this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm philippa thomas. 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 or around the world, and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. 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, as a new variant of the virus emerges, which appears to be more infectious. 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. let's go to north carolina and speak to taylor griffin, a republican strategist, who worked in the white house under president george w bush. good to have you with us. i am fascinated by republican reaction to donald trump's last minute objections to this bill. it was a

big surprise. these are provisions that the president's negotiators and republicans, especially in the senate, had been opposing all along because of the high price tag of a $2000 check. president trump did not raise objections at the time that a $600 check. it was surprising, after the bill was passed and the president's advisers and cabinet members were celebrating it as a huge triumph, president trump turned around and said, no, he was opposed to it and was going to veto it. it's ha rd to read to it and was going to veto it. it's hard to read donald trump's mind, but what do you think was behind that? on the surface, i think president trump is asserting himself asa president trump is asserting himself as a populist. that is ultimately what got trump into office in the first place. donald trump is more of a populist than a republican or a conservative. he wants to be the guy

thatis conservative. he wants to be the guy that is handing out the checks to people. the last time we had cheques that went out, president trump was insisting that he himself signed them, as in the secretary of the treasury. and also, on a tactical level, president trump wants congress to be his last resort to try and mitigate his place that he should be returned as president. that's highly unlikely to be happen. there is a lot of appetite in congress but i think maybe he saw this as a tactical way that he could hold up the covid bill in exchange for some concessions there, and you did see that, with him claiming there would be considerations for what he sees as election fraud, and people will argue with that from congress. i don't know that anything much will come from that. there is also a personal flavour to this. this comes pretty soon after you

have the senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell, a republican, recognising joe biden as the president—elect of the united states and making it very clear, a number of members of congress made it very clear that they were not interested in re—litigating the election in congress and, as a result, i think trump was fairly infuriated. taylor griffin, we are running out of time, but i want to ask you briefly, how much of a political heavyweight do you think donald trump continues to be afterjanuary the 20th? you think donald trump continues to be afterjanuary the 20th? this is donald trump's republican party put up donald trump's republican party put up most republicans think he has done a very good job. if the republicans are going to move on without donald trump, it's going to have to significantly realign itself. as a result, i think donald trump will continue to be a force in

republican politics for many years. with just over three weeks until he takes over at the white house, us president—electjoe biden has complained that his team are not getting the co—operation they need from the outgoing trump administration. he says that many national security agencies have been damaged and hollowed out during donald trump's time in office. my my team needs a clear picture of our force posture around the world and our operations to deter enemies. we need full visibility and, with the budget planning under way, through the defence department and other agencies, in order to avoid any wind of confusion or catch up that our adversaries might try and exploit. i said from the beginning that we have encountered roadblocks and the political leadership of the department of defence and the office of management and budget. right now, we are not getting the information that we need for the outgoing

administration in key national security areas pulled up in my view, it is nothing short of irresponsibility. 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. 0ur correspondent, nomsa maseko, is in johannesburg. she says hospitals are under strain. they are severely under strain, particularly in two provinces, where

hospitals are at full capacity, some by hospitals are at full capacity, some byup hospitals are at full capacity, some by up to 140%. it's notjust covid patients that are filling up those beds, but also trauma cases, which are fuelled by crime and alcohol and road traffic accidents. 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 ofjanuary next year. and that's happened before, hasn't it? indeed, 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 has reached 1 million covid—19 cases, south africa being 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 fa ct 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 complying with these covid—19 restrictions, and that 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 are only expected to open on the 27th of

january. 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 a bit. 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. at least 200 british tourists are reported to have fled a swiss ski resort, to avoid a covid—19 quarantine. it's thought around 420 british guests had booked into accommodation in verbier before christmas, and now only about a dozen are left. swiss authorities ordered all people

who had arrived in the country by plane from britain since december 14th to quarantine for ten days, because of the new covid variant which emerged from southern england. ski resorts in switzerland have largely remained open, unlike many of its european neighbours. disa mackenzie is from the uk but works as a ski instructor in verbier, from where she joins us now. thank you for being with us. tell us something about you and your family's predicament.” something about you and your family's predicament. i am not u nfortu nately family's predicament. i am not unfortunately working as an instructor any more but we have an apartment here stop we have been here since december the 5th. my boys flew out on the 20th and, on the zist, flew out on the 20th and, on the 21st, a law was introduced that means that they have to self—isolate, so they are not allowed to leave their bedrooms at all. they can't do anything. they

came for a ski break down i can't even go out of the house? they came for christmas, so at least we were all together at christmas. i think the swiss are absolutely within their rights to protect their citizens against the pandemic. it was just unfortunate that they gave no prior warning. 10,000 people landed at geneva airport on sunday the 20th, and the law was introduced on the 21st, so it's been quite tough, especially as both of them have full—time jobs, so they've used up have full—time jobs, so they've used up ten days of their holiday allowa nce up ten days of their holiday allowance sitting in a not very big flat stop so it's the timing of the announcement that really gets to you, by the sound of it. yes, and also it wasn't very well advertised. we found out via facebook. we were

not notified officially at all. nobody in england said as they were boarding the plane, there was no sniff of it at all. so they have followed the letter of the law, and they have submitted a form to the local federation giving all their details. as i say, they have been inside, so it hasn't been too great. cani inside, so it hasn't been too great. can i ask you another question? the swiss have been the standout of this ski season, while countries around them have closed to foreign skiers. what do you think they make of their british ski contingent now? that's why it seems like a total anomaly to me. you know, we can't go home before the 30th, because they would before the 30th, because they would be breaking the self—isolating

rules. so it begs the question of why the lifts are open and who they are open for. i think. none of it seems to sit very well all be consistent with the way in which the swiss have handled the pandemic, which, until now, has been absolutely excellent. thank you for joining us from verbier. 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. ten of 12 hong kong activists arrested attempting to flee to taiwan by speedboat have gone on trial in mainland china. the activists left hong kong 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 bated breath. they have hidden their identities in fear of reprisals. their demand is to bring back 12 protesters detained in mainland china, attempting to flee to taiwan. it's unknown when they will hear a verdict. across the border in shenzhen, 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 activist, who campaigned for women to be allowed to drive, has been sentenced to six years injail on charges of spying and conspiracy. loujain al—hathloul was arrested in 2018 with dozens of other female activists. she's already spent nearly three 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 new detail. it also showed how ocean life 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 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 warns travellers and business people to expect bumpy moments in the months ahead as they 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‘. now on bbc news, one of the highlights of the yearfrom our world.