across northwestern italy, with some transport disrupted and more than a foot of snow falling. 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. ——between snow, rain and sleet. 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 below freezing. away from that, icy with temperatures widely below freezing. another 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 districts, some of you will be dry all day long but it will stay cold because we have low 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 into 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. now, on bbc news, philippa thomas hears from people around the world about their extraordinary experiences during the pandemic

and how covid—19 has changed their lives. welcome. on coronavirus: your stories, this year, we have been hearing from people around the world about some of the extraordinary ways in which covid—19 has changed our lives. on the programme, we have heard from more than 50 guests across 25 countries. like rachel, a british palliative care doctor, spending her days talking to the dying. there have been times where i have had to pull over on the side of the road and actually stop driving on the way home and sit there and cry to myself in silence, inside my car because i have felt so shocked by the speed of

the pandemic and the relentlessness of it, the sheer numbers of people who are dying too quickly and too often. it is like nothing any of us have ever experienced. it is like a battlefield environment. nadia and leanne who mobilised community action in cape town. we are cooking food for the whole communities so every day at 12:30pm they come. as long as their food to cook, i will cook. this is my family cooking for our neighbourhood. angela in missouri urging others to wear masks after she lost her mother to covid—i9. and it hurts, it hurts me and i know that there are so many people in this... ..in this country and this world everywhere that have lost people prematurely and they are scared to leave their homes because they know what this virus can do, they have seen it. and they feel like they are not being heard.

dana, a young doctor in damascus, making medical supplies because so few were getting into syria. what we have tried to do is do them ourselves using diy techniques. we were creating designs of masks, facemasks and other ppe through 3d printer, for example, but the main problem was the materials and to find 3d printers because it is not common to have 3d printers around here. another person we spoke to who lives in london and was homeless before getting alockdown hostal space. what do you think might have happened to you if this intervention had not come along with this kind of lockdown room and help you got? i'll be honest with you, i probably think i would be in prison by now and that is the honest truth. i honestly think i would be in prison by now. now as christmas approaches, we are

revisiting four of these stories. together, they reflect how difficult life has become for so many. losing business and jobs, health worries, stress, above all, losing loved ones to the virus. but they have also been stories of solidarity and hope, of people rising to the challenge in extraordinary ways. in some of the remotest areas of the united states, native american volunteers came together early to help the tribal nations hit hardest by covid—i9. in utah, jo overton was clinically vulnerable herself, stuck at home during lockdown, but she felt she had to act and set up a nonprofit from her kitchen table. from my youngest childhood, i remember my mother asking me what are you going to be when you grow up? and what will you do to help the people? there are some areas, especially on the navajo nation, where between 30 and 40 people,

40% of the people don't have running water. it also means they have no electricity and no cell phone service because they live in a really remote area and that might be ok on a regular basis, but with covid, it means they cannot call for help, they cannot wash their hands. ijust said, i cannot stand here and do nothing. and so, i did something and it has grown and i have an amazing team of people who are incredibly caring and we are all working together to save lives. i was looking for 40 masks and now we can get thousands to people within just days. and also, face shields and gloves, hand sanitiser, it becomes life—saving when you don't have water. nine months on, jo's network is still active and growing.

sending help to tribal lands from south dakota to nebraska. how does she describe the challenge today? it has been just... ..kind of overwhelming emotionally and very difficult to watch people that you love and are part of your family to become sick, to have people that you care about die. more native americans are going to become sick with covid and more native americans will die. they make up 9% of the south dakota population, the native americans do, and they are 19% of the death rate. jo, tell us more about what your network is doing to get some of the basics out there. we absolutely depend on our partnerships, our collaborations with the native peoples. they are our moccasins on the ground. without them, there would be no

distribution, especially to those that are in more need. the ones that are more remote, the ones that don't have transportation. they are bringing food and face shields and right now, our sewing expansion is sewing a request for great plains, which covers all the tribes in south dakota, north dakota and nebraska and one in iowa for 60,000 cloth masks. this is a nonprofit, a network, jo, that you set up from your kitchen table. what has been happening to you? i have been basically on lockdown in my house since march and the most difficult part for me has been how much i miss my grandchildren. and i have not had a hug or a kiss or a snuggle. it is... ..incredibly difficult. what is driving you on, jo?

my people are dying. what would i do, sit here and do nothing? i can't. the most important prayer that we say is that the people may live, not that i may live and i have been guided in my efforts by my ancestors and a deep drive to make my mother proud of me for her to look on at me and say, good for her, she is doing something important. and it has been what has lifted me in the darkest of times in the midst of this. jo overton in utah. this year's panic about the deadly coronavirus among us has led, of course, of long periods of lockdown around the globe. and that has had, that is still having an economic impact, with many families now running short of funds to buy even the basics like food. in the philippines, we heard

from a family which set up an aid programme to help thousands of neighbours for whom lockdown meant losing access to theirjobs and to food. chantel told us about her hometown of cainta. because the lockdown has spanned for months' long, people have ended up using up all of their savings. people have ended up selling almost all of their items at home just to be able to get whatever form of income they can. people in the communities, especially those that we've reached, that we've helped give milk to, give relief packs to, would send messages, would send videos and pictures of their children with the milk or with the food, reallyjust thanking us for the support. to them, what you give, regardless of how small you think it is, actually means the world. to a lot, itjust might be there world because they are just trying to survive on a day—to—day basis. thank you.

since we spoke, cainta was hit by a typhoon season and that meant that thousands have also lost their homes. in desperate need now of food, aid and medical supplies. about two or three weeks ago we were hit by a typhoon. it hit the country, the philippines, including my hometown. so hundreds of household work submerged in floodwaters, causing thousands of people to evacuate into evacuation centres. and it has been a struggle because people have only really started to recover from the lockdown, so from the day the typhoon hit, we managed to send out pack meals to people in evacuation centres. so in just under three weeks, we managed to provide 3,000kg of rice, i,000kg of vegetables, 30 boxes of canned goods and hundreds upon hundreds of grocery kits to almost 10,000 people. crisis or no crisis,

we have each other‘s back. and do you think that you will continue to be organising supplies all the way for the christmas season? i know it is a long season in the philippines. yes, yes. we actually have the longest christmas season in the world, so we start in september and end in early january. so basically, half the year. but of course we will be continuing our relief and food programme for as long as it takes. although for some people it seems as though we have lost the christmas because of everything that has happened this year. to me, it has never been more alive. there are people out there on the streets, in their homes, at work or on social media, doing whatever they can to be there for others and to me that is what christmas is all about. community, solidarity, love and hope. chantel, what has it been like for you this year stepping up, not once, but twice?

it has changed your life. this pandemic has shown me what is most important. the floods have shown me what we can do to help others, especially when we are together. that was chantel in the philippines. i am philippa thomas and you are watching... coronavirus — your stories, a programme about how covid—i9 has changed lives around the world. we are revisiting some of the stories that people have shared with us in this extraordinary year. as the world went into lockdown, we saw countries shut their borders to limit new infections. this put many seafarers in an unpredictable situation. we heard from a ship's captain and a young engineer, both key workers on important shipping routes, but effectively stranded at sea. we also heard from american and swedish couple brian and karen who had been sailing the world

for years now with a baby, sierra, on board. we first made contact with them on an uninhabited island in the bahamas where they had been living their lockdown for more than 100 days. we are out here in an island that is completely uninhabited. there are no stores, no people, no cities, just us, the bush and a few other boats. and you are managing with a baby who i think is going to be ten months old this week. how are you surviving? yes, she is actually going to be ten months old in three days. i feel like we are doing quite well. we are feeling very fortunate to be out here. it is a beautiful place and we are normally set up on the boat to be self—sufficient for months at a time and so we are able to make our own electricity with the sun and wind, we can make oui’ own water with the desalination plant, we even make our own alcohol

with a still we have on board, so we are pretty well set up to be out here and we are just taking it day by day, month by month. we catch our own food a lot here, brian is able to go spear fishing. when the lobster season was in full swing, we did that. having a baby on board, you think about things differently, right? it has changed the way we feel like we want to be a little extra safe, so we are probably going to move north fairly soon since we have heard this is going to be a pretty bad year for hurricanes. with hurricane season approaching the caribbean, brian and karen decided to head north to the us state of maine on the canadian border. they made it to harbour, sailing past some iconic sites, strangely empty of tourists because of the lockdown. when i talked to the couple in august, they admitted, that was not all smooth sailing. we got hit by a big low coming

over us and we saw winds in excess of 35 knots and we were in the gulf stream and so itjust created these gigantic standing waves and the boat was shaking and getting slammed around and the wind was howling. we blew out a sail. sierra really couldn't come outside because it was just too poor weather. that sail kind of taught me a lot also about my limits and what i feel comfortable with. i mean, we have been out sailing for like ten years, but sailing with her is definitely different. but now they are in the country with the highest pandemic death toll in the world and now that winter is here, what does this sailing family do next? we decided to sail up north to canada, unfortunately, the border closure is still in effect, canada is not letting any americans in and you really can't blame them for that. and then we had to head back south again. i mean, the plans change all

the time, but i think in general, we are going to head south and probably down towards florida. life on a boat is still the life you want? definitely. yeah. i love it. i love living on the boat. it is a much different world that sierra has come into than the one you expected. definitely. you know what, i ventured into the hardware store the other day. we were walking around and everybody else is wearing masks and to her this is what she is used to now. she sees somebody out in the store wearing a mask and it is not strange. we have watched her grow up on this programme which is lovely to see. and i am just thinking about what you will tell her, you know, when she is a bit older, about her first year. because we make the videos, we will be able to not only tell her but show her what it was like, which is going to be pretty cool to look back in a few years and see her grow from a four—month—old baby to now this 16—month toddler walking around

and destroying everything on the boat she can get her hands on. oh, is that funny? when you look back at this year, the year of coronavirus, what do you remember most? i feel like even though it has been a lot of struggles and we have not been able to meet people in the same way, there is still all lot of really amazing people out there and connections you can make in a safe manner and it has been... it has been really, really special in a more challenging way. laughter. in a different sort of way. can you wave goodbye, sierra? come on, we are going this way. oh, there she goes. goodbye! brian, karen and sierra. on this programme, we have heard a lot from people who realise how much it matters to make connections

at a time when we are supposed to socially distance. this year, a lot of people have thought about what matters most to them and what matters in their relationships. so for ourfinal story we are hearing about a couple tested in this pandemic year, not by a physical isolation like the trautmans, but by unexpected togetherness. so for ourfinal story, imagine two friends, world travellers who first meet in australia. one year later, they meet again in new zealand and romance is in the air. then pandemic strikes. so canadian katie and brit ryan suddenly find themselves far from home in a small flat, facing lockdown life together for weeks and weeks. how did they react? for katie, one word. panic. laughter. please, no. i'm sure it was a shock for everyone, really. just knowing that we would be

cooped up in a house for a long period of time. and it was really new, so that was really terrifying because we both did not want to live with each other right away. it kind of forced us to understand each other quickly and really get to know each other quickly and, you know, i'm sure if it was not for lockdown, we would not be in this position that we are in at the moment. we wouldn't still be living together. so tell us about some of the understandings you reached. what are you talking about? well, basically... ryan snores and when he snores really bad, he has to go to a different room. understanding number one. and number two... don't mix the dirty laundry and the clean laundry together. it is life lessons, hey? laughter. what did you learn, though? ryan, what did you find out about katie? i was searching for someone that was similar to me and i was searching for someone that wanted to explore and travel

and see the world and... you know, we would go on adventures all the time together and i haven't really had that before. so when we got back in touch this month, there was one key question, katie and ryan — are you still together? yes, we are. we are still together. and we are moving into our own place, so that is a major new thing. you said something about having to learn to understand each other, because you had to, you are in lockdown. we heard, for example, ryan's snoring and we heard about ryan wanting to have a travelling lifestyle, both of you still getting out on the road. so now your lockdown is over, i wanted to catch up. are you still doing the things you want to do together? are you still travelling? oh, yes. we have been to a few places, not as many as we would have liked. kind of hard. we have been away for a few weekend trips, been on a lot of hikes around the area.

luckily, there are so many nice walks nearby. for all of us, it has been the year of pandemic. if you look back at what has happened, what stands out about how you have both coped with the crisis and the lockdown and everything that has happened? i think learning to just go with the flow and accept the things that are not in your control. no—one could have predicted this. and we are just rolling with the punches and crossing bridges as we come because you will drive yourself crazy if you don't. on this programme, we have talked to a lot of people and something that comes up again and again is the importance of relationships. you know, people think what really matters at a time like this. and i see you two as a brilliant example of that. thank you. yeah, thank you.

yes, just keeping each other entertained, i guess you can say. i am quite, i wouldn't say stupid, i would say clumsy. so, i'm sure i'm quite funny to be around, i guess. and just communicating and learning to understand each other, you know? learning to understand what is not said as well. my mum has already looked up our horoscope signs and figured out how compatible we are. so we are pretty compatible. my family will get to meet you when the time comes, i guess, when travel opens back up. they are excited. to canada to the cold. i think they like you better than me already. lucky you. so, describe what you think your christmas is going to be like. our christmas is going to be a different one this year. we are having all of our friends that don't really have anywhere to go, we are all going to be together, well, not nowhere where to go, but no family around. we are going to be together and just...

have a big pot luck. some fun and games and just have a laugh and have a good time. hopefully we can get a sunny day. ryan and katie in new zealand. i am philippa thomas. thank you to our guests for sharing and thank you for watching this special edition of coronavirus — your stories. 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 snow, rain and sleet. 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, icy with temperatures widely below freezing. another cold day 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 districts, some of you will be dry all day long but it will stay cold because we have low 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 will 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 into 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: this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. eu ambassadors unanimously back the post—brexit trade deal that was agreed between the uk and the eu on christmas eve. president trump signs a coronavirus relief and spending package, after previously threatening to block the bill, saying parts of it were ‘wasteful‘. 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. 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. a chinese journalist who reported on the early days of the coronavirus outbreak in the city of wuhan has

been sentenced to