this is bbc news. i'm jane hill. the headlines at 2pm: as covid's spread accelerates — there's growing pressure on ministers with health leaders urging people to follow the tougher coronavirus restrictions. we are now at a really dangerous point and we are finding it difficult to get ambulance off—loaded because they have got no cu bicles to off—loaded because they have got no cubicles to put patients in and they have no cubicles to put patients into because there are no beds on the wards. borisjohnson says he can't rule out a third lockdown in england after christmas — because of a rise in coronavirus infections. we are hoping very much we will be able to avoid anything like that but the reality is, the rates of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks.

and the r number across the uk has increased from 0.9—to—1, to between 1.1 and 1.2 — it means the number of coronavirus cases is increasing rapidly. idid not i did not feel a thing. us vice president mike pence takes the pfizer coronavirus vaccine live in front of tv cameras as part of a safety information campaign. headteachers say the last—minute demand for testing of secondary schoolchildren across england is a shambles. as brexit trade talks continue, the eu's chief negotiator says there are just "a few hours left", for the two sides to agree a deal. cyber hackers have gained access to two us departments which manage the country's nuclear stockpile. long covid — doctors are urged to follow up with patients who may still suffer symptoms months

after contracting the virus. and the winners of the rspca young photographer awards are announced from 11,000 entries. the reproduction rate of coronavirus is estimated to be growing again — a sharp reversal of the shrinkage seen during england's national lockdown. the r—number now stands at 1.1 to 1.2 — that means that every ten people will on average infect between 11 and 12 other people: increasing the spread of the virus. sage says this represents the average situation over the past few weeks rather than the situation now.

it comes as health leaders warn if the pandemic isn't brought under control, hospitals will be overwhelmed. and as northern ireland join wales in announcing a post—christmas lockdown — the prime minister has not ruled out a third national lockdown in england. meanwhile, millions more people in england will move into tier 3 tomorrow. london and the east midlands have now overtaken the north of england for the number of infections. 0ur health correspondent katharine de costa reports. gosport in hampshire, one of the areas in the south preparing to enter tier 3 from tomorrow, joining two thirds of england living under the highest level of restrictions. parts of the south—east, east of england and london are seeing a rapid rise in new infections and hospital admissions. health leaders are worried. they're faced with 10% fewer beds due to social distancing, staff off sick or self isolating, with some now having to cancel nonurgent operations even before

we hit the peak winter months. we're now at a really dangerous point where we are finding it really difficult to get ambulances off—loaded. there are no cubicles to put patients into because there are no beds on the wards. all of that cycles back to, there's an ambulance outside an ed that can't go out to the next patient who needs it. latest official figures show cases were rising across the uk in the week to last saturday, with infections now higher in london and the east midlands than in the north of the country. there have been stark warnings that mixing over the festive period could lead to a third wave. the four nations have agreed not to ban christmas but have each issued stricter guidance for smaller, shorter gatherings. to protect the nhs, northern ireland has announced it willjoin wales in starting a new lockdown after christmas. the whole system is 104% overcapacity and that has been consistent for the last few weeks. we've failed over the last eight

weeks to make the harsh decisions and bring in the severe restrictions we needed, and as a result, the health service is being overwhelmed as we speak. the scottish government has also said tougher restrictions may be needed, and in england, the government has not ruled out another lockdown. 0bviously, we're hoping very much that we will be able to avoid anything like that, but the reality is that the rates of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks. here, where i am in the north—west, in bolton, they have actually done a fantasticjob in bringing it down. with around 18,000 covid patients in hospitals across the uk, there is concern we could pass the peak of the first wave within weeks. the fear is too much mixing now could pile on the pressure in the new year, when hospitals are at their busiest. catherine de costa, bbc news. our health editor hugh pym said there is continued pressure from health bosses towards the four

uk nations to introduce stricter measures in order to stop the nhs becoming overwhelmed in the new year. the governments in each nation will be advised by health officials, with much the same message, that if you don't do something to stop the rise in infections, there could be a severe problem in january. that is what boris johnson will be told by health officials in whitehall, and that is why he is not ruling out a lockdown in england sometime after the festive season. jeane freeman, the health minister in scotland has again not ruled out taking tougher action following wales and northern ireland's decisions to lockdown soon after boxing day and from that period onwards. what the real worry is, is that it's very pressurised now. we heard from the royal college of emergency medicine about difficulties finding space for patients in a&e, real crowding and pressure there. this is when normally things are going reasonably well before the flu season. all that is still to come injanuary, that is the worry,

what happens when people start coming in with more respiratory conditions? it will get colder and you have got flu, likely, injanuary and february, plus covid. the real worry is something has to be done fairly soon to stop that pressure getting to intense for the nhs in all parts of the uk. hugh pym, there. with me now is chris hopson — chief executive of nhs providers which represents hospital, community and ambulance services in england. can we start with the r number because that is the latest figure which we have in the last hour or so, and it is bleak news, a uk wide number, and that tells its own story about where we are as a nation, this number? these latest figures are a real concern, what everybody in the nhs was hoping is that we would get a peek shaped like the first peak where once you had gone over the top of the hill, you came pretty rapidly

down the hill and then you brought the case numbers right the way down but what has happened, we got a little down the hill but then they are starting to go up again and that isa are starting to go up again and that is a real concern. we are talking about rapidly increasing numbers of cases but also hospital admissions especially in london, the south—east and the east of england, and that is and the east of england, and that is a real concern. there is no doubt that in terms of the people you represent, what they are saying, the pressure is there at every level, hospitals and the ambulance services? absolutely. every single chief executive i was spoken to in the last ten days has said to me, it feels like winter, the peak of winter, when we know the nhs is at its most stretched, people are saying they are under real pressure. the royal college of emergency medicine said we have significantly increased ambulance delays and increased ambulance delays and increase numbers of people having to

wait to get into a&e and we have hospitals doing their incredible best to keep going with elective surgery best to keep going with elective surgery but having to cancel elective surgery because they have got so many people in their beds. do not forget, the real problem here is that we have 11,000 fewer beds this year compared to last year because of social distancing and we have now got 15,500 people covid patients in the remaining beds, so if you are 11,000 beds down already because of social distancing and 15,500 are occupied by covid patients, it is not surprising that the system it where ever you look is coming under real pressure. people listening to those statistics might say, isn't that what the nightingale hospitals are meant to do? they were always built as a last resort insurance policy and the issue with them is that we have got 80,000 staff

vacancies in the nhs so you will need to take staff away from existing hospitals if you want to start the nightingales and of course those hospitals are purpose—built. you want to use up every single last ounce of capacity in the hospitals before you start taking staff away and putting them into the nightingales because by definition that will reduce the quality of care in the main stream hospitals. let's be honest about the nightingales, they are not purpose—built hospitals, they don't have operating theatres. we need to be careful about making the assumption that because the nightingales are not being used, which is what i hear some people say, that the nhs is not under that much pressure, that is com plete under that much pressure, that is complete nonsense. where ever you look, whichever chief executive you talk to and i have spoken to about 50 of them in the last ten days, everybody says they are under extreme levels of pressure. there are regional variations and we are

reflecting the fact that london is bad and the east midlands is bad but cases are coming down in some areas like the north west of england and yorkshire and the humber, is that about behaviour, people in some areas following stricter rules and behaving better if i can put it that way? our take is that we need to be careful, and i describe the ideal, what we were hoping for, the idea that you would come quickly and smoothly down here once you had crested the peak but that in reality, the people in the north—west and north—east and yorkshire, they are not seeing a pretty rapid drop that we saw in london after the first peak, so let's not pretend that everything is fantastic in the north of england because it isn't. you may remember that the chief executives saying, you need to be careful about taking northern areas out of tier 3 and why

they haven't been taken out of that is precisely because you are not seeing the fall in the infection rates that we were hoping for, so the picture is not good in terms of, it is especially bad in terms of london and the east of england and the south—east but we should not pretend it is fantastic in the north because it isn't. in terms of the coming months, winter anyway, the ha rd est coming months, winter anyway, the hardest time for the nhs, we know that, we still have the vaccine rolled out and we have some months before people even have the vaccine, so before people even have the vaccine, soi before people even have the vaccine, so i come back to the point of the nightingale hospitals because people will think why were they built? are they not going to be able to be used? they will be used and they are on standby and ready to go, should we get to the point where it looks like the nhs will be in real trouble in terms of being overwhelmed but

there is a real art to the point at which you start using the nightingales because by definition you are going to have a negative impact on care that is provided in purpose—built hospitals. a couple of other points, you are right to identify that it is important that we don't forget there is light at the end of this tunnel, no doubt that the vaccination campaign combined with the fact that you have rapid at scale must turnaround testing, that will help together with the fact that drugs like dexamethasone means that if you do catch it we have seen significant drops in the mortality rate but as we have said in the last few weeks, the next few months will be really difficult. we have one more heave to get over this hump of winter and the thing which is important, what all of this says, it is vitally important that people follow the rules in the areas where they live and they do think very carefully about what they do at christmas. the

question they should be asking is not, can i see other people, but should i be seeing other people especially beyond my household and especially beyond my household and especially of those people are vulnerable and at high risk? you make the point about christmas, but what about after christmas? do you feel that there should be another full lockdown? we are already talking about it in northern ireland. we have got ourselves into a slight pickle because it feels to me if you look at other nations, what they have effectively done is saying to people clearly, you make these decisions on the basis of the evidence available at the time and what you don't try and do is predict what you don't try and do is predict what is going to happen at several weeks in advance because what then happens is you get into confusion because people say, well several weeks ago you said this and now you have changed your mind, so what i think we need to do is look at what is happening with the evidence over the next couple of weeks and then we need to work out what we do next,

but yes, the answer to your question is, if it looks like we are going to carry on with this trajectory where we have not dropped infection rates and we are now actually increasing, inexorably that leads to the place of yes, we need tougher restrictions. chris, thanks for joining us. the chief executive of nhs providers there. the headlines on bbc news... as covid's spread accelerates, there's growing pressure on ministers — with health leaders urging people to follow the tougher coronavirus restrictions. borisjohnson says he can't rule out a third lockdown in england after christmas — because of a rise in coronavirus infections. idid not i did not feel a thing. us vice president mike pence takes the pfizer coronavirus vaccine live in front of tv cameras as part of a safety information campaign.

let's look more closely at the situation in northern ireland now. its executive said there were very difficult times ahead, and without drastic new measures, the health service would be overwhelmed. nonessential shops in northern ireland will close from the end of trading on christmas eve in a bid to stop the spread of covid—19. ministers will review the measures after four weeks. close—contact services, such as hair salons, will have to shut and pubs, cafes and restaurants will be restricted to takeaway services. announcing the lockdown — deputy minister michelle 0'neill said... "the health service would be completely crushed injanuary if there wasn't an intervention now. " 0ur ireland correspondent chris page said the restrictions will be similar to what the country saw during the first lockdown in march. as you can see here in belfast city centre, it feels pretty busy at the moment but in six days' time, it is all going to be pretty different.

at close of trading on christmas eve, when the shops shut, they won't be reopening again until february, the lockdown decided on by the devolved government will last for six weeks and there will be a review after four. so, all hospitality businesses and leisure facilities will close, and contact services like hairdressers will all be closed for that time. during the first week, the measures will be even tougher, essential shops, the likes of supermarkets, will have to close at 8pm and people will be told to stay at home unless they have a very good reason not to, between 8pm and 6am. also, organised sport will be banned for that week running from boxing day to the 2nd of january. the devolved government has said it had no option but to bring in these measures. they have painted a very alarming picture of rising infection rates and hospitals under extreme pressure. the deputy first minister, michelle 0'neill, said if the lockdown was not brought in, the health service would be completely crushed injanuary.

independent retailers have said this will cost thousands more job losses and hospitality industry has said many of its businesses won't make it out the other side but on the whole, speaking to people in belfast today, most of them say they recognise there is a huge problem here, and that a new lockdown is needed in order to save lives and protect the health service. chris page in belfast, there. the us vice president mike pence has been vaccinated live on television. he's the most senior politician to receive the vaccine so far, and it comes on the day the us approve its second coronavirus vaccine. both the pfizer vaccine — and moderna vaccine can now be rolled out acorss the country. here is the vice president speaking about his vaccination. i want to thank the medical team at walter reed hospital that administer the vaccine today, and i did not feel a the vaccine today, and i did not feela thing... the vaccine today, and i did not feel a thing... well done. we appreciate your service to the country. as the christmas holiday

approaches this is a season of hope, and we gather here today at the end ofa and we gather here today at the end of a historic week, to affirm it to the american people that hope is on the american people that hope is on the way. karen and i were more than happy to step forward before this week was out. to take this safe and effective corona vaccine. that we have secured and produced for the american people —— coronavirus vaccine. it is a truly inspiring day. mike pence, speaking after having the coronavirus vaccine. head teachers and unions have criticised the government's plans to carry out mass covid testing in secondary schools in england. they say yesterday's announcement that most secondary pupils will study online for the first week of next term, while schools set up a testing scheme, has come too late. charlotte wright reports.

it is the last week of term for pupils across the country, but as classmates wind down for christmas, teachers in england say they are scrambling to make arrangements for the government's new testing plan forjanuary. we are still making sense of this whole thing at the moment. the rhetoric is very much battle of britain but the reality, i'm afraid, feels a bit more like dad's army. we tried to make sense of this this morning and we are hoping to make progress today and to make sure first and foremost that our families understand what is going to happen. the idea is that primary schools in england will go straight back on the first day of term but in secondary schools, only years 11 and 13 will be allowed into the classroom, the others will learn remotely, until the 11th of january, while schools set up a rapid covid testing scheme. are you expecting schools to reopen? but the announcement was not made until thursday and appearing before the public accounts committee just hours earlier, the permanent secretary at the department for education was unable

to give any details. it is ludicrous that we have, we are at the end of term, the final day for any school in england is tomorrow, and you are sitting here today and you can't tell us any more detail about what might happen on the 4th or 5th ofjanuary next year. i entirely accept this is very difficult for people but... it's notjust difficult, it's impossible. today, teaching unions say making these arrangements will be a huge logistical effort. we've got a thousand children and they all have to be tested twice in the first week. where are we going to get those staff from? and some parents agree... it was sprung on us yesterday, so it is childcare in the new year, if both of them go back or if only one of them goes back, we don't know yet. working at home worked quite well, we figured out how to do it, but i

feel like year sevens they won't really have settled into the high school environment. a similar scheme has been announced for wales, where a full return to the classroom is expected by the 18th of january. the government is confident it will be a success. we are sure that 11 million lateral flow tests will be available in schools from the 11th of january next year, it is a massive logistical exercise, we are testing, as i said, 5.5 million secondary school students. this is a very good news story and it is all about making sure we can keep schools open. but with just hours left of the autumn term, some teachers and parents tell us they are sceptical. charlotte wright, bbc news. the eu's chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, has told the european parliament that talks about a trade deal with the uk have

reached a "moment of truth". borisjohnson has said today that the talks are ‘looking difficult' — and has called on the eu to ‘come to the table with something themselves'. jonathan blake reports. the last steps towards the summit? the prime minister met engineering apprentices in bolton this morning as post brexit trade talks continued. for a deal to be done, he said the eu needed to compromise and make the next move. 0ur door is open. we will keep talking but i have to say that things are looking difficult and there's a gap that needs to be bridged. the uk has done a lot, i think, to try to help and we hope that our eu friends will see sense and come to the table with something themselves, and that is really where we are.

first thing this morning, the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier gave the european parliament an update on the chances of a deal. his team was striving for an agreement, he said, but it was a serious and sombre situation. translation: it is the moment of truth. we have very little time remaining, just a few hours. to work through these negotiations in a usefulfashion. if we want this agreement to enter into force on the 1st of january. there is a chance of getting an agreement but the path to such an agreement is very narrow. last night the prime minister again spoke to ursula von der leyen and they agreed again to keep talking. and still, fishing is a major sticking point, how much access can

eu boats have to uk waters, and how much will they be allowed to catch? it is a tiny part of the overall economy but an issue that is politically potent for countries on both sides. parliament may have closed down for christmas but mps are on standby to return in person or remotely, to approve any agreements that emerge. time is now very tight but there is still time, and while both sides are still talking, there is still the chance that a deal can be done. in the meantime, westminster and the uk waits to see what the brexit endgame will bring. jonathan blake, bbc news. nick beake now with the latest. well, you get the feeling that now more than ever, neither side wants to weaken their negotiating position so we are getting more tough talk. we heard michel barnier say this is the moment of truth, the final few hours. he can see a narrow pathway to a deal but he also reminded everyone that the unity and strength of the european union is more important than any future

relationship with the uk. he talked about fishing once again and some people might think it is very odd that it seems to have all come down to this but we have known all along that this is a very politically sensitive and significant topic, even though fishing makes up a very small part of both the uk and eu economies. michel barnier says he wants long—term security for the fishing fleets of the eu. of course, borisjohnson says that every independent coastal nation needs to be able to control its waters. he says the eu really needs to change its position fundamentally if there is to be a deal. members of the european parliament get a vote on any agreement that is reached. they're saying that they want to see something agreed by sunday to give them time to sign it off. the deadline that everyone is still working to is the end of this year, that is the one that really counts. it is hard to know where we're heading. some people have hope there may be a deal over the weekend. if that is the case and the direction of travel, i can tell you both sides are keeping it very

cautious at the moment. neither wants to give anything away. more than 5,000 jobs are being created in the drive to speed up the uk's broadband networks. bt 0penreach says it needs the new staff as it steps up work on the £12 billion project. the recruitment drive includes 2,500 full—timejobs in 0penreach itself, and many more positions in its uk supply chain. sony has stopped selling one of the most highly—anticipated video games of all time, just days after its release, because of technical problems. the company is offering a refund to anyone who's already bought cyberpunk 2077 for the playstation — following complaints that it keeps crashing and freezing. the issues have wiped more than a billion pounds off the value

of the game's creator, cd projekt — which said it "should have paid more attention to making it play better". the two departments which manage the united states' nuclear stockpile say that hackers have gained access to their networks. the us energy department and the national nuclear security administration are the latest government agencies known to have been targeted in a massive cyber attack. gordon corera reports. washington is reeling from a cyber espionage campaign whose scale keeps growing every day, as more and more organisations are found to have been compromised. it all began in march, when hackers got into a texas—based company called solarwinds, and implanted what's called a back door into the orion software, which it sells to its customers.

the software was then installed by at least 18,000 customers around the world, including the us military, the state department, nasa, and the white house. this allowed the hackers to potentially steal data, like e—mails, over a period of months, before it was discovered in the last few weeks. it's now emerged that other targets include the national laboratories and security team that looks after nuclear weapons — although there's no implication that the hackers could gain control over nuclear material. us sources say they believe the russian intelligence services are behind the highly sophisticated hack, although moscow has denied any part. my guess is that this is going to get worse before it gets better. the fsb — the russian intelligence service — always use multiple layers of attacks. whether it's only bad or catastrophic will be... we'll know in time, but it's bad.

microsoft have now said they have seen additional follow—on attacks on their customers — mainly in the us, but in at least one case in the uk. the uk's cyber security agency, the national cyber security centre, is urgently investigating how far the government, companies and organisations here may also have been hit. the full scale of the campaign is still unknown, and it may take some time for that to become clear, but the concern will be that defences were not good enough, and the damage may be hard to estimate. gordon corera, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. it is mild and windy and also very wet in some areas, the main focus of the heavy rain remains over south wales and south—west england and we have this amber rain warning for them the met office. —— from. other western areas seeing rain continuing

to the evening and gradually the rain band pushes east and then we have clearer spells and showers following from the west. windy overnight as a result, and it will be mild, 8—10, and tomorrow morning we have rain to clear away, by mid—morning, from most eastern areas, and then we have sunny spells and bands of showers being blown in by strong winds and more frequent showers over more western parts of the uk. not as mild as today but not bad temperatures, around 9—12, and it will be a cooler start on sunday, although we have sunshine and showers, most of those in the west and wetter and windier weather in scotland. a cooler day on sunday but the winds won't be as strong. hello this is bbc news with jane hill. the headlines: as covid's spread accelerates, there's growing pressure on ministers, with health leaders urging people to follow the tougher coronavirus restrictions.

we are talking about rapidly increasing numbers of cases but also hospital admissions, increasing numbers of cases but also hospitaladmissions, particularly increasing numbers of cases but also hospital admissions, particularly in london, the south—east and east of england and that has a real concern. borisjohnson says he can't rule out a third lockdown in england after christmas because of a rise in coronavirus infections. we are hoping very much we will be able to avoid anything like that but the reality is, the rates of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks. and the r number across the uk has increased from 0.9 to 1, to between 1.1 and 1.2 — it means the number of coronavirus cases is increasing rapidly. ididn't i didn't feel a thing. us vice president mike pence takes the pfizer coronavirus vaccine live in front of tv cameras as part of a safety information campaign.

headteachers say the last—minute demand for testing of secondary schoolchildren across england is a shambles. as brexit trade talks continue, the eu's chief negotiator says there are just "a few hours left" for the two sides to agree a deal. more to come in all those stories and we had a lovely photography story coming up will stop now the sport, here is gavin. good afternoon. we'll start with news from formula one. chemical giant ineos is expanding its sporting portfolio and becoming a one—third shareholder in the mercedes formula 1 team. they already have a cycling team and interests in football. it comes as toto wolff, the mercedes team principle remains in charge of the team for a further three years. he's signed a new deal with the world champions. to increasee his holding in the team to a third aswell.

the move reduces daimler‘s shareholding from 60% to create three equal partners. and is lewis hamilton also about to sign a new contract? well, mercedes tweeted hinting as much, with hamilton saying he plans and wants to be at the team next year. and to adelaide now — where 15 wickets fell on day two of the first test between australia and india as the world's top two sides go head—to—head. early in the day, india were all out for 244 in their first innings, but australia didn't fare much better with the bat. ravi ashwin with four wickets including steve smith for one as they were dismissed for 191. india were back in the middle before close but lost prithvi shaw for four, bowled by pat cummins. they'll resume day three on nine for one, a lead of 62. footballers are "overwhelmingly in support" of continuing to take a knee to highlight racial inequality and fight discrimination. that's the message from the players union, who asked their members if they wanted to carry on with the gesture following recent protests by fans.

millwall, colchester united and cambridge untied supporters had booed the action before matches in the past fortnight. but players said they wanted to continue with "this act of solidarity". england's 2014 world cup winning captain katy daley—mclean has retired from international rugby. the 34—year—old played in four world cups, leading the team to victory in paris six years ago. she also won nine six nations titles. mclean will continue in her player/coach role at sale sharks. she said the decision will let her spend more time with her family, including her 16 month old daughter. when you see in black and white just how much time away, that is the first thing that struck me but i just thought about what a world cup looks like and requires and i have done four world cup cycles so i kind of know that you have got to be in it. basically, i kind of looked at it. basically, i kind of looked at it and thought, i do not want to be

away from her this long and i do not wa nt to away from her this long and i do not want to do that any more. three universities are calling for a ban on tackling in school rugby sessions. the sports and science academics from oxford brookes, newcastle and winchester have written to the uk's chief medical officer, asking for government action to review the evidence that they say links participation in some contact sport to early onset dementia. the rfu say they work hard to manage the risk involved for young people in particular. a number of children are suffering serious risks to concussion each and every year within the school game, but the real problem is the fact it isa but the real problem is the fact it is a compulsory activity delivered by 60% of boys in england so they do not have a choice to do this, they are forced by their school, inevitably, to participate in contact rugby, and the outcomes of that, of concussions, injuries, or significant, and we know that it is the exposure to these repetitive head impacts that is at the real problem, so our idea is if we remove it from the school game, allow people to have the choice, we are

preventing some of that risk. and finally there's that saying, "like father like son". well, we've seen wayne rooney's son follow in his dad's footsteps as 11—year—old kai signed a contract at manchester united. and here's another potential star of the future — charlie woods. he's the 11—year—old son of tiger woods. charlie will be taking part in the "father and son challenge" at the pnc championship in florida this weekend. he's certainly been watching his dad, who's a 15—time major winner. he's got quite a swing on him — and his dad said to reporters in the us, he'sjust as competitve too. very excited to see how he gets on. that's all the sport for now. karen, thank you very much indeed. i see you a little bit later on —— gavin, thank you very much indeed. people in hospital with coronavirus should be offered a follow—up appointment after six weeks to check for symptoms of so—called long covid, according to new guidance

given to doctors. it's thought about1 in 10 patients could be struggling to shake off symptoms including shortness of breath, joint pain and dizziness for more than three months. 0ur health reporter jim reed has more. tess waring fell sick in the first wave of the virus. it took months for her to get her strength back. even now, she sometimes struggles for breath. it's eight months since i caught this, you always think in life, things always change anyway, so sometimes you are thinking, is this just part of growing older? but, fundamentally, no, ifeel change in that, like, my breathing is much more of an issue than it used to be. the tiredness has been much more intense. it's thought about one in ten patients with the virus may develop what is known as long covid, lasting for more than 12 weeks. new guidance for doctors today, lists 28 possible symptoms from fatigue and nausea, through to chest pain and dizziness. it seems to hit all age groups including young people,

people who sometimes just get a mild infection with covid, although people who have a more severe infection are more likely to get it. we know it happens more often in people who have got pre—existing health conditions like diabetes or heart disease, but we don't really understand why some people seem to get it, and some people don't. the new guidance says patients should now be offered a full —— a follow—up consultation if they have been in hospital or they have symptoms lasting longer than eight weeks. they can then be referred on for rehabilitation if needed. those with breathing problems should be offered a chest x—ray to chest for lung damage. they say that diagnosis is key. i do believe that the help is imperative, for people to understand how to manage their symptoms, for sure, so if everyone could get that sort of help, that would be amazing. the nhs said it is spending

£10 million on more than 60 new long covid clinics in england. doctors, though, say more funding is likely to be needed to deal with the long—term impact of the disease. jim reed, bbc news. six months after a court ruled the practice unlawful, a bbc investigation has found that tens of thousands of adverts for rental properties are putting a blanket ban on accepting people who receive benefits. the vast majority of places on websites such as spareroom and 0penrent said recipients of housing benefit need not apply for the property. michael buchanan reports. this is the kitchen, the living room and my bedroom all in one. so there is a little bathroom and then my son's room. it is small and uncomfortable, but despite her best efforts, emma can't find a new home. for two years, the teaching assistant has tried to move herself and charlie to somewhere bigger. charlie, eat your dinner, please. but she has been repeatedly refused a new place because she is on benefits. if i have got references

to show that i pay my rent every month on time, and i have done that for seven years, there shouldn't be any reason why someone isn't renting to me and the fact that they will still use housing benefit... you know, it is very clear stigmatisation. it is a very clear discriminatory measure. bbc analysis of these popular websites shows that tens of thousands of properties are being denied to benefit claimants, despite a court injuly ruling such blanket bans are unlawful and discriminatory. on both spareroom and 0penrent, over 80% of ads say they won't accept tenants on housing benefit. and if you are a landlord with a place to rent, the websites will allow you to explicitly say that you don't want anybody on benefits. the charity shelter has campaigned for years to end housing discrimination and instigated a court action this summer. i think people like 0penrent and spa reroom really need to wake up to this. this is unlawful. they need to be refusing to carry

adverts that are badged as "no dss" on their websites and that is it. there's no excuses for it. theyjust need to clean up their act now. in a statement, 0penrent say that they let more than 25,000 properties to people on benefits this year, and are trying to combat prejudice by educating its users. spareroom told us it was in the process of removing the option for landlords to list properties as being unavailable to benefit claimants. for emma and charlie, the long search for a new home has brought stress and frustration, with seemingly no end in sight. it is very demoralising and dehumanising. i will go through phases of trying to kind of find somewhere and then obviously, i will stop trying because i will feel upset about the whole thing. you know, it is a massive rejection, like, a rejection of your whole self and position in society. the law is clearly on their side. theyjust need a landlord who is willing to give them a chance. michael buchanan, bbc news.

if you're having to wait longer than usual for your post, royal mail says that's because of an unprecedented increase in the number of parcels it's having to process this christmas. there's been a hugejump in the amount of online shopping we're now doing, as emma simpson reports. a parcel mountain at a royal mail sorting office in bristol. sacks of mail ready to be sorted here in manchester, too, and parcels to be dispatched in essex. 0n the road, the vans are full, a glimpse of how posties are grappling with an unprecedented increase in parcels this year. it has meant some delays for customers. last week, i managed to send some christmas presents abroad to ireland, and a few to my partner's family in kent. both haven't arrived, despite me putting a class despite me putting a first—class stamp and sticker on it. so it has been quite worrying,

particularly because we are so close to christmas and i want them to arrive on time. it would be an absolute disaster if they didn't. the union representing postal workers says its members are doing their very best. there's no doubt we could not possibly have anticipated this level of packages and parcels. it seems to be intensifying every day, and that, coupled with the arrangements that have got to be in place to keep people, key workers safe because of covid, and the spread of covid and the figures going up again, all of those are complicating what is already a strategical nightmare, really. all our big couriers are up against it right now. the royal mail has taken on around 33,000 seasonal workers to help out, way more than normal. in a statement, royal mail said some areas were experiencing a reduction in service levels due to covid—related absences and social distancing measures, but that the majority of the network was now running as usual

for this time of year. the pressure is now on — a business that's flat out trying to deliver christmas mail as quickly as it can. emma simpson, bbc news. it is 2:45pm. under normal circumstances, you might be looking forward to your work's christmas party this weekend. sadly, as we know too well, this is not a normal year. with most traditional parties cancelled because of covid restrictions, some companies are trying to find alternative ways to bring colleagues together. jayne mccubbin has been invited to join the festive fun. ah, the work christmas party cancelled because of covid, but let's just cross over to party poopers anonymous. raise a hand if you are actually really relieved the office party isn't happening this year? and not everyone is disappointed.

because it's just stressful when you have to go to a christmas party with work people, pretend you like them, pretend you're interested! you don't want to be sat around making small talk with your boss, do you? no. 0h, they're just terrible, aren't they? i mean, you get dragged around pubs you don't want to go to, with people you don't want to be with. if you leave too early, you're a party pooper, and if you leave too late, you're looking on whatsapp the next day to see what happened the night before. admit it, we've all been there. but not this year. cheers! this year, if we're doing the work's do, we're doing it online. can ijust ask, is everybody having a good time? yeah. yay! bless the lovely volunteers from macmillans, who've let us crash their christmas party. they, and party hosts likejohnny and helen, are trying to keep the fun going, virtually.

flipping heck, i don't have a drink! nobody wants to do this. i'd like to be on stage. i was on tour when this happened. i was playing to real people in a real room on a tour. and, you know, i've ended up doing zoom parties. but what i would say is that we're good at giving it a go, and we're good at — it's the blitz spirit thing of saying, "come on, it's not what we want, but let's make it work". we are dealing with anything from 30 to 400, and we have had an inquiry this morning for 600. i cannot imagine a virtual party online with 600 people?! yeah, it's interactive as well. so, we'll see. i'll let you know. good luck with that! is it as good as a face to face party? no. the one thing i'll miss when i go back to the live circuit is the ability to mute people. you can even eject them yourself without getting bouncers involved. it's fantastic.

what we're going to do is we're going to have our private party. we're having a little get together here. but if you're a virtual party isn't, well, virtual enough, this liverpool company will create an avatar for you and take your party anywhere in the world, or beyond. hi! hello. i've got vertigo. we've seen a real surge in inquiries really, this year in particular, of course, you know. people are looking for new ways of getting together. and, you know, what we offer is something that really goes beyond a traditional sort of video call, if you like. can we dance at this party? yes! clemence is our, eh... clemence? yeah, he can bust a few moves. there we go. where's your famous robot dance, clem ? there you go. yay! we think it definitely has a lot of a lot of potential. we think it definitely has a lot of potential. can we go somewhere where there's wine at this party? beach. look at that. and i have some virtual drinks here. u nfortu nately, they're just out of... ..argh! out of reach! for goodness sake, oh!

it's estimated that all of this could cost the hospitality sector over £700 million. and many remember the good old days of real cocktails with real work mates in real time with a real sense of loss. paul, were they gorgeous dos? magnificent. absolutely glorious. marvellous. and this year? and this year is very different indeed. they are ditching the do all together. in its place, good deeds. instead of handing out golden tickets for a guest list, they are blowing their budget on books for children in need in their city. each of our guests who would normally come to one of our parties will be getting a book donated in their name. it's such a nice idea! are you going to miss the party, though? we'll miss the party. we'll make up. we'll have a post—covid party. we'll do it in the summer. fingers crossed. fingers crossed! so for now, let's enjoy the safety of socialising while staying apart. and just imagine how messy it's all going to get

this time next year. chin—chin! jayne mccubbin, bbc news. it is 2:50pm. now, let's take a look at three of the winners in the rspca young photographer competition, which attracted more than 11 thousand entries. this lamb diving from a haybale is called boa — she belongs to molly tolson who's 14 and who managed to catch her mid—leap. the the winner of the picture perfect pet category. there is a cat there, i promise. a black one, obviously. and the squabbling pigeons behind me also picked up a prize — we'll speak to the photographers behind them, and the overall winner, in a moment.

but first let's take a look at some of the other winning entries. first of the photos taken on a mobile phone, the under—12s winner, wilfred maidment, took this image of his dog giving that guilty sofa look after she snuck on to have a little nap. eleanor ramsay with her photograph, a distorted perspective taken at sunset at port meadow in oxford, won the 16 to 18—year—old category. tess easterbrook, who's ten, took this photo in suffolk, and this earned her the under 12's prize. weeks of persistence paid off for ellis 0wen, who's 15. he got this brilliant shot on the river anton in hampshire. this is lucky the whippet. 13—year—old elizabeth lee says she's her best friend, lucky follows her everywhere and apparently always wants to pose for the camera.

this photo was on the instagram award. and the overall winner was jake kneale, who, by using a camera trap set up, caught this image of a roe deer buck ducking its head to pass through a farm gate. jake joins me now alongside two other catagory winners, amy buck and thomas scott. congratulations to all of you. jake, i will start with you. congratulations. and i allowed to start by asking holger? yes, i'm 17. start by asking holger? yes, i'm17. thank you. —— asking how old you are. a camera trap set up, how did you manage to set this up? that is my camera and a motion sensor and a series of flashes and i have built or waterproof boxes for them all and they talk to each other wirelessly and when an animal walks through, hopefully facing towards the camera, not just getting its hopefully facing towards the camera, notjust getting its backside, it all fires off and you get the picture, hopefully. did you get a

lot of pictures of backsides that you had to discard? i'm afraid i did not get a lot of pictures of anything, really. it is a really challenging to get anything. it has taken months to get one or two photos i am really happy with, but there are a few bottoms in there too. i love the persistence. it is terrific. how did you fancy your chances of winning? more than 11,000 entries, so that has a real achievement. i'm delighted, absolutely delighted. i have been entering this competition for a few yea rs entering this competition for a few years and to get the overall was the pinnacle. i don't enter, obviously you do not enter expecting anything, ijust you do not enter expecting anything, i just like you do not enter expecting anything, ijust like it as a way ofjudging my progress and kind of choosing my best pictures every so often, so yes, i was just blown away. best pictures every so often, so yes, i wasjust blown away. you have obviously been doing photography for a few years, then. as it animals, wildlife, countryside that really

interests you, or there is less about a reflection of lockdown and there is being a kind of different year? you wanted to be outdoors? how did this come about? yes, it has a lwa ys did this come about? yes, it has always been the outdoors. i feel a really strong connection to the actor is a natural world, wildlife, landscape —— connection to the outdoors. i was able to keep on doing a tim lockdown, which is great and found some new spots. great. -- during the lockdown. congratulations, amy. i love the title you get your black cat photo because you called it half—vampire. we have had our cat for a few years and actually adopted him from the rspca centre so that was quite fitting, really, that he was the subject of this photo. we just fell in love with him because of his two little things that are poking out of his mouth. when i was taking this

photo, it by chance happened that we got one photo with half of his face lit up so his little find tooth made him look really spooky summer so i called it half—vampire to reflect half of the face and at they sang. is hea half of the face and at they sang. is he a scary little cat are quite sweet? absolutely not. he is completely the opposite of what that photo makes him look like. he is attention seeking, always meowing and wanting attention from us and love it so he is literally the complete opposite of what he looks like. have you been practising photography for a long time as well? no. idid photography for a long time as well? no. i did a little bit of a film photography since last summer so the old style, manual focusing and things like that, but no, i bought

my first digital camera and scratch at the start of lockdown so i really am just at the start of lockdown so i really amjusta beginner at the start of lockdown so i really am just a beginner who happened to ta ke am just a beginner who happened to take a good photo and cemented into the competition and the rest is history. 0h, the competition and the rest is history. oh, wow, so that is a proper nocturnal, covid success. congratulations, amy. let's also talk to thomas scott. i love the pigeons, thomas. ifi talk to thomas scott. i love the pigeons, thomas. if i am honest, congratulations, i feel i am a little too close to them. yes, my whole idea... ithink little too close to them. yes, my whole idea... i think pigeons are very underrated birds and if we can get a unique perspective of these are very get a unique perspective of these are very common and get a unique perspective of these are very common and overlooked species, that can speak former volumes to us than your traditional short of a line—out in the savanna so short of a line—out in the savanna soido short of a line—out in the savanna so i do like the atmosphere and they mood it conveys. —— a lion out in the savannah. i do not understand how you can photograph so close

without disturbing them and them flying away, how does that all were? pigeons are quite tame birds already, but the ideas i set my camera up on a remote already, but the ideas i set my camera up on a remote trigger so i am still present, but i can trigger my camera wirelessly so i do not have to be in the area to disturb the pigeons are anything so ijust set up some seeds in front of the lens and waited for them to all coming to the shot and then two of them just started fighting in front of the lens and i was very fortunate to be able to capture that moment. fantastic. have you been enjoying photography more given at the peculiar year that we are all living through? yes, i think wildlife actually reminds us ofjust how we can find beauty in everything, certainly through lockdown i had a lot more opportunities to go out with my camera and reallyjust enjoy taking photos and appreciate the beauty of nature a lot more, for sure. thank you for introducing all of these images to us. really, really lovely. congratulations all of you, thank you very much indeed.

thomas scott, amy buck, jack kneale, winners in the rspca tight, young photographer competition at. we all need more of that and you get outside. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett it is well, when they also very wet in some areas, the main focus of the heavy rain remains across south wales, south england. we have this amber when burning. disruption travel likely. western parts of england into scotland sing rain. we get clearer spells and showers following on from the west. when the other night and as a result it will be mild, temperature eight to 10 degrees. tomorrow morning, we have rain clearing away, mid—morning four is in most parts of england. then sunny spells, bands of showers getting blown inland by some strong wind. heavier showers, getting blown inland by some strong wind. heaviershowers, more frequent showers across western parts of the uk. not quite as mild as today, but not bad temperatures around nine to

12 celsius. it will be a cooler start to sunday. sunshine and showers, most of those in the west, wet and windy weather in the north—west of scotland. elsewhere, and with the way of sunshine. a collodion sundae, but the winds will not be strong. —— a cooler day on sunday.

this is bbc news. the headlines: as covid's spread accelerates, there's growing pressure on ministers — with health leaders urging people to follow the tougher coronavirus restrictions. we are now at a really dangerous point and we are finding it difficult to get ambulances off—loaded because they have got no cubicles to put patients in and they have no cubicles to put patients into because there are no beds on the wards. borisjohnson says he can't rule out a third lockdown in england after christmas — because of a rise in coronavirus infections. we are hoping very much we will be able to avoid anything like that but the reality is, the rates of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks. and the r number across the uk has increased from 0.9—to—1,

to between 1.1 and 1.2 — it means the number of coronavirus cases is increasing rapidly. i didn't feel a thing. us vice president mike pence takes the pfizer coronavirus vaccine live in front of tv cameras as part of a safety information campaign. headteachers say the last—minute demand for testing of secondary school children across england is a shambles. a brief visit to the eu parliament for the uk's chief brexit negotiator, as the two sides continue to try and agree a post—brexit trade deal. like father like son — wayne rooney announces his 11 year old has signed with manchester united.

the reproduction rate of coronavirus is estimated to be growing again — a sharp reversal of the shrinkage seen during england's national lockdown. the r number now stands at 1.1 to 1.2 — that means that every 10 people will on average infect between 11 and 12 other people: increasing the spread of the virus. sage says this represents the average situation over the past few weeks rather than the situation now. it comes as health leaders warn if the pandemic isn't brought under control, hospitals will be overwhelmed. and as northern ireland join wales in announcing a post—christmas lockdown — the prime minister has not ruled out a third national lockdown in england. meanwhile, millions more people in england will move into tier 3 tomorrow. london and the east midlands have

now overtaken the north of england for the number of infections. 0ur health correspondent katharine de costa reports. gosport in hampshire, one of the areas in the south preparing to enter tier 3 from tomorrow, joining two thirds of england living under the highest level of restrictions. parts of the south—east, east of england and london are seeing a rapid rise in new infections and hospital admissions. health leaders are worried. they're faced with 10% fewer beds due to social distancing, staff off sick or self isolating, with some now having to cancel nonurgent operations even before we hit the peak winter months. we're now at a really dangerous point where we are finding it really difficult to get ambulances off—loaded. there are no cubicles to put patients into because there are no beds on the wards. all of that cycles back to, there's an ambulance outside in ed that can't go out to the next patient who needs it. latest official figures show cases were rising across the uk

in the week to last saturday, with infections now higher in london and the east midlands than in the north of the country. there have been stark warnings that mixing over the festive period could lead to a third wave. the four nations have agreed not to ban christmas but have each issued stricter guidance for smaller, shorter gatherings. to protect the nhs, northern ireland has announced it willjoin wales in starting a new lockdown after christmas. the whole system is 104% overcapacity and that has been consistent for the last few weeks. we've failed over the last eight weeks to make the harsh decisions and bring in the severe restrictions we needed, and as a result, the health service is being overwhelmed as we speak. the scottish government has also said tougher restrictions may be needed, and in england, the government has not ruled out another lockdown. 0bviously, we're hoping very much that we will be able to avoid anything like that, but the reality is that the rates

of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks. here, where i am in the north—west, in bolton, they have actually done a fantasticjob in bringing it down. with around 18,000 covid patients in hospitals across the uk, there is concern we could pass the peak of the first wave within weeks. the fear is too much mixing now could pile on the pressure in the new year, when hospitals are at their busiest. katharine de costa, bbc news. 0ur head of statistics robert cuffe is with me. let's robert cuffe is with me. start with the r number because let's start with the r number because it is disappointing, these new figures. the broader picture, how many people have it and where it is going, not great and probably getting worse, one in a hundred people probably have the virus at the moment, based on the infection survey that came out this morning, across great britain. the r number we have been discussing means that number is going to increase over the

coming weeks, probably doubling somewhere between every two and a half and every ten weeks, and how fast it is doubling depends where you are because the epidemic is going at different rates in different parts of the country. the r number is a uk wide number but it depends where you live, so what have you found out about the breakdown? the only part of the uk where they think the r might be below one is scotla nd think the r might be below one is scotland where hospitalisations are still coming down but cases have started to come back up again and infections are rising. that is a 50-50 infections are rising. that is a 50—50 picture, and if you go down to the south—east of england, cases are rising, and r above one or most definitely, so the r number tallies with what we have been hearing in the last couple of days, a big growth in wales and the south—east of england but a mixed picture elsewhere. we are heading towards christmas, so restrictions, and the word lockdown, and we have been reflecting on that announcement last

night from northern ireland, that is going into full lockdown from boxing day. there is a third number we should be looking at, how the hospital system can cope, because if you look at the first two the number of cases in northern ireland is half that in great britain, and the number of people going into hospital has been falling in recent weeks but that has to be read in the context with rising winter pressures, the hospital system is under immense pressure in northern ireland and thatis pressure in northern ireland and that is one of the big drivers of the decision the government has taken. to enact what michelle o'neill taken. to enact what michelle 0'neill called a draconian lockdown immediately after christmas. robert, thanks forjoining us. earlier i spoke to chris hopson — chief executive of nhs providers which represents hospital, community and ambulance services in england.

these latest figures are a real concern. what everybody in the nhs was hoping is that we would get a peak shaped like the first peak where once you had gone over the top of the hill, you came pretty rapidly down the hill and then you brought the case numbers right the way down but what has happened, we got a little down the hill but then they are starting to go up again and that is a real concern. we are talking about rapidly increasing numbers of cases but also hospital admissions, especially in london, the south—east and the east of england, and that is a real concern. there is no doubt that in terms of the people you represent, what they are saying, the pressure is there at every level, hospitals and the ambulance services? is it everywhere? absolutely. every single chief executive i've spoken to in the last ten days has said to me, it feels like winter, the peak of winter, when we know the nhs is at its most stretched,

people are saying they are under real pressure. the royal college of emergency medicine said we have significantly increased ambulance delays and increased numbers of people having to wait to get into a&e and we have hospitals doing their incredible best to keep going with elective surgery but having to cancel elective surgery because they have got so many people in their beds. don't forget, the real problem here is that we have 11,000 fewer beds this year compared to last year because of social distancing and we have now got 15,500 people covid patients in the remaining beds, so if you are 11,000 beds down already because of social distancing and 15,500 are occupied by covid patients, it is not surprising that the system where ever you look is coming under real, real pressure.

chris hopson, the chief executive of nhs providers. let's speak to the director in england of the royal college of nursing mike adams. would your members echo a lot of what we just heard? 10096. we are hearing the same from our front line staff and our members that are senior nurses within the health system, they are under intense pressure, at the end of an incredibly stressful and hard year. the implications of the virus continuing to spread at a point where we are at the busiest time of year or approaching the normal busiest time of year when members would say we barely cope, anyway, is significant and really worrying. december and january, very difficult times for the nhs in normal times with the likes of flu and so on, so what would your members say needs to happen? for them to keep going and

to keep providing services? the main ask at this moment in time from members is to the wider members of the public, around decisions they make over christmas, and every winter we highlight the pressure on the health service and i remember doing interviews like this in january and this year we have a pandemic on top of that. our members are clear, they want people to take this seriously and there will be a temptation to mix, the rule of red three families can be interpreted in different ways but the fact is, the more people mix, the more the virus can spread any more people could get seriously ill. this is peoples lives who are being seriously affected as well as pressure on the health system. what about the impact on

regular nursing and routine appointments and routine surgery? this is about people's quality of life, things like hip replacements, all those operations which can really change the quality of someone's life but perhaps are being delayed? you can't underestimate the significance of this and we would never seek to underestimate that. this has been as hard for the nursing profession to have to tell people and it has often been nurses who are ringing people to say that a treatment or an investigation can't go ahead, that has an emotional burden for the people that are being told this information but also the nursing staff themselves. it is an awful situation, no getting around that, and i think what we need to bearin that, and i think what we need to bear in mind, ultimately, the reason these decisions are having to be made is because of this virus, and whilst this virus continues to rise and continues to grow and spread, those are the decisions that will

have to be made because frankly there are not the staff to do all of there are not the staff to do all of the work. mike adams from the royal couege the work. mike adams from the royal college of nursing, thanks for joining us. let's look more closely at the situation in northern ireland now. its executive said there were very difficult times ahead and without drastic new measures the health service would be overwhelmed. nonessential shops in northern ireland will close from the end of trading on christmas eve in a bid to stop the spread of covid—19. ministers will review the measures after four weeks. close—contact services, such as hair salons, will have to shut, and pubs, cafes and restaurants will be restricted to takeaway services. announcing the lockdown, deputy minister michelle 0'neill said "the health service would be completely crushed injanuary if there wasn't an intervention now. " 0ur ireland correspondent chris page said the restrictions will be similar to what the country saw during the first lockdown in march. as you can see here in belfast city

centre, it feels pretty busy at the moment but in six days' time, it is all going to be pretty different. at close of trading on christmas eve, when the shops shut, they won't be reopening again until february, the lockdown decided on by the devolved government will last for six weeks and there will be a review after four. so, all hospitality businesses and leisure facilities will close, and close contact services like hairdressers will all be closed for that time. during the first week, the measures will be even tougher. the essential shops, the likes of supermarkets, will have to close at 8pm and people will be told to stay at home unless they have a very good reason not to, between 8pm and 6am. also, organised sport will be banned for that week running from boxing day to the 2nd of january. the devolved government has said it had no option but to bring in these measures. they have painted a very alarming picture of rising infection rates and hospitals under extreme pressure.

the deputy first minister, michelle 0'neill, said if the lockdown was not brought in, the health service would be completely crushed injanuary. independent retailers have said this will cost thousands more job losses and the hospitality industry has said many of its businesses won't make it out the other side but on the whole, speaking to people in belfast today, most of them say they recognise there is a huge problem here, and that a new lockdown is needed in order to save lives and protect the health service. chris page in belfast, there. and you can what the rules are in your area of the uk, by entering your postcode in our interactive tool — you can find it online at the bbc news website or on our app. the headlines on bbc news: as covid's spread accelerates, there's growing pressure on ministers — with health leaders urging people to follow the tougher coronavirus restrictions.

borisjohnson says he can't rule out a third lockdown in england after christmas because of a rise in coronavirus infections. ididn't i didn't feel a thing. us vice president mike pence takes the pfizer coronavirus vaccine live in front of tv cameras as part of a safety information campaign. head teachers and unions have criticised the government's plans to carry out mass covid testing in secondary schools in england. they say yesterday's announcement that most secondary pupils will study online for the first week of next term, while schools set up a testing scheme, has come too late. charlotte wright reports. it's the last week of term for pupils across the country, but as classmates wind down for christmas, teachers in england say they are scrambling to make arrangements for the government's new testing plan forjanuary.

we are still making sense of this whole thing at the moment. the rhetoric is very much battle of britain but the reality, i'm afraid, feels a bit more like dad's army. we tried to make sense of this this morning and we are hoping to make progress today and to make sure first and foremost that our families understand what's going to happen. the idea is that primary schools in england will go straight back on the first day of term but in secondary schools, only years 11 and 13 will be allowed into the classroom. the others will learn remotely, until the 11th of january, while schools set up a rapid covid testing scheme. are you expecting schools to reopen on the fourth or 5th ofjanuary? but the announcement was not made until thursday and appearing before the public accounts committee just hours earlier, the permanent secretary at the department for education was unable to give any details. it is ludicrous that we have, we are at the end of term, the final day for any school in england is tomorrow, and you are sitting here today and you can't tell us any more

detail about what might happen on the 4th or 5th ofjanuary next year. i entirely accept this is very difficult for people but... it's notjust difficult, it's impossible. today, teaching unions say making these arrangements will be a huge logistical effort. we've got a thousand children and they all have to be tested twice in the first week. where are we going to get those staff from? and some parents agree. it was sprung on us yesterday, so it is childcare in the new year, if both of them go back or if only one of them goes back, we don't know yet. working at home worked quite well, once we figured out how to do it, but i feel like year sevens, they won't really have settled into the high school environment.

a similar scheme has been announced for wales, where a full return to the classroom is expected by the 18th of january. the government is confident it will be a success. we are sure that 11 million lateral flow tests will be available in schools from the 4th of january next year, it is a massive logistical exercise. we are testing, as i said, 5.5 million secondary school students. this is a very good news story and it is all about making sure we can keep schools open. but with just hours left of the autumn term, some teachers and parents tell us they are sceptical. charlotte wright, bbc news. i am joined now by geoff barton who is general secretary of the association of school and college leaders. good afternoon. what have your members been feeding back to you since the announcement was made? they have been feeding back a mixture of emotions from disbelief to lots of questions, to, well, here

we go again with something being an ounce without the deal tales having being worked through, and many pa rents being worked through, and many parents will be alarmed —— something being announced without the details worked through. we are in favour of testing, this idea is a good idea, but please, let's do it properly and let's make it work. you think teachers could have made it work if there had been another one month and there had been another one month and there was time to prepare it all?|j think there was time to prepare it all?” think so, in so far as the most important aspect of it is that the pilots were run in various places and they were using clinically trained staff and the army. the idea from the 4th of january it would be staff in schools, so immediately we think, which staff have we got who could do this, the receptionist, the deputy caretaker, is this what they

signed up for? is it safe for them? we could have had people trained up who made everyone secure about it, but this, at this point in turn, with so many young people having finished yesterday, the logistics of informing parents about the arrangements for the start of term, getting their consent for this, it is simply too much, and what we are saying, we will regroup at the beginning of january and saying, we will regroup at the beginning ofjanuary and do the thing we know about, educating young people at home and in school, whilst the government thinks through properly the details of how this might work so we can move to testing those young people and staff in a proper and controlled way. you feel you can do the online learning element of it, and you could organise that and there is the issue around staggered starts depending on the age of the child and you could make that work, but what someone else needs to be sorting out is the actual vaccine side of things? else needs to be sorting out is the actual vaccine side of things7m else needs to be sorting out is the actual vaccine side of things? it is interesting, you talk about the

online learning because this is a week in which schools that have been, because they have not had enough staff, have talked about moving to more online learning, they have been criticised by the government, but now the government is making it the default for next term, a sign of the chaotic thinking going on here. in terms of the testing, we want reassurance that if we can find some staff in our school who are able to do this, that that is appropriate, but frankly our members are saying, our expertise is in education and we need people with expertise, in public health and medicine, to run a programme like this, they can use our facilities, of course, but let's have people who know precisely what they are doing because ultimately that will reassure pa rents because ultimately that will reassure parents and young people as well as everybody working in schools. when you say there aren't enough staff, why is that? the people we employ in schools are either teaching young people or teaching assistants or people working in the business and finance

in the canteen, i'll be going to say to them suddenly, we don't need the finances and food... —— are we going. the idea that we have got a surplus staff after ten years of austerity is another example of rather lazy thinking from the government which suggest we can stop what we're doing and do something which we are not experts in and where the risks are too high. thanks for joining where the risks are too high. thanks forjoining us. the us vice president mike pence has been vaccinated live on television. he's the most senior politician to receive the vaccine so far and it comes on the day the us approve its second coronavirus vaccine. both the pfizer vaccine and moderna vaccine can now be rolled out acorss the country. here is the vice president speaking about his vaccination. i especially want to thank the fine medical team at walter reed hospital that administered our vaccine today. i didn't feel a thing.

well done. and we appreciate your service to the country. you know, as the christmas holiday approaches, this is always a season of hope. we gather here today at the end of a historic week to affirm to the american people that hope is on the way. and karen and i were more than happy to step forward before this week was out to take this safe and effective coronavirus vaccine that we have secured and produced for the american people. it's a truly inspiring day. the eu's chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, has told the european parliament that talks about a trade deal with the uk have reached a "moment of truth". borisjohnson has said today that the talks are ‘looking difficult' — and has called on the eu to, ‘come to the table with something themselves'. jonathan blake reports.

the last steps towards the summit? the prime minister met engineering apprentices in bolton this morning as post brexit trade talks continued. for a deal to be done, he said the eu needed to compromise and make the next move. 0ur door is open. we will keep talking but i have to say that things are looking difficult and there's a gap that needs to be bridged. the uk has done a lot, i think, to try to help and we hope that our eu friends will see sense and come to the table with something themselves, and that is really where we are. first thing this morning, the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier gave the european parliament an update on the chances of a deal. his team was striving for an agreement, he said, but it was a serious and sombre situation. translation: it is

the moment of truth. we have very little time remaining, just a few hours. to work through these negotiations in a usefulfashion. if we want this agreement to enter into force on the 1st of january. there is a chance of getting an agreement but the path to such an agreement is very narrow. last night the prime minister again spoke to ursula von der leyen and they agreed again to keep talking. and still, fishing is a major sticking point, how much access can eu boats have to uk waters, and how much will they be allowed to catch? it's a tiny part of the overall economy but an issue that is politically potent for countries on both sides. parliament may have closed down for christmas but mps are on standby to return in person or remotely, to approve any agreements that emerge.

time is now very tight but there is still time, and while both sides are still talking, there is still the chance that a deal can be done. in the meantime, westminster and the uk waits to see what the brexit endgame will bring. jonathan blake, bbc news. more than 5,000 jobs are being created in the drive to speed up the uk's broadband networks. bt 0penreach says it needs the new staff as it steps up work on the £12 billion project. the recruitment drive includes 2,500 full—timejobs in 0penreach itself and many more positions in its uk supply chain. sony has stopped selling one of the most highly—anticipated video games of all time, just days after its release, because of technical problems. the company is offering a refund to anyone who's already bought cyberpunk 2077 — following complaints that it keeps crashing and freezing.

the issues have wiped more than a billion pounds off the value of the game's creator, cd projekt — which said it "should have paid more attention to making it play better". that is my favourite line of the day! genius, absolute genius. brilliant. at least you will get a refund. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. it's mild and windy and also very wet in some areas, the main focus of the heavy rain remains over south wales and south—west england and we have this amber rain warning from the met office. travel disruption is likely. other western areas seeing rain continuing through the evening and gradually the rain band pushes east and then we have clearer spells and showers following from the west. windy overnight, and as a result it will be mild, 8—10c. tomorrow morning we have rain to clear away by mid—morning from most eastern areas, and then we have sunny spells and bands of showers

being blown inland by strong winds and more frequent showers over more western parts of the uk. not as mild as today but not bad temperatures, around 9—12c. it will be a cooler start on sunday, and again we have sunshine and showers, most of those in the west and wetter and windier weather in scotland. elsewhere, more in the way of sunshine. a cooler day on sunday but the winds won't be as strong.

hello this is bbc news with jane hill. the headlines at 3.30pm: as covid's spread accelerates, health leaders warn of significant pressure on the nhs and urge people to follow the tougher coronavirus restrictions in many parts of the uk. we are now at a really dangerous

point and we are finding it really difficult to get ambulances off—loaded because they have got no cubicles to put patients and they have no cubicles to put patients into because there are no beds on the wards. borisjohnson says he can't rule out a third lockdown in england after christmas because of a rise in coronavirus infections. we are hoping very much we will be able to avoid anything like that but the reality is, the rates of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks. and the r number across the uk has increased from 0.9 to 1, to between 1.1 and 1.2 — it means the number of coronavirus cases is increasing rapidly. i didn't feel a thing. us vice president mike pence takes the pfizer coronavirus vaccine live in front of tv cameras as part of a safety information campaign. headteachers say the last—minute

demand for testing of secondary schoolchildren across england is a shambles. a brief visit to the eu parliament for the uk's chief brexit negotiator, as the two sides continue to try to reach a post—brexit trade deal. and the winners of the rspca young photographer awards are announced from 11,000 entries. sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's gavin. thank you very much indeed. the football association are not taking action over crowd related incidents at millwall and colchester this month where some supporters had booed players taking a knee before matches to highlight racial inequality and fight discrimination. the fa say they'll continue to monitor and investigate, if any incidents occur. it comes after footballers said they were overwhelmingly

in support of the gesture, in a survey by the players union. players stated they wanted to continue with "this act of solidarity" following recent protests by fans at millwall, colchester and cambridge united in the last fortnight. chemical giant ineos is expanding its sporting portfolio and becoming a one—third shareholder in the mercedes formula 1 team. they already have a cycling team, a sailing team and interests in football. it comes as toto wolff, the mercedes team principle remains in charge of the team for a further three years. he's signed a new deal with the world champions to increasee his holding in the team to a third aswell. the move reduces daimler‘s shareholding from 60% to create three equal partners. and is lewis hamilton also about to sign a new contract? well, mercedes tweeted hinting as much, with hamilton saying he plans and wants to be at the team next year. and to adelaide now, where 15 wickets fell on day two of the first test between australia and india as the world's top two

sides go head—to—head. early in the day, india were all out for 244 in their first innings, but australia didn't fare much better with the bat. ravi ashwin with four wickets including steve smith for one as they were dismissed for 191. india were back in the middle before close but lost prithvi shaw four, bowled by pat cummins. bowled by pat cummins. they'll resume day three on nine for one, a lead of 62. england's 2014 world cup—winning captain katy daley—mclean has retired from international rugby. the 34—year—old played in four world cups, leading the team to victory in paris six years ago. she also won nine six nations titles. mclean will continue in her player—coach role at sale sharks. she said the decision will let her spend more time with her family, including her 16—month—old daughter. when you see in black and white just how much time away, that is the first thing that struck me, but ijust thought

about what a world cup year looks like and requires and i have done four world cup cycles so i kind of know that you have got to be in it. basically, i kind of looked at it and thought, i don't want to be away from her this long and i don't want to do that any more. want to do this any more. three universities are calling for a ban on tackling in school rugby sessions. the sports and science academics from oxford brookes, newcastle and winchester have written to the uk's chief medical officer, asking for government action, to review the evidence that they say links participation in some contact sport to early onset dementia. the rfu say they work hard to manage the risk involved for young people in particular. a number of children are suffering serious risks of concussion each and every year within the school game, but the real problem is the fact it is a compulsory activity delivered for 76% of boys in england so they do not have a choice to do this, they are forced by their school, inevitably, to participate in contact rugby, and the outcomes

of that — of concussions, of injuries — are significant, and we know that it is the exposure to these repetitive head impacts that is the real problem, so our idea is if we remove it from the school game, allow people to have the choice, we are preventing some of that risk. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. thank you very much, see you soon. let's get more now on the news that the reproduction rate of coronavirus is estimated to be growing against across the uk. the r number now stands at between 1.1—1.2. health leaders have warned if the pandemic isn't brought under control, hospitals won't be able to cope. borisjohnson has refused to rule out a third national lockdown in the new year. the labour eader, sir keir starmer, said the government needs to work now to prevent the need for even tighter restrictions. nobody wants a third of lockdown. it is hugely damaging on health

grounds, but also for the economy. but i think most people will be sent to the prime minister, it is not a question of whether you or rule it out, what are you doing now to now to try to prevent it? we can see that the tier system is not working the way the prime minister promise, more people are going into the higher tiers, so it is not strong enough, gaps are still there so there is not support people to self—isolate. communication is all over the place, go to work, now don't go to work, eat out, no, don't eat out, have a small christmas. the simple question is, what are you doing now, prime minister, to prevent doing now, prime minister, to p reve nt a ny doing now, prime minister, to prevent any chance of a third lockdown? for you, the government should be much stronger on saying to people, do not see family over christmas? in fact, we will take those five days away if it means avoiding a national opt in if it means avoiding the national debt in january, when you remove the rights at christmas questioning he has got to toughen up other christmas, show

some leadership. people know what is going on, fearful that the nhs are going on, fearful that the nhs are going to get overrun and they do not 23rd lockdown, they want to prime minister her says these are the tough positions i have to make. the prime ministers not going to toughen up prime ministers not going to toughen up the region over christmas and i think most people can see we are heading for real problems so he has got to toughen up. those restrictions, easing them is going to be the next big mistake for the prime minister and rather than saying, i'm not to change the rules, it is over to you, families and community is, you take responsibility, that is not the act ofa responsibility, that is not the act of a prime minister. the prime minster should say, i will take the difficult decision, not hand them over to individuals. if you are the prime minister right now, what is that decision? what the message, the policy be a christmas? it would be, having looked at the figures in the last week, they're heading in the wrong direction, that is not where we wa nted wrong direction, that is not where we wanted to be and i'm afraid we're going to have to change the arrangement over christmas, we are

going to have to toughen up how often people can see each other, how long they can see each other. we do not actually work with the premise on this, because i think it would be one approach —— i think it should be one approach —— i think it should be one approach, but sitting back and watching the figures going the wrong direction, not when you change there was, it is up to you to try and interpret them. now there are five days, some detail your... interpret them. now there are five days, some detailyour... in wales, for example, they brought it down to two households, that seems a step in the right direction. might want to even talk about the numbers within a step in the right direction. might wa nt to step in the right direction. might want to even talk about the numbers within as he is under threat this pandemic, has been too slow to act. it is obvious we have a problem, it is obvious the nhs is struggling and we owe it to all those in the nhs, and actually to the health and economic future of the country, to ta ke economic future of the country, to take tough decisions. the labour leader, sir keir starmer. the two departments which manage the united states' nuclear stockpile

say that hackers have gained access to their networks. the us energy department and the national nuclear security administration are the latest government agencies known to have been targeted in a massive cyber attack. gordon corera reports. washington is reeling from a cyber espionage campaign whose scale keeps growing every day, as more and more organisations are found to have been compromised. it all began in march, when hackers got into a texas—based company called solarwinds, and implanted what's called a back door into the orion software, which it sells to its customers. the software was then installed by at least 18,000 customers around the world, including the us military, the state department, nasa, and the white house. this allowed the hackers to potentially steal data, like e—mails, over a period of months, before it was discovered in the last few weeks. it's now emerged that other targets

include the national laboratories and security team that looks after nuclear weapons — although there's no implication that the hackers could gain control over nuclear material. us sources say they believe the russian intelligence services are behind the highly sophisticated hack, although moscow has denied any part. my guess is this is going to get worse before it gets better. the fsb — the russian intelligence service — always use multiple layers of attacks. whether it's only bad or catastrophic will be... we'll know in time, but it's bad. microsoft have now said they have seen additional follow—on attacks on their customers — mainly in the us, but in at least one case in the uk. the uk's cyber security agency, the national cyber security centre, is urgently investigating how far the government, companies and organisations here may also have been hit. the full scale of the campaign is still unknown, and it may take

some time for that to become clear, but the concern will be that defences were not good enough, and the damage may be hard to estimate. gordon corera, bbc news. it is 3:42pm. now let's take a look at something we have not touched on recently. a new national rocket test facility is due to open soon. the centre is going to be based in westcott, in buckinghamshire, and will allow uk companies and academics to test state—of—the—art space propulsion engines. it is hoped the centre, dubbed the national space propulsion test facility, will help augment the country's status in the space industry. we can now speak to dr mathew palmer, the lead engineerfor the uk national space propulsion test facility, from the company nammo space. good afternoon. good afternoon.

explain why that is so exciting because it is something new for this country, as i understand it? it is absolutely something new. there are only a handful of these test facilities in the world. the space industry requires unrivalled reliability to achieve this, we need to test every engine before we deliberate our customers. of course, we would like to test in space like environments and we cannot obviously test in space so instead we replicate a little bit of the space environment here on earth. there is a new state—of—the—art facility will add to that selected a group around the world. it must be that, isn't it? it is smaller than you might think. it covers a reasonably large field but actually, it is all centred around a set of mechanical vacuum pumps and these operate any similar way to the vacuum cleaners, but on a mammoth scale. the problem we have is engines are really hot, they produce incredibly large amounts of gas, which is very hot

and travelling incredibly fast so we have to work out a way of slowing down those gases, cooling them down so that the vacuum pumps can do theirjob and pull them out of the system as fast as we generate the gas. wow. so all of this will go on there. so up until, it opens next year, i should explain. that has the plan. up until now, if british scientists are researchers wanted to do this sort of testing, they had to go to other countries. effectively, they had to take their business elsewhere questioning absolutely. they had to take their business elsewhere questioning absolutelym we have been working with companies around the world to be able to do these testings and to be able to bring it back into the uk is massively helpful and, importantly, speeds up the development of new engines. nowadays, we are in a position where we had a huge market share, the uk, it has a space industry worth billions to the uk economy. and we need to continue to push that forward. and to do that, having those test facilities nearby so that we can develop and be at the

forefront of our field makes all the difference. and it's not about getting, i don't know, you tell me, about getting to the murder more frequently, getting to the international space station? is it about —— getting to the moon more frequently or spaced were generally questioning we will be powering the next generation of gps satellites and we also detailed munication satellites. we provide a tv and broadband services all of the world through our engines. the future is fantastic and, in fact, we are lucky enough to have already been to a few other planets around the world, so we have gone to places like mercury, mars, jupiter and the moon. we want to continue doing that in the future and these test facilities will help us achieve that. that is so interesting. thank you so much, doctor matthew palmer. now you have

played a huge role when it opens next year, perhaps we can talk again. we will come along to the lodge, i hope. —— the launch, the opening. doctor matthew palmer there. it is just after quarter to four. the headlines on bbc news... as covid's spread accelerates, there's growing pressure on ministers, with health leaders urging people to follow the tougher coronavirus restrictions. borisjohnson says he can't rule out a third lockdown in england after christmas because of a rise in coronavirus infections. i didn't feel a thing. us vice president mike pence takes the pfizer coronavirus vaccine live in front of tv cameras as part of a safety information campaign. we set

people in hospital with coronavirus should be offered a follow—up appointment after six weeks to check for symptoms of so—called long covid, according to new guidance given to doctors. it's thought about! in 10 patients could be struggling to shake off symptoms including shortness of breath, joint pain and dizziness for more than three months. 0ur health reporter, jim reed has more. tess waring fell sick in the first wave of the virus. it took months for her to get her strength back. even now, she sometimes struggles for breath. it's eight months since i caught this, you always think in life, things always change anyway, so sometimes you are thinking, is this just part of growing older? but, fundamentally, no, ifeel change in that, like, my breathing is much more of an issue than it used to be. the tiredness has been much more intense. it's thought about one in ten patients with the virus may develop what is known as long covid, lasting for more than 12 weeks. new guidance for doctors today, lists 28 possible symptoms from fatigue and nausea, through to chest pain and dizziness.

it seems to hit all age groups including young people, people who sometimes just get a mild infection with covid, although people who have a more severe infection are more likely to get it. we know it happens more often in people who have got pre—existing health conditions like diabetes or heart disease, but we don't really understand why some people seem to get it, and some people don't. the new guidance says patients should now be offered a follow—up consultation if they have been in hospital or they have symptoms lasting longer than eight weeks. they can then be referred on for rehabilitation if needed. those with breathing problems should be offered a chest x—ray to check for lung damage. people suffering with the condition say early diagnosis and treatment is key. i do believe that the help is imperative, for people to understand how to manage their symptoms, for sure, so if everyone could get that sort

of help, that would be amazing. the nhs said it is spending £10 million on more than 60 new long covid clinics in england. doctors, though, say more funding is likely to be needed to deal with the long—term impact of the disease. jim reed, bbc news. now — let's take a look at three of the winners in the rspca young photographer competition, which attracted more than 11 thousand entries. this lamb diving from a haybale is called boa. she belongs to molly tolson who's 14 and who managed to catch her mid—leap. this is the winner of the picture perfect pet category. i love that. we will hear about that cat any moment. and the squabbling pigeons behind me also picked up a prize — we'll hear from the photographers behind them, and the overall winner, in a moment. but first let's take a look at some

of the other winning entries. first of the photos taken on a mobile phone, the under 12 is winner wilfred made a mint took this picture of his dog buda, after she snuck onto the sofa. this was taken import meadow in oxford, winning the 16 to 18 euros category. tess easterbrook who is ten took this photo in suffolk and earned her the under 12 spies. weeks of persistence paid off for ellis 0wen, who is 15. he got this brilliant shot on the river and town in hampshire. this is lucky, the whippet. 13 world elizabeth lee says she has her best friend. lucky follows her everywhere and apparently always wants to pose for the camera. there is a one at the instagrammer world. the overall winner was jake kneale who, by using

a camera trap set cut this image of the roe deer ducking its head to pass through a farm gate. let's talk to jake kneale, amy back and tom arscott. —— amy bi buck. excellent how you captured this? that is my camera and a motion sensor and then a series of fascias andi sensor and then a series of fascias and i built waterproof boxes panel and i built waterproof boxes panel and they talk to each other wi relessly and they talk to each other wirelessly and when an animal walk—through, hopefully, facing towards the camera and notjust getting its backside, it all fires off and you get the picture, hopefully. did you get a lot of pictures of backsides that you had

to discard? i am afraid i did not get a lot of pictures of anything, really. it is really challenging to get anything. it has taken months to get anything. it has taken months to get one or two photos i am really happy with, but there are a few buttons in there too. well, lovely persistence. how did you fancy your chances of winning because, as we say, more than 11,000 entries so thatis say, more than 11,000 entries so that is a real achievement stop i am delighted, absolutely delighted.” have been entering this competition for a few years and to get the overall is fabulous. i do not enter competitions expecting anything, i just like them as a way ofjudging my progress and kind of choosing the best pictures every so often so yeah, i was blown away. absolutely delighted. you have obviously been doing photography for a few years then. is it particularly animals, wildlife and countryside that interests you or is less about, a

reflection of lockdown and this being a kind of different year, you wa nted being a kind of different year, you wanted to be outdoors? how did this come about? yeah, it has always been at the outdoors. i feel a really strong connection to the outdoors and at the outdoors. i feel a really strong connection to the outdoors and the natural world. yeah, wildlife, landscapes, lucky to live in the countryside so i was able to keep on doing it tim lockdown, which was great. sounds and your spots. we are glad you did. jake, thank you.

i'm going to talk to amy as well. i love the title you gave your black cat photo because you called it half vampire. please explain a little more about that. well, we have had a cat for a few years and we adopted him from an rspca centre site is quite fitting that he was the subject of this photo. we just fell in love with him because of the two little things that are poking out. when i was taking this photo, it just by chance happened that we got one photo with half of his face lit little find tooth lit up and it reflected half of his face. is he a skinny little cat is he quite sweet? absolutely not. he is the complete opposite of what that photo makes him look like. he is attention seeking, always meowing, wanting attention from us so literally the complete opposite of what he looks like. have you been practising photography for a long time as well? no. idid photography for a long time as well? no. i did a little bit of film photography since last summer so the old style manual focusing and things like that, but no, i brought my first digital camera just at the start of lockdown

soi camera just at the start of lockdown so i really am just a beginner who happened to take a good photo. and i just omitted it into the competition and the rest is history. 0h, just omitted it into the competition and the rest is history. oh, wow, so that has a proper lockdown, covid success. congratulations, ma. that is really fantastic. lovely to speak to you. let's also talk to tom arscott. i love the pigeons, —— thomas scott. i feel like arscott. i love the pigeons, —— thomas scott. ifeel like i arscott. i love the pigeons, —— thomas scott. i feel like i am a little too close to them. my whole idea, i think pigeons are a very underrated bird. ifeel idea, i think pigeons are a very underrated bird. i feel if we can get a unique perspective of these are very get a unique perspective of these are very common and get a unique perspective of these are very common and often overlooked species, that can speak former volumes to us than your kind of traditional shot of a line—out on savanna so traditional shot of a line—out on savanna so i do like the atmosphere and it conveys. —— lion out on the savannah. i don't understand how you can photograph so close without disturbing them and them flying away. how does that work? pigeons are quite tame birds already, but

the idea is i set my camera up on a remote trigger so i am present, but ican remote trigger so i am present, but i can trigger my camera wirelessly so i can trigger my camera wirelessly soido i can trigger my camera wirelessly so i do not have to be in the area to disturb the pigeons or anything so to disturb the pigeons or anything soi to disturb the pigeons or anything so ijust set up some seats in front of the lens and wait for them all to come in to the shot and then tour them just started fighting in front of the lens and i was very fortunate to be able to capture that moment. fantastic. have you been enjoying photography more given that the peculiar year that we are all living through? i think my actually reminds us through? i think my actually reminds usjust how we can through? i think my actually reminds us just how we can find through? i think my actually reminds usjust how we can find beauty in everything and certainly through lockdown i had more opportunities to go out with my camera and i really just enjoy it, taking photos and appreciating the beauty of nature more, for sure. well, thank you for introducing all of these images to us. really, really lovely. congratulations all of you. thank you very much indeed, thomas scott, amy buck and jake kneale.

congratulations, winners in the title rspca young photographers competition. isn't it nice to have something else to talk about and something else to talk about and something chidi? let's have a look at the weather prospects. the latest details from darin. it is very mild today, also windy and for some parts of the country went as well. there theory of cloud bringing the wetter weather into parts of the uk, the weather front is not moving far today so it stays wet in scotland, wales and western parts of england. the focus of the heavy rain will be across south wales and south—west england and we have this amber rain running from the office, travel disruption and flooding likely. these were the two main areas of heavy rain, over the higher ground. dartmoor, the brecon beacons will see 100 millimetres, four inches by the end of the day. that wet weather around in the same area only the way up into eastern scotla nd only the way up into eastern scotland this evening. gradually, it will push more towards eastern england, allowing clear spells and showers not just

england, allowing clear spells and showers notjust to return to northern ireland, but scotland, wales and western parts of england. it will be when the other night and asa it will be when the other night and as a result, it will be mild. temperatures eight to 10 degrees. into the weekend, things look a little different. it will be the case of sunny spells and scattered showers this weekend. the valley met eireann heavy persistent rain that we are seeing now will push away and showers get drawn in that area and gradually the air will get cooler as at the weekend goes on. we having to clear away from easternmost parts of england by mid—morning tomorrow and thenit england by mid—morning tomorrow and then it is sunshine and bands of showers coming in, showers murphy couldn't have it out to the west, but more showers will get blown england because it will be a windy day, particularly around the heavy showers. it will be a quite mild day on saturday. not as mild as today, but still temperature range of nine to 10 degrees. thing is feeling off

as we can guzzle, early sunday as cool as a further five or 6 degrees. a case of sunshine and showers on sunday, most of the showers across western areas, some wetter, windier weather in the north—west of scotland. elsewhere, more anywhere sunshine, they wind these down, it will be cooler on sunday. and then we have cloud and rain arriving in the south—west during the evening. 0ne the south—west during the evening. one area of low pressure bringing a wet and windy weather overnight into monday, another weighting in the wings before it turns a drier in most areas, but colder by christmas.

this is bbc news. the headlines: as covid's spread accelerates, health leaders warn of significant pressure on the nhs and urge people to follow the tougher coronavirus restrictions in many parts of the uk. we're now at a really dangerous point and we are finding it difficult to get ambulances off—loaded because they have got no cubicles to put patients in and they have no cubicles to put patients into because there are no beds on the wards. borisjohnson now says he can't rule out a third lockdown in england after christmas. we are hoping very much we will be able to avoid anything like that but the reality is, the rates of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks. and the r number across the uk has

increased, another indication of the rapid rise in covid cases. also on the programme... i didn't feel a thing. the us vice president mike pence gets his coronavirus vaccine shot on live tv as part of a safety information campaign. here, headteachers say the last—minute demand for testing of secondary schoolchildren across england is a shambles. a brief visit to the eu parliament for the uk's chief brexit negotiator, as the two sides continue to try to hammer out a trade deal. like father like son — wayne rooney announces his 11 year old has signed with manchester united. and the winners of the rspca young photographer awards are announced — from 11,000 entries.

good afternoon. the reproduction rate of coronavirus is estimated to be rising again — a sharp reversal of the shrinkage seen during england's national lockdown. the r number now stands at 1.1 to 1.2 — that means that every 10 people will on average infect between 11 and 12 other people: increasing the spread of the virus. the government's advisory committee sage says this represents the average situation over the past few weeks rather than the situation now. it comes as health leaders warn if the pandemic isn't brought under control, hospitals will be overwhelmed. and as northern ireland join wales in announcing a post—christmas lockdown — the prime minister has not ruled out a third national lockdown in england. meanwhile, millions more people in england will move into tier 3 tomorrow; london and the east midlands have now overtaken the north of england for the number of infections.

0ur health correspondent katharine de costa reports. gosport in hampshire, one of the areas in the south preparing to enter tier 3 from tomorrow, joining two thirds of england living under the highest level of restrictions. parts of the south—east, east of england and london are seeing a rapid rise in new infections and hospital admissions. health leaders are worried. they're faced with 10% fewer beds due to social distancing, staff off sick or self isolating, with some now having to cancel we're now at a really dangerous point where we are finding it really difficult to get ambulances off—loaded. there are no cubicles to put patients into because there are no beds on the wards. all of that cycles back to, there's an ambulance outside in ed that can't go out to the next patient who needs it. latest official figures show cases

were rising across the uk in the week to last saturday, with infections now higher in london and the east midlands than in the north of the country. there have been stark warnings that mixing over the festive period could lead to a third wave. the four nations have agreed not to ban christmas but have each issued stricter guidance for smaller, shorter gatherings. to protect the nhs, northern ireland has announced it willjoin wales in starting a new lockdown after christmas. the whole system is 104% overcapacity and that has been consistent for the last few weeks. we've failed over the last eight weeks to make the harsh decisions and bring in the severe restrictions we needed, and as a result, the health service is being overwhelmed as we speak. the scottish government has also said tougher restrictions may be needed, and in england, the government has not ruled out another lockdown. 0bviously, we're hoping very much that we will be able to avoid anything like that, but the reality is that the rates of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks.

here, where i am in the north—west, in bolton, they have actually done a fantasticjob in bringing it down. with around 18,000 covid patients in hospitals across the uk, there is concern we could pass the peak of the first wave within weeks. the fear is too much mixing now could pile on the pressure in the new year, when hospitals are at their busiest. katharine de costa, bbc news. chris hopson is chief executive of nhs providers which represents hospital, community and ambulance services in england. he says the nhs is under immense pressure at the moment. every single chief executive i've spoken to in the last ten days has said to me, it feels like winter, the peak of winter, when we know the nhs is at its most stretched, people are saying they are under real pressure.

the royal college of emergency medicine said we have significantly increased ambulance handover delays and increased numbers of people having to wait to get into a&e and we have hospitals doing their incredible best to keep going with elective surgery but having to cancel elective surgery because they have got so many people in their beds. don't forget, the real problem here is that we have 11,000 fewer beds this year compared to last year because of social distancing and we have now got 15,500 people covid patients in the remaining beds, so if you are 11,000 beds down already because of social distancing and 15,500 are occupied by covid patients, it is not surprising that the system where ever you look is coming under real, real pressure. chris hopson, the chief executive of nhs providers. dr daniele bryden is the vice dean at the faculty of intensive care medicine.

what are you coming across now which is suggesting it is especially difficult at the moment? we have data on intensive care beds and the kind of patience occupying those beds and we have seen an increase in the number of admissions relating directly to covid, and we are at a position where we are also trying to keep going with other nhs activities and catch up with the backlog from the summit so there is a pressure on intensive care beds up and down the country —— from the summer. intensive care beds up and down the country -- from the summer. can you cope? we always have pressure in the winter, anyway, but at the moment this is considerable pressure, or than we would normally see at this time of year, and as has already been mentioned, we have the additional complexity of separating patients that have come into

hospital with covid from those that don't have it and that does impact on how we use beds and how we can get patients through various parts of the hospitals. do you think things will get worse because of the relaxation over christmas? everybody understands that people want to see theirfamilies understands that people want to see their families and loved understands that people want to see theirfamilies and loved ones over christmas and a lot of people have felt isolation this year, it's been a real issue for them, but we would wa nt a real issue for them, but we would want people to be very vigilant about the fact that covid has not gone away and we do have an ongoing duty to stop the spread and we need to protect people who are vulnerable and make sure we follow the rules and make sure we follow the rules and we think about hands, face and space and we try as much as we can to keep the transmission of covid down. is it a mistake to relax the rules from what you have seen? where we are at at the moment, we are looking after patients that come to us whether they have covid or other needs, we just want to make sure

that we can accommodate everybody who comes to critical care over the next few weeks, so everybody has a small part to play in making sure that we can treat everybody who needs intensive care. is it looking as if we are going to be entering potentially after christmas a third lockdown in england? we are looking at our beds and our usage of beds and we are trying to support each other and there is units are trying to support each other with their geographical proximity to make sure we maximise the bed usage but really those decisions are not directly health care decisions. we are focusing on making sure that people have the care they need. you are boxing as it were, using beds in different areas to help different areas, but from the evidence you have seen and the rise in infection rates, from the rising r number, as

well, is the third lockdown sensible? we have all got the ability to impact the spread of covid and we can do that by making sure we obey the rules and keep the transmission down and because that is the most effective way of making sure that intensive care beds are available for people who need them over the next few weeks. the nightingale hospitals could be up and running, as well, that could alleviate pressure? we are looking at intensive care beds and we are looking at the intensive care beds that are within nhs hospitals and we have capacity built in to that. we did a lot of work in making sure that hospitals help each other in terms of resources whether that be equipment or moving patients between hospitals if their care was appropriate to move to another hospital so that is the way we are

planning to use the resource over the next few weeks. the other problem with the nightingale hospitals apart from getting them up and running as soon as possible, is that you need staff to help run them and if they are rushed off their feetin and if they are rushed off their feet in established hospitals already, that will be difficult? we don't have any more staff, that is true, and we haven't had any more staff over the course of the year since the first wave, really, but what we are doing very much is making sure that staff keep healthy mentally and physically and making sure we have good staff testing in place so people are able to come back to work if they don't have any symptoms of covid, so we are doing our best to make sure that we are keeping our staff at work where they wa nt to keeping our staff at work where they want to be. we will leave it there. thanks forjoining us.

the labour leader, sir keir starmer says the government needs to work now to prevent the need for even tighter restrictions. nobody wants a third lockdown. it is hugely damaging on health grounds but also for the economy but i think most people will say to the prime minister, it's not a question of whether you rule it in or out, what are you doing now to prevent it? we can see that the tiered system is not working the way the prime minister promised, and more people are going into higher tiers so it is not strong enough and the gaps are still there and there is not the support there for people to self—isolate and the communication is all over the place. go to work, don't go to work, eat out, don't eat out, have a christmas, have a small christmas, so whether the prime minister ruled it out or not is the central question, the question is, what are you doing to prevent the chance of a third lockdown? you think the government should be a bit

stronger about saying not to see people over christmas if it means avoiding a national lockdown? would you remove the right for the prime minister to give people relaxation over christmas? he has got to toughen up and show leadership, people know what is going on and they fear for the nhs is people know what is going on and they fearfor the nhs is going to be overrun and they don't want a third lockdown. they want a prime minister who can say the tough decisions. what you toughen up? he's not going to toughen up the regime over christmas but most people can say that we are heading for real problem so he has got to toughen up easing the restrictions is going to be the next big mistake for the prime minister, and rather than saying, i'm not going to change the rules, it is over to families and communities, you take responsibility, that is not the act ofa responsibility, that is not the act of a prime minister. the prime minister should take the difficult decisions are not hand them over to individuals. what is the decision if

you were the prime minister? the message would be, having looked at the figures in the last week, they are heading in the wrong direction, thatis are heading in the wrong direction, that is not where we wanted to be and i'm afraid we're going to have to change the over christmas and we are going to have to toughen up how often people can see each other and for how long they can see each other, and we would have to work with the prime minister on this because it would be better if there is one approach, but not to sit back and watch the figures go in the wrong direction and say, i'm not going to change the rules, but it is over to you to decide how you want to interpret them. what about the five days? in wales they have brought it down to two households which seems a step in the right direction and maybe we can talk about the numbers within the household but what we can't have is a prime minister who as he has done throughout the pandemic, has been too slow to act, and it was obvious we have got a problem, and it is obvious the nhs is struggling, and we owe it to everyone in the nhs and

to the health and economic future of the country, to take tough decisions. keir starmer there. let's look more closely at the situation in northern ireland now — its executive said there were very difficult times ahead and without drastic new measures the health service would be overwhelmed. nonessential shops in ni will close from the end of trading on christmas eve in a bid to stop the spread of covid—19. ministers will review the measures after four weeks. close—contact services, such as hair salons, will have to shut and pubs, cafes and restaurants will be restricted to takeaway services. announcing the lockdown — deputy minister michelle 0'neill said, "the health service would be completely crushed injanuary if there wasn't an intervention now. " 0ur ireland correspondent chris page said the restrictions will be similar to what the country saw during the first lockdown in march. as you can see here in belfast city centre, it feels pretty busy at the moment but in six days' time, it is all going to be pretty different. at close of trading on christmas eve, when the shops shut, they won't be reopening again until february, the lockdown decided

on by the devolved government will last for six weeks and there will be a review after four. so, all hospitality businesses and leisure facilities will close, and close contact services like hairdressers will all be closed for that time. during the first week, the measures will be even tougher. the essential shops, the likes of supermarkets, will have to close at 8pm and people will be told to stay at home unless they have a very good reason not to, between 8pm and 6am. also, organised sport will be banned for that week running from boxing day to the 2nd of january. the devolved government has said it had no option but to bring in these measures. they have painted a very alarming picture of rising infection rates and hospitals under extreme pressure. the deputy first minister, michelle 0'neill, said if the lockdown was not brought in, the health service would be completely crushed injanuary. independent retailers have said this will cost thousands more job losses and the hospitality industry has said many of its businesses won't make it out the other side but on the whole, speaking to people in belfast today, most of them say they recognise there is a huge problem here, and that a new lockdown is needed

in order to save lives and protect the health service. chris page in belfast, there. and you can find out what the rules are in your area of the uk, by entering your postcode in our interactive tool — you can find it online at the bbc news website or on our app. head teachers and unions have criticised the government's plans to carry out mass covid testing in secondary schools in england. they say yesterday's announcement that most secondary pupils will study online for the first week of next term, while schools set up a testing scheme, has come too late. charlotte wright reports. it's the last week of term for pupils across the country, but as classmates wind down for christmas, teachers in england say they are scrambling to make arrangements for the government's new testing plan forjanuary.

we are still making sense of this whole thing at the moment. the rhetoric is very much battle of britain but the reality, i'm afraid, feels a bit more like dad's army. we tried to make sense of this this morning and we are hoping to make progress today and to make sure first and foremost that our families understand what's going to happen. the idea is that primary schools in england will go straight back on the first day of term but in secondary schools, only years 11 and 13 will be allowed into the classroom. the others will learn remotely, until the 11th of january, while schools set up a rapid covid testing scheme. are you expecting schools to reopen on the fourth or 5th ofjanuary? but the announcement was not made until thursday and appearing before the public accounts committee just hours earlier, the permanent secretary at the department for education was unable to give any details. it is ludicrous that we have, we are at the end of term, the final day for any school in england is tomorrow,

and you are sitting here today and you can't tell us any more detail about what might happen on the 4th or 5th ofjanuary next year. i entirely accept this is very difficult for people but... it's notjust difficult, it's impossible. today, teaching unions say making these arrangements will be a huge logistical effort. we've got a thousand children and they all have to be tested twice in the first week. where are we going to get those staff from? and some parents agree... it was sprung on us yesterday, so it is childcare in the new year, if both of them go back or if only one of them goes back, we don't know yet. working at home worked quite well, once we figured out how to do it, but i feel like year sevens, they won't really have settled into the high school environment. a similar scheme has been announced for wales, where a full return to the classroom

is expected by the 18th of january. the government is confident it will be a success. we are sure that 11 million lateral flow tests will be available in schools from the 4th of january next year, it is a massive logistical exercise. we are testing, as i said, 5.5 million secondary school students. this is a very good news story and it is all about making sure we can keep schools open. but with just hours left of the autumn term, some teachers and parents tell us they are sceptical. charlotte wright, bbc news. anita ellis is the headteacher at royal wootton bassett academy. thanks forjoining us. tell me, when did you find out that you were going to have to implement this testing regime? yesterday afternoon. what do

you think about that? on top of trying to run a school in a normal way in very abnormal times, this added to stress levels that really we have not come across. i became a head teacher at easter and i've really enjoyed my time as head teacher since easter, i have a wonderful staff, but yesterday evening i had my first really big wobble over this and i feel it's unacceptable, the level of time and notice that we have had, and today we received training regarding timetables and frankly it has an the questions we have, we still have those doubts and concerns —— frankly it hasn't answered the questions we have. to describe this as a good news story, and while we think mass testing is a great thing, but it has

to be done with us and safely and it is causing staff and inaudible amount of stress and pressure. are you going to be able to get in place the testing regime within the time that seems to have been allocated? no. i received a letterfrom the local authority, and the local authority have been fantastic throughout the whole pandemic, com pletely throughout the whole pandemic, completely supporting schools in wiltshire and we received a letter from them after 12 today bearing in mind that most schools finished at 1230 today, and we received a letter which stated we would be looking at this in january and which stated we would be looking at this injanuary and we discussed as a trust, we discussed last night that we would be looking at this on the 4th of january, and our staff are on their knees and they need a break. so does the leadership team and quite frankly so desire —— so do i. what is your christmas going to

be like none you have got to sort this out before you go back to work? —— knowing you have got to sort this out. this is the thing, we never truly leave education, half term, summer holidays, they never happen. but we are constantly thinking about safeguarding concerns and what we need to do for monday or after the weekend and after the holiday, you never truly leave that, and we are already planning, i know of head teachers who will be going back to school on monday, for example, in the middle of half term, and i'm receiving e—mails right now from pa rents receiving e—mails right now from parents who are talking about their key worker situation status for that monday, it is a constantjob, and since march it has been a constant role with very little break. what we have done at the academy here is make sure that the staff will not be concerned about this and i've told them to switch off their e—mails and it's a small team of individuals who are manning those e—mails right now.

you said you had a wobble after getting this news, what do you mean by that? the wobble is, you start to doubt and you start to think can do this? of doubt and you start to think can do this? of course i can, i got an amazing team and an amazing wife who supports me, we are really well supported, and as a profession we come together and there is real solidarity on this, but there are times when you think can we make this happen? i want to do my very best, we understand the importance of mass testing and we want to get that right, and we always want to do a good job in education and we are co nsta ntly a good job in education and we are constantly self reflecting. we want to do this right, so my wobble was really about, can we do this, how do we deliver this? all of these questions. we will leave it there. thanks forjoining us. some breaking news.

we note the force in greater manchester has been put into special measures and now hearing that the chief constable is standing down from greater manchester police. this is the statement from ian hopkins, he says these are challenging times and there is a long—term strategic plan to address the issues raised by her majesty's inspectorate and he believes the plan should be led by a chief constable who can oversee it from start to finish. considering what is best for greater manchester police and the communities we serve and giving his current ill—health he says he has decided to stand down from the post of chief constable with immediate effect. we know that the chief constable has suffered from an inner ear infection which

affects his balance and he has been dealing with this affliction since the end of october, so because of ill health and potentially the situation concerning his force going into special measures, the chief co nsta ble of into special measures, the chief constable of greater manchester ian hopkins has announced that he is stepping down. the us vice president mike pence has been vaccinated live on television. he's the most senior politician to receive the vaccine so far — and it comes on the day the us approved its second coronavirus vaccine. both the pfizer vaccine and moderna vaccine can now be rolled out across the country. here is the vice president speaking about his vaccination. i especially want to thank the fine medical team at walter reed hospital that administered our vaccine today. i didn't feel a thing. well done. and we appreciate your service to the country. you know, as the christmas holiday approaches, this is always a season of hope.

we gather here today at the end of a historic week to affirm to the american people that hope is on the way. and karen and i were more than happy to step forward before this week was out to take this safe and effective coronavirus vaccine that we have secured and produced for the american people. it's a truly inspiring day. mike pence there. the eu's chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, has told the european parliament that talks about a trade deal with the uk have reached a "moment of truth". borisjohnson has said today that the talks are ‘looking difficult‘ — and has called on the eu to, ‘come to the table with something themselves‘. jonathan blake reports. the last steps towards the summit? the prime minister met engineering apprentices in bolton this morning as post brexit trade talks continued. for a deal to be done, he said the eu needed to compromise

and make the next move. 0ur door is open. we will keep talking but i have to say that things are looking difficult and there‘s a gap that needs to be bridged. the uk has done a lot, i think, to try to help and we hope that our eu friends will see sense and come to the table with something themselves, and that is really where we are. first thing this morning, the eu‘s chief negotiator michel barnier gave the european parliament an update on the chances of a deal. his team was striving for an agreement, he said, but it was a serious and sombre situation. translation: it is the moment of truth. we have very little time remaining, just a few hours. to work through these negotiations

in a usefulfashion. if we want this agreement to enter into force on the 1st of january. there is a chance of getting an agreement but the path to such an agreement is very narrow. last night the prime minister again spoke to ursula von der leyen and they agreed again to keep talking. and still, fishing is a major sticking point, how much access can eu boats have to uk waters, and how much will they be allowed to catch? it‘s a tiny part of the overall economy but an issue that is politically potent for countries on both sides. parliament may have closed down for christmas but mps are on standby to return, in person or remotely, to approve any agreements that emerge. time is now very tight but there is still time, and while both sides are still talking, there is still the chance that a deal can be done. in the meantime, westminster and the uk waits to see what the brexit endgame will bring.

jonathan blake, bbc news. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with darren bett. it‘s mild and windy and also very wet in some areas, the main focus of the heavy rain remains over south wales and south—west england and we have this amber rain warning from the met office. travel disruption is likely. other western areas seeing rain continuing through the evening and gradually the rain band pushes east and then we have clearer spells and showers following from the west. windy overnight, and as a result it will be mild, 8—10c. tomorrow morning we have rain to clear away by mid—morning from easternmost areas, and then we have sunny spells and bands of showers being blown inland by strong winds and more frequent showers over more western parts of the uk. not as mild as today but not bad temperatures, around 9—12c. it will be a cooler start on sunday, and again we have sunshine and showers, most of those

in the west and wetter and windier weather in scotland. elsewhere, more in the way of sunshine. a cooler day on sunday but the winds won‘t be as strong. hello this is bbc news with clive myrie. the headlines: as the spread of covid accelerates there‘s growing pressure on the government, with health leaders urging people to strictly follow coronavirus rules. we are talking about rapidly increasing numbers of cases but also hospital admissions, particularly in london, the south—east and east of england and that is a real concern. borisjohnson now says he can‘t rule out a third lockdown in england after christmas. we are hoping very much we will be able to avoid anything like that but the reality is, the rates of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks.

and the r number across the uk has increased, another indication of the rapid rise in covid cases. i didn‘t feel a thing. us vice president mike pence takes the pfizer coronavirus vaccine live in front of tv cameras as part of a safety information campaign. headteachers say the last—minute demand for testing of secondary schoolchildren across england is a shambles. a brief visit to the eu parliament for the uk‘s chief brexit negotiator as the two sides continue to try and agree a post—brexit trade deal. ian hopkins, the chief constable of greater manchester police, is standing down with immediate effect. he says he‘d considered the best interests of the force, as well as his ill health, in making his decision. and the winners of the rspca young photographer awards are announced from 11,000 entries.

sport centre, here‘s gavin. hi, there. newcastle head coach steve bruce fears two of his players are suffering from long—term covid—19. he‘s revealed the pair will remain out of action for a while — following the recent outbreak at the club. it forced newcastle to shut their training ground for more than a week while their game at aston villa was postponed earlier this month. certainly, a couple of the players in particular, it has had a damaging effect, so it will not be a week or two, it will be longer than that. so we will just two, it will be longer than that. so we willjust have to accept it and in mind, of course, is the well—being of the players, too. we‘re not just well—being of the players, too. we‘re notjust talking about well—being of the players, too. we‘re not just talking about an injury, a calf strain, we are talking about the virus, which u nfortu nately, talking about the virus, which unfortunately, has damaged them. arsenal boss mikel arteta insists everyone at the club knew there would be no "quick fix" to get their season back on track. arsenal head into tomorrow‘s match against everton down in 15th in the league,

winless in six and on their worst start to a top flight season since 1974. it is like anything, this industry, you need results. but after a big shake—up, we need to find any stability. in order to do that, we need time. we all knew, at least the people who made the decision with me, to start this new project, that this was not a quick fix and it will ta ke this was not a quick fix and it will take time and when you‘re shaking things up, things can take a while. the football association are not taking action over crowd related incidents at millwall and colchester this month where some supporters had booed players taking a knee before matches, a knee before matches to highlight racial inequality and fight discrimination. the fa say they‘ll continue to monitor and investigate, if any more incidents occur. it comes after footballers said they overwhelmingly support the gesture, in a survey by the players union. and they stated they wanted to continue with "this act of solidarity". it follows recent protests by fans at millwall, colchester and cambridge united in the last fortnight. chemical giant ineos is expanding its sporting portfolio

and becoming a one—third shareholder in the mercedes formula 1 team. they already have a cycling team, a sailing team and interests in football. it comes as toto wolff, the mercedes team principle remains in charge of the team for a further three years. he‘s signed a new deal with the world champions to increasee his holding in the team to a third aswell. the move reduces daimler‘s shareholding from 60% — to create three equal partners. and is lewis hamilton also about to sign a new contract? well, mercedes tweeted hinting as much. hinting as much, with hamilton saying he plans and wants to be at the team next year. england‘s 2014 world cup winning captain katy daley—mclean has retired from international rugby. the 34—year—old played in four world cups, leading the team to victory in paris six years ago. she also won nine six nations titles. mclean will continue in her player/coach role at sale sharks. she said the decision will let her spend more time with her family, including her 16—month—old daughter. when you see in black and white

just how much time away, that is the first thing that struck me, but ijust thought about what a world cup year looks like and requires and i have done four world cup cycles so i kind of know that you have got to be in it. basically, i kind of looked at it and thought, i don‘t want to be away from her this long and i don‘t want to do that any more. and finally there‘s that saying, "like father like son".. well we‘ve seen wayne rooney‘s son follow in his dad‘s footsteps as 11—year—old kai signed a contract at manchester united. and here‘s another potential star of the future — charlie woods. he‘s the 11—year—old son of tiger woods. charlie will be taking part in the "father and son challenge" at the pnc championship in florida this weekend. he‘s certainly been watching his dad, who‘s a 15—time major winner. he‘s got quite a swing on him — and his dad said to reporters in the us, he‘sjust as competitve too. let‘s see if he goes on to win a major one day. maybe. that‘s all the sport for now.

karen, thank you for that. —— gavin. the two departments which manage the united states‘ nuclear stockpile say that hackers have gained access to their networks. the us energy department and the national nuclear security administration are the latest government agencies known to have been targeted in a massive cyber attack. gordon corera reports. washington is reeling from a cyber espionage campaign whose scale keeps growing every day, as more and more organisations are found to have been compromised. it all began in march, when hackers got into a texas—based company called solarwinds, and implanted what‘s called a back door into the orion software, which it sells to its customers. the software was then installed by at least 18,000 customers around the world, including the us military, the state department, nasa, and the white house. this allowed the hackers to potentially steal data, like e—mails, over a period of months, before it was discovered

in the last few weeks. it‘s now emerged that other targets include the national laboratories and security team that looks after nuclear weapons — although there‘s no implication that the hackers could gain control over nuclear material. us sources say they believe the russian intelligence services are behind the highly sophisticated hack, although moscow has denied any part. my guess is this is going to get worse before it gets better. the fsb — the russian intelligence service — always use multiple layers of attacks. whether it‘s only bad or catastrophic will be... ..we‘ll know in time, but it‘s bad. microsoft have now said they have seen additional follow—on attacks on their customers — mainly in the us, but in at least one case in the uk. the uk‘s cyber security agency, the national cyber security centre, is urgently investigating how far the government, companies

and organisations here may also have been hit. the full scale of the campaign is still unknown, and it may take some time for that to become clear, but the concern will be that defences were not good enough, and the damage may be hard to estimate. gordon corera, bbc news. people in hospital with coronavirus should be offered a follow—up appointment after six weeks to check for symptoms of so—called long covid, according to new guidance given to doctors. it‘s thought about! in 10 patients could be struggling to shake off symptoms including shortness of breath, joint pain and dizziness for more than three months. 0ur health reporter, jim reed has more. tess waring fell sick in the first wave of the virus. it took months for her to get her strength back. even now, she sometimes struggles for breath. it‘s eight months since i caught this, you always think in life, things always change anyway, so sometimes you are thinking,

is this just part of growing older? but, fundamentally, no, ifeel change in that, like, my breathing is much more of an issue than it used to be. the tiredness has been much more intense. it‘s thought about one in ten patients with the virus may develop what is known as long covid, lasting for more than 12 weeks. new guidance for doctors today, lists 28 possible symptoms from fatigue and nausea, through to chest pain and dizziness. it seems to hit all age groups including young people, people who sometimes just get a mild infection with covid, although people who have a more severe infection are more likely to get it. we know it happens more often in people who have got pre—existing health conditions like diabetes or heart disease, but we don‘t really understand why some people seem to get it, and some people don‘t. the new guidance says patients should now be offered a a follow—up should now be offered a follow—up

consultation if they have been in hospital or they have symptoms lasting longer than eight weeks. they can then be referred on for rehabilitation if needed. those with breathing problems should be offered a chest x—ray to check for lung damage. people suffering with the condition say that early diagnosis and treatment is key. i do believe that the help is imperative, for people to understand how to manage their symptoms, for sure, so if everyone could get that sort of help, that would be amazing. the nhs said it is spending £10 million on more than 60 new long covid clinics in england. doctors, though, say more funding is likely to be needed to deal with the long—term impact of the disease. jim reed, bbc news. six months after a court ruled the practice unlawful, a bbc investigation has found that tens of thousands of adverts for rental properties are putting a blanket ban on accepting people who receive benefits. the vast majority of places on websites such as spareroom

and 0penrent said recipients of housing benefit need not bid for the property. michael buchanan reports. this is the kitchen, the living room and my bedroom all in one. so there is a little bathroom and then my son‘s room. it is small and uncomfortable, but despite her best efforts, emma can‘t find a new home. for two years, the teaching assistant has tried to move herself and charlie to somewhere bigger. charlie, eat your dinner, please. but she has been repeatedly refused a new place because she is on benefits. if i have got references to show that i pay my rent every month on time, and i have done that for seven years, there shouldn‘t be any reason why someone isn‘t renting to me and the fact that they will still use housing benefit... you know, it is very clear stigmatisation. it is a very clear discriminatory measure. bbc analysis of these popular websites shows that tens of thousands of properties are being denied to benefit claimants, despite a court injuly ruling such blanket bans are unlawful and discriminatory.

on both spareroom and 0penrent, over 80% of ads say they won‘t accept tenants on housing benefit. and if you are a landlord with a place to rent, the websites will allow you to explicitly say that you don‘t want anybody on benefits. the charity shelter has campaigned for years to end housing discrimination and instigated the court action this summer. i think people like 0penrent and spa reroom really need to wake up to this. this is unlawful. they need to be refusing to carry adverts that are badged as "no dss" on their websites and that is it. there‘s no excuses for it. theyjust need to clean up their act now. in a statement, 0penrent say that they let more than 25,000 properties to people on benefits this year, and are trying to combat prejudice by educating its users. spareroom told us it was in the process of removing the option for landlords to list properties as being unavailable to benefit claimants.

for emma and charlie, the long search for a new home has brought stress and frustration, with seemingly no end in sight. it is very demoralising and dehumanising. i will go through phases of trying to kind of find somewhere and then obviously, i will stop trying because i will feel upset about the whole thing. you know, it is a massive rejection, like, a rejection of your whole self and position in society. the law is clearly on their side. theyjust need a landlord who is willing to give them a chance. michael buchanan, bbc news. you‘re watching bbc news, our top stories for you now. as covid‘s spread accelerates, there‘s growing pressure on ministers, with health leaders urging people to follow the tougher coronavirus restrictions. borisjohnson says he can‘t rule out a third lockdown in england after christmas because of a rise in coronavirus infections. the labour leader calls on the prime minister to change the rules on household mixing at christmas because of rising

rates of coronavirus infection. if you‘re having to wait longer than usual for your post, royal mail says that‘s because of an unprecedented increase in the number of parcels it‘s having to process this christmas. there‘s been a hugejump in the amount of online shopping we‘re now doing, as emma simpson reports. a parcel mountain at a royal mail sorting office in bristol. sacks of mail ready to be sorted here in manchester, stacks of mail ready to be sorted here in manchester, too, and parcels to be dispatched in essex. 0n the road, the vans are full, a glimpse of how posties are grappling with an unprecedented increase in parcels this year. it has meant some delays for customers. last week, i managed to send some christmas presents abroad to ireland, and a few to my partner‘s family in kent. both haven‘t arrived, despite me putting a first—class stamp and sticker on it. so it has been quite worrying, particularly because we are so close

to christmas and i want them to arrive on time. it would be an absolute disaster if they didn‘t. the union representing postal workers says its members are doing their very best. there's no doubt we could not possibly have anticipated this level of packages and parcels. it seems to be intensifying every day, and that, coupled with the arrangements that have got to be in place to keep people, key workers safe because of covid, and the spread of covid and the figures going up again, all of those are complicating what is already a strategical nightmare, really. all our big couriers are up against it right now. the royal mail has taken on around 33,000 seasonal workers to help out, way more than normal. in a statement, royal mail said some areas were experiencing a reduction in service levels due to covid—related absences and social distancing measures, but that the majority of the network was now running as usual

for this time of year. the pressure is now on — a business that‘s flat out trying to deliver christmas mail as quickly as it can. emma simpson, bbc news. the british actorjeremy bulloch, who played boba fett — the bounty hunter in the original star wars trilogy, has died aged 75. he‘d been living with parkinson‘s disease for many years. boba fett has become a cult character for die—hard stars wars fans, spawning the recent hit tv series spin off called — the mandalorian. paul hawkins reports. imperial theme. bounty hunter boba fett, a peripheral star wars character in two of the original films, didn‘t appear in many scenes, and even the rare lines he did have... what if he doesn‘t survive? he‘s worth a lot to me. ..were voiced by another actor. butjeremy bulloch still made the character his own, drawing inspiration from clint eastwood‘s

cowboy western character "the man with no name" — making boba fett move slowly and hold his gun in the same way. he's all yours, bounty hunter. showcasing his versatility, he also played another character in the empire strikes back... ..the imperial officer here, who manhandles princess leia. he also appeared twice as smithers in three james bond films. smithers, how's the arm? coming along very nicely, thank you, sir. there were also appearances in bbc sci—fi tv series doctor who, and the 1963 film summer holiday alongside singer sir cliff richard. but it is star wars which jeremy bulloch will always be known for. creator george lucas saying bulloch brought the perfect combination of mystery and menace to the performance. mark hamill, who played luke skywalker, describing him as the quintessential english gentleman, a fine actor and delightful company,

while daniel logan who plays the modern—day boba fett in the tv series spin off said, "rip, legend, may the force always be with you." over the years boba fett became a cult figure with star wars fans, and so too did jeremy bulloch, making regular appearances at fan conventions. his family said he had a long and happy career spanning more than 45 years. his devoted wife, three sons and ten grandchildren, they said, will miss him terribly. jeremy bulloch, who has died at the age of 75. under normal circumstances you might be looking forward to your work‘s christmas party this weekend. sadly, as we know too well, this is not a normal year. with most traditional parties cancelled because of covid restrictions, some companies are trying to find alternative ways to bring colleagues together. jayne mccubbin has been invited to join the festive fun. ah, the work christmas party cancelled because of covid, but let‘s just cross over

to party poopers anonymous. raise a hand if you are actually really relieved the office party isn‘t happening this year? and not everyone is disappointed. because it‘s just stressful when you have to go to a christmas party with work people, pretend you like them, pretend you‘re interested! you don‘t want to be sat around making small talk with your boss, do you? no. 0h, they're just terrible, aren't they? i mean, you get dragged around pubs you don't want to go to, with people you don't want to be with. if you leave too early, you're a party pooper, and if you leave too late, you're looking on whatsapp the next day to see what happened the night before. admit it, we‘ve all been there. but not this year. cheers! this year, if we‘re doing the work‘s do, we‘re doing it online. can ijust ask, is everybody having a good time? yeah. yay!

bless the lovely volunteers from macmillans, who‘ve let us crash their christmas party. they, and party hosts likejohnny and helen, are trying to keep the fun going, virtually. flipping heck, i don‘t have a drink! nobody wants to do this. i‘d like to be on stage. i was on tour when this happened. i was playing to real people in a real room on a tour. and, you know, i‘ve ended up doing zoom parties. but what i would say is that we‘re good at giving it a go, and we‘re good at — it‘s the blitz spirit thing of saying, "come on, it‘s not what we want, but let‘s make it work". we are dealing with anything from 30 to 400, and we have had an inquiry this morning for 600. i cannot imagine a virtual party online with 600 people! yeah, it's interactive as well. so, we'll see. i'll let you know. good luck with that! is it as good as a face to face party? no.

the one thing i‘ll miss when i go back to the live circuit is the ability to mute people. you can even eject them yourself without getting bouncers involved. it‘s fantastic. what we're going to do is we're going to have our private party. we're having a little get together here. but if your virtual party isn‘t, well, virtual enough, this liverpool company will create an avatar for you and take your party anywhere in the world, or beyond. hi! hello. i‘ve got vertigo. we've seen a real surge in inquiries really, this year in particular, of course, you know. people are looking for new ways of getting together. and, you know, what we offer is something that really goes beyond a traditional sort of video call, if you like. can we dance at this party? yes! clemence is our, eh... clemence? yeah, he can bust a few moves. there we go. where's your famous robot dance, clem ? there you go. yay! we think it definitely has a lot of potential. can we go somewhere where there‘s

wine at this party? beach. look at that. and i have some virtual drinks here. unfortunately, they‘re just out of... ..argh! out of reach! for goodness‘ sake, oh! it‘s estimated that all of this could cost the hospitality sector over £700 million. and many remember the good old days of real cocktails with real work mates in real time with a real sense of loss. paul, were they gorgeous dos? magnificent. absolutely glorious. marvellous. and this year? and this year is very different indeed. they are ditching the do all together. in its place, good deeds. instead of handing out golden tickets for a guest list, they are blowing their budget on books for children in need in their city. each of our guests who would normally come to one of our parties will be getting a book donated in their name. it‘s such a nice idea! are you going to miss the party, though? we‘ll miss the party.

we‘ll make up. we‘ll have a post—covid party. we‘ll do it in the summer. fingers crossed. fingers crossed! so for now, let‘s enjoy the safety of socialising while staying apart. and just imagine how messy it‘s all going to get this time next year. chin—chin! jayne mccubbin, bbc news. from a leaping lamb to battling pigeons. two of the winning entries to this year‘s rspca young photographer competition. now in its 30th year, thousands of amateur young photographers have entered pictures of animals, from the furry to the furious. jack surfleet takes a look at some of the winning entries. from a mobile phone snap of a guilty —looking dog taking a forbidden nap ona —looking dog taking a forbidden nap on a sofa taking fish are taking a breakfrom on a sofa taking fish are taking a break from fishing by a river in hampshire. the rspca young

photographer awards is in its 30th year and the limits imposed on photographers during a pandemic, a new category was introduced this year. small world meant aspiring entra nts year. small world meant aspiring entrants did not have to venture far from their homes to capture images like this busy bee. the overall winning picture was taken by 17—year—old jake kneale who, by using a camera trap setup, cut this image of a roe deer buck passing through a gate. when an animal walk—through, hopefully facing towards the camera, notjust getting its backside, it all fired off and you get the picture, hopefully. jake‘s entry was just one of 11,000 images in this year‘s competition, including molly tolsson‘s picture of her pat lam lodging and cell from a hay bale. the —— pet lamb. the

competition aims to encourage an interest in photography and an appreciation of the natural world. thomas scott one four his pigeons, the dispute. pigeons are an underrated bird and i think this... a likely mood and the atmosphere conveys. the panel ofjudges were particularly impressed on those that focus on the animals around us daily, lifting the ordinary to the extraordinary. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello there, it‘s very mild today, it‘s also windy and for some parts of the country, very wet as well. this area of cloud has been bringing the wetter weather into western parts of the uk. the weather front driving it is not moving very far today, so it stays wet in scotland,

wales and western parts of england. the focus of the very heavy rain is going to be across south wales and south—west england. we‘ve got this amber rain warning from the met office — flooding likely, travel disruption too. these are the two main areas of heavy rain and it‘s over the higher ground — dartmoor, the brecon beacons — that will see 100 millimetres, four inches by the end of the day. that wetter weather still around actually in the same sort of area all the way up into eastern scotland this evening. gradually, that rain band will push more towards eastern england, allowing clearer spells and showers to return notjust to northern ireland, but into scotland, wales and western parts of england. it will still be windy overnight and, as a result, it will be mild — temperatures eight to ten degrees. as we head into the weekend, things look a little different. it‘s going to be a case of sunny spells and scattered showers this weekend. the very mild air and the heavy, persistent rain that we‘re seeing now will get pushed away and showers will get drawn in around that area of low pressure from the atlantic and gradually the air will get cooler as the weekend goes on. now, we‘ve still got some rain to clear away

from eastern—most parts of england by mid—morning tomorrow. and then it‘s sunshine and bands of showers coming in. the showers more frequent and heavier out to the west, but more showers will get blown inland because it is going to be quite a windy day still, particularly around those heavier showers. but it‘s still going to be quite a mild day, actually, on saturday, not as mild as today, but still temperatures in the range of nine to 12 degrees. things are starting to cool off, though, as the weekend goes on. early sunday will be cooler with temperatures perhaps as low as five or six degrees. again, it‘s a case of sunshine and showers on sunday. we‘ll see most of the showers again across western areas, some wetter weather, windier weather in the north—west of scotland. elsewhere, more in the way of sunshine, the winds ease down it will be cooler on sunday, and then we‘ve got cloud and rain arriving in the south—west during the evening. one area of low pressure bringing wet and windy weather overnight into monday, another one waiting in the wings before it turns drier in most areas, but colder by christmas.

this is bbc news i‘m clive myrie. the headlines as the spread of covid accelerates, health leaders warn of significant pressure on the nhs. they‘re urging the public to strictly follow coronavirus restrictions. we‘re now at a really dangerous point and we are finding it difficult to get ambulances off—loaded because they have got no cubicles to put patients in and they have no cubicles to put patients into because there are no beds on the wards. borisjohnson now says he can‘t rule out a third lockdown in england, after christmas. but labour says the prime minister needs to change the rules on household mixing before then. he's sort of saying, well, i'm not when to change the rules. it's up to you families and communities commute take responsibility. that's not the act of a prime minister. the prime minister should say,

i will take the difficult decisions,