this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. brexit trade talks are at a very difficult point warns downing street — as negotiations continue tonight, with just four weeks to go until the uk's transition period ends. really, it's now getting under 30 days, and we're no clearer of what's going to happen. police say a 16—year—old boy was one of the four people killed in the explosion at a water treatment plant near bristol yesterday. i'm going to be assessing you for the delivery of the vaccine now... the teams getting ready to roll out the pfizer vaccine. 800,000 doses should be in the uk

ready to go next week. wear a mask for 100 days not forever. that will be joe wear a mask for 100 days not forever. that will bejoe biden is parity to all americans on the day he is sworn in. ——joe biden pot site purdy. —— biden‘s priority. no customers to drink this beer as wales enters new tough coronavirus restrictions less than a month after it emerged from its last lockdown. hello, thanks for joining hello, thanks forjoining us. downing street says the post brexit trade talks are at a very difficult point and time is in very short supply if a deal is to be struck. eu and uk negotiators are continuing intensive negotiations this evening with just four weeks to go until the transition period comes to an end and the uk leaves the eu's single market and customs union. business groups have repeatedly stressed that leaving without a deal will damage jobs and livelihoods.

0ur deputy political editor vicki young has more. everything will soon be changing for this distribution company and thousands of others. injust four weeks, goods going back and forth across the border with the eu will need extra paperwork and checks. some fear that could lead to widespread disruption and congestion. it's difficult enough getting in and out of the uk at the moment with the delays at the border crossings and ferries. if you're adding eight, 16, 12 hours — whatever that may be — going forward, who's going to pick up the costs? if our wheels aren't turning, in effect, we're not earning any money. in kent, they're preparing a park for 10,000 lorries. a trade deal with the eu would mean businesses can buy and sell goods without paying taxes or tariffs but there will still be more checks whether there's a deal or not. reporter: will we get a deal? the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier has been in london all week.

important day, determination. but the uk has accused the eu of making last—minute demands. we want the eu to recognise that the uk is a sovereign and independent nation, and it is on the basis of that that a deal will be done. it is tricky but we are working hard. david frost and his team are working incredibly hard on this — in good faith — so let's see where we get to. hopes of a deal had been rising. the two chief negotiators from both sides have been inside this building all week, and talks have been more intense than at any other time this year. yesterday, though, the uk side said the prospect of an agreement was receding. crucially, though, no one is walking away. the sandwich deliveries and late—night takeaways keep coming, but the uk says talks are in a difficult phase. one big sticking point is state aid. for example, if the uk government wants to give

financial help to tech firms, will it need permission from the eu? would there be a punishment if it went ahead anyway? this is all about businesses on one side not having an unfair advantage over their competitors — the so—called "level playing field". we want a deal, not at any cost. this is not new. and we understand that for the european union, the question of the level playing field is key. and then there's fishing. eu countries want a guarantee that their boats can continue fishing in uk waters. if not, the uk could be prevented from selling its catches to the eu market. translation: france like all its partners has a veto. we'll conduct our own evaluation of a deal if one exists. that's normal. we owe it to the french, we owe it to our fishermen, and to other economic sectors. the talks continue here tonight — everyone anxious to know

where the compromises are being made. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. katya adler is in brussels this evening. i know you are watching this very closely indeed. lots of conversation on social media in particular about what is going on behind closed doors. what is your assessment of how progress is going at the moment? what we know is that we are most of the way there on the steel. some say 95%, some would say 98% for the don't be shocked when i say do it doesn't actually matter because the model for this deal is both sides is nothing as agreed until everything is agreed so if they cannot work out the last two or 5%, then forget it. there are big differences between the two sites still on the main three issues, fish, the level playing field we heard about therefrom vicki young, and one thing which is governance. there's not

much trust from the two sides the eu is particular jumpy that after brexit, it knows the uk wants to diverge as much as it can from being tied to rules whether it is the eu 01’ tied to rules whether it is the eu or elsewhere, it wants to be a nimble, competitive, sovereign nation whereas the eu would like to bind the uk ideally to a rule book for this fair competition regulation that talks about. so if the uk bakes the or vice versa, they might talk about how and what kind of dispute mechanism you have and how you police the deal, it is on those three issues they've been stuck on for months and remain stuck in these remaining last hours and rest days. -- if the uk remaining last hours and rest days. —— if the uk breaks the deal. compromises are being made behind closed doors now on those three issues and that is why you have france talking about vetoes for example, the uk saying we want a deal but we are happy to walk away. my deal but we are happy to walk away. my advice whether it is social media where you refer to or put a posturing like you have from france

01’ anonymous posturing like you have from france or anonymous briefing by sources, just take everything right now in these kind of crunch time talks with a big dose of salt. bottom line, neither the uk nor the eu are going to sign up to anything they can't then sell as a victory back at home. so they are making compromises but they have to be sellable compromises. politics talking there. thank you so much for that. i know plenty more to come for you in the hours and days ahead. let's get more on this. with me is professor anand menon, director of brexit—focused think tank uk in a changing europe. thanks so much forjoining us. what is your take on how things are at the moment at this hour? because i do not know if you hurt, an eu official has been speaking unnamed saying that they are hoping that fingers crossed they will get a deal by the end of the weekend. do you think that is likely? well, i don't think that is likely? well, i don't think anyone knows as your reporter

was saying, it is our best informed guesswork. i think the key to what she was saying, both sides neat idea that they could such of their constituencies at home so as well as the negotiation going on in the room between david frost and michel barnier, there are negotiations going on in number 10 ended the individual member states trying to figure out is that enough to get us over the line? would that be enough to sell to my domestic constituency? there are two couples of negotiation going on here but i would've thought that if they are going to come to an agreement it is pretty elected to be this weekend because remember on sunday, —— monday, the internal market bill goes back to apartment on sunday and es as there are parts of that bill that are incompatible, it would give the opportunity to the government to change that bill and say that we don't need the bits that the eu doesn't like anymore. we heard katya outlined the sticking points, what is the big issue to you? is the trade-off between the rules and the fact that the uk does

not want to be bound by the rules and fish. the fish are coming up on fisheries and reluctant to make concessions on the fish that the british fishermen will be able to catch. and this of the big sticking point for me and where pursejohnson has to make a point about we know there are some people in his parliamentary party that want to be absolutely free of eu rules but we equally know that if a move will be absolutely free of those rules that their deal is on the table and there isa their deal is on the table and there is a choice to be made. how business is a choice to be made. how business is in motion is coming into the conversation are and how much is this about the motivation to get this about the motivation to get this done? i think both sides would rather have a deal than not have a deal but rather than the motion which could be the same, it could be politics was at this is rule politics was at this is rule politics about what you can sell as a win, what will keep you to miss a coalition together? disturb macron in france as much as four boris johnson. i don't think we do have

negotiations that you let emotion cloud theirjudgement, but they do let politics cloud theirjudgement. what is a win situation for boris johnson? we will talk about a deal being completed, i suppose that is one way of looking at it but how much of a successful measure will this be for the uk? you make an important point if you think back to west year when he signed withdrawal agreement as was clear at the time and as subsequently been accepted by the government, that deal implied something borisjohnson the government, that deal implied something boris johnson had previously said which was checks between great britain and northern ireland, nevertheless he went out and so the deal is a massive successful supports johnson get a deal against all the odds and i suspect that the very fact of getting a deal will be sold hard by number 10 as yet more evidence of the prime minister's ability to get things done. now whether or not the detail of that deal set a 5 cents piece on all side. time will tell. thank you so much professor anand

menon and sharing your thoughts for us. menon and sharing your thoughts for us. and for viewers in the uk will have more on this story in 20 minutes' time. we will be hearing from jonathan powell, the former british prime minister's tony blair chief of staff and was a key negotiator in the northern ireland good friday agreement and he gave us a fascinating insight on what it is like to be in a negotiating room at a very intense time. that is coming up, stay here for that. the chief executive of the medicines regulator in the uk, june raine, has said today that it should be possible to get the coronavirus vaccine into care homes within two weeks — this comes as the r number, the rate at which coronavirus reproduces, falls again to between 0.8 and one across the whole of the uk, meaning that growth has slowed and the number of new cases are declining. the office for national statistics estimates that around 520 thousand people in england had the disease in the last week of november, that's around one in every 105 people. here's our health editor hugh pym.

any allergies that you may have? in training for one of the biggest assignments in the history of the nhs — the covid—19 vaccination programme — which starts next week. at the coventry and warwickshire nhs trust, they say as well as preparing staff to do the jabs, they've had to work out complex storage plans. it's an unusual challenge in that this is a vaccine that needs to be stored at —70. and it's not the way we have had to handle a drug before. in the hospital, we have handled other drugs that way. so, from the pharmacy‘s perspective, we have had to have a new freezer. that was delivered a couple of weeks ago. so, when will care home residents be vaccinated? the scottish government said this will happen from december the 14th. nhs england, though, say that's not so certain. the problem is the way the doses are packed. regulators need to approve them being broken down into smaller consignments. they say that shouldn't take too long. various centres involved in breaking down the packs are involved now in doing that at the very cold

temperatures that are necessary. and of course coming putting a day on it might be variable, and of course putting a day on it might be variable, but i would say definitely within the next two weeks. the vaccine has arrived just as case numbers are falling in most parts of the uk — largely as a result of the various local lockdown restrictions. the latest survey of community infections by the office for national statistics suggests that in england last week, one in 105 people had the virus with the case rate coming down. in scotland, it was one in 130 with the rate starting to fall. in wales, one in 170 with the virus with the case rate no longer falling. in northern ireland, it was one in 190 with the right continuing to come down. the r number, which shows whether the virus is accelerating or receding, was a range of 0.8 to 1, slightly down on last week. so, what might that mean for the type of restrictions which may still be needed

into the new year? i think the sort of message perhaps from a policy perspective is that unfortunately, if we're going to keep infection rates low throughout the whole winter, we are going to continue to have some restrictions and quite what the sweet spot is, it's not entirely obvious from the data around the uk. for now, the focus is on next week's vaccine roll—out around the uk with clinics like this being prepared for patients who are 80 or over and others likely to be the first to receive the jabs. hugh pym, bbc news. the latest government figures show new infections continuing to fall. there were 16,298 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 111,448. 1,368 people had been admitted to hospital on average each day over

the week to november the 30th. 50a deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. that means on average in the past week, a38 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 60,617. us president—electjoe biden says that from his inauguration day in january, he'll ask all americans to wear facemasks, and will order masks to be worn in all us government buildings and on public transport. here he is speaking. i'm going to ask the public for 100 days to mask. just 100 days to mask. not forever, 100 days. and i think we'll see a significant reduction if that occurs with vaccinations and masking to drive down the

numbers considerably. i got the latest from our correspondent in washington, gary 0'donoghue, who says that while mr biden's pledge is a big change on the current administration's policy, it also shows the limits of what he can do. this request for all americans to wear a mask for the first 100 days, he can't really enforce that other than in federal buildings which he's going to do, and in terms of transport where it crosses state lines. so, he can ask the american people to do this. he can't make them do that. but he is getting some backing for that move from anthony fauci. that will carry some weight with members of the public. and, of course, he will be trying to do other things, too, like get the vaccines distributed as quickly as possible, up the testing regime, doing things like that to try and get the whole thing moving a bit faster than it is at the moment. but, yeah, his powers are limited in the sense that the states do

retain quite a lot of power over what happens inside their borders. a 16—year—old boy is believed to be among the four people who died in an explosion at a waste water treatment works near bristol yesterday. the other men who were killed all worked for the site's operator wessex water. the company says it's "absolutely devastated" by the incident in avonmouth. 0ur correspondentjon kay has more. formal identification still has to be done but the police have given four names just in the last half hour or so. the youngest of them luke wheaton, who was just 16 years old. we understand that he'd only recently started working here apparently as an apprentice, and he was killed in this blast alongside three older men, three colleagues. their names michaeljames, who was 64, raymond white, who was 57, and brian vickery, who was 63.

i spoke to mr vickery‘s widow and sons this afternoon. they told me he'd worked here for more than a0 years, that everyone loved him, that he was a larger—than—life character, a practicaljoker who loved his football, but they didn't want to speak publicly today because they said they didn't want to make it about him or about them. they said that they wanted this to be about all four of them, this teenage boy and the three older colleagues who went off to work as normal yesterday morning, and yet now four families who are grieving this weekend as an investigation here gets under way. john kay reporting. councils in greater manchester have become the latest to pause rapid testing for care home visitors over concerns they fail to detect enough infections. figures suggest lateral flow tests — which can produce results within 30 minutes — miss about a third of the most infectious cases picked up by conventional laboratory tests. the government says rapid testing as way of reducing,

rather than eliminating, risk and can quickly identify those who are carrying the virus. 0ur health correspondent dominic hughes has more. at 96 years old, barbara has had enough of the coronavirus. do you find it annoying? well, it is a bit irritating. it's not a life, it's a bloody existence. sorry for the language! measures introduced in march to stop the spread of the virus at a care home means she's been missing the human touch. impossible! awful. i want to grab them and... grr! ifeel like i am isolated. nobody to hug me or hold me or me to hold somebody, i don't know who if this bloody thing wasn't there. —— i would even hold you. now, care homes have been offering

testing kits that can provide a result in 30 minutes known as lateral flow tests. this is the missing link that we found, and it's a real welcome move... they aren't a single solution. visitors will still wear protective clothing, but it's hoped they can have a bit more contact with their loved ones. it can be more distressing to see their relatives but then to be over two metres distance and not have any human contact, we all need human contact. it means that people can have a hug orjust hold their loved one's hand. but local councils in greater manchester as well as sheffield have advised care homes to pause rapid testing for visitors amid concerns they fail to detect enough infections. the government says that overall, lateral flow tests are more than 76% accurate when carried out by lab staff but that isn't always the case. when they were used in a pilot project in liverpool, the tests were just 50% accurate when compared to the more standard swab test, and the only picked up 70% of the very infectious cases that would've been detected by the standard test. trials of testing are under way in scotland and wales,

and plans are progressing in northern ireland. and these tests are meant to help students return to home safely for christmas. but experts warn that mass testing is fraught with difficulty. you will be telling just as many people with infection that they are all clear and they may well lower their guard, transmit more than they otherwise would have done, so that could wipe out any potential benefit that you would get. what's life without touching? it's nothing without that. at barbara's home in manchester, they're determined to press ahead with testing. confident the measures they have in place will protect the residents. dominic hughes, bbc news, manchester. the mayor of liverpool, joe anderson, has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery and witness intimidation. he was among five people arrested as part of a year long police investigation into the awarding

of building contracts in the city. liverpool city council said that it is co—operating with merseyside police but would not comment on matters relating to individuals. less than a month after wales emerged from its firebreak lockdown, the country is being moved back into tough new restrictions this evening. pubs, bars and restaurants now have to close at 6pm and can't sell alcohol on the premises. the first minister, mark drakeford says wales is experiencing an unmistakable rise in coronavirus once again with a record number of covid—related patients in hospital over the last week. 0ur wales correspondent, hywel griffith has more. pints and profits down the drain. for this pub in cardiff, a dry december isn't viable, and so it will close. like many brewers and landlords around wales, simon doesn't accept that pubs are the place where the virus is spreading. he says the new restrictions don't make sense.

how can it be right and safe to open to serve food in pubs but not alcohol? it defies logic. why is six o'clock the bewitching hour as opposed to ten o'clock? in these difficult times, and in the month of december particularly, the lost revenue is significant. boozy lunches are off the menu for at least a fortnight, when the restrictions will be reviewed. for now, the first minister says the strain on the nhs is too great. hospitals in some parts of wales are now so full of patients with coronavirus that it simply wasn't possible for our ambulance service to attend to other people's emergencies in the way that we would want and expect. these new measures apply right across wales, regardless of local coronavirus case numbers. there are no levels or tiers in wales, but there is some

anguish and frustration, particularly for those who feel they've been given little time to prepare. shops are staying open, the real ones, at least. but this play centre's having to shut, like all other indoor entertainment venues. it's the fourth timejoanne has had to close this year. restrictions are coming and stopping and starting all the time, and not knowing where we are, and obviously people don't know if we are open, if we are closed, when we are going to be open. they are asking, are we going to do christmas events? at the minute, we're just saying, we don't know, we don't know. in the background, the vaccine provides hope. the firstjab in wales will be given on tuesday, but for the weeks ahead, simple pleasures will remain off—limits. hwyel griffith, bbc news, cardiff. we have news to bring you regarding the talks that are under way with the talks that are under way with the brick to trade deal. the tweet has been posted by michel

barnier and also his counterpart david frost leaving those negotiations here in london. both saying that after a week up intense negotiations in london, the two chief negotiators have agreed that the conditions for an agreement are not met due to significant differences on the for plainfield, governance and fisheries. they go say on this basis the two men have agreed to pause the talks in order to brief their principles on the state of state of play of the negotiations and that they will discuss the state of play tomorrow afternoon but the president —— with the president and borisjohnson. so the president and borisjohnson. so the news coming to us that there has essentially been a pause in the negotiations due to a number of as it says here significant differences on key issues, the ones that we were talking about earlier with katya adler, the level playing field, governance and fisheries that they will go away and come back again and

look at how they can pursue the conversation. fascinating to hear that at this hour. we will have more analysis with every team in westminster for su bstate with every team in westminster for substate with us here on bbc news. hello there. it's been a very wet day across some central and northern parts of the uk. we've seen further sleet and snow, mainly over the hills, and as we head through the course of the night, it stays very wet, very unsettled across central, northern and western parts of the uk as this area of low pressure continues to spiral across the country. it's going to bring further snow, mainly over the pennines and across the hills of scotland, but it generally should be rain, maybe sleet, down to lower levels. some clear spells across eastern england. here, it will turn cold, a touch of frost and ice. now, into the weekend, it's remaining cold, but there were signs of it beginning to turn drier, as our area of low pressure begins to slip away southwards. so the pressure chart for saturday shows the centre of the lowjust to the south of the uk, towards the southwest quadrant. that's going to bring stronger winds here, showers or longer spells of rain,

which will slowly spiral away southwards through the day. so, an improvement here gradually. further north and east, there will also be a couple of showers. a bit of wintriness again over the mountains of scotland, but in between, we should start to see the sunshine breaking through the clouds. it may turn brighter for some. not a bad afternoon through some central areas but it's going to be another cold day, as temperatures are for 4 to 7 degrees for most. the area of low pressure continues to push into the near continent for sunday. this weather front could bring just a few showers to the northeast of england, eastern scotland, but for most, actually, it's going to be a calm, quiet, still sort of morning. much lighter winds, could see some mist and fog around, which could be stubborn to clear, and it could lead to a grey day across and eastern areas. there will be some sunshine around, probably favoured spots towards the west. just one or two showers in the northeast thanks to that weather front. it's going to be another chilly day — 3 to 7 degrees. now, into next week, it starts off dry and cold. there are signs of it turning unsettled from midweek onwards as the atlantic begins to get back to life again.

so this is the pressure chart for monday. i think we're in between weather systems. this one could move perilously close to the far southwest, so we could see strong winds here, maybe thicker cloud. some spots of rain for western cornwall, maybe the odd shower for the northeast, but for most, it'll stay generally dry. again, the winds fairly light, a little bit of sunshine around, some mist and fog and murk around too, but temperatures on the low side — 2 to 6 degrees. a similar sort of day on wednesday, and then from midweek onwards, signs of it beginning to turn a little bit more unsettled and those temperatures climbing very slowly.

this is bbc world news. the headlines: michel barnier has that he and lorde frosts have agreed to pause talks on a post brexit radio. he will talked to the head of the european commission tomorrow —— a post brexit trade deal. the teams getting ready to roll out the pfizer vaccine — 800,000 doses should be in the uk ready to go next week. police say a 16—year—old boy was one of the four people killed in the explosion at a water treatment plant near bristol yesterday.

us president—electjoe biden says he will ask americans to wear masks during his first hundred days in office. dr anthony fauci has accepted a role to stay on his chief medical adviser. let's just bring you up—to—date with the breaking news we brought you that michel barnier and david frost have both taken to twitter to share some kind ofa taken to twitter to share some kind of a joint statement, if you like, to tell you the negotiations have now paused for today, saying that they were unable to meet an agreement on a number of issues, three, the level playing field, governance and fisheries. we understand they are going to go away and speak to the principles, it says, for further discussion and speak to the principles, it says, forfurther discussion but we also know that boris johnson says, forfurther discussion but we also know that borisjohnson and the european commission president, ursula von der leyen, are going to be discussing the state of the talks

on saturday afternoon about tomorrow afternoon. they will resume some kind of conversation on this. let's get more analysis. we can speak to our political correspondent, who joins us now. a pause, then, in what has been as they have described a week of intense negotiations. has been as they have described a week of intense negotiationslj think week of intense negotiations.” think it is worth or flushing what a roller coaster week this week has been, because in the middle of the week, the mood music was certainly a bit more positive, michel barnier has been in london for intensive face—to—face negotiations all week, they have been hauled up in the business department here in westminster with their teams around the table, and certainly in the middle of the week, the mood was sounding more positive. then there was a briefing from the uk side saying, we appear to have now gone backwards, there seems to be the eu side inserting last—minute demands, then today, the mood was basically that the negotiations were in intensive phase stub they were

continuing all day. and negotiations we re continuing all day. and negotiations were continuing up until this evening, when we got thatjoint statement for michel barnier and lord david frost, saying that significant divergences still remained on those three key areas that have been sticking points throughout the —— the level playing field, governance and fishing quotas, psychic it is significant tomorrow, we're going to see the political intervention, borisjohnson we're going to see the political intervention, boris johnson speaking to ursula von der leyen tomorrow. that is a much needed injection of political momentum, if you like, but i think certainly the message from the uk side tonight is that they are not speaking that positively, talking about no progress and a phone call really acknowledging that they are still, the phone call between the two leaders, there are still some distance between the two sides, so the talks have not collapsed, they've described it as a

pause, but i think for people earlier in the week or even today expecting these talks to kind of snowball into a deal like tomorrow, perhaps, that certainly now is not going to happen. yeah, i think also we are hearing that borisjohnson has been on a call to ursula von der leyen this evening, whereby they have been informed there was no brexit deal yet, that is probably the way we would inspect the conversation to go, but as you said, we understand the two leaders want to speak tomorrow. the politics, as you say, coming into play here, but if you can, just remind us of those three sticking points that michel barnier and david frost have pointed out in thatjoint statement barnier and david frost have pointed out in that joint statement that barnier and david frost have pointed out in thatjoint statement that has been a bone of contention here? yeah, asi been a bone of contention here? yeah, as i said, it is interesting that right at this 11th hour, with just weeks to go into the end of the transition period, there does not seem transition period, there does not seem to have been much movement in public on the sticking points that have been there throughout, so fishing quotas, this is who has how

much access, eu fishing boats in uk waters, the level langfield, this term that refers to whether uk consumers make it... and the governance of any future trade deals. 0r make it... and the governance of any future trade deals. or the rules, the mechanisms by which any future trade deal would be governed? and the arbitration mechanisms? those have been the key sticking points throughout, and it appears tonight that they are still there, as the main someone blocks. talking about significant divergences, we have been up and down, back and forth with this sort of mood, but i think these final days, it is really coming to the crunch now because, remember, the timetable is so tight. the transition period ends at the end of this year, there needs to be time for ratification by the european parliament, by eu leaders, by the uk parliament too, so this

has been seen as the really crucial final days of the negotiation. it is not over, the negotiations are being paused, but i think any hope that there was going to be a deal pulled out of the back tomorrow, that has certainly receipted for now. 0k, thank you for talking us through that, leila nathoo on that news that talks have paused between michel barnier and david frost. jonathan powell was the chief of staff for former british prime minister tony blair and the chief government negotiator on northern ireland. he gave me his insights on the nature of the mood behind the closed doors of the negotiating room. it is always the case, and particularly in eu negotiations, that you leave all the difficult issues, the real compromises, to the last moment. you do not want to be dealing on things, giving your last concession, until you know it is really the last moment, and you never quite know it is the last moment. that is why i think most eu negotiations end at four or five in the morning, and that

is partly to establish a narrative with the public outside. you have to demonstrate that what you are doing is it doing the absolute maximum. borisjohnson wants to demonstrate to the british fishermen he has done the absolute most he can to get them a greater catch. and president macron is trying to do the same thing by establishing a narrative outside, he's pushing very hard on the british. so it is not for dramatic effect that you run through the night with these tense negotiations? it really is how it seems? it is a bit of each. you have to show you are trying your hardest, but also it takes time for people to unwind. they have these three issues they have been dancing around in these negotiations for some time, they probably know what's their bottom lines are, what the other side's bottom line is, but they do not want to give anything away until the last moment until they can get them all to congeal, and they will do that when they are completely exhausted, have really had quite a lot of those sandwiches going in and their bosses

tell them they can now make a deal. they want to play in their bosses. the politicians like to play in on this so they are shown to have played a role. so at some stage of the weekend, no doubt borisjohnson will be talking to chancellor merkel, ursula von der leyen and president macron as well, to show they have played a part in it as well. i'm always fascinated to know how personalities work or don't work in scenarios where you have spent long hours, days together and you really are going through the mill, if you like, together as a team. how important is it to get on with the other person that could be the crucial point between you and getting a deal done? you do not need to become theirfriend. you don't want to be subjected to some stockholm syndrome,

you need to remember who you are representing, but you need a relationship of trust, you need to be able to rely on the other person to deliver what they promised, that if they give you a hint of what they are going to do, they can deliver that with their bosses back home. i would say it is more about trust than being a pal with that person. getting on makes it a bit less painful. how much does egos come into play here? it is best to have negotiators who are not blessed with great egos, because then they spend an awful lot of time flashing those egos and i think it is normally better to have negotiators who are fairly low—key. and i think in britain, we have chosen a very low key negotiator, and i think also on the eu side, michel barnier is a very professional negotiator. he's done this for a long time. he does not put a huge amount of emotion or drama into it, so i think there is probably not too much personal ego charging around in that room. you have just described yourself as a low key negotiator, then, because you successfully were part of a deal that was done. about northern ireland. it has become a key sticking point for these trade negotiations that are currently under way. for you, are you worried about the issue and what might happen in northern ireland?

yes, very worried. i'm very worried if there is no deal, because if there is no deal, the situation will be very serious for northern ireland and the republic of ireland. if the government presses ahead with the single market bill, and breaks international law, that would risk creating a border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland, which would undermine the whole basis of the good friday agreement, which is based on people in northern ireland having an identity of irish or british. once you put a hard border back in, that it is impossible. that is why president biden and members of congress in the united states and the eu take this so serious. it is a very serious problem. can you share with us any insight into how the deal is going to progress, do you think? i obviously do not know what is happening inside the room, but i imagine they are both thinking about how they sell this when they get the deal.

borisjohnson has to sell it to the erg, to the brexiteers on his back benches, so he need to demonstrate he can get sovereignty, so he will be i suspect having to make a concession. 0n fisheries, he will have to make concessions and demonstrate to fishermen and his backbenchers that he has done the best they can force a cut on fisheries. the eu... they will be feeling very carefully, "how do they get to an agreement they can sell?" that will be the main thing at the moment, thinking about that selling of it, the narrative they are going to tell. the narrative is really key, isn't it? before we let you go, do you want to put your hat in the ring and tell us when you think a deal might be done? i think a deal will be done by monday, because i think otherwise, the government would have to withdraw the single market bill, which would be extremely embarrassing for them, and then we have the eu summit later that week, so it will be very difficult if it

goes past this weekend. so i suspect we will see lots of drama during this weekend, but i hope, unless they make a miscalculation, they will get to a deal by the end of this week. jonathan powell there, speaking to mea jonathan powell there, speaking to me a little earlier. more on the pause in brexit talks to come. the anguish of losing someone to covid has been felt by thousands of people over recent months. grieving families have had to cope with restricted funerals, with limited family contact adding to their pain. charities — such as the national bereavement alliance — who help people deal with grief say they're struggling to cope and fear that some services could close, because of a shortage of funds. daniela relph has been talking to some of those who have lost loved ones to covid. behind every covid death is a family trying to cope. what i know about you has kind of touched me... this is grief counselling in covid times. with everyone's approval, we were allowed to sit in on the online session.

that was the most hardest thing because i knew that was the last i was ever going to see him. covid is out there, it's in the media, it's in the papers, it's on social network. it's not gone, people talking about it every day. there is no escape, is there? there's no escape. there is no escape from it. the demand for traditional grief counselling is outstripping supply. this alternative, set up by a professional counsellor, provides a vital place of solace for those grieving. the sessions, hearing people's stories, clearly everyone is really gaining something from it. it's like a relief, to be honest. it was like a shining light for me, really, because it was a place of safety. for you, how has this helped? as the others have said, it is talking to like—minded people. there's this feeling of, in my particular case and i know in many others, of complete disbelief. i am not normally the kind

of person to bare all, but it has helped and i can see how much it's helping everyone else. this is just a wonderful space where people can be as tearful as they like and they don't need to apologise and they know everybody around them will understand. laura lost her mum in the first wave of covid and her grandmother in the second wave in recent weeks. she has now set up her own support group after struggling to find the right professional help for herself and her children. there is no support really from anything local. the doctors don't do anything, you know? i phoned them myself and i am on anti—anxiety medications, which have helped, but the anxiety around this is really hard. these charities are picking up the work for the nhs, really. how long are they going to cope? with funding down, bereavement services are under pressure. around 40% say they may have to close or reduce what they offer. all at a time when the cornerstones of what's called healthy grieving are diminished.

the suddenness of it without the support is like normal grief with the volume turned up. but they can't quite make sense of it because they haven't been able to go back and remember and that's derailed the natural grieving process. and the risk for that, it kind of long term, is that that can lead into complex mourning and then that can lead into psychological disorders. that's a great photo. coping with loss is different for everyone. liam's dad david died from covid. they are now both part of a project on grief by the celebrity photographer rankin. captured with the image of his dad projected over him. i think people are reaching for other ways to give those loved ones the sendoff they deserve. and for me, this is another chapter for dads story

for me honouring him. grief is personal, unsettling, life—changing. but without the usual support for the bereaved, the loss of a loved one can feel even worse. daniela relph, bbc news. steven wibberley is the chief executive of the uk charity cruse bereavement care. thank you so much for being with us. how have you been able to provide grief counselling services to people that need this pandemic? is clearly an incredibly difficult time for the past nine months, we have had the 60,000 people die of covid, and in effect millions of people bereaved, have lost their loved ones from covid under the illnesses, so at cruse, we have a team around the country. we converted to phoney video support and were chilly her to make sure those brief people who need us most in these difficult times can still access port —— phone

and video support. how quickly were you able to transform the model that you able to transform the model that you use for counselling services to go virtual? literally overnight. in march, when we had locked down, we did provide some telephone support. we quickly rolled it out for volunteer survey could work consistently over the phones, so people can get their support normally once a week but up to six times a week, from volunteers. we trained them, through zoom and other video technologies, we have groups like the one you've just seen in your vt, so we are able to rely on those essential services. interestingly, but we've also seen is more people turning to digital support, to our website, to our new chat service, so people are able to provide support people however they wanted, over the phone or digitally. ido wanted, over the phone or digitally. i do not know if you heard, in our

report that we just broadcast, laura, one of the people we interviewed, said she did not even know how she could go about eating access to support to services that might help her in her hour of need, and that's been a real crucial point here, so how do you get the word out that you are there and that you are providing a service to people that need it and are desperate time? yeah, we have virtually hard to continue to promote our service the past few months. i was disappointed to hear laura say her gp could not help, because many gps do refer into cruse, and i would encourage anyone struggling to find support to contract cruse and we can either contact people are selves or point them in the direction of other charities who might be able to support them. are you feeling the pressure in terms of resources that you have at your figure tips and funding issues, for example? yes co we have for charities, it has been

ending fairly difficult year, many of our traditional sources of funding, people doing cake sales and running marathons, they have dried up running marathons, they have dried up this year, so i know from the recent research, 40% of bereavement charities were worried about having to cut back their services, at cruse, we have managed to secure some emergency funding through the lottery a nd some emergency funding through the lottery and the emergency trust, so we're 0k lottery and the emergency trust, so we're ok for this year but we are incredibly worried about next year, and he one message i would give to the government. you're investing in testing for covid and vaccines and treating people in hospital. you need to be investing in bereavement support as well, notjust need to be investing in bereavement support as well, not just this need to be investing in bereavement support as well, notjust this year but for many years to come. and i think many people have made the point on the impact on the tile for so many of us for this pandemic. just one more question for i want to know how much demand has been on the 4000 numbers of staff you have there. were they inundated with calls ? there. were they inundated with calls? were there more than they could actually answer? we have been him to stay on top of the demand. we

have noticed is how that demand has increased over the past few months. last month, will took twice as many calls on a national health plan as the same time a year ago, but we are managing at the moment things to the incredible dedication of volunteers, not paid staff, that incredible dedication from a volunteers, but we are worried about our future.” dedication from a volunteers, but we are worried about our future. i am grateful for your time. are worried about our future. i am gratefulfor your time. thank are worried about our future. i am grateful for your time. thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. steven wibberley, chair of cruse bereavement care. —— chief executive. details of organisations offering information and support with bereavement are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline, or you can call for free, at any time to hear recorded information on 08000158 707. the pandemic has forced cinemas to close their doors all around the world. now, warner brothers has announced

that its entire output for next year will be streamed at the same time as it's released in theatres. the bbc‘s tim allman has the story. the first wonder woman film made more than $800 million at the global box office, so there were high hopes for its sequel. get used to it! but then, along came covid—19 and the movie was delayed. eventually, warner bros announced it would be released on a streaming service, hbo max. now, the company has gone one step further — all of its films due to be released in 2021 will appear both in cinemas and online. if you asked me a month ago, is hbo max a must—have streaming service, the answer was no. you ask me now, it is absolutely in the game and a must—have streaming service for,

you know, the number of movies that are going there, you never would have seen on a streaming service before. it's just astounding. disney has already tried something similar, releasing its live action remake of mulan on its disney+ service — although it did charge extra. in the next year, warner bros pictures is bringing you the biggest premieres... with hbo max, you'll get all the films for the first month of their release before they revert back to the big screen. potentially a big draw for a fledging streaming service but likely to be bad news for cinemas. they are already struggling to attract customers. how much harder will it be if people can watch new releases from the comfort and safety of their own homes? for warner bros, this is a gamble. for hollywood, this may well be the future. tim allman, bbc news. the bbc‘s own resident movie buff and presenter of talking movies, tom brook, told me that for many americans, this will be welcome news. the basic problem is that in the united states, not many people can get to a cinema or want to go to a cinema right now.

in fact, a recent poll showed that since march, 80% of americans had not been to a cinema. warner brothers and all the hollywood studios that need revenue. warner brothers had these 17 movies they had made, so they have decided to stream them, which will shore up their streaming platform hbo max, which has been a bit wobbly. but really, it is a huge shot in the arm for streaming and very worrying indeed for cinema chains. indeed, because they are already on their knees because of this pandemic, but with live perhaps returning to some kind of normal next year, is this now setting a trend of things to come in the future for the way we are all going to be watching movies? i think so. there is massive change, structural change, in the way movies get from the studios to the viewing public. it is going away from the cinema model to streaming and there is very little that can be done about it.

it is driven by economics and of course, technology. warner brothers say this is just a temporary move, what they are doing, but i think it will become permanent. somehow, though, ithink cinemas will survive. they survived the spanish flu, they survived the advent of television, the vhs recorder. i don't have a factual basis for saying this, i don't feel totally confident, but i hope to goodness they do. absolutely. just a thought about film—makers, the way that movies are financed, produced and distributed is clearly changing, so what does this mean for them? i think film—makers are a bit divided. you will find those like christopher nolan you will find purists like christopher nolan who want to make their movies just for the big screen. that is perhaps a rather privileged position to be in right now to want that, and i think things will have to change,

they will have to alter the way they operate. they will have to accept a lot of people in the future will be watching films on a smaller screen in their home. tom brook there. police in edinburgh received hundreds of calls early this morning from worried people who'd been woken up by what they thought was an explosion. but the loud bang they heard was actuallyjust weather — and a phenomenon known as "thundersnow". here's our scotland correspondent james shaw. a flash of light, and then... rumbling ..a long, low boom. shaking windows and waking people up all around edinburgh and north into fife. but what had shattered the calm? was it an explosion? a collapsing building? no, it was thundersnow. this couple were woken around 5am this morning.

so, woke up with this loud bang and jumped up, opened the curtains and saw that it was snowing. i thought, it can't be thunder. and spoke to my husband. he said, yeah, it will be thunder. and i thought, looked it up on google and found this phenomenon called thundersnow. snow and rain in scotland — not something to write home about. but thundersnow? that's a phenomenon that most of us had not even heard of, let alone been woken up by it in the middle of the night. so what exactly is the science behind it? thundersnow is quite simply a thunderstorm with snow, and like the storms we see in the summer, it's caused by instability in the atmosphere and lots of energy. the difference with last night is that we had cold air, and that's why we saw snow and not rain. and winter has onlyjust begun. plenty more time for

another blast of thundersnow. james shaw, bbc news, glasgow. james shaw, bbc news, edinburgh. is there more thundersnow on the way? let's find out. here's stav with the weather. hello there. it's been a very wet day across some central and northern parts of the uk. we've seen further sleet and snow, mainly over the hills, and as we head through the course of the night, it stays very wet, very unsettled across central, northern and western parts of the uk as this area of low pressure continues to spiral across the country. it's going to bring further snow, mainly over the pennines and across the hills of scotland, but it generally should be rain, maybe sleet, down to lower levels. some clear spells across eastern england. here, it will turn cold, a touch of frost and ice. now, into the weekend, it's remaining cold, but there were signs of it beginning to turn drier, as our area of low pressure begins to slip away southwards. so the pressure chart for saturday shows the centre of the lowjust to the south of the uk, towards the southwest quadrant. that's going to bring stronger winds here, showers or longer spells of rain,

which will slowly spiral away southwards through the day. so, an improvement here gradually. further north and east, there will also be a couple of showers. a bit of wintriness again over the mountains of scotland, but in between, we should start to see the sunshine breaking through the clouds. it may turn brighter for some. not a bad afternoon through some central areas but it's going to be another cold day, as temperatures are for 4 to 7 degrees for most. the area of low pressure continues to push into the near continent for sunday. this weather front could bring just a few showers to the northeast of england, eastern scotland, but for most, actually, it's going to be a calm, quiet, still sort of morning. much lighter winds, could see some mist and fog around, which could be stubborn to clear, and it could lead to a grey day across and eastern areas. there will be some sunshine around, probably favoured spots towards the west. just one or two showers in the northeast thanks to that weather front. it's going to be another chilly day — 3 to 7 degrees. now, into next week, it starts off dry and cold. there are signs of it turning unsettled from midweek onwards as the atlantic begins to get back to life again. so this is the pressure chart for monday. i think we're in between weather systems. this one could move perilously close

to the far southwest, so we could see strong winds here, maybe thicker cloud. some spots of rain for western cornwall, maybe the odd shower for the northeast, but for most, it'll stay generally dry. again, the winds fairly light, a little bit of sunshine around, some mist and fog and murk around too, but temperatures on the low side — 2 to 6 degrees. a similar sort of day on wednesday, and then from midweek onwards, signs of it beginning to turn a little bit more unsettled and those temperatures climbing very slowly.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. brexit trade talks are paused after eu and uk negotiators fail to reach agreement, with just four weeks to go until the uk's transition period ends. after the uk, bahrain becomes the second country to approve the pfizer coronavirus vaccine. the world health organisation welcomes the news: progress on vaccines gives us all a lift and we can now start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. the uk promises to reduce carbon emissions more quickly than any other major economy, but a watchdog warns of a ‘colossal challenge'. and the explosive sound that prompted hundreds to call