this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. european union ambassadors get details of a post—brexit trade deal in a christmas day briefing led by michel barnier. queen elizabeth has been reflecting on the hardships of the pandemic in her christmas speech as she and prince philip break tradition by staying in windsor. people have risen magnificently to the challenges of the year. and i am so proud and moved by this quiet, indomitable spirit. pope francis gives his christmas day address, urging all nations to share covid—19 vaccines and calling for peace in war—torn regions. thousands of lorry drivers are spending christmas day in their cabs near dover as 800 military personnel continue to test stranded hauliers.

hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. after an historic brexit trade deal, the european union's chief negotiator, michel barnier, has been briefing ambassadors from the 27 member countries on the details. the document setting out the deal runs to over 1200 pages. the prime minister, who was in downing street yesterday when the deal was confirmed, has also received a copy. here's our political correspondent leila nathoo. i have a small present for anyone who may be looking for something to read in that sleepy post—christmas lunch moment, and here it is... tidings, glad tidings of greatjoy,

because this is a deal. some light reading. the post—brexit deal agreed yesterday between britain and the eu runs to more than 1,200 pages. this morning, the man who negotiated it for the eu side, michel barnier, briefed ambassadors of eu member states on its details. mission accomplished. what's in that blue folder sets out how the eu and uk will trade and co—operate from the new year — to finally have something on paper is a success for both sides. the deal was done in the nick of time with the uk already out of the eu and transition arrangements expiring within days. mps and peers will have until wednesday to digest the detail before being called back to parliament for a debate. there are unlikely to be any hold—ups in westminster, though — labour is set to back it. we will certainly be better off with this deal, and we have to make it work. no deal would have terrible

consequences for our country, and the labour party could not enable that to happen. during the long months of negotiations, both sides seemed determined not to give ground. what is now on the table is a compromise, but those who campaigned for brexit have broadly given the deal thumbs up. if the contents are as described by the prime minister, then i think it is a very satisfactory outcome, and actually a very good one, given the rather bum hand he had been dealt when he took over from theresa may. britain's new relationship with brussels is now more defined. eu ambassadors are weighing up how the future looks with the uk on the outside. the deal will need time to play out in practice, but both sides will be relieved it was, against the odds, done. leila nathoo, bbc news. thousands of lorry drivers are spending christmas day in their cabs near dover. an extra 800 military personnel

are being deployed to help clear the backlog of lorries waiting to cross the channel. drivers parked at the former manston airfield and on roads in kent are being tested for covid. so far 2000 people have tested negative, allowing them to cross the channel. three have tested positive. 0ur correspondent frankie mccamley has been in manston airfield for us, with the latest on the situation there. this is not the christmas thousands of drivers here were expecting. some have been stuck here at manston airfield for up to four days with no access to washing facilities and just portaloos dotted around the side of the airfield. we have heard a beeping protest as drivers are getting more and more frustrated. i have spoken to some who say theyjust want to be at home, some say they feel like this is a political protest and they are caught in the middle. you can see just behind me some

local people are coming here, rallying together, trying to provide hot food and drinks to give these drivers just something on christmas day. every half an hour, we are seeing around a dozen lorries leave this site, take the ao—minute journey over to the port of dover. each have been tested negative, have tested negative for coronavirus and each will be carrying a letter, signed by uk and french authorities, allowing them access to mainland europe. last night, we saw around 800 troops deployed to try and speed up this testing process, that does seem to have worked because a lot of the roads in the area surrounding dover that have cleared and residents are now able to travel. but this is not back to normal — there are still thousands of drivers stuck here. they may be getting water, drinks and food, but this is not where they were hoping to be, especially on christmas day.

chile's president has described the start of a national coronavirus immunisation programme as a moment of hope and excitement for the country. chile, mexico and costa rica have become the first countries in latin america to begin vaccination campaigns. argentina is also planning to start inoculations in the next few days. the bbc‘s tim allman has more. in chile, potential salvation comes from the skies. the first 10,000 of an ordered 30 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine arriving at this airport in santiago. the country's president was there to welcome them, as the precious cargo was moved onto a helicopter. translation: it's a day of much excitement, seeing this helicopter transporting hope, because the truth is that many people have worked a lot over this time to secure the vaccine. 0ur compatriots will have a secure, effective and timely vaccine. the first compatriot, a health

worker called zulema riquelme. president pinera, there to witness this important moment. in mexico, they queued up for their jabs. doctors, nurses, members of the military. this country has had more than 120,000 covid fatalities, the fourth highest death toll in the world. so palpable was the excitement, the whole thing was shown live on television. argentina will begin its vaccination programme imminently. but they have sought help from russia rather than america or western europe, a decision that has led to a few raised eyebrows. translation: the first vaccines have arrived in the country, 300,000 doses of the sputnik vaccine. there was some scepticism, but as we always say, we do not want to get entangled in any type of discussion other than preserving the health of our people. another plane touching down, another

batch of the vaccine arriving, this time in costa rica. as the country's president put it, this may be the beginning of the end of this pandemic. tim allman, bbc news. india's prime minister, narendra modi, has announced around 2.4 billion dollars worth of benefits for farmers amid mounting pressure on his government to scrap controversial reforms. mr modi has today been addressing millions of farmers across the country virtually, accusing his political opposition for misleading them over contentious new laws that will loosen the rules around the sale, pricing and storage of farm items. 0ur south asia editor, anbarasan ethirajan is in delhi. the government here of prime minister modi has been trying to reach out to various sections of the reformers highlighting points regarding the new agrarian reforms

which were passed in september this year, one of them has been inviting more foreign investment, private investment in agriculture and second thing is they want to abolish antiquated procedures like people are using some of the agents to sell their produce, which means farmers they have to pay money so these agents will be removed from the system and then the farmers are allowed to sell their produce for example from different states, now they have certain restrictions like a farmer from southern india can now sell to the farmers or the merchants in northern india. these are the key points of the government's agrarian reforms and that is what the government has been trying to sell to the other farmers. 0n the other hand, what the farmers are saying is that india is predominantly an agricultural nation, more than 60% of the 1.4 billion population depend on agriculture. many of them are small landowners, so, the reforms will benefit only big corporations and we don't have the power to take on these big

corporations in setting the price, when did the market ever give an advantage to poor farmers and the rest of the world? this is a classic case of deregulation of markets and the poor farmers and they are up against it, whereas the typical case of globalisation versus developing countries problem. emergency crews are at the scene of a big explosion in the city of nashville, in the us state of tennessee. the cause of the blast is not yet known, but reports say it could have come from a parked vehicle. a bomb squad has been sent to the area. smoke can be seen billowing from a building in the downtown area. there are reports of "glass and steel everywhere". the authorities have been evacuating people from the vicinity. the uk's biggest testing lab has been hit by an outbreak of coronavirus. a number of scientists

at the lighthouse laboratory in milton keynes are believed to have been affected along with admin and warehouse staff. the lab, which is being asked to process about 70,000 tests a day, a day, say it follows covid—secure work procedures. more than 1,000 people are being evacuated from a holiday park after heavy rain and flooding. police and firefighters have been working through the night to rescue those stranded at the billing aquadrome in northampton. two leisure centres have been turned into emergency accommodation. there are more than 100 flood warnings in place across parts of england and wales. in her christmas day message, queen elizabeth has praised the scientists and medical staff to whom she said we owe a debt of gratitude this year. she said this christmas was tinged with sadness because of the distance between people, many of whom just wanted a hug or squeeze of the hand. nicholas witchell reports. from windsor castle on a christmas day without the customary companionship of families coming together, a christmas broadcast

in which the queen reflected on a time of exceptional difficulty. for christians, jesus is the light of the world, but we can't celebrate his birth today in quite the usual way. the pandemic had disrupted so much for people of all faiths and yet the queen said it had also brought us closer. in the united kingdom, and around the world, people have risen magnificently to the challenges of the year and i am so proud and moved by this quiet, indomitable spirit. to our young people in particular, i say thank you for the part you have played. she thanked front line workers and the amazing achievements of modern science. "we owe them a debt of gratitude," she said. she recalled that this year was the centenary of the burial of an unknown serviceman in westminster abbey, an unnamed hero from an earlier generation who had become a symbol of selfless duty.

he represents millions like him who throughout our history put the lives of others above their own and will be doing so today. for me, this is a source of enduring hope in difficult and unpredictable times. for many, the queen said, christmas would be a particularly difficult time. of course, for many, this time of year will be tinged with sadness. some mourning the loss of those dear to them and others missing friends and family members distanced for safety, when all they really want for christmas is a simple hug or a squeeze of the hand. if you are among them, you are not alone and let me assure you of my thoughts and prayers. # joy to the world...#. the reference to a hug or a squeeze of the hand was a human touch,

the kind of language the queen doesn't often use publicly, deployed today in a christmas day message of hope and reassurance. nicholas witchell, bbc news. and viewers in the uk can see the whole speech in a few minutes' time. in his christmas message, pope francis has urged world leaders to share coronavirus vaccines, saying walls of nationalism could not be built to inhibit the fight against a pandemic that knows no borders. he called for support and generosity for victims of covid—19. 0ur rome correspondent mark lowen has been following the story. well, this time last year, there were 50,000 people in st peter's square watching the pope's christmas urbi et 0rbi to the city and the world christmas message from the balcony of st peter's basilica. this year, st peter's square is completely cornered off by police. we are in the middle of a christmas lockdown and the pope spoke

from inside the apostolic palace. the world has changed and many people's faith has been shaken and coronavirus was very much at the heart of the pope's christmas message. he called on people to care for and offer generosity to the victims of the pandemic. he also called on world leaders to cooperate, so that there should be access to vaccines for all countries. he said we cannot erect walls, perhaps a message to the donald trump administration there. and interesting that he singled out, among the victims, women who had suffered from domestic violence during months of lockdown. he talked about how his thoughts were for families who could not come together and those forced to remain at home, so the pandemic very much at the centre of this urbi et 0rbi message. he also then called for peace in the world's hotspots, from nagorno—karabakh to yemen, libya to mozambique, but this