this is bbc news. the government signals that families could be allowed to celebrate christmas together in what it calls a limited and cautious way. but how many can meet and for how long is still being decided, as the options are considered. we have to find a balance, i guess, between covid restrictions and the well—being and mental health of our nations. the head of the us coronavirus programme says he hopes the first americans will be vaccinated in december, as the country passes 12 million confirmed cases. tough times ahead warns the chancellor — ahead of his spending review this week, we'll look at how funds are allocated to different areas of the country. mystery on the streets of nottingham as the broken bike

accompanying the artist banky‘s mural disappears. and we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers john rentoul and sam lister — stay with us for that. good evening. families will be allowed to celebrate christmas together in what the government is calling a ‘limited and cautious‘ way. the prime minister and the leaders of the devolved nations are finalising the details of a joint approach, allowing different households to travel and meet — but how many, and for how long

is still being discussed. england is still to emerge from lockdown on december 2nd, and will then face a tougher tiered system of restrictions. our deputy political editor vicki young spoke to me a little earlier and explained that the four nations of the uk are trying to work together to coordinate restrictions over christmas. they want it to be a four nation approach. lots of people will be going to all parts of the united kingdom, so, of course, it's much easier, given there has been a lot of complaints from people about the confusion about all these rules, if they can at least try and adopt something together. now, i think they have, today, obviously, said that they do agree there will be a relaxation, and that the mixing of households will be relaxed. now, exactly how that is going to work is another matter. i'm told by one person who is in the meeting yesterday that one idea suggested was a five day relaxation, and that three

households could mix indoors. but, as i said, that hasn't been signed off, and, again, it raises all sorts of questions. those five days, for example, does that include the time it takes to get, maybe, from devon to scotland? that is a whole day's travelling in itself, isn't it, in going either way? so, all these things need to be thought about. plus, if you have it as five days, everyone is then going to be taking to the trains, taking to the roads at the same time, crowding and, obviously, going completely against what they are trying to achieve. so, it is fraught with difficulty. and, you know, the government's scientists would rather, let's face it, it wasn't happening at all. they are very concerned that this will inevitably mean more infections and, of course, eventually, that does sadly mean more deaths. earlier i spoke to professor stephen reicher who advises both the uk and scottish goverments on covid—19, with a focus on behaviour. he told me we need to put the health of our families ahead of christmas plans. it is an agonising choice. i entirely understand that. it's as agonising a choice for me and my own family as it is for anybody else.

for me, and i think for most people, christmas, new year, they are times of goodwill, they're times of family, they are times where, you know, you want the best for other people, and it does seem to me that that the last thing i or anybody else would want is to give their family the infection, to harm them, and it would be even more tragic with vaccines on the horizon, so we might be to get over this thing. the good news about the vaccines, they tell us, if we stick at it, there really is a prospect of coming through this, and to cause more harm when the finish line is in sight seems to me to be deeply counter—productive. because it won'tjust be a matter, if we open things up, of then having to close them down to bring infections down. many people will get infected, harmed and will die, and to me, in this pandemic, the expression of the christmas spirit and of love for my family is not to do things that

will harm them. it is a real dilemma, though, because good people will point, a lot of people watching this programme, will point to the real distress and suffering that has been caused by the imposed isolation of shutdown, and there may be people, particularly elderly viewers, who think, you know, i really have missed the human contact with my children and grandchildren and great—grandchildren, i am not going to be in this world forever, if i have to pay the price of a slightly shorter life, then so be it for the benefit of having that very special time, which might anyway be my last christmas. who knows? that is not in their hands. those are unfortunately the sort of questions that will be going through people's minds. absolutely, and how can they not go through people's minds? i would like to seem a much greater focus from the government about safety, how we can, this christmas, celebrate and be safe, and i think there are two types

of things we can do. the first is that the infection happens in enclosed spaces which are crowded, which are unhygienic and which have poor ventilation, so there are two ways in which we can get around that. the first is the think of alternative celebrations which are not indoors, and i think we could draw on the amazing growth of community organisations to revive community celebration outside. that won't work for everybody, but it can work for a lot of people. also, to have celebrations which involve those people who normally are alone at christmas, and i think we can do much more, in the same way that people are knocking on neighbours‘ doors and whatsapp groups were forming, that we look after each other in the community. that is one thing that we could do, and the government could set up a fund to help us with that. second, if we are to mix in the home, we need to have a much greater focus on safety in the home, helping and advising people on how

to keep their families so safe, and supporting it practically. one concrete idea, we all accept the notion of the winter fuel allowance. well, this winter, asking people to open their windows — and they need to stay warm, so why not a pandemic fuel allowance so that everybody, including our most deprived, can ventilate their homes, stay warm and stay safe? so, the government can do much more stay safe this christmas and minimise the risks at the same time. there will be risks and increased infections, almost whatever rules are adopted. we are probably seeing that in america this weekend with thanksgiving, we saw it was canadian thanksgiving that has already happened. what are the consequences? we don‘t need to look elsewhere. if you look historically, some of the events that led to the flu pandemic in 1918 spiking were events like the

armistice celebrations. if people relax their guard and get together, infections spike. again, if you remember a week or so ago, there was a spike of infections to 30,000 people in one day, and that seems to reflect the fact that people are going out and socialising before the lockdown. if we relax, we pay the price. the only people who suffer are us. these rules and regulations are not imposed on us for somebody else‘s interest, they are for us to keep us safe, and i think the government can do more to keep us safe, to protect us, to give us the support we need to have a safe christmas. ina in a moment will be joined in a moment will bejoined by viewers on bbc one. a search for two missing fishermen whose boat sank off the sussex coast has been called off this afternoon. the alarm was raised when thejoanna c got into trouble

just before 6 o‘clock on saturday morning. 0ne crew member was rescued from the water several hours later but despite extensive searches, the others haven‘t been found. john ayres reports from brixham. the search began again today at first light. this time the focus was the eastbourne area. this all started yesterday when the coast guard responded to an emergency beacon three nautical miles from seaford near newhaven. one person from thejoanna c was picked up clinging to a buoy. two more crew are still missing. yesterday we had shock, we had hope, and we had prayers, and today we have the reality of still trying to search for them but the reality that we might not see them again. and the pain is awful. the pain is for everybody, not just the fishing community. we all feel it in a tight community like brixham. despite extensive efforts, the search was called off today at 2:30pm. you are looking for somebody's loved one, somebody's father, son, grandson or whatever. it is a very difficult decision to make and it is something we do not take very lightly.

all through the day, the brixham community has been laying flowers and candles at the man and boy statue that honours those who risk their lives at sea. i looked out of the window late last night and all you could see was lights, and i was trying to work out what it was, and it was all the candles in the windows. and, yes, the community spirit at the moment is absolutely incredible. the fisherman‘s mission helps families in their time of crisis. a gofundme page has been set up in support. i would ask that the community of brixham, and around the uk as well, pray for those families that have been affected by this really, really sad incident at sea. brixham is a very close—knit community. the pain is being felt by everyone. the candles are being lit again this evening.

families in all four uk nations will be allowed to celebrate christmas together, in what the government calls a limited and cautious way. but it warns it won‘t be a normal festive period, and how many can meet and for how long isn‘t yet official. covid doesn‘t know that it‘s christmas, so even if we couldn‘t, i would be ok with not celebrating it, if it meant saving more people‘s lives. i think it will be important to see what the levels are like before christmas, but the idea of being able to celebrate with family is obviously really nice. the bleak economic landscape caused by covid—i9, and the chancellor warns of more pain ahead.

we‘re borrowing, we saw the numbers last week, at record peacetime levels already, and more stress to come. mass protests continue in poland against a near complete ban on abortion, but how are hospitals there reacting? and disappointment for scotland as they lose to france in the autumn nations cup. good evening. the governments of all four uk nations agree that family and friends will be allowed to meet for a small number of days over christmas. but there‘s a warning that this will not be a normal festive period, and that the risks of transmission of covid—i9 remain very real.

although details are still sketchy, the bbc has been told that households may be allowed to get together for five days. tomorrow, borisjohnson is expected to say more about a tougher system of tiered restrictions for england when it emerges from lockdown on 2nd december. it‘s thought gyms across all three tiers are likely to be reopened. here‘s our deputy political editor, vicki young. christmas cheer, but not too much. the prime minister has warned us that the festive season won‘t be normal but across the four nations of the uk they‘ve been trying to come up with a joint set of rules, allowing families and friends to meet up. it‘s not quite finalised but in a statement, the cabinet office said there was a shared objective to allow some limited additional household bubbling for a small number of days. but the public will be advised to remain cautious and wherever possible, people should avoid travelling and minimise social contact. but it‘s notjust christmas that ministers in england have to think about.

before that, on 2nd december, national restrictions will end, but with coronavirus still spreading, many measures will have to stay in place. we will be going back into a more localised approach, a tiered system, which i think is enormously welcome... a tougher tiered system? yes, and i think what people should realise is, we learn more as we go through this crisis, and as we get more data and information, we can see what works well, what doesn‘t, and essentially evolve our response to make sure it‘s as effective as it can be. after complaints from many scientists, the new tiers will be tougher than before and more areas will be in the higher levels, to keep the virus under control. but 70 of borisjohnson‘s own mps have written to tell him they won‘t vote for the system unless they see evidence that it will save more lives than it costs. labour wants clarity as soon as possible. you can‘tjust open a restaurant, open a bar, start brewing beer, getting ready for after a national lockdown, overnight, you need some notice of that.

and all of us, from andy burnham, everybody else, members of the public, we need a clearer understanding about what the criteria are going to be. across the uk, the rules on households mixing will be relaxed for christmas. shoppers in london are giving that a cautious welcome. ifeel ecstatic, because i miss my friends, i miss my family. so, any opportunity will be so welcome. covid doesn't know that it's christmas, so even if we couldn't, i would be ok with not celebrating it if it meant saving more people's lives. i think it will be important to see what the levels are like before christmas but the idea of being able to celebrate with family is really nice. but the risks from covid haven‘t gone away. celebrations at christmas could be followed by many more weeks of hardship. and vicki is here. there is a lot going on this week,

vicki, what can we expect? tomorrow, the prime minister will go to the house of commons to announce the details of the new tier system for england which will come into effect once the lockdown ends on the 2nd of december. we know that all three tiers will be toughened up, after complaints from scientists saying that actually they won‘t having much ofan that actually they won‘t having much of an effect. so that is likely to be bad news i think for pubs in tier 3. but to gyms and non—essential retail, so, most shops, will be expected to be allowed to reopen in all areas, ministers conscious that they have gone to great lengths to make them covid—secu re. they have gone to great lengths to make them covid—secure. the ten o‘clock curfew for pubs and restau ra nts o‘clock curfew for pubs and restaurants will be abandoned, last orders will be at ten and customers will have an extra hour to drink up. then, on tuesday at the earliest, those arrangements for christmas, which sony people are very, very keen to hear about, the prime minister had hoped to do that tomorrow, but it has been delayed while scotland and wales and sign off on this but i am told the most likely option is three households

being allowed to mix for up to five days over the christmas period, but that has not been confirmed. and there is also an announcement expected on a possibility of shorter time for quarantine for travellers, that could also come on tuesday. and thenif that could also come on tuesday. and then if you are england you will have to wait until thursday to find out which tier your area will be in and labourare out which tier your area will be in and labour are very clear, they want to know what the criteria are for this to be decided upon. the prime minister is getting a lot of stick from some of his backbenchers who are unhappy at these restrictions, and have actually said they will actually vote against it. vicki young, many thanks. young, many thanks. so, what‘s young, many thanks. the likely impact of a return to the tiered system in england when lockdown ends in ten days‘ time? and which areas of the country are likely to see the highest levels of restrictions? 0ur health correspondent dominic hughes reports from west yorkshire. it‘s been a busy sunday in hebden bridge in west yorkshire. those who could were making the most of a chance to get out and about.

but even as the christmas decorations were given a final touch, for some businesses, the days to come are filled with uncertainty. this place is my baby. i‘m worried that we‘re not going to make it through lockdown. we can‘t plan anything, we can‘t think ahead about, all right, maybe in two weeks‘ time, lockdown could be lifted. but there‘s also the chance that it might not be. before this latest lockdown, the local council, calderdale, was poised to enter tier 3. but covid infection rates have remained stubbornly high, so what is the right thing to do over christmas? i mean look around you, this is a market that in a time of lockdown, people are desperate for connection, people want to be out meeting each other and we have to find a balance, i guess, between covid restrictions and the well—being and mental health of our nation. it‘s very easy to focus on christmas as the big family thing, and it is, but one christmas might not have as big a deal for less christmases in the future for some members of our families. this map shows the areas with the highest rates of covid—i9 infections.

in england, parts of the north—west and north—east, east and west yorkshire, north lincolnshire and the east midlands, could well find themselves back in tier 3. meanwhile, parts of west and central scotland are already in the country‘s highest level of restrictions until 11th december, and northern ireland is facing another two weeks of lockdown from friday, having just reopened some services. it‘s the pressure that hospitals like this one are under that is the real source of concern. they are busier now, i‘m told, than they were back in the spring, during the first surge of covid. and there are concerns, too, over what the advice will be for people over christmas. i would like to see the right decisions being made, based on the science. i think it‘s more likely that we will be able to get together at christmas if people stick rigidly to what‘s recommended at this stage. i worry that with people breaching the recommendations, that we‘re going to be in this for the long haul.

the uk‘s four nations have agreed a more harmonised approach to allow some household mixing for a few days over christmas. the details are still to be worked out, but the worry is that many families are determined to get together to celebrate, whatever the restrictions might be. dominic hughes, bbc news, hebden bridge. the latest government figures show that there were 18,662 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is now 20,390. just over 1,700 people have been admitted to hospital on average each day over the week to last friday. 398 deaths were reported, that‘s people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. it means on average in the past week, a42 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 55,024.

this week, the chancellor will address mps to set out the government‘s spending priorities. today, rishi sunak steered clear of suggesting imminent tax rises to counter the staggering costs of coronavirus. but he warned of more economic pain to come. our business correspondent katy austin reports. right now, the pubs this north london wholesaler supplies are closed, and its retail customers are ordering less. the boss welcomes the coming end of the england lockdown but is anxiously awaiting further information. what are the tiers going to be, the next tiers, and where the tiers are going to be effective, et cetera, et cetera, it is causing a bit of anxiety amongst our customers and our business, basically. retailers, too, are waiting for the detail on what the restrictions will be from 3rd december at their most crucial time of yearfor trading. all the while, the huge cost of responding to the pandemic looms

in the background and on wednesday, we will get an update on public spending and the economic outlook. the chancellor‘s message is that austerity won‘t be on the cards this week, it‘s a time to keep up funding for public services and to fight coronavirus, but he said the picture is very difficult. the economy is experiencing significant stress. we've seen that particularly in the labour market, with people'sjobs, we know that three quarters of a million people have tragically already lost theirjobs, with forecasts of more to come. borrowing, we saw the numbers last week, at record peacetime levels already, and more stress to come. official figures suggest government borrowing could reach over £370 billion by the end of the current financial year, that‘s more than double what the government was having to borrow in cash terms at the height of the financial crisis, and around six times the amount in the 12 months up to april. to strengthen the public purse, might taxes rise, and how soon? getting the message right

is really important, i think giving people the impression that this is going to happen in the next few months, or possibly even next year‘s, or possibly even next year, could be exactly the wrong signal. i think the right signal is to say that the economy will be supported until such time as things are returning to normal. while the chancellor suggested there wouldn‘t be imminent tax hikes, he didn‘t rule out a public sector pay freeze, something his labour opposite number criticised. it's wrong for the chancellor, if that is what he will be going ahead with, to be putting different groups of workers going ahead with, to be pitting different groups of workers against each other, when, as i said, the implication of this for our high streets and small businesses would be very negative because it would knock confidence out of our local economies. the festive period is fast approaching, 2020 is nearly over, the waves from this year‘s huge economic shock will be felt for much, much longer. katy austin, bbc news. let‘s take a look at some of today‘s other news. rescue teams have called off their search for two fishermen

who have been missing since their boat sank off the coast of east sussex yesterday morning. another man was pulled from the water after he was found clinging to a lifebuoy. four political parties in northern ireland have called for a public inquiry into suspected state collusion in the murder of the solicitor pat finucane in 1989. last year the supreme court ruled that investigations into his shooting fell short of international human rights standards. south wales police has said it is investigating a large scale violent disturbance in the centre of cardiff last night. four arrests have been made, and six people have been taken to hospital, three of them are thought to have been stabbed. donald trump is to appeal a ruling against his attempt to invalidate millions of postal votes in pennyslvania. ajudge had dismissed a lawsuit from the trump campaign, seemingly paving the way for pennyslvania to confirm joe biden as the winner of that state, where he leads by more than 80,000 votes.

the result is due to be certified on monday. meanwhile, president trump has used the close of the g20 summit in saudi arabia to defend his decision to pull the us out of the paris agreement to reduce climate change. he told g20 leaders that the landmark deal was "unfair and one—sided". the president—elect, joe biden, has said he‘ll take the us back into the international pact. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in riyadh for us now. and how did president trump‘s comments go down? well, president trump‘s fellow g20 leaders may have been too polite to say anything in public, and since it is an online summit, we could not doorstep the other leaders or chase them down the corridors, so it has underlined yet again, just how out of step president trump is on this issue, compared to other world leaders, at

least when it comes to their rhetoric. there were a succession of pre—recorded video messages from everything from india to china to australia, all of these leaders, speaking eloquently to this theme of safeguarding the planet. and then came president trump, on the big screen, with his sledgehammer, defending his decision to pull out of the paris climate accord, saying it would have destroyed the us economy, taken away us jobs, it would have destroyed the us economy, taken away usjobs, and he used the moment to praise his own administrations approach, using the phrase, environmentalstewardship administrations approach, using the phrase, environmental stewardship is a sacred obligation. he is known as the president who tells it like it is, andi the president who tells it like it is, and i think the critics might say, well, when you look at the rhetoric, compared to the action that other countries have taken, when it comes to safeguarding the planet, there is not much to speak of there as well. thank you very much, lyse doucet, reporting from riyadh. poland is seeing its biggest

protests in decades, with widespread fury at a decision to almost totally ban abortions. the country already has some of the strictest abortion laws in europe, but the ban would prevent even women whose foetuses have severe malformations from being able to terminate their pregnancies. the protests have delayed the law‘s implementation, but hospitals across poland have already stopped the procedure. 0ur europe correspondent jean mackenzie sent this report. weeks of rage pouring through the streets of warsaw. women fighting to protect what little right to abortion they have against a government that‘s trying to it away. it‘s a protest of young people. but authorities have had enough now. police are brought in from across the country to break this up. there are just such a surprising number of police here this evening and itjust feels so disproportionate to the number of protesters.

the protests erupted after poland‘s top court announced a ban on abortions where the foetus is severely malformed, virtually the only terminations allowed here. shocked by the backlash, the government hasn‘t enforced the ruling yet, leaving women in limbo. but this is one of the few doctors who are still performing terminations. many hospitals have already stopped, for fear of breaking the law. are you afraid? actually, i am not. i don‘t know why, but i am not afraid. i mean, ifeel deeply inside that i am doing the right thing. i hope the karma will save me, and i won‘t go to jail. she introduces us to her patient, who was admitted in the morning. hi, how are you? 21 weeks pregnant, herfoetus

is missing vital organs and won‘t survive, but she‘s been refused a termination three times. poland is strongly catholic and the conservative government often portrays abortion as an attack on the country‘s faith, but even so, this new ban has very little support. have you picked the wrong fight? definitely not, this is a good fight, because we want human life to be protected, and so we are very open about this, i am sorry if anyone is offended by it, but actually, we will not be apologising for it. back at the march, the mood suddenly changes. police close in. a pensioner is dragged

from the streets. others are beaten... ..and pepper sprayed. clementina is one of them. why are the authorities reacting so strongly to your protests? because they are scared. they fear they are losing the power. are you going to win this fight? we are winning. it doesn't look like, but we are. the ban could be implemented any day, but protesters know this is a bigger battle, over which direction the country takes. jean mackenzie, bbc news, warsaw. with all the sport now, here‘s lizzie greenwood hughes at the bbc sport centre. good evening. scotland‘s chances of making the final of rugby union‘s autumn nations cup are now slim, after they lost their second round match to france. they were beaten 22 points

to 15 at murrayfield