this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. brexit talks will now continue as both sides agree to carry on with negotations after being unable to come to an agreement on trade. eu chief ursula von der leyen said it was worth going the ‘extra mile' we have accordingly mandated our negotiators to continue the task and to see whether an agreement can be reached, even at this late stage. following the decision to continue the talks, the prime minister has held a conference call with members of the cabinet. the conversation between the leaders but has anything changed and are they any closer to agreement?

the body which represents nhs trusts in england warns the prime minister that relaxing coronavirus restrictions will lead to a third wave of infections. chancellor angela merkel has announced tighter coronavirus restrictions closing that will apply across germany from this wednesday tilljanuary the 10th. 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 if you're watching in the uk or around the world — and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. in the last few minutes, the european commission president, ursula von der leyen has said talks between the uk and the eu

will continue — in an attempt to reach a negotiated settlement on a post—brexit trade agreement. a uk cabinet meeting is being held now — following this morning's call between borisjohnson and ursula von der leyen. today was supposed to be the final day to agree a settlement before the end of the transition period during. but 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. the european commission president said it was worth "going the extra mile". good afternoon. i had a constructive and useful phone call with a prior minister borisjohnson and useful phone call with a prior minister boris johnson and and useful phone call with a prior minister borisjohnson and we discussed the major unsolved topics. our negotiation teams have been working day and night over the recent days and despite the

exhaustion after almost one year of negotiations, despite the fact that deadlines have been messed over and over, we both think that it is responsible at this point in time to go the extra mile. we have accordingly mandated our negotiators to continue the tasks and to see whether an agreement can be reached, even at this late stage. the negotiations continue here in brussels. thank you so much. that was ursula von der leyen. our political correspondent nick eardley is at downing street (05) there was a joint statement between her and boris johnson after the phone call earlier. yes, it was and it looks like those talks might resume pretty much immediately between officials from both sides trying to see if some of those

issues which have been outstanding for quite some time now can be solved. i think it is significant that the mood music coming from ursula von der leyen was considerably more optimistic than we have seen over the last couple of weeks. remember, it was only three days ago that borisjohnson was saying that the likelihood, it was very likely now, that the trade talks would finish without a deal, before that telling businesses that they now needed to start preparing for that eventuality, that no trade deal with the eu will come into force on the ist of january, when the transition period ends. it does seem that word constructive tends to suggest that there is something that both sides think they can talk about, but the specifics really matter. it is worth remembering that the thing we have been discussing for the last week, but it is crucial, there are three things that are still outstanding and they are big issues. fisheries, how much can eu votes coming to uk waters from the ist of january, it is a eu votes coming to uk waters from the ist ofjanuary, it is a big issue for the uk but it is one of

those totemic things and it is an issue for european countries because the specimen found a lot of time in uk waters. there is that issue of competition rules, the uk sees it as sovereignty, the big issue from the 2016 referendum, boris johnson believes it is the key thing, but the european side say we do not want to undermine the single market, we do not want uk businesses to have preferential access if they could undercut our businesses. the third thing is how to police it. if someone thing is how to police it. if someone breaks a rule, in the eyes of the other side, what can they do to retaliate and who decides what the punishment is. those three things really matter, because both sides have very strong positions and the big question that is still unanswered, that we are going to be trying to find out over the next couple of hours, we are expecting that we will hear from borisjohnson at some point, but the big question is, has anything changed that means that both sides can see a path to getting that deal that they could not see last week? as you suggest, the language from that statement, we

heard from ursula von der leyen, rather more friendly, perhaps, than after that dinner she had with boris johnson last week over fish where it all seemed rather fraught and fractures. now she is talking about having had a constructive and useful conversation with the prime minister. quite often when it comes to these talks it is reading between the lines and trying to figure out what the language means and whether something suggest that things are in a better place. i think there is very little doubt that that statement from ursula von der leyen sounded a bit more optimistic than some of the statements we have had over the last couple of weeks from both sides. we do not know for sure that there has been any sort of breakthrough, the issues we have had or still the issues, but it is important that we have come up with some form of words that suggest that these talks have someplace to go yet, that there could be a final resting point. i want to bring you a couple of things, i am not being

anti—social, but there are updates. let me bring you simon coveney saying it is time to hold our nerve and allow the negotiators to ensure progress forward even at that late stage. he thinks that the fact that there has been a joint statement is a good signal that the deal is clearly difficult, but also clearly still possible and i think that is probably where we are just now. those big issues remain the big issues, they remain important, difficult, no guarantee that we will get there. the fact that the talks go on for a wee bit longer does suggest to me that potentially something has been said in that calder gives both sides an indication that it is possible and there is more optimism, quite what thatis, there is more optimism, quite what that is, we do not know, but we will try and find out and as soon as we know, we will let you know. you are allowed to look at that phone anytime you want, i will not tell you off. thank you so much. he is monitoring events for us in downing street. bbc europe correspondent kevin

connollyjoins us from brussels does the fact that they have agreed to go the extra mile suggest that there has been perhaps all little movement over the last few hours and days, that they are inching, perhaps, towards a settlement? yeah. if you look at it in the context of the last week, lots of people thought they might pull the plug on the talks today, work might be declared to be pretty much useless to carry on talking because the gap was so wide. when you hear ursula von der leyen talking about the construct phone call, it does suggest that even if movement has not taken place yet, they can see where movement is possible. they are all very mindful, of course, of what all very mindful, of course, of what ano all very mindful, of course, of what a no deal would mean, all very mindful, of course, of what a no dealwould mean, it all very mindful, of course, of what a no deal would mean, it would mean because, it would mean chaos on both sides, at least in the short term, everybody of course wants to avoid that, and in the context of the irish government saying that more

than 95% of this is a great, it would, as ursula von der leyen said, be irresponsible not to try to close the gap up to 100%. you know, deadlines here always come and go. she referred in passing to the fact that loads of deadlines have come and gone and they have not really amounted to very much. the deadline that really matters, i suppose, is the 1st of january. you're supposed to get parliamentary approval on both sides for any deal. but really, if they agreed a deal before the 1st of january, and parliamentary approval followed, i don't of january, and parliamentary approvalfollowed, i don't think many people would object to that, if it meant that a deal could be agreed. it does look as though, at a minimum they are identifying areas where they can still talk. it is this thing about the level playing field, the integrity of the single market, about the uk looking as though it has achieved brexit. yes, fisheries or a problem, of course they are, but in the end fisheries

is going to be about numbers, a proportion of the amount of fish you can catch, a tonnage, a share of stocks, a number of votes, that is fixable. it is this stuff about the single market, the level playing field, future punishment for transgressions of the level playing field, that is the sticking point. they must be able to see a landing ground, i would they must be able to see a landing ground, iwould have they must be able to see a landing ground, i would have thought, they must be able to see a landing ground, iwould have thought, or they would not risk talking further and risk the talks coming crashing down. no deadline has been set now, which is interesting, so we might be infor which is interesting, so we might be in for quite which is interesting, so we might be inforquitea which is interesting, so we might be in for quite a few days it before we have a really solid sense of where this is going. no deadline apart from the end of the year, i suppose. how many days between now and the end of the year can they keep talking? are they going to talk over christmas, talk on christmas day potentially? these are all excellent questions, and i do not know the answer. all i would say as i saw something the other day in the newspapers and it was mentioned in a

european newspaper that in the 16 50s the english parliament sat on christmas day and the point they we re christmas day and the point they were trying to make was when you are really trying to get things done, anything is possible. so, we might be infora anything is possible. so, we might be in for a lot of deadlines, a lot of drama, a lot of political fixing on both sides of the channel, if this deal comes in late, but in theory there is nothing to stop them talking everyday until the 31st of january. we will talking to you every day up until then, maybe even christmas day. i'm sure you cannot wait for that. peter ammon was germany's ambassador to the uk from 2014 until 2018. he joins me now from near bonn in germany. thank you so much for being with us. in terms of what germany wants here and we have heard from a german chancellor at angela merkel earlier saying that both sides should go the extra mile and do everything they can, how anxious is germany for

there to be a trade deal?|j can, how anxious is germany for there to be a trade deal? i think very much so. i hope that the optimism that i heard from your brussels correspondent will become reality. i think that we are clearly ina reality. i think that we are clearly in a moment in time that the leaders involved will define their place in the history books, so this is an historic moment. are you surprised it has come to this? that we are so late in the negotiating process, just a few days until the end of the year and the final deadline and we are still talking, agreeing to go the extra mile, once again, or was it inevitable it was going to be like this? i think it is difficult negotiations and we have to accept that. the areas covered by the treaty will be enormous, but on the other hand, all political turning points come with high drama. i think

drama is an essential element in this and i have been an optimist from the beginning, that in the end the leaders will not let this opportunity escape. the german chancellor angela merkel in particular, borisjohnson was talking about wanting to talk to her and president macron and the eu said, it is better if you keep talking to the eu, to ursula von der leyen. from the point of view of the eu, is that the right strategy, rather than having the british prime minister talking one—on—one with leaders like angela merkel? absolutely. if you know the dynamics of european politics, you must accept that any indication that europe is run by french and germans is putting vitriol in the process. it is not helping, on the contrary, it is negative. from our site, we

have always been clear, that the negotiations lie in the hand of the european commission. how much do you think germany would have to lose from a no—deal brexit? we heard all through the referendum campaign for mac years ago, brexiteers were saying, germany wants a deal, it wa nts to saying, germany wants a deal, it wants to sell its cars in the uk and it will never allow a no—deal brexit. do you think people in germany are prepared for that when it comes to the crunch or are they desperate for a deal? no, i think this has been run from the beginning and even from my time as an ambassador i remember talking to my political friends there that this would be misleading the german position, the german position has a lwa ys position, the german position has always been that the protection of the single market is the overarching objective and of course we will all suffer from a no deal situation and

i believe that britain would suffer even more, but it is unfortunately, it isa even more, but it is unfortunately, it is a serious case of self—harm. peter, thank you so much. the former german ambassador to the uk between 2014 and 2018. thank you forjoining us. 2014 and 2018. thank you forjoining us. my pleasure. i'm joined now byjill rutter, senior research fellow at ‘uk in a changing europe', which carries out independent research on uk—eu relations. good to see you and thank you for being with us. what do you make of what is going on, it is extraordinary, we thought the talks we re extraordinary, we thought the talks were going to end today, but there are going the extra mile, say ursula von der leyen and borisjohnson. there was always a slight difference in formulation between borisjohnson suggested it was a deadline and ursula saying that this is when they checkin ursula saying that this is when they check in to see if it was worth continuing. if you want a deal, it is clearly good news that talks are continuing and i think it is quite interesting watching dominic raab on

television this morning, is that people are engaging more with the substance of what is going on, rather than than with the principles. if you insist on making this a debate about principles, it is difficult to find a landing zone, because you have savagery, not solitary and if you're asking questions about what is the coverage, how does the penalty regime were, what is the criterion of when you might trigger it, how substantial can you take penalties anywhere or a specific area? then you're doing things that negotiators can sort out. better to keep a technical than to discuss broad principles? let me ask you what simon coveney, the irish foreign minister has been saying. he says it is time to hold our nerve and allow the negotiations, the negotiators, to ensure progress forward, even at

this late stage. he says that this joint statement on the brexit negotiations is a good signal. there is what simon coveney is saying. do you think it is a good signal what they have said today? given the alternative was that they just said there is no point talking any more, we are going for a no deal, if your end point is you want ideal, and we have seen the analysis that no deal would lead to a 2% hit to gdp next year, on top of the long—term consequences of moving to more distant with the eu, that is what the office for budget responsibility said recently. if you record the deal is a good thing, carrying on talking is a much better place to be rather than suspending things. the people for whom it is potentially worse or if this really does end up, just because neither side dares pulls the rug and this is actually just a front, because no one dares

walk away and they think they will end on no deal, it would be better to know that sooner rather than later. it is already massively late for businesses and let us hope that they have said they can go on talking because they really have identified a point where they think they can actually build settle, because otherwise do not prolong the agony. there are some indications they have made a little bit of progress in the last two or three days and we do not know for sure and that seems to be the indication in the language in that statement, talking about constructive and useful conversations between ursula von der leyen and borisjohnson, that sounded a little bit more friendly than that dinner they had last week. yes, maybe it is better they do not meet face—to—face and just keep it to phone calls. it does not sound like it was a terribly fun evening in brussels. it could just be that those optics are better. they will have written that statement and they will want all of

us statement and they will want all of us to be reading it, that there has been a degree of progress and that they think it is worth forcing michel barnier and david frost spending more afternoons, evenings, nights together in whatever conference room they are locked up together in now. we talk about going the extra mile but there is only a very limited number of days before the end of the year. yes, unless they find some sort of cunning device which so far neither side has managed to work out how you would do it, unless they find some way of extending this into the new year, but as we were saying, if they do get to a deal, then there are techniques that can potentially use if there is political agreement on both sides, to get this thing through pretty quickly. ijust think there is a lot of uncertainty and there is a lot of uncertainty and the sooner they can resolve this, i don't think we should be saying it is not the best deal that can be done unless it is signed. david

davis is always going on about one minute to midnight, there is quite a heavy price to pay, not least for those people who still don't know whether they will be facing charity next year, people who are planning for disruption, people who are cancelling their even pared down christmas to get ready for this. if they can identify a landing zone, much better to get a deal in the next couple of days than to wait until the clock is striking past midnight. you don't have to wait until the very last minute to get your homework in. there is a bit of a danger that people think they have not done the best deal possible until they weight to the last minute, that is the risk. thank you so minute, that is the risk. thank you so much for your analysis. the headlines on bbc news... )brexit talks will now

continue as both sides agree to carry on with negotations after being unable to come to an agreement on trade. (00v) following the decision to continue the talks, the prime minister has held a conference call with members of the cabinet (00v)and the body which represents nhs trusts in england warns the prime minister that relaxing coronavirus restrictions will lead to a third wave of infections other news now — health officials in the uk 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. meanwhile, germany will close shops, schools and hairdressers from wednesday as the country introduces harsher restrictions to counter rising covid case numbers. after talks with regional leaders this morning, angela merkel said that the current measures — which include the closure of bars, restaurants, leisure and arts facilities — were not sufficient. 0ur berlin correspondent jenny hilljoins me now. pretty tough restrictions over the christmas period. yes and angela merkel has been fighting for this for months and she has been urging regional leaders who have responsibility for imposing restrictions to get a tighter hold on this pandemic and germany came

very successfully through the first wave but it is really steadily —— struggling with the infections and deaths are reaching record numbers and they are still rising and she has been trying to bang heads together and finally those leaders seem together and finally those leaders seem to be going into panic mode. they have agreed to the new measures and some states will be imposing even harsher restrictions including night—time cu rfews even harsher restrictions including night—time curfews in some parts of the country. in effect, germany is all but cancelling christmas and celebrations will be restricted to very small family gatherings, there is now a ban on alcohol consumption outside, that is the mulled wine store is gone, and new series is being cancelled and parties, there isa ban being cancelled and parties, there is a ban on the sale of fireworks, which germans usually used to celebrate the new year and numbers again very much restricted. it is the lockdown that angela merkel wa nted the lockdown that angela merkel wanted all along and i think that most scientists would say it is very late in coming, they will be looking

carefully at the numbers and whether it has an impact. generally, thank you very much indeed. the first coronavirus vaccinations in the united states will start tomorrow, after the pfizer jab was authorised for emergency use. it comes as the country recorded the world's highest death toll for a single day yesterday — with three—thousand 309 covid related deaths. the food and drug administration approved the vaccine on friday following intense pressure from the trump administration. four people are in hospital in washington with stab wounds after clashes at rallies for and against president trump. police made at least twenty arrests as they tried to separate far—right supporters from left wing demonstrators and campaigners linked to black lives matter. anthony joshua has retained his three heavyweight boxing titles after beating bulgarian, kubrat pulev last night.

one thousand fans were allowed to watch at wembley arena as joshua knocked his opponent off his feet several times over nine rounds, before the referee called time. you're watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav hello. low pressure sweeping in bringing stronger winds, more cloud and outbreaks of rain, some of which is quite heavy across the west at the moment. through the afternoon it will transfer to the north and east and we will see some milder air being dragged on with it, from the south west. lots of isobars on the charts indicating the strong winds and is whether france will be pretty active bringing heavy rain at times. as we head through the afternoon, some of the heaviest of the rhine will be across central and southern scotla nd will be across central and southern scotland on the north of england and some snow on the hills for a while as it moves into the cold air but there will be drier interludes as well developing through the afternoon in central and southern areas. it will be a windy day, 30

mph plus inland, 40—50 around southern and western coasts but it will be dragon in the milder air, 11 or 13 degrees in the south, is still quite chilly in the central and north of scotland. heavier rain across much of scotland this evening and overnight stays blustery, quite and overnight stays blustery, quite a bit of cloud around, clear spells and also heavy on blustery showers as well, particularly in the west. a much milder night to come, 5—10. low pressure still with us as we head into the start of the new working week and to the royalist of the uk, lots of isobars on the charts, coming infrom the uk, lots of isobars on the charts, coming in from the south west, blustery for all areas, particularly around the southern and western coast and it will feed on showers, some of which can be heavy through the south west, but there will be good spells of sunshine around, particularly the east of scotla nd around, particularly the east of scotland and eastern parts of england. double—figure values above the seasonal average,. spot the difference is we head into tuesday,

low pressure still with us, slight change, they isoba rs low pressure still with us, slight change, they isobars will slacken somewhat on the winds were lays down, this area of low pressure will be bringing a spell of wet and windy weather on wednesday. another breezy day on tuesday, not quite as windy as this afternoon and into monday, and we will see showers mainly across southern and western areas, good spells of sunshine in northern and eastern parts and temperatures on the mild side, particularly in the south, but a few degrees down across the board. 0n the south, but a few degrees down across the board. on wednesday we see that low pressure system skirt up see that low pressure system skirt up the west of the uk and that will bring rain and gales and that will be followed by sunshine and showers on thursday.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines... brexit talks will now continue as both sides agree to carry on with negotations after being unable to come to an agreement on trade. eu chief ursula von der leyen said it was worth going the ‘extra mile' we have accordingly mandated our negotiators to continue the task and to see whether an agreement can be reached, even at this late stage. following the decision to continue the talks, the prime minister has held a conference call with members of the cabinet.