this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. britain and the european union decide to extend the brexit negotiations yet again, after a phone call between the two leaders. 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. there is a deal to be done — if our partners want to do it. but we remain very far apart on these key issues. europe's chief negotiator, michel barnier, will brief ambassadors about the talks' progress, first thing on monday morning. the first consignments of pfizer's covid vaccine

are being shipped around the us, ahead of a mass immunisation programme starting on monday. it comes as germany decides to impose a christmas and new year lockdown, as it battles a new surge of coronavirus cases. the authorjohn le carre has died at the age of 89. his best known creation was the quiet and unassuming spy, george smiley. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. i'm shaun ley.

do stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. so near, yet so far. after an intense weekend of negotiations about the post—brexit trade deal came to nothing, britains borisjohnson and the eu's ursula von der leyen spoke on the phone and announced they would "go the extra mile" to try to find a solution. the two sides had said sunday was the deadline for a decision on whether to continue. on monday, the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier will brief eu ambassadors and the eu parliament on what progress he has made. our political correspondent iain watson has this report. 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're still very far apart on some key things. but where there's life, there's hope. we are going to keep talking to see what we can do. the uk certainly won't be walking away from the talks. and the eu commission president said both sides will 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. so, why does a tangible gap remain between the two sides? well, there is still squabbling over what access eu fishing fleets would have to uk waters. and over how any wider trade deal would be policed, if the two sides adopt different rules in the future. as well as talking to the eu commission president today, borisjohnson spoke

to his cabinet colleagues. despite agreeing to more talks in brussels, he told them that no—deal was still the more likely outcome. we have to get ready for wto terms. there is a clarity and a simplicity in that approach that, you know, 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. but this could be avoided if a deal is struck soon. now 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 at all. 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.

iain watson, bbc news, westminster. our europe editor, katya adler, looks at what is likely to happen next. could it be possible that they are only still talking because neither side wants to be the first to walk away? "absolutely not," is what i'm hearing from you contacts close to the talks. -- eu —— eu contacts. they're saying that both sides are trying to be very constructive in the negotiating room — although big political decisions still need to be taken. so where do we go from here? what will both sides decide? what we know is neither side will sign up to this deal unless they can sell it at home as a victory. for the uk, of course, that would say it's protected its national sovereignty after brexit. for the eu, it would mean protecting the single market. and until then, there just won't be any deal. business groups in britain have welcomed the decision to keep talking in the hope of getting a trade deal. 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 clarity goes on. 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 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. katy austin, bbc news. the united states is about to begin its most ambitious vaccination campaign ever, as millions of doses of the pzifer biontech vaccine arrive all over the country. the aim is to vaccinate 100 million people against the coronavirus by the end of march. us media are reporting that donald trump and mike pence will be

among the first people to receive the jab this week, along with other white house staff. lebo diseko has more from washington. it's been a long and painful journey, but finally, help is on its way. the first of nearly 300 million doses of the pfizer vaccine leave the firm's plant in michigan. packed on dry ice, they'll go out to distribution centers in all 50 states. the first immunisation could ta ke states. the first immunisation could take place as early as monday. applause. the government says it's aiming to vaccinate 20 million people by the end of the year, 100 million by the end of the year, 100 million by the end of the year, 100 million by the end of february. i never imagined we would say democracy of virus show up and a vaccine available to fight it ina year. and a vaccine available to fight it in a year. it's truly a massive

achievement for all the vaccine makers who have been trying to tackle this problem with unprecedented speed and vigour. but for now, the challenge is distribution, because as vaccinations do no good until they're in the arms of the people who need them. and that's ourjob ahead. but tweets like this from donald trump just hours before the fda's approval have heightened concerns about political pressure in this process. in it, mr trump attacked the head of the regulator, saying, "get those vaccines out now." he was told to approve this virus by —— vaccine by friday or resign. what i can say is we've heard from a number of sources, including the white house, that there was a desire for us to move as quickly as possible. and jake, we have, but our absolute obligation to the american people is to make sure we did a thorough scientific review.

we needed to make sure our gold standard of assessing the safety and efficacy of the vaccine was done properly. we have to get this right, andi properly. we have to get this right, and i believe we did. that is something he will need americans to believe too, as the vaccine start to arrive on the next leg of their journey. recent surveys show that willingness to take the vaccine has gone up, but it's still under the levels needed to achieve that all—important herd immunity. lebo diseko, bbc news, washington. dr anna loengard is the chief medical officer at accentcare. the company has more than 25,000 staff in 17 states, who go into people's homes to provide health care. doctor, thank you very much for talking to us on bbc news today. i saw a quote from fedex and united service parcels, they buoyed transportation which is been hired

by ups to head the vaccine out of the state. they said, "we aren't hauling freight, we are delivering hope." and you're also potentially delivering life to many of your clients. yeah, that couldn't be more true. we are very, very excited to see this roll—out over the next days and weeks. how intensive is the operation to organise the distribution, but also to identify who should be the priority recipients? well, as you can imagine, we've been talking about this for the last several weeks, knowing this was coming, and it will continue to be quite a large operation. in this country, as you mentioned in the reporting already, this will be delivered to each of the 50 states, each of the states we re the 50 states, each of the states were asked to come up with a plan around prioritisation of who would be the first recipients of the vaccines. most have partnered with the large health systems in each state who will receive the vaccine, and as you know this is a

particularly delicate vaccine, so it's extremely important that the proper refrigeration happens through the entire process, you know, until they actually get into the arms of these health care workers. i think obviously most of these states i've seen, the plans for most states where we have large operations, they are generally pretty similar. 0bviously are generally pretty similar. obviously the health care workers at greatest risk of contracting covid—19, like emergency rooms, i see you, etc, are on the front line. so it remains to see what prioritisation they'll get with this first line of vaccines. i think our clinicians to go into the home are either in the top group or in the second to top group, depending on the stage. and itjust remains to be seen how far down they get on their list stop several of our partners have reached out to us, asking for

names of our employees should they be able to get to that level of the list essentially. can ijust establish then, on the basis of your staff, those who go into people's homes to help treat your clients, would people who have had the illness in recent months be less of a priority then people who perhaps have not had covid—19? a priority then people who perhaps have not had covid-19? that's a really good question, and i think as we see how many doses we have access to, ithink we see how many doses we have access to, i think that's one of the questions we are considering. i think we've been tracking our employees very closely in terms of who's had the illness, tracking their pcr test results. and yes, if we have a number limited number of doses, then the people who within the last 90 days would not be the top top priority. and this is all evolving depending on how many doses we have access to and what our channels will be to get our staff vaccinated. 0bviously vaccinating oui’ vaccinated. 0bviously vaccinating our staff will help all of our patients who are by definition very

fragile. in the office on a sunday afternoon not just fragile. in the office on a sunday afternoon notjust to do interviews but to deal with the logistics of this very important and complex operation. thank you so much to talking dust for talking to us, and good luck to everyone involved with you. thank you very much. germany is bringing in tough additional covid restrictions from this wednesday for at least 25 days, as it battles new infections that are three times that of the peak in the spring. schools and non essential shops will close and people will not be allowed to drink alcohol in public. from dresden, jenny hill reports. for a country which cherishes christmas, no joyful tidings. germany is struggling to contain the second wave, and the death toll is rising. this morning, angela merkel announced that, in addition to bars and restaurants, schools and shops must now close, too. "case numbers are rising

exponentially," she said. "we are mourning a lot of deaths, we need to stop the health system from being overburdened." it's costing the country dear. there'll be more financial help for businesses like astrid's, forced to close at her busiest time of year. it hurts. it hurts, yes. can you survive? i hope. we will see. we will see if we get some help. we will see. but what's gone wrong for the country which came so successfully through the first wave? many blame regional leaders, who, until now, have dithered, bickered, and resisted angela merkel‘s calls for a tougher, countrywide response. new years eve and christmas could be a complete nightmare, with increasing numbers and increasing numbers of deaths. i mean, look at the death rate. in one week, we have more deaths due to covid—19 than in one year in 2019 due to accidents.

i mean, traffic accidents. i mean, it has to be changed. in the middle of a hard winter, plans for the new year when, if approved, germany hopes to start vaccinations. already, this country's freezers are in demand, purpose—built in south—west germany, to transport and store the german—developed vaccine at the required —70 celsius. we are producing here a quite high, four—digit number of freezers a year. and we are, say, a handful of leading manufacturers in the world making such products. but we have to serve the globe. hope then, perhaps — but for now little cheer. even the traditional german mulled wine is off. there is to be a ban on drinking alcohol outdoors. in normal times, this square would be packed with people enjoying dresden‘s world christmas market. not this year.

many assumed those german qualities of efficiency, scientific excellence, strong infrastructure, could carry this country through the second wave of the pandemic. instead, germany, a country which really cherishes its festive traditions, is all but cancelling christmas. jenny hill, bbc news, dresden. the headlines on bbc news... britain and the european union decide to extend the brexit negotiations once more, after a phone call between the two leaders. the british writer john le carre has died. le carre — the pen name for david cornwell — it's been announced that he passed away on sunday in cornwall in the united kingdom.

le carre — the pen name for david cornwell — was the author of many spy novels including tinker tailor soldier spy and the constant gardener. he sold over 60 million books. in a statement announcing his death, mr le carre's agent paid tribute to his complex plots and beautiful prose, saying, "his like will never be seen again and his loss will be felt by everyone interested in the human condition." lizo mzimbo looks back at his life. so are you polyakov‘s agent? if polyakov‘s cover for meeting you people is that he is spying on the circus, then he must have a man on the inside, mustn't he? alec guinness in the television version of tinker tailor soldier spy, playing george smiley, the spy master as sharp as he was shy, wasjohn le carre's most enduring and celebrated creation. please, i don't deserve this. who gave the message forjim prideaux to forget about tinker tailor? a 2011 film of tinker tailor won multiple 0scar nominations including

one for gary 0ldman‘s portrayal of the retired intelligence chief. you're just the messenger. running between them all. like smiley, le carre was something of an outsider, and like smiley he'd been a spy. he had been fascinated by lies and duplicity since childhood. his mother walked out when he was five, his father a conman who had affairs with a string of women. he was first recruited for intelligence work at university in switzerland, then at oxford he spied on left—wing contemporaries. when the option was presented to me, it was immensely attractive. it really was as if the whole of my life had prepared me for this moment. it was entering the priesthood. the spy who came in from the cold, laterfilmed with richard burton, was le carre's breakthrough novel. it was written while he was working for mi6 at the british embassy in bonn, at the time the berlin wall went up and when the cold war was at its iciest.

what the hell do you think spies are? moral philosophers measuring everything they do against the word of god or karl marx? they're not. so many of his stories explored the battles between the eastern and western blocs, but he wasn't deterred by the fall of the iron curtain. his first post—cold war novel... the night manager. ..another best—seller. 20 years later, for its tv adaptation, key locations were changed and a major male character became a woman. we've not been introduced. my name is angela burr. its themes of secrecy and betrayal remained. it was a global hit, the author even playing a rare cameo. i must apologise for my friend's misbehaviour. you bloody well should. le carre tried other types of book, but spy novels were what he did best. he believed authors and spies had much in common — both hiding their real selves

in characters of their own creation. 0ur bbc security correspondent frank gardner, is also you met him, i guess you were fascinated by his story and the reality that lay behind them? yes, although david cornwall, to give his real name was always adamant that what he was writing about was fiction. but he was considered by some to be quite anti—establishment and that he tore away the mask of glamour, i think, from the world of espionage. he portrayed it as being a pretty seedy, treacherous, and rather grubby place. but he did it in sucha rather grubby place. but he did it in such a clever way that his novels, and later the film adaptations of them, were so incredibly successful. i think the thing that strikes me most about

john was his longevity, the fact that he survived the end of the cold war in1990. a that he survived the end of the cold war in 1990. a lot of people said to him, "what will you write about now? the cold war is over, the soviet union doesn't exist any more. there is no longer an enemy." but he went on to write about big pharma, for example, in the constant gardener. he wrote the night manager in 1993 after the gulf war — although that didn't come to our screens until 23 yea rs didn't come to our screens until 23 years later. and he really started out as what some dust at what some would consider the height of the cold war in 1961, when his first novel came out. and that was the year when the berlin wall went up. and he would have been writing at a time of huge tension, only one year before the cu ban time of huge tension, only one year before the cuban missile crisis, and i think he was quite nervous at the time about whether he would even be allowed to do these novels, which is

why he adopted the pen name ofjohn le carre, rather than using his own name. the character i grew up with is actually george smiley, as played by the late sir alec guinness, who kind of epitomises for me that world, and some of the other actors like carol reed, playing these rather complex, sad, beaten down individuals. do you think people in that world today can still see something in his work that feels like it resonates? 0r something in his work that feels like it resonates? or does itjust feel like a totally different world from that? it is a different world. but, from having met a number of people who worked in the industry, they would say it's immensely collegiate. people are not doing it for the money, spies are not very well—paid. 0r for the money, spies are not very well—paid. or at least intelligence officers are not that well—paid. their civil servants, so unless you

get to the top of your profession, you're overtaken by friends who've gotten you're overtaken by friends who've gotte n into you're overtaken by friends who've gotten into the city and live a much more affluent lifestyle. it's not very glamourous any more. and actually he was ahead of his time, i think, in the sense that he stripped away that glamour. he was writing at away that glamour. he was writing at a time when ian fleming was writing james bond novels, and bond was the quintessential glamourous secret agent rolling around in fast cars and dating women. but the world that john le carre wrote was very different. and if you look at the remake of tinker tailor soldier spy, where i first met him at the prescreening of that, it was a world of incredibly dreary browns and grays. mi6 at the time was headquartered in a place called century house, which overlooked the railway lines of waterloo station. and there was a petrol station right

beneath it, and there was a bus that used to stop and say, "all right, all spies get out here." but it was all spies get out here." but it was a place where people were brown suits with brown ties in a beige canteen. they didn't sing the soviet anthem at christmas, that was made up. buta anthem at christmas, that was made up. but a lot of it was very accurate. frank gardner on john le carre, david cornwall, who's died today. thank you very much. you're watching bbc news. and we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers, with our reviewers the chief business commentator at the independent, james moore, who i know is a very big john le carre fan. and the property and personal finance commentator, anne ashworth. that's coming up after the headlines at 11.30pm. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello there. well, today was certainly a day to forget. lots of cloud around,

lots of rain, too. an inch of rain or more in some parts of the country, leaving us with some very soggy scenes today. the weather did change later on across the far west of england and wales, and here in northern ireland, the cloud break, and this is the sort of air that we're moving into tonight and tomorrow. it's a much more showery airstream coming in the base of that area of low pressure that's chasing in behind those weather fronts that have been bringing the more persistent rain. through tonight, that more persistent rain will move its way out into the north sea, but you can see a whole rash of showers packing in behind that. some of those could be quite heavy, potentially with some thunder in there as well, and we've still got some rather strong and blustery winds overnight, so it's going to be very mild. in actual fact, in scotland and the northeast of england, temperatures will rise as the night goes on to eight or nine degrees by the morning. could be quite a wet start, though, for much of scotland and northern england, showers continuing to run into western areas through the day. some of those showers pushing their way eastwards, but perhaps not many showers

for northern ireland and the showers becoming fewer in the afternoon in scotland. those winds still quite strong and blustery near those showers, and the winds are still coming in from the south or southwest so it's still mild air that's heading our way. temperatures could reach 13 degrees this time in the southeast of england, and it's going to be a milder day for scotland and the northeast of england, 9—10 degrees here. those showers continue into the evening, and again, some of them could be heavy, but as we head further into the evening and overnight, the winds do start to ease down a bit. we've still got the main driver of the weather, that area of low pressure sitting to the northwest, but it's beginning to weaken. we've got the threat of this weather frontjust brushing in to the far south east of england, could potentially bring more cloud and a bit of rain, but it looks like mostly showers will be running into the south coast through the irish sea into some of the western parts of the uk. but in general, fewer showers, i think, on tuesday, more places will be dry with some sunshine and the winds won't be quite as strong either, but temperatures may not be quite as high. 9—11 degrees is still above normal for this time of the year.

really, through the rest of the week, it stays mild. we're not looking at any frost overnight, but it stays very unsettled. some windy weather for western areas on wednesday, rain for all parts for a while, and then it goes more showery, perhaps wetter again on friday.

hello. this is bbc news with me, shaun ley. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow mornings papers in a moment — first the headlines. another deadline extended — brexit talks will now continue as both sides agree to carry on after being unable to come to an agreement. 0r indeed to not talk anymore. 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.