:00:00. > :00:07.Russia and America, locked in a diplomatic row,
:00:08. > :00:09.following allegations of Russian interference in the
:00:10. > :00:16.President Putin says he won't respond to the expulsion
:00:17. > :00:18.of Russian diplomats from the US, until President Obama is replaced
:00:19. > :00:24.But the American sanctions are going ahead.
:00:25. > :00:26.Removal vans have arrived at two Russian compounds in the US,
:00:27. > :00:31.which are being closed down within hours.
:00:32. > :00:33.Also today, a coach overturns in Oxfordshire, as fog and freezing
:00:34. > :00:41.conditions cause difficulties on roads and disruption at airports.
:00:42. > :00:45.New light is shed on the poll tax riots of 1990, in official
:00:46. > :00:49.government files released for the first time.
:00:50. > :00:52.And how Cristiano Ronaldo turned down a record-breaking deal to play
:00:53. > :01:19.Russia has announced it will not be expelling any
:01:20. > :01:21.American diplomats, despite a decision by
:01:22. > :01:22.President Obama yesterday to send home 35 Russians
:01:23. > :01:29.in a row about cyber espionage and hacking.
:01:30. > :01:32.Mr Obama had accused the Russians of interfering in the US
:01:33. > :01:33.presidential election by hacking into
:01:34. > :01:38.The Kremlin has always denied any involvement
:01:39. > :01:44.and President Putin said today he looked forward to
:01:45. > :01:47.rebuilding links with America, when Donald Trump becomes president.
:01:48. > :01:52.Our Moscow correspondent Steve Rozenberg has the latest.
:01:53. > :01:57.Near the Kremlin tonight, they were putting on a seasonal show.
:01:58. > :01:59.Ahead of the New Year celebrations, there was
:02:00. > :02:03.song and dance and some musical theatre.
:02:04. > :02:05.But that was nothing compared to the political theatre
:02:06. > :02:13.First up on stage, the Foreign Minister who advised
:02:14. > :02:16.President Putin to expel 35 US diplomats.
:02:17. > :02:29.But, no, Vladimir Putin said, he wasn't going
:02:30. > :02:32.to stoop to the level of irresponsible diplomacy.
:02:33. > :02:35.He wasn't going to expel any Americans.
:02:36. > :02:37.He even invited the children of all US
:02:38. > :02:41.diplomats in Moscow to a New Year's party here in the Kremlin.
:02:42. > :02:52.But it didn't change what America's top intelligence
:02:53. > :02:55.agencies believe to be true, that state-sponsored hackers backed, by
:02:56. > :02:57.the highest levels of the Russian government, had interfered in the US
:02:58. > :03:04.With a cyber attack on the Democratic party.
:03:05. > :03:13.And last week, I got a chance to ask him myself.
:03:14. > :03:15.Mr President, your country has been accused of state-sponsored
:03:16. > :03:18.hacking with the aim of influencing the result of the US presidential
:03:19. > :03:28.President Obama revealed that he told you personally to "cut it out".
:03:29. > :03:33.So, what did you tell him, in response?
:03:34. > :03:36.The Kremlin leader refused to tell me.
:03:37. > :03:38.Dismissing all the talk of hacking as sour grapes
:03:39. > :03:49."The losing side always tries to pass the buck", he said.
:03:50. > :03:51.But President Obama had decided there was enough evidence
:03:52. > :03:55.As well as expelling diplomats, he ordered Russian government
:03:56. > :03:59.compounds in New York and Maryland to be shut down.
:04:00. > :04:04.US officials believe they were being used for intelligence.
:04:05. > :04:08.Washington has announced sanctions against individuals, too.
:04:09. > :04:13.Including these Russian nationals, wanted by the FBI for cybercrimes.
:04:14. > :04:16.But today, President Putin said he would work to restore relations
:04:17. > :04:27.What Putin and Trump expect from each other
:04:28. > :04:38.And no hypocrisy and no political correctness.
:04:39. > :04:41.By not expelling diplomats today, the Kremlin was sending a New
:04:42. > :04:49.A sign that Moscow wants a new relationship with Washington.
:04:50. > :04:59.Could 2017 be the year that Russia finally comes in from the cold?
:05:00. > :05:06.Our correspondent Laura Bicker is in Washington.
:05:07. > :05:13.Laura, what's been the latest reaction in Washington to what's
:05:14. > :05:17.came out of Moscow, today? We've had no official reaction from the White
:05:18. > :05:22.House as yet. But those sanctions are well underway. While Vladimir
:05:23. > :05:27.Putin is extending party invites to the children of American diplomats,
:05:28. > :05:32.here State Department employees are clearing out Russian compound in New
:05:33. > :05:35.York and Maryland. But by taking this action just 20 days before he
:05:36. > :05:39.leaves office, it's almost like President Obama is saying to
:05:40. > :05:44.President-elect Trump, your move. This is a Mr Trump who has in the
:05:45. > :05:49.past dismissed the allegations that Russia was behind the hacking,
:05:50. > :05:52.during the US election. In fact, he said these were the same
:05:53. > :05:56.intelligence officials who told us that Saddam Hussein had weapons of
:05:57. > :05:59.mass destruction. He has suffered that stance a little in the last 24
:06:00. > :06:03.hours, saying he will meet with intelligence officials. But he said
:06:04. > :06:08.in the same breath that it was time to get on with our lives. But the
:06:09. > :06:13.pressure is growing on him to say something. Senator John McCain has
:06:14. > :06:17.scheduled hearings in January where Congress will discuss this
:06:18. > :06:21.intelligence. And President Obama's opponents, Mr Trump's supporters,
:06:22. > :06:27.have said that he's done the right thing. They maybe believe he's done
:06:28. > :06:33.it a little too late. Mr Trump has a dilemma. Does he dismissed the
:06:34. > :06:38.intelligence from 17 agencies and risk the rash of his political
:06:39. > :06:44.supporters? Or does he continue and push forward with these sanctions?
:06:45. > :06:48.And perhaps risk a frosty, rather than a fresh start, with Vladimir
:06:49. > :06:51.Putin. Thanks for the latest in Washington. Our correspondent.
:06:52. > :06:54.Russia is asking members of the UN Security Council to consider
:06:55. > :06:56.a new resolution that would endorse the ceasefire in Syria that came
:06:57. > :07:01.The ceasefire agreed by the Syrian government and some opposition
:07:02. > :07:03.forces appears to be holding, despite reports of sporadic fighting
:07:04. > :07:14.Fog and freezing conditions have caused difficulties on the roads
:07:15. > :07:16.and severe disruption at several airports.
:07:17. > :07:19.A coach overturned on a slip road of the M40 in Oxfordshire.
:07:20. > :07:23.16 passengers and the driver were injured in the accident
:07:24. > :07:34.Our correspondent Helena Lee reports from the scene.
:07:35. > :07:38.It was in the early hours of this morning in thick fog that coach
:07:39. > :07:42.veered off a slip road off the M40 before rolling into
:07:43. > :07:46.Its mangled remains and the damage done clear
:07:47. > :07:55.16 passengers were on board, travelling from Heathrow to Oxford.
:07:56. > :07:58.Remarkably, none were critically injured.
:07:59. > :08:01.But all were treated in hospital, some for broken bones,
:08:02. > :08:09.The bad weather made the recovery operation challenging.
:08:10. > :08:11.All three emergency services attended with 17
:08:12. > :08:15.Very intensive for the paramedics and ambulance crews that attended.
:08:16. > :08:19.Assisted by fire and the police services as well.
:08:20. > :08:22.Obviously, probably a chaotic scene to start with.
:08:23. > :08:29.The Oxford bus company said the driver was very experienced
:08:30. > :08:33.and had been doing overnight shifts for a number of years.
:08:34. > :08:36.Now the coach has been taken away, the investigation turns
:08:37. > :08:42.And why did the coach come off a junction earlier
:08:43. > :08:48.For drivers in parts of southern and eastern England and Wales,
:08:49. > :08:52.conditions on the roads today have been challenging.
:08:53. > :08:55.Heavy fog has meant visibility has been poor in some places,
:08:56. > :09:02.And the fog is expected to linger throughout this evening.
:09:03. > :09:05.It's been causing problems, too, at airports.
:09:06. > :09:06.At Heathrow, there's been cancellations and delays
:09:07. > :09:12.The same at City Airport in London and Gatwick, with thousands
:09:13. > :09:16.of passengers' plans before New Year's Eve disrupted.
:09:17. > :09:18.The advice, to check with the airline before
:09:19. > :09:27.A postmortem examination carried out as part of the investigation
:09:28. > :09:31.into the death of George Michael has proved inconclusive.
:09:32. > :09:34.Further tests will now be carried out.
:09:35. > :09:36.Police are treating the singer's death in Oxfordshire
:09:37. > :09:48.on Christmas Day as unexplained but not suspicious.
:09:49. > :09:50.On the financial markets, the FTSE 100 Index has ended
:09:51. > :09:54.The index of leading shares closed at 7,142 points,
:09:55. > :09:55.beating the previous record set yesterday.
:09:56. > :09:59.The sharp fall in sterling, following the Brexit vote has
:10:00. > :10:02.boosted the value of many global companies that generate much
:10:03. > :10:12.The Government is giving renewed consideration
:10:13. > :10:14.to allowing learner drivers to have lessons on motorways in England,
:10:15. > :10:18.Other changes affecting motorcycle learners are also being considered.
:10:19. > :10:20.The lessons won't be compulsory, and driving instructors will decide
:10:21. > :10:26.Ministers hope the move will make roads in Britain safer,
:10:27. > :10:30.as our correspondent Daniel Boettcher reports.
:10:31. > :10:36.17-year-old Hannah Spicer is practising driving
:10:37. > :10:41.She started in September and has had 20 lessons.
:10:42. > :10:44.She hopes she will be ready to take her test soon.
:10:45. > :10:47.She will not be allowed to drive on a motorway until she passes,
:10:48. > :10:51.The Government is considering proposals to allow supervised
:10:52. > :10:54.learners onto the motorway for the first time,
:10:55. > :10:59.Coming onto the motorway for the first time with your
:11:00. > :11:01.instructor next to you would be easier, and you have a second
:11:02. > :11:04.pair of eyes looking at everything that is around you.
:11:05. > :11:07.If you go on your first time alone, it's going to be
:11:08. > :11:10.Learner drivers would only be allowed on motorways
:11:11. > :11:14.They would have to be with an approved driving instructor,
:11:15. > :11:16.the lessons would be voluntary, and the instructor would
:11:17. > :11:23.They would also have to be in a car with dual controls.
:11:24. > :11:25.You can't make it compulsory for practical reasons.
:11:26. > :11:27.Large bits of the country have no motorway access.
:11:28. > :11:32.And if you allow it to happen, the people who are nearest
:11:33. > :11:35.the motorways, those most likely to be using them, will get to learn
:11:36. > :11:40.This would covering England, Scotland and Wales.
:11:41. > :11:43.Northern Ireland has its own plans to allow learners onto motorways.
:11:44. > :11:46.The Government says Britain's roads are already among the safest
:11:47. > :11:49.in the world but these measures could improve that record further,
:11:50. > :11:52.and it proposes changes not just for drivers
:11:53. > :11:59.They would have to take a theory test online and those holding
:12:00. > :12:01.a provisional licence could have their compulsory basic
:12:02. > :12:03.training certificate revoked if they get more
:12:04. > :12:10.Hannah expects to have passed before any of the proposed changes come in.
:12:11. > :12:14.This is a consultation at the moment.
:12:15. > :12:16.It will also consider a target number of hours before
:12:17. > :12:19.a test can be taken, and some argue that could make
:12:20. > :12:22.learning too expensive, but the Government insists
:12:23. > :12:24.there are no plans to make that target compulsory.
:12:25. > :12:36.The latest files to be released by the National Archives shed
:12:37. > :12:39.new light on the political turmoil of 1989 and 1990, as
:12:40. > :12:41.Margaret Thatcher's period as Prime Minister came to an end.
:12:42. > :12:43.The files reveal attempts by Mrs Thatcher to modify
:12:44. > :12:45.the Community Charge, widely known as the poll tax,
:12:46. > :12:48.her controversial plan to replace local authority rates.
:12:49. > :12:52.The policy led to rioting and was a key factor in her downfall,
:12:53. > :12:59.It was the biggest political misjudgement
:13:00. > :13:02.The poll tax provoked outraged opposition.
:13:03. > :13:11.The files show her normally self-confident government
:13:12. > :13:17.These are all files dealing with the poll tax over
:13:18. > :13:20.a period of 18 months, hundreds of pages of documents.
:13:21. > :13:24.It's an indication of how much time Mrs Thatcher herself spent
:13:25. > :13:27.worrying about the problem, how complex it was, and how
:13:28. > :13:32.difficult it was to find a way out of the mess.
:13:33. > :13:35.Many of the documents are covered in Mrs Thatcher's characteristically
:13:36. > :13:39.The government tried some desperate expedients.
:13:40. > :13:42.At one point she herself floated the idea of letting councils put
:13:43. > :13:47.an extra penny on a gallon of petrol to raise more cash.
:13:48. > :13:52.The poll tax was meant to force Labour councils to spend less.
:13:53. > :13:55.Instead, the government got the blame when millions found
:13:56. > :13:57.they were paying more, and Mrs Thatcher realised
:13:58. > :14:01.it was hitting what she called the conscientious middle,
:14:02. > :14:06.One turning point came with this letter in March 1990,
:14:07. > :14:10.from an elderly Conservative voter in Norfolk.
:14:11. > :14:13.He and his wife were paying twice as much under the poll tax.
:14:14. > :14:15.He accused the Prime Minister of behaving like a dictator,
:14:16. > :14:22.Michael Portillo was the local government minister who had the job
:14:23. > :14:27.He says there are lessons to be learnt today.
:14:28. > :14:30.Well, there are lessons to be learned, of course,
:14:31. > :14:37.I think the Conservative government's commitment to introduce
:14:38. > :14:41.a poll tax in the 1980s without thinking it through is quite
:14:42. > :14:47.strongly paralleled by David Cameron's commitment quite
:14:48. > :14:49.recently to hold a referendum without thinking through
:14:50. > :14:56.As for Mrs Thatcher, the poll tax ended her career,
:14:57. > :14:58.but not before the files reveal Westminster Council threatened her
:14:59. > :15:01.with a fine if she didn't complete her own poll tax
:15:02. > :15:11.The Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has turned down
:15:12. > :15:14.an offer worth ?85 million a year to play in China,
:15:15. > :15:19.The deal would have been a major coup for the emerging
:15:20. > :15:21.Chinese Super League and would have smashed the world transfer
:15:22. > :15:30.China wants football, it wants footballers.
:15:31. > :15:33.Earlier this year, BBC Sport filmed at one of China's first
:15:34. > :15:37.designated football schools, two hours east of Beijing.
:15:38. > :15:40.But the country can't simply wait for its grassroots to grow.
:15:41. > :15:48.Whipped across, and Ronaldo's met it.
:15:49. > :15:50.According to his agent, Cristiano Ronaldo turned
:15:51. > :15:53.down ?85 million a year, offered by a club in
:15:54. > :15:58.Well, maybe, but the relocation is already happening.
:15:59. > :16:01.Here's Carlos Tevez, once of Manchester United and City,
:16:02. > :16:04.saying goodbye to his beloved Buenos Aires, to begin the New Year
:16:05. > :16:11.in Shanghai, apparently becoming the world's highest-paid footballer.
:16:12. > :16:16.?32 million a season in the CSL, it's rumoured.
:16:17. > :16:18.Trevor Watkins, a sports lawyer who's worked in China,
:16:19. > :16:22.told me these deals will force the world to pay attention.
:16:23. > :16:24.We have a situation where the CSL is commanding the way
:16:25. > :16:28.in which the transfer market is moving.
:16:29. > :16:31.They are the ones with the big money, the ones prepared to put
:16:32. > :16:34.They have a slightly different transfer window
:16:35. > :16:36.to European football, and arguably they are distorting,
:16:37. > :16:41.or actually advancing the European market.
:16:42. > :16:44.Consider Oscar, 25, at his peak, and leaving Chelsea to join
:16:45. > :16:49.So, are Chinese clubs now a threat to the Premier League?
:16:50. > :16:51.Sam Allardyce said today he'd rejected a chance to manage
:16:52. > :16:55.in China, but thinks more players will go there.
:16:56. > :16:58.With their population and the fact that the people will go out
:16:59. > :17:02.and watch football at that level, only time will tell whether it's
:17:03. > :17:06.But the clubs are not going to turn that money down,
:17:07. > :17:12.It's possible to build a successful football league
:17:13. > :17:14.with foreign talent in a country where the national team fails.
:17:15. > :17:23.If so, the next generation must be better than the current one.
:17:24. > :17:29.In a recent World Cup qualifier, China lost to Syria.
:17:30. > :17:37.A ?5 note engraved with a tiny portrait of Jane Austen and said
:17:38. > :17:42.to be worth up to ?50,000 has been found in a Christmas card.
:17:43. > :17:45.The second of four special ?5 notes featuring art by specialist
:17:46. > :17:47.micro-engraver Graham Short turned up on Thursday in
:17:48. > :17:55.The first was found earlier this month in a cafe in South Wales.
:17:56. > :18:02.Two more remain in general circulation.
:18:03. > :18:04.There's more throughout the evening on the BBC News Channel,
:18:05. > :18:06.and we'll be back with the late news at 10.50pm.
:18:07. > :18:09.Now it's time for the news where you are.