this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk prime minister, boris johnson, promises ‘big changes' following the brexit trade deal — his finance minister says new opportunities lie ahead. the vaccine roll—out begins in eu countries — health workers and the elderly, the first in the queue. millions of americans lose their unemployment benefits — after president trump refuses to sign the covid economic relief bill into law. dozens of syrian refugee families are forced to leave a makeshift camp in lebanon after it was burnt to the ground during a dispute with local residents.

hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. first... britain's 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 a newspaper article, he says he wants to focus on "leveling up the country" , and "spreading opportunity" across the uk. 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, "on 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. 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. but as scrutiny of the document continues over the coming days, 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 2 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 2 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—i9 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 5th 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. millions of americans have lost unemployment benefits because president trump failed to sign a massive covid relief bill into law by a deadline of midnight. president—elect, joe biden, has warned of devastating consequences for the people who would have been helped by the bill, which passed overwhelmingly in congress. the relief package aimed to provide a 1.4 trillion dollarfederal budget, agreed by both sides of the house. it also proposed one—off payments of 600 dollars to most americans, but despite his

administration negotiating the deal, president trump changed his mind, saying he wants to give 2,000 dollars instead. he also wants to cut foreign aid. legislators could pass a stop—gap by monday — to prevent a partial government shutdown looming a day later, but it would not include coronavirus aid. 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—i9. 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 — she explained her predicament. well, u nfortu nately 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 unemployment to be 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 hard right now. trying to just pay rent and my husband, 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 can tell you are upset, if you need to stop just let me know. it's in quite a yearfor 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 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, i got sent onto the next lake oh, sorry, we've already went on somebody else. so ijust had to rely on those unemployment benefits and 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, 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 isjust to make a decision, whether it's $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 and i hope it's the right one because it will make a difference. that was catherine stamper talking to me about what it's like to lose her unemployment benefits in america. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: our world affairs editor assesses the challenges the new president will face.

the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got under way with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow in holland we are going to use the money we picked up in belgium today, and then we will be in france, and again it will be the same money. it's just got to be the way to go. george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed at his oxfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. i think it was good. just good? no, fantastic. that's better.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines. uk prime minister borisjohnson promises big changes following the brexit trade deal. his finance minister rishi sunak says the deal brings reassurance to those worried about the impact on business. the roll—out of the pfizer/biontech covid vaccine begins for millions of people across the eu starting with health workers and the elderly. 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 3 people were injured in the blaze. rhal ssan. imagine having so little and waking 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 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 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 almosti 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. israel has entered its third national lockdown on sunday to combat the covid—i9 pandemic. tough restrictions are in place, with fines for those breaking the rules. businesses are concerned about the economic impact that the lockdown will have. rachel stanton reports. shutting up shop until who knows when.

businesses have been closing up as the new national lockdown comes into force. what was once a bustling area now remains deserted. the coronavirus pandemic has caused uncertainty for many. people are concerned about what lies ahead. we lost a lot of money. we had to close shops so the turnover is less than 50% that we used to earn. and now we don't know if we can keep and sell in regular shops because you don't know what will happen, you don't know if they will close or open, you take a big risk on money because you don't know how the government will help the businesses. you hope they will help them. with daily infection rates climbing, and with more than 3000 cases per day for the last several days, the rules are strict. travelling more than 1000 metres from your home

is forbidden except in special circumstances. police officers will be deployed to make sure that no one is breaking the lockdown. restrictions are set to be in place for at least two weeks, and could be extended for an additional two weeks if morbidity rates do not decrease significantly. officials in israel are hoping that this is the final national lockdown. it was just last week when prime minister benjamin netanyahu received his first dose on tv. across the country, more than 260,000 people have received the vaccine. we should be lucky that this process has been as fast as it has, and the fear of serious illness should be what people are concerned about, not the vaccine. stopping the virus in its tracks is no easy task. in the long term impact of the virus remains unclear, but with lockdown in place and vaccines at the ready,

it is hoped that the harm caused by the pandemic will eventually subside. rachel stanton, bbc news. now president—elect, joe 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 reminder of our top story. britain's 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 a newspaper article, he says he wants to focus on "leveling up the country" —— and "spreading opportunity" across the uk. mps will vote on the deal in parliament on the 30th of december. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter.

i'm @lukwesaburak 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 right 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 widely 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.

this is bbc news. the headlines.

uk prime minister, borisjohnson, and his finance minister, rishi sunak, have both moved to calm concerns that the post—brexit deal with the eu could damage the country's business. there are worries that the financial sector particularly could suffer once the new deal comes into force. european leaders have hailed the start of coronavirus vaccinations across the eu as a turning point in the fight against the pandemic. the first in line to receive the vaccine are the elderly and health workers, and the eu aims to vaccinate just over 6 million people by the end of the year. millions of americans have lost unemployment benefits because president trump failed to sign a massive covid relief bill into law by the midnight deadline. president—elect, joe biden, has warned of devastating consequences for the people who would have been helped by the bill, which passed overwhelmingly in congress. now on bbc news, it's hardtalk with stephen sackur.