biggest resignalling scheme on the network s history will close the line between cardiff central and the valleys, and several stations including paddington and london will either be partially or completely shut for several days. our transport correspondent has more. it is going to be the biggest rail upgrade ever taken on, and it all starts late tonight, hitting services across south wales, london and manchester. the lack of trains will make the roads busier. this was the m6 today. and it is a popular time to fly away for the holidays. here is sta nsted. so why do they always pick christmas to close the railways? we have a huge programme of works that we have to deliver, as part of our railway upgrade programme, and some of that work just can t be done on a live railway. we have to shut the railway. and so christmas is the best time to do it, because it s one of the quietest times of year. 2a,000 engineers will work on 200 sites across britain. well, one of the biggerjobs the
promised to do more for people sleeping on the streets. here s our political correspondent, iain watson. the british people have spoken and the answer is we are. the eu referendum divided not just the answer is we are. the eu referendum divided notjust the politicians but communities and families. so against this back drop it is perhaps not surprising that in her christmas message the prime minister appeals for unity. coming together is important for us as a country, the reason they says. as we leave the eu we must seize an historic opportunity to forge a bold new role and to unite our country as we move forward into the future. in a separate message recorded to the armed forces theresa may tells them that the government is on their side. because i want you and all the families to know that this government is on your side. jeremy corbyn says his thoughts are with those experiencing loneliness and despair at this time of year. he recently visited a homeless charity in london a
buenos aires, to begin the new year in shanghai, apparently becoming the world s highest paid footballer. £32 million a season in the csl, it s rumoured. trevor watkins, a sports lawyer who s worked in china, told me these deals will force the world to pay attention. we have a situation where the csl is commanding the way in which the transfer market is moving. they are the ones with the big money, the ones prepared to put it down on the table. they have a slightly different transfer window to european football, and arguably they are distorting, or actually advancing the european market. consider oscar, 25, at his peak, and leaving chelsea tojoin a different shanghai side. so, are chinese clubs now a threat to the premier league? sam allardyce said today he d rejected a chance to manage in china, but thinks more players will go there. with their population and the fact that the people will go out and watch football at that level, only time will tell whether it s the right th
vladimir putin, has said that he won t expel any us diplomats from the country, in a surprise response to president obama s decision to order russian diplomats out of the us. 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. mr putin also said that positive developments in relations between russia and the uk would be mutually beneficial. steve rosenberg reports from moscow. near the kremlin tonight, they were putting on a seasonal show. ahead of the new year celebrations, there was song and dance and some musical theatre. but that was nothing compared to the political theatre being played out inside. first up on stage, the foreign minister who advised president putin to expel 35 us diplomats. america had expelled 35 russians. in other words, tit for tat. cold war style. it seemed inevitable. but, no, vladimir putin said, he wasn
welcome to bbc news. us president elect donald trump has described president vladimir putin as very smart after russia said it would not yet be expelling any american diplomats in a row over cyber espionage. the obama administration has ordered 35 russian diplomats to leave, accusing moscow of interfering in the us presidential election by hacking into democratic party emails. the kremlin has denied any involvement and mr putin said he looked forward to rebuilding links with america when donald trump takes office next month. our moscow correspondent steve rozenberg has more. near the kremlin tonight, they were putting on a seasonal show. ahead of the new year celebrations, there was song and dance and some musical theatre. but that was nothing compared to the political theatre being played out inside. first up on stage, the foreign minister who advised president putin to expel 35 us diplomats. america had expelled 35 russians. in other words, tit for tat. cold war style.