this is bbc news. the headlines at eight: another deadline extended — brexit talks will now continue as both sides agree to carry on after being unable to come to an agreement. i am afraid we are still very far apart on some key things but where there is life, there is hope. we will keep talking in the uk certainly won't be walking away from the talks. i think people expect us to go the extra mile. we have accordingly mandated our negotiators to continue the talks and see whether an agreement can be reached, even at this late stage. following the decision, the prime minister held a conference call to brief the cabinet on their options in the event of a no—deal outcome.

a warning to borisjohnson — relaxing coronavirus restrictions this christmas will lead to a third wave of infections all schools in greenwich told to close from tomorrow as coronavirus rates in the south east london borough reach the highest level since march. police in lincolnshire have arrested two teenagers on suspicion of murder after the discovery a school boy's body. and, how are trips to see santa changing, as we prepare to celebrate christmas in a pandemic? we'll be finding out at eight—thirty in the travel show. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the brexit trade talks will continue beyond the deadline set for today — after the uk and the eu

agreed their negotiators should keep talking. major issues are still unresolved but after a telephone call this morning — boris johnson and ursula von der leyen they said they would ‘go the extra mile‘. the prime minister repeated that a no—deal scenario was most likely. our political correspondent, iain watson, reports. are there still barriers in the way of a trade deal with brussels? today the latest deadline was discarded. but the prime minister says some distance still remains between the two sides. as things stand, i'm afraid we are still very far apart on some key things. but where there is life, there is hope. we are going to see what we can do. the uk certainly won't be walking away from the talks. so why the cause for gloom? well, there are some familiar sticking points. what access will eu fishing fleets have to uk waters? and how will any wider trade deal be

policed if the two sides adopt different rules in future? as well as talking to the eu today, borisjohnson spoke to his cabinet colleagues and told them that no deal was still the more likely outcome. we have to get ready for wto terms. there is a clarity and simplicity in that approach that has its own advantages. so what are wto, or world trade, terms? well, it means tariffs or taxes would be imposed from january the 1st on goods going from our shores to the eu and vice versa. pushing up some prices in the process. to avoid this, the eu commission president said both sides would make a last—gasp effort to reach agreement. despite the exhaustion after almost one year of negotiations and despite the fact that deadlines have been missed over and over, we both think that it is responsible at this point in time to go

the extra mile. neither downing street nor brussels have set themselves yet another deadline. these tend to come and go in any case. but i'm told informally that the question of deal or no deal needs to be settled in the next few days. despite the apparent pessimism in there, it's important to note that detailed discussions are still continuing, so the prospect of a deal can't be completely ruled out. in fact, the irish government believes a deal is within reach if both sides show willing. 97% of this deal has been negotiated acrossjudicial, security, research, a whole range of areas. and it seems to me that the remaining 3% should not be beyond the capacity of both sides to bridge. and labour argues that there is no logic to no deal. what the government seems to be saying is we are willing to accept no deal, which would mean tariffs across the board, because some future theoretical threat, maybe some time in the future,

to have tariffs in relation to some products. that makes no sense. that's like saying i'm worried my roof is going to leak in five years‘ time so let's bulldoze the house now. today the negotiating teams have been given the green light to continue. but the direction of travel remains uncertain. our europe editor, katya adler, gave us her assessment on the state of the talks in brussels. talks are continuing and the next 2—3 days are being described as significant, but what does that mean and what exactly is going on? are the two sides just keeping on talking because neither wants to be the first to walk away, neither wants the blame for no deal. no is what i am being told by an eu contact close to the talks. they say both sides are being constructive and because they see no deal as a big deal they say as long as there is a chance they should go for it. and what about the chance

that the prime minister and the statement this afternoon sounded more gloomy about the prospect of a deal than the european commission. it is worth bearing in mind that is not the whole picture, what is being said in front of the tv cameras. also very important as what is going on behind closed doors, whether between those negotiators or between boris johnson and his closed conversations with the european commission president ursula von der leyen. neither is either going to sign up to the deal unless they can sell it as a victory. for the eu that means they can say we protected our single market, and for the government it is about protecting national sovereignty after brexit, otherwise there will be no deal, and so we wait. we can speak now to catherine barnard, professor in european law at the university of cambridge. one of those experts who is been helping navigators through these really uncharted waters. can it really uncharted waters. can it really be four years now since the

brexit referendum? for some of the audience, it must feel like an eternity. i guess it is four years. and this really is the crunch point because the 31st of december is a real ha rd because the 31st of december is a real hard deadline. and if there is no deal by then, and no magic extension, we as you already heard will be leaving without a deal in trading on wto terms and it is worth remembering that no major trade regulation trades freely on wto terms. it is very important you say that. the prime minister has been talking about you can have an argument about whether australia is argument about whether australia is a major trading nation but it is a trading nation and he says don't worry, we'll be on the bt ho terms. they are not quite the australia rule. australia has wto in the sense of the absolute minimum. but has some arrangements with the eu. that is right. a number of trade agreements. not free trade

agreements. not free trade agreements but agreements that facilitate trade between australia and the eu. and by definition the uk will not have anything of the sort in place on the ist of january. this isa in place on the ist of january. this is a really serious impediment and of course the debate will be pretty poisonous and the risk is then that the eu insist on every single rule, which is applied to third countries and being applied to the uk from the ist of january, remember the and being applied to the uk from the ist ofjanuary, remember the uk is applying a much more relaxed regime for the first six months and of course that means snarls up at dover and other ports and difficulty getting goods into calais and vice ve rsa . getting goods into calais and vice versa. you mentioned this is a hard deadline on the 31st of december. that is when a transition period ends but also you were not to say u nless ends but also you were not to say unless there is an extension. is it possible that both sides of now stared into the abyss can conclude that perhaps not now, perhaps never

come is a right to walk away and therefore they keep finding something to talk about and finding a reason to keep talking to my saying we are still many miles apart but somehow this process dribbles on intervals on actually for several months? i think that is less likely. i think what we may find is if the talks are productive this week, there is still quite a lot that has to be done. remember, the deal has got to be ratified by the european parliament. it has a special setting penciled in for the 28th of december. but before that, any deal has to be translated into 27 languages and legally scrubbed as it is known and of course, the council of ministers has got to approve it, probably unanimously. there's a lot to be none of the eu side and of course the same of the uk side. the question is what happens if all of this just question is what happens if all of thisjust spills over question is what happens if all of this just spills over into the early pa rt this just spills over into the early part of january. you this just spills over into the early part ofjanuary. you might

this just spills over into the early part of january. you might recall that there was a possibility for extending the transition provided that the uk asked by the end ofjune 2020. in that possibility came and went and there is no other provision in the withdrawal agreement, the divorce text, to extend the transition saw a lot of lawyers have been scratching their heads to work out is there a way of extending the transition. just a little bit, to allow the process to be completed. talking about wto, we had on bbc news the former deputy director of the wto who said one of the other complications that arises is the enforcement mechanisms at the moment are kind of in a bay it's because it's been this fight over the judges you have to make the rulings. and that circumstance, the that further complicate the application of these tariffs? it doesn't so much complicate the application of the terrorists but as you rightly said to come of those tariffs. —— tariffs. if one side or the other

doesn't comply. and of course it will take some time for all of that to work through. imagine i am a gym producer in the uk and i want to sell at my gym in france and the french are making it difficult for me. the first thing is i can't enforce that rule myself. i have to ask the uk government to enforce it on my behalf and the government might say you are a very small producer and i'm not too worried about what is happening to you and bea about what is happening to you and be a much biggerfish about what is happening to you and be a much bigger fish to fry. so there may be all sorts of practical problems just to try and get the laws enforcement once the case goes into some dispute resolution mechanism, it will take a significant amount of time and there isa significant amount of time and there is a panel and beyond that what is called the appellate body, the appellate body is dysfunctional currently because they are and not enoughjudges because currently because they are and not enough judges because the judges have expired in the us has dropped appointments of any newjudges for the appellate body. the longer the short of it is even if we contribute

the rules, it will take a while for them to work through but do we as a state that prides itself on respecting the rule of law want to be breaching the wto rules on day one or they tend of our new trading relationships? a good question. the internal market bill still and our willingness to break international law. but we dropped that. which makes some people wonder if it were just a negotiating play. i want to actually final question. in light of what you have said about the wto, what you have said about the wto, what have both sides said if there isa no what have both sides said if there is a no there brexit, the ist of january has come and gone, we will unilaterally decide we're not going to impose tariffs on one another and be nice to each other. we will carry on trading him it wouldn't be an either side of possible interest to complain. would it require a third country to say hang on a minute, you quys country to say hang on a minute, you guys are country to say hang on a minute, you guys are playing by the roll book and for them to make the complaint? absolutely. they will say what about that most favoured nation role which

is absolutely core to the deputy l. it isa is absolutely core to the deputy l. it is a confusing term. it is a really m ea n it is a confusing term. it is a really mean what it says. it basically says if the eu is treating britain ina basically says if the eu is treating britain in a favourable way, those favourable terms to be applied to all other countries which doesn't have a free—trade agreement with the eu. so the eu will be reluctant got to go down that path and of course the eu has to keep an eye out for how those countries which still have a trading relationship with it like canada andjapan, a trading relationship with it like canada and japan, they will not be happy to see they had to make sacrifices in order to get a free—trade agreement and the uk gets a free deal without an agreement so it will not work. in reality, if there is no trade to come eu will apply in terrace because they have to go with the wto rules and keep all the other partners happy. they cannot give special relationships to the uk. very good food for thought.

professor, thank you so much as ever. business groups have welcomed the decision to keep talking in the hope of getting a trade deal before the transition period runs out in just over a fortnight. but there's also frustration at the effect of the continuing uncertainty. our business correspondent katy austin reports. from car—makers to farmers, for business the wait for clarity goes on. the sussex —based porridge and snacks farmers scouting possible new storage space in spain because of the prospect of tariffs and import taxes with no trade deal. they are pleased that negotiations would end today. negotiations won't end today. i am optimistic they are talking again. i just haven't got full expectation that is going to come off. so you are pressing ahead with your plan b. we are pressing ahead and visiting warehouses and looking at options. what is certain is that after 31st december, the uk will be outside the single market and customs union and that

means new paperwork for goods leaving great britain for europe with delays and teething problems expected, but there are so things expected, but there are still things businesses don't yet know. where businesses can prepare, they are doing but where they can't they need governments on both sides to answer questions. we need information about rules of origin, what kind of labelling is going to be necessary products. the british retail consortium which represents major markets today repeated its warning that tariffs are taxes on imported goods could lead to price rises for customers. it says its members are stocking up on longer life products to ensure availability but it says the greatest impact on potential disruption would be on fresh produce like fruit and veg which can't be stored for so long. for groups representing industries like manufacturing, there is relief the no deal scenario they say would be catastrophic has not come to pass today, but still anxiety that it remains a possibility. and we'll find out how this story —

and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers — our guests joining me tonight are the chief business commentator at the independent, james moore, and the property and personal finance commentator, anne ashworth. they both really know their stuff so it will be interesting. if there is any bluster in there, james and ann will snuffle it out for us. the latest government figures on coronavirus show another 18,1147 infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. it means the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week was 18,023. 1,530 people were admitted

to hospital on average each day over the week to the ninth december. 144 deaths were reported for the last 2a hours, that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. on average in the past week, there were 420 deaths per day. the total number of uk deaths is now 64,170. all schools in greenwich have been told to close from tomorrow after the council leader said coronavirus rates in the south east london borough have reached their highest levels "than any time since march". in a letter to families across greenwich, dan thorpe said schools should close on monday evening and move to online learning for the duration of the term.

he also urged people to come forward and get tested for covid—19. one of the scientists who led the development of the oxford university covid vaccine has warned that mixing over christmas could mean a sharp rise in infections injanuary. it comes amid warnings of the existing pressure on some hospitals, with one health board in wales suspending outpatient appointments and non urgent surgery. here's our science correspondent, pallab ghosh. although some are being vaccinated now, the majority of high—risk people will get theirjabs next year. the aim is to immunise those most at risk by easter. this would allow a gradual easing of restrictions across the country. professor sarah gilbert led efforts to develop the oxford university vaccine, currently being assessed for approval by the uk regulator. she warned people's behaviour

in the coming weeks could delay progress in tackling the virus. what we have seen in the us is that after thanksgiving, when people were travelling and mixing, there's now been a big surge in infections and they're seeing 3000 deaths a day there now. the highest rate there has ever been in any country. if we have that kind of thing happening over the christmas holidays in this country, with very high transmission rates then possible injanuary, it's going to take so much longer to get things back to normal because partly all the vaccination clinics will be disrupted. a 73—year—old man had to wait more than 19 hours in an ambulance outside grange university hospital in monmouthshire because of pressure on its services due to covid. non—urgent care was already due to be suspended from tomorrow. ted edwards was at home when he suffered a suspected stroke. in a statement, the health board said its hospitals remain under significant pressure due to very

high numbers of covid patients. it added that it urgently needs the public to only attend if absolutely necessary as the number of covid—positive patients in the community is increasing at an alarming rate. wales' first minister said that action had to be taken to reduce the number of infections. unless we are able to reverse the current trend in coronavirus, we are heading into a period where everything that our health service can do will have to be focused on the hundreds and hundreds of people who are now so ill with the virus that they need to be in a hospital bed. and that compromises the ability of the health service to do everything else. hospital leaders have warned that relaxing covid restrictions could trigger a third wave of the virus. in a letter, they asked the prime minister to act with extreme caution in moving any area to a lower tier. england's three—tier system is due to be reviewed next wednesday. pallab ghosh, bbc news.

germany will begin a tighter coronavirus lockdown on wednesday, with restrictions in place over the festive period. schools and nonessential shops will close until at least the tenth of january, while new year's eve parties and fireworks will be banned. restrictions on meeting indoors will be eased slightly for three days over christmas. here's the german chancellor angela merkel. translation: we will be closing the shops from wednesday, the 16th of december, and will only keep open those selling essential daily products. we will also take care not to extend the sale of nonfood products in the shops that remain open, and the sale of pyrotechnic products will be prohibited before new year's eve. let's hearfrom our berlin correspondentjenny hill. angela merkel has been fighting for this for some time. she has been urging them to get a tighter hold on this pandemic.

germany came very successfully through the first wave but is really struggling with the second, infections, deaths are reaching record numbers and they are still rising, so angela merkel has been trying to bang heads together and finally those regional leaders seem to be going into panic mode themselves. they agree to these new measures and in fact some states will be imposing 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 so that is the mulled wine stalls and new year's eve parties will be cancelled, a ban on the sale of fireworks with which german traditionally celebrate every year, and numbers again very much restricted, so it is the lockdown that angela merkel wanted all along

and i think that most scientists would say it is very late in coming and they will be looking carefully at those numbers to see if it has an impact. at least 27 people have been killed in the west african country of niger, with officials saying the militant islamist group boko haram is responsible. others were injured and some people are still missing after the attack in the village of toumour in the diffa region, close to the border with nigeria. there are reports that at least 800 homes were set on fire as well as the central market. local officials have described it as an attack of "unprecedented savagery". police in lincolnshire have arrested two teenagers on suspicion of murder after the discovery a school boy's body. it was found on common land in the village of fishtoft near boston yesterday morning. a boy aged 14 and a 19—year—old man are in custody. our correspondent jake zuckerman has this update from the scene.

police were called here yesterday morning after a body, initially believed to be that of a man in his 30s, was found on the grassy area just off the street behind me. now today officers have said that the victim, although yet to be formally identified, is now believed to be a boy of secondary school age. they have launched a murder investigation and two young men aged 14 and 19 have been arrested on suspicion of murder and remain in police custody. in a statement detective superintendent martin parker said, this is a devastating incident in which a young boy has lost his life. the impact will no doubt be felt greatly in the community and beyond. this type of incident is not what we would expect to see within our communities. we are working with those affected to keep them informed and to offer our support. the pioneering black country music star, charley pride, has died

from coronavirus complications. he was 86. in the 1970's 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. 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. our 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 two 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 two 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 two 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 11 adults is living with it. more research is needed, but the team here hopes food made from wrinkled super—peas could have a big impact on our health. richard westcott, bbc news, norwich. 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. our 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 olly 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.