inspection of the country's entire arline operating system, following sunday's deadly crash. investigations are continuing into the cause of the incident which left 179 people dead. coming up we'll have the research on how a single cigarette could shorten a person's life by more than 20 minutes. and astronomers are preparing to get a glimpse of a very rare star that hasn't been visible to the naked eye for eight decades. president biden has led tributes to jimmy carter, describing him as an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian. he also announced that a national day of mourning would take place onjanuary the ninth, with americans encouraged to visit places of worship to pay homage to the late president.

in 2014, president carter spoke to the bbc�*s katty kay. they discussed the russian invasion of crimea and his new book on discrimination against women. but they began with the middle east and whether president barak obama was making enough progress towards peace. i was as deeply engaged as i could possibly get. president clinton made a noble effort but he only started in the six months —— last six months of his administration. in 1967 —— it with a very wonderful start but he backed away from that. the you had one of the

bright... back in 1978 would you have thought we would have made so little progress. we you have thought we would have made so little progress. 1401 made so little progress. no i thou~ht made so little progress. no i thought it — made so little progress. no i thought it was _ made so little progress. no i thought it was a _ made so little progress. fix? i thought it was a foregone conclusion that we would have peace between israel and egypt. i thought that we would have palestinian rights guaranteed as well. even as a community agreed with that.— as well. even as a community agreed with that. had it been a failure of american _ agreed with that. had it been a failure of american policy? - agreed with that. had it been a failure of american policy? i i failure of american policy? i wouldn't allege other presents have failed. i know that president reagan didn't take much interest in it. he dealt with its spies magically and other things were more important to him. most of the other presidents since have only made brief attention to that crucial issue. so i would say that in general, not singling out anyone, that all

of the presidents could have done more to bring peace to israel. which means that you have to bring peace to the immediate neighbourhood as well. at immediate neighbourhood as well. �* , . . immediate neighbourhood as well. ~ , . . ., , well. a year after the camp david accords, _ well. a year after the camp david accords, there - well. a year after the camp david accords, there was i well. a year after the camp| david accords, there was an invasion of afghanistan. in the last few months there has been a re—start of the cold war. how is this similar and how is this different? i is this similar and how is this different?— different? i think russia and its the crimea _ different? i think russia and its the crimea was _ different? i think russia and its the crimea was a - different? i think russia and. its the crimea was a foregone conclusion. there is nothing that the west could have done to prevent putin moving his forces into crimea. the russians have always considered that crimea is part of russia. i think three quarters of the crimean people consider them to be itself to be part of russia. but i think now we have the

same situation that i face when i was in the white house. when the soviets invaded afghanistan in 1979, i took strong action, both with diplomatic relations with russia, ia declared an embargo against russia as well, i began to arm the freedom fighters in afghanistan so they could repel the russian invaders and i announced to the leader that if he went any further that he had already gone that i would respond militarily with all the weapons that we had at our disposal. and that was the end of the soviet invasion. i and that was the end of the soviet invasion.— and that was the end of the soviet invasion. i want to ask about your — soviet invasion. i want to ask about your book, _ soviet invasion. i want to ask about your book, it's - soviet invasion. i want to ask about your book, it's a - soviet invasion. i want to ask about your book, it's a thesis on how women are mistreated by religions in many instances, and i think a lot of people

would immediately think of islam but you write in the book that it islam but you write in the book thatitis islam but you write in the book that it is not confined to islam, that women are subjugated by many religions around the world. it’s subjugated by many religions around the world.— subjugated by many religions around the world. it's not 'ust religions. fl around the world. it's not 'ust religions. there i around the world. it's not 'ust religions. there are i around the world. it's not 'ust religions. there are a i around the world. it's not 'ust religions. there are a lot h around the world. it's notjust religions. there are a lot of. religions. there are a lot of abuses of women that nothing to do with religion. in the united states we pay women 33% less than men for the same work. women ceos get about 40% less than men. sexual abuse on university campuses is rampant. and it is very seldom reported by girls who are raped, or are the rapist punished and the same thing happens in the us military. it notjust religion but i think that the misinterpretation of religious scriptures do give some men the assured belief across religions... assured belief across religions. . ._

assured belief across reliaions... ., ., . religions... you also write and ou said religions... you also write and you said this _ religions... you also write and you said this is _ religions... you also write and you said this is the _ religions... you also write and you said this is the most - you said this is the most important book that you have written. i important book that you have written. ., �* ~' written. i don't think it, i know it- _ written. i don't think it, i know it. it's— written. i don't think it, i know it. it's the - written. i don't think it, i know it. it's the most - know it. it's the most important subject on earth. the horrendous abuse of women and girls on earth is the worst crime that has been committed against humanity and it is almost always ignored or not addressed adequately. and my hope is that this book will at least bring attention to that subject that i have just addressed this morning as a matter of fact, a letter to all of the heads of nations in the world to send all of them a copy of the book and i hope that within their own countries that, we can do some thing about this problem. president carter speaking to the bbc�*s katty kay back in 2014. paying tributejimmy carter, president biden said the world had lost an extraordinary leader and humanitarian. allan lichtman is distinguished history professor at american

university in washington. he reflected on president biden�*s reaction in an interview with my colleague helena humphrey. this was a talk directly from the heart. not only from someone who admired jimmy carter, but, as he said, someone who had, you know, been hanging out with jimmy carter for over 50 years. you know, someone who can respect the decency and humanity ofjimmy carter and who had seen it up close and personal. what i thought, though, was perhaps the most emblematic statement, was thatjimmy carter was always the sunday school teacher. here's what i drew from that, that the very spiritual values thatjimmy carter shared with the young people in his, you know, decades of teaching sunday school were the same values that he lived by, the same values that animated and guided his presidency,

and the same values that enabled him to contribute so extraordinarily to humanity in the many decades after his presidency. always the sunday school teacher, always representing those extraordinary positive spiritual values. and what does come through time and time again is it appears thatjimmy carter was someone who very much walked the walk, as opposed to just talking the talk. in what we know can be the fickle world of politics. for example, president biden there mentioning that when his son beau had passed away from cancer, jimmy carter had been in close contact with the family then, offering comfort. and president biden said, could you imaginejimmy carter walking past someone, walking past someone in need? clearly, what comes

through in that legacy is that humanitarian spirit. that humanitarian spirit. and i believe the best of religious teachings, which is to live a moral life of your own, particularly important when you are a public figure. and i think public figures should be a moral model for us. and that seems to have gone by the wayside, unfortunately, so much in our own time and someone who, as the president said, can never walk by anyone in need, and indeed could never ignore millions upon millions of people in need all over the world, whether it be those who are homeless and in need of shelter, whether it would be those in africa suffering from the scourge of the guinea worm or other diseases, could it be those involved in horrible, destructive wars? jimmy carter was always

there and in a positive, constructive way. he made better the lives of many millions of people all over the world. and there was a moment when a reporter asked president biden, what was your fondest memory of presidentjimmy carter? and president biden said, well, it was when he took me by the elbow some decades ago, and he was running, of course, for president. he was the governor then and said, "will you endorse me?" and, of course, these two have known each other in a political sphere for a very, very long time. and i also understand now that president carter had asked president biden to personally deliver the eulogy at that state funeral that we will see. but of course, these two, they go back a long time. they do. and this is another side ofjimmy carter. you know, you had asked me how he was able to rise up

from obscurity to become president of the united states. and some of the attributes that i pointed out was his incredible dedication, his determination, his hard work, his understanding of the political world, and his ability to connect with others. and, you know, connecting with a young, kind of very callow, at that time, hard to imaginejoe biden that way, is emblematic of this other, you know, very political, very savvy side ofjimmy carter, which we shouldn't forget either. and i thought what was interesting is that president biden said, even for millions of americans or indeed people around the world who of course know jimmy carter on their television screens, they know of him in the history books, but they won't know him personally, they may feel that they had lost a friend. why do you think there is that feeling? becausejimmy carter, his humanity, his love and caring for others radiated throughout his life. and he did so much for

so many people selflessly. he wasn't trying to claim credit for this. like the story i told you, where he came after the race in which he collapsed and with no fanfare, no press, no publicity, gave us an uplifting talk. that's what he did for the entire world for so many decades. and because he not only achieved so much, but was such a appealing, moral, decent human being that those who, you know, never laid eyes on him in person could feel they know, jimmy carter, that he was really a friend to them, notjust a remote political figure. gus speth is a former environmental adviser to presidentjimmy carter. he told my colleague helena humphrey more about carter's ground breaking environmental policies. jimmy carter was the only president we've

had who really felt environment through in his bones. i mean, he was deeply committed before he became president. and when he became president, he did a series of pathbreaking things that are relevant to today. he launched us on a path of being very concerned about energy efficiency and conservation of energy. he developed a first national energy plan and pushed it through the congress in 1978. uh, he launched a major solar programme. if i'm not mistaken, he even put some solar panels on the white house roof, is that correct? that is very correct. and of course, the infamously president reagan took him down, quite ceremoniously, and made a deal about deviating from the good policies that carter was putting in place. carter, most importantly,

i think, understood the climate issue and set us on a path to dealing with it and acknowledged it in several statements, including a major one in 1980. and so we had a0 years to address this issue, if we had gone about it sensibly. we could have been on a smooth glide path out of the fossil fuel world. and his defeat by reagan really threw all that out the window. and we've never, in a way, recovered from the lead... that the direction that he gave us and the misdirection that president reagan took us in, after carter. jeremy shoulta isjimmy carter's former pastor. he gave his thoughts on the death ofjimmy carter and the importance of his christian faith.

his faith transcended his life, from his earliest of years and it's something he grew in throughout the entirety of his life. i don't think he ever stopped being the student of the bible, and growing in the faith, and deepening his faith. he obviously became a very well respected and regarded baptist christian who served as a deacon in his church, but then also taught sunday school, where millions of individuals would have heard him, shared the christian faith in that setting. and he continued to share that and you tie in his christian faith with his presidency, where he would be sharing a story from the bible and then would mention a world meeting he had with world leaders during his presidency and bring it back to a point where we could all relate to the questions and the way he was living out his christian faith, we could relate to it in

our own personal christian life. he not only taught that but he lived it out on a global stage, but especially when the cameras were off and people had gone home from attending his sunday school class he would be out in the community visiting sick people and being with children in the community and people of all kinds and was living out his faith day by day, even when no one else was looking on. and so his faith, for all of his days, was a huge part of his life and it was deeply valuable to him, and transcended all that he did, and all that he was. the compassion and love was at the core of his being and that was an outflow of his faith. president carter's former pastor remembering his faith. you can see the flag flying at half mast. there is going to be

a national day of memorial for him onjanuary nine, and president biden encouraging americans to visit places to pay homage to him. just bringing an update on the story of liam payne. we are hearing that five people have been charged in connection with the death of the singer. you will remember that the 31—year—old died after falling from a balcony in a hotel in buenos aires. the prosecutors office in argentina is being quoted by local media as saying the hotel manager and a hotel employees, and are reportedly a friend of liam payne are being charged with manslaughter. two other

people are being charged with supplying drugs. ajudge has ordered that two of them should be remanded in custody. the pair whose names have not been reported, have been summoned to reported, have been summoned to report within 2a working hours. we have reached out to the prosecutors office for comment, we are waiting to hear back from them. argentinian authorities have been investigating liam payne's final days since he died on october the 16th. smokers are being urged to kick the habit in the new year, after new research showed that one cigarette can shorten a person's life by more than 20 minutes. 0ur reporter barry caffery has more. it's considered a hard habit to kick. but following years of health campaigns and bans in public places, the number of people who quit smoking cigarettes each year continues to rise.

despite this, around six million people in the uk still smoke, according to figures from the office of national statistics. and now new research from university college london estimates that men lose 17 minutes of their life with every cigarette they smoke, while a woman's life is cut short by 22 minutes for each cigarette. this is more than previous estimates from the bmj, which suggested each cigarette shortened a smoker�*s life by 11 minutes. as the new year approaches, and with the ambitious promise of resolutions, quitting smoking has an added incentive. we know that smoking is still the single biggest cause of preventable death and ill health in the country, leading to many diseases like asthma in children and also heart disease, cancer and dementia. we know that people who stop quitting are best if they get support through stop smoking cessation services. so there's lots of help for people who want to quit,

and now is a good time in the year to think about quitting. doctors say quitting smoking at any age substantially improves health, and the benefits start almost immediately. people are now being reminded that it's never too late to quit. barry caffrey, bbc news. astronomers are eagerly awaiting a celestial event that only happens about every 80 years. 0ur science editor rebecca morelle has this report. in bannau brycheiniog, also known as the brecon beacons, astronomers are scanning the skies. they're eagerly awaiting a once in a lifetime event to see a celestial explosion, revealing a star that's normally too faint for us to see. so i've got the telescope pointed at corona borealis, and that's the constellation that this star is in. the star she's looking for is called t coronae borealis or t cor borfor short. t cor bor is dim?

t cor bor is dim at the minute. so it's about magnitudes ten normally. and that is well below what you can see with the naked eye. but that could all be about to change. every 80 years or so, t cor bor is predicted to light up the sky, but not for long. it's only going to be visible to the naked eye for a couple of days. of course, if you've got a small pair of binoculars or a small telescope, you'll be able to see it for a little bit longer because you've got that magnifying tool. but i do think that its short stint in the sky makes it really special. t cor bor is actually two stars orbiting around each other, a small white dwarf which is a dead star, and a much larger red giant. the white dwarf has an immense gravitational pull, and it's consistently dragging material away from the red giant. over time, this material builds up until it explodes, releasing a huge amount of energy, and this makes t cor bor briefly appear much brighter in the night sky. the last time this happened was in 19116,

when michael woodman was 15. the newport schoolboy had stayed up late waiting for his dad to come home. so i looked out of my bedroom window and there, in the ring of the corona borealis, the second star down was bright, very bright. i thought, well, i've never seen that like that before. the following morning i thought, well, i will get in touch with the astronomer royal. the astronomer royal wrote back and told him, remarkably, that he was the first person in the uk to have seen this. the star spotter became a star himself for a while, with a flurry of media interest and an interview on bbc radio. it did give me some notoriety, that's the word. and they used to say, "cor, he's the chap who saw the star." so who do you think that is? who do you think that is? michael woodman is now 94. there are four generations of his family. seeing t cor bor again

will put him in an exclusive club ofjust one. we're all looking at the skies again. and not not only me, but the whole world, apparently. but if i see it, how many other people have seen it? i will be the only one who has seen it twice. i got to keep breathing. t coronae borealis, which you can't see with the naked eye, is about here. it's going to be noticeable when it when it erupts. i think there'll be a, there'll be a, you know, a bright point. so for stargazers, are there any early signs that t cor bor is about to ignite into brightness? it seems that in the past this has dimmed a little bit before it's actually erupted. and there are signs that maybe at the moment it'sjust dipping a little bit in brightness. so maybe that's a hint that it's getting close to its eruption. there have been a few false alarms that t cor bor was ready to erupt, but for now, astronomers will have to keep watching and waiting. the celestial fireworks will be worth it when they finally arrive.

rebecca morelle, bbc news, bannau brycheiniog. let's hope there is no fog to cloud the view. just in air traffic restrictions at gatwick have now been lifted. they say that a small number of flights have been cancelled today but the good news is if you are planning a flight out of gatwick, those restrictions that were there because of fog have now been lifted. now who wouldn't want to be a millionaire. well here in the uk, the national lottery created 383 millionaires this year — that's more than one each day. the operators said in total, the winners shared £848 million this year also included the uk's third biggest—ever win, a £177—million

euromillions jackpot. sadly i haven't won. a reminder of the main use today tributes have been coming in forjimmy carter who has died at the age of 100. tributes have called him an extraordinary statement and humanitarian. let me show you the pictures from the white house where it is coming up to seven o'clock in the morning. the flag is flying at half past. —— half—mast. hello. another big week of travel out there this week and potentially some more disruptive weather. not fog this time, turn quieter but strengthening winds for the next three days to take us into wednesday, new year's day, of course. also heavy rain and even a little bit of snow for some, before things turn quieter, sunnier, but also much colder later in the week.

it is this stripe of cloud which extends to the mid—atlantic which will continue to pile in and pulses. the first pulse of persistent rain earlier today has cleared through. further outbreaks of rain for southern scotland, northern ireland and the far north of england, where we will see some very strong and gusty winds on the tops of the pennines, maybe up to around 60mph. cold air in place in the far north of scotland, generally mild elsewhere. plenty of cloud, but at least dry with some brightness across many parts of england and wales. the cold air in place. for scotland, more snow on the mountains tonight. more heavy rain for many, though, giving rise to the risk of yet further flooding. turning wet again too in northern ireland. temperatures for most will be frost—free, the exception being in shetland. for new year's eve, it's going to be a day that gets windier and windier. largely dry for a good part of central and southern england and wales to begin with. outbreaks of rain for scotland, northern ireland, turning to brighter weather. showery conditions, but outbreaks of heavy rain through the afternoon and into the evening across northern england and north and west wales. it's along this central swathe we'll see some very

strong and gusty winds. those outbreaks of rain sit across parts of northern england, the midlands and wales as we head towards midnight. quite wintry in the far north of scotland, but for some of the major cities, if you're out celebrating at any of the planned events, at least, as midnight strikes, ithink edinburgh, belfast and probably london should be dry. then, as we go into new year's day itself, watching where this area of low pressure goes and how deeply it develops because we're going to see some heavy rain on it. strongest winds to the south, but on the northern edge, that could be across parts of wales, northern england, maybe southern scotland or northern ireland, there is the potential for a spell of snow, as well. further snow showers, though, in the north of scotland. they will be cold, gusty, northerly winds. it's south—westerly mild ones towards the south where they will be gusting 50mph or 60mph quite easily. it is going to be potentially disruptive through new year's day. as for new year's day, it turns colder from the north. then, for the rest of the week, sunshine is back,

but so is night—time frost.

all you live from london. this is bbc news. tributes are being paid to the former us president and nobel peace prize winner, jimmy carter, who's died at the age of 100. president biden led the global tributes saying the world has lost a remarkable leader. jimmy carter lived a life measured not by words but by his deeds.

look at his work. he helped eradicate disease notjust at home but around the world. at the white house the stars and stripes is flying at half—mast in honour of the 39th president. a national day of mourning will take place onjanuary the 9th. in other news today: local media in argentina report that five people have been charged in connection with the death of one direction star, liam payne. and an emergency safety inspection of all planes is ordered in south korea following the nation's worst aviation disaster in decades. hello. i'm nicky schiller. tributes are being paid from around the world to the former us president and nobel peace prize winner, jimmy carter, who's died at the age of 100. he was the peanut farmer

who became the most powerful man in the world, serving one term as president