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

the police in edinburgh — it turned out to be a rare weather phenomenon — thundersnow. we start with breaking news on the brexit trade talks in london. within the past hour, they have been "paused" after eu and uk negotiators failed to reach agreement. british prime minister borisjohnson and european commission president ursula von der leyen are to discuss the state of the talks on saturday afternoon. this is what uk negotiator david frost tweeted a short while ago: "after one week of intense negotiations in london, the two chief negotiators agreed today that the conditions for an agreement are not met, due to significant divergences on level playing field,

governance and fisheries. " the eu's michel barnier tweeted an almost identical statement. let's go straight to brussels now — our europe editor katya adlerjoins us. in westminster, to you first as the talks have not been put on hold here in london, what are you hearing from your sources? reflecting quickly and with the mood has been in london this week because in the middle of the week, it was much more optimistic. michel barnier had come here for negotiations, there was sandwiches, takeaways and negotiations leading into the night, yesterday was a much more, when the uk decided to hang on, i think we going backwards and the chances of the deal were receding, they said the deal were receding, they said the eu side were imposing

last—minute demands and this morning, the uk site, the talks read a difficult moment. but, there was a sense that today was a crucial day in the talks are going to continue right up until the end and so, if you look at it then in terms of the course of the week, now the two sides are at the table as it were, and negotiations are continuing, albeit paused. we knew, we always knew there was going to be a political intervention at the last minute with the two leaders, boris johnson talking at some point, but i think the fact that in the middle of the week, reflect on the fact that people are talking about a deal by the weekend on the weekend, actually, we've got them talking about significant divergences still remaining in that, i think is significant, does i mean it's insurmountable at all the rejection of political will concerning the add to some momentum to those talks in the bill could be wrapped up very quickly. but, ithink

the bill could be wrapped up very quickly. but, i think announcing that it quickly. but, i think announcing thatitis quickly. but, i think announcing that it is paused, certainly the message of the uk site tonight is that there has not been progress nest is still referring to the idea that new demands of been reinserted the idea that the talks in their eyes seem to have gone backwards and certainly steering towards the sense of the phone call between the two leaders should not be taken as an indication that a deal is not ready to be signed off, but more of an acknowledgement that there are still significant differences. what you make of this tweet by both parties here in the stock of significant —— this talk of significant divergences? without this, we can see it as glass half empty or half full, it is a roller coaster of uk briefing during the week, the eu side has been cautious all week and cautiously optimistic, but cautious

and underlining throughout the week that significant differences remain between the two sides on those so well known three key sticking points by now at the right of either fishing communities to fish in the uk waters after brexit and competition regulations of the eu saying that for the uk to have unprecedented access to the eu single market for nonmember states, that they want to sign—up the uk to sign up with competition principles and governance of the deal and how to please the deal and make sure they keep to an agreement if there ever is an agreement. we are throughout the weekend on all of those issues, progress, limited progress made but we expected always to have some high—level political intervention and if you want to feel particularly positive, you could say that even if this deal were nearly there, the european commission president and particularly arguably

borisjohnson, who has aligned himself so personally with the brexit process would want to put their personal stamp on all of this but i think they are right to be cautious about expecting this all to be done and dusted tomorrow, could all still be done by sunday and the reason i say that is that even though differences remain, once both sides say look, we're going to hold her nose and make these compromises, this deal will happen very fast indeed. but, we are not there yet. this conversation happened tomorrow, how significant is that. how have they been talking throughout this process 7 they been talking throughout this process? regular interventions from what we call the principal animation and people talking about michel barnier on behalf of the eu member state of the eu and also representing the leaders and david frost is the technical negotiator,

if you like and so, they can only go so if you like and so, they can only go so far because they only have a mandate as long as the eu leaders agreed to it and as long as the government agrees to what they're doing and regular interventions, but at this late stage, is that there's a lwa ys at this late stage, is that there's always going to be a last—minute 11th hour phone call between the two conversation between the two for all those reasons that they said and i say again that the message tonight and uk site is not to be too optimistic about this conversation, it is not the conversation that is going to sign off the deal, michel barnier has said that they are not in the basis of an agreement yet, but can they in that phone call agreed to the bare—bones compromises and degree how both sides are willing to move on the three issues perhaps and then his cat he is said, that can be wrapped up technically, quite quickly. these next few days are absolutely critical we've been saying this all along, but it's worth remembering that the plot is

running down very quickly and we are coming towards the end of the year there are few procedural matters that by the eu parliament they need to ratify this and sign the self we have heard talk from france about using their veto, whether or not that happens, we like to see but there are various stages that the still has to go through before the end of the year if it's going to come in time of the end of the transition period. i know you all the twists and turns leading up to westminster but for now, thank you. the new target finds the commitment for national admissions in the paris agreement. and calls for a reduction of 68%

by the end of the decade compared to 1990. the new target is in line with the uk's commitment to reduce national emissions under the 2016 paris agreement — aimed at keeping global temperature rise under two degrees. the prime minister, borisjohnson, says britain is "taking the lead to reduce our emissions by 2030, faster than any major economy. " i'm joined now byjoss bleriot — from the ellen macarthur foundation — who says that industry and government working together will be key. that combination will be cheaper what you make of the commitment, is an overly ambitious? it is ambitious but that is what we need at the moment. a lot of ambition and a lot of drive and a lot of commitment from governments and businesses alike. due to the level of that ambition, and it's really important to look at the full picture and to look beyond the systems because our research shows that greenhouse gas emissions are generated by these energy systems but if you look at the products in the food that we have that we consume and reuse, the way this is produced and used amounts to 45% of those missions,

which means that working towards innovating the solution in the domain of production and consumption is going to be absolutely key and this is why that interface between the private sector and the public sector working together on the solutions that can create a better growth as well as generate jobs, is so growth as well as generate jobs, is so important. is that actually happening at the moment? yes, we see a lot of ambition from policymakers but also the strategies of circular economies that do tech with the production and consumption systems that have been rising steadily recently and businesses are investing in the strategies and they need the right enabling conditions for those innovations to emerge and we see for instance that there is a strong drive from the financial sector to look at the climate finance through the lands of this industrial strategies we are working closely to the high level champion for climate change for the uk and

he's the one bringing ngo for climate change for the uk and he's the one bringing n60 and private sectors to the table in the run up to this. some say the government is not putting its money where its mouth is. the chancellor has put huge sums towards hs two, which has a huge carbon footprint but has been very little towards home insulation which could save a huge amount of carbon. yes, it's going to be a discussion to look at where the sums of money need to go but the important thing is to look at the plant and see that it does look beyond the energy systems and it does the good agriculture and nature —based solutions, which are going to be critical as well. the agricultural sector can play a massive role by using soil and sequestering carbon and regenerating natural systems as well. it's about looking at mobility systems but not only to the energy lenses, how it

produces those vehicles, every access them as well. i would make sure we keep those really valuable materials and products in the system in order to reduce the need for new materials that we know have the biggest impact when it comes to gh emissions. fascinating to talk to you and thank you very much for your time this evening. the latest us unemployment figures show that the jobs market continues to grow, although at a slowing rate. two— hundred and forty— five thousand jobs were created in november. employment levels are still many millions short of those seen before the coronavirus pandemic. let's cross to wilmington, delaware, where president—electjoe biden is commenting on the last set of jobs figures of 2020: we saw economists expecting to see job growth of 4&0000 and the only grew by half of that and so, that is pretty significant. there are a few

structural issues that are at play, but primarily what you can see is that one, there are a lot of retail kinds ofjobs that were lost and as the number of cases continued to increase your in the united states, there are fast areas of the economy thatis there are fast areas of the economy that is starting to close down and we are seeing a that is starting to close down and we are seeing a wave that is starting to close down and we are seeing a wave of these kinds of lay—offs. but they're the sheer number of people that have stopped looking for a job altogether. that is becoming something that is a very concerning thing for economists. their set to expire at the end of this month and putting extra pressure on congress to put up with another fiscal package and it doesn't seem to be happenings why is that? we saw lawmakers today were quoting this latest jobs that? we saw lawmakers today were quoting this latestjobs report to try and get more urgency in terms of

relief package but we were talking about months ago still stands. talking about republicans and democrats not agreeing with how much money should be spent and how the money should be spent and how the money should be spent. although, we are sharing much more encouraging language from democrats and republicans and there's still no deal and they're still millions americans that are desperate for some sort of financial help from the government. thank you. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the explosive sound that prompted hundreds to call the police in edinburgh — it turned out to be a rare weather phenomenon — thundersnow. is quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums

across the factory. people are dying in front of me and i cannot do anything. charles manson is the leader of the hippie cold suspected of killing sharon tate and several others in los angeles. at 11 o'clock this morning, just half a metre of rock separated britain from continental europe. it took the drillsjust britain from continental europe. it took the drills just a few moments took the drills just a few moments to cut through the final obstacle and then shaking hands and exchanging flags. this is bbc news,

the latest headlines. brexit trade talks have been temporarily put on hold without agreement. the lead negotiators say the eu president ursula van der leyen and the british prime minister, borisjohnson, will converse directly on saturday. bahrain has just become the second country in the world to approve the use of the pfizer coronavirus vaccine. on wednesday regulators in the uk approved it for use over here, and the first doses have arrived already from belgium, where it's being manufacturered for use in europe. the pfizer vaccine offers up to 95% protection against covid—i9 illness, and is currently being checked by regulators across the globe. but the head of the w—h—0 health emergencies program dr michael ryan stressed that we shouldn't over—rely on the vaccine. vaccines on the vaccine. do not equal zero covid—i9, this vaccines do not equal zero covid—i9, this will have a major, major

powerful pool but by themselves, they would not do the job and therefore, we have to add vaccines into an existing public health strategy will have to continue to work in managing our personal behaviour or hygiene and in many cases, we have to recognise that the vaccine will not be with everyone early next year. speaking at the same news conference — the w—h—0's chief scientist outlined it's aims for the covax project — which is it's effort to distribute the vaccine fairly across the globe. 189 countries — including the uk — have already signed up to the program that is expected to provide enough vaccines for around 20 per cent of their populations. 0ur our hope is that by the end of the first quarter of 2021, half a billion doses will be available to be distributed across the countries inafair be distributed across the countries in a fair manner and this is why we developed allocation framework in order to do this fairly to all

countries and in the second half of 2021, the volume of those will pick up 2021, the volume of those will pick up at the speed at which they become available. so, countries can start expecting those towards the end of the first quarter. as we mentioned — the uk has already received its first batch of pfizer vaccines — ready for the initial set of vaccinations to begin next week. it comes as the r number — the rate at which coronavirus reproduces — has fallen again to between 0.8 and 1 across the whole of the uk. that means growth has slowed and the number of new cases is declining. 0ur health editor hugh pym reports. 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 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. authorities in moscow say their coronavirus immunisation campaign with the russian sputnik vee vaccine will begin on saturday. does not have to stay that way. if we act now, now, i mean, now. we can begin to regain momentum and start to build back a betterfuture. there is no time to lose. many people have lost theirjobs rather ever is no time to lose. many people have lost their jobs rather ever slashed, they've lost their health insurance 01’ they've lost their health insurance orare in danger of they've lost their health insurance or are in danger of losing their health insurance. 0ne or are in danger of losing their health insurance. one in every six renters is behind in rent. 0ne health insurance. one in every six renters is behind in rent. one and fourfor renters is behind in rent. one and four for small businesses cannot keep their doors open. and there is a growing gap in black and latino

unemployment in the gap remains way too large. it is deeply troubling that the overall unemployment was driven by people who are dropping out of thejob driven by people who are dropping out of the job market, not because more people are being hired, dropping out of the job market, they've lost hope in finding a job and are taking full—time caregiving responsibilities as the children learn remotely. 0ver responsibilities as the children learn remotely. over the past three months, 2.3 million more people are long—term unemployed. meaning for 23 weeks or more, by far, the largest increase on record. this is a dire jobs report, it is a snapshot of mid—november, before the search and covid—19 cases, we predicted, many predicted in the deaths rise that we see in the december as we head into a very dark winter ahead. for

example, since october, cities are down 21,000 educators. just the schools need more help in fighting against the pandemic. a couple of days ago, i spoke with school crossing guard, a server, restaurant owner and his stagehand. good people, honourable people, decent hard—working americans people, honourable people, decent ha rd—working america ns across people, honourable people, decent hard—working americans across the country who reminded me of my dad who lost hisjob country who reminded me of my dad who lost his job and eventually moved herfamily who lost his job and eventually moved her family to who lost his job and eventually moved herfamily to delaware, who lost his job and eventually moved her family to delaware, just outside of wilmington, but you've heard me say before, joey, i do not expect the government to solve my problems, but i expect them to at least understand my problems. folks, i'm talking about the folks out there aren't looking for hand—outs, they just need help. there aren't looking for hand—outs, theyjust need help. they are in trouble through no fault of their own. nothing they did caused them to

have hours cut or drop by the market. what they need, the nearest understand that we are in a crisis. need to come together as a nation, we need the congress to act and act 110w. we need the congress to act and act now. congress and president trump failed to act by the of december, 12 million americans will lose their unemployment benefits they rely on. merry christmas. unemployment benefits that allow them to put food on the table and keep the lights on and heat on. pay their bills. emergency, paid leave will end. moratorium on evictions will expire. states lose the vital abilities to pay for testing and public health, put yourself in a position, anybody listening. what is going to happen tomorrow? it is going to be harder

for states to keep children educated 01’ for states to keep children educated or saved in schools to try to provide assistance to keep businesses alive. states and cities are already facing a large budget shortfalls this year. again, through no fault of their own. they've already laid off more than a million workers, even more teachers firefighters, cops, they will lose theirjobs most federal government steps up now. and all of this wea ke ns steps up now. and all of this weakens our ability to control the virus if we do not step up now. emergency paid leave reduces the spread of covid—19. it allows people to stay home when they are sick, states need funding to direct the covid—19 response, which is the only way we are going to end the economic crisis as well. talking about the latest job figures the crisis as well. talking about the latestjob figures the economy crisis as well. talking about the latest job figures the economy at crisis as well. talking about the

latestjob figures the economy at of just 245,000 in november below many economists expectations. say goodbye 110w economists expectations. say goodbye now to our economists expectations. say goodbye now to oui’ viewers on economists expectations. say goodbye now to our viewers on cbs, you're watching bbc news and thank you for being with us. you're watching bbc news, let's go back to president—electjoe biden who was reflecting on those latest job figures that are below many economists expectations. we are going to have to focus on resources throughout public health responses for covid—19. we need meaningful funding for vaccines now. so, they don't lose time to have people waiting for additional months. we need serious funding for testing it 110w. need serious funding for testing it now. need to ramp up testing and a lower schools and businesses to operate safely. the sooner we pass the funding, the sooner we can turn the funding, the sooner we can turn the corner on covid—19. in the

wea ke ns the corner on covid—19. in the weakens the selection ended, their questions on whether democrats or republicans could work together. i know many of you're sceptical, but right now, they they're showing the can. congress and president trump have to get this deal done for the american people. but any package passed in the lame—duck session is not going to be enough overall. it is critical, but it is just the start. congress are going to need to act in january. earlier start. congress are going to need to act injanuary. earlier today, start. congress are going to need to act injanuary. earliertoday, i consoled on a number of, most of which been announced by now and vice president harris announced that last week. as we inherit the public health and economic crisis, we are working on a plan that would put forward for the next congress. to move fast, control the pandemic and to revive the economy and to build back better than before. we hope to

see the same spirit of cooperation as we are seeing today. our plan is based on a broad range of people, the vice president—elect and i have been meeting with since winning this election last month. labour leaders, the leading ceos in the country, mayors and governors of both parties, parents, educators, workers, small business owners. there is a consensus that businesses and workers have the tools, the resources and the guidance and health and safety standards to keep businesses and schools up safely. it can be done. here is the deal. the fight against covid—19 will not be won by january alone. fight against covid—19 will not be won byjanuary alone. to truly in this crisis, congress has defined more testing as well as more equitable and free distribution of

the vaccine. we are going to need more economic relief to bridge the 2021 until this pandemic crisis is over. and then, we need to build back better. an independent analysis, of a respected wall street firm projects that might build back better plan would create 18.6 million good paying jobs. it is based on a simple premise. reward work in america, not wealth. we are going to invest in infrastructure, clea n going to invest in infrastructure, clean energy and manufacturing and so much more. we will create millions ofjobs. sang his book so much more. we will create millions of jobs. sang his book back better plan will introduce 18.6 millionjobs into the better plan will introduce 18.6 million jobs into the economy —— build back better. 2000 jobs were addedin build back better. 2000 jobs were added in november well below economists expectations. stay with us on economists expectations. stay with us on bbc news.

this is bbc world news. the headlines. this is bbc world news, the headlines talks between britain and the eu on a a post—brexit trade agreement have been temporarily put on hold without agreement. the lead negotiators from both sides saying the eu president ursula van der leyen and the british prime minister, borisjohnson, will converse directly on saturday. the head of the world health 0rganization has called for more funding to ensure worldwide access to coronavirus vaccines. he noted that most spending on health went on tackling diseases in rich countries. us president—electjoe biden says he will ask americans to wear masks for his first 100 days in office. anthony fauci has accepted mr biden‘s offer to remain as chief medical adviser warner brothers will stream all its films next year on the same day they're released into cinemas. it's making the shift in response to the coronavirus pandemic. you are watching bbc news.

a 16—year—old boy is 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. 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 40 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. 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. a woman who attacked and killed a seven year old has been cleared of murder after the prosecution offered no further evidence and withdrew the charge. eltiona scanner, who has paranoid schizophrenia, had admitted the manslaughter of emilyjones,

on the grounds of diminished responsibility. the young girl was unknown to skana, who killed her at queen's park in bolton on mother's day this year. in the north of england 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 uk 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 would even hold you. if this bloody thing wasn't there. 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 latest uk government figures show new infections continuing to fall, there were 16,298 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. (00v 2) the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week, is now 14,448. 1,368 people had been admitted to hospital on average each day over the week to november 30th. 504 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 — 438 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 60,617. 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 hundreds of people in edinburgh were woken in the early hours by the sound of what they thought were explosions. what they actually experiencing was a phenomenon known as "thundersnow". two "extraordinarily loud" thunder claps were heard just before 5am and some people have sent us videos of what happened. the sound is created when thunder and lightning combine with a heavy snowstorm.

let's speak now to professor liz bentley from the royal meteorological society. it does not sound as loud as it probably did in person, but loud enough for lots of people to call the police wondering what had happened and fearing explosions. how then can this get? loud claps of thunder they can rattled the windows and a similar effect seen overnight in scotland as a thunderstorm came through. it was unusual about this is that it was combined with snow and quitea is that it was combined with snow and quite a rare phenomenon, particularly in the uk, to get thunderstorms with snowfall or thunderstorms with snowfall or thunder snow as we have called it. very unusual for us to get the in the uk, we are used to this thought summertime thunderstorms but not wintertime ones. why is it that we don't get them or they are so rare, i cannot be the only one that is never heard of a thunder snow?

probably in the uk there more rare, do happen in other parts of the world. the us particularly will get thunder snow on more occasions. maybe across the alps as well. typically where you are going to get cold conditions and temperatures below zero, so snow will be falling from the sky. need the atmosphere to be quite unstable, so to develop these large thunder clouds. and usually you need some things that will lift that arab, some mountainous region or systems that will just give that mountainous region or systems that willjust give that kick in the atmosphere to form those thunder clouds. in scotland or around the region that saw most of these you got mountainous regions, the highlands of scotland's allow that airto get highlands of scotland's allow that air to get lifted and of course the thunderstorms to develop subway and put the religious loud noise, however startling but i'm guessing not dangerous. the noise is less because the snowflakes themselves

act to suppress the sound levels, a kind of muffle the noise so typically the noise of the thunderstorm will not travel as far as that will do ncaa summertime thunderstorm. you might get at night—time much brighter skies because, again, the snowflakes may reflect that light and so you get these more spectacular and brighter skies in the thunder snow but it's unusual to get thunder snow but to get the intense sounds that we saw last night in a very unusual. now we are all going to be watching out for this phenomenon. can it be predicted? again we need to temperatures to be subzero so we get in the snow fall, instantly got those conditions coming up over the next few days. this weekend, temperatures still hovering around or below freezing overnight. and we just need that instability in the atmosphere, and there's a bit of that around. keep an eye out over the next few days, you may be lucky enough to see some. in her eyes and

ea rs enough to see some. in her eyes and ears will be peeled, thank you very much. a world war two veteran who had been suffering from coronavirus has been discharged from hospital — to celebrate his 104th birthday at home. doctors, nurses and family members lined up # happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. doctors, nurses and family members lined up with posters and balloons as major wooten left madison hospital in alabama. major wooten, known as "pop pop" to his family, thanked the hospital staff before heading home. major wooten served as a private in the us army during world war ii. many congratulations to him. lovely celebration there. 104 years old, quite amazing. quite amazing. now it's time for newswatch with samira ahmed. unsurprisingly, covid—19 dominated the news again this week, but at last some good news as uk regulators

gave their approval to the vaccine developed by german firm biontech, in partnership with pharmaceutical giant pfizer. there's a huge appetite for information about vaccines, so the government's chief medical 0fficerjonathan van—tam made an appearance on bbc breakfast to answer questions from viewers. so this first question is from gavin this morning, why is the uk the first to approve this vaccine and that all—important question, is it safe ? we are the first to approve it because we have been really, really organised about this from the word go. lots of you got in touch with your views. carly hunt was impressed. doug parret agreed, although included a smalljibe.

this crisis also means lots ofairtime for our politicians as they seek to explain public health measures, and the decisions they are taking. but other political interviewers getting as much out of their interviewees as they could? viewers have no shortage of opinion on this subject. robert churton says... robert boak takes another view. well, i'm joined by nick robinson, the presenter of the today programme, and host of the political thinking podcast.