before it turns drier in most areas, but colder by christmas. this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the spread of covid—19 is accelerating in the uk , with the crucial r number now back above one. health leaders are warning of significant pressure on the health service. hospitals are very active at the moment. a lot of them are operating at capacity, as we've said. to add a third spike on to that post christmas, i think, potentially, is really serious. the us vice president, mike pence gets his coronavirus vaccine shot on live tv, to encourage people to have the injection. more than 300 schoolboys abducted in northern nigeria a week ago are expected to be reunited with their families within hours after their release. headteachers in england say the last—minute demand for mass

the eu's chief negotiator tells the european parliament time is running out to reach a brexit trade agreement. and, after bugs, glitches, and crashes, one of the year's biggest video games — cyberpunk 2077 — is pulled from both the playstation and microsoft store. roughly one in every 100 people in england, scotland and wales had coronvirus last week with the number of cases now rising significantly. that's the warning from the office for national statistics as the virus begins to spread faster again. the prime minister says he's hoping to avoid a third national lockdown in england. but borisjohnson said rates of infection had increased very much over recent weeks. the labour leader, sir keir starmer,

has called for the government to "change the arrangements over christmas" amid concerns about the effect of relaxing restrictions for the festive period. the uk's r number — or reproduction rate of coronavirus — is on the rise again. last week, it was thought to be between 0.9 and 1.0. it is now estimated to be between 1.1 and 1.2 — anything above one means the virus is growing. here's our health editor hugh pym. routine operations were going ahead at this hospital in the south today but increasingly nhs managers across the system are having to consider postponements. more covid patients are coming in and it is more of a challenge to find enough beds. medical leaders say a serious problem could be looming. we are now at a really dangerous point, where we could tip into finding it incredibly difficult to manage. now we have got crowded departments

with covid as the additional burden, which is a really scary and challenging place to be. and you can see this, as we are increasingly getting ambulances queueing. and the prime minister on a visit to the north—west didn't rule out the possibility of england following northern ireland and wales into a post christmas lockdown. obviously, we are 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 done a fantasticjob in bringing it down. and the data shows that case numbers are rising in most but not all parts of the uk. the latest survey of community infections by the office for national statistics suggests that in england one in 95 people have the virus last week, with an increase in case rates. notably in london, the south—east, the east and the east midlands, there were declines in other areas,

in wales, with one in 90 and scotland with one in 100 there were also increase, in northern ireland, one in 215 had the virus. with case rates no longer decreasing. some of those infected will become seriously ill and need hospital treatment, and that is what is putting pressure on the nhs front line. there have been warnings today about the impact on staff. they are traumatised and fatigued. not only from physical tiredness but from the psychological impact of covid. now we are looking down the barrel of what looks like a third wave, so, you know, we are very concerned, the impact of five days over christmas is something we are very concerned about as well. most hospitals across london and the south—east are under increasing strain. there are reports that some are cancelling all non—urgent work into the new year as they wait in anticipation of another surge in covid patient numbers.

they've been asked to limit —— well, we can speak now to doctor helgi johannsson from the royal college of anaesthetists — one of the organisations that felt compelled to appeal to people today to limit contact with others over christmas. tell us why this statement was issued. so we are externally rated by what's happening at the moment, and we managed in march and april by shutting down all routine operating which came at a massive cost to the population of the uk. however, we are trying to continue with as much routine operating now as we can to try and get on top of the enormous backlog of operations. for instance, currently, we have nationally around

160,000 patients waiting more than a year, and that's up 100 fold on this time last year. so there is an enormous issue there. we are extremely worried about the ability of the nhs to cope after christmas, and really, really want to get the message through to the public that just to be very careful, be very careful with who you meet and be very careful in the way you socialise over christmas. is that essentially what you want people to do in practice is to be careful two 01’ do in practice is to be careful two or is it more than that? because as we know, restrictions are due to be loosened on december the 27th. one of my mantras in medicine isjust because you can doesn't mean you should, necessarily, and i know the restrictions are being loosened. however, i think we have to be very very sensible, and with the infection rates as they are the moments, we should not be

congregating in large numbers, our gatherings to a very small number. i know a lot of people and a lot of my friends have decided to have a very quiet christmas watching tv mainly and speaking to people over the internet, rather than in person. and i think that's a very sensible way to go ahead at this point. do you think the government got this wrong in terms of using the lockdown and then putting in restrictions for some people in the country and then using some and then putting them back in place. i'm not here to judge whether the government got things wrong, and i know that it's very easy to be wise in the retrospect, however, what we are seeing at the moment is a large increase in the rate of infections, and the rate of infections, and the rate of infections are happening now, people don't get ill immediately with their

infection. it's two weeks later that they start coming into hospital. so those increasing rates will hit us ha rd towards those increasing rates will hit us hard towards the beginning of january. hard towards the beginning of january. we are grateful for your time, thank you so much forjoining us, andi time, thank you so much forjoining us, and i know that you are on the front line all of your colleagues there, so we wish you the very best. but for now, thank you forjoining us. thank you very much. the us vice—president, mike pence, has become the first senior figure in the trump administration to get a coronavirus vaccine, which he called "a medical miracle". and he did so in a very public way, in front of cameras at the white house, along with his wife and the us surgeon general. the move comes as officials are mounting campaigns to quash scepticism about the record—fast development of the vaccine. mr pence said he wanted to assure the american people that while they cut red tape they cut no corners. it's been announced that president—electjoe biden will get the vaccine on monday. mike penn sent he wanted to assure the

american people, that while they cut red tape, the have—nots cuts corners. history will record that this week was the beginning of the end of the coronavirus pandemic, but with cases rising across the country, hospitalisations rising across the country, we have a ways to go, and i want to ensure the american people that we are going to continue to make sure that our health care providers have all the support and resources they need to meet this moment. but vigilance and the vaccine is our way through, and building confidence for the vaccine is what brings us here this morning. mike pence there. 0ur washington correspondent, nomia iqbal, says it was all about mr pence trying to set an example. the vice president wants to build up confidence amongst american people who might be sceptical of the vaccine. that's why he was there alongside his wife, the second lady, karen, who also took the vaccine. also there was the surgeon general,

jerome adams, and he made the point of how he is a black man, as an aft and american come he wanted to appeal to ethnic minorities in particular who have scepticism in vaccines, polls suggest that up on the third of the african—american say they wouldn't check the vaccine. as you say, yes, president trump is notable in his absence. when the pfizer vaccine was rolled out last weekend, he did tweet at the time saying that he would take it when it was appropriate, and he has been tweeting again today and he mentioned how the maternal vaccine from the second vaccine hadn't been authorised, but it hasn't so far. we are waiting for the fda to approve that after it was recommended to do so by an outside adviser battery yesterday. and just to add the speaker of the house nancy pelosi has received a vaccination as well today, and president—electjoe biden is expected to take it next week. french president, emmanuel macron,

has posted a clip on twitter as he continues to self—isolate after experiencing coronavirus symptoms. it came shortly before authorities confirmed a further 264 deaths in the past 2a hours — taking the overall death toll in france from covid to more than 60,000. mr macron said the fact he tested positive — despite being well protected — shows that the virus effects everyone. translation: hi, it's friday, i wanted to talk to you. yesterday, i tested positive after first getting symptoms. i self isolated and registered on the test and trace. they say they've called everyone i've been in contact with in the previous 48 hours, including national and political leaders, my friends and family and my security team. thanks for your messages of support, i have the same symptoms as yesterday, headache, tiredness and a dry cough. i will keep you abreast of every development with total transparency. plans by the uk government to test

more than five million school pupils in england for coronavirus when they return from the christmas break injanuary has been branded undeliverable. the commons come from teaching unions, school governors, the comments come from teaching unions, school governors, the church of england and colleges. ministers announced the plans yesterday along with a staggered return to the classroom. but schools says it will be impossible to recruit and train the thousands of people needed to carry out tests in the next two weeks. 0ur education editor bra nwen jefferys reports. think about what has gone well, first of all, this term. the last lessons before christmas, but not all pupils will be back at the start of term. well, we made it. can you believe where we started back in september? doing his best to be cheerful in assembly, but the head expects to work through christmas and testing. i feel absolutely physically and emotionally exhausted after what has definitely been the toughest term ever

in 20 years in teaching. when i heard this news two days ago, i actually felt rather broken, because i just thought, how are we going to get all of this done in the time frames that we have been given? it just feels overwhelming. to set up school testing means finding a large, well—ventilated room. separate swabbing and processing areas. staff to test, process, record and clean. these could be volunteers or agency staff. 0nline training before testing starts. and getting consent from parents. it's a massive logistical exercise. we are testing, as i said, 5.5 million secondary school students. this is a very good news story. it's all about making sure we can keep the school open. this afternoon, the government was warned it might not be possible. school governors, teaching unions, the church of england and colleges, all saying this is rushed and chaotic, and telling schools that if they can't manage it, they don't have to have testing

in place for the beginning of term. parents now face some teenagers being at home, not in school, when term starts. 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. goodbye, chaps. happy christmas. term is over, but not for all teachers. government advice on testing is due to arrive just before christmas. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. around 200,000 people in the uk are thought to be suffering from so—called long covid — persistent health problems — up to three months — after they were infected with the virus. for some like 38 year old natalie, the effects of long covid on her body have been devastating. today there were calls from more research into this emerging problem as new guidelines were published

for doctors on how to diagnose and treat long covid. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh reports. natalie has worked as a front line doctor during several deadly epidemics, including ebola in africa. but it's covid which has left its mark on her. just over a year ago i biked up the hill, and now, now i can't even get on a bike. the 38—year—old was never admitted to hospital, but now has long covid, and is so physically weak she can't go to work. i was fit, i was active, i could run, i could walk any distance i wanted to really, and now, i can walk 200 metres. i've asked my contractor to put a bannister on my stairs because i can't get up to the top of my stairs sometimes. so you're fitting out your home for someone with disabilities? at my age, yes. i thought this is what i would be doing, when i was, you know, in my 70s or 80s.

mri scans have revealed damage to nathalie's spinal cord. you 0k, nathalie? butjust how a covid infection has done this is not fully understood. uclh trust in london has opened a long covid clinic for patients with neurological problems. they come from all over the uk, with a wide variety of symptoms. they may complain of fatigue or dizziness, light—headedness, palpitations or a fast heart rate. sometimes patients complain of pins and needles or numbness. they often describe memory problems, so they may have difficulty focussing or concentrating. they may have difficulty remembering words, or getting words out. there i was, ten weeks ago, i couldn't get out of bed. eli, who is sa, has lost nearly all his strength. covid has affected his memory, brain function, even his vision. but after enduring five months in hospital, and being so close to death,

he feels fortunate. i call myself the miracle boy. i've been through something which i've survived. i survived by a very thin line. god flicked the switch and decided, 0k, give him another chance, he's got something do in this world, come back. what about those legs? how fatigued do they feel? one in ten people with covid still has lingering symptoms after 12 weeks. most make a gradual recovery. nathalie says the disease won't hold her back and she is determined to see patients face to face once more. fergus walsh, bbc news. well lets talk now to tom stayte, who's 32 and has been suffering from long covid for nine months after having coronavirus in march. tom, thanks so much forjoining us. we are grateful for your time. can

you just share with us your experiences and what happened to you? so, i originally got the virus backin you? so, i originally got the virus back in march, the first wave, and i didn't notice for about three weeks. after which i thought that i was getting better, but after about seven weeks from the outset, all of my symptoms came back, along with a whole load of new ones, and it was really a whole array of different bodily systems, neurological symptoms i had trouble with, concentration, breathing and also gastro symptoms, numbness, tingling. it was really quite terrifying, actually, very frightening time. what supports, if any, did you get at that time? my gp was really supportive during the first phase, but when the symptoms persisted back injune, but when the symptoms persisted back in june, obviously very little was known about long covid and i had a

lot of difficulty finding support within, it was people who didn't really believe that cuvee could cause symptoms for that long or these sort of symptoms that myself and other people have described were pa rt and other people have described were part of the illness. so, it was very lonely, actually, it was a real challenge to keep going through that period. ds, i mean, i can imagine, for you not really knowing what was going on with you medically with your body, but then also trying to gauge what advice you can get from a gp. it's almost like searching in the dark, isn't it? it is. and at that time, i remember i had a note served to my phone that had all the media articles that had ever been written about long covid because we we re written about long covid because we were only three of them. and it was only when i found patient groups that it became apparent that there we re that it became apparent that there were a whole load of people

suffering from the same thing all going through this experience of trying to interface with medicine and reach out for help and sort of being pushed back from that. so, yeah, it was very strange time. briefly, if you can, they've issued guidelines today about the diagnosis and care of long covid. what does your response to that?” and care of long covid. what does your response to that? i think it's a great relief that they've come out because it does kind of indicate and hopefully put in and to all of the confusion around how to treat long covid, and i also think it's testa m e nt to covid, and i also think it's testament to the efforts of the patient campaign groups like those who have campaigned tirelessly through their own illnesses to have these conditions recognised. but i would add that i think it's really important that we don't see these

guidelines as the final version of long covid, as the final description on it, and as time moves on, we continue to put patient experience into the picture and develop the guidelines together as we recover. time, we are grateful for you sharing your thoughts and experiences with us. thank you so much. —— tom. the uk prime minister says things are looking difficult in the talks about a trade deal to take effect once the brexit transition period ends on the 31st december. the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, has said both sides are at "a moment of truth", with just a few hours left. the uk and eu are trying to resolve a few remaining issues, including fishing rights. here's our political correspondent, iain watson. clause in any brexit deal in fishing has yet to be written. as the latest catch is landed in hull, uk fishing fleets are hoping life outside the eu will be more prosperous, yet the fishing industry accounts for a little more than 0.1% of the uk economy.

so can a row over access to our waters really be such a pinch point in a wider trade deal? in bolton, the prime minister is meeting apprentices in the communications industry. but also indulging in some megaphone diplomacy, calling on the eu to compromise. things are looking difficult, and there is a gap that needs to be bridged. the uk's done, we've done a lot, i think, to try and help, and we hope that our eu friends will see sense and come to the table with something themselves. also ramping up the rhetoric, the eu's chief negotiator emphasised to the european parliament that time was running out. translation: we are at the moment of truth. there is very little time remaining, just a few hours to work through these negotiations if we want this agreement to enter into force on the 1st ofjanuary. the chance of an agreement

is there, but i believe the path is very narrow. the question of fishing rights goes to the heart of the brexit promise to take back control — in this case of our territorial waters. but there is also haggling over exactly when that control would be exercised. that eu wants to see any changes phased in over an eight—year period. the uk is offering three. so, the two sides are still oceans apart. the ratcheting up of the rhetoric affects more than just the fishing industry. this company's three uk factories supply car and van manufacturers in the eu, and uncertainty over trade is already exacting a price. we've already noticed customers who have not asked us to quote for new work. what i fear is a very quietjanuary, as people either will still wait for an agreement or try to work out what the agreement actually means. and with suppliers trying to stock up before trade rules change, lorries have been stacking up

at channel ports. but so far, eu and uk negotiators haven't broken the logjam in brussels. iain watson, bbc news. more than 300 schoolboys — abducted in northern austria is to enter its third coronavirus lockdown from december the 26th until january coronavirus lockdown from december the 26th untiljanuary 20 4000 the country fights to bring down its coronavirus infection rates. for the first three weeks, 90 central stores will close as well services such as hairdressers. a planned series of mast testing will be carried out next month and from january the 18th, stores and restaurants will open again for those who test negative and for those that don't ta ke negative and for those that don't take part in the mass testing, they will have to stay in quarantine until the end of that date of the 24th of january. now, until the end of that date of the 24th ofjanuary. now, to until the end of that date of the 24th of january. now, to sweden, where the first time it's recommended that people wear facemasks on public transport. the measures against coronavirus, the government has so far to revisit ——

resisted lockdown, but said that people should wear masks when travelling at peak times. it's also reduced the number of people allowed to meet in restaurants and go to shops and gyms. sweden's king has said his country failed in fighting the virus after the country recorded 350,000 cases and more than 7000 deaths. just want to bring you an update of a news conference that took place at the world health organisation where a number of important information was released. 0ur doctor said he expects a who tea m 0ur doctor said he expects a who team to visit china in the first week of january next year to probe the virus origin, and we also understand that a team from the who will also visit wuhan as part of that ongoing effort to find out where covid—19 originated from. he also give further details about three quarters of all global covid—19 infection rates, as he

understands it, to be originating at the moment in south america. we got more on that to come. stay with us. hello there. it's been a mild, wet and windy day today. some parts of the country have been very wet, and we have seen the number of flood warnings increasing, river levels rising across parts of southwest england and into wales as well. this band of cloud hasjust been sat across the uk, bringing the wetter weather across scotland, northern england, wales and western parts of england. the heaviest of rain, though, where we still have this amber rain warning from the met office across southwest and southwest england, more flooding from a more travel disruption. and by the end of the day, there could be as much as 100 mm, four inches of rain having fallen over dartmoor and also the brecon beacons. that wetter weather is still around at the moment, but gradually, overnight, that band of rain, heavy for a while, will push its way more towards eastern parts of england — allowing clear spells and showers to follow notjust to northern ireland, but further into scotland, wales and western england.

it will still be windy overnight, so it's going to be a mild start to the weekend with temperatures of 8—10 celsius. the weekend will probably look a little different, actually, with sunny spells and some scattered showers. that very mild but wet weather that we've seen today is getting pushed away out towards the east, allowing those showers to roll in around that area of low pressure and draw in some cooler weather as the weekend goes on. start of the weekend, though, we have still got some rain affecting easternmost parts of england, that will clear away by mid—morning, and then these bands of showers come packing in fairly quickly, actually. more frequent and heavier showers, perhaps thundery, across more western parts of uk. there will be some sunshiny between the showers, but we have still got the strong and gusty south—south—westerly wind that will blow those showers further east and further inland. it's going to be a windy day, but it will still be a mild day, not quite as mild as today, but 9—12 celsius. it does turn cooler as the weekend goes on, and early on sunday, temperatures in rural areas could be as low as 4—5 celsius. we've still got some sunshine

and some showers on sunday. most of the wet and windy weather will be will be towards the northwest of scotland, the showers elsewhere, fewer, more in the way of sunshine and gradually, the winds will ease down a bit as well. temperatures will be a shade lower, around 8—10 celsius. signs of cloud and rain arriving in the southwest by the end of the day. and for the first few days of next week, actually, it's going to be wet and windy at times, threatening some more flooding, but it will be drier and colderjust in time for christmas.

this is bbc world news. the headlines... the spread of covid—19 is accelerating in the uk, with the crucial r number now back above one. health leaders are warning of significant pressure on the health service. the us vice president, mike pence, gets his coronavirus vaccine shot on live tv to encourage people to have the injection. joe to have the injection. biden will receive his vaccination joe biden will receive his vaccination on monday. more than 300 schoolboys abducted in northern nigeria a week ago are expected to be reunited with their families within hours after their release. 0thers others are still remained missing after the attack. also in the programme, the eu's chief negotiator tells the european parliament time

is running out to reach a brexit trade agreement. michel barnier says it is the moment of truth for both sides to agree on a deal. you're watching bbc news. thanks forjoining us. planned by the government to test more than 5 million school pupils for coronavirus when they return from christmas has been dripped branded undeliverable. the comments ministers announced the plan yesterday, along with staggered returns to the classroom. tom coen is head teacher at stjohn payne catholic school in chelmsford in essex. thanks forjoining us on bbc news. what do you make of what the government is proposing? what do you make of what the government is proposing ?|j what do you make of what the government is proposing? i think it's going to be hugely disruptive to teaching and learning. it's going

to teaching and learning. it's going to sit subject students who have already experience disruption and anxiety to even further anxiety. in terms of the practicalities in organising these testing in schools, school buildings are simply not set out to administer tests on that scale. the stipulations for the rooms alone in which the testing is intended to take place are highly stringent. we've been thinking about today and for us, it's going to be very difficult to even fund a room, let alone all the intended implications of how you organise that whole process. that's going to be significant for school leaders at a time of already considerable tannin. for us, it was the penultimate day of the term that

schools were to operate staggered sta rts schools were to operate staggered starts in order to facilitate the training for the people who would be involved in administering these test. i think that was concerning lee dismissive of the efforts of school leaders. i'm very beverly —— very privileged to work with people who are absolutely committed to supporting, and work committed to supporting, and work committed to supporting the recover from supporting, and work committed to supporting the recoverfrom public health emergency. i think on its part, on its occasion, government sadly have overlooked the considerable challenge and the fantastic hard work of the profession. it's already exhausted. does that mean that you're not going to be ana does that mean that you're not going to be an a position when the kids to return to school to enforce this testing regime the government wants? we certainly... it's highly

unlikely. i would say even for that first week, it's not likely. it's inconceivable for me that we would be in inconceivable for me that we would beina inconceivable for me that we would be in a position to start administering tests. you've talked about thinking in terms of the space, the measures. ijust wonder who's going to enforce this testing. doesn't mean you and your colleagues will have to have some kind of medical training or are you going to be involved in that? and when the test results come back, are you waiting before you get the results, lots of questions by the way, before kids can come back to school gates? yes, i understand it would be 30 minutes for the results to be received. closer to 40 minutes now. in terms of who administers those tests, we a re in terms of who administers those tests, we are very concerned about

the appropriateness of people who have trained, devoted many years of their lives to be trained... we're concerned about those colleagues. moving to a completely alien role they are not trained for. from my understanding, this is quite intrusive. it requires teachers to get very close to students. we're not medical professionals, and i think there are certain considerations that we need to be very mindful of about the appropriateness and the care and about how much experience is going to play out for young people who mightfind to play out for young people who might find themselves in a test. there is the government's pressure to get this virus under control, and we're hearing from a number of professionals saying they are worried about what's going to happen

over the festive period. if the mass testing of children is not an option ora testing of children is not an option or a viable one, what's the alternative? i think mass testing is alternative? i think mass testing is a sensible option, but i don't think school is an appropriate place for it. i speak to our local mp, who is a fantastic supporter of all the mid—essex schools, we have a very good relationship with her. she suggested possibly that we could use a local athletic facility. that seems to me... i don't think it to be schooled making those arrangements. i think that should be lifted away from school. schools are supporting students to prepare for examinations. they are acutely aware of what last year's students were subjected to, the unsatisfactory

experience they had. 0ur subjected to, the unsatisfactory experience they had. our core business as teachers needs to be focused upon teaching and learning, helping students prepare for those exams next summer, supporting their mental health and supporting our families. we've got families who have been fallen —— who have fallen on financial hardship. we don't have the capacity to devote our energy and efforts and attention to administering this process. 0rganised administering this process. organised by a different body entirely and their staff can focus on their core business of teaching. tom, thank you so much for being here with us to share your thoughts. undoubtedly going to be a challenging time for schools up and down the country. the head teacher of st. john pain catholic school in

essex. northern ireland will begin a strict six—week lockdown from boxing day. coronavirus cases per head in northern ireland are lower than in the rest of the uk, but scientific advisers fear the hospitals will be overwhelmed if drastic action isn't taken now. from belfast, here's our ireland correspondent emma vardy. as the end of 2020 beckons, the new year will see northern ireland under its tightest regulations yet. in the first of six weeks of lockdown, a curfew — people won't be allowed to leave their homes between eight o'clock at night and six in the morning. this time, there will be tighter rules on exactly which shops are deemed essential and no click and collect services from others, which has disappointed some small businesses who've been managing to sustain themselves this way. from my perspective, if you're going to click and collect for me, it's far safer and far less contact than what it is in the likes of a lot of supermarkets in a lot of ways. to me, that's common sense.

restaurants had only opened back up a week ago. the first lockdown, we just took it on the chin. the second lockdown, i would say ten times more than the first one. i dread thinking of what a third one is going to do. the ministers admit the measures are draconian, but it's come about after unprecedented scenes in health service. seven of northern ireland's 12 hospitals are operating beyond capacity, and this week, saw queues of ambulances and patients treated in car parks. today, northern ireland's health minister warned the new lockdown will be strictly enforced. there will be a greater presence, i think, of police on the roads to make sure that everybody is observing that requirement that we try to get as many people as possible to stay at home over this so that we can break those chains of infection, so we can get on top of this virus. belfast‘s colourful festive season was already cut short,

but now it's been curtailed further. the decision was made in the face of mounting evidence of allowing households to mix over the holidays would lead to a spiral in cases of the virus in january. those bubbling arrangements will still go ahead for families to enjoy a merry christmas. but it will be followed by a much quieter new year. emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. the latest government figures on coronavirus show there were 28,507 new cases in the latest 24—hour period. the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 23,959. the number of people being admitted to hospital is rising too — 1,707 on average each day between now and last sunday. 489 deaths were reported for the last 24 hours — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. on average in the past week,

there were 434 deaths per day. the total number of uk deaths is now 66,541. scotland's public health minister has been sacked after figures released earlier this week showed the number of people dying from drug misuse in scotland had reached record levels. labour and the liberal democrats had been demanding joe fitzpatrick‘s resignation and were preparing a vote of no confidence in him at holyrood. first minister nicola sturgeon has thanked mr fitzpatrick for his work, and insisted the scottish government is determined to tackle the drugs crisis. there were more than 1,250 drug—related deaths last year, the worst such rate in europe. the chief constable of greater manchester police has resigned after the force was placed into special measures. ian hopkins, who is on sick leave, said he would step down with immediate effect. the force — the second largest in england — was found to have failed to record

80,000 crimes in a year by inspectors, who said its service to victims was a "serious cause of concern". the government's furlough scheme has kept millions of people in work, but there are concerns the system could be open to fraud. the government has received almost 20,000 reports from the public about abuse of the system and says it has prevented thousands of cases from happening. but there are fears that billions of pounds of taxpayers money has already been lost because of fraud and errors, as angus crawford reports. as the country shut down, furlough came to the rescue. the scheme has now paid the wages of 9.9 million workers at a cost of £46 billion. it is hideous, and i think about it now, and i still get upset. but some companies claimed the money and then forced staff, who were meant to be at home, back to work, meaning the firms were committing fraud.

workers like john, sacked when he complained. we're all in this together, everyone's suffering. but it was the companies taking large sums of money out there were the winners, you know. the losers are all of us that are having to pay the tax back, and they have just lost theirjobs. butjohn‘s is not an isolated case. leicester, home to the uk's clothing industry. behind these windows, scores of small manufacturers. it was an open secret here during the first national lockdown that many factories were still turning out clothes, but what we now know is that some of them were also claiming money from the government furlough scheme. in fact, an audit of 44 manufacturers found that 37 were breaking the furlough scheme rules. but not this company. it follows the rules, pays workers fairly, but its owner knows many of his rivals have been using furlough money to undercut him

and boost their profits. i'd say it's a bombshell, at the end of the day. it's something big. it needs to be looked at. the bottom line is from the taxpayer, and you're taking money away from people that really need it. it's there for a purpose. it's not there to be... it's not an atm machine! so the doors came down? yeah, yeah, yeah. 0ne former worker at a different factory stops us to talk, but doesn't want to be identified. they stayed and worked? and the money from the government? that went into the boss' pocket? this isn't just a problem in leicester. the government spending watchdog says furlough fraud and mistakes could cost the taxpayer more than £4 billion. john, now back at work, warns about the true cost of furlough. it's billions of pounds.

that's going to have to come back from somewhere, and it's coming back from taxes. it's ugly. it's an ugly part of our history. angus crawford, bbc news. sony and xbox have stopped selling one of the most highly—anticipated video games of all time, just days after its release, because of technical problems. the companies are offering a refund to anyone who's already bought cyberpunk 2077 for the playstation 4 or the xbox 0ne consoles, following complaints that it keeps crashing and freezing. —— sony and microsoft. the issues have wiped more than a billion pounds off the value of the game's creator, cd projekt red, which said it "should have paid more attention to making it play better". quite an extraordinary admission. let's speak now to keza macdonald, video games editor at the guardian. wow, keza, this has been in the making for some ten years. how did they get it so wrong?|j

making for some ten years. how did they get it so wrong? i think this is testament to the high stakes of modern video game development. these are made by hundreds of people by cost of about $300 million. you get toa cost of about $300 million. you get to a point where it becomes more expensive to keep delaying it than it does to release it. that's the gamble that cd projekt red have taken. it's gamble that cd projekt red have ta ken. it's massively gamble that cd projekt red have taken. it's massively backfired and might be months before the game is back. you wait ten years to refine something and then a few months, it all goes kaput. who will bear the brunt of this? really everybody loses. players lose because they don't get to play one of the most anticipated games, cd project lose out on sales and takes a huge hit. sony and microsoft are losing because they too are missing out on their cut of this crucial sales period. really, it's a mess all around. let's talk about the hype surrounding this to people who aren't familiar with it. talk us through the game and where we're at in terms of video gaming as a

culture. the game is a role-playing game. you get to be someone new in a cyberpunk city. it's very much like blade runner brought to light. the developer also made a game called the which are three. —— the witcher three. kiana reeves is starring in it. so there are really a lot of reasons to look forward to it. the developer had such good up of a reputation that no one expected this kind of a fiasco. we've just had to new consoles launch as well —— two new consoles launch as well —— two new consoles. people have really been looking for some way to escape reality, so people wrote —— this really feels like a kick in the guts. perhaps there is the problem, the fact there was so much pressure on them because the people in sony

and with this company probably thought let's get it out there while eve ryo ne thought let's get it out there while everyone is at home. there will have been presser on the developer. at one point, once you've got your marketing, once you got all that locked in, you can't really delay a game any further. there will have been pressure on those developers. they've already delayed the game twice. everyone working at cd projekt red has been trying to get it out on time. no one wants to release a broken game, but it does point to problems with the developer. i just point to problems with the developer. ijust want point to problems with the developer. i just want you to react to some of these tweets, it's developer. i just want you to react to some of these tweets, its huge on social media. thank god playstation is offering refunds. already requesting mine and i'll haveit already requesting mine and i'll have it soon. it was unplayable. it should never have been released. we've also had someone written and saying, "i'm not getting a refund because i know what it takes into making game, to be 100% perfect

ta kes a making game, to be 100% perfect takes a lot of time." i imagine more people would agree to the first person's tweet. what is your assessment in terms of getting your money back? right now, cd projekt red is doing the right thing. it's showing commitment to getting people their money back if they wanted. it does take an awful lot of time. sometimes games do launch in a bad state and players stick with it and hang on in there for three or six months. and the game turns out great. it's happened before and with that cd projekt red, it could happen again. the only question of whether is ashley possible on those older consoles, i think we'll have to wait and see —— actually possible. consoles, i think we'll have to wait and see -- actually possible. thank you so much forjoining us. we will speak again when we see what happens after this fiasco. 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. 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 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. there's just a week to go until christmas day. despite the rising number of covid infections, up to three households are being allowed to mix in england, scotland and northern ireland, with slightly tighter rules in wales. around half the population is planning to form a bubble with friends or relatives for christmas, according to research by the office for national statistics. our home editor mark easton has been talking to people from all walks of life about their plans and whether they‘ re now thinking of changing them. ‘tis the season to be jolly careful, says the prime minister. so how will britons celebrate christmas in this strangest of years? and what's people's reaction to the decision to relax the regulations on festive

get—togethers just as the pandemic threatens to overwhelm parts of the nhs? with the help of analysts britain thinks, we've assembled a focus group of people across the uk. well, season's greetings to you all. i'm interested to know how your christmas plans have changed, and specifically, how many people will you be sitting down with at christmas dinner? there will be seven. there will be six of us. six. five. four of us. by myself, so one. i work in the nhs, so i don't really want to put anybody at risk, so for that pure reason, i've decided that i want to spend christmas alone. that's very noble, i have to say. this year, there willjust be the two of us, and there's no point in getting a turkey for two, so we'll probablyjust have chicken. we are actually planning to have our christmas dinner outside, hoping that it doesn't rain. what, in the garden?!

yes, so, our plan is to have two little tables outside, distanced, and have lots of blankets and maybe a little fire. what do you all think about the government's plans to relax the restrictions so that family and friends can come together, albeit with this warning to be especially careful? i don't think it's a good thing. i think we will pay the price for it come january. natalie, you are nodding, i can see. i think they should have just left it down on lockdown through the whole of the christmas period, and then start up, like, 2021, a fresh year. if there had been a lockdown christmas, people would have just said, "no, to hell with it, it's christmas." at least this way, there's guidance. the vast majority of people will be responsible and mature about it, but you'll get that minority who think, "well, i can, so i'm going to." and if there were no rules in place, it would be anarchy. this just seems like another massive super spreader event that's been endorsed by the government. they don't want to be the people who cancel christmas. i think it's a big mistake.

part of me's really looking forward to christmas, because i'm a big kid and i love christmas. i'm buzzing for it. honestly, the one thing that has been getting me through this entire year is, christmas is coming. well, thank you to all of you for your time and your opinions. however you celebrate, i wish you a peaceful, a merry, and of course, a safe christmas. some parts of the country have been very wet and we've seen the number of flood warnings increasing. river levels rising across parts of southwest england ends into wales. this band of cloud sat across the uk, bringing wet or rather across scotland, northern england, wales and western parts of england. heaviest rain where we have this amber warning from the met office across south wales and south west england, more flooding and travel disruption. by the end of the day, there could be as much as 100 mm,

four inches of rain. that wetter weather is still around at the moment, but gradually overnight, that band of rain will push its way more towards eastern parts of england. allowing clear spells and showers to follow further into scotland, wales and western england. it will be windy overnight, so could be mild start to the weekend with temperatures of 8—10 c. the week and will probably look a little different actually, with sunny spells and scattered showers. very mild but wet weather that we've seen is getting pushed her way out towards the east, allowing the showers to roll in around that area of low pressure. we still got some rain affecting easternmost parts of england that will clear away by mid—morning, and then these bands of shower pack and very quickly. more frequent, perhaps and thundery across western parts of the uk, may be sunshine in between but still this was strong and gusty wind that

will blow the showers further east and further inland. it's going to be and further inland. it's going to be a windy day, but it will still be a mild day. not quite as mild as today, but 9—12 c. it turns cooler asa today, but 9—12 c. it turns cooler as a week and goes on and early on sunday, rural areas could reach four or5 sunday, rural areas could reach four or 5 degrees. we still got some sunshine and showers on sunday. most of the wet weather will be towards the northwest of scotland, the showers elsewhere fewer, more in the way of sunshine and gradually, the wind will ease down as well. signs of cloud and rain arriving in the southwest by the end of the day. for the first few days of next week, it's going to be wet and windy at times, threatening some more flooding, but it will be drier and colder just flooding, but it will be drier and colderjust in time for christmas.

this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. us vice president mike pence gets his vaccine on live tv to encourage others to have the shot, as more than 3,000 americans die of covid—19 every day. with cases raising across the country, with hospitalisations rising across the country, we have a ways to go. the spread of covid—19 is accelerating in the uk, with the crucial r number on the rise. doctors are bring about capacity and health services. to add a third

spike onto