this is bbc news, i'm reeta chakrabarti, the headlines at nine: coronavirus vaccinations begin today in some gp surgeries in england, and in care homes in scotland. growing calls for schools in london to close because of surging levels of covid—19. we'll have all the latest developments on the virus here in the uk — and you can get in touch by tweeting me @reetacbbc or using the hashtag bbc your questions.@vicderbyshire eu chief negotiation michel barnier briefs eu ambassadors on post—brexit trade talks, as the uk and eu agree to continue discussions in an attempt to break the deadlock — but differences still remain. if we are going to get a deal with the eu, it has to be

on the basis that the eu understands that the uk is a sovereign nation and an independent nation. the cold war spy novelist, john le carre, has died at the age of 89. and coming up this hour, the nine—year—old running two kilometres every day to raise money for the hospital treating his best friend for leukaemia. good morning and welcome to bbc news. covid vaccinations will start being given to patients from gp surgeries in england as part of the next stage of the roll—out of the programme. gp practices in more than 100 locations will receive their first deliveries of the vaccine later today, with another 100 to 200 over the course of this week.

some will start giving the vaccinations to patients from today, with people over 80, along with health and care staff, top on the list for the vaccine. 0ur science correspondent, pallab ghosh, has this report. dr ammara hughes is getting her surgery ready for the next phase of the nhs vaccination campaign. in the heart of london, bloomsbury surgery will aim to vaccinate between 800—1000 over—80s in the next three and a half days. that will mean injecting up to a0 patients every hour. like others receiving the doses, the practice will be open between 8am and 8pm, seven days a week. those eligible for a jab will be contacted by the surgery. do sit tight, we will be phoning you. so it is by appointment, and we will get to everybody, so don't start ringing your practices, because we will be ringing you to ensure that, if you're eligible, that

you are invited for your vaccine. the roll—out to gp surgeries comes less than a week after margaret keenan made history, when the uk became the first country in the world to begin vaccinations in hospitals. the jab is now being administered in the community. an immunisation campaign of this magnitude has never been undertaken by the nhs. it has been a real roller—coaster. many of my colleagues have been working all hours through the covid pandemic and, now, to finally be in a position to offer a vaccination to our community is incredibly powerful. and, as a gp, i'm really quite blown away. around 100 practices in england will receive their doses. a further 100—200 are expected to receive them by the end of the week. pallab ghosh, bbc news. let's speak now to professor martin marshall, chair of the royal college of gps

good morning. how extensive is this vaccination scheme going to be? how many people do gps and surgeries have to vaccinate in the coming weeks? good morning. this is such an important day, the next stage of the covid vaccination programme, where we get out into the communities and into ca re we get out into the communities and into care homes where the vaccination is most needed. so there is going to be about 100 batters in the first cases. expanding to more practices later in the week. the number of practices involved is partly based on making sure we get it right from the start, so we don't use too many, whilst we get our systems up and running. but also on the available of the of the vaccine as well. so it's likely, that as you describe, each group of practice that has come together would be delivering nearly 1000 vaccines over

a three—day period to start off with, then we will see what other supplies come our way. so you say that it will be 100 to 200 to start with. there are about 1200 eventually that you hope will be charged with delivering this vaccine. how does that work? do the gp surgeries volunteer themselves? are they chosen? are they chosen on terms of having enough capacity, enough staffing? just describe what goes on. practices are coming together into primary care networks, established groups of practices, not individual practices, but groups working together. there is about 1250 primary care networks across england. just about 100 or so are starting off today. so the networks that have been selected for today have been selected on the basis of their willingness, their ability to get up and running straightaway. those networks will be sending invitations out to local patients,

working on the stick —— strict quarantining. starting off in care homes, care home staff, people over the age of 80 and health care staff as well. so when an invitation is received by a patient with information about what is expected of them, they will come along for their appointment and they will get vaccinated. how widespread is this gci’oss vaccinated. how widespread is this across the country? they have tried to make sure there is a good distribution across the country, taking into account the 50 or 60 or so taking into account the 50 or 60 or so hospital sites up and running from last week. inevitably, with the small numbers at the moment, not everybody will have access to it straightaway, but over a period of months working through the priority list, the expectation is that perhaps 30 million or so people in the country that require the vaccine will actually receive it. you spoke earlier about how the roll—out will depend on access to the vaccine. what are the worries around that? so, this vaccine is a complicated

one. it has to be said. and of course general practice, as everybody knows, is under a lot of pressure as well. this will not be an easy programme to roll out. the challenge with the pfizer vaccine is that it needs to be stored at —70 degrees. then moved into community settings, die looted with say line and then drawn up and injected into people eligible for the vaccine. —— deleted. it is a complicated vaccine to deliver. but we are confident with the experience general practice has of delivering thus —— mass vaccination programmes, but the flu and childhood programmes, we are confident we have the resources to do it, and we are bringing in extra staff to make sure that we are able to do it, to make sure that we are adequately resourced. this is not going to be an easy task, but it is again important task and one the general practice is up for. can people expect to be called by their gps for the vaccination? yes they can. this is very important. please don't contact your own practice

because that will really introduce all sorts of complexities into the system. general practices have an established system, we know how to do this. we will be sending out invitations to people. when people receive those invitations, please turn up. please wait your turn. it is important we do it according to the priority list established by the national committee for vaccination and immunisations command that is based on the people at higher risk of developing covid else severe side effects of the covid virus. very clear advice. thank you so much. professor martin marshall, chair of the royal college of gps. vaccinations will also begin in care homes in scotland today. staff and older residents will be the first to receive the jab. there had been fears that the roll—out wouldn't go ahead because of difficulties in storing the vaccine. the scottish government says it's a "step on the road to recovery" from the pandemic. scotland's deputy chief medical 0fficer, dr nicola steedman, said they were hoping to receive

additional vaccine supplies this month, but had a plan to prioritise larger care homes if needed, as they were most at risk of infections. this has always been our absolute priority, to protect the most vulnerable to covid infection, and that is care home residents, particularly older adults. and so, our officials and clinical teams and our chief pharmaceutical officer have worked really hard to put in place a mechanism so that we can actually bring the vaccine to the care homes. as you know, this particular vaccine has some issues about cold storage and also limited transport times. but we have mhra approval now for our boards, our hospitals, to be able to pack down the vaccine into small enough packages and to be able to transport it, to take it to care homes, to give it to care home residents and staff, actually in the homes. and we are absolutely

delighted to hear that. scotland's deputy chief medical 0fficer, doctor nicola stephen. and we'll be getting more reaction to this story at 9.30, when we speak to dr donald macaskill, the chief executive of scottish care, which is the organisation representing the independent and private care sector in scotland. schools in the london borough of greenwich have been asked to close from this evening, because of a rise in coronavirus cases in the capital. the council's labour leader wrote to all headteachers and parents in the area, suggesting that teaching moves online. the national education union said the decision was "very sensible". nickjohnson is at a primary school greenwich. he says parents have been voicing a sense of dismay ahead of a possible closure just a few days before the end of term (tx sot) so there are around 130 schools here in the borough of greenwich. last night the council leader wrote to the head teachers of all of them and

urged them that when the school gates close and the last pupils leave this afternoon, those buildings should stay closed until the new year and all learning should be moved online until the end of term. he said he had to make what he called an incredibly difficult decision because of rising case numbers here in the borough of greenwich. just taking a look at those numbers, in greenwich there are about 250 cases per 100,000 people. then when you look at the london borough of havering, which sees the highest covid infection rate in london, they're looking at over 500 cases per 100,000 people. swale in kent, about 30 miles away from here, is seeing the highest infection rate in england. they have got about 630 cases per 100,000 people. so really you can see that here in greenwich, despite the council leader taking this action and urging schools to close, there infection rate being relatively modest, parents have been telling me they feel dismayed, there are only a

few days left of this term anyway. they feel like they have been ambushed. this school i am stood outside hasn't yet decided whether it will be closing at the end of the day, but it is worth pointing out that children here are meant to be having their annual flu vaccinations during this week. there are questions about how that will be carried out if the school decides to close. it is also worth saying there area number of close. it is also worth saying there are a number of academies and free schools here in greenwich. they don't receive their funding from the local authority. they receive their funding from national government. it is the department for education that isaid it is the department for education that i said it is vital that schools stay open until the end of term. 0ne school, one academy here in greenwich, already came out last night and said it would be staying open until the end of term. all eyes on local head teachers here really, seeing whether they will stick with the council recommendation and close their doors, or stick with the national government recommendation and stay open until the end of term.

that is nickjohnson. the self—isolation period for anyone who comes into contact with a positive coronavirus case has been cut from 1a days to 10. it also applies to people who have to isolate after returning from high—risk countries. the change comes into force in england, scotland and northern ireland today. it was introduced in wales last week. the headlines on bbc news... ready to roll out — gp surgeries in england, care homes in scotland, will start giving doses of the covid vaccine today. the mayor of london calls for schools in the capital to close early for christmas following what he calls a deeply concerning search in coronavirus cases. the eu's chief brexit negotiator tells ambassadors that limited progress has been made in trade talks, but differences remain in key areas. negotiations will continue today

between the uk and the eu, after both sides agreed to go the extra mile to secure a post—brexit deal. london and brussels have said enough progress has been made for the talks to carry on, although the prime minister has said the most likely outcome is still no—deal. the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, has briefed ambassadors of the 27 states this morning. mr barnier said a deal between the two side was still possible, but that disagreements still remain on the usual sticking points of fishing rights, and shared competition rules. reporter: are we approaching the end? the end will be when we reach an agreement both on fair and free competition. and second, on the reciprocal access to water and the markets. 0ur political correspondent, jessica parker, is in downing street. jessica, deadlines come, deadlines go and they are still talking? yes.

yesterday's deadline, as you say, came and went. ursula von der leyen, the european commission president, and borisjohnson the european commission president, and boris johnson spoke the european commission president, and borisjohnson spoke on the phone yesterday. they agreed that negotiations should carry on. so they are set to carry on in brussels this morning between michel barnier for the eu this morning between michel barnier forthe eu and this morning between michel barnier for the eu and lord frost for the uk side. as michel barnier wasjust saying, and we heard it from the uk side as well, the sticking points remain, namely eu access to uk fishing waters in future years, and is well in terms of common rules and standards, if the uk, for example, diverges from that in the future, what should the consequences be in terms of access to eu markets, and how should that be policed? they are looking at what kind of mechanism that could be going forward. the business secretary, alok sharma, has been giving his assessment of the talks today. obviously, there are a number of areas where we still need to make quite significant progress,

but as the prime minister said, we need to make sure we go the extra mile. it's what businesses want, its what people in our country wants, and that is precisely what we're doing. we're not going to be walking away from these talks. if we are going to get a deal with the eu, it has to be on the basis that the eu understands that the uk is a sovereign nation and an independent nation. really interesting though that alok sharma said the uk will not be walking away. that is something borisjohnson said walking away. that is something boris johnson said yesterday. the suggestion is that they will stick this out over the coming days. there is not an awful lot of time left to try and get a trade deal agreed. and then indeed ratified. and on that note, the labour party has been askedif note, the labour party has been asked if it would support any trade deal should it come to parliament. it was put to shaddock kavanagh minister rachel reeves this morning. that's where shadow cabinet minister. in the end there are nowjust two parts available for our country, to trade with a deal

or to trade without one. and you've got to look at those two things combined, because there are no other options on the table now. it's not like the last parliament, where we could push for the government to get a better deal. there now is a clear deadline at the end of this year, and so we have to weigh up the deal that the government secures, versus, i mean, frankly, looking into the abyss with no deal. and so that's what we will have to weigh up. we are minded to support a deal, but we've got to see what the government brings back. so what is the new deadline? well, it was notable yesterday that a ursula von der leyen and boris johnson did not name one. perhaps they might be conscious that any further deadline may be treated with some scepticism. at the brexit transition period does end on the sist transition period does end on the 31st of september —— for december. the uk left the eu at the end of january but has been following eu rules and regulations while the trade deal is hammered out. is the sist trade deal is hammered out. is the 31st of december the final, final deadline to reach some sort of agreement? 0ne senior common source suggested that things can't go right to the wire in that case because both the uk and the eu would need

time to ratify any agreement. many thanks. 0ur political correspondent, jessica parker, in downing street. philip rycroft was permanent secretary at the department for exiting the european union between 2017 and 2019. he's now a specialist partner at flint global, a business management consultancy. good morning to you. good morning. when you are permanent secretary at that government department did you ever think it would be this long, this drawn out and frankly this difficult? no. in a word. ithink everybody has been surprised byjust how late in the process we are now without anything concluded. literally a couple of weeks before the end of the transition period. this has been a bit of a roller—coaster as well. 0ptimism goes up in the past couple of weeks,

thenit goes up in the past couple of weeks, then it crashes again. deadlines are set, deadlines, and deadlines go. this morning a wee bit of optimism sort of creeping back in there. is there some shift on the level playing field issue? but as long as the talks are still going on there is clearly hope that a deal will be landed. at a very brave person who could call it right now. yes indeed. a couple of weeks ago there was optimism. it has gone up and down. it is difficult to know what is going on because we are not in the room with them. there was a feeling that it was france which had sort of ratcheted things up. was that your perception of it? that they were eu member states making life more difficult suddenly? i think it is a misconception to think about this as individual member states. we are no longer a member of the eu. we are a third country. we have to negotiate with the eu as a whole. there will be differences of view among the 27,

but they will be very, very keen to ensure that what is presented is united front. this is why angela merkel and president macron have been absolutely clear, boris johnson, the negotiator of the commission, because that is the way it is done between the eu and third countries. macron saying what he did, partly for his domestic audience and naturally in terms of demonstrating that he is ensuring that french interests are protected, but particularly on the single market issue and on fisheries, a lot of support for that position from elsewhere in the eu. so we keep being told that 97% of the deal is done. and the remaining 3% is those three issues, fishing, level playing field, competition rules and governance. could you have foreseen it would be these three that were the sticking points?|j it would be these three that were the sticking points? i think certainly fisheries was always going to be difficult. it is seen as a

ca rd to be difficult. it is seen as a card for the uk because of the extent of our coastal waters and the amount of fish taken out of those waters currently by eu boats. the level playing field, because it kicks into that big issue of principle for the eu integrity and the single market for the uk, this whole take back control pitch. this was predictably the domain where the two sides were likely to have had the most difficulty. it is worth saying you had alok sharma talking about the uk being an independent, sovereign nation. of course we are an independent, sovereign nation. the reason we could come out of the eu is because we are an independent, sovereign nation. this is not about our independence. this is about whether we accept some mutual obligations in return for mutual benefits of a free trade agreement. that is what all trade agreements are about. and the argument is about

the extent of those obligations. there has, apparently, been some progress on the level playing field issue over the last 2a hours. progress on the level playing field issue over the last 24 hours. but still a way to go. i am going to ask you to stick your neck out and be brave and tell us, do you think there will be a deal? i was always 60-40 there will be a deal? i was always 60—40 for a deal, so i have always been modestly optimistic. i have to say i've got more pessimistic over the past week. i am maybe creeping back up the way. when you step back from this it is so overwhelmingly in the interest of both sides to get a deal, economically and in terms of the future relationship. you just hope common sense will prevail. a big decision for the prime minister. it is his decision. this is crunch time. no more cake and eat. he has to make up his mind one way or the other. but we want to grab very long to find out which way it has gone. that is one thing that is for sure.

thank you very much indeed for your time. philip rycroft, former permanent secretary at the department for exiting the european union. thank you. as negotiations between the uk and the eu continue over brexit, many businesses are worried about this uncertainty means for them, with less than three weeks until the end of the transition period. nina warhurst has spent the morning at a play equipment manufacturer in cumbria. welcome. if you have spend a lot of time on playgrounds, as i do, you will recognise those long beams. they will be turned into swings, climbing frames. the hope is that some of them will end up in the european union. 0bviously they are closely watching the talks. to make your —— two metre rules on this site, which is why i am not wearing a mask. they have been making equipment here for generations. they exported 50 different countries. they are one of many businesses waiting to see what happens next. let's remind ourselves of the scale

of our interaction economically with the eu. it is our biggest trading partner around £400 billion of exports go there, sorry, around 300 billion of exports to the eu from the uk. that is about two fifths of our exports. imports from the eu worth around £400 billion. that is around half of all of our imports. and the food is one of the biggest imports. around a quarter of the food that we consumed last year came from mainland europe. and we exported to £20 billion of food and drink to the eu. so it's incredibly valuable to that industry. top products, whiskey, salmon, chocolate and cheese. delicious. there are some businesses who say yes, this period has been incredibly painful, but it will be worth it. this is james. he is a farmer in somerset who exports some of his lambda europe. his theory is that come what may, deal or no deal, british

produce will still be popular abroad. i think a continuation if possible as much as possible of free and frictionless trade. we have to recognise a significant proportion of ourlamb recognise a significant proportion of our lamb exports go on to the european market. business will still be able to want things. we just need to understand if there is a deal how it is going to work and if there isn't a deal, what are we going to be faced with? will there be tariffs? what sort of specification? what sort of requirements are going to be needed for us to be able to put our product into an external market, and indeed what products imported to us may be facing as well? so even those who are resolutely for leaving the european union are incredibly frustrated about the fact they don't know how it is going to look. let's chat to steve, who runs a haulage company. good to see you. 60% of your businesses goes to ireland and northern ireland. what is at the forefront of your mind today? we

just need clarity. we need to know what's going on. our customers need to know what to do. we have daily meetings with customers to this late stage who just meetings with customers to this late stage whojust don't meetings with customers to this late stage who just don't know what to do and whether to still ship. whatever happens with these talks, you are leaving the customs union, so you have to get your ducks in a row in terms of paperwork. do you feel ready? as a business we are. we have been prepared for quite a few years. we have invested money in our infrastructure for customers. again, customers are still unsure what to do. 0bviously customers are still unsure what to do. obviously there is a lot of additional information on a commercial invoice, origin of goods, which still has not been clarified by either side. that has caused problems because there is an element of doubt. some of your business is based on clustering together different products from different businesses and root —— moving them around clump. if one of them does not adhere to the rules, your whole

cargo is gone? yes, obviously we consolidate freight, that's how you bring costs down for customers. if one customer's piece of information is wrong, the whole load is rejected by customs and gets left behind. if you have freight on there, that freight misses its connections. the prime minister said yesterday we have had a lot of time to prepare for this, so we are ready. is he right? no. in a nutshell. thank you very much. important to site society of motor manufacturers and traders said yesterday because there will be a 10% tax on exports, no deal would be nothing less than catastrophic for the autumn —— automotive sector. there are those who believe if we are exporting less, prices will come down here and we will be buying more british produce. long term that is not good for economic growth in the uk. whatever people think about the decision for and have years ago, all

businesses are in agreement they need to know what they are working with now. nina warhurst. one of britain's best known spy novelists, john le carre, has died aged 89, following a short illness. described as an undisputed giant of english literature, his most famous works include tinker tailor soldier spy, the night manager and the spy who came in from the cold. keith doyle takes a look back at his life and career. 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 wasjohn le carre's most enduring and celebrated creation. like smiley, le carre had been a spy. david cornwell, his real name, had been fascinated by lies and duplicity since childhood. 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. the spy who came in from the cold, laterfilmed with richard burton, was le carre's breakthrough novel, written while he was working for mi6 at the british embassy in bonn, when the berlin wall went up. the author stephen king tweeted: "john le carre has passed at the age of 89. this terrible year has claimed a literary giant and a humanitarian spirit." his agent of 15 years, jonny geller, wrote: his work did define the cold war era, but his first post—cold war novel... the night manager. ..was another bestseller and a hit tv adaptation, 20 years later, in which the author played a rare cameo. but it was his spy novels he will be most remembered for. he believed authors and spies had much in common —

both hiding their real selves in characters of their own creation. keith doyle, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. hello. if you are looking for a cold, crisp weather story this week, think again. it looks likely to stay pretty unsettled, for the rest of today, sunshine and blustery showers. if you get caught in some of these showers they could be quite intense, rumbles of thunder mixed in. south—westerly wind, blowing the showers along west coast but some of them will push further inland as we go through the afternoon. the strongest winds with the sharpest showers out to the west but at least coming from the south—west so it is a mild sauce, temperatures through

the afternoon should be slightly above where they should be for the time of year, nine to 13 degrees the overall height. low pressure stays anchored to the far north—west, the isobars open up as we move out at monday into tuesday, slightly lighter winds, hopefully fewer showers around on tuesday. still the risk of some isolated showers but more wet weather set to return on wednesday and windy with it. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... coronavirus vaccinations begin today in some gp surgeries in england and in care homes in scotland. growing calls for schools in london to close, because of surging levels of covid 19 in the capital. eu chief negotiator michel barnier briefs eu ambassadors on post—brexit trade talks — as the uk and eu agree to continue

discussions in an attempt to break the deadlock— but differences still remain... hugely influential on a generation of novelists. the way that he wrote, he created a kind of world which sometimes takes the place of the real one, it is so vivid. tributes pour in for the cold war spy novelist, john le carre, who has died at the age of 89. sport, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's katherine downes. good morning... arsenal's problems just keep getting worse. they've now made their worst ever start to a premier league season and a 1—0 defeat at home to burnley leaves them down in 15th place in the table. joe lynskey reports. they had waited nine months to watch arsenal, for some, 90 minutes was too much to bear. defeat to burnley, therefore the at home in a row, they

haven't done that since the 50s. this match swung on one loss of control, a player grabbed by the throat, seen on the ar, a straight red card, the manager said it showed too much willingness. with an extra player, burnley saw their moment, scoring the only goal of the game with the help of the arsenal captain. the awful start to the seasonis captain. the awful start to the season is set to continue. the last goal was six weeks ago, here, scoring in his own net. so long, arsenal made the top four, now they are six from the bottom. terrible, to be honest. not what the fans deserve, not what the club deserves, we need to be better than this, not performing to the standards and it's not good enough. are you clear about the things that need to improve? yes, but i don't know how to put the ball in the net, i cannot do that.

ten goals in 12 games, losing seven times, is bad 47 years ago. the manager may find success this season in cup competitions but in this premier league era, there is never much patience. and this won't make arsenal fans feel any better. tottenham are still top of the table, despite only managing a 1—all draw at crystal palace after harry kane put them ahead, jeffrey schlupp scored the equaliser for palace, whose keeper vicente guaita pulled off one of the saves of the season, to keep out eric dier in stoppage time. and spurs stayed top thanks to liverpool's draw at fulham. leicester are up to third, just a point behind the top two, after a 3—0 win against brighton — james maddison scoring twice for brendan rodgers' side. southampton are fourth, after beating sheffield united. rangers captain james tavernier is having an outstanding season. he was on the scoresheet again, as they beat dundee united 2—1 to stay 13 points clear at the top of the scottish premiership.

tavernier has been involved in 30 goals so far — and he hit a superb free kick before setting up their second. rangers are now unbeaten in 26 games. with celtic still trailing way behind them. they did beat kilmarnock 2—0 though, to ease the pressure a little on manager neil lennon. manchester united are still unbeaten in the women's super league, nine games in. they beat reading 2—1, hayley ladd with the winner. they're three points clear of chelsea at the top of the table. lewis hamilton said he was "destroyed" after the abu dhabi grand prix, the final race of the season. he finished third but he was still suffering from the after—effects of coronavirus. red bull's max verstappen led from start to finish, taking the flag ahead of mercedes‘ valtteri bottas and then hamilton, who said he was looking forward to a rest.

rob also really hard race for me. physically. still. all year, physically all year fine, but today, i wasn't so i'm glad it's over. there was an extraordinary finish to the european golf season, with lee westwood winning the race to dubai — that's the title given to the best player on the tour. another englishman, matt fitzpatrick, won the final tournament — but westwood did what he needed to do, finishing second to take the prize for the third time — 20 years after he first won it. and the us women's open will be played to a finish today, after round four was suspended due to dangerous weather in houston. the leader, japan's hinako shibuno, had yet to tee off. she is one shot clear of the field, on 4 under. that's all the sport for now. thank you. more now on our top story — that doctors' surgeries

across england will begin coronavirus vaccinations today. 0ur reporter geeta pendse has been outside a gp practice in the west midlands that will begin giving the jabs to patients later today. this practice is one of the first surgeries in england to be able to offer the pfizer coronavirus vaccine to those most at risk in the community and there is a real sense of pride and excitement here today but they are not the only ones to receive a delivery. there will be 100 gp practices across england to receive the vaccine but most will begin to open their clinics from tomorrow, and few surgeries like this will start from this afternoon. we heard from a gp here, and he spoke of his pride to be able to do this but also the amount of people that are involved in the operation. we've got a multidisciplinary team ready to deliver the vaccine,

starting this afternoon, pharmacists, nurses, health care assistants, all of our administration team and gps, ready to deliver it, so excited. we looked on in pride last week at what happened in coventry, with margaret keenan, and it's great we are here today ready to deliver vaccines to the community here. and the doctor was keen to say people should wait to be invited by the nhs to have their inoculation, they will be cold in and of course it won't be just the one time, it will be twice with the one time, it will be twice with the space of around 21 days in between. this is part of this mass vaccination programme which began last week in hospital hubs but this is very much about getting the vaccination out within the community and clearly this is just the beginning but as you heard from the gp, a real sense of pride and excitement they can get started and be within the community.

vaccinations will also begin in care homes in scotland today. staff and older residents will be the first to receive the jab. there had been fears that the roll out wouldn't go ahead because of difficulties in storing the vaccine. the scottish government says it's a "step on the road to recovery" from the pandemic. joining me now is dr donald macaskill, the chief executive of scottish care, which is the umbrella body representing the independent and private care sector in scotland. good morning to your doctor. this is a big day, good news, has this programme started? a big day, good news, has this programme started ?|j a big day, good news, has this programme started? i believe it has started already, it is indeed, and it's an absolutely tremendous day for care home residents, their families, staff across scotland. just tell us, if you could, the sort of difficulties behind distributing this vaccine and getting it to the people who need it? as it's fairly well known, the pfizer vaccine

requires to be stored at ultra cool temperatures so that means we cannot ta ke temperatures so that means we cannot take the vaccine directly in bulk to the care homes but i want to pay tribute to pharmaceutical colleagues in the scottish government who have come up with pfizer, worked out a way in which we can pack down the vaccine which means today, across scotland, there will be care home residents being vaccinated. it will bea residents being vaccinated. it will be a slow process because we have, obviously, a limited supply at the moment but this is a start and this isa moment but this is a start and this is a start of life returning to normal in our care homes in scotland. when you say packing down the vaccine, what do you mean? the vaccine comes in large, they are called, pizza boxes, 995 sizes, doses, they then have to be stored in the ultra storage, we then need a

mechanism which has been developed whereby that size can be reduced to smaller sizes which makes it deliverable and transportable in safety to be delivered to the care homes and therefore administered. that is the process which is now in place and so today, in a number of ca re place and so today, in a number of care homes place and so today, in a number of ca re homes across place and so today, in a number of care homes across scotland, residents will be amongst the first to receive the vaccine and as i said earlier, this is an absolute game changerfor us all. earlier, this is an absolute game changer for us all. i'm sure. in terms of numbers, how many people are we talking about, in terms of ca re are we talking about, in terms of care home residents and also staff? staff have already started to be vaccinated by going to some of the central administrative hubs stop they will also be vaccinated in individual care homes, we are talking at the moment, in smaller numbers, because of the volume of

supply that we have received in the united kingdom and scotland, the share of that, from pfizer but everybody is working really hard, both those producing the vaccine in belgium, the committee who validate each batch and the pharmacists across the united kingdom but in scotland, working with care homes, to maximise what we have. 0ver scotland, working with care homes, to maximise what we have. over a period of time, particularly once we get signed off from the oxford and madonna vaccines, the space and pace will be able to be increased so we are all working as fast as we can but it will be a slow start and then gathering speed. —— moderna. scotla nd gathering speed. —— moderna. scotland and northern ireland are ahead of england in this respect in terms of getting the vaccine out to ca re terms of getting the vaccine out to care homes so why has that happen?” believe that is the case, i'm not sure why it's not the case in england and wales. i do believe however we have found a mechanism to

safely pack down the vaccine and that will be adopted elsewhere in the united kingdom. and everybody, particularly those who are highly vulnerable in our care homes, will receive the vaccine in a targeted way, between now and the end of march. do you know how many people are going to be getting the vaccine today? at the moment, no, i do not but i would anticipate we are talking about in the hundreds. very good to talk to you, thank you. we are keeping an eye on what is going on in those post brexit trade talks. michel barnier tweeted this morning. with some tone of optimism. a deal might still be done. you see there. what he says. the next few days are important. if a deal is to be in place byjanuary the 1st. he's

also saying it is our responsibility to give the talks every chance of success. never before has such a comprehensive agreement trade, energy, fisheries, transport, police, judicial cooperation etc been negotiated so transparently. interestingly he uses that word transparently because of course, we are not in the room! it is hard to know quite what sort of progress is being made. we are reliant on m essa g es being made. we are reliant on messages like this from the people who are there, and the eu chief negotiator certainly speaking with a little more optimism than others we re little more optimism than others were doing over the weekend. countries around the world are beginning the roll out of covid—19 vaccines. but the scale of the challenge is unprecedented. just how do you vaccinate nearly 8 billion people? half of those people live in asia. and singapore is set to be a key transport hub for billions of doses of vaccine. 0ur asia business correspondent, karishma vaswani, reports on how businesses are preparing.

separated from his family for months by the pandemic. i'm going to miss you, too, and i'm going to miss you. rafiq missed his grandfather's funeral, and his honeymoon. i am very sad to be away from my wife and my family. my friends. and i have to work alone over here. he's been working at dhl in singapore for five years, commuting from malaysia every day. but when the border closed, he stayed to keep hisjob and provide for his family. i hearfrom all of my family members that, oh, the vaccine is in, no words can describe it, very, super happy, i'm super duper happy. after months of waiting, vaccines are finally on their way. but transporting them here to asia in this heat isn't going to be easy. getting the temperature right is critical.

0ne mistake and the entire batch could be thrown away. and that's why cold chain facilities are so important. come in. wow, it is cold here. zuellig pharma is one of the biggest vaccine distributors in asia. it's been investing in new temperature controlled warehouses like this one across the region to get ready for the rollout. they've dealt with other vaccines before, but this time the stakes are much higher. it's a lot of weight on a lot of people's shoulders, basically. and there's so many different pieces to fit together to make sure that the vaccine get to the right patient at the right time, in the right quantity and in the right condition as well, because it's not only about delivering in the cities, but it's also delivering in the provinces. they're not the only company eyeing a piece of the pie. usually, dhl‘s conveyor belts would be filled with gifts in the lead up to christmas, but soon they could be moving a more precious cargo. singapore is a very

strategic location, and within a flight radius of seven hours, we are able to cover almost the whole of asia pacific to a population of four billion people. we are expecting up to ten billion doses that need to be moved. so it's something that we need to get prepared early as possible. singapore's national carrier is also getting ready today. it's flying medication. someday soon, vaccines. nothing like this has been attempted before at such speed and scale. economies all over the world are holding their breath. finally, hope is on the horizon. karishma vaswani, bbc news, singapore. hundreds of boys are still missing after gunmen abducted them from their boarding school in northern nigeria on friday night. anxious parents gathered at the school waiting for news as the security forces continued to search a forest area outside the town of kankara to try to locate them. mark lobel reports.

as 0sama aminu tried to fall asleep at his boarding school on friday night, gunshots broke the silence. his attempted escape over the school fence failed as bandits took him to the forest instead, where he attempted to run away again. translation: when i decided to run, they brought a knife to slaughter me. i put my clothes upside down so that they could not see me as they said they would kill anyone trying to escape. but i ran climbing from one rock to another through the forest floor. but as the empty classroom starkly illustrates, many other children remain captive, including this man's. we are sleepless, this, even this night when we stood praying to god. it remains a nervous wait

for the families of hundreds of missing children. one can only imagine how scared they are being transported from the safety of this school to an unfamiliar forest under duress. there are chilling echoes of the chibok girls, around 100 of whom are still missing after their abduction from their school dormitory in the northeast of the country over six and a half years ago. it is devastating because itjust brought back to me the whole pain and angerandjust total disappointment in governance when chibok girls were abducted in 2014. after i saw the shoddy manner, the total lackadaisical manner in which the government handled this, i felt that that was a classic case of government's failure. president buhari's security forces say they have located the attackers

and are engaged in freeing the kidnapped students. their lives, his reputation, and the true sense of security in this country depend on it. mark lobel, bbc news. new zealand prime ministerjacinda ardern says her government have agreed in principle to establish a qurantine—free travel bubble with australia. it's expected to open early next year. the measure will be contingent on the covid—19 levels in both countries remaining low and the deal being signed off by the australian government. south korea has reported its biggest daily increase in new coronavirus infections for a second day in a row. more than one thousand new cases were confirmed on sunday. officials say they might have to tighten existing restrictions to control the spread of covid—nineteen the first covid—19 vaccine vials have arrived in canada. the country's health regulator approved the vaccine made by pfizer and biontech last week. the vials are being sent to 14 distribution sites

across the country. we've been following nine year old freddie, as he continues his fundraising challenge to run two kilometres every day — all in the name of friendship. he's doing it to raise money for the hospital treating his best friend, hughie, for leukaemia. jayne mccubbin went to meet them. ready. freddie. run! this is the nine—year—old who is running two kilometres every day for 50 days. the goal — 100 kilometres by christmas day. it's all to raise money for the hospital treating his close family friend hughie. and, today, a morale—boosting treat. are you ready for your run? come on in. there's a surprise in here for you. to run on the hallowed turf of their favourite football club. go for it! with their star players. ready? ready to set off? come on, let's go.

but this is who it is all about. hello, you, how are you doing? hello, good, yeah. tell me what's happening right now, as we chat. i'm currently in hospital. i'm having some chemotherapy today, so i'm hooked up now to this machine behind me. that's what my medicine is going through. and you're feeling 0k? yeah, yeah, i'm feeling really good. do you remember when hughie found out he was poorly? yeah, it wasjust like... like ijust needed to try to help him to do something and try and help him get through it, because it's a really hard thing to get through. listen, we've got somebody here to say hello, as well. i want you to tell me what you make of what your friend is doing for you in the hospital. it's amazing. like, he's just doing such a greatjob and i couldn't thank him any more.

and everybody at the hospital, all the nurses, doctors, everybody, i just want to thank them all so much. they are doing tremendous work, aren't they? yeah. hughie will spend the next three and a half years in their care. but the end of freddie's challenge is now in sight, and their home town is rooting for both of them. freddie is doing an amazing job. we are delighted we could come out and do it with him. it is an amazing achievement, isn't it? yeah, it's incredible. if he keeps going till christmas, that will be 100 kilometres. so if we can be here to help him whenever we can, then that's brilliant, and as long as hughie knows there is a community of people behind him, supporting him, that's brilliant. are you very, very, very proud? oh, yeah, so proud. the amount of money he has raised, helping so many people. yeah, really proud of him. he's a good lad. he is, he is, yeah. 0h, last leg. last leg for today. come on! well done, you.

still going. it has to be a 2k. he's been playing football some nights. he'll get home at nine o'clock. i'm like, "i'm sure you've done enough.". he's like, "no, i've got to go and do a 2k." there is nothing stopping him. no, no, he's doing it, yeah. he's determined to finish. freddie, well done. he's an absolute star, because i know he's been running when it's been dark and cold. and, after everything else, playing football. he's amazing. a superstar. how much have you raised, freddie, so far? 16 and a half, so we're doing really good. well done. so you kick him off one last time, katie, 0k? ready, freddie, go! here he goes. good luck, young man. bravo, you.

listen, last treat, how do you fancy coming out of the tunnel at turf moor, running out onto the pitch as if you're about to play? yeah, that would be really cool. his initial target of £1000 is well and truly smashed. and there is still the 12 days of christmas left to go. those special boys there! a dog has been rescued after being caught up in wild weather off austalia's east coast. the dog had become trapped in sea foam after torrential rain and abnormally high tides hit cities including brisbane and the gold coast. but there's a happy ending — as you can see the animal was rescued, uninjured, after its owner waded through the foam to pull it out. if you're a keen stargazer you'll know that last night was a good chance to see the geminid meteor shower — but, of course,

some places give you a better view than others. these pictures were taken in a mountainous area of south—west china — where the high altitude and clear skies helped to set up this incredible display. the "geminids" are huge chunks of ice and rock from an asteroid — and the earth passes through the debris every december. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. hello there. if you've had some rain already this morning, it has been pretty intense in places, hasn't it? for the remainder of the day, we're under the influence of this area of low pressure, plenty of isobars as well. so a blustery afternoon and that's going to be driving showers in from the south west. so those showers will continue. now, the heaviest of which always going to be along west facing coast but with that strongish southwesterly will be driving one or two further inland. some of them could be quite intense with the odd rumble of thunder mixed in there as well. now, this is mean speed wind. so we could see gusts in excess of 30, 40 mile an hour,

potentially with the sharpest of the showers. it's worth noting, though, it's coming from a southwesterly direction. so a pretty mild source. temperatures above the average for the time of year, nine to 13 degrees through the afternoon. some of those showers will ease away as we go through the night time period, perhaps clinging on to west facing coasts. but with the cloud and the showers around and still that southwesterly air flow, it's going to be a relatively mild night, frost free for all with temperatures sitting at around four to eight degrees. so we start off tomorrow still under the influence of that low pressure, but the isobars tend to open up a little. the winds will fall lighter still. and that means that perhaps driving fewer showers. now, it's always going to be further west, closest to that low pressure, more at risk of seeing some showers. so sheltered eastern areas should stay dry with some sunshine coming through. and again, still a pretty mild story for the middle part of december as we're likely to see highs of eight to 11 degrees. now as we move out of tuesday into wednesday, there's more intense heavy rain and strong winds to come

with another low starting to push in from the atlantic, potentially centreing itself to the north of northern ireland to the southern flank of that low. that's where we'll see the strongest winds, gusts of gale force, 50, 60 miles an hour in places. and some of that rain really could be quite heavy as well, moving its way across the country through the middle part of the day. once again, it's going to be a mild theme, but i'm not sure you'll notice that so much with the cloud, the wind and the rain around. but temperatures around nine to 12 celsius, the overall high. thursday looks likely to be the best day of the week, dry and brighterfor many, more wet weather to come, though, from friday onwards. that's it. take care.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the eu's chief brexit negotiator says the next few days will be important if a post—brexit trade deal is to be in place for the new year. it comes as both sides agree to continue talks in an attempt to break the deadlock translation: we will give it every chance. it is our responsibility. a deal is still possible, a good balanced deal. coronavirus vaccinations begin today in some gp surgeries in england, and in care homes in scotland. in the us the biggest inoculation programme in the country's history begins —with millions of doses of the first coronavirus vaccine being delivered across the country. in the uk, growing calls for schools in london to close,