this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. millions of people in the uk face tougher covid restrictions as rule changes come into force. as the uk grapples with the new strain of coronavirus there are now confirmed cases in france, spain and sweden. and former mi6 officer and soviet spy george blake has died aged 98 in moscow. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world.

six million people in the east and south east of england have joined those living under the strictest coronavirus restrictions, tier 4. around 2a million people in england, more than 40% of the population, are now living under the toughest measures, which mean the closure of all non essential shops, as well as hairdressers, swimming pools and gyms. a national lockdown has begun in northern ireland, and strict measures have been reimposed in wales after being eased for christmas. all of mainland scotland has moved into the toughest level of coronavirus restrictions, tier 4, with the rest of scotland in tier 3 restrictions. meanwhile, countries including france, spain and sweden have confirmed their first cases of the coronavirus variant recently identified in the uk. in the united states, millions of americans face going without unemployment benefits, amid a political standoff over a $900 billion coronavirus stimulus package. our first report this hour is on the millions entering the toughest set of restrictions

england here's daniela relph. harsher restrictions have returned, and it shows. with christmas day done, the centre of southampton is empty as new areas of southern and eastern england now find their lives restricted by even tighter rules. it's very, very quiet. it's unusual at this time of the year. so, yeah, it's strange and different. some people are totally not seeing their family. it's caused frictions in families. it would be nice if it could all come to an end and we could all be back to normal. the blue areas on the map are all now in tier 4, where you must stay at home unless you need to travel for work or education. you may only meet one person at a time outside. non—essential retail closes, and you shouldn't leave a tier 4 area. but elsewhere, there is a familiar look to boxing day. the prime minister had warned people to think carefully

and avoid sales crowds. in leeds, though, still in tier 3, the prospect of a bargain drew some people out. i always go to the sales on boxing day for bargains and i don't like doing it online, so i wanted to support the shops as well. enjoying it so far, just a shame we can't have a coffee somewhere or perhaps a glass of wine. it's a lot quieter than we were expecting, it's all a bit eerie, but we got what we needed and it was nice, but the staff all looked a bit not as festive as well. it's a different feeling. there is one activity the hardiest can still do despite restrictions. open water swimming, here in somerset, has been a lockdown comfort for many. it'sjust addictive, it'sjust something for your mental health, to keep you sort of balanced and a reset from a busyjob. it'sjust perfect. across the uk, harsher rules are now in force. mainland scotland has moved into its toughest level of restrictions,

and northern ireland, along with wales, is now in full lockdown. daniela relph, bbc news. the new strain variant, which was first found in the uk in september carries a genetic fingerprint that makes it easy to track, and it happens to be one that is now common. with france being the latest country on saturday to disclose a case, in the last several days, the world health organization has reported that nine cases have been detected in denmark, four in spain, one case each in the netherlands, germany, italy and australia. switzerland is also saying the variant is most likely present in the country and it has been recorded in sweden. japan confirmed its first five cases, leading it to ban all foreign non—resident nationals from entering the country. meanwhile researchers say that the virus found in south africa, while having similar properties to the uk variant, has developed independently we can speak now to ultan power, professor of molecular virology at queen's university belfast.

good to see you. i suppose it was inevitable that this variant would spread so widely? yes, i think the situation is that as people are travelling, within the uk and from the uk over the christmas period to go home it's inevitable that some people will have been infected and brought the virus with them. that comes back to the idea of open borders and allowing people to travel freely without any restrictions meaning the virus is going to trouble with those individuals when they are affected. —— going to travel. individuals when they are affected. -- going to travel. how many affected people could be out there, undetected? there are probably thousands of variants, the vast majority of them probably make no significant difference to the biology of the virus. the things we look for in terms of the virus is whether it increases the capacity of the virus to transmit from person to person. the second thing we

concerned about is whether it increases the severity of disease. if someone is affected to more people become seriously ill compared to the current strains out there at the moment? the third thing we're concerned about is whether these mutations diminish the capacity of the current vaccine which has just been produced. whether it reduces it from being effective. these are things we look for very carefully in the transmission of new strains of the transmission of new strains of the virus at the moment. in terms of what we're seeing with this new strain and how transmissible is, do you expect that this variant will become dominant? if the predictions are correct that it is more transmissible than it is likely to become a dominant strain in the next few weeks. the way these viruses work in general. the strain that is the fittest, the best to be able to adapt and transmit from person to person will be the one that will

predominates so it would be expected if predictions are correct that it will become the dominant strain over the next few weeks. how many weeks of data do you need about the new variant to be able to advise governments for instance on making key decisions like kids going back to school? difficult question. the main thing you want to see from the virus within schools, there have been suggestions that the virus transmits more easily with children than the previous strains that have been circulating. it's not so much the duration but the quantity of data that you have to be able to determine whether there is an increased transmissibility within children. that would obviously play into whether there's recommendations to close schools. to date, even with the strains that are there, i remain concerned that the level of our understanding of transmission within schools is still not at the level perhaps that we need, so i still have questions about the level of

data we have four schools, even for the current strains. you mentioned earlier the worry that the mutations will continue to the point that you wonder how effective the vaccine could be. how many stages away is that? very difficult to say in terms of stages because this mutation frequency is random, random mutations happen within the virus and it so happens that with some of them they may and up with mutations that change the confirmation of the spike protein, the protein on the surface of the virus that is the target for the vaccines being used. if that changes to the part where the small parts that are recognised by the immune system are changed so they are no longer recognised by the immune system then that becomes a significant concern. that can happen spontaneously. it happens every year with the influenza virus. we change the vaccine for influenza every year

because of the evolution of influenza from year—to—year. the concern is a similar thing with this coronavirus resulting in diminished efficacy of the vaccine. the evidence so far suggests there is no major impact on the vaccine. it's likely to be because the changes are only in one particular area that has the antibody directed to it. the rest is intact which will induce a certain antibody response to the spike protein and is therefore unlikely to be affected, yet. that's good news, thank you. the former mi6 officer george blake who became one of the cold war‘s most infamous double agents has died according to russian media reports. he was 98. as as a soviet spy blake handed over information that betrayed at least a0 british agents in eastern europe. our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg reports. he had a russian home,

a russian wife, even a russian name — giorgi ivanovich. but george blake was a british intelligence officer who became one of the most notorious double agents of the cold war. he spied for the soviets for nearly a decade. blake had spent three years in captivity in north korea and, by the time he returned to britain in 1953, he was a committed communist. posted to berlin by mi6, he became a kgb mole. he would take the train to the soviet sector, hand over data on western intelligence operations and western agents, and then drink champagne with his kgb handler. maybe 500, 600. agents, you betrayed 500, 600 agents? maybe. blake convinced himself that what he was doing was morally right. i looked upon it like a sort of voluntaryjob. you know, like people... 0xfam?

something like that. he was eventuallyjailed in britain for 42 years. he then was able to escape and smuggled to east germany and spent the rest of his life in moscow cocking a snook at the brits who had not succeeded in keeping him. in 2012, he told a russian tv channel that he had not changed sides because of blackmail or torture. he had offered his services voluntarily. in a message of condolence, president putin described him as courageous, an outstanding professional, adding that his memory it would remain in russian hearts for ever. russia gave him medals and much praise but, to britain, he is the cold war traitor who escaped justice. a series of explosions in kabul have killed at least two security

personnel. officials said there were four blasts within the space of three hours. the blasts damaged houses, shops and vehicles nearby. journalists, activists and politicalfigures have been targeted in recent weeks. kabul has witnessed several bomb and rocket attacks in recent weeks targeting security forces, politicians and activists. us officials are investigating more than 500 leads in a camper van blast in nashville, tennessee on christmas day. the explosion injured three people and damaged buildings. the van had been broadcasting a warning that a blast was imminent. no motive has yet been established for the explosion. 0fficials officials say there are no known threats to nashville. local businesses have offered more than $300,000 to catch those responsible. at least eight climbers in iran have died in mountains to the north of tehran after heavy snowfall and a blizzard. heavy snow and strong winds in the past few days have forced many roads to be closed several parts of iran. the red crescent in the province

of tehran has had 20 search and rescue teams out on the mountains looking for other climbers who are still missing. the alborz mountain range rises above tehran hosts several ski resorts. as we've been hearing, in northern ireland a six week lockdown has begun with non essential shops forced to close. hair salons must also shut while pubs, cafes and restaurants are restricted to takeaway and delivery services. the measures will be reviewed in four weeks' time. here's our ireland correspondent chris page. as soon as christmas day ended, the lockdown began. there are no seasonal sporting events in northern ireland on this 26th of december. racecourses and stadiums are silent. shoppers and sales are absent too. instead, belfast city centre is shuttered down. 0ne festive tradition that is allowed, though, is a brisk and breezy boxing day walk. people said tighter restrictions were for the best.

oh, i think it's very necessary. it's a good thing and anything to keep us safe. i think it'sjust best everybody stays safe. had to happen, unfortunately. but we just have to do it. i think it's ok. the lockdown‘s in place from today until early february. and for the first week, the rules will be more strict. shops which sell essential items, like supermarkets, will have to shut at 8pm. between that time and 6am, members of different households can't meet up anywhere for social reasons, inside or outside. police have been given extra powers to enforce the stay—at—home message. pubs and restaurants have been hit particularly hard at what is usually a popular time of year to eat out. i that know the health of people is just paramount and it protects the nhs, but we were given very, very short notice on some of the lockdowns and a lot of stock had been bought in, staff had to be organised,

and it has a very big financial impact on all of the hospitality trade. the devolved government has said it had no option but to take strong action because infections, hospitalisations and deaths have been rising throughout this month. everyone in this part of the uk is hoping this lockdown will be the last. chris page, bbc news, belfast. boxing day sales are expected to plummet, after tough new rules across the uk mean many shops have been unable to open at a usually busy time of year. in england, 43% of the population is under tier 4, which means non essential shops have to close. joining me now is catherine shuttleworth, retail expert and ceo of the agency get savvy, how are retailers especially in tier 4 feeling today? well i think they're a bit resigned to the fact that boxing day isn't going to be as they wished and the next few weeks won't be. it's been such a strange

year that they aren't surprised, they're having to adapt their businesses to deal with a different way of selling, which is all online. i saw way of selling, which is all online. isaw an way of selling, which is all online. i saw an estimate that said that shoppers are expected to spend £1 billion less. does that sound right? footfall is down 60% today. the thing about the sales that's different to any other time of year, it's when you tend to go to the stores and browse and look for items. it's not as easy to buy a sofa online as it is to buy an outfit. so people are going to be missing the big ticket item sales and they're the retailers that will see the difference which is why the numbers are so reduced in terms of the total take in sales over the next few weeks. i was trying to do some shopping this morning and find it how to get onto some websites. —— and what fine —— was finding it hard to get onto some websites. yesterday

and today were very buoyant so online sales will be positive and it will be harder to get onto the more positive sites and that will continue for the next few days but this christmas has been so unusual in terms of how we can mix with other households and how we spent oui’ other households and how we spent our time. now everything is locked down there isn't a great deal to do other than shopping so we can expect from the online sales for the next couple of weeks. in terms of the bottom line what does this period normally mean for retailers? it's a great time for retailers to clear out their stock and get their cash flow as positive as they can to buy new stock for the rest of the year. for smaller retailers it's a critical time to make space for new items to come into the store. that may not happen as quickly and retailers are going to be cautious about their plans 2021 given that u nfortu nately about their plans 2021 given that unfortunately more lockdowns may happen. consumer spending is

probably going to suffer as people are concerned about what the economy will look like next year and what it means for theirjobs, will look like next year and what it means for their jobs, especially the end of furlough at some point next year. so what are the expectations of retailers in terms of government action? we've seen the high street task forces releasing a lot of money into some of the high streets around the country which is a big part of the country which is a big part of the government scheme. they will have a lot of continued assistance in terms of rates and support for the sector but there's so many different sectors that need support. it's going to be a very difficult time. some retailers have done quite well in the lockdown. it's not a clear picture across the whole of the marketplace. supermarkets have done well, some online retailers. fashion has had an absolute nightmare since covid strike. thank you. the uk's new trade deal with the eu marks "the beginning of a moment

of national renewal", boris johnson's chief brexit negotiator has said. lord frost said there was no direct effects of eu law and no alignment of any kind. under the terms of the deal if either party acts in a way the other views as anti competitive, they can take remedial action. pro brexit lawyers are set to dissect the contents of the agreement between now and parliament's recall on wednesday. georgina wright is an associate at the institute for government, she explained the main points of the document. clearly there is the ability now for the uk to divert from where it once but it will come at a price and we've seen that through the agreement.

there's a lot of things that businesses in great britain will have to do if they wish to continue exporting to the eu. they will have to fill in a lot of paperwork to prove for instance that the product they are trying to export meets eu rules and has been produced and manufactured according to those rules. they will have to fill in custom decorations which will be checked on the borders and there may be some health and safety checks as well. those delays and extra paperwork will be costly and it might be something we see producers passing on in terms of cost to the consumer. but you're right the uk, if it decides to do things differently, it has the ability to do that because it's no longer forced to follow eu rules strictly. but like many measures in the deal, how do you resolve the dispute, how do you manage that divergences which was a key concern for the eu. parts of central england have experienced their highest river levels for more than a decade, causing widespread flooding, as storm bella approaches the uk. more than a thousand people in bedfordshire have already been advised to evacuate their homes, and the met office is warning of severe gales and more heavy rain to come. people have had a terrible time, we've had measures to protect people from the spread of the virus. it's

boxing day today and our hearts go out to people who now, with that going on, have had some of the highest level floods for over 20 yea rs highest level floods for over 20 years phone at them. british grand prix racing champion lewis hamilton made his name in the gas—guzzling world of formula one but he's also backing a very different form of motor sport. it's called "extreme e" — and it's all about pushing the boundaries, in more ways than one. 0ur chief environment correspondent justin rowlatt reports. the cars are electric suvs designed by the formula 1 design guru adrian newey. they deliver 400 kilowatts, the equivalent of 550—brake horsepower, and they'll be racing in some of the most extreme environments on earth.

expect star wars pod racing meets the dhaka rally, say the organisers. what brought my attention to extreme e is the great places that it's going to go to in raising awareness for the real climate issues. we've got some serious challenges up ahead of us. the direction we are going as a human race is not good, and, yes, there are potential changes, you know, the government saying that only electric cars but that fixes... perhaps whilst that fixes one problem, another problem pops up. you know, i'm trying to learn as much as i can with ev technology, which i think extreme e will help develop, but that i don't think is the answer to the whole issue that we have. the idea is to show how powerful and fun electric vehicles can be, and to raise environmental awareness by racing them in places that have already been affected by climate issues.

the series will be going to greenland, the amazon and the deserts of saudi arabia. extreme e is also billing itself as the world's first gender—equal motorsport platform. there will be four teams, each with two drivers — one male, one female. their solution is totally different. here, more power than the petrol cars. of course, the sound is totally different, it hears not sound. i think i prefer the electric car because i need to make a change, especially in these days, because the climate change is near. all extreme e freight

and logistics will travel by sea in a refurbished royal mail ship, the rms st helena, and the series will generate some of the power it uses with portable solar panels. they'll be used to create hydrogen, which, on race day, will be fed into a fuel cell like this to generate electricity, helping prove a low—carbon technology that will find applications around the world, say its designers. the displacement of diesel generators, which, you know, are prevalent throughout the world. the application of the fuel cell on shipping, on boats, where you decarbonise the international maritime industry, a key emitter of c02. so here's a question — does the series deliver on its climate—aware promise? well, there's no doubt that extreme e will create unnecessary emissions, but it will also showcase just how capable electrical vehicles can be, and it'll send another important message — that the low—carbon revolution doesn't have to be dull and boring. the extreme e series will begin in saudi arabia in march and will be broadcast live across the bbc. justin rowlatt, bbc news.

looks fantastic and so does this. archaeologists in pompeii have made the extraordinary find of a hot food and drinks shop that served up the ancient equivalent of street food to passersby from thousands of years ago. people will hopefully be able to visit the site next year. rachel stanton reports. at first glance this may look like a building site. but it is so much more than that. archaeologists have been hard at work in pompeii. the discovery of a kind of ancient fast food counter from thousands of years ago is welcome news. partially unearthed in 2019, work was extended to preserve the site. translation: the possibilities are now extraordinary because it's the first time we are excavating one entirely and we can carry out different analysis thanks to technology.

containers are being analysed and cleaned. bright paintings of animals are still intact after all these years. with upside down ducks, a chicken and a dog on display. and terracotta jars led to a surprise. fragments of duck bone and remains of pork, goats and fish and snails were discovered. it may reveal eating habits around the time of the eruption of vesuvius in 79ad. we can start the analysis of material inside the containers to know their content. what food was sold, what people in pompeii could buy. extraordinary evidence of a mediterranean diet. human bones were also found, belonging to those caught up in the volcanic eruption. there was someone inside this room, a victim of the eruption, whose bones were found

in the excavation. unfortunately the skeleton is not intact because the building had been partially looted in the past. the site is set to open to the public from easter of 2021. with this year having been like no other due to the pandemic, the unearthing of the site offers some light relief as well as vital clues to the past. storm bella is upon us bringing some very wet and windy weather, south across the uk. this area of low pressure, named to raise awareness of the impact from the rain and england and wales bearing the brunt as we go through the night. behind it, turning colder in scotland, northern ireland and northern england, the chance of icy patches and increasingly wintry showers as well. from storm bella, damaging gusts of wind but the heavy rain

bringing further flooding to areas already dealing with flooding overnight and into sunday. snow for some and icy conditions to follow. the strongest wind likely to be where the met office has the amber warning enforce over the coast and hills of southern england, up to 80 mph. densely damaging, certainly disruptive gusts of wind. the heaviest rain moving south over night is over england and wales. elsewhere gusts of 50—60 mph. the rain bringing a risk further flooding and in the colder air following it, the storm is turning wintry into the hills. behind the band of rain, the strong when clearing the far south—east of england quickly in the morning. then sunshine and showers, very few reaching the east of england or scotla nd reaching the east of england or scotland but across the west, showers of rain, sleet, snow and hail, and prolonged snow in north—west scotland in the afternoon. not as windy as it will

be overnight but gusty wind making it feel even colder. temperatures in scotla nd it feel even colder. temperatures in scotland close to freezing during the day. scotland, northern ireland, northern england and northern wales may see some snow to quite low levels bringing a few centimetres in places, turning it icy on sunday night into monday morning. on monday, low—pressure right across us and we expect from that some areas of rain, sleet and cold enough for some snow, notjust the hills. uncertainty about where it's going to be sitting on monday, so keep checking the forecast. certainly cold on monday. starting a cold week. back to storm bella, impact from the wind, rain, snow and ice to follow. flood and weather warnings are in force. check out the details on our website. this is bbc news, the headlines...

millions of people in the uk face tougher covid restrictions as rule changes come into force. as the uk grapples with the new strain of coronavirus, there are now confirmed cases in france, spain and sweden. the former mi6 officer and soviet spy george blake has died at the age of 98 in moscow. now on bbc news, join the travel show team on theirjourney of discovery as they explore new destinations around the globe and uncover hidden sides to some of the world's favourite holiday hotspots. let's be honest, it hasn't been the best year for travel. but amid the gloom, we've still found moments of inspiration and seen parts of the world, albeit sometimes virtually, that would take your breath away. laughs. i can't do it! welcome to our look back at 2020.