surge in inheritances in the future. so if you're in your 30s or younger, and your parents own property, then you can expect to inherit something substantial. but if your parents don't own any major assets, then your future wealth prospects don't look as good. joe lynam, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news: performers, writers, politicians and local activists are among hundreds of people recognised in the new year honours list. and thousands of iranian government supporters attend officially—sponsored rallies across the country, after two days of anti—establishment protests. the labour peer, lord adonis says attempts to silence his criticism of the government forced him to step down as its infrastructure adviser. in sport the final old firm match of

the year was goalless at celtic park. there were chances for both teams to win the match and it leaves celtic nine point clear of aberdeen who are playing now. england's critters cricketers have avoided a whitewash, the last test ended in a drawer. steve smith had a century which saw them through to the close. there has been a fantastic year with victory in china with a clean sweep in the tae kwon do. i'll have more in the tae kwon do. i'll have more in the next hour. new york city's fire department says the fire at an apartment block in the bronx, which killed 12 people, seems to have been caused by a child left alone, playing with a stove. a vigil has been held for the 12 victims — four of whom were children themselves. peter simmonds reports. a candlelit vigil for the 12 victims of the bronx apartment fire, bringing together friends and neighbours, united in grief.

four of those killed were children — the youngestjust one year old. itjust devastates me to think that there are children, and that there's a baby who will never get to enjoy the things that all of us take for granted. and that's the tragedy. the first indications are that the fire was started by a three—year—old child, who was playing unsupervised with a stove. their mother's efforts to save them unwittingly created the circumstances for a disaster. she exited her apartment with her two—year—old and three—year—old, and left the door open, so this fire quickly spread up the stairs. fire travels up. the stairway acted like a chimney. it took the fire so quickly upstairs that people had very little time to react. they couldn't get back down the stairs. those that tried, a few of them perished. and this is what remains

of the century—old building. this footage filmed by firefighters gives an idea of how ferociously the flames swept through the apartment block. the stairwell was still dripping with the water used to extinguish the fire. the building is now being investigated, as the scene of the dealiest fire in new york city for more than a quarter of a century. questions are being asked whether better fire safety awareness could have prevented the tragedy in the bronx. those who were at the vigil say they hope lessons could be learned, so that lives were not lost in vain. peter simmonds, bbc news. nepal has banned solo climbers from scaling its mountains, including mount everest. the new safety regulations also prevent double amputee and blind climbers from attempting to reach the summit of the world's highest peak. the government says the law has been revised to make mountaineering safer and reduce the number of accidents and deaths. several families left homeless by the grenfell tower fire have not received extra money promised

to them by the council to help cover the cost of christmas. the royal borough of kensington and chelsea has apologised saying it made a mistake, after nearly 20 households promised the relief payments missed out. if the cold weather has got you thinking about summer sunshine, there's a warning today from the consumer group which? that holiday firms may be misleading consumers. many tour operators promote money—off deals, providing travellers book by a certain date. but a study found that half the holidays advertised were the same price —or even cheaper — after the offer expired. the firms involved have all denied misleading their customers. for the past couple of months, millions of people have been enjoying blue planet two — the latest landmark series from the bbc‘s natural history unit. the department is currently celebrating 60 years of bringing viewers wildlife from some of the most remote locations on earth — asjohn maguire has been finding out.

i spent several days wandering around the station, looking for animals. then one day, i was lucky. it is 1957, and a youthful david attenborough is in the rainforest of what is now papua new guinea, in search of new species. this is a marsupial, like the kangaroo and wallaby. these were pioneers, going to places where very few people had gone into, taking filming equipment to record it, and going on proper adventures. colinjackson is one of the natural history unit's most experienced producers. he says these seminal days of the nhu and the exploits of david attenborough were revolutionary. he used to ask the bbc for a large chunk of money and he would go off and film for months. he was getting these amazing stories, these amazing adventures, and he would come back three months later and it would all be in the bag, and nobody would have heard from him, apart from the occasional letter, because that was the only way of communicating back then.

i could see they were parrots, but i wasn't sure what kind. the unit was officially formed in bristol in 1957, although radio had been covering wildlife for more than ten years by then. for the first time, what had always been the preserve of amateur cameramen was showcased on the fledgeling medium of television. here are the pelicans, here we are filming them. now, let's watch the dive. this is the naturalist peter scott, exploring the caribbean. this time in slow motion. as we open these things up, this goes back decades, there are rows and rows like this. some of these were shot decades ago, some more recently. over the decades the planet has changed hugely, but the man who runs the unit today says its ethos remains the same. everything about what we do now is the same as it was then. it is about trying to get close to something. we are seeing what technology is available, how we can innovate that technology, how we can get our audiences even closer to the natural world.

you know, to liberate those stories that science is pointing us towards. at this time, the mother develops a pouch beneath her chin, which will hold about seven eggs or young. as technology advanced, the nhu was able to bring the vivid colours of the natural world into our living rooms. technology is a wonderful enabler, but without the ambition, without understanding the wildlife behaviour going on and how we can go about filming that... that's what the power is, people's imagination, people thinking they want to share this with the rest of the world, and discovering little things. blue planet, discovering behaviours even science hadn't seen before. but what will future projects find? the next 60 years will be all about the big stories around our relationship with the natural world. species lost, abundance loss, and the kind of footprint of humankind on the world. but also the heroes that are bringing it back. because we have to bring it back. a sobering tale, perhaps, but one the nhu is determined

to keep on telling. john maguire, bbc news, bristol. now to a group of school children from kidderminster, who have become pen pals with elderly residents living at a nearby care home. after five months of correspondence, the children have been able to put faces to the people behind the letters. our reporter ali fortescue went along to meet them. signed, sealed, and this time it's being hand delivered. we are going to see our penpals and i am really excited. it is an unlikely friendship, but with just one mile and 80 years between them, jasmine and her school friends are finally making the trip up to barchester care home to meet their penpals for the very first time. are you jasmine? that is very nice, isn't it? that is lovely. have you got something to give, james? did you do these?

we have been writing to the residents here sincejuly now, and the children have been loving receiving replies as well as writing about events that have happened in their lives. more than 400 letters have been sent between the school and the care home, but as well as offering the chance to hand deliver a christmas card, it is an opportunity for the children to show off their musical talents. #jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way # oh what fun it is to ride...# i thought we would just sing the carols, not really speak to them and then go home, but it wasn't like that. we got to speak to all the residents. there is a big age gap but it doesn't matter. i gave her a christmas card, a poem, and a card that year one has done. what is it like meeting jasmine, who has been

writing you these letters? it is lovely, isn't it? you are a lovely girl. many of the residents here have dementia, but their carers say receiving the children's letters has lifted their spirits. i think it's just having that connection again, letting them share their stories with people and children in particular. what it was like living back in the olden days, and the residents get to learn what it is like living now with the children and all their new technology. i loved seeing the children with us. it is a great honour to us. and also, we hope they learn a little too. this has gone so well that schools up and down the country, and as far away as australia, are starting similar penpal projects. but there's only one thing left to say for now. merry christmas! ali fortescue, bbc news. volunteers have released thousands of baby turtles into the sea

at a beach in west mexico. it's part of a project to protect the endangered olive ridley turtle, whose numbers have fallen sharply in recent years. andy beatt reports. on this secluded beach in concepcion, bamba, the time has come to take the plunge. but not for these locals, for hundreds of endangered baby turtles. the release of the olive ridley hatchlings is the culmination of a conservation project that hopes to boost the chances of this troubled species. it's two turtles each, and all at once, the rite of passage begins, with a short trudge into the sea. translation: we have released 2300 turtles today. we always release them at night and the afternoon normally, so the birds and everything have gone. we've seen the number of animals is going down in the ocean. nets and gulls are

always killing them. sometimes, four orfive turtles are killed daily. each summer, olive ridley turtles land on wahaca's pacific beaches to lay their eggs. but populations have dwindled through poaching. the eggs and the meat are a delicacy, and can be found at local food markets despite laws prohibiting their sale. projects like this one hope to reverse the turtles‘ fortune, by collecting, reburying, and protecting the eggs until it's time for them to hatch, and well as inspiring a new generation of conservationists. i released her to the sea. she went to the sea. she went to her house with her family. it will be 25 to 30 years until the baby turtles return to these beaches, by which time, theirfuture might be more secure. john ironmonger, bbc news. let's take a moment to check

in on the harbin ice festival, which is under way in china at the moment. the long—lasting sub—zero conditions are perfect for the display, which this year includes a record amount of ice — more than 180—thousand cubic metres of it. it's been used to sculpt various landmarks from around the world< — and it will be on display until the end of february, weather permitting. the fourth named storm is set to arrive on the last day of 2017. it is developing out of this thickening area of cloud already turning our way and wet in the south—west. the winds will blow that will ever northwards hitting the cold air in

scotland, it has been a cold de gea, more snow over the hills and some icy conditions in the northern half of the country. further south you will be much much milder. the biggest impacts will come from the strength of the wind. this is storm dyla n, strength of the wind. this is storm dylan, named by the irish net service, a deepening area of low pressure. there is an amber wind warning with the strongest of the winds more likely to be impacted across the northern half of scotland and 70 mile an hour winds. picking up and 70 mile an hour winds. picking up in the early hours and continuing into the morning, 60 mph elsewhere across scotland and the far north of england. gusty winds for a while, it would be as windy further south, with more sunshine arriving and 12 showers. very windy weather across the northern half of the uk in particular, as the storm moves out into the north sea, winds will ease

through the afternoon after a spell of sunshine we will see more of these showers packing in from the west, and they will be quite heavy as well. still some gusty winds around, a range of temperatures like today,. moving things on a fewer hours to see in the new year and there was to be some showers around at the winds will be much lighter by the stage in scotland and it will be starting to turn chilly for new year's eve. for the first day of the new year there is a chance of rain running eastwards and it could be quite heavy. strong winds through the channel, and elsewhere some sunshine and a few showers. chilly on new year's day but nothing desperately cold. as we look ahead into the early part of next year, you will find some strong winds and you will find some strong winds and you end showers or longer spells of rain. it will be cold briefly