this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. britain's borisjohnson promises big changes following his brexit trade deal, as his finance minister rishi sunak says the deal will reassure those worried about the impact on businesses. for those who were anxious about the economic implications of leaving, they should be enormously reassured by the comprehensive nature of this free—trade agreement. the roll—out of the pfizer biontech, covid vaccine, begins for millions of people across the eu — starting with health workers and the elderly. millions of americans lose their unemployment benefits — after president trump refuses to sign the covid economic relief bill into law. and storm bella brings gusts of more than 100 miles an hour —

with roads in parts of wales, and devon and cornwall blocked by falling trees. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. prime minister boris johnson is promising "big" changes are on the way for the uk following his brexit trade deal with the european union. in an interview with the sunday telegraph newspaper, he says he wants to focus on "leveling up the country" and "spreading opportunity" across the uk. mrjohnson said the brexit trade deal would provide new regulatory freedoms to "deliver for people who felt left behind". but some fishing industry leaders have accused him of "caving in" to the eu

and sacrificing their interests. mps will vote on the deal in parliament on the 30th of december. our business correspondent vivienne nunis has more. glad tidings of greatjoy. 1,200 pages of detail spelling out britain's new trading relationship with the eu. mps and others are poring over the fine print. this morning, the chancellor tried to dispel any fears the uk might be worse off under this new trade agreement. for those who were anxious about the economic implications of leaving, they should be enormously reassured. the free trade deal means that when it comes to the price of french cheese or spanish tomatoes, there should be little change, according to the chair of the uk's largest supermarket chain. the administrative cost associated with having to make a customs declaration for people sending goods into the uk will be there, but they're very modest.

i don't think it will make any material difference to the prices consumers pay. but the future isn't so clear cut on other important aspects of uk—eu trade. today, the prime minister told the sunday telegraph, "0n financial services, the deal does not go as far as we would like". obviously, we would have loved to have had more in there on financial services and professional services and services in general. it's 80% of the uk economy and 70% of the eu economy. but it's the norm for deals such as this, a free trade agreement, that they are focused on goods. the chancellor says the uk will remain in close dialogue with the eu on how things will work moving forward, including financial services. this is, though, the largest free trade agreement in history. it rules out added taxes on imports known as tariffs, and quotas limiting how much can be bought and sold. but there will be more checks,

red tape and delays when goods move across borders. that's better than no deal but not ideal, says labour. this is a thin deal, it's not the deal that the government promised, and there are large areas of our economy, for example, financial services, that employs one in m people in our country, where there aren't clear elements within this deal where much more work will need to be done. despite criticism, the labour leadership will urge their mps to support the deal in the commons on wednesday. also this week the government expects to sign a free—trade deal with turkey, matching the customs agreement the country with brussels. 0ne agreement the country with brussels. of dozens of signed one of dozens of deals the uk has signed in the past two years. many deals carry over existing trading terms from when the uk was in the eu. the coronavirus vaccine will be given to millions of people across europe from today, as countries including france, spain and italy begin the rollout

of their vaccination programmes. more than 1a million people have been infected and strict lockdown measures are currently in place in nearly all the eu member states. damien mcguinness reports now from berlin. the european vaccine roll—out has begun. in berlin, mobile teams are taking the first vaccines from this distribution centre to those who need it most. the elderly in nursing homes. this airport once provided a lifeline for west berlin at the height of the cold war. it was closed down in november to make way for a larger airport, and now it's been turned into a mass vaccination centre, providing yet again a lifeline for berliners, but this time in the fight against the pandemic. the first person in berlin to get the vaccine this morning was gertrude haase, 101 years old. translation: i told myself that i didn't have to be among the first. i wanted to see what it was like for the others. but a little later i thought,

come on, i'll do it, too. in italy, where fatalities among health care workers have been particularly high, there was relief, as doctors and nurses were among the first to get the jab. in denmark, a moment of vaccine humour. let's hope it works, says the doctor. if it doesn't, i'll come back to haunt you, replies a 79—year—old. in some countries there are worries that not enough people will want the vaccine, so to boost support some european leaders have also gone first, including the czech prime minister and, in greece, both the president and the prime minister. translation: i believe that every greek today is smiling underneath their mask. in getting vaccinated first, greece's political and state leaders want to send the message that the vaccine is safe and effective. across europe, elderly

people have been isolated, afraid and vulnerable. now, they are the first to be protected. damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin. several countries have reported cases of the new variant of coronavirus — which was first detected in the united kingdom. norway's institute of public health says, its traced the new variant back to two travellers from the uk, who entered the country in early december. the portuguese island of madeira has also blamed travellers from the uk for an outbreak — but has not specified how many people are infected. and, it's a similar story injordan — which has reported its first two cases of the variant. canada, australia, italy and the netherlands have also confirmed cases of the new variant which scientists say is up to 70% more transmissible. in other news: south africa has registered more than a million cases of covid—19 since the outbreak began in march. it comes just a few days

after the south african authorities confirmed that a new faster spreading coronavirus variant, had been detected. some hospitals and medical centres have reported a severe rise in admissions, placing a heavy strain on resources. afghan officials say the next round of peace talks with the taliban will resume in qatar on the fifth of january. president ghani had previously insisted that the next round of negotiations should be held in afghanistan itself. the talks began in september, but were suspended earlier this month. insecurity has prevented many from voting in the general election in the central african republic, with rebels warning people in some areas not to vote. officials said violence meant thousands of people did not receive their voter cards. security was tight in the capital bangui with armoured vehicles on standby outside some polling stations. unemployment benefits lapsed overnight for millions of americans

struggling to make ends meet across the country — after president donald trump's refusal to approve a 2.3 trillion dollar financial package. the package in question was finally approved by congress after months of negotiations but had to be signed into law by the president by midnight on saturday. freya cole reports. this is america in 2020, long queues at food banks made up of families in desperate need. thank you. do you want me to put it in the back? oh, you got it? have a good day. according to the organisation feeding america, more than 50 million people experienced food insecurity this year, including a potential 17 million children. the food crisis is linked to record levels of unemployment triggered by the outbreak of covid—19. and now millions of americans have lost their next welfare payment because president trump refused to sign the covid

relief bill into law. what the president is doing right now is unbelievably cruel. many millions of people are losing their extended unemployment benefits. they are going to be evicted from their apartments because the eviction moratorium is ending. the bill was flown to florida where mr trump is spending his christmas in the hope that he will change his mind. but he is demanding changes. he wants the lump sum payments to americans to be bigger, from 600 to $2,000. but even members of his own party urging him to sign, to avoid delays for families in need. look, if it were just the freestanding government funding bill, i would almost certainly be voting against that. but i think the covid relief measures are really, really important, and, you know, in my state as in many other states we have governors that are closing down businesses again. people are out of work, certainly

through no fault of their own. i think we need the extended unemployment benefits, i think we need another round of the ppp loans, which were really grants to small businesses to keep their workforce. you know, part of their business. and time is running out. the democrats also believe the one—off payments should be increased to $2000, and they will vote on a stand—alone bill on monday in the house of representatives. but they hope by then mr trump will come around to the number one stimulus package to provide certainty for his country. freya cole, bbc news. kathryn stamp is one of the many americans who lost their unemployment benefits overnight — shejoins me now from columbia, tennessee. thank you for speaking to us here on bbc news. what situation are you in? well u nfortu nately bbc news. what situation are you in? well unfortunately on saturday i should have received my unemployment check that i get every week, and did

not receive it. i guess the decision was not made for an to beat extended 01’ was not made for an to beat extended or to continue, so i'm really struggling to pay bills right now. i have a three—week—old daughter and it's really ha rd have a three—week—old daughter and it's really hard right now. trying to just pay rent and my husband to u nfortu nately, to just pay rent and my husband to unfortunately, is running into problems with number one related stuff at his work, and we really need our unemployment. just to get by. it's really hard to keep going. i could tell you who are upset, if you need to stop just let me know. it's in quite a yearfor you. you need to stop just let me know. it's in quite a year for you. you've got married you've had a new baby, and then injune you lost yourjob as well. how difficult is it to even start looking for a job at those benefits don't come through? it's been very difficult. just about everywhere i've applied it has been really ha rd to everywhere i've applied it has been really hard to hear back from, and because i was pregnant during that

time everywhere i was applying to did not want to hire someone that was going to have to leave right away. it was just really difficult to even apply to jobs because it was like, igot to even apply to jobs because it was like, i got sent onto the next lake oh, sorry, we've artie went on somebody else. so ijust had to rely on those unemployment benefits and have been very important. do not have been very important. do not have those has been really hard. what are your plans to put food on the table? we see pictures of some families heading to the food distribution areas can we call them food banks in the uk. what are your plans? that's what they call them here, food banks or churches will donate food and things like that. luckily i have a couple of friends and family who, a lot of family that has reached out to help to make sure we have food or contract to make our rent this month. i have no idea what we are going to do next month if unemployment does not start back up, 01’ unemployment does not start back up, or if the stimulus checks i know a lot of americans have a waiting on those as well for hardship purposes.

just not having that has been really difficult. hopefully we will be fine food wise. what's the situation with your house? are you able to hang on to your residence? we rent an apartment. like i said, my husband and unfortunately, his paycheque would have made enough to cover rent for this month, but due to covid related issues with the usps it was only being paid up to half of what their rate of pay was, so his check was almost $1000 short. so we are struggling to pay rent this month. but like i said i have a couple of friends and family to help us this month. i don't know what will happen next month. very quickly about president trump is arguing for $2000, he's at the moment, obviously he's on the golf course. would you like to wait for that $2000, with your message to him? my message is

just to make a decision, whether it's $600 just to make a decision, whether its $600 or just to make a decision, whether it's $600 or $2000, just to make a decision, whether its $600 or $2000, attic americans definitely deserve the $2000. worry about your own. it's that when it comes down to it there's families who would arguablyjust take that $600 because they needed so desperately. i just want a decision to be made. i've been a big supporter of trump, so i definitely, because he's our president and you stand by your president. whatever his decision is i hope it's a good one andi his decision is i hope it's a good one and i hope it's the right one because it will make a difference. well, i hope things get resolved quickly and those bills get paid. until then, stay safe, thank you very much. the latest headlines on bbc news.... borisjohnson promises big changes following his brexit trade deal, as his chancellor rishi sunak says the deal brings reassurance to those worried about the impact on businesses. the rollout of the pfizer biontech covid vaccine begins for millions of people across the eu

— starting with italy and the czech republic here in the uk, the ever rising numbers of covid infections is putting a severe strain on the national health service. the london ambulance service says yesterday was its busiest 2a hour period since march, and in scotland, doctors say health services could be overwhelmed, if the relaxation of covid restrictions for christmas triggers a surge in cases. but in wales one health board has had a huge response, after appealing for medical students to help out, in intensive care wards. here's sangita myska. hospitals and other front line services are under mounting pressure tonight in some parts of the uk. that's the warning from the nhs. the bbc has learned that student paramedics and two other ambulance services outside the capital have been called in to assist after a sharp rise in calls. the london ambulance service says that yesterday, boxing day, was one of its busiest ever,

with calls up by more than 50% compared to last year. i never want to say that the nhs is going to be overwhelmed because we see the nhs being endlessly innovative and ingenious in how it can actually manage to spread incredibly thin resource, but i think it's worth remembering that things are incredibly challenging. meanwhile the welsh government has described the nhs their as stretched to the limit and working to full capacity. annual illnesses, staff shortages and the rapid spread of the new coronavirus variant yesterday led cardiff and vale university health board to tweet this stark appeal. "0ur critical care department is urgently looking for assistance

proning patients — that is about moving patients when they are in intensive care from their backs onto their stomachs and vice versa. this process is quite heavy lifting, and it involves five to seven individuals. medical students and others answered the call in large numbers and the health board later tweeted that, while staffing remained challenging, the critical care unit remains open. in scotland, clinicians are issuing more warnings, this time that the nhs could be overwhelmed. mainland scotland is now in tier 4 restrictions. the new, faster spreading variant combined with the temporary easing of restrictions on christmas day could, they say, have created the perfect storm for an nhs that is already overstretched. sangita myska, bbc news. gusts of more than 100mph have been recorded as storm bella continues to bring heavy rain to large parts of the uk. the needles, on the isle of wight,

saw winds that reached 106mph with a number of train operators reporting delays across the south of england. the met office has also issued yellow warnings for snow and ice — meaning disruption is likely — for parts of wales, north—west england, scotland and the whole of northern ireland. dozens of syrian refugee families have had to leave a makeshift camp in lebanon after it was burnt to the ground on saturday night. aid officials say the tents were set alight after a dispute between refugees and local residents. at least three people were injured in the blaze. rhal ssan reports. imagine having so little and waking up imagine having so little and waking up to this. this makeshift refugee campfor up to this. this makeshift refugee camp for syrians in northern lebanon was set on fire late on saturday night. at least three people were injured in the blaze which left the entire camp burnt to the ground. more than 300 people live here.

they've lost everything now. authorities say the fire broke out after a dispute between refugees and some local men turned violent. translation: the dispute started here. a lebanese man hit a syrian and his son fought back. and lebanese man called his relatives to help him. that's when they all ended up help him. that's when they all ended up in the street and began fighting. lebanon public army set it up the rest is 63 nationals and two local men of the alleged dispute. although tensions are high, some residents nearby offered their homes to the fleeing refugees. translation: it's shameful to fleeing refugees. translation: it's shamefulto burn tents with children inside. if it wasn't for locals from nearby villages taking the men they would be sleeping on the streets or in the wreck of the camp. tensions have been rising between locals and

refugees fuelled by a deep economic crisis and the covid pandemic. despite having estimated population of only 6.8 million, lebanon has almost1 million of only 6.8 million, lebanon has almost 1 million syrian of only 6.8 million, lebanon has almost1 million syrian refugees registered with the un. most of them have fled the ongoing civil war in syria. it's unlikely that they will be able to return anytime soon. rhal ssan, bbc news. back now to one of our main stories — the row over donald trump delaying signing america's unemployment benefits legislation. the us president—elect, joe biden, has warned of "devastating consequences". mr biden will become the 46th president in just three weeks time. tackling the coronavirus pandemic will be his biggest challenge at home, but in foreign policy he says he wants to in his words "restore america's leadership on the world stage." with his assesssment of the challenges, here's our world affairs editor, john simpson. america is back, ready to lead

the world, not retreat from it. once again at the head of the table. now thatjoe biden is about to take over the white house and donald trump's moving out, governments right around the world are heaving sighs of relief. i'm not actually walking into the real oval office! this is an exact replica in a norfolk film studio much used by hollywood movies. but whenjoe biden sits at that desk for the first time, he's going to be taking charge of a country whose standing in the world hasn't been as low as this in decades. right around the world there are offences to be mended and alliances to be built up again. america is back. multilateralism is back. diplomacy is back. that means taking the lead in nato again after four years of complaints about other

members plus threats to cut america's contributions. and another major priority, rejoining the paris climate accord, which donald trump said damaged american interests. joe biden hopes to revive the nuclear agreement with iran, which trump tried to kill off. iran, the big european countries and britain are all enthusiastic. trump's one foreign policy success was getting two golf states plus sudan to recognise israel. trump cited strongly with the israelis and cut aid to the palestinians. how easy will it be forjoe biden to be able to change this? even more important for him is how he'll approach russia. the russians meddled in the 2016 us election and seems to have hacked into some of america's most fundamental secrets. there's a lot of unfinished

business with russia. i think together with the uk and europe we'll have to again sit down and decide what kind of serious signals we send to russia and its behaviour must change. we have a maximum of four years, probably two years, to really do things together with our allies. and there is the most complex problem of all, china. what should joe biden‘s approach be? work with china. compete with them in a persistent and effective way, be prepared in the event of conflict to cooperate with china, and some critical issues that are before us like combating global climate change, dealing with the covid—19 pandemic. at 78, time isn't exactly onjoe biden‘s side. but for the outside world, he has one huge advantage. he isn't donald trump. john simpson, bbc news.

a pilot in germany has traced an image of a syringe in the sky to mark the launch of vaccination campaigns across the european union. flight tracking data showed the small plane flew the outline of a syringe above friedrichshafen, a town in southern germany. pilot samy kramer says he thought it was a fun way to raise awareness on such an historic day. finally, a dog became man of the match at at professional football game in bolivia. the hound stole the show as it decided to run around the pitch with a football boot in its mouth. this went on for about three minutes before the exhuated pooch was escorted off the pitch. but it must have been a good luck charm, as the home side went on to win the game 3—0. look how bothered he is, and he did not get a red card for that.

you're watching bbc news, to forget you can get in touch with me on social media. hello. the weather is taking on a decidedly wintry complexion as we head through the final days of 2020. the satellite picture shows this big stripe of cloud that brought very wet and windy weather through the early parts of sunday courtesy of storm bella, but now we've got the speckled clouds working in from the north, some shower clouds, those showers turning wintry as well with some really cold air digging its way down. and we stick with this northerly air flow rate through the coming week. so, yes, it will be cold by day and by night. there will be a mixture of rain, sleet and snow at times in all of that, some spells of sunshine. certainly a very chilly start to monday morning with temperatures where the below freezing, several degrees below freezing in places. that could well give rise

to some icy stretches, and also notice this area of rain, sleet and snow across parts of wales, the midlands, down into southern england. this is going to be moving very slowly through the day, he could give some snow certainly over high ground, but even to low levels don't be surprised if you get a brief covering of snow. elsewhere, some wintry showers continuing in eastern coastal counties. northern ireland, western scotland keeping a lot of cloud. a mix of rain, sleet and snow here. it will be windy in the west, not as windy further east, but even if you get sunshine through the day it will feel chilly. top temperatures between 2—7 celsius. now, as we had through monday night western areas particularly will see further cloud and epics of rain. some sleet and snow. some wintry showers for eastern coasts as well. elsewhere, we keep some clear spells, again a touch of frost and some icy stretches with temperatures for many dipping well below freezing. so as we go on into tuesday, low pressure will be sitting just to the east of the british isles.

high pressure a long way out to the west, but that will be driving a feed of northerly winds once again. another fairly windy day across the west where we will see showers of rain, sleet and snow. some wintry showers for northern and eastern coasts. elsewhere, a lot of dry weather and some spells of sunshine come up with those temperatures still struggling below average for the time of year. 3, 4, 5, 6 celsius in most places. and we stick with that very cold weather throughout the rest of the week. a lot of dry weather around, but some showers. some of which will still be wintry.

hello this is bbc news with me, lukwesa burak. the headlines. the nhs is under intense pressure

due to the rising numbers of coronavirus infections across the uk. the london ambulance service says boxing day was one of the busiest days in its history. european leaders have hailed the start of coronavirus vaccinations across the eu as a turning point in the fight against the pandemic. boris johnson is promising big changes following his brexit trade deal. but chancellor rishi sunak has sought to reassure the city of london, that the post—brexit trade deal will not damage the financial services industry. storm bella has brought winds of more than 100mph to many parts of the uk, along with heavy rain. the met office has also issued yellow warnings for snow and ice meaning disruption is likely in some places.