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 four years injail. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. all 27 eu ambassadors have unanimously approved the provisional application of the eu—uk post—brexit trade deal that was agreed last week. 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. also on 30th december, uk mps will vote on the deal in a special sitting of parliament.

it all means that tariff—free trade will be provisionally allowed after britain leaves the eu single market at the new year. borisjohnson has described the trade deal as a new starting point for our relationship with the eu. our europe correspondent kevin connolly is in brussels. he spelled out the next steps for the deal. the ambassadors approved it today. it has to be signed formally by member state governments in their respective capitals, probably tomorrow, i think there is a deadline of tomorrow afternoon. then it will be signed off by the european council and european commission presidents, that is charles michel and ursula von der leyen. probably the day after that. then at some point in the new year it will be approved by the european parliament. so my apologies for that very long list, but you did ask. essentially, this has been done with no fanfare today and the truth of the matter is that all of the politics of brexit on this side of the english channel, they're pretty much settled. so these are steps to be gone through.

you will see them probably in the headlines from time to time, but essentially it is a done deal and these are procedural steps, so, you know, there were no television pictures today, for example, to match the festive pictures of the ambassadors gathering on christmas day done without fanfare, i would say. kevin, remind us then what has provisionally been agreed to today and what has been left out? well, it is a 1,200 page agreement, so an enormous number of things have been agreed to, covering everything from what happens when you take your pet on holiday in the european union from the united kingdom to how trade will be executed. that of course is the really big headline. there will be no tariffs and no quotas on trade. that is the essence of the free trade agreement. that's goods. now, from the british perspective, there are lots of important areas of economic activity which are either still to be negotiated or which do not currently

form part of that agreement. that would include financial services, that is a huge motor in the british economy, actually, and it includes various other areas, including rules on data. the government here in the uk has warned there'll be some "bumpy moments" for british businesses as they get to grips with new eu trading rules in the new year. ministers are urging companies to use the short time remaining to prepare for the practical and procedural changes that are about to happen. this kent—based factory produces crisps made from fresh fruit imported from the continent. after manufacturing, the snacks are then exported back across the channel to customers in europe. the free trade deal agreed with brussels means no extra tariffs in either direction, but more paperwork and red tape. the founder, nimisha raja, is getting worried. ifeel as if i'm going to be

inundated with paperwork. i think it's going to cost us a little bit of money in staff costs as well, in dealing with all of this, and i know there are going to be delays, especially at the port, you know? cabinet office minister michael gove said the government is doing all it can to advise businesses on the new rules, but he warned there will be some disruption. as we leave the european union and we're outside the customs union, those new requirements will mean that, in particular, when people arrive at the french border, they do need to have the paperwork in order. if they haven't, then we would advise them absolutely not to make the journey because they'll only be turned back. the clock is ticking... the government has been advising businesses to prepare for months. for the thousands of british companies who rely on goods crossing the border, there are nowjust four days to get to grips with the necessary changes. we need to translate these 1,200 pages of legal text to practical business guidance that every firm can understand.

secondly, we need to understand how the europeans are going to be applying the deal at the borders on thursday night. as the government itself acknowledged today, there could be a bumpy road ahead. vivienne nunis, bbc news. there are further warnings today of the pressures faced by uk hospitals, as the number of covid infections continues to rise across the uk. london's particularly affected, with the president of the royal college of emergency medicine warning of the difficulty of getting patients into wards, while the head of one of the capital's leading hospitals said her nurses and doctors are incredibly stretched. sangita myska has the latest. across the uk, the nhs is under mounting pressure. in the south—east of england, the new variant of covid—19 is spreading faster than anywhere else, accounting for more than 60% of positive tests. in london, that's pushed some covid hospital wards to capacity.

there are large numbers of patients coming in with covid. i was on on christmas day and it was wall to wall covid. at the moment, the level of patient need is incredibly high. 0n boxing day, the london ambulance service received 7,918 calls. that is up 50% on last year. the government says it is aware of the situation and keeping it under review. i think we are pursuing the right strategy, but we have to take into account the medical evidence to keep people safe, to protect the nhs and save lives. in wales, nhs services say the services have been stretched to the limit. 0ne hospital tweeted for trained volunteers

to help its critical care unit. with much more mixing over christmas and the high transmissibility of covid would result in many more infections and therefore many more hospital admissions and, necessarily then, more admissions to intensive care unit and more deaths, sadly. meanwhile, in scotland, clinicians are issuing another warning — that the nhs could be overwhelmed and are appealing to the public after they were eased on christmas day. i think it was absolutely right that the restrictions were only flexed for that day. but there will be a cost for this. one of the things that we are particularly concerned about here in scotland is that the new year festivities will be upon us and there is no relaxation for that

and it is extremely important that households don't mix. there is however some hope on the horizon. there are indications that the uk's 0xford vaccine may be approved by regulators this week. the uk government has 100 million doses on order. sangita myska, bbc news. the uk cabinet office minister michael gove has said the government hopes the staggered reopening of schools in england will go ahead in january as planned. speaking to the bbc he said the government is confident primary school pupils, along with those due to sit exams in the summer — would be able to return in the first week of january, with other secondary pupils going back later in the month. dr patrick roach, general

secretary of the nasuwt teaching union. what are you and your members calling for? we have called for greater caution and vigilance from the public. the prime minister admits the new variant is 70% more transmissible. they have not introduced any new measures for schools. it's not enough of the government to simply hope for the best. we can't wait for the worst to happen. what we're saying to the government is they need to have a plan now which ensures that schools can and do reopen safely injanuary ina way can and do reopen safely injanuary in a way that doesn't put public health at risk. 50 you in a way that doesn't put public health at risk. so you would like to see all schools for now remaining closed? what you actually said is more nuanced than that. the government needs to take

preventative steps now, not wait for the worst to happen, they need to produce clear guidance for schools which takes account of that new variant of covid—19, permitting schools where they need to to restrict on—site provision, particularly in those areas which are the highest tier, the tier 4 area, and we are also saying that mass testing for peoples needs to be robust and effective. for staff who are clinically extremely vulnerable 01’ are clinically extremely vulnerable or in another high risk group, they should be not only permitted but required to stay at home and to work from home during the pandemic. what kind of preventative steps? we are seeing those preventative steps need to include mass testing and at the moment the government has indicated that mass testing should take place in secondary schools and in colleges. but today it's the

infrastructure for that is not securely in place. i'm sorry to interrupt, is this lateral flow testing? lateral flow testing and of course there are very many concerns about course there are very many concerns about the accuracy of lateral flow testing. giving schools one day in which to plan for the introduction of mass testing at the start of january frankly is not good enough. they require time to be put into place. it requires notifying parents

of pupils that their children will be subject to mass testing, it requires returning consent from pa rents for requires returning consent from parents for pupils to undergo mass testing. it requires the training of staff to be able to conduct testing itself and to be able to produce the results and to record the results of those tests. it requires arrangements to be put in place not only in relation to the handling of personal and sensitive data but also in terms of how pupils will need to be managed. if they are subject to a positive test result. that requires personnel to be on the ground in schools and at the moment schools are having to call out to their pa rents, are having to call out to their parents, can anyone volunteer to support this? frankly, that's not good enough. after all the words of caution from the prime minister and the health secretary immediately

prior to christmas, it is vitally important the government now acts to support schools, to ensure they have arrangements in place to ensure an effective mass testing system is possible. thank you very much for joining us. 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 two point three trillion dollar package because he wanted cheques to individual americans to be increased from six hundred dollars to two thousand — which congress rejected. from washington, nomia iqbal reports. the yeas are 359, the nays are 53. this was a deal that had support 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. what do we want...? 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 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, at 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 open, 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. nomia iqbal,

bbc news, washington. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's sarah. good afternoon. we'll start in the english premier league where there are three matches this monday. and after liverpool's draw on sunday, leicester could move to within a point of the champions with a win at crystal palace — that game just underway. 0—0 there. seventh take on eighth as aston villa go to chelsea, while everton can go joint top with victory over manchester city. city are currently down in sixth — they do have a game in hand over the rest of the league. and right now, pep guardiola says the league is his top priority. the other competitions are important, but not like right now. we have one game left against the surprise of the competition. aston villa is doing incredible. they will bea villa is doing incredible. they will be a tough game to play against

them. but we are going to find our rhythm and we are going to be close to the top of the league and fight against the people above us. we have to be honest with ourselves. we have to be honest with ourselves. we are not of the same level as these other teams, though we would like to be as soon as possible. but if you asked me today, i think we have to be honest. lionel messi says he's yet to decide whether he'll stay at barcelona beyond the end of the season when his contract expires, having expressed his desire earlier this year to leave the club he's been at for two decades. the club's record goalscorer has told a spanish tv network that he'll leave any decision over his long term future until the end of the season. messi also says that he'd like to play in the united states "and experience life and the league there" australia have it all to do to avoid

defeat against india in the second test in melbourne after the tourists dominated day three. after bowling india out for 326, austalia trailed by 131 on the first innings. they looked to be going steady when they reached 71—2, but then lost 4 quick wickets, collapsing to 99—6. an unbroken 34—run stand between cameron green and pat cummins helped them to 133 without further loss at the close, leading by only two runs. india with a big chance of winning the game and levelling up the four match series. now to centurion, where south africa were bowled out for 621 in theirfirst innnings on the third day of their first test against sri lanka in centurion. a lead of 225. faf du plessis was outjust short of his double century. a short time ago sri lanka were 55 for 2. that's all the sport for now.

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. as 2020 draws to a close, we've asked our expert correspondents to give us their preview of what the coming year will bring in their field. today it's the turn of our global health correspondent, smitha mundasad — who's been investigating the future of healthcare. take a look. 2020 is the year we all learnt more about the devastation a tiny virus can bring. 2021, then, will hopefully be the year we witness how science and changes to our behaviour, can put us back on track. this is the uk's margaret keenan. in december, she became the first person in the world to have the pfizer biontech vaccine, outside of clinical trials but the world health organization

says no one is fully protected until everyone is protected. so the biggest question for 2021 is how to vaccinate the whole world. that's where something called covax comes in, a new system set up by the big health bodies like gavi, the vaccine alliance. its aim is to ensure everyone who needs a vaccine most, wherever they are in the world, will have access to it. the plan is to secure enough doses to protect at least a billion people in 2021. health care workers and people over 65 are at the front of the queue. but it's not the only vaccine that's important. the world health organization says millions of children are now at risk of catching measles and polio because of disruption to routine immunisations. to tackle this, expect to see a newly designed polio vaccine and a global plan to thwart measles outbreaks in the next few months. the new year will also bring much—needed attention to children's and caregivers' mental health. unicef says there needs to be

more support for the youngest minds. it is worried about the long—term impact on small children because healthy young brains need social interaction and stimulation to grow. but it's clear we all need more good news and there is some. the latest world malaria report shows there's been astonishing progress with ten countries being declared malaria free in the last two decades. and the virus has made health systems and humans adapt in some unexpectedly helpful ways. people may actually see their doctors less in 2021 as virtual hospital visits continue to grow. there have been many covid tests and experimental treatments developed at speed like laboratory made monoclonal antibodies, designed to help our bodies fight coronavirus. and it's likely we will see more innovation with better ways to detect and treat disease. the hardest question is if, or when, things will get back to normal. no one knows for sure yet.

there are huge challenges but perhaps the crisis is a chance to reimagine a world where health comes first for everyone. that was smitha mundasad with a look ahead at what 2021 could bring in the field of healthcare. the new year is rapidly approaching — with the coronavirus pandemic continuing to cause misery all around the world. social distancing and other restrictions means 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. sydney has further tightened restrictions on its new year's eve fireworks and celebrations — as the australian city battles an outbreak of coronavirus in its northern suburbs. the new south wales state premier has banned most people from coming to sydney harbour and has limited outdoor gatherings to 50 people. she said she didn't want super spreader events on new year's eve to ruin the coming year. people are being encouraged to watch the world—famous fireworks on television. heavy snow has hit parts of the uk, including in the west midlands and the cotswolds. there were reports of snow falling in counties such as worcestershire and staffordshire as well as in birmingham, stourbridge and gloucestershire, and lighter dustings as far south as devon. police have warned people to take care on the roads, saying the weather is likely to cause travel disruption. thanks so much for being with us.

you're watching bbc news. a cold and bright day for many of us, but for others a winter wonderland. we will continue to see further bouts of snow across the country, different areas from one day to the next, but always a fine balance for some between snow, rain and sleet, but either way will be cold, frosty and icy by night. strong winds down western flank, rain, sleet and snow over higher ground for wales and the south—west of england. more sharpest stone

eastern coast. even the uphill parts of sheffield, manchester, could see a covering of snow again as we head into tomorrow morning. away from that, icy with temperatures widely below freezing. a cold day in store. eventually for the south—west. another coating of snow is possible for some of you. scherer over coastal districts. some of you will be dry all day long, but it will stay cold. the northern edge of this will push into colder air. the uncertainty is

where that snow will track. at the moment, could into northern ireland, wales, towards east anglia. if the system is further south, it will be snow rather than rain in the south. to the north of it, staying dry and bright. once it clears out of the way, it could give some snow for a time. for new year's eve, more in the way of batches of rain coming down, and the could be snow on new year's day for eastern counties. a lot to play for, but at the moment many will be dry and bright, but still cold.

this is bbc news. the headlines:

eu ambassadors unanimously back the post—brexit trade deal that was agreed between the uk and the eu on christmas eve. the move means the changes can take effect from the 1st of january. president trump signs a coronavirus relief and spending package, after previously threatening to block the bill — saying parts of it were ‘wasteful‘. democrats have urged the president to follow up the bill with more help for struggling workers. 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 four years in jail. zhang zhan was convicted of provoking trouble with her reports that criticised the authorities‘ initial response to the pandemic.