finally this lunchtime — a case of mistaken identity. some of these historical militia re—enactors from wimborne in dorset had their facebook accounts frozen earlier this week. the social media firm appeared to mistake them for a right wing militia group in the united states. but good news — the facebook accounts are back up and running — meaning the 17th century re—enactors can once again share photos and stage virtual events. time for a look at the weather, here's louise lear. sunshine is going to be a pretty rare commodity in the next few days so rare commodity in the next few days so you do need to make the most of it if you have got it. we have seen some of that today after losing that recent fog in cambridgeshire. a weather front pushing in will bring

lane —— rain later in the day. to the southern flank of that we will see strong wind from a south—westerly direction. but drugs and milderair in south—westerly direction. but drugs and milder air in comparison to the last few days. so difference to the fuel of the weather but quite cloudy. the best of the brighter skies across eastern areas but now clouding over quite significantly with wet weather moving steadily east. the heaviest of the rain gci’oss east. the heaviest of the rain across parts of wales and south—west england by the end of the afternoon. temperatures around six, 9 degrees, pretty much where they should be for the time of year. the wet weather pushes into south wales and south—west england and we will see some light rain moving into western scotland. clearer skies to the far north—east and the chance of seeing the northern lights but really only in the far north east because of the cloud elsewhere. a relatively mild start to thursday but rather drab

with some showers in the far north—west and cloud lingering for many throughout the afternoon. but that south—westerly flow dragging in milder air, seven, 9 that south—westerly flow dragging in milderair, seven, 9 degrees that south—westerly flow dragging in milder air, seven, 9 degrees widely gci’oss milder air, seven, 9 degrees widely across the country and we could get 11, 13 across the country and we could get 11,13in across the country and we could get 11, 13 in the far south—west. moving into friday and weather front almost doing a repeat performance, moving steadily east with the heaviest rain gci’oss steadily east with the heaviest rain across southern england. all centred around this low pressure. the rain has a clear weight first thing friday morning and will do so to leave drab —looking skies and some drizzly rain potentially out to the west. temperatures peaking between seven and 11 degrees. if we get some brightness it could be across the channel costs. ridge of high pressure for the start of the weekend, saturday seen some decent weather before this significant low pressure potentially brings some wet and windy weather for the second half of the weekend. if you do have

plans it looks likely that saturday will be the best day of the weekend as the main returns for sunday. so the only ray of sunshine you are going to get at the moment is me! we thought things couldn't get worse! a reminder of our top story... the prime minister heads to brussels for dinner with the european commission president to discuss post—brexit trade. that's all from the bbc news at one — so it's goodbye from me — and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. good afternoon, it's 1.30pm and here's your latest sports news. uefa has confirmed that the red card given to pierre webo, assistant coach of istanbul basak—shehir has been frozen — as they investigate the allegations of an official using a racist term towards webo during their champions league abandonned game

against psg last night. the game was halted after 1a minutes when webo was shown a red card on the touchline. his club say an official used a racist word towards him. istanbul players came off in protest with psg players following. a new team of officials will take charge of the rescheduled game later — which kicks off in paris just before 6.00 this evening. after the game, the ps6 star striker kylian mbappe tweeted his support for the istanbul assistant coach pierre webo. another of psg's star players neymar posted a picture of himself on social media alongside the caption, black lives matter. the bbc has this morning spoken to pierre webo‘s cousin, fomer cameroon and sheffield united striker patrick suffo, and this is what he had to say about the players walking off last night.

i was happy that the game stopped altogether, then people would be more aware of the situation, more of the situation even more so, not only was it a game but it was a champion league game and they have some great players. neymar for example. the impact he has, the impact is very big so i think we should take these hind of stances in the future, yes. as far as the engish clubs are concerned this evening liverpool are away at fc midtjylland, while manchester city host marseille. both are already through to the knock out stage as group winners. manchester united though will have to make do with the europa league after losing to rb leipzig last night. they only needed a draw to go through but had to stage a fightback from 3—0 down in the second half. they got two, but couldn't find an equaliser — so they're out, and that's bound to heap more pressure on manager 0le gunnar solskjaer. it's been confirmed england's cricketers will play sri lanka

in two test matches behind closed doors in galle next month. the first test will start on 14th january with the second match beginning on the 26th, with the party due to fly out on the 2nd. england were originally meant to tour last march but the trip was postponed due to the covid—i9 pandemic. south africa have confirmed they'll tour pakistan for the first time in 14 years after agreeing to play two tests and three t 20 internationals in january and february. finally, after missing last weekend's grand prix in bahrain, lewis hamilton says he's finally feeling better after testing positive for corona virus. the seven time world champion is hopeful of being back in contention for this weekend's season ending race in abu dhabi. i know i have not been in touch this past week but it's definitely been one of the hardest weeks that i've had for some time. and it's just been focusing on recovering, trying to get back in shape,

so i can get back in the car and race the final race in abu dhabi. i woke up today feeling great and got my first work—out in so ijust wanted to send you guys a message of positivity, let you know that i'm 0k. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. more now on brexit — the government have been giving more details of the agreement struck with the eu yesterday over how the brexit divorce deal will be implemented, particularly in relation to northern ireland. the cabinet office minister, michael gove said that the provisions agreed will protect the rights of people and businesses, as well as giving supermarkets in northern ireland the grace period to adapt their systems. this deal protects unfettered access for northern ireland businesses to the most important market and as the

prime minister underlined, this had to be protected and meant removing any prospect of export declarations northern ireland goods moving from northern ireland goods moving from northern ireland goods moving from northern ireland to great britain. that is with the agreement will do, there will be no additional requirements placed on northern ireland businesses for these movements, with a very limited and specific exception of trade in endangered and conflict diamonds. 0n the second commitment, the deal safeguards but ireland's place in the uk customs territory. injuly commission had envisaged a default parrot scenario in which all goods wrote to northern ireland were considered to be at risk and are as such subject to the common customs tariff. if that had been implement it, that would have raised the prospect of a 50% tariff on a pint of milk from scotland to a supermarket in stra bane of milk from scotland to a supermarket in strabane or 96% on a bag of sugar going from liverpool to the shops of belfast. as we have repeatedly made clear, this could

never have been an acceptable outcome so instead i am pleased to say that under the agreement that we have reached, northern ireland businesses selling to consumers or using goods in northern ireland will be free of all tariffs. whether that is nissan cars from sunderland or bmb is nissan cars from sunderland or lamb from wales. internal uk trade will be protected, as we promised, whether we have a free—trade agreement with the or not. thirdly, this deal would keep goods flowing between great britain and northern ireland in january and between great britain and northern ireland injanuary and indeed provide necessary flex villages. protect northern ireland supermarket supplies, we heard throughout the year that traders needed time to adapt their systems. that is why we have a grace period for supermarkets to appear the procedures and our agreement also prevents any disruption at the end of the transition period and the movement of chilled meats. british sausages will continue to make their way to belfast and in the year. we have also got time for a reciprocal agreement between the uk and eu on agri— foods which can be discussed in the months ahead. this deal also

protects the flow of medicines and that medicines into northern ireland, meaning we will grant a period of up to 12 months to adapt to new wheels of the protocol so this will avoid any disruption to critical medical supplies. three commitments entered into, three commitments entered into, three commitments that we have upheld. labour's shadow cabinet office minister, rachel reeves welcomed the agreement between the uk and the eu, but said it had come too late for businesses in northern ireland — who she believes will not now have enough time to prepare for the changes when they come into force next year. the good friday agreement is a source of immense pride on the side of the house, given the role that tony blair puzzlingly began to played in building and achieving it. neither of those governments would play games with the peace process and neither would a government led by my right honourable friend, the memberfor holding by my right honourable friend, the member for holding and by my right honourable friend, the memberfor holding and in pain. game playing with threats to break

international law has consequences. it is also a dangerous distraction. the agricultural department in northern ireland say the border in the structure it simply won't be ready in time and manufacturing and i say just 9% ready in time and manufacturing and i sayjust 9% of businesses in northern ireland are ready for the end of the transition period. the systems needed to make trade flow such as the trade to support service reported it won't even be going live until december 21, eight working days before the end of the transition period. mr speaker, this willie does give new meaning to the night before christmas. last december, the primer minster as house, we are a uk government, why would we put checks on goods and i to gb orgb would we put checks on goods and i to gb or gb to ni? it doesn't make sense. so with that in mind, could the minister explain why today's documents confirm that the trade from gb to ni, there will indeed be a range of checks and indeed the trusted trader scheme will be removed after 3.5 years and reviewed

then with further uncertainty at that point? indeed, the exception of agri— food checks are only available for three months, so can the minister tell us what guarantees their art with prices and availability of fresh food supplies in northern ireland after the 1st of april, and we'll custom cheques be required just three months into 2021? this all begs the question, mr speaker, did the prime minister actually knew what he had signed up to last year and then get a full assurance as to this houseman, or did his not care? this is a disgraceful way to treat businesses in good times, never mind in the middle of a pandemic. the chief medical officer for wales says there are serious pressures on the country's nhs with coronavirus infections spreading fast. dr frank atherton says the situation is very serious, with the rate of infection rising in almost every part of the country. in ten local authority areas there are more than 400 cases per 100,000 people.

we are in a very serious situation here in wales. through the infection is spreading and spreading fast, it is spreading and spreading fast, it is accelerating across the country. that is happening more quickly than we had anticipated as we came out of the firebreak just a few weeks we had anticipated as we came out of the firebreakjust a few weeks ago, and it has been accelerating at a greater speed than we have seen during the autumn months. so if we look at the latest figures, they show that the all wales figure is continuing to rise. that is during almost all of our local authorities, the rates are rising. 0verall for wales, is reaching almost 350 per 1,000. that is very high and there are ten areas in wales where the rate is higher than 400 per 100,000. so this is really a worrying situation. it is also affecting all age groups. we have seen this across

the uk previously, that waves of infection start in younger people and then spreads into the other 60s and then spreads into the other 60s and that is certainly what has happened in this wave of the pandemic. that matters because we know that as older people become infected and greater numbers, they tend to have more serious illness and tend to end up in hospital and need extra support. so this is quite a worrying situation. the other dynamic that we have to keep in mind is the impact on our nhs. there are serious pressures on our nhs across the whole of wales but particular in the whole of wales but particular in the south and in the valleys and there's a scene in hospitals, and oui’ there's a scene in hospitals, and our ambulance services and it is particularly acute in our intensive ca re particularly acute in our intensive care units where staff are working flat out to protect people and to keep them safe and keep them alive. we all know that debt of gratitude to the nhs and the staff working in

those very difficult circumstances at the end of what has been a very challenging year for them. just some numbers we got, more than 1,800 current virus related patients in hospitals as of yesterday, that includes suspected, confirmed and recovering cases. if we look atjust the confirmed cases, there are about 1,100 patients in hospital. that matters because they tend to be in hospitalfor matters because they tend to be in hospital for quite matters because they tend to be in hospitalfor quite a matters because they tend to be in hospital for quite a while, up to three weeks, so that really leads to problems with hospital occupancy. in terms of intensive care units, yesterday we had 77 patients in intensive care units across wales, thatis intensive care units across wales, that is a slight decrease in the day before but the numbers go up and down a little, as we knew. what it is figures mean? what it boils down to is essentially that we have a widespread community transmission of coronavirus in wales and that is causing huge pressures on our system. it does mean that we are all

at risk of catching coronavirus and spreading to other people so we all need to take extra precautions in the run—up to christmas to give ourselves and our ones safe. the headlines on bbc news... the prime minister heads to brussels for dinner with the european commission president. 0n the menu is a meal deal on post—brexit trade. borisjohnson says there's still cause for optimism. delays at ports — initially caused by the pandemic — lead to honda pausing production at its swindon plant, with fears brexit could make things worse. as more and more people get the vaccine, a new warning to those with significant allergies after two people suffer adverse reactions. more families across the uk are living without food, warmth or shelter — that's the stark warning from thejoseph rowntree foundation, which has published its latest report on destitution. the organisation says the number of people experiencing extreme hardship increased by more than 50% last year and there are fears the pandemic is pushing them closer

to the brink. in a statement, the government said it had raised the living wage, and was continuing to assess the situation. today's figures suggest the worst affected area was middlesbrough, from where our north of england correspondent fiona trott reports. they have waited over an hourfor this. queueing in the rain isn't a choice, it's a necessity. hiya, matty, how is your course been going? this small charity feeds hundreds of people like matty every week. i was a bit proud. i didn't tell people how much i was struggling. tried to go to sleep, under the covers, just tried to think about something else. like, this place has saved my life. today's report says the number of people in the uk living without food, warmth or shelter has more than doubled since 2017. one in seven are in paid work. i know somebody who is actually working as a teacher, and she is just borrowing off loan people because she can't afford

to put her electric on. it's a terrible situation. looking at this report, i feel appalled. thejoseph rowntree foundation believes benefit levels have contributed to destitution. at the beginning of covid, the government took a bold, compassionate step. they boosted universal credit by £20. that has been an absolute lifeline for millions of people. it is vital that we don't whip that lifeline away in april. in this part of teesside, the demand is so great they want to stay open until easter. in weather like this you need it. a bit of happiness and kindness, someone to talk to. just one charity providing more than food for people in need. fiona trott, bbc news, middlesbrough. two mothers, whose daughters were killed by their ex—boyfriends whilst at home, have come together to campaign for tougher sentences.

at the moment, a murderer who commits their crime in a domestic setting faces a much shorter sentence than if it happened in public. fiona lamdin has been to meet the women. when i metjulie, ijust knew that she felt my pain and i could feel her pain. i went to carol's house first and i'll never forget getting out the car and her opening the door, and we just looked at each other and just gave each other the biggest hug and just looked into each other's eyes. an immediate connection of, this person has been through and is going through and we will continue to go through, the same things. it was extraordinary, absolutely extraordinary. these two mothers united by two hideous crimes. both their daughters were murdered by their ex boyfriends. ellie gould was 17, poppy devey waterhouse was 24. she was adventurous. if someone said, "shall we do something," she would say yes before

they got the end of the sentence, and was all about experiences in life and doing as much as she could. she completely lived life to the full. she was amazing. poppy lived with her boyfriend, joe atkinson, for three years. but when she ended the relationship, he could not accept it was over. he decided that he was going to take ultimate control of the situation and he went into the kitchen and he chose a knife, from the knife block, and went into her bedroom and stabbed her. five months later, ellie gould was halfway through her a—levels. she had such a bright future ahead of her. she was looking at universities, she was learning to drive, she got herself a little part time job waitressing. in may 2019, she finished a three month relationship with her boyfriend, thomas griffiths. the next day, he repeatedly stabbed her while she was home alone studying. it robs you of happiness. you can't imagine a time when you

will feel carefree again and happy. you know, you just have to put on this face and pretend that everything is ok when it really isn't. there is no hurt like a mother's hurt. it's only someone like julie who can really understand. 0ur girls look so similar as well. people have commented that. but obviously, the domestic homicide, with ours, they were very, very similar and that increases our bond as mothers. and together, they're now fighting to change the law. current guidelines say if a weapon is taken to the murder scene, it's a 25 year minimum prison sentence. but poppy and ellie were killed at home. the weapons their murderers used were already in the kitchen, so their sentences are shorter. it's absolutely disgusting. it sort of says, well, if you're killed in the home, your death is not worth, you're not worth the same as the people that are

murdered outside of home. even though they're usually very violent murders. how is that person, how is her murderer, less, to be seen as less violent, less dangerous, as somebody who stabbed somebody once, twice, that they don't know, in the park? these cases are not rare. every three days in the uk, a woman is killed in very similar circumstances to our girls. so it's not like these are one—offs, they are happening all the time. and yet the government is simply not interested in changing sentencing so the punishment fits the crime. in a statement, the ministry ofjustice said: they added that factors such as degree of planning and premeditation will apply. no matter where the murder was committed. what would poppy think

of what you are doing? i think poppy would be very proud. at school, she was voted the student most likely to change the world. she had that ripped away from her. and all i can do is try and do this in her place. fiona lamdin, bbc news. as global warming makes coral bleaching a regular event, scientists are urgently seeking ways to help the world's biggest reef survive. for the first time, a massive survey of the great barrier reef is taking place, with ordinary people helping to create a map that could help rescue it. the bbc spoke to professor peter mumby, chief scientist at the great barrier reef foundation. one of the challenges of dealing with the great barrier reef is, as its name suggests, it's enormous — it's about the size of italy. scientists can only monitor the health of

a small fraction of it. there are some things that we really need, such as simple reconnaissance information that you can get from a handful of photographs from the reef taken underwater that's well within the capability of anybody with a camera. and so we're trying to mobilise the enthusiasts there to get out to a large number of reefs and take a series of photographs that can be analysed both by them, by experts, but also from people around the world who want to get involved

from their armchair. this is, of course, one of the great wonders of nature. all of these corals will spawn simultaneously. we know that some reefs are much more important than others at driving recovery. the most important reefs will be those that are still in pretty good shape now, so they have lots of adults so they can produce lots of eggs, but they're also in the position so that they send those new corals to places in need. some good news from australia — where the bushfires earlier this year that devastated so much wildlife were thought to have

all but wiped out one of the smallest species of possum. but this pygmy possum has been found on kangaroo island, off the south australian coast, for the first time since fire destroyed 88 per cent of their habitat. the possums weigh less than 10 grams, and are also found in tasmania and sometimes mainland australia. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello there. lengthy spells of sunshine is going to be hard to come by over the next few days so if you've got it, try and make the most of it. not a bad morning once early showers cleared away from kent and certainly we've lost the fog of recent days. so some sunny spells here, but already clouding over from the west as we see a weather front starting to push in from the atlantic, and that will bring some rain. so this is the story so far in terms of rainfall. there's the early showers easing away, a few scattered showers behind, but some sunshine as well. the bulk of the wet weather really starting to push in from the west.

and the heaviest of the rain is likely to be across south wales and south—west england. that will gradually slip towards the near continent. but something important is that behind that rainfall, we'll start to see slightly milder air. so that cold feel of recent days easing away as a southwesterly wind takes over. clear skies for a time through the night. that could be good news if you're trying to see the aurora in the far north—east of scotland. but elsewhere, really rather cloudy with the rain easing away from the southwest. but the cloud acting like a blanket, that means temperatures will hold up above freezing right across the country. but we start off on thursday on a rather grey, drab note with showery outbreaks of rain still to ease away. any sunshine will really be few and far between. it stays pretty overcast for much of the day, but with a light southerly breeze it will be a slightly milder feel to the day in comparison to of late, with temperatures at around seven to nine degrees. that's pretty much where they should be for the time of year, maybe double digits into

the southwest and the channel isles. moving out of thursday into friday, we'll see more wet weather slowly slipping its way steadily eastwards under this influence of low pressure into the northwest. so we'll have some rain to ease away from the eastern half of the country, leaving again some cloudy, grey skies and drab bits and pieces of rain to follow. again, top temperatures, though, above where they should be for the time of year — seven to 11 degrees, slowly brightening up potentially down to the south. now, for the start of the weekend, there's a ridge of high pressure to start with. so saturday looks likely to be the better of the two days as we see more of a significant low pressure moving in from the west for the second half of the weekend. so the best of the drier, brighter weather certainly for saturday. more rain and strengthening winds to come for the second half of the weekend.

this is bbc news. the headlines. as boris johnson heads to brussels to meet the european commission president, he says no prime minister could accept the current terms, but remains optimistic there is still a deal to be done. i have absolutely no doubt that from january to first, this country is going to prosper mightily. he's absolutely stuck and dithering between the deal he knows that we need and the compromise he knows his backbenchers won't let him do. delays at ports, initially caused by the pandemic, lead to honda pausing production at its swindon plant with fears brexit could make things worse. as more and more people get the vaccine, a new warning to those with significant allergies after two people suffer adverse reactions. turning the uk into a low carbon nation will be cheaper than previously thought overall, but may prove expensive