tonight at ten — brexit trade talks have been paused for the evening without an agreement with just four weeks to the end of the transition period. the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier was due to stay in london this weekend to continue talks — businesses say it's causing huge uncertainty. really, it's now getting under 30 days and we're no clearer or further forward as to what's going to happen. the prime minister and the european commission president will talk tomorrow to discuss the state of play. also tonight: a 16—year—old boy is among the four people killed following the explosion at a water treatment plant near bristol. preparing for the covid vaccine rollout — the pfizerjab will be offered in hospitals from next week, and from gps in england from mid—december.

a special report from beirut — four months after the blast at the port which killed more than 200 people. and premier league football fans are back watching live matches this weekend. coming up in sport on bbc news, bournemouth are top of the championship after thrashing barnsley 4—0, as they look to bounce back to the premier league. good evening. talks about a post—brexit trade deal have been paused this evening without an agreement, less than a month before the transition period comes to an end. the uk's lead negotiator, david frost, and his eu counterpart,

michel barnier, have said that "significant divergences" remain — and that boris johnson and the president of the eu commission, ursula von der leyen, will meet tomorrow, to discuss the next steps. our deputy political editor, vicki young, reports. 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. but they didn't get very far. tonight, after another day of intensive talks, everything is on hold. a joint statement on behalf of chief negotiators lord frost and monsieur barnier said: there is a lot at stake, and the irish prime minister says he fervently hopes there will be a deal. given the enormous negative impact of covid—i9 on our economic

and social life, the last thing our citizens need now is a second shock of the kind that no—deal brexit would bring. 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. and then there is fishing. eu countries want a guarantee that their boats can continue to operate in uk waters. if not, the eu might make it much harder for us to sell fish to them. translation: france, like all its partners, has a veto. we will conduct our own evaluation of a deal, if one exists. that is normal. we owe it to the french.

we owe it to our fishermen and to other economic sectors. tonight, discussions have stalled and no one is quite sure when the negotiators will be back. 0ptimism that a deal could be close to tonight, the uk side saying they have hit a big problem, and the eu needs to be more flexible. so it's time for the politicians to get involved. boris johnson time for the politicians to get involved. borisjohnson was beat the president of the european commission tomorrow. that has been described to me and my one government insider is a high—stakes moment. it is a chance for a breakthrough, or it could be the end of the road, although i am not getting that impression. remember, these moments of drama to often comejust remember, these moments of drama to often come just before some difficult compromises, and nobody is walking away. vicki young and our europe editor katya adler is in brussels tonight. they are calling it a pause. what is your reading of this? like so much

during the brexit negotiations, we can look at this in a glass half full or a glass half empty way. on the glass half side, both sides still say they want a deal and they wa nt to still say they want a deal and they want to work towards a deal. so it depends what steps they now take, how willing they are on both sides to compromise to get a deal. don't forget, these compromises are difficult and they are political, so you could cynically say this crisis is quite useful for both sides to show to their domestic audience, we have fought to the better and before they can agree a deal. but on the glass half empty side, there are clearly very big differences and it makes sense, because the eu and uk approached these have trade talks from very different directions. the eu priority has always been the single market. they worry about uk competition. they hope to bind the uk in competition. they hope to bind the ukina competition. they hope to bind the uk in a kind of common rule book like on government subsidies, for example. the uk after brexit wants to be competitive. it wants to be nimble. it doesn't want to tie its

hands and they want to hold on to as much sovereignty as possible. so after a ll much sovereignty as possible. so after all this, is a deal still possible? yes. is it definite? no. 0ne possible? yes. is it definite? no. one thing is definite, that neither side will sign up to a deal unless they believe they can sell it back home as a victory. katya adler in brussels. a 16—year—old apprentice was among the four people who died in an explosion at a wastewater treatment works near bristol yesterday. the company says it's "absolutely devastated" by the incident. 0ur correspondent, jon kay, is in avonmouth. what are the police saying tonight? well, formal identification is still going to take some time here, but avon and somerset police have this evening published four names with the permission of the families. as you say, the youngest victim in this explosion was only 16 years old. his name was luke wheaton. we understand

he was an apprentice here. he had only started quite recently. i have spoken to a couple of his mates tonight. they say he was a really keen football player and rugby player. they described him as a joy both on and off the pitch. they said he was truthful and the greatest quy: he was truthful and the greatest guy, they say they are all absolutely devastated by the news that he was killed here yesterday. the three men who died alongside him in this explosion were all older collea g u es in this explosion were all older colleagues of his. michaeljames was 64. he was a contractor here. raymond whyte was 57, and brian vickery was 63. i spoke to mr vickery‘s widow and sons this afternoon and they told me that he had worked here for more than 40 yea rs had worked here for more than 40 years and was just beginning to think about his retirement, the other end of his career spectrum here. they said he was a larger—than—life character, here. they said he was a la rger—than—life character, loved here. they said he was a larger—than—life character, loved by eve ryo ne larger—than—life character, loved by everyone in the town of clevedon where he lived, just south of

bristol here. tonight, that family and the other three families are just trying to get their heads around what has happened here, trying to work out how that massive explosion could have happened. even in the pouring rain tonight, there are safety experts, mechanical and chemical experts inside that treatment works, looking and examining, beginning their investigations into what happened, trying to work out why these four quys trying to work out why these four guys who went off to work as normal yesterday morning and now this weekend, fourfamilies yesterday morning and now this weekend, four families are grieving. jon kay, thank you. the chief executive of the medicines regulator in the uk, drjune raine, has said that it should be possible to get the coronavirus vaccine into care homes within two weeks. it comes as the r number, the rate at which coronavirus reproduces, fell again to between 0.8 and 1 across the whole of the uk, meaning that growth has slowed and the number of new cases are declining. here's our health editor, hugh pym. any allergies that you may have? no. in training for one

of the biggest assignments in the history of the nhs — covid vaccinations for real, and starting next week in hospitals like this one in coventry. 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 for us in that this is a vaccine that needs to be stored at —70. and it's not the way we've had to handle a drug before. in the hospital, we have handled other drugs that way. so, from the pharmacy‘s perspective, we've had to have a new freezer. that was delivered a couple of weeks ago. it won'tjust be in hospitals. nhs england has said gps will start vaccinating at specially run clinics from december 14th. so when will care home residents be vaccinated? the scottish government said this will happen from mid—december, though in england, that wasn't so clear. the problem is the way doses are packed. they need to be broken down into smaller consignments, a complex task, but regulators 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 rate 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 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. councils in greater manchester have become the latest to pause rapid testing for care home visitors because of concerns the tests don't detect enough infections. figures suggest lateral flow tests, which can produce a result within 30 minutes, miss about a third of the most infectious cases picked up by conventional laboratory tests. the government says rapid testing is a way of reducing, rather than eliminating risk, and can quickly identify people 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'd even hug you if this bloody thing wasn't here. now care homes have been offering testing kits that can provide a result in 30 minutes, known as lateral flow tests, to allow visitors to have that vital contact with their loved ones. but local councils in greater manchester as well as sheffield have advised that rapid testing for visitors is paused.

care homes have to decide whose advice to follow. we will go with the national government guidelines. why? because these things have been put in place. it's not been made up. we're working with public health england, the world health organization, and for us, it's not a case of bringing somebody in, have a test and they can go and kiss. we're still following our robust infection control procedures. 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 they only picked up 70% of the very infectious cases that would have been detected by the standard test. and experts warn that mass testing in liverpool exposed serious shortcomings. you will be telling just as many people with infection that they're 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. and then the other consequence is, it consumes a huge amount of resources. 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 home safely for christmas. the government says they can play an important role in identifying people who are infected but showing no symptoms, and help stop the spread of the virus. dominic hughes, bbc news, manchester. tough new coronavirus restrictions have come into force in wales 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 infections again, with a record number of covid—related patients in hospital over the last week. 0ur wales correspondent, hywel griffith, reports. 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 6pm the bewitching hour as opposed to 10pm? 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. 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. it's just 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're 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. the mayor of liverpool, joe anderson, has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery and witness intimidation. he's among five people arrested as part of a year—long police investigation. 0ur north of england correspondent, judith moritz, is in liverpool.

whenjoe anderson was made mayor of liverpool in 2012, he became the city's first elected mayor and, eight years on, he is still in office, one of the uk's more high—profile city mayors, especially so high—profile city mayors, especially so during the pandemic. he lost a brother to coronavirus and he is credited with being one of those to have driven forward mass testing in liverpool. tonight, the mayor is being questioned in connection with allegations of fraudulent building deals. he is on suspicion of bribery and witness intimidation, one of five men arrested across merseyside today, aged between 25 and 72. it is connection with a police investigation into the awarding of construction contracts which has focused on a number of property developers. liverpool city council says it is cooperating with merseyside police and it's understood the labour party has

suspended joe anderson pending the outcome of the case. the anguish of losing someone to covid has been felt by thousands of people over recent months. grieving families have had restricted funerals and limited family contact, adding to their pain. charities such as the national bereavement alliance which 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 coronavirus. 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 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, 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.

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. it's four months since a devastating explosion tore through the centre of the lebanese capital, beirut, killing around 200 people and injuring many more. an investigation, which was promised within days, has yet to detail the cause of the blast. dozens of arrests have been made, but nobody has been held responsible and none of the victims compensated. the epicentre was beirut port, where the country's only cruise ship, the orient queen, was docked. from there, our middle east correspondent, quentin sommerville, sent this report. lebanon is living in a state of aftermath,

a country turned on its head. this was its only cruise ship, the orient queen. four months ago, it took the full force of the explosion at the port. only the crew was on board. they watched as a warehouse fire took hold, not knowing what was to come. the ships home port, its safe harbour lay in ruins. the orient queen was upright, but the engine room was flooding. and crew members were missing. 0n the quayside, chef michael was badly injured. translation: our ship's interior was wrecked. we had a hard time getting out. i didn't feel the second blast because i was slammed into a wall on the first one. when i came to, i tried to stand

but my leg was shattered. now back in the philippines, four operations later, they have managed to save his leg. the port and much of beirut was in chaos. at the orient queen, they were still searching for missing crew. it took more than two hours to find the body of haile rette. the ethiopian crewman had been blown off the ship. he was found at a nearby pier. mustafa airout wouldn't be found for days. his father travelled from syria. his dna was used to identify his son's remains. the explosion tore away any remaining shred of credibility from a government that stored for years dangerous chemicals here, in the heart of the city. it's too much for the brain to accept and for the heart to even handle.

hana abou merhi is the ship's owner. if this happened to metal and to concrete, can you even imagine? she is seeing the wreckage for the first time. like many here, she is overwhelmed with anger and disbelief that a disaster so easily avoidable was allowed to happen. i blame every person that knew what was there at the port for not taking action. so many lives, so many innocent people have lost loved ones, have lost their homes, their work, their dreams. it's not just us. it's notjust the orient queen. it's everyone. dozens of arrests have been made, but an investigation that was promised to take only days four months later is still dragging on.

this is a crime scene. the government knew that the dangerous chemicals were being stored here. so did thejudiciary. so too did the port authorities. it was only the lebanese people who were being kept in the dark, and few of them believe that the truth will ever emerge from this pit of corruption. the orient queen is lost. she will never sail again. and the reputation of the authorities that allowed this to happen is beyond salvage. quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut. police in edinburgh received hundreds of calls earlier today, from worried people who'd been woken up by what they thought was an explosion. but the loud bang they heard was actually just weather, and a phenomenon known as thundersnow. the snow caused disruption across many areas today, with the queensferry crossing closed

for several hours. premier league teams start welcoming back fans this weekend, with up to 2,000 allowed to attend matches in tier 2 areas. last night, arsenal were the first premier league team to admit home fans for their european game. and their north london rivals, tottenham, have been preparing their stadium for its partial reopening when the teams meet on sunday, as our sports correspondent, natalie pirks, reports. la cazette. .. scores! they've made a difference, i think you could say, straightaway. they've made a difference, it was more of a ripple than a roar but, after more than 270 days out in the cold, last night's europa league match felt like the best present for arsenal fans. all my christmases come together in one. it's like bread and water, i need it. i need it! it's like oxygen. i feel like a kid at christmas. christmas has come early. they will be back on their sofas this weekend though, as arsenal head to spurs. tottenham staff are taking every precaution to make the stadium safe

for home fans on sunday. fans with digital tickets will arrive at designated times to temperature checks and hand sanitiser stations throughout. they brew their own beer here, but it's only to be served with food. and, in the 62,000—seater stadium, only 2,000 fans have golden tickets. remarkably, when fans sit here in the south stand on sunday, it will be the first time they will have seen spurs play arsenal in the new stadium. they will be wearing masks, of course, but the club has no desire to police their singing. it's the best stadium in the world, but it's just an empty shell without the supporters in it. we love people to sing and shout. we want some atmosphere back. do it behind your mask. and, for premier league players too, match day can't come soon enough. i don't think there is going to be much better moments than that, to be fair, when you are walking out, just as you come out of the tunnel and you can see all the fans.