this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. the headlines at 11pm: olympic stars andy murray, mo farah and jessica ennis—hill are recognised in the new year honours, which also includes big names from the entertainment world. for sporting, it has been tremendous, and from a hockey perspective it has been a really great year. we have had a feud downs but they just make great year. we have had a feud downs but theyjust make the high as a bit higher. donald trump calls vladimir putin "very smart" after the russian leader rules out a tit—for—tat response to president obama's expulsion of diplomats in a row over claims of online espionage. meanwhile, republican senatorjohn mccain calls russia's alleged hacking an "act of war" and says the us must make sure russia pays the price. russia asks the un security council to consider a new resolution to endorse the ceasefire in syria that came into force last night. a postmortem examination into the cause of george michael's death has proved...