this is bbc news. 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. britain's foreign secretary says a deal is dependent on the eu. will the eu move on levin playfield, control of our laws and fisheries. —— level playing field. the body that represents nhs trusts in england warns the prime minister that relaxing coronavirus restrictions will lead to a third wave of infections. nigerian security forces said they have located the kidnappers of hundreds of students abducted from their secondary school in the northern kankara area.

four people are in hospital with stab wounds and at least 20 people are arrested after right and leftwing demonstrators clash in washington. anthony joshua knocks out kubrat pulev to defend his heavyweight world titles and set up a potential super—fight with tyson fury. 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. it's been confirmed that the prime minister borisjohnson will hold a phone call with the european commission president ursula von der leyen around lunchtime. 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, continued 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 no 10 is urging both sides to keep talking. it is hugely in britain's interests,

and the european union's interest, for there to be a deal at the end of this. so although it's 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 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. our europe correspondent kevin connolly has been examining the state of the negotiations from brussels they are talking again this morning. 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. between breakthrough and breakdown. that 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 iain was saying in the report, it is possible today that borisjohnson and ursula von der leyen will come to the conclusion that there is no point carrying on, but they are too far apart that they are too far apart and the gap can't be bridged, and there is also the possibility they will think with 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

divides, especially on the issue of competition and the level playing field. the point seems to me that this is a combination of that sort of philosophical issue, or 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 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, that it is reasonable to demand britain stays somewhat synchronised with the rules. pig production — if the europeans say in future farmers could only have six pigs in a pen when producing bacon and britain decides he could have 20 and britain decides you could have 20 pigs in a pen in the future, that 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 consider to be those great achievements. i'm joined by our political correspondent helen catt. we are hearing that borisjohnson and ursula von der leyen will talk again at lunchtime. what are the government saying about the state of the talks? the noises coming out of the talks? the noises coming out of the uk side have not been positive

so the uk side have not been positive so after talks that went into the night last night, uk sources said the eu offer was not acceptable. uk government sources suggesting may be the eu was being unreasonable and it still does not really get what the uk means when it talks about sovereignty, the country's ability to set its own laws and rules. the talks have started this morning. the president of the european commission will speak to boris johnson president of the european commission will speak to borisjohnson at lunchtime to take stock and see if there is future in these talks. the foreign secretary spoke this morning and told andrew marr it would need a change in political will from the eu to continue. we said we could go we must leave no stone unturned. i spoke to the negotiating team this morning. there are all sorts of technical conversations going on, but what matters is political will which is

why the conversation between ursula vofi why the conversation between ursula von der leyen and the prime minister important. will they move on level playing field, control of our laws and fisheries. if there is the will to do that progress can be made. what have we heard from the eu side. there has not been much in terms of negotiations. there has been a slightly more positive sounding note this morning from the irish taoiseach. he said if we don't get a deal it would be an appalling failure of statecraft. he thinks it is possible in terms of should this be the moment we pulled the plug and walk away, this is what he said. we know in our shared history dialogue is better than conflict and dialogue is better than conflict and dialogue is the way to go to maintain and sustain the very good relationships that have developed over the decades between our two macro peoples. that

in the interest of british irish relationships and european uk relationships and european uk relationships that both sides now make a major effort over the next hours to avoid a no deal. that was the irish taoiseach. micheal martin. we spoke to kevin about the idea of the level playing field, but what are the main sticking points? largely those around fisheries and who gets what fish and who is allowed to allocate it. it is largely the big sticking point seems to be the level playing field, competition rules they will share once the uk leaves the single market, and the customs union. we do not know the proposal on the table but the way the government has characterised it, if the eu change standards in the future the uk would be expected to follow suit or face retaliation in another area with tariffs. the uk said it is not a cce pta ble tariffs. the uk said it is not acceptable and see it as impinging on their right to set laws and rules

in the future. that is not necessarily how the eu sees it. as he heard from kevin, it is about giving access to their market, but the idea the government characterises was put to labour's shadow business secretary who said he thinks it is possible to resolve. we should maintain high standards into the future and we might have higher standards than the eu in relation to environmental and worker is right. they might try to unfairly compete against us. so there is a negotiation to be had on that. let me make this point. what the government seems to be saying is we are willing to accept no deal, which would mean tariffs across the board, because of some future theoretical threat, may be some time in the future, to have tariffs in relation to some products. that makes no sense, it is like my roof is going to leak in five years so let's

bulld oze to leak in five years so let's bulldoze the house now. there will bea bulldoze the house now. there will be a call later between ursula von der leyen and borisjohnson and talks of continue this morning trying to thrash through the last details to see if they can make a compromise. they will be a call between the leaders around lunchtime. we expect. dominic raab said the bar will be quite high for these talks to continue. we will see what happens. the latest. germany's chancellor angela merkel will hold crisis talks to agree tougher curbs ahead of christmas, as the coronavirus infections there surge unabated. most shops would be closed and schools could also be shuttered, 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 , our main story. the uk's chief negotiator arrives for the final day of post—brexit trade talks in a last—ditch bid for a breakthrough. the body that represents nhs trusts in england warns the prime minister that relaxing coronavirus restrictions will lead to a third wave of infections

nigerian security forces said they have located the kidnappers of hundreds of students abducted from their secondary school in the northern kankara area. four people are in hospital in washington with stab wounds after clashes at rallies for and against president trump. police made at least 20 arrests as they tried to separate far—right supporters from left—wing demonstrators and campaigners linked to black lives matter. the bbc‘s david willis reports. america's divisions on raw 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. police used pepper spray. more than 20 people are thought to have been arrested and reports

suggest some were treated for stab wounds. the stop the steal rally had been called to support president trump's substantiated claims of voter fraud. intended as a show of force just two days before the electoral college meets to formally electjoe biden as the next us president, it brought thousands onto the streets of the nation's capital in support. we have a republic to save and a constitution to stand up for, and we cannot let individual states act lawlessly in a land built on laws. although the event had been planned for weeks, mr trump expressed surprise on twitter and his delight... only to pass over the rally a short while later on his way to a football game in new york. all this as 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.

on friday, the us supreme court rejected a challenge to mr biden‘s victory in four key battleground states. he is due to take office, to donald trump's dismay, injust over a month. 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. 0ur nigeria correspondent, mayenijones, is in lagos. what is the latest? do we think there is a rescue operation under way to find the schoolchildren? yes,

the government has released a statement saying they are determined to look into all the missing students. we do not yet know how many are still missing, but it could be as many as 400, about half of the 800 pupils who attended the secondary school in kankara in the north—west of nigeria. the army said they exchanged gunfire with the armed men and they got additional support from the air force. who would have been responsible? it is horrific, kidnapping schoolchildren, but not the first time something like this has happened in nigeria. who might be to blame? it is not the first time large numbers of students have been kidnapped in nigeria, especially in the north. viewers will remember the famous case of girls kidnapped in north—eastern

nigeria in 2014, leading to widespread support across the world, including from the then first lady michelle 0bama. this is different, in the north—west of nigeria and not an area where islamist militants have been active traditionally in the past. in that area what tends to happen is you have a lot of kidnapping for ransom, so here they are referred to as bandits, armed men who target soft targets like schools, civilians, and try to get money from them. no group has yet claimed responsibility, but because of the geographical location, at the moment we think it is more likely to be kidnappers rather than islamist terrorists. i suppose it highlights the lack of security in nigeria, that people can do this is really alarming. very alarming. security is theissue

alarming. very alarming. security is the issue for this administration right now. when the president additionally ran for president, he said asa additionally ran for president, he said as a former military ruler, security would come back to nigeria. he has been able to reclaim large parts of the north—east of the country, which had been run by boko haram for many years. but security and other parts has been harder to tackle. in the north, and the south of the country where the oil is. there have been attacks on installations. there is a feeling with the economic crisis the country is going in right now, insecurity is getting worse as people get more desperate. thank you very much indeed from our bbc correspondent. 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. 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 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. 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 wouldlike me to come for 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 hospitalfinally 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, of 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 herfamily about her abortion. she still goes back to see them but says she never wants to live in poland again. boxing, and britain's anthonyjoshua has retained his three world heavyweight titles with victory over the bulgarian kubrat pulev in a fight at wembley arena in london. joshua knocked pulev out in the ninth round. the bbc‘s tim allman watched the action. welcome to boxing in the age of coronavirus. a small crowd of 1000 people were allowed into london's wembley arena, with the now standard safety measures in place. even legendary floyd mayweather, a surprise guest for the evening, felt obliged to wear a face mask. but this is a sport that knows how to put on a show no matter what. flames and fireworks greeted the contenders. the bout that followed was not

quite as spectacular. it was not exactly a walkover but it was rather one—sided joshua's speed and power always too much for his bulgarian opponent. several times he brought him to the canvas and, in the ninth round, pulev could not get up. another comprehensive display from the world champion. it was a composed and brutal performance, it was exactly what he needed going into 2021. he has not boxed for a year but got eight rate rounds but got eight great rounds in and a brutal knockout victory. britain has two world heavyweight champions, of course. tyson fury winning the wbc title earlier this year. and moments after the knockout three in london, the gypsy king issued this challenge on social media. i want the fight. i want the fight next. i will knock him out

within three rounds. negotiations need to take place first but if it happens, some say it could be the biggest bout in the history of british boxing. the pioneering black country music star charley pride has died from coronavirus complications. he was 86. in the 1970s, charley pride became the best selling performer for rca records after elvis presley. he was inducted to the country music hall of fame in 2000. singer dolly parton said she was heartbroken at the news, and called him one of her oldest and dearest friends. we've been reporting that the german chancellor angela merkel has been holding

crisis talks on covid—19. from wednesday schools will be closed up to january the 10th end alcohol consumption in public will be banned. you are watching bbc news. 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's14,000 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. quite a light show. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav. hello there. it is looking unsettled now for the next few days. low pressure will be dominating the scene, and even today we are going to see some windy weather at times with some heavy rain which is slowly spreading northwards and eastwards. this afternoon it looks like central and southern scotland and northern england could see some of the heaviest rain as it moves northwards. there will be some drier interludes following on behind across the south but it is going to be a windy day, gusts of 30mph inland, up to 50mph on southern and western coasts, but it will be mild. still quite chilly, though, across scotland. on sunday night it will stay mild and breezy.

on monday, low pressure sticks close by so it will be another windy day with sunshine and showers, most heavy and frequent across southern and western areas. it will be another mild day, including scotland.