this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. talks on a post—brexit trade deal between the uk and eu are to continue. it follows a meeting between borisjohnson and ursula von der leyen in brussels. as thousands more people in the uk get the pfizer vaccine — a new warning goes out to those with serious allergies. a new uk government report says the route to net—zero carbon emissions could be much cheaper than previously thought. struggling to survive. how climate change, destruction of habitat and australia's recent bushfires have left koala's on the brink. —— have left koalas.

hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world — iam i am kasia madera. stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. britain and the european union have agreed to continue trying to reach a post—brexit trade deal for a few more days. after face— to— face talks between the british prime minister, borisjohnson, and the european commission president, ursula von der leyen, a source in mrjohnson‘s office said he didn't want to leave any possible route to a deal untested. —— face—to—face. our political correspondent jessica parker is in westminster with the latest. it's my understanding talking to sources this evening is that the talks will resume tomorrow between lord frost and michel barnier, i don't have details yet in terms of where that will happen. they had been happening in brussels but of course over the course of recent months, they've been switching between london and brussels but, you know, that's logistics.

the important thing to say is that the talks are set to resume but what's not particularly clear from the suggestions were getting tonight from a number 10 source is whether this dinner, which has gone on for over three hours, has actually led to any breakthroughs in terms of the two leaders sitting down down and maybe saying, "look, i'll give a bit here if you give a bit there and i'll send in my negotiation tomorrow with a slightly more flexible mandate." what we're hearing is that significant differences remain. a senior number 10 source tonight saying it's still unclear whether these differences can be bridged. and, importantly, we have another deadline. people might be used to brexit deadlines at this point but what we're hearing tonight is that the prime minister and ursula von der leyen have agreed that by sunday, a firm decision should be taken up at the future of the talks. those talks will continue on until

sunday and what's crossover, i think you just saw katia there, katya adler, we have updates from the eu commission president that it was a lively construction —— discussion. it must‘ve been. lively construction —— discussion. it must've been. we heard from the uk it was a frank discussion which would imply that it was not necessarily so friendly. i think both sides totally agree that gaps still remain, as you say, talks will resume tomorrow, will go on until sunday. it is sunday the deadline or the latest deadline? we have seen so many brexit deadlines come and go. to ta ke many brexit deadlines come and go. to take a decision on the future of the talks we are told by the end of play on sunday could mean to carry on talking or it could mean announcing a deal or no deal. the very firm deadline that we have is the end of the year, the 31st of december. it is then that this transition period ends. that's when

the uk fully comes out of the european union, it weakly did so on the 31st of january. practically it has remained in the eu's single market and customs union for the rest of this year as of the 1st of january no longer. and it was by the end of this year that the two sides one of the trade and security deal in place. tonight that still works like a very far off hope but we had news today that if you remember the brexit divorce deal and the protocol to deal with the practicalities of northern ireland, the implementation of that agreement has been going very badly this year and suddenly this week everything is clicked into place. so it is possible even if at the moment that trade deal, itjust looks very troubled indeed. so katya, given that we have get another sunday, we went expecting to hear of a deal tonight but at least we know that they are still talking.

what do you think in your understanding was the kind of movement that made them think that actually we can still continue talking until sunday? well, there is two possibilities, either that the two possibilities, either that the two possibilities, either that the two possibilities to see a chink of light. there are three main sticking points that have been there for months, that is the rights for eu fishing communities to access uk waters after brexit. it is competition regulations, the eu says, "you could if you want to have preferential access to every single market, then you need to sign up to some principles unfair competition," says the eu and the third point is the governance of the deal, how do you police it once it is in place if you police it once it is in place if you decide breaks their work, what kind of penalties can be in place? those are the three outstanding issues and they were discussed tonight. so it could be that even though not much progress was made tonight, some sense of progress was there or it could also be that

neither side wants to take the blame for walking away first from these negotiations because a no—deal situation will be chaotic and costly and difficult for both sides. and so neither the european commission president who tonight at dinner represented all 27 eu countries nor borisjohnson would represented all 27 eu countries nor boris johnson would want represented all 27 eu countries nor borisjohnson would want to be the ones to say, "right, i've had enough," and have that chaos on their shoulders. so under the few busy days for you as always. thank you katya. our europe editor katya adlerfrom you katya. our europe editor katya adler from brussels. when the brexit transition period ends on new year's eve — england, scotland and wales will leave the eu's single market for goods. but northern ireland effectively won't. at the moment there are hardly any checks on goods travelling between great britain and northern ireland. but from january the ist, deal or no deal, there will be new rules governing trade across the irish sea. our ireland correspondent emma vardy reports. becoming cut off from great britain

through new brexit red tape was one of the biggest fears for businesses in northern ireland, because food exported over the irish sea will be subject to new checks once northern ireland becomes a gateway to the eu. now, supermarkets will have an extra few months to get their paperwork in order, but smaller companies are still awaiting answers. retailers like myself, we do probably a third of our business in december, for christmas, and we just have not had a chance to look at what's happened in brexit. you know, we've just been trying to get over the year with covid. the new rules on bringing products into northern ireland will apply, whether there's a trade deal or not. today's announcements make the picture a little clearer for companies on what they're having to gear up for. but make no mistake — this all still amounts to a huge shift in the trading status of northern ireland for years to come. today, michael gove tried to reassure traders that there would be no disruption to food supplies.

british sausages will continue to make their way to belfast and ballymena in the new year. and we've also got time for reciprocal agreements between the uk and the eu on agri—food, which can be discussed in the months ahead. it was welcomed by supermarkets, after previous warnings the changes could have limited the range of goods they sent to northern ireland's shelves. we'd been preparing for the worst, so, frankly, if there had been no deal, we were confident we would have been able to continue to supply our stores in northern ireland, but obviously this should make it easier. for manufacturers that bring raw materials over the irish sea, some relief today that new tariffs will be minimised. but, like this firm which makes plastic goods, from hairbrushes to aeroplane parts, the real challenge is dealing with new documentation over where their products are sold on. what difference does the added paperwork make to your business? the bureaucracy, we think, is going to be one of the major

burdens of brexit, unfortunately, we understood that from the start, and that is indeed a cost burden for business. and the tracking and trace required to understand where materials are actually consumed, and which products, and ultimately which markets to which they're sold into, that's a very complex process. there are just 22 days left until the brexit transition period ends, but even then, it's not the final destination. all these new trading arrangements for northern ireland will continue to evolve well into the future. emma vardy, bbc news. medical regualtors have recommended that people with a history of significant allergic reactions should not have the pfizer—biontech coronavirus vaccine. it comes after two uk nhs workers had an adverse response to the jab yesterday. they've both recovered already. thousands of other people have received the vaccine without any issues. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. they've been together ever

since they met while working at basildon hospital more than five decades ago. now, vic and penny griffiths have returned to the place where they each served for a0 years, from where the covid vaccine offers some hope of better days ahead. 0ur zest for life doesn't diminish when you get older, but the anxieties are there about catching something or doing something that may stop the span of your life. as far as i'm concerned, both of us want to have it done and get on with life. sharp scratch now, angela. but, as vaccinations continue, a warning from the medicines regulator — two nhs staff, both with a history of serious allergic reactions, suffered side—effects after receiving the vaccine. we need to strengthen our advice now that we've had this experience in the vulnerable populations, the groups that have been selected as a priority — we get that advice to the field immediately. the two staff members are now well again, having received treatment,

but those who experience significant allergic reactions have been told to avoid getting the jab for now. experts say, of the thousands who've received the vaccine yesterday and in clinical trials, serious reactions were very rare indeed. at bradley manor care home in belfast, staff and residents were receiving their jabs. by the end of the year, more than 4 million doses of the pfizer—biontech vaccine should have arrived in the uk, and gps will start delivering vaccines next week. but, from the government's most senior scientific adviser, a warning — this is no time for complacency. we have a very important light at the end of the tunnel with vaccines, we've got a lot to do to roll out the vaccines, we've got a lot to do to make sure the vulnerable are protected. it's not the time to suddenly say we relax everything, and if that happens we will have a big surge. the vaccine is now reaching the most vulnerable, even in some of our more remote communities. today, some doses arrived in 0rkney in the far north of scotland.

but, as we embark on the biggest mass vaccination programme we've ever seen, expect some bumps along the road. dominic hughes, bbc news. a new report here in the uk from the committee that advises the government on climate change says it could be cheaper to make significant cuts in carbon emissions than previously thought. but to achieve the goal of net—zero emissions by 2050 people are being urged to fly less, phase out gas boilers and eat less meat. 0ur science editor david shukman has more details. this is where it all began. the uk pioneered the industrial revolution, powered by fossilfuels, that made the country rich but also started the process of changing the climate. one way to look at this is how much each of us in the uk is responsible for the carbon dioxide and other gases that are heating up the atmosphere. back in 1990, the average per person was just under 16 tonnes.

by last year, that had fallen by about half, mainly because of cleaner sources of power and more efficient household appliances. but, in the next 30 years, well, each of us is meant to get down to effectively zero, and that's going to be a lot harder. a lot will depend on building many more wind turbines out at sea. since we last filmed these giant structures, making the long climb up inside them, their costs have fallen dramatically. the government's advisers say that going zero—carbon will cost much less than expected. it's happening at pace because it's also happening at scale, so it's those scale changes, those big wind farms that we'll have in british waters in the future, that deliver those kind of cost reductions. and we all benefit from that in the future. key to all this will be a switch to electric cars and other zero—carbon vehicles, according to the advisers. fewer flights is another recommendation. that's a personal decision for all of us. so is eating less red meat —

cutting it by a quarter over the next decade is the aim — and heating our homes not with gas boilers but cleaner alternatives, like heat pumps. but how quickly can this be done? we've got supply chains that are ready to deliver this and we've got consumers who are beginning to understand that this might be good. what we just need is that little bit of intervention from government to bring it all together, to build confidence, and for people to start really seeing what a better home looks like for them. millions more trees will also be needed. this is the quickest way to plant them. the climate plan says that carbon dioxide has to be removed from the atmosphere for us to stay safe, and trees will help to do that. and a reminder of what all this is about — trying to head off the most dangerous risks of a more violent climate, stronger storms and rising sea levels here and around the world. david shukman, bbc news.

stay with us on bbc news, still to come... struggling to survive. how climate change, destruction of habitat and australia's recent bushfires have left koalas on the brink. john lennon was shot at the entrance to the dakota building in the centre of new york. there's been a crowd here standing in more or less silent vigil, and the flowers have been piling up. the 14th cease—fire of this war ended at the walls of the old city of dubrovnik. this morning, witnesses said shells were landing every 20 seconds. people are celebrating the passing of a man they hold responsible for hundreds of deaths and oppression. elsewhere, people have been gathering to mourn his passing.

imelda marcos, the widow of the former president of the philippines, has gone on trial in manila. she's facing seven charges of tax evasion, estimated at £120 million. she's pleaded not guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to separate. a statement from buckingham palace said the decision had been reached amicably. this is bbc news. the latest headlines. could keep distance. talks on a post—brexit trade deal between the uk and eu are to continue. it follows a meeting between borisjohnson and ursula von der leyen in brussels. joining me now is our uk political correspondent rob watson. never expecting to get a deal announced tonight but we know that

at the moment there isn't a no—deal, they will continue to talk. where do you think they kind of found the idea to carry on these talks, that there is actually reason to continue these talks until sunday? that is such a fantastic question! and i think the answer, is a twofold answer. 0ne think the answer, is a twofold answer. one is i think both sides would perhaps like to hope that there is still some kind of deal that they could achieve that there could be some kind of compromise notably from the other site but i think the second is that if there is going to be a no—deal, i think neither side is keen to get the blame and seen as the one walking away because if you can imagine if there is a no—deal brexit in january, they are going to be mighty recriminations and all sorts of blame as the economic dislocation kicks in. so we have got this next deadline, i think we have all lost track of how many deadlines we've got. we have the six deadline on

sunday, what can we expect realistically? we had the three hour dinner, lots of fish on the menu, we have now got these four days for more negotiations. what next? it's another cracking question. you said that they had gone up to the wire with these negotiations, i think they passed the wire some time ago with so many deadlines being gone. and i think one has to remain rather kind of cautious about what to expect but i guess to simplify it, until there is definitively a deal with definitively no deal, you wouldn't rule out one option. 0ne tries tojudge the wouldn't rule out one option. 0ne tries to judge the mood that sometimes it looks weak or looks better, i think that is a full game. both options are still possible but ice say there is one thing that has become apparent over the last couple of days reflecting on it all and thatisif of days reflecting on it all and that is if you think about it, the uk's position, the nature brexit i think has evolved since the

referenda. it has become if i can put it that way more extreme, more radical, they definitely don't want to be part of the single market, the customs union, and if your home because of the brexit is not the begu member white and not be with its rules or regulations, you want to see brexit as a proper prick with from europe and makes it hard for a dealfor both sides. from europe and makes it hard for a deal for both sides. so does that mean with such a clash of ideologies with such apparent differences, are you suggesting that there ultimately we are looking at a no—deal? you suggesting that there ultimately we are looking at a no-deal? book, it's a possibility. again i think goes back to the main player in this, borisjohnson goes back to the main player in this, boris johnson although goes back to the main player in this, borisjohnson although 30 odd million people voted in the referendum in 2016, i think it really is his choice and at this point his choice, it might be an unnavigable one, go for a deal that would involve compromises with the unpopular with some sections of this governing conservative party, a very

keen pure brexit. 0n the other hand go for no deal and all the governments own forecasts say it would be disruptive in the short, medium and long term and leave the uk rather front of us in the world and that would also be unpopular. so he has a pretty difficult choice to make. i think it is his, i think the uk will have to move more than the eu because seen from the outside is, it's hand is weaker. for more days to watch and digest all munitions and detail and for the time being, robots watson thank you. —— rob watson. let's move away from politics to australia. where experts say one of the country's most iconic animals — the koala — is "living on the brink". climate change, destruction of habitat, and australia's recent bushfires have left the koala struggling to survive. the government has announced funding for a national audit of koalas. but how exactly do you count these solitary creatures, in such a vast landscape?

let's speak to dr romane cristescu a koala ecologist who is usually based at the university of the sunshine coast in australia butjoins us today from tasmania on bruny island. thank you so much. i said we are moving away from politics but actually it is apolitical given what is happening to these koalas but what us talk about the physicality of them. how do you count a cabal of? with great difficulty sadly! we are as ecologists faced with a difficult looking for a needle in the haystack. we have that great ball of fur the haystack. we have that great ball offur in the haystack. we have that great ball of fur in the tree, very quiet most of the time, doesn't move, it is not like a monkeyjumping from branch to branch and to be honest, when we look, we miss most of them, about 80%. and we saw the awful images of the koalas with the little burnt pause after the bushfires. how

endangered are they? so, they are endangered are they? so, they are endangered in the way that they are losing their habitats, climate change is a real big game changer for them, they are not coping with heat wave, even less obviously with fire. and so they are declining across fire. and so they are declining a cross m ost fire. and so they are declining across most of their range and the sad reality is that many more other species are declining even more than the koalas. it is kind of a trend that we see across all animals at the moment. so when it comes to, do you know how many koalas there are or how many you think there are, can you put a figure on it? know, and thatis you put a figure on it? know, and that is the problem. a lot of people we re that is the problem. a lot of people were asking us after the fire that burned such an extensive amount of koala habitat, they were like, "how many did we lose, how many are there still? " many did we lose, how many are there still?" and those of the hardest questions answer because we don't know how many there were before the fire, we know we have lots may be

596, fire, we know we have lots may be 5%, 10% of the population but we don't know where the population was. soi don't know where the population was. so i guess when it comes to taking this on, you need funding, you need help, what does a koala counter rather need to? we are throwing everything at it because it's such a difficult survey. we are helped by dogs, detection dogs, and cats, and the reason we do that is because everywhere quote live, they hoop, and as ecologists love hoop because it sustains the environment for a while and they poo a lot, about 100 little pellets every day, that is much easierfor us to little pellets every day, that is much easier for us to find and with the detection because they have got such great nose, zooming across the bush and then they find the hoop, they chop, tell us here it is, and that we play with them and record that we play with them and record that data facet that is great for koala habitat mapping and then we ta ke koala habitat mapping and then we take it to the air and we have

heat—seeking drones that actually look for the animal itself. so the beauty of it is because it is in the air, we don't have to walk the whole area and difficult terrain and we just cover many square kilometres and look at them like a hot little bubble if you want in a tree. doctor romane cristescu, best of luck with the koala audits and thank you for sharing that they hoop so much. who knew? good luck with that, thank you. at the age of 90, margaret keenan became famous around the world yesterday, after becoming the first person to have the pfizer vaccine, as part a mass vaccination programme. today she left hospital to a warm welcome from her family. this report by our correspondent catherine burns contains some flashing images. yesterday, margaret keenan became the most talked about 90—year—old in the world. it's the moment we've all waited for... untranslated

..margaret keenan... she was the very first person outside of clinical trials to have the pfizer vaccine against coronavirus. applause today, she got to leave hospital, after making plenty of goodbyes. bye! thank you. she's like royalty, isn't she? her daughter sue and grandson connor were waiting. come on, mum! hello, granny! she says this whole thing's been a whirlwind and she's pleased to get home to her family. there were a few tears when she saw them. are you 0k? yes, thank you. so good to see you. and, like any worldwide superstar, the inevitable fans asking for photos. margaret turns 91 next week and says this vaccine was the best early birthday present. but a bunch of flowers is always a welcome extra gift.

catherine burns, bbc news. wishing margaret the best. hello. in comparison to recent mornings, thursday gets off to a relatively mild to start but not very inspiring skies for the majority first thing. a lot of cloud around, gloomy, and we will be stuck with that cloud in many areas throughout the course of the day. it's courtesy of an area of low pressure, a big area of low pressure which actually is a combination of smaller low—pressure centres — one to the south west of the uk this morning could bring some showery rain in here. the tail end of another one to the north—west will, i think, bring some more persistent rain through the course of the day into western scotland, gradually tracking it a little further eastwards. some showers will push across wales into the north west of england as the day pans out as well. the best chance of any brightness probably in a few sheltered eastern spots across east anglia stretching up into lincolnshire. temperatures around average

at best, typically 8—9, perhaps 11 for plymouth. but look towards the west and you'll see another band of rain approaching. now, this one tends to mean business. it will produce some heavier rain for all areas as it tracks way eastwards. it's tied in with another one of those smaller low—pressure centres we saw as part of that big one at the start. but clear skies look like they could just hang on overnight to give us a patchy frost for the north east of england and eastern scotland initially on friday. but the day overall is dominated by increasing winds and some rain pushing its way eastwards, but this area of low pressure will also manage to pull in some comparatively mild air to the south of the uk. you can see the amber colour here on the air mass picture behind me. so, actually, if we do see the sun coming out on friday, it could well turn out to be one of our warmest afternoons across the uk if we compare the whole of the weekjust gone. and the best place to see the sun at the moment, it looks like probably southern counties of england. we could widely see double figures

here where the cloud lingers. further north, though, and some rather persistent rain, probably 7—9 just about covers it. now, for the weekend — blink and you'll miss it but there's a little ridge of high pressure in there. yes, that low still whirling away towards the west but saturday looks like a quieter, clearer, drier day. but as you can see, that low isn't giving up the ghost anytime soon. for saturday, a little bit cooler, quite cloudy, but not a bad day. sunday, milder but we're back with the wet and windy conditions.

this is bbc world news, the headlines. british prime minister borisjohnson and european commission president ursula von der leyen have agreed the uk and eu will continue talks on a post—brexit trade deal after meeting in brussels, but that a "firm decision" should be taken about the future of the discussions by sunday. germany's chancellor angela merkel says a deal is still possible. but she stressed the importance of a "level playing field" to protect the eu's single market. canada has approved the pfizer/biontech vaccine — paving the way for distribution across the country. meanwhile people in britain with a history of significant allergic reactions are being advised not to have the new pfizer biontech coronavirus vaccine. and the us federal trade commission — and 48 states — have sued facebook — saying that it broke antitrust laws. regulators are accusing the company of buying up rivals to become a social media monopoly. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be