welcome to bbc news — i'm freya cole. our top stories: possible human remains are found near the debris of a large explosion in the centre of the us city of nashville. european union ambassadors receive hard copies of the post—brexit trade deal in a christmas day briefing led by michel barnier. still no resolution over the us covid stimulus bill — millions could lose benefits if donald trump doesn't sign it into law. and joining the ranks of pop legends like the beatles and the spice girls — a couple who sing about sausage rolls become the third act in uk chart history to score three consecutive christmas number ones.

hello and welcome. possible human remains have been found near the debris of a large explosion in the centre of the us city of nashville. the area has been sealed off and a large police investigation is now under way into what the authorities have confirmed was an intentional act. tanya dendrinos reports. blackened smoke and a street ablaze. as families awoke on christmas morning, a sinister scene unfolded in downtown nashville. woman gasps. officers first responding to a call shots had been fired. as officers responded, they encountered an rv that had a recording, saying that a potential bomb would detonate within 15 minutes.

officers, upon hearing that, decided to evacuate the buildings nearby. so they began knocking on doors, making announcements, having emergency communications to communicate with everyone to get people safe. the chilling recording ringing true, this aerial footage showing the scale of the destruction — more than a0 businesses damaged. police have labelled the explosion a deliberate act, attention turning to the investigation with a plea for public assistance as authorities posted this image online. please tell us what you know. we need your leads, we need your help. we're not gonna rest until those who are responsible for this outrageous and cowardly attack are brought to justice. the next question, whether or not the explosion was fatal. we have found tissue that we believe could be remains and we'lljust have that, you know,

examined and then we will be able to let you know from that point. fbi experts are being brought in from across the country to help with the investigation. a curfew now in place in the impact zone. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. france has confirmed its first case of the variant of coronavirus which was detected here in the uk. the country's health ministry says the patient arrived on french soilfrom london on the 19th of december. president macron shut the country's border with britain last sunday after the new, more transmissible variant was found to be spreading in the south—east of england. tougher coronavirus restrictions are now in force in many parts of the uk. since midnight, a further six million people in the east and south—east of england have now moved into tier 4 — the highest level in england. northern ireland and mainland scotland have entered new lockdowns. and in wales, lockdown restrictions which were eased for christmas day, have been reimposed.

meanwhile, thousands of lorry drivers spent christmas day stuck in their vehicles in kent in south—east england — waiting to be tested for coronavirus and to be cleared to continue their journey to france. another 800 military personnel have been sent to help with the testing, and to distribute food and water to those caught in the severe disruption around the port of dover. andy moore reports. this lorry driver did not expect to spend christmas day stuck in a queue of traffic at dover. his frustration was obvious and shared by many others as they waited for the backlog to clear. some drivers have been stuck for days after france closed the border on sunday to stop the spread of a new strain of coronavirus. under police escort, groups of lorries were guided from their holding point at the disused manston airfield

down to the port. these drivers had tested negative and were cleared to go. horn blares. the transport secretary grant shapps said over 10,000 lateral flow tests had been carried out on drivers in kent and 2a were positive. more than 4,500 lorries have crossed the channel, but that leaves thousands still to make the journey. for some drivers, that means a christmas stuck behind a wire fence, instead of at home. tradition! whole people — whole family stay on table. eat. relax. music. no? i stay here. local people are helping out with hot food and sympathy. because we live in dover, we wanted to do something — even though it's just a little something — and just spread a little bit of christmas cheer and take some hot mince pies and sausage rolls to people who probably or maybe would like them.

the cross—channel ferries have been sailing as soon as they have a full load of lorries. they're not usually as busy as this on christmas day, but this is not a normal christmas day in dover. andy moore, bbc news. eu ambassadors have been given a briefing about the post—brexit trade deal reached with the uk, by the bloc‘s chief negotiator michel barnier. uk mps will vote on the deal in parliament next week, before the existing trade rules expire on the 31st of december. here's our political correspondent leila nathoo. 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 detail.

reporter: what is the plan for today, then? 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. good evening. 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's now on the table is a compromise, but those who campaigned for brexit have broadly given the deal a thumbs up.

if the contents are as described by the prime minister, then i think it is a very satisfactory outcome and actually, an extraordinarily 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. it's still unknown whether president trump will sign a stimulus bill which is currently in a congress standoff. the bill has been flown to florida — where the president is spending christmas — in the event he changes his mind. millions of americans currently face losing their pandemic—related unemployment benefits from boxing day. mr trump refused to sign the measure into law unless it is amended, though republicans and democrats have blocked proposals.

claudia sahm is an economist, who previously worked with us treasury secretary janet yellen at the federal reserve. she explained the consequences if the package is not approved. the stress will continue to grow. this has been a hardship and an uncertainty that millions of americans have dealt with for months now, as congress has tried to get a relief package negotiated and very specifically, the last of the jobless benefits will go out tomorrow to individuals who have been on unemployment for many weeks already, and for those who had eligibility because of the cares act, because of the earlier relief package. so those two groups, tomorrow is the last day. and the president absolutely has to sign it to get those back on track and of all of the rest that's in the relief package. that brings me to my next question. there appears to be a lot of confusion over who supports what. can you help explain the difference between this covid—relief bill and the regular

government funding which it is of course a part of? i think the thing to keep in mind is that the two sides had come together. the democrats and the republicans passed the relief package and the budget, which happens every year — there's a big budget — they passed both of them and it was looking like smooth sailing to go to the president for his signature. and that all blew up tuesday night so it really is disarray and even those of us who follow very closely what is going on in washington, who knows? right, they'll be back at it on monday but honestly, it is just the hardship and the uncertainty that they're inflicting on millions and millions of americans is just mind blowing — it is christmas. and, claudia, back at it on monday but an easy solution would be for the president to sign off on this bill. what do you think he will do? well, i hope he does the right thing and he signs off. i will affirm that this

bill, the relief package is not perfect, right? one of the things the president is asking is for bigger cheques to go out to families. i am all for bigger and better but the perfect cannot be the enemy of the good right now. this money has got to get out. so it is unfortunate that we are still niggling over details when people are waiting for this money. so i hope this comes together but this has been a very, very frustrating several weeks. claudia sahm there. a court in st petersburg has jailed a prominent russian historian after he was found guilty of murdering and dismembering his young lover. 0leg sokolov was sentenced to 12.5 years for the killing of anastasia yeshchenko. he was found drunk in a river in november last year with her severed arm in his backpack. the bbc‘s tim allman reports. a grim and grizzly tale reaching its conclusion

in a courthouse in saint petersburg. 0leg sokolov, a once—respected historian, now convicted of murder. also present, the parents of the young woman he killed, there to witness some justice at last. translation: this person is used to avoiding responsibility. he has high—ranking friends and connections. i'm very glad that the court heard us and did not allow the defence to discredit the murdered girl. the murdered girl was anastasia yeshchenko, a postgraduate student who had lived with sokolov for more than three years. in november last year, he claimed they had a blazing row at the flat they shared, she attacked him with a knife. he then shot her four times with a shotgun, before dismembering her body.

you can see him here on cctv cameras dumping objects into the river. those objects were believed to be the remains of anastasia yeshchenko. 0leg sokolov was a renowned authority on the life and legacy of napoleon bonaparte, even dressing up to take part in battle re—enactments, but women's rights activists say this case shows the indifference towards harassment and domestic violence that often takes place in russia. translation: this model of behaviour towards women, the violence against women, is often unheard by our law enforcement bodies. if they had reacted earlier, i'm sure that the death of anastasia yeshchenko would have been impossible. 0leg sokolov‘s sentence has been criticised. prosecutors wanted him to serve 15 years behind bars but, as the lawyer for anastasia yeshchenko's parents put it, no jail term will bring back their daughter. tim allman, bbc news.

this is bbc news — the main story this hour: possible human remains are found near the debris of a large explosion in the centre of the us city of nashville. more now on that story. joey degraw owns a bar in downtown nashville, close to the explosion site. he gave us his account to what happened in the early hours of christmas day. there was a bomb that went off, it turns out, and very close to, half a block from our place called nashville underground, right on broadway, we're the largest bar—restaura nt and onlyjust a half a block so it was pretty devastating. nashville does not see stuff like this much. can you tell us a little bit about what you felt or what you heard? yeah, i can tell you a lot about it. my brother, gavin, and i live on the same floor

in a high—rise building just a couple of blocks away from the bar — it literally knocked us out of bed. i thought it was an earthquake. and we panicked. i put my pants on, ran out in the hallway and tried to figure out what was going on, and it turns out it was some kind of attack. it must have come as a shock on christmas day. tell us a little bit about what the scene is like at the moment? i think everybody in the town is a bit dishevelled, including the authorities. nashville is not used to stuff like this and i am not so sure that they can figure it out as quickly as it needs to be figure it out. i just don't know. it is not something we see here much. joey, tell us a little bit about what that area is usually like. you say it's a shock for nashville to experience an explosion like this,

especially on christmas day. tell us more about what the neighbourhood is like? well, where our bar is, more drinks sales per square foot than anywhere in the whole country, on the five blocks between 5th avenue and 1st avenue. it's a huge party town but there is a lot of residential high—rises and such around it as well. so there's a lot of tourism and there's a lot of residents that kind of live in town that thank god were sleeping when this thing happened, it seems for the most part. although i understand there are some casualties, u nfortu nately. as inoculation begins around the world, politicians and celebrities have been filmed and photographed receiving the coronavirus vaccine. us president—elect, joe biden,

and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu broadcast their experiences. and the latest is saudi arabia's crown prince, mohammed bin salman, who was given a coronavirus vaccination live on television. the kingdom is beginning a nationwide immunisation programme and the health ministry says more than 500,000 people have registered to take the vaccine so far. dr noel brewer, professor of health behaviour at the university of north carolina, told me more about the influence of high—profile figures on vaccine uptake. it certainly doesn't hurt to have famous people getting the vaccine. it communicates a few different things. most importantly it indicates a social norm, that this is simply what we do. this is what famous people do, and this is what regular people can do as well. the message communicated by movie stars doing it as opposed to a politician may be slightly different. someone who is at the top of government getting vaccinated communicates

that the system of vaccination is safe, the vaccine itself is effective and it's safe. but the system is working well. when a celebrity does it, it brings along their brand, their cache as well and makes the vaccination seem desirable. something that might me fashionable, modish or at least something you would want to do to be a little like them. and do you think there's a perfect example, someone who might be really effective in doing this? i think the perfect person is going to vary quite a bit. in the united states we have dramatic disparities in who is getting and dying from covid. so african—americans are much more likely — they're two or three times, depending on what data you look at — even higher in some data — so they are many times more likely to get and die from covid, so having spokespeople or having people getting the vaccine who are black is very important. who those people are is something you should probably ask the people in the community themselves about. so names that come to mind for me — barack 0bama, famous movie stars and so on are people on my mind,

but it's best to talk to people in the community themselves and ask who do you trust? and those are the people you want to have on television getting vaccinated. and noel, just one final thought. do you think governments around the world are doing enough to increase positive messaging on this vaccine? i don't think we are doing the right things yet. there is a lot that's in place and sort of being developed. there's been a big scramble to just get the vaccine ready and to get it out the door but the next — or the first stage was simply the process of getting the vaccine available. the next stage is going to be this messaging stage where we're talking to the public and having campaigns. but there is a third stage which is actual behaviour change interventions and that is the thing i am looking forward to seeing, to hear the scientists at the table and helping with, and that will be where we can change uptake globally. well, the pandemic has featured prominently in the festive messages from religious leaders this christmas. the archbishop of canterbury — the leader of the world's anglicans — said that despite what he called this "year of anxiety" there

were many gifts of hope — including the vaccine. pope francis called for universal access to inoculation. helena wilkinson reports. st peter's square — empty and eerily quiet. normally, thousands gather for the pope's christmas day message, but not this year. instead, pope francis spoke from inside the vatican. at the heart of his address was the pandemic. he said the vaccine brought hope at a time of darkness and urged world leaders to ensure that everyone had access. the pandemic has left many places of worship empty this christmas. midnight mass at westminster cathedral in london was held online only. at canterbury cathedral, they did gather today at a social distance. the archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, reflected on what the pandemic

had shown us. in this christmas of absence, mourning, and restrictions of all kinds, are there any gifts of good news under the tree? any gifts of hope? well, there are many. the vaccine is a gift of hope. 0ur sense of community and mutual care has changed so much. that is a gift of hope. many churches across the country have held services online this christmas, like st james evangelical church, in carlisle. others with space were able to invite churchgoers in. at st mary's church in congleton, near cheshire, they were able to book a pew — one per household bubble. well, i think it's wonderful. i think the old place has been going for 1,000 years now, so we couldn't let it down and miss a christmas. we had to find a way.

christmas this year has been difficult for so many. the messages from religious leaders have been ones of comfort, light and hope in darkness. helena wilkinson, bbc news. pope francis has urged world leaders to share covid vaccines, saying walls of nationalism could not be built to inhibit the fight against the pandemic. the bbc‘s rome correspondent mark lowen has more. 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 cordoned 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 to offer generosity to the victims of the pandemic. he also called on world leaders to co—operate, so that there should be access to vaccines for all countries. he said, "we cannot erect walls," perhaps a message to the outgoing donald trump administration there. interesting, 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 is a year in which the world as a whole has been fighting a war, and the pope's message was to people to arm themselves with compassion.

first, the beatles did it, then the spice girls, but now youtubers known as ladbaby have become the third act in uk history to get three consecutive christmas number ones — with a song about — sausage rolls. lizo mzimba reports. # just a sausage roll...# ladbaby, driving his latest charity single into the record books. #..breathe in the nature...# a tongue—in—cheek new take on a popular classic... # don't stop me eatin‘...# ..and a third consecutive christmas number one. the first year was actually just completely shocking. i think not only to us but the entire industry. i don't think anyone had seen me coming. i think last year, i think again, was kind of shocking, a bit unbelievable, noone thought we'd ever come back. this year, it's just on another level. i don't — hopefully, you know, it's really got the message out there about food banks and it's made everyone smile at a time when we all needed it.

the last act to produce three christmas chart toppers in a row was the spice girls with 2 become 1... # i need some love like i never needed love before... ..followed by too much... # too much of something...# # goodbye my friend...# ..and their almost—farewell single, goodbye. now, nearly a quarter of a century later, that achievement has been equalled... # we built this city...# ..by ladbaby, with a series of sausage roll—themed charity songs. # i love sausage rolls...# the singles have all raised money for the trussell trust charity that supports hundreds of food banks and which helps those in greatest need. # a sausage roll feeling...# a christmas message embraced by the thousands who bought the song and helped it to reach the top of the charts. lizo mzimba, bbc news.

i'd really like to know what you think of that tune. you can reach me on twitter, @freya ? cole. stay with us on bbc news. hello. well, the weather's still fairly quiet out there for the moment, but out in the atlantic looms storm bella. you can see it here on the satellite picture, a conveyor belt of cloud. the bulk of the wind and rain is still all out to sea, but you can see on the edge of the screen there, the coast of scotland and ireland. now, already in the morning, the winds will start to freshen in the western isles, the rain will pile in, but you can see that in northern ireland, much of wales and england, apart from a few showers, the weather actually doesn't look too bad at all. yes, it's fairly cloudy, but even a few sunny spells here and there. now, the temperatures in the morning will be a lot higher than they have been in the last couple of days, we're talking around

6 or 7 degrees. and it is going to be a relatively mild day, and again, apart from the odd shower here and there, across england, wales, it should be mostly a dry day. but by the middle of the afternoon, it's raining in northern ireland, and the rain and wind would've spread deeper into scotland as well. but it's not until the evening hours when the really nasty weather arrives. so this is storm bella on the weather map. you can see a dartboard low there, lots of isobars and some very nasty winds linked to this cold front, which is going to be sweeping across the country. now, the worst of the weather will arrive during the night, into the early hours of sunday. very heavy rain across parts of western britain, but the strongest of the winds will be further south, and it's prompted the met office to issue an amber warning from the south coast of wales, south—western parts of england, along the coast, all the way to dover, up to 70 or 80 mph in gusts. further inland, the gusts right across wales and england will also be around 50—60 mph. that will lead to some damage and disruption. now, into sunday morning, you can see that cold front, the tail end of it, just clearing the south—east of england, and then the skies clear. we find ourselves in the centre of the low pressure,

and here, the weather will be quite changeable. there will be sunny spells, showers, some of them will be wintry, and it will be a good deal colder, temperatures 3—6 degrees, and then cold enough on monday for the potential of some snow there, even across southern parts of the uk. we're keeping a very close eye on this weather here developing in the south come monday. bye— bye.

this is bbc news —

the headlines: the mayor of the us city of nashville has said he's amazed that there weren't more casualties after a huge explosion tore through a historic part of the city. three people are known to have been injured, and possible human remains have been found in the debris. eu ambassadors have been given a briefing about the post—brexit trade deal reached with the uk by the bloc‘s chief negotiator michel barnier. in the uk, mps will vote on the deal in parliament before the existing trade rules expire at the end of the month. the united states covid stimulus bill has been flown to florida — where donald trump is spending his christmas vacation. senators are hoping the president will sign it into law after previously attacking the legislation. millions of americans currently face losing their pandemic—related unemployment benefits from boxing day. now on bbc news, we join daniela relph for a look back on the key events of the year