hello there. the next few days, looks like this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. more than a0 countries have banned flights from the uk —— amid deep concerns about the spread of the new variant of coronavirus. meanwhile lorries continue to queue for miles in kent — unable to cross the channel after france shuts its border. a special report from china —— we hear from the chinese scientist whose laboratory is suspected, by some, of being the origin of the pandemic. exactly 32 years after a panam flight blew up over lockerbie, killing 270, us officials have charged a libyan man with making the bomb. jabs for the cameras — president—electjoe biden and the incoming first lady publicly receive their first doses of the covid—19 vaccine.

hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world — i'm tim willcox. the uk is increasingly isolated after admitting a new strain of covid 19 is out of control. almost all of europe has banned flights from the uk. but the european union is set to announce a unified plan on tuesday that could exempt lorries and freight to ensure trade routes can resume safely as soon as possible. in africa and the middle east — turkey, israel, morocco and saudi arabia are among those to ban all flights from the uk. in asia — india and hong kong, which is a key travel hub have suspended flights too. in south central america — argentina and columbia have also taken swift action.

and so has canada — though so far the us has not. the french ban on some freight lorries is due to last 48 hours, leading to long queues on the roads to the port of dover. the uk government points out that most freight is getting through, and talks to find a solution are continuing, as our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. you shall not pass. travel is blocked. instead of trucks flowing, stuffed with christmas parcels and supplies, the motorway is a car park with truckers stuck. this is my home, my bed. gordon's cab will be his bedroom, living room and kitchen for the next couple of days. what do we do? just have to sit it out. hopefully, they will get their act together and let us go home. colin got stuck at dover but has now made it back to the depot. so i will be able to get home for christmas, but a lot of these people sitting on the m20 are not going to get home for christmas.

the french border closed late last night. dozens of other countries are telling brits to stay at home. mr gove, should parliament be recalled? and ministers here are grappling with a new variant of the coronavirus that is hitting our health, businesses and trade with the outside world. emergency meetings have been taking place all day. we in the uk fully understand the anxieties of our friends about covid, their anxieties about the new variant, but it's also true that we believe the risks of transmission by a solitary driver sitting alone in the cab are really very low. how confident can you be tonight that you can get the delays and disruption under control? you said you just spoke to emmanuel macron. did he give you any commitment on when he would open the border? yes, it was an excellent conversation with the french president. he stressed he was keen, i would say, to sort it out in the next few hours if we can, and our teams will be

working on it flat out. but the high risk at home is increasingly clear. i think it is likely that this will grow in numbers of the variant across the country, and i think it is likely therefore that measures are going to need to be increased in some places in due course, not reduced. france, spain, denmark the czech republic and dozens of others have banned uk travellers, but a decision for president macron about opening the border for freight may not come until lunchtime, although late night conversations have been taking place. president macron, himself in isolation, told his cabinet... "a problematic mutation of the virus in the uk meant exceptional measures were needed to control the border." the longer the ban goes on, the more damage and disruption it does. the government has spent months rehearsing for this kind of emergency, but not because of the pandemic but because of what might happen with brexit.

the location of that... a border control centre had already been set up to manage the possible chaos, because in ten days‘ time, how we trade with the rest of the continent will change dramatically anyway. butjust because officials have practised in theory, doesn't make the practise any less painful. this is now a real emergency. we can have no more overpromising and false hope, no more confused messages and slow decision—making. we need strong, clear and decisive leadership. the disease is accelerating aggressively and even though it only affects a small proportion of freight, other countries‘ reaction to that is creating disruption, and before too long, more of the country could be under even tighter restrictions. even despite the turbulent times we have all become accustomed to, tonight, the government is grappling with a crisis on many fronts. finding a way around is not straightforward.

as the disease tightens its grip and the very end of the year approaches, political and practical problems now collide. laura kuenssberg, bbc news. more than 900 lorries are currently parked up on the motorway leading into the port of dover. there have been talks between the uk and france on the possibility of testing lorry drivers and travellers crossing the channel from britain. but no decisions are expected until tuesday. currently no lorries, vans or passengers are being allowed to sailfrom dover, and eurostar rail services have also been suspended. from dover —— our transport correspondent caroline davies reports. frustration, confusion, anger. not everyone at dover this morning had heard that lorries from the uk were not allowed

to cross into france. merry christmas! he wasn't the only angry driver. this man arrived in his van last night. i have a ticket at 11 o'clock. at seven o'clock, the french say, closed. it is not one day, two days ago, say, closed tomorrow at 11 o'clock, say, i come in quickly, you know, it is not make very good. for days now, we have seen queues of lorries stretching back from dover as businesses prepare both for christmas, but also for the end of the transition period, butjust take a look at dover this morning, completely empty. the port of dover usually handles 9,000 lorries a day. while goods are allowed in from france, that number has been substantially reduced today. it's a pretty significant event, yes, so we would certainly be encouraging governments on both sides of the channel to do what it takes to allow these guys to get moving again. if this goes on for a period of time, it will have an economic impact on both sides of the channel. while the port stayed closed, many waited. divine was heading home to france with his sister.

iam coming here, two o'clock in the night. two o'clock, and i am here 14 hours. where did you sleep? in the van. 0ne car park in dover began to fill up. dover is just a two—minute drive over that way, but here is where many people have parked up. i've spoken to people who had to spend the night here in their cars and vans, and you can see, there are registration plates from across the eu. ignaz is not a commercial driver, he's just trying to get home to his family in lithuania for christmas. my kids are waiting for their christmas presents and i'm stuck here in the uk. but for now, he is stranded in a car park. hopefully the government will fix that situation. hopefully. we will wait. we can wait a little bit, but not too much, you know. christmas is coming. 0vernight, part of the motorway down

to the coast will be closed as 0peration brock, the new road layout, is deployed to keep traffic flowing. in drizzly and mist—covered dover, many would like to know when the way ahead will be clear. caroline davies, bbc news. the rapid spread of a new variant of coronavirus in southeast england has been blamed for the introduction of strict tier four mixing rules for millions of people, and other countries placing the uk on a travel ban. so why is it causing concern? firstly it is rapidly replacing other versions of the virus, and now accounts for the majority of cases in london and the south east. there have been changes to the spike protein — this is the key the virus uses to unlock the doorway to our body's cells. some of those mutations have already been shown in the lab to increase the ability of the virus to infect cells. all of these factors have come together to have come together to build a case for a virus

that can spread more easily thoughout the population. i'm joined now by dave kennedy, assistant professor of biology at penn state in the centre for disease control and prevention infectious disease dynamics. thank you forjoining us. with pointing out that this virus is mutating many times and why is this variant so much more dangerous? yeah, absolutely, the coronavirus that causes covid—i9 has been evolving since it shown up in the human population nearly a year ago. what is interesting about this variant is that it is not one or two oi’ variant is that it is not one or two or even three small changes that happen but rather 23 mutations that are on this new line. so it's very different from the other strands that are around. 0n different from the other strands that are around. on top of that, the mutations that popped up, a lot of them are and what is called the spike protein of the virus which is one of the sites, one of the targets of the vaccination and so there is concern that the changes that we are

seeing in this virus may have important consequences for vaccination orfor important consequences for vaccination or for transmission or whatnot. the research has been done yet. on that it was first detected in september, wasn't it stop what do we know about this so far? we know right now is thatjust like you said, the first isolates were seen in september this year. three months ago and in november, what was so was the 25% of the cases in england and the 25% of the cases in england and the uk were caused by this new variant of the virus. it went from essentially being nothing to 25% of cases and knots were like 60 or 70% of cases are being caused by this variant. and with that suggests is that this virus is better at replicating or transmitting than the original virus, at least it's consistent with that theory and what we wa nt consistent with that theory and what we want to keep our eyes out for is whether this new virus is going to

replace the order virus that was around. is it affecting children more seriously than the former variant of this virus? yes, that is a great question. i should not say that i have eyes on the proprietary data or anything like that so, i can speak to the newest data that is in the uk that is not been released publicly yet. but for what is available, does not show any difference in the severity of infection once you get infected. at least preliminarily. and there are not a tonne of cases yet with the new variant and so we do not have enough to say definitively that it's not more or less harmful but nothing that we have seen so far suggest that we have seen so far suggest thatis that we have seen so far suggest that is more less harmful than the original virus that was out there. there are concerns that might be better transmitting than the original strand and the other concern is that it is changing the way our bodies see the viral infection. thank you very much for joining us at bbc news.

a leading chinese scientist at the centre of claims that the coronavirus leaked from her laboratory in the chinese city of wuhan, has told the bbc she is open to ‘any kind of visit‘ to rule out the theory. the statement from sherjung—lee — a virologist who's spent years studying forms of coronavirus — came as a team from the world health organisation prepared to travel to the city next month to start its investigation into the origins of covid—i9. but as our china correspondent john sudworth reports, the chinese authorities appear to be far less keen on scrutiny. the origins of this pandemic may well lie in the jungle covered hills of china's yunnan province. but reporting here is not easy. we're constantly followed and turned back at makeshift barriers and roadblocks. the bat populations here are known to harbour hundreds of coronaviruses,

some of which can pass to humans. but it's the years of scientific research collecting those viruses in yunnan‘s caves that is suddenly highly sensitive. because many of the samples were taken back to this laboratory, almost 1,000 miles away, in wuhan. suggestions the virus leaked from here have so far been met with angry denials. but now the lead scientist, professor shi zhengli, when asked by the bbc whether she would welcome a formal investigation, replied by e—mail. she is correct, of course. with wuhan now back to normal, the government is busy promoting another theory, that the virus didn't come from china at all. it is unlikely to have much appetite for a lab

investigation, but nor, it seems, do some members of the who team as they prepare to begin their mission. i've yet to see any evidence at all of a lab leak or a lab involvement in this outbreak. and i have seen substantial evidence that these are naturally occurring phenomena, driven by human encroachment into wildlife habitat, which is clearly on display across south—east asia. many scientists agree that a natural origin is the most likely, with the bat virus perhaps passing to humans via another animal in a wuhan wet market. but some are starting to wonder why, one year on, china has published so little about any studies that might help prove it. of course they've done them. they have the capability, they have the intelligence, they have the resources.

i2, 13 months out since the first recognised case of covid—i9, and we haven't found the animal source. so, to me, it's all the more reason to investigate alternative explanations. and i think it would be in china's interests as well, if only to, you know, rule that out. but ruling out a lab leak seems an unlikely prospect in a place where further roadblocks get in the way of even basic questions. it might seem odd thatjournalists find it so difficult to report on the science that took place in a cave somewhere down there, some years ago. but all of this may be proof that china has now decided it needs to control anything that may relate in any way at all to the question of the origin of the virus. the who says its inquiry will be open—minded. but the research done here on bats is not on the agenda. and as our visit ends with us trapped in a field for over an hour, it's clear china wants to keep it that way. john sudworth, bbc

news, yunnan province. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: jabs for the cameras — president—electjoe biden and the incoming first lady publicly receive their first doses of the covid—i9 vaccine. the president of bosnia and serbia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. the romanian border

was sealed and silent today, romania has cut itself off from the outside world in order to prevent the details of the presumed massacre from leaking out. trialfor details of the presumed massacre from leaking out. trial for his political life, the affair guaranteed bill clinton and his place in history as only the second president ever to be impeached. this is bbc news, the latest headlines. more than a0 countries have banned flights from the uk —— amid deep concerns about the spread of the new variant of coronavirus. meanwhile lorries continue to queue for miles in kent — unable to cross the channel after france shuts its border. the us depatment ofjustice has charged a man with making the bomb which blew up pan am flight 103 above the scottish town of lockerbie in 1989. it killed 270 people. adu ajjila masud is in

jail in libya, where prosecutors claim he has confessed to his role in the bombing. they are hopeful libya will allow his extradition to face trial. from washington, our correspondent aleem maqbool reports. the images will be seared on the minds of those who saw news of the atrocity unfolding. the massive scar on the earth where homes had been. 11 people on the ground and all 259 on board pan am 103, flying from london to new york, were killed. the worst terrorist attack in british history, though one that was seen as libyan revenge against the united states. though two men were originally charged in connection, only an alleged libyan intelligence officer, abdel baset almegrahi, was ever convicted, in 2001. though eight years later, he was released by scottish officials on compassionate grounds because of the cancer that ultimately killed him in 2012. but now the us says it's charging this man, abu agila masud,

for making the bomb that was detonated over lockerbie, alleging he confessed in an interview in libya after the fall of the regime of colonel gaddafi. the affidavit also alleges that the operation had been ordered by the leadership of libyan intelligence, and that after the downing of the aircraft, gaddafi had personally thanked masud for the successful attack on the united states. relatives of some of the 189 american victims welcomed the news. we feel very vindicated, a sense ofjustice that there is another co—conspirator that has been named and will be hopefully brought to prosecution. in honour of those we remember... there was a socially distanced memorial held here to mark the 32nd anniversary of the tragedy. but across the atlantic, some relatives of those who died talked of being upset and sceptical about the us announcement about new charges.

very thoughtless, very ill—conceived. we have become extremely cynical and suspicious of those in authority, suspicious of their integrity. these people are not to be trusted. and that's been the frustration that's meant many feel they can't fully move on — the lack of real answers about what might have been done to avert this horrific attack. something that won't be resolved with a new trial. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in washington. president—electjoe biden has been given a coronavirus jab live on us television. he got the pfizer/bion—tech vaccine at a hospital in his home state of delaware — along with his wife, jill. the 78—year—old is considered to be in a high risk group. mr biden urged americans to get the jab as soon as possible. he even had some praise for president trump.

the administration deserves some credit and off the ground, operation warp speed. i also think that it is worth saying that this is great hope of doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared when it is available to take the vaccine. let's go to peter bowes in la. trying to get public confidence in the vaccination and reallyjust supporting his point that this is going to be his top priority when he gets in office. even a very symbolic moment of the 78—year—old man who in a month's time will be the president of united states and on live television and cable news, television and cable news, television carried this and ex presses television carried this and expresses concern, he is showing americans that it is safe. it gave him great hope that the vaccine was available and the backdrop to this

is that there is some resistance from americans, some americans at least to the vaccine and are those that are traditionally against vaccines and perhaps some who are politically motivated for whatever reasons not to get the vaccine as well. it is very difficult at this early stage with the rolling of the vaccine to really determine what percentage of people fall into that category but clearly, what we watch television over the past few days, seeing these high—profile figures, including the vice president last week, the future vice president will be getting hers in a few days' time and clearly they're determined to get that message out to people that it is worth doing and that it is safe. with christmas coming up in a few days' time, the virus spread rapidly across thanksgiving and any change in the rules there now?m rapidly across thanksgiving and any change in the rules there now? it is still a pretty dire situation in the

los angeles county where some hospitals are saying that they don't have any emergency or intensive care beds available such as the level of the infection, 120 people in this country have been infected since the beginning of the pandemic and the rules really have not changed over the last week a severe locked down here, people essentially strongly encouraged to stay at home and stores are supposed to have capacity although anecdotally, travelling around and going to a few stores, i haven't really seen that be enforced and there doesn't seem to be a lot of flexing of attitudes in the face of flexing of attitudes in the face of the dire news the receiving and people are struggling as the in the uk and as they are around the world with how they live their lives during the special period of time as we approach christmas.

to minute been found guilty of those who suffer gated and set the lorry trailer as they were smuggled into britain last october. they also found them guilty of conspiracy to assist illegal immigration. a provocation, taped telephone call in which the opposition leader tricks the agents into disclosing details about is poisoning in siberia earlier this year. the agent reveals that the tocsin was planted in his underpants. he also acknowledges that the swift action of the pilot services may have foiled the operation. they said that the entire video was a fake. in the eu is calling on bosnia to find alternatives for more than 3000 migrants facing eviction from a refugee camp in the international organisation for migration since it

may have to close the centre. that is it for now and i willjoin you in a few minutes' time. hello there. the next couple of days, we are going to hold onto this north—south divide with northern areas seeing the colder, drier, brighter weather with some sunshine, a few showers, wintry on the hills. further south, it will continue to be fairly mild, but rather cloudy and wet thanks to low—pressure nearby. this is the pressure chart as we head on into tuesday. we still have this weather front straddling southern areas, further north, though, we have got higher pressure. so, here, plenty of sunshine for northern ireland, scotland, much of northern england, miflands and into north wales. more cloud, though, across the south of the country, some spots of rain at times, and here it will be milder. further north, it's going to be another chilly one with temperatures into single digits, some of these showers could be wintry on the hills because of the temperatures being quite low. but, again, double figures in the south.

as we head through tuesday night, we see a new area of low—pressure push—up from the southwest. that's going to increase the cloud, outbreaks of rain across the southern half of the country. further north, it will tend to be clear again, there will be a few showers, which will be wintry, as temperatures will fall to around freezing for many — a touch of frost here. further south, though, you can see 4—10 degrees. so, into wednesday, we've got this area of low—pressure, quite a vigorous system. more isobars on the charts, so through the day, it start to get windier. but, there is still some milder air with this area of low—pressure. so, the southern half of the country stays cloudy, wet and mild, further north, it will be colder. but the cold air will win out as we move on into the christmas period. so, this is the chart for wednesday. much of england and wales, perhaps even southern scotland will be cloudy with outbreaks of rain, some of it heavy

in the south, and there is a chance of further flooding, as the rain is falling on saturated ground. another mild day here, 6—11 or 12 degrees in the south, but for scotland and northern ireland, a bright one with sunshine, one or two showers, wintry on the hills and low single digits. 0ur area of low—pressure begins to slide away into the near continent, it allows this high—pressure to topple in and bring us colder northerly winds. it pushes the rain away from the southeast. we could see showers in northern areas, particularly around the coast, and these will be wintry because it will be cold. in but for many, it will be dry with more sunshine around, noticeably colder, particularly in the south 4—7 degrees. so that's for christmas eve. christmas day, a cold start, could see some frost around, and with high—pressure around, it should be dry with variable amounts of cloud and some sunshine. but then it starts to become more unsettled again into boxing day.

this is bbc world news, the headlines...

more than a0 countries have banned uk arrivals — because of concerns about the spread of a new variant of coronavirus. european union officials are trying to agree coordinated, strengthened, health protocols — for people travelling from britain. the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, has described the approval of the pfizer — biontech vaccine, by the eu's medicine regulator, as a european success story. inoculations should start, across the continent, within a week. 32 years after the lockerbie bombing, the us has announced that terrorism charges have been brought against a libyan national involved in the bombing of the pan am jumbo. us president—electjoe biden has publicly received an injection of the covid—19 vaccine, in an effort to boost confidence in its safety ahead of its wide distribution next year.