this is bbc news, i'm ben brown. our top stories: uk prime minister, borisjohnson, attempts to see off a parliamentary rebellion on his new coronavirus restrictions, by telling backbenchers the tiers could end in february. having no vote on the regulations in january with a sunset in the february if that doesn't pass again, i think, is the right combination of accountability and transparency with taking the measures that the public need now. ethiopia's military claims victory, saying it's in control of the regional capital of tigray — anti—government forces say they'll fight on. the number of covid hospital patients hits a new record high in the united states. ethiopia's military claims victory, saying it's in control peak rail fares should be suspended over christmas in the uk

to avoid travel "chaos", according to the labour party. dave prowse, the british actor who found international fame as the man behind the mask of darth vader in the original star wars trilogy, has died. hello, and welcome to bbc news. the uk prime minister is attempting to head off a rebellion by his own mps over his new tiers of coronavirus restrictions, by promising them another vote at the end of january. the tier system takes over when the england—wide lockdown comes to an end on wednesday. in a letter to his mps, borisjohnson said these measures in turn could be eased for some areas during december, and promised a second vote in the new year. in his letter he said that the tier system in england would come to an end on the 3rd of february — what he calls a "sunset" expiry date.

tiers will be reviewed every two weeks, with areas being able to move down the tiers from december 16th. the prime minister also committed to publish the circumstances that need to change, for an area to move down a tier. here's our political correspondent, iain watson. it's a testing time for the prime minister. he's facing a rebellion from some of his own mps, when the commons votes on his new three tier restrictions in england on tuesday. so last night he wrote to his conservative colleagues with a new formula to try to shrink the size of the revolt. in his letter, he promised that if mps back him this week he will give them a new vote on the restrictions on january 27th. if he loses that vote, then the restrictions will end on february third. and he says a review of restrictions next month means some areas could come out of tier three by december 19th, but that'll still depend on the evidence. and the newly appointed ministerfor vaccines had this message for any conservative mp

thinking of rebelling. if we work together we can very quickly move from the tier system to coming down those tiers, to tier 2 and tier i, with the mass testing. the prime minister's also offering a fortnightly review of the tiers, but has he done enough to win over the rebels? well, one of them told the bbc he wasn't impressed. we asked for a lot of information and that letter doesn't contain that information, so unless we get it between now and tuesday, then it doesn't change anything, i'm afraid. borisjohnson wants to avoid relying on labour votes to get his restrictions through the commons. they're asking for more help for the worst affected areas. the prime minister says he wants to squeeze the disease, but first he'll have to squeeze the rebellion in his own ranks. iain watson, bbc news. let's go through this with our political correspondent, ellie price, she's here with me now. this is going to be a very important vote for the government on tuesday? yes, it really will be. i think the

fa ct yes, it really will be. i think the fact that the prime minister to intervene this morning gives you some sense of how worried the government must be worried about it, because it is not in the habit of giving concessions when it doesn't need to and there is a strength of feeling. i heard from one conservative mp yesterday who said he had no confidence in the cack—handed way this is being dealt with or they are going to get us out of this. i think this will go some way to making conservative mps feel a bit better, but others... i heard from another mp this morning saying, it is all good news, but i have still haven't decided how i'm going to vote. tomorrow there is going to be an impact release, looking at the social or economic side of how these tiers will affect that sort of thing. but it is interesting the tone we heard from the government this morning, yesterday we heard from the cabinet minister michael gove, saying we need to take tough decisions alongside these measures. this morning it is more of a softly, softly approach and we have also heard from the foreign secretary

this morning. the truth is, we are concerned. we've got the five criteria for which tier you're in and how you progress down the tiers, one of those is pressure on the nhs. we were clear about that from the outset, michael gove is right to warn about that. on the other hand, we are listening, we do understand. colleagues say to me, mps say to me we just want to understand that the measures you're taking take into account not just the cost and benefit of tackling the virus but also the non—covid health, economic and social implications, we'll publish more analysis on that, and we do take seriously the principle of parliamentary accountability. so that was dominic raab talking this morning and if there is a big enough tory rebellion... what is labour's position on this at the moment because they will need their votes if there is a rebellion. they haven't quite decided. i think it is quite telling that we haven't so far said they will vote against the government. looking at the context of all this, there was a sizeable conservative rebellion at the beginning of the month when mps were voting on this knock—down in

england. around 3a conservative mps voted against the government, but it passed because it had support from labour, so it will be interesting to see. as i say, labour say they haven't made their mind up yet, but this morning labour's shadow foreign secretary was also talking about labour's position. we will act in the public interest so we need to know first of all that these measures are tough enough in order to get control of the virus, otherwise what we're asking businesses to do is go through significant pain, people laid off, some businesses at risk of collapsing without being able to show that this is worth it, that it will actually set us on a path to recovery in the future. now, the other big issue the government is dealing with is the brexit trade talks. we talk about this every day, but we have been hearing more about that from dominic raab again? we have. it is funny to talk about that has the other issue, in normal times this would be the massive issue. dominic raab on these tv this morning suggesting we are close to a deal. we have heard that

before, as you say, but he said it really is time and there is a mutual interest in getting a deal done. of course we have known for weeks and months that the sticking point on all this have been fisheries and the level playing field of the state aid issue with the eu. it's standard from his interview that fisheries is really be sticking one and i think thatis really be sticking one and i think that is right because economically the impact fisheries have on the uk economy and elsewhere, particularly... the uk economy is relatively low, but clearly there's a huge political point and issue of sovereignty for many people who voted for brexit, so it is one of those things i think the government is going to be very, very keen to get right and suddenly there seems to be the sticking point, fought the foreign secretary was saying this morning. and time running out. thank you very much indeed, ellie price there, our political risk corresponded. —— like our political

correspondent. the uk government has secured another 2 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine from the us, which proved 95% effective after trials. the uk now has 7 million jabs on order from the american company, moderna. if the vaccine is approved, doses could be delivered by next spring. the ethiopian government says it's hunting for the leaders of the tigray region, a day after it said federal troops had seized control of the main city, mek‘ele. there's been no independent confirmation and no word on casualties. the whereabouts of the head of tigray‘s ruling party are unknown. meanwhile, the us embassy in neighbouring eritrea has said on twitter that six explosions have been reported in the eritrean capital, asmara. they happened late on saturday night. the embassy didn't specify the location or cause of the explosions. mark lobel reports now on the tigray conflict. a big military win trumpeted on ethiopian state tv. there's praise for the heroic national defence force on capturing tigray‘s capital in what is described as its peoples' liberation.

but is it that simple? translation: our forces have freed more than 7,000 members of our northern command and taken back control of our base. we have recovered tanks, armoured vehicles and heavy weapons that were looted. we are now hunting anti—peace elements hidden in holes. but we only have one side's word for what is going on in the region, as tigray‘s phone lines and internet links are down. even if the capital mek‘ele has been taken, it is unclear how its adversaries the tplf — veterans of guerrilla warfare — will respond. it's possible that the tigrayan people's liberation movement has simply moved its forces into the mountains, into the rural area, and this could go on for some time, depending on the support that the tplf has from the tigrayan people. indeed, it's their support either way that could be vital

in determining what happens next — that's after enduring over three weeks of fighting around them. the capital has reportedly been shelled, so many of its 500,000 people are almost certainly living elsewhere. but tigray‘s 6 million population, including one tenth of whom who rely on humanitarian assistance, there are reports food, fuel, cash and medical supplies have run very low. many of them will also have been displaced, including over 40,000 people who have fled into neighbouring sudan. in sudan's umm rakouba camp, with very little clear information from across the border, many have an uncomfortable wait with their lives on hold. they are afraid of intercommunal violence. this is why i think that going forward, it will be important for the government of ethiopia to re—establish peace, to have a silence of the guns, but also to ensure that there are no retaliation or reprisals between communities

because this is what many have mentioned to me as a primary source of fear. there is concern, too, at the nobel peace prize—winning european prime minister abiy ahmed's refusal to engage in mediators, including envoys sent by the african union. since the ethiopian government's refused to even allow them to travel to the tigray region, the ethiopian government has basically rejected any calls for international mediation and also domestic mediation, but the only way i think this could be resolved is through political dialogue. analysts now believe this conflict seems more likely to remain within ethiopian‘s borders, albeit with no clear end in sight. mark lobel, bbc news. we can discuss what is going on there now... laetitia bader is the horn of africa director at human rights watch.

what are your concerns from a human rights point of view about this conflict? well, as your report highlighted, we still don't have a clear picture of the toll of the last three and a half weeks of fighting on the population, but what we know is that it has been heavy. as we know, over 40,000 people have fled into neighbouring sudan, we have very credible reports of targeted, violent killings in western tigray region against civilians. we have reports of targeted attacks also on civilian infrastructure. we still don't have a clear picture of what has happened in the regional capital, mek‘ele, in the last few days, but as you pointed out there are reports of artillery fire in what is a very heavily populated town. at the same time, communication shutdown is still in place, so loved ones are not able to reach out to each other.

tigray has really been in a speech —like situation for almost one month now. humanitarian access is still restricted to the area, just like a siege like situation. the full situation is still unknown and we will start knowing more in the coming weeks, but in order to do so the federal government is going to need to allow humanitarian access immediately, but also lift the communication shutdown. is there any humanitarian access at all at the moment in terms of aid supplies? humanitarian access at all at the moment in terms of aid supplie57m terms of aid supplies going in, no. there is a humanitarian presence. a number of organisations have their staff in the region. some of them have been taken out of the region, some have stayed within the region, but a number of the organisations have been really ringing the alarm bell for more than a week now, saying their supplies are running out. so the un refugee agency, for example, has been really highlighting the urgent need for fuel in the eritrean camps in the

area because of course water pumps, for example, are reliant on fuel supplies, so we really are in a potentially humanitarian disaster situation right now in the region, if that access isn't granted throughout the tigray region immediately. and you mention the exodus of refugees, 40,000 who have gone to sudan and many more internally displaced as well. what is the situation with those people who have had to flee their homes? well, in terms of the internal displacement it is still very unclear. we are talking about 43,000 that have fled into sudan. the numbers seem to have been reducing quite significantly in the last few days, weeks even. this is something of concern. a number of media organisations have reported that potentially, inside ethiopia there are restrictions on people leaving. it is absolutely essential for the federal government to be allowing people to flee externally and also find safe havens where ever they

can, so this is very worrying. i mean, at the same time in terms of what is happening inside sudan, sudanin what is happening inside sudan, sudan in itself is a country that is in transition, also very volatile. the refugees have been arriving in a pa rt the refugees have been arriving in a part of the country where there isn't much humanitarian infrastructure to start with, so as we have been seeing in the last few days, a lot of these humanitarian organisations have been trying to scale up, but right now refugees really don't have much when they arrive and this is a population not only who are incredibly scared, but you also have very urgent needs, having been cut off from humanitarian assistance for the last few weeks. good to talk to you. laetitia bader bear, horn of africa director of human rights watch, many thanks. let's look at the headlines now. . . uk prime minister borisjohnson

attempts to see off a parliamentary rebellion on his new coronavirus restrictions, by telling backbenchers the tiers could end in february. ethiopia's military claims victory saying it's in control of the regional capital of tigray — anti—government forces say they'll fight on. the number of covid hospital patients hits a new record high in the united states. family and colleagues have paid tribute to the two people killed in the london bridge terror attack — which happened a year ago today. jack merritt, who was 25, and saskia jones, who was 23, were stabbed by a convicted terrorist at a prisoner rehabilitation event. in a statement, saskia's mother michelle thanked those who have supported the family through a difficult 12 months. the number of people in hospital because of coronavirus has hit a new record high in the united states. according to the covid tracking project, there are now more than 91,000 people in hospital beds, and that number has been rising

almost every day since late october. the current surge is showing no sign of slowing down and on friday the number of people infected with the virus surpassed 13 million. 0ur north america correspondent, david willis, is following developments. let me give you one number. it is 2,752. bear that number in mind if you can, it is the figure in april, on a single day in april this year, of the number of people who died here in the united states because of the coronavirus. and for six months, that figure, 2,752, has been the all—time high, the benchmark, the grim benchmark for deaths here in the us. but now we are seeing death tolls that are remarkably similar. 2,300, for example, on wednesday of this week, just three days ago. i was telling you before that we are now looking at an average of 50 americans dying of the coronavirus every single hour at the moment here.

no wonder that the hospitalisation rate is worrying health officials here because they're fearing that the rate we're going, the system here just won't be able to cope. david willis in the united states. canada has banned the export of some prescription medicines in order to prevent a shortage in the country. the decision is in response to a us plan that would allow for drugs to be imported from canada to make them cheaperfor americans. a number of canada's drug suppliers had warned that the plan, implemented by president trump, would cause shortages. in the uk, labour says peak railfares should be suspended over christmas, to reduce the risk of overcrowding during off—peak periods. a surge in journeys is expected when restrictions on family visits are temporarily eased between the 23rd and 27th of december. labour is urging the transport

secretary to present a travel plan to parliament tomorrow. mass covid testing for students in scotland will begin tomorrow in an effort to stop the spread, ahead of the christmas holidays. students will be offered two rapid response tests, three days apart, before they return home. if both tests are negative, university leaders are urging students to travel as soon as possible. the actor who played darth vader in the star wars trilogy has died at the age of 85. dave prowse passed away after a short illness. he'll be remembered for being the man behind the mask of one of film history's most iconic characters in a career spanning over 50 years, as lizo mzimba reports. at six foot six with a towering figure, dave prowse was physically perfect for the part of darth vader in the original star wars trilogy in the 1970s and 1980s.

looks like you two need a lesson in crossing the road! at the same time, he was also the face of road safety, presenting videos and visiting thousands of schools as the green cross code man. we won't be there when you cross the road, so always use the... robot: ..green cross code! it's very interesting, because when i became darth vader, it's very interesting because when i became darth vader, when the star wars film came out, i almost got the sack from the government because they thought that my image as darth vader would have a detrimental effect on my image as the green cross code man. a champion weightlifter, he eventually tried acting, playing a succession of small roles, including one in stanley kubrick's classic a clockwork orange, sharing scenes with malcolm mcdowell. and then came the role of the physically imposing darth vader. he had the bulk, he had the build, but he also had a bristol accent. start tearing the ship apart piece by piece until you've found

those tapes. find the passengers of this vessel. i want them alive! you are part of the rebel alliance and a traitor. take her away! when the first star wars film came out he found that his dialogue had been replaced with the booming tones of james earljones. i have traced the rebel spies to her. now she is my only link to finding their secret base. he may never have been the voice behind the villain, but the man behind the mask of darth vader is how he will always be remembered. and for so many, he played the most iconic cinema villain ever seen. dave prowse, who has died at the age of 85. voters in switzerland will decide later on whether or not to make businesses financially and legally liable for human rights violations or environmental damage.

the law would affect their supply chains anywhere in the world. if the swiss vote in favour of the new laws, the country could impose some of the world's strictest corporate responsibility rules. recent polls indicate that a slim majority supports the initiative to amend the swiss constitution. we can now speak to fabian teichmann, the ceo of swiss law firm teichmann international ag. thanks very much for being with us. just to sum up in a nutshell what this would do if it does get past. well, good morning, ben. it is my pleasure to be here. generally speaking, if it get past it can come quite a challenge for international corporations, whose headquarters are in switzerland. they could be sued for violations committed by their subsidiaries all around the world, and it is not always possible to... to control what a small company that

is controlled by a swiss company does abroad. yes, so i mean really they would be financially liable for human rights abuses or environmental damage anywhere along the supply chain, soi damage anywhere along the supply chain, so i guess i am assuming the big companies there in switzerland hate this idea, but is it likely to go through in this referendum, do you think? well, it's a tough call. so as you said, they have a slight majority, according to the latest polls. however, for multinational corporations it would be quite a headache, i would say, if it does get through because the compliance matters they would have to implement would be very strict. the other thing that is being voted on in the referendum is a proposal to stop swiss financial institutions investing in any form of arms production. again, that is quite difficult for business and industry

in switzerland ? difficult for business and industry in switzerland? yes, indeed because many small and mid—sized companies operate out of switzerland, produce minor parts for us, they would be affected as well. and of course it would also be a challenge for financial institutions to diversify even further. the effect of all of those efforts would be minimum because companies look for investors abroad, so generally speaking both referendums are primarily about leading by example. and what is behind all of this? is this a sign ofan behind all of this? is this a sign of an attempt at a new radicalism in switzerland, would you say?” wouldn't say it is about radicalism, i would say it is about leading by example. switzerland does have a very high legal standards and what is behind it is that it could probably export those standards to

other countries and encourage them to uphold them as well. so just to sum up then, what do you think is going to happen at the end of these two referendums? i know it is very ha rd to two referendums? i know it is very hard to predict, but if you were betting on this, what would you see as happening? well, if the swiss population approves those referendums, there will be a lot of work for us lawyers implementing new compliance measures and swiss companies would be forced to withdraw from certain areas of the world because if i can be held liable for my supply chain all around the world and the company can be sued in switzerland, then one would probably have to adjust the supply chain and manage i's risks, so basically not investing in countries that are at risk of human

rights violations. 0k, fabian teichmann, thank you so much, barbie and teichmann bear from teichmann, thank you so much, barbie and teichmann bearfrom teichmann international ag. the very latest there from switzerland, you're watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. hello there. it is quite out there, it has been rather grey, you can see from this picture. however the mist we re from this picture. however the mist were left, but the cloud will not break up that much. any sunny spells likely to be reserved for north—east scotla nd likely to be reserved for north—east scotland after a chilly start here and perhaps brightening up across wales and south—west england. the odd spot of drizzle at times, and it stays pretty murky for much of the afternoon, but at least with light winds it is going to stay pretty mild, temperatures peaking at 6—11 , perhaps 13 in the far south—west.

through the night tonight, the cloud stays with us, but we will see some rain and the wind start to strengthen as that wet weather pushes into the far north—west, to temperatures will hold up quite widely across the country, but yes, there's going to be some rain first thing on monday morning. that weather front continues to move in from the north—west, and we will gradually see the wind direction changing as well to a cooler source, the breeze picking up with the rain, the breeze picking up with the rain, the heaviest of the rain looking likely to be across scotland, northern ireland, north—west england and wales, as it pushes its way through the midlands down into central and southern england and it should weaken off substantially as it does so. bright and breezy following on behind, a little bit cooler, around seven or 8 degrees, high is once again of ii cooler, around seven or 8 degrees, high is once again of 11 degrees. moving out of monday into tuesday, our weather front continues to sink south, and then a northerly wind direction starts to develop, bringing a difference to the feel of the weather, particularly across the

east, so with that wind running down through the north sea, a little bit on the chilly side on the exposed coast and it could be waking up first thing in the morning across scotla nd first thing in the morning across scotland and north—east england to an early morning frost. also some morning spells of sunshine across central and eastern england. yes, that wind will make it feel cooler on exposed coasts. the further west you go, the cloud for cancer and perhaps it will stay largely dry and a little milder here with 10 degrees and on the east coast looking at a high of 6—8. further ahead, it looks likely we will continue to see an u nsu btle likely we will continue to see an unsubtle theme developing and the northerly wind staying with us, cooler fall. —— unsettled northerly wind staying with us, coolerfall. —— unsettled theme developing. cooler for all.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the uk government attempts to see off a parliamentary rebellion over new coronavirus restrictions in england, by telling backbenchers the tiers could end in february. having a vote on the regulations injanuary with a sunset in the february if that doesn't pass again, i think, is the right combination of accountability and transparency with taking the measures that the public need now. ethiopia's military claims victory saying it's in control of the regional capital of tigray — anti—government forces say they'll fight on. the number of people in hospital wtih coronavirus in the us hits a new record high in the united states. peak rail fares should be suspended over christmas in the uk to avoid travel "chaos", according to the labour party.