this is bbc news. the headlines... the uk reports a record 40,000 new infections in the past 2a hours. doctors say some services are stretched to the limit. we see patients who are coming in who have covid symptoms, but we also see other patients coming in with other problems who turn out to be covid positive and, between that, there is a great deal of difficulty getting those patients through into the wards. after president trump finally signs a coronavirus relief bill, democrats try to increase the pay—outs to americans. a chinese journalist who reported on the early days of the coronavirus outbreak has been sentenced to four years injail. also in the programme... a major study of the atlantic ocean has discovered species previously unknown to science.

hello and welcome, if you're watching in the uk, on pbs in the us or around the world. there've been a record number of cases of coronavirus in the uk over the past 2a hours. the figure — more than 41,000 — may include cases not recorded over the christmas period, but it underlines the worsening situation, especially in london. more than 350 new deaths were recorded, taking the overall uk total above 71,000. here's our health editor, hugh pym. there was a stark message today from this east london hospital. nurses and doctors are incredibly stretched caring for very sick patients. no one should underestimate the impact the infection can have.

at other hospitals in the capital too, covid patient numbers continue to rise with the variant of the virus found initially in the south—east of england spreading more rapidly. accident and emergency departments reported intense pressure. i was in on christmas day and it was wall to wall covid so we see patients who are coming in who have covid symptoms but we also see other patients coming in with other problems who turn out to be covid positive and between that there is a great deal of difficulty getting those patients through into the wards. the medical director at one big hospital trust spelt out what they were facing. things have been really challenging over the last few days. i suppose the best illustration for that is on christmas eve we had about 170 patients with covid across our hospital sites and today we have around 242 so a very large increase has occurred over the last few days. the number of covid patients in hospitals in england reached

a peak in the first wave of nearly 19,000 in april. then it fell away during the summer before picking up again from september and it is now only just short of that previous peak. so what does that mean in practice? hospitals need more beds for covid patients and in some cases are moving staff from other areas to care for them. already some less urgent work is being cancelled. health leaders say the postponement of more routine operations and procedures will become more widespread. sadly, it is inevitable that the infections rise and the admissions rise but actually we see disruption to all services. we are desperate, our members are desperate to keep that disruption as low as possible but unfortunately, some of our elective and planned services will be disrupted, both in hospitals and in other settings as well. doctors in scotland have warned that their health system is severely stretched and are concerned that the limited household mixing on christmas day

will have spread infections. inevitably, there will be a cost for this. one of the things we are particular concerns about here in scotland is that the new year festivities will shortly be upon us. of course, there is no relaxation for those festivities and it is extremely important that households don't mix. an official at public health wales has said that health services are under enormous pressure in an incredibly challenging situation. a significant proportion of the nhs workforce in wales is said to be off sick — a familiar story in other parts of the uk. hugh pym, bbc news. in washington, members of the house of representatives are getting back to work after president trump finally signed a long—awaited coronavirus relief bill. markets rose on the news, following days of uncertainty, as mr trump threatened to block it. let's remind ourselves what's in the us coronavirus relief bill. the relief package approved

by congress and now the president is worth over $900 billion. it includes a payment of $600 to americans earning less than $75,000 a year. mr trump said he wanted americans to receive more then three times that. about 14 million americans faced a lapse in unemployment benefit payments — they will now be restored. now, in a new twist, democrats in the us congress are trying to increase the relief payments to $2,000 — which puts them in rare alignment with donald trump. daniel lippman is the white house reporter for politico. he joins us from washington. good to see you. mr trump not siding with his own party on this. trump is a populist and, despite his efforts before not to lift a finger to make these payments are possible, changed his mind at the last minute,

blindside in his own party, and is now pushing for this $2000 figure, and so democrats are saying, where we re and so democrats are saying, where were you months ago when help from your administration could have pushed this and maybe got it to $1200, instead of only $600, which is not enough for many american families during this holiday season. evenif families during this holiday season. even if the democrats and donald trump are in alignment, and i can't believe i have said that, as a higher payment likely to get through? there is virtually zero chance a higher payment would get through, at least in the next week or two, because republicans in the senate, more fiscally conservative, will block this effort, even though it means going against a republican president. if the senate flips because of the two georgia run—off next week, there is a higher chance of more money for americans during a

biden administration in a democrat controlled congress in both houses, but that's unlikely to happen, that both seats would flip, although we've been surprised before in this type of race. let's remind viewers of this hangover election to the first round was in november, but this means that two seats are held by republicans but could still change. these are two crucial seats. if democrats get both of them, they get control of the senate, and that makes it much easier to passjoe biden‘s programme policies, and it makes it easier to confirm judges and nominees and to push progressive policies on issues like climate change and poverty and housing and relief for the pandemic through the senate, because mitch mcconnell is now one of the most powerful men in washington, and if democrats win both of those seats next week, that

would change. a lot of republicans are worried that some republicans in georgia will stay home because they don't trust elections because of how trump has said there is so much voterfraud. trump has said there is so much voter fraud. before the excitement of next week, what about this week? has the threat of a partial government shutdown gone away? that's no longer an issue because trump also signed the government funding package, but there is definitely a lot of people worried that he could recite in the last few weeks of his presidency over another government shutdown. we had one if you yea rs government shutdown. we had one if you years ago, and that didn't help any of the parties many reputations. let's look at some of the day's other news. in the last hour, the health ministry in spain has announced the country's death toll from covid—19 has topped 50,000. spain has been hit hard by the second wave of the virus, and introduced a six—month "state

of emergency" in october. all 27 european union member states are embarking upon a mass vaccination programme. a total of 446 million people will need to be vaccinated across the continent. these pictures are from belgium, where residents of care homes were among the first to receive the vaccine. and south korea is the latest country to report cases of the variant first identified in the uk. a family of three, who arrived in the country from london in the last week, has tested positive. south africa has announced it's tightening covid restrictions to try to contain a surge in infections. president cyril ramaphosa has warned that hospitals are close to capacity as a new, more infectious strain of the virus appears to be well established throughout the country. the adjusted level three regulations will make every individual,

meaning everyone, responsible legally for wearing a mask in public. from now on, it is compulsory for every person to wear a mask in a public space. let's talk now to our correspondent in johannesburg, nomsa maseko. how much are you seeing medical services in the country under strain? they are severely under strain, particularly in two provinces, the western cape and one more, where hospitals are at full capacity, some by up to 140%. it's not just covid patients capacity, some by up to 140%. it's notjust covid patients that are filling up those beds, but also trauma cases, fuelled by crime and alcohol and road traffic accidents, which is why president ramaphosa announced about an hour ago that the

sale of alcohol will be banned with immediate effect in south africa, until the middle of january. immediate effect in south africa, until the middle of january. that's happened before, hasn't it? yes, and it really helped to free up beds that were much needed by covid—19 patients when the pandemic was first announced in march here in south africa. the news has been widely accepted africa. the news has been widely a cce pted by africa. the news has been widely accepted by many south africans, who are obviously shocked that the country had reached 1 million covid—19 cases, the hardest hit on the african continent. have south africans done more to keep their distance over the christmas period? if you look at the fact that, since christmas eve, 50,000 cases were reported, it means that there have been a lot of people who have not been a lot of people who have not been complying with these covid—19

restrictions, and there have been a lot of gatherings, where people have not been keeping a safe social distance, have not been wearing masks, have been partying, which is what the president has been worried about when people have consumed alcohol, there is a lack ofjudgment in ensuring that they comply with lockdown regulations. briefly, what about schools? 0ur lockdown regulations. briefly, what about schools? our children still planning to go back to school? indeed, the president has not said anything about schools being shut down or opening. we do know that schools in south africa only expected to open on the 27th of january, and there is an expectation that the president will perhaps make another announcement around the 15th or 16th of january to another announcement around the 15th or 16th ofjanuary to announce whether schools are going to be reopened, and that will be helped by when they have a look at whether or

not these infections are going up or they are going to be sustained and go down. thank you for that update. the who has said that countries "should not be punished for transparently sharing their new scientific findings on covid—19". this comes after a chinese citizen—journalist, who reported on the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic in wuhan, was sentenced to four years in jail. 0ur china correspondent, stephen mcdonell, reports from beijing. tense scenes preceded zhang zhan‘s brief court appearance in shanghai. access to the hearing was prohibited forjournalists, and members of the general public, including her friends. translation: i feel extremely sad. how long can this country, these people, this tragedy, carry on for? in february this year, zhang zhan travelled to wuhan to report on the, at times chaotic, early stages of the coronavirus outbreak. blending activism with journalism, she focused on the

failings of the government's response to the pandemic. officers shout. it wasn't the first time she had come into conflict with authorities and she knew it was potentially risky. she has now been sentenced to four years in prison for picking quarrels and provoking trouble. a crime often used to silence dissidents in china. lawyers say they are worried she will now resume a hunger strike behind bars. translation: after we left the courtroom we saw her mother, she was crying uncontrollably. she is such a determined person. she believes she is innocent. she is probably more determined than ever to continue her hunger strike. i am worried about her health, her life. the chinese government

has been pushing the line that here, unlike so many other countries, the coronavirus has been brought under control. and it certainly does have a good story to tell in this regard. but it doesn't mean all its responses have been without problems, especially in the beginning. so, perhaps because of this, the communist party has decided to silence the likes of zhang zhan and her harsh sentence is to serve as a lesson for all. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, beijing. for much of 2020, the world's attention has been focused on fighting the covid—19 pandemic. but there are now concerns about how the fallout from the pandemic will affect children's health in the long term. earlier, i spoke to robin nandy, the chief of immunisation at unicef. we have to remember that during the course of the covid—19 pandemic, access to health care for children has dropped drastically. we have

seen this in declining immunisation coverage, things like emergency obstetric care, emergency newborn care, all existing threats to a child's health like pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria are not receiving the attention that it needs. it's important to note that, even when these services are provided, people have not been able to receive these services because of transport disruptions, lockdowns and so on. we all have to have a concern. . . so on. we all have to have a concern... there so on. we all have to have a concern. . . there are so on. we all have to have a concern... there are so many concerns on child welfare. the nutritional standards, the educational system being interrupted, impacting both learning as well as mental health for children. in short, the situation

for children has been turned upside down, and we are working in a multi—sectoral manner to try and address that. let's pick up on what you said about education. in the uk, this is just you said about education. in the uk, this isjust one you said about education. in the uk, this is just one country thinking, is it safe to let children physically back into the classroom? yes, i think the determination will need to be made at local level, depending on the epidemiology, depending on the epidemiology, depending on the social mixing that is going on and the other mitigating actions that are being taken. so the best recommendations need to come from a local level, on whether going back to school is safe and if going back to school is safe and if going back to school is safe and if going back to school is safe, is it done ina back to school is safe, is it done in a staggered manner? are classes phased at different times, so that there are smaller class sizes? the

adaptations will be very local and unique to the epidemiology that you see in the particular area. on your speciality of immunisation, you mention other childhood illnesses like measles. are you worried about disinformation swirling around about the covid vaccines, which could make more and more people vaccine hesitant, frankly, afraid ? absolutely, even prior to the covid vaccine, we have seen huge disruption in immunisation coverage because people were unable to access vaccinations for their children. with each passing day of disrupted immunisation systems, the risk of measles outbreaks, polio outbreaks increases. layer that in with the distrust that has happened over the last year in the course of the pandemic, a distrust in the establishment, distrust in the health system, and now

misinformation regarding covid—19 vaccines, and certainly we are really concerned that this misinformation, layered on an environment of existing distrust, is a lethal combination and may erode vaccine confidence. ambassadors from all 27 eu member states have provisionally backed the post—brexit trade deal with the uk. the agreement allows tariff—free trade with britain to continue after it leaves the eu single market in four days' time. borisjohnson today described the deal, agreed on christmas eve, as a new starting point in relations with the european union. ten of 12 hong kong activists arrested attempting to flee to taiwan by speedboat have gone on trial in mainland china. family members of the defendants say they were unable to attend court. the activists left the city following the introduction of a new, wide—ranging, national security law.

danny vincent reports. in a small room on the kowloon side of hong kong, the family members of the detained await news from the mainland chinese court with a bated breath. they have hidden their identities in fear of reprisals. their demand is to bring back world protesters detained in mainland china, attempting to flee to taiwan. it's unknown when they will hear a verdict. across the border in xinjiang, the trial of the young activists began today. critics say that the mainland chinese legal system is opaque, secretive and arbitrary. family members were not allowed to attend the hearing. neither were these foreign diplomats. the fate of the young protesters will be decided behind closed doors. beatrice lee's brother andy lee is one of the 12 detained. he could face life in prison for being in violation

of the national security law. it's not about being fair and transparent, it's about silencing people the regime doesn't like. and we in hong kong, we know too many of such cases happening in china, so we don't want our legal system to merge with them. the chinese government has spoken out against criticism from abroad. translation: china urges the us to abide by the international law and basic norms of international relations, and stop taking over the hong kong issue and interfering in china's internal affairs, and immediately stop meddling in china's judicial sovereignty. in august, 12 activists attempted to leave the city, fearing that they would no longer face a fair trial. they fled by speedboat, only to be caught by chinese mainland police. two of the 12 were under 18.

it's been more than 120 days since these activists were arrested at sea. their family members say their detention has been surrounded in secrecy. to many hong kongers, this trial represents and anxieties brought about by the introduction of the new national security law. this case, to many, highlights the differences between hong kong and mainland china's legal systems. there is a fear here that the systems are increasingly merging into one. danny vincent, bbc news, hong kong. a prominent saudi human rights activist who campaigned for women to be allowed to drive cars, has been sentenced to six years injail on charges of spying and conspiracy. loojayn ul hadhlool was arrested in 2018 with dozens of other female activists.

she's already spent nearly 3 years in a maximum security prison. the saudi authorities insist that her detention has nothing to do with her driving campaign. a major study of the atlantic ocean has discovered species previously unknown to science. the project used remote—controlled deep—sea robots to reveal the ocean and its hidden ecosystems in unprecedented detail. it also showed how life in the deep is being threatened by climate change. victoria gill reports. an ocean that covers one fifth of the earth's surface and, from populous industrial coastlines to pristine ice—filled waters, one four and 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 sea bed dwellers provide the food and shelter that's the foundation of hotspots 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 percentage small of the sea floor is actually being sampled. that means that pretty much anywhere you go that's new, you're going to find new species, and they might be tiny little worms, nematodes and things like that, but certainly the diversity‘s huge. and, just like our natural environment on the land, life in the 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 and trying to understand. so some of these whole ecosystems and newly—discovered species could already be under threat.

0ur 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 corals of the deep sea are changing, their skeletons are getting more porous, as that slightly acidic sea water corrodes and damages their skeletons. it is almost like an osteoporosis, they're becoming more brittle, more vulnerable to breaking. and it's those coral skeletons that form the 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 don't disappear before they're even discovered.

you can reach me on twitter — i'm @philippabbc. good evening. it's been a cold and wintry day right across the uk today. some, though, enjoying the sunshine, but wherever you are over the next few days, the blue colours on this chart indicates temperatures will stay below normal for the time of year. so, that means whatever falls from the sky always has a chance of being on the wintry side, so we could be seeing more scenes like these we saw in shropshire earlier on with some more snow in the forecast. and there will be tonight, particularly across parts of northern england, north and east scotland. notjust over the hills, maybe into lower levels, but on the pennines's peak district, we could see up to ten cm of snow. and then, the upland parts of say, sheffield, leeds and manchester, we could see a covering of snow into the morning. away from that, some fog for eastern areas, but we will see a widespread frost and some icy conditions, slippery around first thing on tuesday morning. more snow for the morning drifting from northern england

through the north and west midlands towards wales, again giving a covering in places, particularly over the hills. the showers we see elsewhere to the west and north could contain a little bit of sleet and snow at times, too. many, though, will be into the sunshine during the afternoon. temperatures up a degree or so on today's values, but still a cold one. now, the persistent shower line we've got across west wales and cornwall will continue. that's a bit of a risk of flooding, i think, over the next few days. it will turn wintry over the higher ground. with cold air in place through tuesday into wednesday, we now have to watch the next feature pushing in from the atlantic. this is going to run its way into cold air. we've got milder air to the south of it. where the mild air is, likely to see rain. 0n the northern flank, there will be snow and the exact track will be crucial to where. a more widespread snow is possible on wednesday and into thursday, could just clip into northern ireland. most likely, we'll see snow through wales, the midlands towards east anglia, but bear in mind, that whole system could be a bit further south, so instead of rain in southern counties, it could be snow. could be a bit further north, which means rain into the midlands,

snow into northern england. but at the moment, looks like further north you are, the brighter it will be, but a cold day for all once again. even if it is a bit further north, once that system clears, we could see some snow for a time through wednesday night to thursday morning, east anglia and the southeast. on thursday, new year's eve, a run of northerly winds. batches of showers could bring yet a further covering of snow mainly across central and eastern parts of the country, which could linger around into new year's day morning, but for most, new year's day 2021 will start chilly but dry.

this is bbc world news. the headlines...

the daily number of coronavirus cases in the uk has passed 40,000 for the first time. there were 41,385 new cases with 357 more deaths, increasing pressure on hospitals still further. a chinese journalist, zhang zhan, who reported on the early days of the coronavirus outbreak in the city of wuhan, has been sentenced to four years in jail over reports that criticised the authorities‘ response to the pandemic. the british government is warning of bumpy moments in the months ahead for travel and for business as people get to grips with the uk's new relationship with the eu. president trump has signed a coronavirus relief and spending package. he'd previously threatened 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.