this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. eu ambassadors unanimously approve the provisional application of the post—brexit trade deal between the uk and the eu. more signs of growing pressure on uk hospitals from the new coronavirus variant. three ambulance services in the south—east of england are asking people not to call unless it's a genuine emergency. countries across the european union begin a co—ordinated roll—out of the covid vaccine, with all 27 member states offering jabs to the most vulnerable. president trump signs a coronavirus relief and spending package, after previously threatening to block the bill, saying parts of it were "wasteful". at least 200 british tourists

are reported to have fled the swiss ski resort of verbier to avoid a 10—day quarantine, ordered after the discovery of the new covid variant in the uk. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. in the last hour, eu ambassadors have unanimously approved the provisional application of the eu—uk post—brexit trade deal that was agreed on christmas day. the ambassadors of all 27 eu member states have provisionally accepted the eu—uk trade and cooperation agreement. on wednesday the president of the eu council, charles michel, and president of the eu commission ursula von der leyen are expected to officially sign off on the trade agreement.

but this has to be ratified in a european parliament vote early next year. on thursday, mps will vote on the deal in parliament. it all means that tariff—free trade will be provisionally allowed after britain leaves the eu single market at the new year. with me now is our brussels correspondent kevin connolly. explain correspondent kevin connolly. exactly what this m ambassadors explain exactly what this means. eu ambassadors unanimously approving the application of the deal. the best way of looking at is his frankly would have been amazing if they had not done so. of course, the member state governments, the ambassadors themselves have been keptin ambassadors themselves have been kept in the look of every stage of the negotiation. so this is really a formal ratification. it simply means that the deal is working its way through the eu's layers of decision—making and no one has ever accused the eu of not having enough

decision—making layers, so there are a few more bureaucratic bits and pieces to do this weekend then there is an event of some political importance to come at some point, we think early in the new year when the european parliament will be asked to approve it because the european parliament eventually in december said it's getting too late in decemberfor us to said it's getting too late in december for us to do this officially before the new year, that's why we have what's called provisional application, the eu member states doing the deal and saying to the european parliament that your consideration will come a bit later in the process, a few weeks down the road. thank you very much indeed. fishermen continue to insist they will be "absolutely worse off" as a result of the uk government's post—brexit trade deal. that's according to the chairman of the national federation of fishermen‘s organisations. andrew locker said he was "angry" and "disappointed" that the industry had been "betrayed" by boris johnson. that's been rejected

by cabinet office minister, michael gove, who said the uk is "in a stronger position than we were in the eu and in the common fisheries policy." so who is right? our reality check correspondent, chris morris, is with us now. fisheries not a huge part of the uk economy, but very central to this brexit radio and the talks right up to the last moment? yes, we know they were one of the very last issues to be resolved because of political sensitivities in the uk and france were emmanuel macron as a presidential election to fight next year and so yes, fishing was important, what, was it a good deal for the uk fishing fleet? i think when michael gove says they are in a better position, to begin with its only marginal. let's look at some of the numbers of what the deal said. to begin with, there will be, the argument towards the end of

negotiation was the size of the cut for eu boats fishing in uk waters and it's going to be a 25% cut in the amount of fish they can catch and that will be phased in over this 5.5 year transition period. which means that eu boats are still going to be catching quite a lot of fish in uk waters. the argument for that is we do not have the boats to catch them at the moment and the government is saying we will put money into increase the size of the fishing fleet over that period. but i suppose it's not an instant taking back control of all uk waters and thatis back control of all uk waters and that is why some fishermen are unhappy. michael gove said the eu wa nted unhappy. michael gove said the eu wanted a transition period of unhappy. michael gove said the eu wanted a transition period 01:14 yea rs wanted a transition period 01:14 years and they haggled three and ended up with 5.5 so he says that was not a bad deal. if you look at the numbers, uk wanted an 80% cut in the numbers, uk wanted an 80% cut in the eu offered 18 so it is much nearer the eu position on the length

of the transition it's neither the uk position so a bit of give and take. it's what happens after the transition period that ten is interesting because then it reverts to annual negotiations on access to fishing waters and in theory at that point the uk can say we will shut out eu boats altogether, take back oui’ out eu boats altogether, take back our quarter, that is it, but there isa our quarter, that is it, but there is a presumption in the deal, it is written in that the 25% cut is going to continue for a while and the uk has to make a choice to change that. if it does so, then there is the opportunity again written to the deal, that for example, tariffs could be put on fish exports to the eu market are potentially on other things that we sell to the eu as well. so in fish we see what we see in the whole deal. yes, we have won in theory the sovereignty to go our own way but there will be a price to pay for it. boris johnson and it's the deal with a tie with fish on it

implying at victory for fishery but fishing leaders say they have been betrayed. are they right to be that angry? some of the rhetoric during the referendum and afterwards suggested taking back control of fishing waters 100% straightaway, and of story. in reality that was never going to happen. one of the reasons they are angry, for example, the example it was given a lot was the example it was given a lot was the amount of cord that gets caught by eu boats in eastern english channel, 90% of all cod. in five and half years time it will still be 90% so there are specific species we have done well, other species it's a pretty small amount of fish but that's why people are angry and i think the other thing is a lot of the fishermen in small boats to fish nearer into the shore were hoping eu boats would be kicked out if you like of waters up to 12 miles from the uk coastline that is not the case, eu boats are still in circumstances going to be able to continue fishing in those waters. so most of the benefits for the uk

fishing fleets are going to be for the big trawlers, some of which actually are british boats owned by foreign companies, i think a lot of the smallerfishermen foreign companies, i think a lot of the smaller fishermen are thinking they have been a bit forgotten. chris, thank you very much indeed. hospitals across the uk say they're facing intense pressure, as the number of coronavirus infections continues to rise. three ambulance trusts in the south of england are urging people to only call the emergency 999 number if there's a genuine emergency. the london ambulance service said it dealt with nearly eight—thousand calls on boxing day, its second busiest day ever. the south central and south east coast ambulances have also been dealing with very high numbers of calls. and in scotland, doctors say health services could be overwhelmed, if the relaxation of covid restrictions for christmas, triggers a surge in cases. with this report, here's andy moore. health services across the country are under pressure, and in some areas such as wales and london, they are under particular strain.

the capital is where the new variant of coronavirus is growing most rapidly. the london ambulance service has reported that boxing day was one of its busiest days ever, second only to march 16th earlier this year, when the first wave of the pandemic was beginning to surge. on the 26th of december this year, the service dealt with 7,918 emergency calls. that's an increase of more than 50% on last year's total for the same day of 5,217. in order to meet the rising demand, the service is putting back office staff on the road, and drafting in extra ambulances from neighbouring regions. other ambulance services in the south—east are reporting similar problems. ambulance trusts in particular are coming under extreme pressure, as are community and mental health services. everybody affected by the impact of covid. and talking to trust leaders overnight, they are under no illusion about how

challenging this is. in wales, more than half of intensive care beds are now occupied by covid patients. it's a situation described as unprecedented. the situation across wales is quite sobering. the number of people that are presenting with symptoms of covid that not only require hospital admission, but are so seriously ill that they require intensive care, and that more than 50% of our bed occupancy in intensive care, is now due to covid patients, is very worrying. in scotland, the country's clinical director has denied the system could be overwhelmed. he said measures were in place where extra capacity was needed. but some doctors are warning that a combination of factors could create a perfect storm. the combination of these two occurrences, much more mixing over christmas and the very high transmissibility of the new strain of covid, would result in many more infections. and therefore many more hospital admissions,

and necessarily, then, more admissions to an intensive care unit and more deaths, sadly. but there is some good news on the horizon. another vaccine, the oxford university astrazeneca version, is expected to be given approval soon by the regulator and its roll—out could start early in the new year. the uk has ordered 100 million doses of this jab, and unlike the pfizer vaccine, it doesn't need to be kept at extremely low temperatures. andy moore, bbc news. the british government's issued a statement about the situation regarding schools and coronavirus, and whether term will start normally in january. the statement says they want "all pupils to return injanuary as school is the best place for their development and mental health". but it adds that it has to follow the path of the pandemic and keep our approach

under constant review. " it goes on, "our huge expansion of rapid testing will support secondary schools and colleges to stay open to all pupils and reduce the risk of transmission within local communities." the opposition labour party's education spokeswoman, kate green says schools and colleges need more support. to be in school learning safely and we have known for the best part of two weeks that there is a real concern about this new variant spreading more rapidly among children. the government has come out with some frankly half baked plans for mass testing in the school late in the dayjust before the christmas holidays. we need to know how those plans can be operationalised, school staff are saying it's very difficult to put them in place on the basis of what the government announced before christmas so what's

the position now? will that going to be in place at the beginning ofjanuary in schools and what support to school staff and schools receive to implement that programme? do you think the staggered reopening of schools in england should go ahead as it is planned? i want to return of students safely to school to happen after the christmas holidays, but we need to know that mass testing programme will be effective, that schools will be able to operate and they will have the support they need to run that system. they were told about itjust before the start of the christmas holidays, expected to put all of that in place over the last few days. i don't know if that is going to be effective at the beginning of january and that's what we need to hear from the government. parents will be extremely concerned that all they're getting is rumour and innuendo, teachers and school staff will need to what's expected of them and the fact we are not ahead of the curve on this is once again because the government is not open and transparent about the situation with parents and staff and then does not act quickly enough to support

schools and colleges. meanwhile, countries across the european union have begun mass coronavirus vaccinations, with many prioritising the elderly and health workers. the distribution has started in belgium this morning. jon hermans, a 96—year—old in a care home in flanders received the vaccine this morning. other countries such as spain, the czech republic, italy and germany have all begun administering the doses, with the eu vaccination programme aiming to reach a50 million residents. our correspondent bethany bell sent us this update. the latest headlines on bbc news... eu ambassadors unanimously approve the provisional application of the post—brexit trade deal between the uk and the eu. more signs of growing pressure on uk hospitals from the new coronavirus variant. three ambulance services in the south—east of england are asking people not to call unless it's a genuine emergency.

countries across the european union begin a co—ordinated roll—out of the covid vaccine, with all 27 member states offering jabs to the most vulnerable. president trump has signed the covid relief bill that means lapsed payments to millions of americans who are unemployed can be resumed. he'd refused to sign the $2.3 trillion package because he wanted cheques to individual americans to be increased from $600 to 2,000, which congress rejected. from washington, nomia iqbal reports. the yeas are 359, the nays are 53. this was a deal that had supported by both republicans and democrats, but not by the president. a few months ago, congress started negotiations on a new package to get urgently needed help to the american people. it's taken forever. however, the bill they are now

planning to send back to my desk is much different than anticipated. it really is a disgrace. as he played golf over the last few days, he was pressured by both parties to sign the bill. the consequences of his inaction were immense. up to a0 million americans face losing their unemployment benefits temporarily and being evicted from their homes. the bill now changes that. it's very exciting and i hope that it's true so what that a lot of families can get stimulus and relief and all the people who are still struggling with unemployment don't have to face such grim news at the holidays, and the beginning of a new year. the government also faced being shut down, as a lot of money was needed for funding government agencies. there will now be help for small businesses and money for vaccine distribution amongst other things.

well, some key elements, you know, in addition to the $600 stimulus, there is up to $8,000 perjobless worker in unemployment benefits, including a top up that expired injuly. there's also an eviction moratorium. there's money to get schools opened, protective equipment, so really vital aid. in a statement, president trump didn't say why he changed his mind. he said more still needed to be done, including increasing the individual payments to americans. mr trump also pushed the one thing he remains focussed on, claims of election fraud, which are unsubstantiated and demanded action on that too. but he is only president for less than a month and his requests are likely to be ignored. this last minute turmoil he created has now been averted and instead provided much needed help for a country that continues to suffer under the pandemic.

at least 200 british tourists have reportedly fled the swiss ski resort of verbier rather than face a 10—day quarantine. the holiday—makers are thought to have left the town, popular with travellers from the uk, during the night. that was after the swiss government ordered anyone arriving from britain after december 14th to self—isolate, following the discovery of a new variant of covid—19. reports say tourists were even offered free champagne on christmas day to make their stay more comfortable. scientists have discovered 12 new species, living in the depths of the atlantic ocean. most are previously unknown forms of coral. the researchers used special deep—sea robots to explore the ocean floor over five years and our science correspondent, victoria gill, has been given exclusive access.

an ocean that covers one fifth of the earth's surface and from populous industrial coastlines to pristine ice—filled waters, one four—and—a—half—year study of the atlantic, exploring and taking samples from 12 regions of this vast ocean, has discovered a dozen species new to science. this creature is a zoantharian. it uses its tentacles to trap food from the water. the researchers also found shellfish and five new species of coral. these static seabed dwellers that provide the food and shelter that is the foundation of hot spots of life in the deep ocean. you can think of them as underwater cities. the scientists say their atlantic—wide study is just starting to map out where the most important places for life are. we can still say that we know less about the sea floor of the oceans than we do about the surface of the moon or mars. a very small percentage of the sea

floor is actually being sampled. that means that pretty much anywhere you go that is new, you are going to find new species and they might be tiny little worms, nematodes or things like that, but certainly the diversity is huge. and just like our natural environment on the land, life in the oceans is being affected by human activity. as the climate changes, so do our oceans and the oceans are changing in ways that scientists are still learning about, trying to understand. so some of these whole ecosystems and newly—discovered species could already be under threat. our oceans have absorbed nearly a third of the carbon dioxide that has been released into the atmosphere since the industrial revolution and this has shifted the chemistry of the sea water that these animals have evolved in. we have this really terrifying prospect that right across the global ocean, the sea is becoming slightly more acid, so we face the prospect that the deep sea are changing.

their skeletons are getting more porous, slightly acidic, sea water corrodes and damages their skeletons. that is almost like an osteoporosis. they are becoming more brittle, more vulnerable to breaking and it is those coral skeletons that form as structures that are the buildings, the architecture of those cities of the deep sea. this research is unravelling how diverse and interconnected life in the deep ocean is. and as our world changes quickly, these insights could be key to making sure that species do not disappear before they are even discovered. victoria gill, bbc news. and we can speak now to professor murray roberts who you saw in that report. he's professor of marine biology at the university of edinburgh and leads the changing oceans research group. thank you for being with us. let's talk about the positives first of all. it's very exciting, isn't it, to discover new species? it's

fantastic, it is every biologist‘s dream. as we heard in the report when you go to these places we discover new species but one of the really exciting things for us was unravelling how those special places work and the deeply choral is and sponge grounds are just like cities. they recycle waste, look after inhabitants and are super important in ways we did not anticipate before the project started. one of your collea g u es the project started. one of your colleagues said we know less about the ocean floor than the surface of the ocean floor than the surface of the moon or mars. yes, it's true, it's really ha rd the moon or mars. yes, it's true, it's really hard to get the information through the water, its as simple as that. we have to map the sea bed using solar technology, it's a really slow process but the technologies are far better than they used to be. we use these techniques in the atlas project working internationally to share that expensive technology which really helped us make the discoveries we have now been able to report. the bad news is that even as

we make these new discoveries about new species we discover also that they are under threat from climate change? it's a game changer. the ocea ns change? it's a game changer. the oceans are changing more rapidly than we have ever seen in a geological record of the planet. things are going to shift, we are aware of fish species move into cooler more northern waters, the ocea ns cooler more northern waters, the oceans are really connected so things can change very quickly but those organisms, animals that live on the sea bed, cannot necessarily move as quickly so we are really concerned about the implications of climate change on things like deep see corals. how fast is that our certification —— acidification happening? how easily could be slowdown if the world does united do more steps against climate change? as we heard in the report, the estimates are about one third of the

carbon and act sites —— carbon dioxide we have released into the sea and 90% of global heating, so it's not only getting more acidic but warmer. clearly the oceans are massive but we are now able to see these effects even in the vastness of the open oceans of the world, we can see the acidification and warming signals. they are particularly acute in the polar regions, they are particularly under these pressures so what is the solution? there is really only one solution? there is really only one solution and that is limiting carbon dioxide emissions and doing all we can to live sustainably on our planet so we can eke out the resources , planet so we can eke out the resources, fairly share them across the planet and limit this kind of damage. tell us briefly what plans you have for future research, because as we said at the beginning, it's really exciting, you have planned presumably to carry on this kind of research? yes we do. we are

embarked on a new project it takes us embarked on a new project it takes us from the north to the south of the atlantic, east to west, brazilians, argentinians, europeans, canadians and americans to work together and that's really important, the sharing of expertise and resources that allows us to understand oceans. really good to talk to you and good luck with that work, i think you havejust talk to you and good luck with that work, i think you have just frozen, never mind, professor murray roberts, head of the research group, thank you very much. we got a smile at the end. a chinese journalist who reported on the early stages of the pandemic in wuhan has been jailed forfour years. zhang zhan's live reports and articles criticising the authorities‘ initial response to the virus were widely shared on social media. now, in milan, afterflash flooding in some districts over christmas many residents woke up this morning to a blanket of heavy snowfall. it follows an unusually sharp drop in temperatures right across northwestern italy, with some transport disrupted and more than a foot of snow falling.

you're watching bbc news. a cold and bright day but it has been a winter wonderland for many. snow as far south as the cotswolds and the downs, we will continue to see some further bouts of snow across the country, different areas one day to the next but always good for a fine balance between snoring and sleep. a bit of sleet and snow towards pembrokeshire and cornwall, rain and sleet clearing away from southern counties of england through the rest of today but more showers down the eastern coasts. rain on the coastal strip by the time we hit the evening already temperatures close to

freezing, rain along the coast turning to sleet and snow inland, upper parts of sheffield, manchester, leeds, bradford, could see a covering of snow into tomorrow morning. away from that i see with temperatures widely in store. peak district, staffordshire, towards in store. peak district, staffordshi re, towards parts in store. peak district, staffordshire, towards parts of wales in the south—west so another coating of snow possible for some of you. through the afternoon mainly around coastal district, some of you will be dry all day long but it will stay cold because we have no pressure to the east dragging down that airfrom pressure to the east dragging down that air from the north but watch what happens tuesday into wednesday. we see this weather feature push its way in. to the south of that milder air but the northern edge of it well push into colder air so a greater likelihood of some snow which could in itself cause disruption,

uncertainty is where that snow will track. it could fringe into northern ireland, wales, towards east anglia, rain across southern counties but if that's further south it will be snow rather than rain, north staying dry and bright. that system once it clears could give some snow for a time, east anglia and the south—east and two new year's eve more in the way of batches of showers coming down which could cover now taking us into new year's day on eastern counties of england. a lot to play for but for new year's day many will be dry and bright but still cold.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: eu ambassadors unanimously approve the provisional application of the post—brexit trade deal between the uk and the eu. this will provisionally allow tariff—free trade with britain to continue after it leaves the eu single market at new year. more signs of growing pressure on uk hospitals from the new coronavirus variant. three ambulance services in the south—east of england are asking people not to call unless it's a genuine emergency. countries across the european union are officially beginning a co—ordinated roll—out of the covid vaccine — with all 27 member states offering jabs to the most vulnerable. the eu has secured contracts for more than two billion doses. donald trump has signed a bipartisan coronavirus relief and government spending bill into law, after delaying for several days. the delay meant that millions temporarily lost unemployment benefits.