this is bbc news i'm ben brown. our top stories... deal or no deal? the uk's chief negotiator arrives for the final day of post—brexit trade talks in a last—ditch bid for a breakthrough. the british prime minister boris johnson and president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen will decide whether there's any point in negotiations continuing. far right supporters of president trump clash with left—wing activists in washington. uk health leaders urge ‘extreme caution‘ in easing coronavirus restrictions, warning it could lead to a third wave of infections.

the pioneering black country music star charley pride has died from coronavirus complications at the age of 86. hello and welcome to bbc news. talks to agree a post—brexit trade deal have entered what's supposed to be their final day with little to change the mood of pessimism on both sides. prime minister boris johnson will again speak to the european commission president ursula von der leyen ahead of the deadline. both sides still appear to be deadlocked on the issues of fishing rights and how closely the uk should be tied to eu standards in the future. in the last few minutes, the foreign secretary dominic raab

has said there is a long way to go and ‘movement and flexibility‘ is needed from the eu. our political correspondent iain watson has the latest. a brief glimpse of the uk‘s chief negotiator in brussels. he‘s been locked in discussions behind closed doors with the eu. and negotiating teams continue to talk overnight, but without much progress. a government source told the bbc that, as things stand, the offer on the table from the eu remains unacceptable. the eu commission president ursula von der leyen and borisjohnson will talk today and decide whether it‘s worthwhile continuing with negotiations. theresa may‘s de facto deputy when she was dealing with brexit at number 10 was urging both sides to keep talking. it is hugely in britain‘s interest, and the european union‘s interest, for there to be a deal at the end of this. so although it is long and painful and difficult, it is worth keeping talking. but some in borisjohnson‘s party are calling on him to stand firm.

no deal will be some short—term disruption until markets readjust. no deal will mean some short—term disruption until markets readjust. but the long—term effect of signing up to a bad deal will be for decades, possibly even perpetuity, and that will be hamstringing our democracy and our economy going forward, and we can‘t do that. previous brexit deadlines have come and gone but after today‘s talks in brussels, it‘s possible that there will be an answer to the question — deal or no deal? iain watson, bbc news. bbc europe correspondent kevin connollyjoins us from brussels. what is the latest on the talks, deal or no macro deal? a good question, lord frost the british negotiator arrived an hour ago and everything is under way again. we know that we are somewhere between breakthrough and break down. the spectrum you always find in talks,

and we are definitely somewhat closer to the breakdown end of that spectrum, but we do not know how close. and as ian was saying in the report, it is possible today that borisjohnson report, it is possible today that boris johnson and ursula report, it is possible today that borisjohnson and ursula von der leyen will come to the conclusion there is no point carrying on, but they are too far apart and the gap can‘t be bridged and there is also the possibility they will think two and a half weeks until the end of the year, what is the point in stopping talking now? the instinct in brussels is always to keep talking. we talk about these things coming down to the wire. in brussels, when you come down to the wire, you start stretching the wire to see how far it will go. there is a possibility that will be the outcome of today. it might stop today but it might not. i suppose the problem is there are deep philosophical divide is especially on the issue of competition and

level playing field. the point seems to me that this is a combination of that sort of philosophical issue, cultural issue, and practical economics. from the british point of view, if you have to stay in tight alignment with european economic rules, frankly brexit did not mean anything. you might as well have remained in the european union. the europeans think the prize of access to their single market is so great, it is reasonable to demand britain stays somewhat synchronised with the rules. if the europeans say in future farmers could only have six pigs ina future farmers could only have six pigs in a pen when producing bacon and britain decides he could have 20 pigs ina and britain decides he could have 20 pigs in a pen in the future, that might make british bacon cheaper, might make british bacon cheaper, might make british bacon cheaper, might make it more attractive on the european market. the eu is not going to have that and frankly it thinks all the cards are in its hands,

because single market access is so important to the british economy. it is partly about that and partly i think about the fact that all along, the europeans have not really got brexit. they regard the european union and single market as two of the primary achievements of 20th—century diplomacy. they do not understand the british instinct to turn its back on what they considered to be those great achievements. kevin, thank you. i‘m joined by our political correspondent helen catt. what are you hearing from the uk side? it is not sounding particularly positive. last night, talks went into the night, but as you heard in the report, the uk government is saying the eu position is not accessible and government sources suggesting the eu is being unreasonable. they talked about how

to police any future deal and there we re to police any future deal and there were talks on what would happen if a dispute arose between the uk and eu, at the heart of it, from the uk government, it seems to be the point kevin alluded to which is the idea of sovereignty and that the eu does not get the uk government position on sovereignty, the ability by country to make its own laws and rules. that is a major sticking point. today, this deadline, which have come and gone in brexit process , have come and gone in brexit process, they have spoken about this moment of finality with the foreign secretary saying it cannot go on for ever because there is pressure from business in the uk saying we have not much time until the end of the year and we not much time until the end of the yearand we do not much time until the end of the year and we do not know if we will have to pay taxes and tariffs in a fortnight. there is that pressure on these talks, but to say we are pulling the plug and not talking, that would be a really big moment.

borisjohnson has said many times the uk would walk away if the deal was not possible, to draw up the stumps, as he puts it, that would be a big decision and big moment. i think we will have to wait to see what happens. kevin, on negotiating tactics by the eu, the british seem to be keen to have borisjohnson talking to president macron and angela merkel but the eu is saying it has to be at eu level with ursula von der leyen. that has been an important part of their strategy. remarkably for four and a half years since the brexit vote, the states of hung together. they do not have identical interests. they have decided to stick together which means individual leaders will not engage with borisjohnson, everything goes through the european commission which makes ursula von der leyen the central figure, she is the person boris johnson

der leyen the central figure, she is the person borisjohnson has to persuade if there is to be a deal. kevin, thank you. there have been clashes at a rally in support of president donald trump, between far right groups and left wing counter demonstrators. the organisers of the rally were protesting against allegations of corruption and dishonesty within the recent us elections, despite there being no evidence of the claims and officials and the courts repeatedly rejecting such allegations. the bbc‘s david willis reports. america‘s divisions on display once again as pro—and anti—trump supporters clashed close to the white house. tensions rose after dark as members of the right—wing group the proud boys fought with black lives matter sympathisers and members of the left—wing group

antifa. reports suggest some were treated for stab wounds. the stop the steal rally have been called to support president trump substantiated claims of voter fraud. just before joe biden substantiated claims of voter fraud. just beforejoe biden is formally elected as the next us president, it brought thousands onto the streets in support. we have a republic to save and constitution to stand up for, and we cannot let individual states act lawless lee in a land built on laws. the event had been planned for weeks but president trump expressed surprise on twitter and delight... early to pass over the rally a short while later on his way to a football game in new york.

all this is the president—elect was attending church and then hospital, where he is being treated for a foot injury incurred while playing with one of his dogs. the us supreme court rejected a challenge to mr biden‘s victory in four key battleground states, on friday. he is due to take office, to donald trump ‘s dismay, injust is due to take office, to donald trump ‘s dismay, in just over is due to take office, to donald trump ‘s dismay, injust over a month. let‘s look at some of the day‘s other news nigerian security forces said they have located the kidnappers of hundreds of students abducted from their secondary school. the students were abducted on friday night from an all—boys secondary school in the kankara area of katsina state. a military—led offensive to rescue the children is reportedly under way. 2i migrant workers who were being exploited at a second hand clothing business in southern spain have been freed. police found the vulnerable workers hidden behind bundles of clothes

in a warehouse in fuente alamo. three men were arrested and will appear in court next saturday. plans to start commercial flights to the edge of space have suffered a setback. virgin galactic had to abort the first crewed test flight of its suborbital plane after an engine malfunction. the pilots and the vehicles returned to earth safely. germany‘s chancellor angela merkel will hold crisis talks sunday will hold crisis talks to agree tougher curbs ahead of christmas as the coronavirus infections surge unabated. most shops would be closed and schools could also be shuttered, and in the uk, health officials have warned relaxing coronavirus restrictions next week could trigger a third wave of infections during the busiest time of yearfor hospitals. lisa hampele reports. winter is when hospitals are at their busiest, but the pandemic means this year will be unlike any other. hospital leaders in england

are worried the high infection rate in the north during the autumn may soon be taking hold in the south. in the letter, nhs providers say there were 13,000 covid patients in hospital in england this week, compared to 500 in early september. the chief executive has urged caution ahead of the review of tiers on wednesday. you just need to be really careful about relaxing the restrictions on social contact because we know that that inevitably, at the moment, what that means is more covid cases, more pressure on the nhs and, to be frank, more people dying unnecessarily. all four nations have been under tough measures in recent weeks but the r number, which shows weather the epidemic is growing or shrinking, is thought to be above one in some areas. the letter to the prime minister says there has been a worrying increase in infection rates across a wide range of areas, including essex, kent, london and parts of lincolnshire. and areas should be moved into tier 3, the highest

level of restrictions, as soon as this is needed, without any delay. concern is mounting that household mixing and travel over christmas could lead to a third wave. the hospital leaders stopped short of asking for a review of the policy but urged the prime minister to lead a better public debate about the risks. the government says it won‘t hesitate to take necessary action to protect local communities and its review will be based on the latest data. that will include factors such as infection rates amongst the over—60s and pressure on the nhs. lisa hampele, bbc news. this is bbc news, the headlines... the uk‘s chief negotiator arrives for the final day of post—brexit trade talks in a last—ditch bid for a breakthrough. poland has been rocked by weeks

of protests over a ruling by the constitutional court that has all but outlawed abortion. the ruling, which bans termination even in cases of foetal defects, hasn‘t come into force yet, but critics say it will drive even more polish women to seek abortions abroad. those countries include neighbours such as the czech republic, from where our correspondent rob cameron sends this report. once it comes into effect, poland‘s strict new law will make abortion all but illegal. it will only be possible in cases of rape, incest, or where the mother‘s health is in danger. it has forced thousands onto the streets, and some to leave their homeland. anna, not her real name, grew up in a conservative catholic household in southern poland, but an unwanted pregnancy changed everything. so i was 22 years old, i was studying at the time and i still had one year left,

and it was an accident. i found out pretty soon and it was a shock. i had no clue what i was going to do, but i knew one thing for sure, that i could not tell that i could not tell anyone who could probably help me. and i believe that you ordered pills over the internet, abortion pills, and they never came. can you tell me more about that? i was supposed to receive the pills within a week, the pills within a week. after a week, nothing happened. i think it was like nine days that i waited. and then i got the letter from customs that there was a package for me and they don‘t know what is inside and they would like me to come for interrogation and they would like to find out what it

is and why i order it. instead, anna came to prague. after providing a fake work contract, a hospital finally agreed to carry out the procedure. when polish women come here to the czech republic, they will find notjust expressions of moral support, but access to something that is legal, safe and provided on demand. not all clinics will carry out the procedure on foreigners, but finding one that will has now become slightly easier, thanks to a new ngo set up by polish women and based here in prague. we realised, when we started hearing about what is happening in poland, that even getting an abortion that would be a result of an illegal action, some sort of crime like rape or incest, is really difficult, because you have to go through the whole legal procedure, and some women just give up, because they are being victims, they are being treated as criminals.

there are no official figures for how many polish women make the journey to the czech republic each year to terminate their pregnancy. it could be hundreds or several thousand. anna has never told her family about her abortion. she still goes back to see them but says she never wants to live in poland again. at this time of year, we‘re used to seeing christmas lights covering our houses and streets in the uk, but an illuminated steam train is a more unusual sight. in a world first, a group of volunteers have used 14,000 led lights to light up the tracks in hampshire in southern england. 0ur reporter duncan kennedy has been to see the display. this is where steam... train whistle blows. ..meets electricity. and where heritage meets wattage.

it‘s the watercress line in hampshire, now lit up in a spectacular christmas mix of light and wonder. red, green, blue! there are almost too many colours to count. it took eight weeks to design and two weeks to rig the lights on a train run by a not—for—profit group of steam enthusiasts. oh, it's amazing. my boy is so happy! yes, it's really made their day. the kids are loving it, it‘s a really good experience. nice to do something christmassy. this isn‘t the only heritage line to put christmas lights on trains, but this one is designed by simon horne, who usually creates concert lighting for the likes of westlife and 0lly murs.

you're lighting a pop star, you've got the band, you've got pop star, you got the sound system. and you're just painting a picture around them. but this was all about the lights. so, like, oh, this can't go wrong! so, i don't think i've ever been as proud as i am of this. it's really touching my heart. the train is 120 metres long and cabling led lights has not been easy. there is one more nagging question. how many lights are there on this train? there's 14,000 individual leds on this train. yes, that‘s exactly right — 14,000 lights on this train, each one of them individually controllable. simon, the lighting man, thinks that is a new world record. the trains are covid—safe in an operation kept going by around 500 volunteers. you have steam trains, we have the magic of christmas and we have these wonderful lights,

so, it‘s just simply magical. magic that now runs all the way to christmas and beyond. light amid the darkness of 2020. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in hampshire. the pioneering black country singer charley pride has died of coronavirus complications at the age of 86. he became rca records‘ top—selling country artist and was inducted into the country music hall of fame in 2000. gail maclellan looks back at his life. # i can‘t believe that you‘d stop loving me. the journey to country music superstardom took charley pride through blues and gospel, as well as the us army and professional baseball.

gaining a foothold in the 1960s in a genre of music that was increasingly perceived as white was never going to be easy. one thing his record company used to do, they used to send his new singles to radio stations without a picture. they would send it without a picture to make sure the radio programmers actually heard the music and did not judge the man by his face and sure enough, a lot of them, when they found out he was black, they stopped playing the music. so it was not an easy environment. he did it with so much grace, dignity, and i have to imagine a lot of frustration that he did not air at the time. # you've got to kiss an angel good morning. but he went on to amass 52 top—ten country hits, three grammy awards, and sell tens of millions of records worldwide. being inducted into the country music hall of fame in 2000.

just weeks before he died, he received the country music association willie nelson lifetime achievement award. tributes have poured in for this trailblazing singer. fellow country music star reba mcintyre saying... "he will truly be missed, but will always be remembered for his great music, wonderful personality and his big heart." the humble garden pea is often the chosen green veg on our plates — but scientists have discovered that it could be more than just one of our five—a—day. 0ur science correspondent richard westcott has more. stashed away in this room could be one answer to a potentially lethal problem affecting nearly five million uk people, a million of whom do not even realise it. this is a seed store. it is actually freezing in here so they can preserve everything. and this is a super—pea.

we think of it as a pea, it is actually the seed of a pea plant. it‘s full of something called resistance starch and the researchers suggest that could be really significant in controlling type 2 diabetes. now, down one of these corridors. working away, is claire. hi, claire. i know it is a bit freezing in here so we won‘t keep you for long. what have you actually found in these peas? why is it so significant? they contain high amounts of resistance starch. that means the starch is digested more slowly so we do not get that big glucose spike or big sugar spike in our bloodstream shortly after we consume a meal containing those types of seeds. and that is really important for preventing disorders such as type 2 diabetes, where insulin responses are really out of kilter with the amount of sugar which is in our bloodstream. in the lab, scientists revealed the magic inside the super—pea, which is actuallyjust a type of garden pea that‘s been allowed to grow to maturity. these strange shapes are grains of that resistance starch, the ingredient that can help us

avoid damaging sugar spikes. type 2 diabetes can increase your risk of heart and liver disease, stroke and amputations. a healthy diet is a key way to control or even avoid it. potentially, then, this is what we could all be eating in the future. the team here has made super—pea hummus. now, they tell me this is a little bit past its sell—by date so they have advised me not to try it. apparently, it‘s delicious, though. here you go. of course the big question is, claire, what if you don‘t like peas? a frequently asked question. you can disguise peas in many different ways. you can grind them up into a flour, incorporate that flour into bread or into these biscuits, for example, which we made using pea flour. savoury biscuits? savoury biscuits which you could have with your hummus. poor food and a lack of exercise has led to a global diabetes epidemic. it‘s thought one in ii adults is living with it.

more research is needed, but the team here hopes from wrinkled super—peas could have a big impact on our health. richard westcott, bbc news, norwich. you‘re watching bbc news. we arejust we are just hearing from the irish prime minister who is saying in his view there is still the capacity to conclude a deal but he says if there is not a deal and talks break down without a deal, that would be an appalling failure of statecraft. the words of the irish taoiseach. now more on that through the day but first let‘s get a look at the weather. we‘ve got low pressure sweeping in today, bringing strong winds, more cloud and rain, some of which will be quite heavy across western areas at the moment.

through the afternoon it will move north and east. some milder air will be coming in from the south—west. lots of isobars indicating the stronger winds, and these weather fronts will be bringing some heavy rain at times. this afternoon, some of the heaviest rain will be across central and southern scotland and northern england. some snow on the hills for a while. but there will be some drier interludes as well in the afternoon. it is going to be a windy day, 30mph—plus inland, up to 50mph around southern and western coasts. but the milder air will be coming in across the south. the heavier rain pushes across much of scotland this evening. 0vernight it stays blustery, quite a bit of cloud around, some clear spells and blustery showers as well across western areas.

particularly across western areas. but it will be a much milder night to come than what we have had recently. low pressure is still with us at the start of the new working week. coming in from the south—west, it will stay mild, blustery for all areas, particularly around southern and western coasts, and some showers, some of which could be quite heavy across western areas. across southwestern areas. but equally there could be some good sunshine around. double figures, temperatures above the seasonal average. on tuesday, low pressure is still with us. but we will see the winds easing down somewhat. this area of low pressure will be bringing some wet and windy weather on wednesday. so, breezy on tuesday, not quite as windy as this afternoon and monday. temperatures again on the mild side, but a few degrees down

i think across the board. on wednesday, that low pressure comes up the western half of the uk, bringing rain and gales, to be followed by sunshine and showers on thursday.

this is bbc news, the headlines... talks on a post—brexit trade deal enter their final day, with negotiations continuing through the night in a last—ditch bid for a breakthrough. the body which represents nhs trusts in england warns the prime minister that relaxing coronavirus restrictions will lead to a third wave of infections. and the first coronavirus vaccinations in the united states will start tomorrow, after the pfizer jab was authorised for emergency use.