this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. britain and the european union remain far apart, as talks between borisjohnson and eu chief ursula von der leyen in brussels end without agreement. but, despite no deal, negotiations to break the trade talks deadlock will continue, with a firm decision expected by sunday. facebook is facing a major us lawsuit that could force the company to sell off instagram and whatsapp. as thousands more people in the uk get the pfizer vaccine — a new warning goes out to those with serious allergies.

welcome to the programme. talks to try to agree a post—brexit trade deal between the uk and the european union have concluded with both sides saying there are very large gaps to bridge. the british prime minister, borisjohnson, and the european commission president, ursula von der leyen, met over dinner in brussels. both have agreed talks on a deal will continue until sunday, when a firm decision will be made. a source in mrjohnson‘s office said he didn't want to leave any possible route to a deal untested. without a trade agreement, tariffs will be imposed on goods from the start ofjanuary and trade will be disrupted by increased border checks. our europe editor, katya adler, gave us this update on the events of the evening. she said it was a lively and interesting discussion. we've heard from the uk that it was a frank discussion which would imply that it wasn't 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. is sunday the deadline or is it just the latest deadline? of course, we have seen so many brexit deadlines come and go. to take a decision on the future of the talks we're told by the end of play on sunday could mean to carry on talking or it could mean of course announcing a deal or no deal. the very firm deadline that we have is the end of the year, the 31st of december. it's then that the transition period ends. that's when the uk fully comes out of the european union, it legally 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 wanted this trade and security deal in place.

tonight, that still looks like a very far off hope but we had news today that if you remember the brexit divorce deal on the protocol to deal with the practicalities from northern ireland, the implementation of that agreement has been going very badly this year and suddenly this week everything has clicked into place. so, it is possible even if at the moment that trade deal, it just looks very troubled indeed. so katya, given that we've get yet another deadline come sunday, we weren't exactly expecting to hear of a deal tonight but at least we know that they are still talking. remember there are three main sticking points still there that have been there for months. that's the rights for eu

fishing communities to access uk waters after brexit. it's competition regulations. the eu says, "uk, if you want to have preferential access "to our single market, then you need to sign up "to some principles on fair competition," says the eu. and the third point is the governance of the deal — how do you police it once it's in place? if either side breaks their word, 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 ursula von der leyen, the european commission president who tonight at dinner represented all 27 eu countries, nor boris johnson would want to be the ones to say, "right, i've had enough," and have that chaos on their shoulders. taking a life to downing street. not much happening is second! we are expecting the return of boris johnson, second! we are expecting the return of borisjohnson, who has been in brussels for the dinner this evening. no resolution or firm conclusion 0!’ resolution or firm conclusion or agreement to carry on talking until sunday. we are

expecting him to return back to downing street shortly and we will bring that as and when it happens. for the moment, will bring that as and when it happens. forthe moment, let's unpick what has gone on. our reporter, paul hawkins, is across the latest reaction. where do we stand right now? big gaps between the sides, they will keep talking, sunday they will keep talking, sunday the final deadline, there is a lwa ys the final deadline, there is always final deadline! december 31, the transition period and if there is no deal they go back to wto rules but at the moment as they say sunday is the deadline and still significant gaps on both sides, particularly on the issue of level playing field on the rules that govern how companies operate in the uk if they were able to sell products or continue to sell products into the eu single market. the eu is saying your companies have to follow similar roles otherwise you will be undercutting company you will be undercutting com pa ny rules you will be undercutting company rules on the eu. the uk's thing the whole point of

brexit was that we don't follow eu rules and we don't give you that control we gave to you when we are a member of the eu. that things a difficult to breach. i suppose the difficulty for us this evening is that we cannot tell whether, actually, that there is a chance here may final push in the next four days could come toa the next four days could come to a resolution all actually no site wants to seem to walk away. that is actually no chance of a deal of them carry on talking anyway. we cannot get inside the heads the parliament? that is a political theatre, isn't it, even if you get a no—deal, theatre, isn't it, even if you geta no—deal, or theatre, isn't it, even if you get a no—deal, or either way, you come away with the deal and some people in your party don't like it but you could still paint it as a good deal. we come away is no deal, you paint it positively, that is the theatrics of politics. we cannot tell from the outside but we think since they have been talking in person today in brussels and it doesn't sound

like things have gone disastrously and they will continue to talk, it would be worth could be the line, it could be worth, they could have set it all off, no deal, we go to the wto rules on december 31 but we will continue to talk, for now. keep the possibility ofa for now. keep the possibility of a still open but you would say that it is probably at the moment no deal. there is still hope and light. potentially for a deal. worth reminding people this is such a long way away from the referendum campaign, the brexit vote and the immediate aftermath, and boris johnson himself was saying this is not about breaking economic ties with the eu, it's about breaking political ties. people in the aftermath saying this‘ll be the easiest trade deal in the history trade deals to make, and all ideas of soft brexit, that is all gone. we

are now just brexit, that is all gone. we are nowjust a few brexit, that is all gone. we are now just a few weeks away and it's actually a very real possibility of having no trade deal with the uk's closest trading partner? and supported the brexit, the people who supported and voted for brexit would say well, there may be pain to begin with but long—term the uk will now be free to do its own thing, strike trade deals with other countries around the world and that will make up for half of the trade which of the uk currently undertakes with the eu. so, yeah, that is what support of brexit would say and of brexit say if we don't have a trade deal, any sort of a trade deal at all, with the eu, who make half of the uk's trade, then, you know, that is not going to be a good thing. really this is about a difference in the political ideology. the eu is about coming together and working together between countries and the whole point was it was set up the whole point was it was set up after world war ii the whole point was it was set up after world war i! so that

there would not be another war because nations are traded together. and brexit means it asserts its own controller does its own things are trying marry those two in a trade deal is why it's so difficult. i will keep an eye on that and see what happens on sunday. thank you, brian. meanwhile, supermarkets are being given 3 months to prepare for additional checks that will be carried out on goods being transported to northern ireland from great britain after the brexit transition period ends on new year's eve. the agreement reached by the uk and eu is designed to stop food supplies being disrupted next year. when the transition period ends on new year's eve, england, scotland and wales will leave the eu's single market for goods. 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 1st, deal or no deal, there will be new rules governing trade across the irish sea, that companies big and small are trying to get to grips with.

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 happening 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 send 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 in which they're sold into, that's a very complex process. there are just 22 days left before 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. the us government wants to break up facebook over concerns it's abusing its dominance in social media to crush smaller competitors. federal and state regulators have sued the company, saying it's become a digital monopoly and should be ordered to sell off instagram and whatsapp, which have billions of users. new york's attorney—general, who is leading a coalition of 48 states suing facebook, explained why they decided to take action.

nearly a decade, facebook has used its dominance, and monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and snuff out competition. all at the expense of everyday users. by using its vast troves of data and money, facebook has squashed or hindered what the company perceived as potential threats. they have reduced choices for consumers. a stifle innovation. and they degraded privacy protections for millions of americans. i'm joined by ron knox, senior researcher at the institute for local self reliance and an expert on monopolies. thank you for coming on the programme. great to be here. strong words there and certainly strong sentiment behind it that we heard, what

was your reaction to that?” think it's right. i think it's correct. this is an important lawsuit and the allegations in the lawsuit are very, very areas. there was a congressional investigation in the united states that lasted 18 months. report from the investigation came out in october and detailed a lot of same allegations that now appear in the lawsuits. it showed that facebook is a monopoly, right? just to clear that up, it is a monopoly on what? social media, thanks for asking. it's a monopoly in the social media market, and faced new competition from instagram and whatsapp and decided it was and whatsapp and decided it was a concern and that it was worried about instagram because of its invasion and large user base and that of competing, against these companies on merits, in the marketplace, we will just buy them!

merits, in the marketplace, we willjust buy them! it's exactly what the antimonopoly laws are therefore to prevent. it's an important lawsuit. it is the right time against the right company. what about tiktok snapchat and others? there are other products out there but nothing like facebook, nothing even close to the size of facebook, right? half of all americans over the age of 13 get on facebook every single day and it's the way they connect with family, friends and no other platform like that. so, the allegations and lawsuit make that clear. i think when we talk about instagram and whatsapp, the kinds of connectivity and user bases, and it went after those again with money and power and it took them out of the market. that is the problem. if that is the problem, why won't those purchases blocked at the time?

for a couple of reasons. one, you know, it was a different ftc that was reviewing those deals at the time, so it is unclear, you know, precisely why it made those decisions, but what was reviewed in a lawsuit that without today was that often, facebook was not tingled out it was not often honest about what a pain to do with these companies. for example, facebook said that it was going to keep whatsapp separate, it wasn't going to integrate its data in any way, and whatsapp users had nothing to worry about. what actually happened was after the competition, you know, was crossed through the merger, was facebook did exactly that. it integrated the data. now whatsapp and facebook have the same data base, the whatsapp and facebook have the same database, the same users, and it's not what they said was going to happen. 0k, just finally because i'm afraid we're out of time, but i want to get your thoughts on this very, very briefly if you can't. lawsuits like this tend to spend a long time in the

courts, they are very, very difficult. the chances of this actually being a success from the attorney generals point of view? i think the chances are good. these lawsuits tend to rely on the companies own internal documentation, which shows this is what it intended to do, which was to kill competition, they can be very compelling for a federal court judge, i think. compelling for a federal court judge, ithink. the compelling for a federal court judge, i think. the chances of success judge, i think. the chances of su ccess a re judge, i think. the chances of success are high, in this case. thank you. right. do stay with us here on bbc news. still to come. how one brazilian woman is finding a way around the pandemic restrictions to bring festive cheer to disadvantaged children. 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 ceasefire 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 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. iam i am lewis vaughanjones.

the latest headlines: britain and the european union remain far apart, as talks between borisjohnson and eu chief ursula von der leyen in brussels end without agreement. let's stay with that story. earlier we spoke tom newton—dunn who's chief political commentator at times radio. we asked him what he thought the sticking points were in stopping a deal happening. i suppose you could look at this and say what on earth has changed since yesterday, last week, last month? supposedly, nothing. we could look at this and say actually, there has been some interest, it looks like there has been, the detail has been ongoing for a while there. even having a glass half full, what do we know going into this? tomorrow there will be talks, they will talk for four more days, we also know both leaders have put out statements, ursula von der leyen and the prime ministers

saying —— leyen and the prime ministers __ by leyen and the prime ministers saying —— by ministers saying —— the prime minister saying it was a frosty conversation, ursula von der leyen and it was lively, diplomatic parlance saying it was a bust up. significant gaps still remain. number 10 sources saying ursula saying nothing was achieved out of, zero progress “— saying nothing was achieved out of, zero progress —— achieved at all. if that is really the case, if they are still at her loggerheads over this crucial issue, are they doing, talking forfour more issue, are they doing, talking for four more days? surely there is zero point in sitting ina room, there is zero point in sitting in a room, staring at each other, david frost with them, forfour more days, other, david frost with them, for four more days, just that logjams are nothing new. but in turn, compensation. unless they arejust turn, compensation. unless they are just trying to not be the first one to walk away from the table and not be the first one

to look like they caused no deal. itjust to look like they caused no deal. it just feels to look like they caused no deal. itjust feels to me, though, four days is a long time. remember those stalks of michel barnier had to stop because they ran out of things to talk about because they were so to talk about because they were so logjams. it seems they are going to give this one last shot, trying something. and i think it leans on the level playing field, written‘s position on agreeing to not have worse than current standards of the labour marketplace, environmental protections, state aid, and the eu's position which penalty clauses in britain leveraging away from future positions. so it feels like there is a chance of achieving something, it may come to nothing, it mayjust be another case as before. i can't see them continuing this for four more days unless they were onto something there.

medical regulators 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. our 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. so, 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 both 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 four 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 orkney 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. with christmas less than three weeks away, and the coronavirus pandemic far from over — people across the world are wondering how they'll be able to celebrate. well, one possible solution is on show in brazil. tom brada reports. it's the question millions of people are asking. how can we celebrate christmas during the coronavirus pandemic? well, a woman in brazil has come up with a clever way to raise festive spirits while still keeping people safe. this is the team, every year she

dresses up as mrs claus, hanging —— handing out gifts and hugs to children. this year she is giving up the tradition, but doing it all through a specially sanitised curtain. translation: i really liked her hug, it was warm and nice, i liked it a lot. brazil has been hit particularly hard by the virus stop there have been more than 6.5 million registered coronavirus cases and thousands of people have lost theirjobs, meaning fatima was my work is all the more welcome. translation: i hope that days will come in next year we can hug more, that we can feel that human warmth as we need it. it's not just human warmth as we need it. it's notjust the human warmth as we need it. it's not just the families who are enjoying the benefits of the festive ingenuity. translation: i feel great as well, because of the pandemic, today was the first time i hug someone today was the first time i hug someone since february. the coronavirus means this will be

a holiday season like no other. but with a bit of creativity, the virus hopefully won't get in the way of christmas cheer. that is it. this is bbc news. 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 from 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 any time 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 news, the headlines: britain and the european union remain far apart as talks between boris johnson and eu chief, ursula von der leyen, in brussels, end without agreement. but, despite no deal, negotiations to break the trade talks deadlock will continue, with a firm decision expected by sunday. facebook is facing a major lawsuit in the us over concerns it has become a digital monopoly that is stifling competition. if it loses, facebook could be forced to break up the company and sell off instagram and whatsapp. medical regulators in the uk 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. they've both recovered already. the welsh government has denied losing control