i'm larry madowo in washington and this is bbc world news america. closing in on a brexit agreement — there are signs from brussels and london that there's a deal on the table. pizzas are delivered to the eu's headquarters in brussels, as negotiators prepare to work through the night to finalise the details. president donald trump vetoes a $740 billion defence bill and threatens to do the same with the coronavirus economic relief package. and 2020, it's a year most of us don't want to repeat. we take a look at the big issues we tackled. and what we've overcome.

welcome to world news america, on pbs and around the globe. it's a crucial moment for a trade deal between the european union and britain. officials say the two sides are very close to reaching an agreement. but it hasn't been signed just yet and time is running out. they only have until december 31st to reach a deal. our uk political correspondent rob watson joins us from oxford. we've been hearing all day the deal is imminent. there isjust a few things left and it will be happening in the next few hours. what is the holdout? we don't know, but i guess you might say after four and half yea rs you might say after four and half years or however long this man come if it is another foreign half hours perhaps that is not the end of the world. but what is significant is that up until now, this meant either one side or the other. a bit

discouraging. this time that is not happening with the deal. we're getting close to the deadline. the real deadline is the 31st of december. but i think it is pretty clear that negotiators would rather like to get this done be home for christmas. it has been reported european european president wanted a deal as much as possible but that also been said that without a deal this would be the worst economic crisis from britain in 300 years. just at the same approach the uk negotiators are going into this with? -- is that the same approach. i think it is certainly true that both sides would feel that if they hadn't achieved a deal it would be a failure of statecraft that somehow would be extraordinary of these two entities if you like some the uk having been a loyal member of the eu for years, if they fail to a deal it

would be considered a real upset first statecraft and diplomacy and i think without wishing to get too far ahead of ourselves, i do think if there is a deal, it would be a truly historic moment, the most important moment in british politics since the vote to leave in 2016. and that it simply because as you suggested what an alternative would be, and no deal, which i think most forecasts are suggesting that would lead to economic and political chaos here in the uk. but also the almost unthinkable idea of the uk in the european union after years of friendship, it being sort of rivals in every antagonism and it is getting a bit of head of ourselves but to put it in some contexts, if there is a deal it is i a pretty historic moment. how much anxiety has there been over the last few days? we have seen the long queues and overt when france closed the

border. is that a precursor for what happens in no deal situations and are people worried about that possibility? it is a fascinating question. if only we knew. maybe thatis question. if only we knew. maybe that is one of those things. when books get written about, the inside story of the negotiations, whether that really did play a part. what i would say, the only thing i can say is clearly the british government has known is had a lot of forecasts and a lot of worst—case scenarios, it is known for months the possibility of what a no—deal brexit would look like with queues and cues and lines and lines of lorries while they were waiting to fill up, fill out paperwork, do tariffs and quotas, regulations, and of course ina deal quotas, regulations, and of course in a deal that will still be some of that and britain will no longer be a member of the eu, trade between the uk in the eu, there will be friction, but it is a fascinating question. i guess my long—winded way

of saying is i think the uk government is known for some time that a no deal could be tricky. past the fact of saying a bit of a dress rehearsal for the fact of saying a bit of a dress rehearsalfor him practice the fact of saying a bit of a dress rehearsal for him practice these last days had an effect? we simply don't know. we are waiting to see what happens. we here in the next three hours something might happen. rob watson thank you so much. donald trump has less then a month left in office — but he's not going quietly. the outgoing president has just vetoed a sweeping defence bill worth 740 billion dollars, which came as a surprise to the members of congress. house speaker nancy pelosi says they will return on december 28th to see if they can override mr trump's veto. joining me now is our washington correspondent lebo diseko. president trump has been the most unhappy men in washington since he lost the election. he had along with the grievances. why is he unhappy about this defence bill which just

passed unanimously almost for 60 yea rs passed unanimously almost for 60 years 01’ passed unanimously almost for 60 years or something?” passed unanimously almost for 60 years or something? i think that is the question of the day really. he has been a railing against this bill for quite some time. i think the fa ct for quite some time. i think the fact that he vetoed it was probably more shocking than surprising really. his issue is he said that he wa nted really. his issue is he said that he wanted to tie to the repeal of some of the section 230, basically that allows social media companies indemnity from prosecution or litigation for third—party posts. republicans and conservatives have long accused platforms like twitter and facebook of an anti—conservative bias. in this kind of anger against social media companies who wish to punish them really picked up when twitter started marking his post as untrue or being false over the summer untrue or being false over the summerand untrue or being false over the summer and obviously we have seen that getting increasingly better,

the interaction between the two. so donald trump has said that he wanted a repeal of section 230 as part of this bill and he was also very unhappy about plans by the military to rename common statues or monuments that pay respect to confederate soldiers are people from the confederate time. he was very angry about that in his statement. he said that he objected to that as well. interestingly a lot of republicans in the last few weeks have said we understand your issues with section 230, but this is not the place to make that protest. this isa the place to make that protest. this is a bill which gives funding for pay increase for the military also and boost funding for things like cybersecurity and as you know is really important at the moment. the bill had passed with a vetoproof majority in both chambers and we don't know whether that will be the case when they come to vote on this again. we have already heard a

lindsey graham saying that he will not vote against the president. we will have to wait and see. president trump has made this an issue of national security when many people in washington don't think it is anything related to national security, just as grievances. this that mean during this holiday season he has another thing he can veto which is that stimulus package that will give $600 checks to americans, many of whom are suffering? this is what he is threatening. he is not actually said he is going to do it. but certainly that is the implicit threat in the video he posted last night. look, for democrats, they are quite gleeful about this. we have long wanted more money for the stimulus checks and they are saying bring it on and let's vote on this and let's pass this tomorrow. we are yet to hear a response in full from the republicans on that. it is very embarrassing for his own party to him it was his own treasury secretary steve manucho who helped

him negotiate that bill even though donald trump was kind of in the background. he was not directly involved. you will think as his treasure sick secretary was negotiating on his behalf. he seems a bit at odds with his party. —— treasury secretary. we will have to see how this plays out. and steve manucho was called the most eager men to washington because he wanted to get that deal done. thank you so much for speaking to us. president trump is showing no signs of conceding tojoe biden, which is starting to splinter the republican party. his supporters say the presidential election was a sham, and there are concerns they won't turn out in the upcoming run—off for georgia's two senate seats next month. if the democrats win, they will control both chambers of congress. joining us now from cincinnati, ohio is gary abernathy, a contributing columnist for the washington post. gary, you're a conservative and have been one of president trump's most passionate defenders over the last four years. but you broke with them when he disputed the election. why is that?

there comes a time when you just have to deal with reality. i don't like how the election turned out. i wish president trump had one but the fa ct wish president trump had one but the fact is he didn't win. there are a lot of questions about what happened with mailing votes and some wine, we had the mass of melon boats that we've never had before. but if you're going to deal with that, deal with that when it is happening. when the legislators in the states and the legislators in the states and the secretary of the state in every state approved that change. —— mass of mail in ballots. because of covid—19. you don't try to deal with it after the election happens. after the votes have been counted and after you have lost. the fact isjoe biden got more votes than president trump, and he won more electoral votes in the president trump. so we need to for the good of the country and the good of the world acknowledge that and move on. but you're in the minority of the republican party. many elected representatives from senate and congress are the way down believe

that president trump one the selection and it was stolen from him and they intend to contested on january six when congress counts the votes. what happens then?|j january six when congress counts the votes. what happens then? i think after the elect doors actually cast their votes i we ago also come up a lot more republicans in congress began to acknowledge though lot more republicans in congress began to acknowledge thouthoe biden has one quarter that —— electors. and then course upset president trump also. but again i think that slowly you will see more and more republicans come out and say we have to deal with reality, we have to accept president—elect biden, that is what he is, and what i hope is that going forward, we don't repeat female in votes on the scale that we did. —— repeat the mailand scale that we did. —— repeat the mail and ballots. i hope that does not start trend because it really does set up a lot of bad possibilities going forward. —— mail—in votes. in person voting is

best. verifying that somebody voting is who they say they are is best. and i'm not saying that president trump doesn't have a valid complaint. but i'm saying whether it was 1960 with nixon versus kennedy 01’ was 1960 with nixon versus kennedy or 2000 with gore versus bush, there's always room for complaints and always room to try to fix things that were wrong, but the fact is joe biden if the president—elect and we just need to accept that whether we like it or not. those of us who are not thrilled about a have to accept that and move forward. gary, quickly, you talk about the concerns about mail—in votes, coming up for a test in georgia come in the runoff for the senator seats who decides who controls congress. the danger for republicans, i know president trump went to georgia and campaigned for the two republican candidates. but it is a mixed message being sent. about whether you can trust

the voting or not. it is kind of a self—defeating thing. we will see what happens. right now i know there oui’ what happens. right now i know there our poll saying that republicans are trailing of those races with the we learned in the last election they have been fixed polling in this country. especially fixate polling. —— they have not fixed. whatever amount they say they are behind you can add five or six points to that but i look for a very close election when that one comes around and that will determine who controls the united states senate. taking a very optimistic view on the polls. thank you, gary. in other news around the world. a fire has destroyed an emergency migrant camp in bosnia close to the border with croatia, just as aid agencies began to pull out due to the lack of electricity and water. officials say former residents set fire to tents and containers. there are no reports of anyone hurt, but the blaze means nearly 3000 people will have to sleep outside in freezing temperatures.

the mayor of rio dejaneiro, marcelo crivella, has been arrested as part of a corruption investigation, just nine days before the end of his term in office. an evangelical pastor, gospel singer and close ally of president jair bolsonaro, prosecutors accused crivella of being in charge of a ‘well—structured and complex criminal organisation‘ you're watching bbc world news america. still to come on tonight's programme: empty ski slopes in italy. another covid surge hits the tourism industry, at the end of a year in which nearly 70,000 people there have died. to afghanistan now, where gunmen today killed yousef rashid, the head of the country's biggest independent election monitoring group. his killing, is the latest in a series of assassinations in recent weeks. lyse doucet reports.

another day, and other death in afghanistan, and a death by what is called a sticky bomb, a magnetic bomb that is placed on the side of a vehicle whereby a targeted assassination. yousef rashid was very popular, a very strong voice. in the free and fair and lecture foundation, i remember when it was first formed not long after the toppling of the taliban in 2001, it was seen as a sign toppling of the taliban in 2001, it was seen as a sign of the new afghanistan. afghanistan which would have elections come election monitors, and now here we are, almost starting the year where it will be 20 years since the fall of the taliban, but a new beginning in afghanistan and the head of this pre—and fair election campaign is going down the street as he's going to work. going down the street as he's going to work. italy is ending 2020 as the nation with the highest covid death toll in europe — and the government has tightened measures over christmas,

including closing ski resorts. italy was the first country in the west to be hit hard by the virus, with the northern city of bergamo particularly devastated. 0ur correspondent mark lowen has been back there to reflect on a tragic year. clearing the pistes for no—one to use. high in the italian alps, this resort should be preparing for a bumper christmas season, but it and all italian ski resorts have been shut by the government to slow coronavirus. it's in the province of bergamo, worst hit in italy by the pandemic. and now there is the financial shock. translation: at christmas, we make up half of our season, losing it causes irreparable damage that we will never make up, and i imagine some businesses here won't survive. what we from bergamo lived through in march was very frightening, hearing the sound of ambulances. we must take care not to relive it but the mountains can be enjoyed safely and this is not a fair decision.

the first wave of the virus closed these pistes on the eighth of march. having to shut down again is a devastating blow for resorts that make up 11 billion euros of the italian economy. but there is always a trade—off between economic damage and halting the virus, and losing this christmas on the slopes is a sacrifice the government feels it has to make. desperate measures to stop a repeat of march, when deaths in bergamo were more than five times previous years‘. christmas won't ease the pain of a city whose despair became a symbol of italy's agony. this woman's father was one of the first to die at home. the kind face of the local santa. his body stayed in their living room for 2.5 days before the overwhelmed authorities could retrieve it. translation: someone

like him deserved a funeral, something dignified, instead of being thrown into a coffin in our house like a carcass. there'll be an empty place at the table this christmas. he was the life and soul of the party. i'm angry, too, with the authorities who didn't close down bergamo fast enough. they put the economy ahead of human lives. sirens. the scenes in march of bergamo's main hospital, short of beds and oxygen, woke the west up to what it would face. today, it's quieter, numbers are lower, so many cases here has created some herd immunity, but psychologists say the mental scars run deep. translation: patients told me of their dreams of being in a room on fire, needing someone to save them. bergamo has always been a very lively city, full of people and light. suddenly, it became a wounded city — ground to a halt, silenced. i, too, needed psychological help, and i think we will see more patients for years to come.

in a year of hospital heroes, the building itself has become a christmas nativity scene here, with memories of the horrors of 2020 and dreams of a medical miracle to come. mark lowen, bbc news, bergamo. as many countries struggle to contain their cases of the coronavirus, the southeast asian nation of singapore has had an amazingly successful war against the coronavirus. in april, it was reporting more than a thousand cases a day. now, the daily rate is virtually zero and its fatalities are among the lowest on the planet. suranjana tewari has more. a sea of masks for more than seven months now. singapore seems to have conquered the coronavirus, and yet the restrictions aren't going away anytime soon. are you ready for this, yeah? behind this mask is british expat fiona. during singapore's circuit—brea ker, she was unable to run her

tennis coaching business. like most of the country, fiona's now back on herfeet, but restrictions continue to change the way she works. we started, obviously, with a full lockdown. then, as everybody was complying to all of that, then they allowed the measures to be relaxed. there are restrictions, but those restrictions become, really, your new normal. these tracing tokens are part of that new normal. they help track down people who have come into contact with someone who has tested positive for covid—19. the idea is to get at least 70% of the population into the system, so that contact tracing can be carried out quickly. what we need to do right now is reopen the economy and society. but to do so with the presence of intensive contact tracing,

regular testing. targeted testing of specific groups in the community, like taxi drivers and teachers, are a big part of getting back on track. but there are still strict laws around social distancing. this aggressive yet effective approach has largely worked because of consistent communication to the public. but in many ways, singapore's plan has succeeded because of its political and social culture. we enforce the rules, and, at the same time, we issue warnings as well as penalties for people who repeatedly flout the rules. so, when we implement a rule like mandatory mask wearing, most of the people, i wouldn't say all, but most of the people, actually understands the rationale and is willing to comply with it. singapore plans to vaccinate the entire adult population living here on a voluntary basis and forfree. that is more than 5 million people. even with the vaccinations, we will be wearing masks well into next year,

possibly longer, and safe distancing rules remain in place. people here are willing to accept those restrictions, though, because opening up slowly and carefully allows them more control over their lives, while keeping the virus under control. sura njana tewari, bbc news, singapore. 2020 has been a year like no other in our lifetime. on our last programme of the year, we take a look at the obstacles we've endured and the challenges we've overcome. authorities believe the virus originated here in the large wuhan seafood and animal markets. because of all we've done, the risk to the american people remains very low. god bless you, and god bless america.

struggling americans, they're going to go to their mailbox and find four figure checks to help with their bills. help is on the way. nojustice, no peace! he could not have been prouder to see this new generation of activists standing up

for freedom and equality. it is amazing, everyone once to take a picture with me. it is amazing, everyone wants to take a picture with me. this is the most important election in the history of our country. joe biden has won the american presidential election. the bbc projects that he has reached 270 electoral college votes. was that all this year? it is felt like we have lived a decade in just one year. remember you can find more

on all the days news at our website. plus to see what we're working on at anytime make sure to check us out on twitter. i'm larry madowo. on behalf of the whole team, happy holidays. 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. president trump has vetoed a defence spending bill approved by the us congress this month — in part because he objects to plans to remove the names of confederate leaders from military bases. around 3,000 migrants in bosnia are living outdoors in freezing conditions after an emergency camp was shut down and then set on fire. there are no reports of anyone being hurt during the blaze. 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.

hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are rachel cunliffe, comment & features editor at city am — and iain anderson, executive chairman of cicero. thank you very much for being with us, and welcome to you. let's just show you the front pages. not many front pages in yet, but no surprise this evening that they all have a heavy focus on brexit — we start with the telegraph saying that boris johnson is poised to seal brexit trade deal. the sun describes it as "the night before brexmas", with the prime minister depicted as santa claus. and the ft says that the eu and uk are "on the cusp of an historic

and the times follows suit, their headline is britain and eu let's talk this through, let's talk about the financial times, the uk eu on the cusp of a uk historic deal, iain, it does seem, well, we may just be hours away, maybe tonight, maybe through the night, maybe early tomorrow, but after all the years of haggling, it seems we are very, very close to a deal now. yes to my thing for all of us, it feels like we've been living with this forever. i mean, for almost five years since britain voted to leave the ua and after a ll britain voted to leave the ua and after all that, literally, five minutes to midnight, it appears that

a deal is set to be done. now, we haven't seen any of the detail as of yet, there is a lot of speculation in the newspapers as you say. you know, we'd expected maybe even a press c0 nfe re nce know, we'd expected maybe even a press conference this evening. it looks like they are still negotiating literally down to the wire in brussels, so it may come in the middle of the night, it may come tomorrow, and you know, there very serious about this now. it appears the legal teams on both sides are now analysing the text and looking for ambiguities. of course, the real crunch is can this be sold politically to all the member states, and can it be sold to particularly borisjohnson's party, because it looks like labour is going to back with whatever he comes back with. rachel, let me bring you a bit of information hearing from laura kuenssberg, our political editor saying that the cabinet is

about to discuss the brexit deal in about to discuss the brexit deal in a conference call, but it's understood the negotiators in brussels are still talking about the specifics of quotas for a different species of fish. and fish has been the sort of final sticking point, really. it's a tiny part of the british economy, isn't it? i think zero point 02% of the british economy. and this is what they've been haggling about in the last few days stop the estimate think it's very safe to say at this point that the fish are largely symbolic. as you say, a tiny part of the uk economy, financial services in contrast is worth more than 100 times more than fishing is to the uk, and as of financial times journalists took us through the numbers last week and i think the fishing industries worth less than harrods department store, however it has symbolic significance, partly because of britain's history as a maritime nation, partly because of the idea of taking back control of what is ours, as in our sovereign

waters. so it's all coming down to how long the fishing transition period is going to be. i think originally, the eu after 1a years, it's looking more like five and a half now, specific quotas how much of the catch eu fishermen are going to give back to the uk. that still being negotiated, and indeed, we've been getting down to the different species of fish. that gives very co mforta ble species of fish. that gives very comfortable because you get what fish are caught in it waters first what they are sold, and elsewhere on the continent, but it is small, specifically in itself. symbolically, though, the fact that we are within a landing zone of the deal is really, really significant. if you look at the broad strokes of the deal, obviously, we don't have the deal, obviously, we don't have the details, we are looking at access to the eu single markets, virtually no other country house, which is going to be really, really important when we are in the —— leaving the transition period, we have seen the disruption in kent

when those trading routes are blocked. so it's definitely good news. iain, picking up on that, if we look at the daily telegraph's front page, again, johnson plays to steal —— see all exit trade deal is the headline. they have a line queuing what rachel was just thinking of turning street sources sides the deal, if agreed, will be the first of its kind as britain will be the first nine eu country to be allowed such free access to the single markets. and it is going to be trumpeted, assuming this deal does go through, whether it's tonight or tomorrow, whatever, it is going to be trumpeted by boris johnson. look, this is unprecedented, this will be the biggest single deal that that you has done in trade terms, and obviously, it will be the biggest single deal that the uk has ever done, you know, almost 700 billion traded on either side, so

no, this is a major moment. in many ways, hopefully, it provides closure and all lot of the debate that's been really ripping the country apart. it's got to be good for business as rachel says, although, not for all parts of business, because remember, you know, this is essentially a deal about goods, not about services. a majority of uk economy is comprised of services, over 75% of the uk economy is services come about, and this is a really important box, getting a deal, getting a deal of this scale allows a much more conducive conversation to take place about the things that have yet to be resolved, particularly a deal or longer—lasting arrangements, smoother arrangements for other

sectors in the british economy. so i think people will breed once again, businesses will breathe once again. and particularly, given the year that we've all had, being able to and this year with a brexit deal, i think, given all the grim news, this is, whatever you thought about brexit, this is some good news. rachel, there was so much talk about no—deal and the possibility is the threat of a no—deal. do you think in a way that was bluff on both sides, because both sides did come in the end, really, really wanted a deal. that would suggest that both sides are united in what they want. we certainly on the british side that that isn't the case, that there are even within a conservative party, a large number really support a deal and understand its importance, but there is still a faction of hard—core there is still a faction of ha rd—core brexiters that there is still a faction of hard—core brexiters that really did wa nt hard—core brexiters that really did want us to walk away under no—deal, australian style terms, and i think they will be disappointed and they will be voicing their

disappointment. similarly, in the eu side, the eu is 27 different countries, and they all have different priorities. he think broadly, the understanding of what was at stake was always there. i think you've got to look at the personalities. it's worth pointing out that all the papers mention how it was borisjohnson out that all the papers mention how it was boris johnson and that eu president commissioner who hammered it out between them. borisjohnson has form with sweeping and at the la st has form with sweeping and at the last minute to deliver this seemingly impossible. we saw that with the brexit deal, in fact, pretty much a year ago, whether or not the detail means he's actually when anything is kind of beside the point. the political theatrics where there wasn't going to be a deal, this definitely to be a deal, were running out of time for a deal. 0h, look, he's done it. boris is amazing, he got us a deal. it's actually important to his entire political legacy. let's have a quick look at the sun. slightly more jaunty front page, the night before breck smith borisjohnson poised, eu

agrees to zero tariffs. as you have both been eluding to come it's been such a difficult year. i suppose her trade deal would at least end the year with some good news. number ten is going to absolutely love this front page. there is boris dressed as santa claus with his sack of goodies in the form of a 2000 page brexit deal, maybe not necessarily what everybody would wa nt necessarily what everybody would want for christmas, but it is certainly what business, anybody that runs any company right now has been absolutely desperate to see. yet, the scale of this, i mean, we are all going to have to get into the detail tomorrow on christmas eve, assuming the deal is done overnight, and pour over what has been able to be achieved here. look,

already, you know, there are some staunch brexiters, the erg that have come you know, they are saying they are going to get their lawyers to look at the issues, actually, some of the brexiteer lawyers where advising the government through the negotiation. so, hopefully, they actually agreed with their own deal. but watch out for the scottish fishermen, watch out for her, you know, some of the other players that have been deeply anxious as to whether or not this deal could get done. you know, as ever, ithink whether or not this deal could get done. you know, as ever, i think the sun surpasses itself with a headline that brings brexit and christmas together. yes, indeed. i suppose, in a way, maybe we got a glimpse in doverin a way, maybe we got a glimpse in dover in the last few days of what a no—deal brexit could've meant with all of those thousands of lorry drivers backed up heading into the port of dover, absolute chaos there,

and some quite frustrated scenes amongst lorry drivers who haven't been able to get anything to eat or able to go to the toilet. is that in able to go to the toilet. is that in a sense of taste of what we could've seen, conceivably, if there had been a no—deal brexit? seen, conceivably, if there had been a no-deal brexit? well, the government was very keen to avoid that comparison. in fact, you had various government ministries saying that thanks to all the brexit preparation we've been doing, that's why the scenes weren't as chaotic as they could've been, which i think we have all seen those pictures of those tailbacks enter the stories of the conditions for the lorry drivers. it's not really much of a comfort. i certainly think that the immediacy, the urgency of the issue and the reality of what happens if lorries get stuck in that area and we cannot trade was really brought home to a lot of people over the la st home to a lot of people over the last few days that hadn't necessarily realised the scale of it, and that's true on the use side as well. there are parts that macron was facing pressure notjust

as well. there are parts that macron was facing pressure not just for borisjohnson come was facing pressure not just for boris johnson come about from other eu memberleaders boris johnson come about from other eu member leaders pointing out that a lot of the lorry drivers are eu citizens who were themselves trying to get home for christmas. yes, it was about us exporting our goods to the eu, but it was also about eu companies and producers not being able to get their goods into the uk because the drivers are worried they wouldn't be able to get back. so, i think the importance of frictionless trade really was brought home to both sides. on the sun's front page, borisjohnson as father both sides. on the sun's front page, boris johnson as father christmas, both sides. on the sun's front page, borisjohnson as father christmas, i just think it's interesting that all the papers are leading on this when it hasn't actually been agreed yet. they are all using words like poised or on the cusp of signing a deal. i'm actually quite surprised that's the lead story today, and not the fa ct the lead story today, and not the fact that half of the country is being plunged into tier 4 right after christmas. that's, for me, is after christmas. that's, for me, is a more significant story. let's talk about that story. right on cue. it's also in the daily telegraph. it's the second story for the daily telegraph. tier 4 rules to cover almost half of england, also saying

there is another new strain, another new variants of coronavirus, which has come in from south africa, just to add to concern about the various new strains of the virus. yes, i mean, iagree new strains of the virus. yes, i mean, i agree with rachel in that font. you know, in terms of where we are right now, rather than necessarily where we are going, the fa ct necessarily where we are going, the fact that 2a million people almost half of the population in england is going to be under tier 4 restrictions. i mean, we know that from boxing day, everybody in scotla nd from boxing day, everybody in scotland on the mainland at least is going to be under a similar kind of restriction. you know, this was pretty grim news. matt hancock, when he appeared at the number ten, really having to, you know, put on a very downbeat phase. this is a very difficult moment. 744 deaths today.

sadly, that's the highest number that we've seen since april, almost 40,000 people, ithink, very sadly on christmas day were probably likely to hit a milestone of around 70,000 people who have perished as a result of covid. that's a very grim statistic. i think the reason, just to go back briefly to brexit, the reason the papers, of course are having to go with this deal, potential for a having to go with this deal, potentialfor a dealfor having to go with this deal, potential for a deal for him having to go with this deal, potentialfor a dealfor him is of course, they will not get a chance to have a christmas day front page, most of them. so this really is the last opportunity to make the most of the brexit deal before we are all, hopefully, celebrating our christmas is at home. not yes, indeed. i suppose they will be annoyed if the deal does come through in the early hours of the morning and too late for their front hours of the morning and too late for theirfront pages, hours of the morning and too late for their front pages, rachel, just

going back to coronavirus and that new variance, actually, we are just hearing that this is the second new variant we've heard about in the last few days from south africa and apparently, those transport secretary has said that he is deciding to temporarily stop flights and arrivals entering england's from south africa from 9am tomorrow following that new strain of coronavirus. but, what is your view on moving more of england into tier 4. is that a sensible move by the government, do you think?” 4. is that a sensible move by the government, do you think? i think of what's matt hancock has been saying about the transmission rates of this new variant is true, and they know it was high and very prevalent in london and they know that people have been moving out of london in the southeast and going to visit families in the run—up to christmas, than that probably is the best course of action. i think a lot of areas that are moving from tier 2 to tier4 areas that are moving from tier 2 to tier 4 suddenly on boxing day which originally was meant to be part of the five—day christmas window are

understandably, lots of plans up and thrown into disarray, so i'm here and tier4 thrown into disarray, so i'm here and tier 4 anyway, certainly a lot of plans turning into disarray here. i think it's really bad timing for the government. they are trying to balance something that's worrying with the promise of having a normal christmas, and it may be that the sensible thing would have been to cancel the christmas relaxation altogether. obviously, that would've caused mass outrage, possibly civil unrest, and a lot of people breaking the rules, so they are trying to have rules that encourage compliance rather than encouraging resentment. have a hit that balance? i'm not really sure. especially because it looks like tier 4 will last well into january, possibly february and march as well until the vaccination roll—out is complete the levels of compliance for people who feel that they had christmas snatched away from them, i think the government is ina from them, i think the government is in a difficult position there. one minute left. let's get a brief thought from both be about next year, 2021. ian, what sort of year

will it be? well, it's going to start pretty tough, i think. as rachel was saying, the first 2—3 months i think are probably going to be in months i think are probably going to beina months i think are probably going to be in a very strict lockdown, but i'm really hopeful, in fact, i'm already seeing it, lots and lots of businesses and organisations just cannot wait to get on with next year, by the second quarter, growth, economic growth can only look better. so i'm optimistic about 2021. it can only be better than the year we have just had. of think we can all agree on that. a quick thought about next year. i'm not really into football but i think a year of two halves, i think the first quarter maybe even the first half will be quite grim, but i do think with the progress we're on multiple fronts with various vaccines, the amazing technological progress we've seen vaccines, the amazing technological progress we've seen in the summer and going into autumn and winter next year will be a significant improvement. let's hope it's a grim quarter

rather than a grim half. rachel, comment and features editor at city a:m., and iain, many thanks to both of you for being with us once again to review the papers. we will be back with another look at the papers ina back with another look at the papers in a little while to look at more of the stories being covered by the newspapers and websites. but for now, goodbye. good evening. good evening, i'm chetan pathak with your sports news. we start at goodison park where manchester united have knocked everton out of the league cup tonight winning their quarter final by two goals to nil. edison cavani — look at that — breaking the hearts of the 2,000 home supporters in the stadium two minutes from time. and united weren't done, anthony martial with their second deep in stoppage time. tottenham are also through to

the semis after getting the job done on a wet and windy night in stoke. gareth bale opening the scoring. the home side got back into it early in the second half through jordan thompson. but spurs ended any hopes of an upset with two further goals, this strike from ben davies put them back in front. before harry kane who else wrapped things up forjose mourinho's side nine minutes from time. 3—1 the final score against the championship side. i knew that if the results goes in that direction, they will have a goal. in the last part of the game, so we goal. in the last part of the game, so we needed to kill the game. instead of killing it, we lost a contact instead of killing it, we lost a co nta ct ball instead of killing it, we lost a contact ball and to allow them to score the one. after that, it was a moment where we needed stability attitude, and we had it. and this is the draw

for the semi finals. it'll be a manchester derby with united drawn at home to city, while brentford's first ever major cup semi final will be against tottenham. rangers remain 16 points clear at the top of the scottish premiership after an 11th straight league win at stjohnstone. it finished 3—0 to steven gerrard's side. champions celtic remain second following their 2—0 win over ross county — with three games in hand of course. hibernian are a point behind in third. they won 1—0 against st mirren. elsewhere, dundee united and livingston both won, whilst motherwell and aberdeen drew 0—0. liverpool and everton will be the only premier league clubs that can let fans in for now, following the government's latest announcement on coronavirus tiers today. southampton and brighton had been allowed supporters into st mary's and the amex , but they're now in the highest level

tier 4 from boxing day, so matches there will be back behind closed doors the new west brom manager sam allardyce has ramped up the pressure on arsenal boss mikel arteta by saying the gunners are relagation rivals. a run of poor form sees arteta's side in 15th place and just four points above the bottom three. west brom are second bottom, seven points behind arsenal. we are in the bottom made at the moment, yes, absolutely, because i believe they haven't won a primarily game for almost double figures, and of course, getting beat again last night, even though it's not in the league in the cup, as it does with our players, drains the confidence of arsenal's players. of course, it well. because they will be wondering why they are down there, and they will be wondering what it's going to ta ke to will be wondering what it's going to take to get out of that position. now, a group of formerfootballers

have sent a letter to the government calling for an urgent review into the possible link between having a ball and brain damage. the possible link between having a balland brain damage. former footballers are three and half times more likely to die of dementia than the general population. mickey ambrose — who played for both charlton and chelsea — says the football association and players football association aren't doing enough. these are people in a position of trust. i mean come you cannot continue tojust trust. i mean come you cannot continue to just sidestep and sweep under the carpet, but this is a 157 year organisation formed in 1863, yet, it's taken 20 years to get to this stage. i mean, wejust yet, it's taken 20 years to get to this stage. i mean, we just want action. well the football association has given us the following statement regarding the letter...

and the pfa has also told us... we've had a few upsets at the world darts championship but two time champion gary anderson is through to the third round. he beat latvia's madars razma 3—1 at alexandra palace. england's dave chisnell is also through — after beating keegan brown by the same scoreline. and england's cricketers will be allowed to fly to sri lanka for next month's test series, despite the country's ban on commercial flights from the uk. they will take a chartered flight

onjanuary 2nd and be tested for covid—19 before theirjourney and also on arrival. they'll then spend ten days in a bio—secure training bubble before the first of two matches starts in galle on the 14th. england were in sri lanka in march when the series was abandoned because of the start of the pandemic. and that's all the sport for now. thanks for watching. good night. 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 news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. closing in on a brexit agreement — there are signs from brussels and london that there's a deal on the table. pizzas are delivered to the eu's headquarters in brussels, as negotiators prepare to work through the night to finalise the details. donald trump is accused of an act of staggering recklessness, as he uses his veto to block the us annual defence bill. six million more people in england face the toughest level of coronavirus restrictions, as hospital admissions surge to their highest level since mid april. the first trucks are on their way from dover as france lifts its ban on travel across the channel — but it could take days to clear the backlog.