hello, i'm maryam moshiri. this is outside source. a brexit deal could be imminent. agreement on trade appears to be within reach. we'll bring you any signs of movement. millions more people in the south east of england enter the highest level of covid—19 restrictions due to the pace at which the virus is spreading. another variant of covid—19 is detected in the uk. this time, it's from south africa. tempers flare as truck drivers stranded in southern england are told they need a test and a negative result before they can travel to france. and we'll take a look at the massive cyber attack joe biden calls a grave risk to america's national security.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america, bbc news in the uk and around the globe on bbc world news. we start the programme on brexit, because there is increasing speculation a trade deal between the uk and the eu could be agreed as early as tonight. it is understood the broad shape of an agreement is there, but there's still some discussion over details. our europe editor katya adler has the latest from brussels. the expectation here in brussels is that tonight is the night, or at least that it should be. i mean, eu diplomats say that there is so little difference now between the the two sides. that said, they are continuing to negotiate this evening on the last sticking point. we've spoken so much about fish,

that eu demand that it keep some fishing rights in uk waters after brexit and all the complexities surrounding that. the prime minister is said to have been in very close contact with the president of the european commission, who of course represents all the eu countries in his discussion. and that makes absolute sense because it's only at those top political levels that those very difficult last political compromises could be made. so, of course, everybody nowjust waits to hear whether a deal has been reached or not. a short while ago, i asked our uk political correspondent rob watson if we're still waiting on details of the deal. i have to say no one waiting more easily than i am after this... after all this time. and i think when does have to be very careful after four and a half years. yes, absolutely waiting on the detail. but let's remember that if there is a deal this will be, maryam, it's not an exaggeration, a truly historic moment and the most important moment in british political history since the vote to leave the european union.

and again, without getting too far ahead of ourselves, if there is a deal, if that detail does get resolved and they consider that the big picture is fine as well as the detail, it means that there won't be no deal. and that is massively important cos i think that would have led to political and economic chaos potentially here in the uk and perhaps the start of an unthinkable sort of enmity or almost rivalry between the uk and the european union. i think if there is a deal, it makes that much less likely. and, rob, are we any clearer as to what this deal potentially looks like? well, no, and don't forget it's going to be over 1000 pages long, so it's pretty good. i think it's worth remembering, i was talking up the idea of a deal as opposed to no deal, highlighting the differences, it's still worth remembering that we're pretty sure it's still going to be a very hard brexit. and what we mean by that is the uk is leaving the european union's main

sort of economic elements as you like, the single market and the customs union. and as far as we understand, this deal won't cover things which are very important to the uk, services like financial services. so it'll be what some people are calling a fairly bare—bones trade deal. but i guess optimists would tend to take the view that at least if you have a deal, it's something you can build on. i mean, the uk could decide to get closer to the european union, to reverse its divergence. or as some would like, to maybe become more divergent from the european union. but at least you'd have sort of got a starting point where you could decide where you want to go to from there, and preferably with easing of tensions here in the uk over the brexit divisions and of course the uk's tensions with brussels. but, again, we may be getting a little bit ahead of ourselves. one of the key issues throughout the negotiations has been fisheries, and there are reports that the uk has finally compromised

on fishing waters. here's our correspondent in westminster nick eardley. look, there's been a lot of movement on fishing in the last few days. it was perhaps the big outstanding issue at the weekend. there was also the issue of how you police competition rules. but fisheries has really been one of those issues that's been totemic for both sides. because in the uk, it was obviously seen as symbolic of some of the worst elements of being in the european union. and for many european countries, it's really important that their fishermen still have access to uk waters. so, at the weekend, there was some pretty big movement from both sides, and it did seem they were heading in the right sort of direction where there could be a compromise. so the big question is whether that's gone far enough and whether it can be signed off tonight. we've not had that confirmed yet. there's no guarantee that it will be. and if we've learnt anything from the last few months of the brexit process it's that sometimes last—minute hurdles do appear.

so don't be sitting there tonight thinking this is absolutely done. my understanding is the two sides in the last hour have still been in the negotiating room. so not all done. however, if the deal is signed off, it'll be really interesting to see how coastal communities, how some tory mps react. because there were some who at the start of this process really didn't want any sort of fisheries deal that was linked to trade. it looks like there may well be some links between fisheries and trade now. the big question is going to be how long it is before the new rules come in, whether there's a lengthy transition towards new quotas and then what the quotas look like. and, to be honest, a lot of that will be in the eye of the beholder. i'm sure if that deal is done both sides will be able to say, "look, we've got something good from this." but at the same time, i'm sure there will be some on either side who aren't completely satisfied. staying here in the uk,

where 6 million people in england will be moving into tier 4 coronavirus restrictions from boxing day. that's the highest level of restrictions. the uk health secretary, matt hancock, announced the changes, saying it was vital the government act as cases continue to rise at a "dangerous rate". hospital admissions are now at their highest level since mid april. here's our political correspondent laila nathoo. not the gift the government wanted to give. having already scaled back plans to allow christmas mixing, but ministers say the new strain of the virus has forced their hand. we have learned that when it comes to being a matter of when not if we take action, it is better to act sooner. and i know that some of these decisions are tough. and i believe that everybody will do what is needed to keep themselves and others safe. especially this christmas. and i know from the bottom of my heart that there are brighter skies ahead. the government insists it's

confident that the system of tiered restriction in england is now strong enough to contain the new strain of virus that is spreading quicker while the vaccine is being rolled out. almost half of the country's population will soon be in the toughest tier. ministers say they don't want another national lockdown, but are keeping everything under review. we've been here before, and they had to change course. the cheer of christmas is muted this year. and for millions facing even stricter rules, boxing day will bring a further test of resolve. the reason for the changes is clear — the coronavirus outbreak in the uk is out of control. here are the latest numbers. they show that there were a further 39,237 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the past 2a hours, the highest figure reported on a single day throughout the pandemic. it's important to note that testing capacity has increased considerably since the first peak in spring. a further 744 people have died,

taking the total number of confirmed uk deaths to 69,051. here's the health secetary, matt hancock. we all know that 2020 has been a hard year, and it's ending in this festive period which is going to be very different. across the country, cases have risen 57% in the last week. the average covid hospital admissions are 1909 a day. that's the highest figure since mid—april. there are 18,915 people in hospital with coronavirus right now. that's almost as many as there were at the peak. so, two days before christmas, it's already a bleak picture, and matt hancock now says yet another new variant has been detected in two people arriving from south africa. here's more of what he said. this new variant

is highly concerning. because it is yet more transmissible and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant that has been discovered in the uk. we've taken the following action — first, we are quarantining cases and close contacts of cases found here in the uk. second, we're placing immediate restrictions on travel from south africa. and finally, and most importantly, anyone in the uk who has been in south africa in the past fortnight and anyone who is a close contact of someone who's been in south africa in the last fortnight must quarantine immediately. let's get more on that from our health correspondent katharine da costa. more work needs to be done in this, so there will be further investigations going on in public health england's laboratories in porton down and wiltshire to find out more

about the behaviour of this south african variant. as well as ongoing investigations into the variant that's been seen circulating predominantly in london, the south east and east of england. matt hancock said that cases across the country were up 57% on last week, and he said that the new variant was spreading at a dangerous rate. looking at the data of patients with coronavirus in hospital up until the 18th of december, that stood at close to 19,000 patients. compare that to the peak in april, when it was up to 21,000. we have had some response from nhs providers, which represents hospital trusts in england. and they say it's right to respond to rising infections, hospitalisations and deaths which are nearly at the level of the height of the first wave of the pandemic in april. so moving more areas into higher tiers is an important next step, and we should call on the government to move as decisively as possible over the coming days should the spread accelerate further.

and in the press conference, matt hancock was asked, you know, given the spread of this variant, both the one in the uk and this south african variant, should the whole of the country be put into a national lockdown? and matt hancock said he felt that it was concentrated in london, south east and the east of england and that tier 4 restrictions should contain it. but clearly the ministers will be looking very closely at the data, at the rising case rates across the country to see whether there are any changes, and whether further restrictions may be needed. stay with us on outside source. still to come, we'll take a look at the massive cyberattack earlier this month the president—electjoe biden says "constitutes a grave risk" to us national security. tony blair is urging the british government to consider giving as many people as possible an initial dose of a coronavirus

vaccine rather than preserving stocks so there's enough for second jabs. both the pfizer—biontech and oxford university—astrazeneca vaccines require two doses to be fully effective. but the former uk prime minister said his idea would speed up the vaccination programme. it's a thought echoed by the former director of immunisation for the department of health, professor david salisbury. i think we have to save as many lives as we possibly can as fast as we can using the vaccines that are available to us. the evidence that a second dose of the pfizer vaccine actually confers very much benefit is not there. with the current circumstances i would strongly urge that you should use as many first doses as you possibly can for risk groups, and only after you've done all of that comeback with second doses.

this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story is — there are reports from brussels and london that the major issues have been resolved and the eu and uk are closing in on a trade deal. now to the border between the uk and france. it reopened on wednesday, but the situation in the port of dover is still chaotic. rapid testing of the drivers is already under way, but because there are now at least 5000 lorries backed up, it's clearly going to take time to get things moving. here's the uk's transport secretary, grant shapps. it's an enormous operation. but once we've got the army deploying tests, this evening, as well as much larger number of people from the nhs test and trace system. we can handle the number

of test today. the problem is not the number of tests per day, it's not the number of sailings per day. 10,000 is about the number of a busy day in kent. we can do that number of tests as well, it's the logistics of people following the instructions, make it sure it's clear in order we can get traffic rolling for some again, the more that people follow the clear instructions, the faster to get this resolved. it will take a matter of days rather than weeks or anything else. but there will be, i'm afraid, some patience required. we will be providing some welfare for lorry drivers and others at making sure that we can do that. well, after three days stranded, the drivers are frustrated and angry. this was the scene earlier. as you can see, groups of protesting drivers clashed with lines of police who had blocked the port off. the bbc has heard from some of them. police from three days told us that testing will start soon. but they don't know when. they don't know when.

and that's why people are protesting, because we just want to make the test and go straight to home. in one day is christmas. we are in a three—day, we are very tired, we stay in the cars, we don't have a lot of food, no money. it's not very good. england told me and i have to pass next test. i said, "i can go to france." but i don't see test. so, here's how travel and frieght is now working between the uk and france under the agreement. hauliers, french citizens and british nationals living in france can now travel by air, rail or sea. but in order to get across, they'll have to show that they've tested negative for covid—19 in the last 72 hours. as i mentioned, to help clear the blockage of lorries at dover, rapid lateral flow tests will be given out to hauliers. results will come in 30 minutes. a positive test will mean

isolation in a local hotel. the arrangement will be reviewed on the 31st of december, but could run until the 6th of january. nhs test and trace staff and the military have started testing. sangita myska is there and sent this a short time ago. we think that there are about officially 5,000 vehicles trying to get into the port of dover. but i have to say, my colleagues all over kent are suggesting the real figure is quite a bit higher. what you can see perhaps in the background, again, more police lines. and some of the vehicles now coming out of the port of dover. i have been told on the ground that these are lorries that are disembarking from ferries. that will be a positive sign. the reason that's a positive sign is because it means those ferries could be getting ready to set sail. how do i know that? because about two hours ago, we saw the first mobile testing kits

coming here to the port of dover. let me just take you across to the mouth of the port. what the police officers have been telling me is that they took some vehicles in quite a few hours ago and had the drivers park them inside the mouth of the port. it's thought that what will happen is they will get tested. if they test negative, they will, when the ferry is ready, be able to board that ferry and start breaking the deadlock. across europe, more countries are easing their travel restrictions with the uk, with the netherlands and bulgaria starting to allow travel from the uk with a negative covid test. but the uk is very much still isolated from the rest of the world just days before christmas. the list of countries with restrictions and bans is massive. more than a0 countries have taken action, and even more are following suit. the philippines, japan and south korea have become the latest countries to restrict british people from entering because of the new variant of coronavirus. on tuesday, the eu's executive branch, the european commission,

called on member states to lift their travel bans imposed against the uk amid fears of a new covid strain. as we mentioned, some countries have followed that advice, but most have not changed their restrictions. here's our correspondent in brussels, gavin lee. about 22 countries, member states, that have still got some kind of restrictions or bans wholesale in place. it's interesting because the restriction recommendations to be lifted were quite clear yesterday that they should be lifted and in places should be tests for people to prove negative for covid within 72 hours before arrival. or quarantine measures in place. there were they did exactly what it said on the tin. you need the pcr test, the longer

test. only france nationals and freight drivers which were angry about. it's interesting because some of the british press suggesting that this is down to politics. macron was pushed into it by the commission but the french say, no, this was one of their ideas to lift these measures with these tests in place. some papers calling him ms europe. they said that's not the case. as they say many countries doing their own thing for top including baltic states. they are putting on a report for flight next monday at half past five for all those people who can't get home for christmas. the president—elect, joe biden, says the massive cyberattack on the us government, which was revealed earlier this month, "constitutes a grave risk" to us national security. mr biden said foreign actors had been able to exploit the breach since late last year, and he wants them officially identified. we can't let this go unanswered. that means making clear and publicly who is responsible for the attack and taking meaningful steps to hold them to account.

initial indications, including from secretary pompeo, secretary of state, and attorney general william barr suggest that russia is responsible for this breach. it certainly fits russia's long history of reckless, disruptive cyber activities, but the trump administration needs to make an official attribution. this assault happened on donald trump's watch when he wasn't watching. donald trump, for his part, has cast doubt over russia's role on twitter and suggested the hack could "possibly" have been carried out by china. well, we know the attack was huge. and hackers were able to read and potentially download documents at a string of us government departments, including defense, homeland security and the us treasury. they gained access through updates to a piece of software used to monitor networks. the company that makes it, called solarwinds, says up to 18,000 of its customers downloaded the malwa re further analysis suggests 50 organisations

were significantly hit, most in north america. the hack was discovered when it security company fireeye found it was one of those affected. kevin mandia is chief executive of fireeye, and i asked him to explain how the attack occured. yeah, there's no easy way to say it in under 1000 words, but i'll say it this way. this was a breach that wasn't a break through the window, this was a special operation where if somebody was robbing the building in cyberspace, they came under cover of darkness and helicopters through the back door and solarwinds. this was a special operation by the best hackers in the world or at least a nation with decades of experience going on offence and executing these campaigns.

can you point the finger at anyone in particular, at russia? we respond to over 1000 breaches a year and we take the fingerprints, like a good detective, on every one of those breaches. you've heard government officials in the us point the finger at russia. we have no reason to believe that's not the case, but what i can tell you is the breach is so pervasive and there's so many people working on it that i'm confident we're going to go to 90% certainty, we're going to find the building where this occurred in and get attribution right on this. you described this as a special operation. what exactly were the hackers looking for? right. in the cases that we're involved in, there was definitely a focus on government capability, government agencies, primarily in north america, and they did stay focused. i heard in the announcement there's over 300,000 companies that use solarwinds, but then you come down that funnel, only about 18,000 companies

downloaded the back door from solarwinds, but only about 40 to 50 organisations appear to be impacted. notjust having the back door, but also having the threat actor come in and steal information and do additional operation. so, this attack was very focused, very disciplined, and in my opinion, based on thousands of hours of forensics on this, operational security mattered most to the attacker, and mission accomplished might have been their second goal on this. it was primarily what i call the .gov against .gov kind of intrusion. fireeye is a company which is used by companies and governments around the world to protect them from hackers. what reassurances can you give any of your customers right now? well, there's no question, we were designed for this moment. this is what we do.

i've always felt it's strategically important that even though we make software that protects companies, you have to respond to every breach so you create an innovation cycle to protect your customers. our goal, we recognise when a modern nation goes on offence and use their resources to target the private sector or even the government agency, over time, the modern nations' intelligent capabilities will beat the company. but we are here to learn on the front lines, do the forensics and infuse that into our system. right now, our products detect this attacker and the ttps or the tools that they used to carry out this campaign. a reminder of our top story, there are reports from brussels and london that the major issues have been resolved and the eu and uk are closing in on a trade deal. after more than four years of negotiations, more here on bbc news and on our website. don't forget you can get

in touch with me and some of the team on twitter. i'm @bbcmaryam. thanks for watching. bye—bye for now. hello. there is a change in weather type in store as we head through the festive period, but it's certainly been another wet day on wednesday. things thankfully turning drier and also colder as we move through christmas eve and christmas day itself. here's the area of low pressure that brought a lot of rain to england and wales on wednesday. there's still plenty of flood warnings in force. river levels very high in places, so localised flooding continuing through tonight into christmas eve morning. that rain clearing away towards the south. colder, clearer skies, but also some wintry showers. so there could be some snow for the north of scotland. some iciness here as well. a touch of frost further south. quite a chilly start to christmas eve morning. so, heading through christmas eve on thursday, then, high pressure sits out towards the west, keeping things mostly dry. but we've got these cold, northerly winds.

the blue colours across the map showing that fairly cold air mass with us. so, moving through christmas eve, then, a day of sunshine and showers. most of the showers will be across eastern england. northern and eastern scotland seeing some wintry flurries, and those showers blown in on that brisk northerly wind. so it will feel cold if you're exposed to that northerly wind, with temperatures at best only around 3—8 degrees on christmas eve. best of the sunshine and the dry conditions to be found towards western parts of the uk. moving through christmas eve night into christmas day itself, and this area of high pressure will dominate the weather. so that will squeeze away most of those showers. still one or two around that east coast, but first thing christmas morning, look at those temperatures — below freezing pretty much across the board. so a crisp, frosty start to the day. plenty of sunshine for christmas day, especially across more southern and eastern parts of england and wales. the cloud will increase from the north—west through the day, and there will be some rain across the far north west of scotland. temperatures on the chilly side, between about 4—7 degrees for most of us christmas day.

but a lot of dry weather for getting out and enjoying a christmas walk perhaps if you can. boxing day, things are all changing. we've got milder air moving in from the west. quite a windy spell, could be gales in the west and some rain and hill snow moving in across the north west of scotland, a few showers further south. temperatures on boxing day around about 6—10 degrees. still unsettled as we head through sunday into monday, and things turning chilly once again through the course of next week as we head towards the end of 2020. bye for now.

this is bbc world news,

the headlines. the bbc understands the uk and eu are close to finalising a post brexit trade deal. the brexit negotiators, from both sides, are believed to still be, in the negotiating room in brussels. 6 million people will be put into new resrictions in the south of england as coronavirus cases continue to rise. from december 26 people will be told to stay at home. all non essential shops, gyms and hairdressers will close temporarily. tempers have become frayed at the english port of dover as truck drivers face continuing delays — despite france reopening its border. drivers must show they have a negative covid test result before they can travel. the uk says another new variant of coronavirus has been detected in two people arriving from south africa. scientists say it's not the same as the mutant strain which has infected many corona patients in southern england. and now, hugh pym tells

the story of the coronavirus