this is bbc news, the headlines: president trump has belatedly signed a coronavirus relief and government spending bill into law. republican and democratic party lawmakers had been pleading with him to sign it before this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here the deadline of midnight on monday. in the uk or around the globe. i'm rich preston. our top stories: millions of americans temporarily lost unemployment benefits and emergency top—up president trump belatedly signs a huge bipartisan coronavirus relief and government payments because of the delay. spending bill into law. south africa has registered more than a million cases of covid—19, just a few days south africa registers after the south african more than a million cases of coronavirus. hospital admissions rise steeply as a new faster authorities confirmed spreading variant is detected. a new faster spreading coronavirus variant had been detected. some hospitals and medical centres have reported a severe the vaccine rollout begins rise in admissions, placing in european union countries. a heavy strain on resources. health workers and the elderly european leaders have hailed the first in the queue. the start of coronavirus vaccinations across the eu new york prepares to say as a turning point in the fight a rousing, if virtual, against the pandemic. the first in line to receive farewell to 2020. 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. now on bbc news, marcus rashford: feeding britain's

president trump has approved a $2 trillion government spending and coronavirus stimulus package days after objecting to elements of the bill. the new law will not only support people and businesses threatened by the pandemic, it will also ensure the government remains open. in a statement mr trump said it was his "responsibility to protect americans from the economic devastation and ha rdship" caused by the coronavirus. he also said he is approving the covid package with a strong message that makes clear to congress that wasteful items need to be removed from the bill. daniel lippman is the white house reporter for politico. he says even though president trump may have signed the bill, he'll be farfrom happy. he is not, he talked about how they should fight against big tech in this rambling statement that had some typos. it called operation warp speed, project warp speed — that's the government plan to develop vaccines,

that has proved pretty successful. so he was kind of kicked, dragging and screaming to sign this bill, being urged by allies like david perdue, the senator from georgia who's up for re—election in about a week, and also lindsey graham from south carolina. he says he will send this back to congress a red—lined version. do we have any idea what his red—lined items or areas will be? he didn't specify, but i'm sure that some of the money for foreign countries that was in the larger government spending bill will be on the chopping block, but it's up to congress to accept some of those prose changes from the president, so this would be more of a symbolic thing than actually being carried out, and so i think washington is breathing a sigh of relief since they did not want to have a government shutdown, they want these cheques to go out to the millions of americans who are in desperate need of help. businesses are continuing to fail so they need this payment protection, pay check protection programme.

so this bill could have been approved months ago but democrats and republicans did not want to back down from their negotiating positions. realistically, how much influence over this does mr trump have, given that in a matter of weeks a new president will be sworn in? he doesn't have much influence anymore. republicans are not scared of him or else they might agree to his $2000 cheque idea per adult. and so his influence is really waning and a lot of them don't think that he is a man of his word, given that his

treasury secretary steven mnuchin said "we are ok with the $600 per person" and yet trump was huffing and puffing that oh, it should be $2000. well, democrats are saying why didn't you tell us weeks ago or months ago? why are you springing that on us at the last minute? south africa has recorded more than 1 million coronavirus cases since the first case was recorded in march. it comes days after the south african authorities confirmed that a new faster—spreading variant had been detected. around 26,700 people have died from covid—19 related complications. mark lobel reports. you got it? you see how short of breath you are, hey? south africa's struggling to contain its battle with coronavirus. the average number of people dying has doubled in a fortnight. hospitals and medical centres are reporting rising admissions, straining resources

and healthcare staff. chuckles. it wasn't that bad? yeah, it wasn't. a million people have now tested positive here. 100,000 new cases were recorded in less than ten days with cases doubling in over two weeks. some hospitals have had to cancel some of their staffs leave. it is getting worse but the fear now is that the people, they are not trying to protect themselves. many people suspect a new coronavirus variant that's more easily transmitted is driving this surge. the variant, called 501.v2, was identified in the country's eastern cape province and is reportedly gaining dominance in the south and south—east. several countries have banned flights from south africa as a result. after one of the world's earliest and strictest lockdowns back in march, including an alcohol ban, tougher measures are now being reconsidered by president cyril ramaphosa.

vaccinations haven't yet reached these shores, although this one, developed in the netherlands, is being tested here. i'm really disappointed to see the world map of access so far and, you know, the whole of the african continent seems to have been left out. but right now, the country is preparing for other measures as it finds itself on the back foot. hopes now dashed that it had skipped the worst of the pandemic. mark lobel, bbc news. people across europe have started to receive the coronavirus vaccine after countries including france, spain and italy, began 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 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 healthcare workers have been particularly high, there was relief as doctors and nurses were among the first to get the jab. and 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 the 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 ministerand, 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. 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 it's had it's busiest 2a hour period since march. 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 an incredibly thin resource, but i think it's worth remembering that things are incredibly challenging. meanwhile, the welsh government has described the nhs there 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: "our critical care department is urgently looking for assistance from medical students and other staff groups who have previously supported proning patients." the art of proning patients — and that is about moving patients when they're in intensive care from their backs on to their stomachs and vice—versa — and this process is quite heavy lifting, 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. here in the uk, the government is warning businesses and people planning to travel to european union countries to get ready for "substa ntial" change from new year's eve, on thursday. a deal setting out trade between the uk and the eu was agreed last week ministers say there will still be "some disruption" and "practical and procedural changes" which everyone needed to prepare for. here's our political

correspondent, helen catt. this was the moment the uk left the eu, 11pm on the 31st of january this year. and it will be 11pm again this time on the sist be 11pm again this time on the 31st of december when we will leave the single market and the customs union as well. this time the government says we will notice the change. a trade deal was finalised in brussels last week and it is expected to be in place before thursday. the eu is set to approve it, possibly as early as today. the uk parliament is expected to pass the necessary law on wednesday. even with the deal in place, businesses which trade goods with the eu will still have to file customs declarations even though they won't pay any tariffs. lorries wanting to use the channel tunnel or the port of dover will need a permit to enter kent. in holyhead, authorities

are also putting in place measures to deal with possible traffic held up. it has advice for anyone planning a trip to any eu country except ireland also. check your passport is valid, doublecheck your running policy for your mobile phone, and take out full travel insurance. valid ehic cards will still be recognised, though. pet owners are being told that if they want to take their animal into the eu they will need to visit leave at four months in advance. the government says with big change comes challenge and opportunity, and that, it is reminding us, starts injust a few days. 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 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. then the lebanese man called his relatives to help him — that's when they all ended up in the streets and began fighting. lebanon's army said it has arrested six syrian nationals and two local men over 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 them in, 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 coronavirus pandemic. despite having an estimated population 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 any time soon. rhal ssan, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we'll have the latest on why a high level delegation from china is trying to prevent a split in the ruling communist party in nepal.

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 money we picked up in belgium today, and then we will be in france, and again, it'll 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! bells toll

this is bbc news, the latest headlines: president trump has approved a $2 trillion government spending and coronavirus stimulus package, days after objecting to elements of the bill. south africa has registered more than a million cases of covid—19, just a few days after a new faster spreading coronavirus variant was detected. let's turn to nepal now, where a high level delegation from china has arrived, to try and prevent a split in the ruling nepal communist party. the country's in the midst of a political crisis after the prime minister dissolved parliament. faced with criticism of his handling of the pandemic from his own government, kp sharma oli called an election a year early, sparking protests from one faction of his party. let's speak to anbarasan ethirajan, the south asia editor

for bbc world service. thank you for being with us. what is the political picture at the moment in nepal, what has prompted the crisis? there has prompted the crisis? there has been infighting in the nepalese communist party, which came to power in 2018 and they merged a nepal communist party but there has been infighting between the leaders within the party because of the power and the rivals accusing him of mismanagement and the way they have handled the coronavirus pandemic. having many protests about the way the government handled and people are unhappy in the number of cases has spiked and that has led to the political crisis and mr oli thought he could bring a no motion confidence in parliament and this is why he has called for elections and what has plunged nepal in political crisis. we have been having protests almost every day by

political parties but mr oli is a very firm on his decision anything is the northern neighbour china can back him up. what does the delegation hope to achieve? the chinese ambassador in kathmandu has been playing and active role which is unusual for china because it always maintains it does not get involved in the domestic affairs of any foreign country. they were trying to mediate between the leaders of the nepal communist party for the nepal communist party for the past few weeks. this did not work out. now a senior communist party official has come here with a four member delegation and both the foreign ministry and chinese embassy are not giving any details about the detail of the delegation but it is expected they will meet, the two leaders of the nepal communits party, and on one side you have the prime minister and on the other

side, you have another political leader challenging mr oli. another chinese are trying to find whether they can prevent a split in the communist party and this is also worried these other neighbour india because now they are seeing china playing an active role in what was once described as an indian sphere of influence and you see the two big players playing the game in nepal and that is worried many people because the more and more china is getting involved in nepal's political affairs, the world attention is turning towards nepal. thank you forjoining us. africa's first case of covid—19 was detected in mid—february. more than ten months on, more than 2.5 million people have been diagnosed with the virus, and it's claimed more than 60,000 lives. the bbc‘s senior africa correspondent anne soy takes a look at the continent's response. this is what lockdown looks like in africa's most populous

city, lagos. before the pandemic, such scenes would have been unimaginable all. africa's response was to site thatis africa's response was to site that is divisive, most countries took swift actions to maintain covid—19, building on experience of other outbreaks. working with other countries to access working with other countries to a ccess resources working with other countries to access resources they had in place in terms of what was done for ebola and equipment that was used for testing in tuberculosis and portfolio and to mobilise people and their supply chains. but they did not affect riots. this is kenya shortly after curfew was announced, one of several countries criticised for human rights groups for excessive use of force. teargas, mass arrests and even shooting dead people caught flouting lockdown rules prompted the un human rights commission are to comment it is a virus we are fighting, not

people. i met a global shortage of medical supplies, help came in cash and kind, but corruption also threatened to delay response. exasperated health workers went on strike in kenya. there were protests also in south africa where senior members of the ruling party enc were implicated. senior members of the ruling party enc were implicatedlj have party enc were implicated.” have authorised a special investigative unit to probe any allegations relating to the misuse of covid—19 funds across all spheres of this state. the divisive actions by the african governments came at a cost, livelihoods were lost and the poorest were hit hardest and so they were forced to reopen economies and now most cities look like this, very busy, but

the pandemic is far from look like this, very busy, but the pandemic is farfrom over. there have also been elections, at least ten of them, on the continent. huge crowds attended political rallies, and now the number of infections is rising and there is a new variant of the virus in south african. they are co—ordinating actions to investigate the new variant to investigate the new variant to determine whether it is more infectious, more transmissible or has the potential to cause more severe illnesses. research is being conducted to assess the impact of limitation on the performance of existing diagnostic tests, and on current vaccines. vaccines are already available in wealthier nations but there are fears it may take months, possibly yea rs, may take months, possibly years, for africa to get

sufficient quantities. the continent may have been spared the worst of the pandemic so far, but they meant no be the case for much longer, a new wave and new strain of the virus could drastically change things across africa. anne soy, bbc news. the new year is rapidly approaching but with social distancing and other coronavirus restrictions, normal new year's eve celebrations will have to be curtailed. but, in new york, they insist the show will go on as much as possible. the bbc‘s tim allman explains. the more things change, the more they stay the same. workers finishing preparations to the giant crystal ball that will see out the old and see in the new. it weighs six tonnes, has a diameter of more than 3.5 metres, and is clad in thousands of waterford crystal triangles. a very big ball for a very big night. this year's new year's eve is the most anticipated since the millennium, and the tradition remains the same.

this beautiful waterford crystal ball will drop at midnight, the entire world will count down with us here in new york, as we celebrate the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021. newsreel: millions down broadway, and the great white way is swinging it! they've been celebrating the new year at times square for more than a century. but don't expect scenes like this as 2020 draws to a close. covid—19 and all it entails has put something of a dampener on proceedings. so, this year, thanks to our pandemic, it's a live broadcast closed to the public, but you can watch, you can watch online at timessquareball. net, you can watch on tv, you can watch online, you can watch on the virtual new year's eve app. there's very many ways to celebrate with us here at times square. they're calling the design of this year's crystal ball "the gift of happiness." the people of new york, and notjust new york, hoping that will turn out to be an omen. tim allman, bbc news.

that is all for now. you can reach me on twitter. from all of us here at the bbc, until next time. 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 these 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, amidst 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 degrees. 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 to come with those temperatures still struggling below average for the time of year. three, four, five, six 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. 00:28:47,284 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 communist party in nepal.