this is bbc news. i'm nuala mcgovern with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. 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 in the house of representatives are trying to increase the pay—outs to americans. also in the programme, a major study of the atlantic ocean has discovered species previously unknown to science. and how new yorkers are banishing the bad memories of 2020 with the aid

of a paper shredder. hello, and welcome. 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, more infectious variant of the virus appears to be gaining ground. more than 350 new deaths have also been recorded, taking the overall total in the uk above 71,000. here's our health editor hugh pym. there was a stark message today from homerton university hospital in east london. nurses and doctors are

incredibly stretched caring for very sick patients. no one should underestimate the impact the infection can have. 0ne hospital in south—east london has declared an internal incident because of the high number of covid patients. the queen elizabeth hospital in greenwich said it was working with health partners and patients were getting the care they needed. elsewhere in the capital, 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 on 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 spelled 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's now above the level 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's inevitable that as the infections rise and the admissions rise, that actually we see disruption to other services. we're 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 that we're particularly concerned about here in scotland is that the new year festivities will shortly be upon us. of course, there's 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.

the democratic—controlled us house of representatives has voted in favour of increasing the aid sent to individuals under the latest coronavirus stimulus package from $600 to 2000. the initiative was suggested by president trump, but was opposed by his republican party. it's unlikely to be approved by the republican—led senate. but even a $600 relief check is a relief for some. nita bud is founder of nita's love train, handing out food to the poor in chicago. earlier she explained what the money means to the people she works with. $2000 would be able to help, but it would have to be a consistent $2000, not the way that this is. this is too separated. we got a stimulus check in april, and it's december now and we still have no relief. like, it's taken till january to come. so if it was $2000 on, like,

a consistent basis or a monthly basis or more than $2000, then i'd feel like it would be more beneficial and helpful. and tell me a little bit, nita, about the people you meet through love train, the organisation you work with. what do they tell you about their lives now in this pandemic? well, i can speak for a few examples of people i know. like, for example, one of the parents, she's a single mom, she had covid and she couldn't work because she had covid and she's also pregnant. so it was hard for her to get any income or any funds to get the stuff that she needed. we have another parent who's a single parent because she lost the father of her child to gun violence. we have people who also have dealt with sickness and illness. we serve a baby who her mother passed away when she was giving birth to her due to lupus. so we help a lot of people who come from all different parts of chicago that are black and brown people, and we try to make sure that we give them enough resources as we can. and what about you? you're a young woman. i believe you lost your job in the pandemic.

with what the president and the congress are doing, how does that affect you day—to—day? it affects me day—to—day because sometimes you have to figure out where you're going to be able to get the money to do things that you need to do, like take care of bills, or for me to take care of certain bills or i need new tyres or things like that, just different day—to—day stuff that can happen out of nowhere. like, sometimes it's stressful because you don't have the money that you need because you can't work how you used to because hours are cut orjobs are closed or any of those. with just over three weeks until he takes over at the white house, the us president—electjoe biden has complained that his team is not getting the co—operation it needs 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 team needs a clear picture of our force posture around the world and our operations to deter enemies. we need full visibility

into the budget planning under way at the defense department and other agencies in order to avoid any window of confusion or catch—up that our adversaries may try to exploit. but as i said from the beginning, we have encountered roadblocks from the political leadership at the department of defense and the office of management and budget. right now, we just aren't getting all the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas. it's nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility. let's get some of the day's other news. spain's death toll from covid—19 has now topped 50,000. the country introduced a six—month state of emergency in october. the health minister has said spain will set up a registry of people who've refused to be vaccinated against coronavirus and share it with other european union nations, but the list would not be made public.

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. south africa has announced it's tightening covid restricitions 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 — the western cape and kwazulu—natal provinces — where hospitals are at full capacity, some by up to 140%. but it's notjust covid patients that are filling up those beds, but it's also trauma cases which are fuelled by crime and alcohol and also road traffic accidents. so the sale of alcohol will be banned with immediate effect in south africa until the middle ofjanuary next year. it happened before. and in fact, 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. and the news has been widely accepted by many south africans, who are obviously shocked that

the country had reached 1 million covid—19 cases, with south africa being the hardest—hit on the african continent. 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, you know, keeping a safe social distance, have not been wearing masks, have been partying, you know, which is what the president has been worried about. but when people, you know, have consumed alcohol, there is a lack ofjudgment in ensuring that they do comply with lockdown regulations. 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 ofjanuary. and there is an expectation that the president will perhaps

make another announcement around the 15th or the 16th of january 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're going to be sustained and go down a bit. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, a senior uk government minister warns of a bumpy ride ahead as the clock ticks down to the moment the new trade deal comes into force between britain and the eu. music. the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got under way with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow in holland, we're going to use money we picked up in belgium today, and then we'll be in france, and again, it'll be the same money. it's just got to be the way to go.

george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed at his oxfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. i think it was good. just good? no, fantastic! that's better! bells toll. this is bbc news. the latest headlines — the uk reports a record 40,000 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours as doctors say some hospital services

are stretched to the limit. after president trump finally signs the coronavirus relief bill, democrats in the house of representatives are trying to increase the pay—outs to americans. 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 described the deal, agreed on christmas eve, as a new starting point in relations with the european union. but travellers and business people will face some bumpy moments in the months ahead as they get to grips with the uk's new relationship with the european union. that's the warning from the cabinet office minister, michael gove, who spoke of "practical and procedural changes" when the brexit transition period ends on the last day of 2020. mr gove also urged people travelling to the eu to make extra checks,

including new roaming charges for mobile phones. the house of commons will vote on the deal this wednesday. our business correspondent vivienne nunis reports. 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, and that's good news for founder nimisha raja, who was worried about the impact of no deal. but there will be more paperwork and red tape. she is nervous about the changes her business needs to make, for her, it's still better than no deal. 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 that journey, because they'll only be turned back. the clock is ticking... ads like these urging firms to prepare for the new rules have been for months. but the trade deal with brussels was only published on christmas eve. all 1200 pages of it. if that's you, there's actions that need sorting. by new year's day, firms must be ready for life outside the single market and customs union. business leaders are pleading for better guidance and more clarity. some are calling for vouchers to be paid, so firms can access professional advice. most small and medium—sized businesses need two things

from the government. number one, they need guidance so that they can make practical use of the very complicated and legally—dense text, and number two, they need financial support from the government to help access the special advice, so they understand what that means for their business in practice on the ground. michael gove says there will be bumpy moments ahead. labour says the deal should never have gone down to the wire, and the government must take responsibility for inadequate brexit planning. prepared or not, on friday, the uk will wake up to a profoundly different trading relationship with the eu. vivienne nunis, bbc news. 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 a 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 really 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'sjudicial sovereignty. in august, 12 activists attempted to leave the city, fearing that they would no longerface 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 the fears 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. 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. ajudge in the united states has denied bail to ghislaine maxwell, saying she might be a flight risk. the british socialite is accused of helping the convicted sex offender jeffrey epstein

groom young girls. she has beenjailed since her arrest injuly and had proposed a $28 million bail package which included electronic monitoring. a major five—year 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 4.5—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 or 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's 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's 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. victoria gill, bbc news. new yorkers are saying good riddance to 2020 with a public shredder. 0ur reporter freya cole explains. it's a countdown to the new year, and many new yorkers are ready to say good riddance to 2020. i want to say goodbye to work and to covid—19. and gun violence on the streets. i think those are great things! throw them in the shredder! let's get rid of them! goodbye! times square new year's eve host jonathan bennett loves a gimmick. three, two, one! and he's promised next year will be better. i mean everyone jokes with me that jonathan bennett, "you ruined 2020 cos you were the one standing there, bringing in the

new year, and you're the one that kicked off with the ball drop." but you know what, it's not my fault and, guess what, this year we're going to have a better year by bringing in 2021. and what better way to say goodbye to the year by shredding the worst parts on good riddance day, an unofficial december 28th holiday which is needed this year more than others. we're saying good riddance to the fact that we had to cancel our honeymoon in 2020. um, being broke. covid, bad vibes and stress. and i think there's one we can all agree with. i just want to get rid of covid—19. bye, covid—19! hopefully we all get vaccinated, and we don't miss the final touch and goodbye to all our people. and goodbye, covid—19! freya cole, bbc news. i think it would all be happy to say goodbye to covid—19

forever. i will say goodbye to you now. thank you so much for spending your time with us here on bbc news. a very frosty night out there in the glens of scotland. temperatures are not far off —10 degrees celsius, and over the next few days, it certainly is going to be cold enough for further wintry weather. not all of it pure snow, there will probably be some sleet around as well. now, the cold air has spread across many parts of the continent. the point is it's here to stay, so we're not going to see a wave of milder air coming off the atlantic any time soon. through the early hours, we're expecting snow showers across parts of scotland and also across the pennines. you can see sub—zero temperatures here, icy conditions in some areas as well. to the south of that, i think hit and miss showers. now, this is what happens through the morning. the wintry weather, for some of us, spreads from the north into the north west of england,

through parts of the midlands, parts of wales and quite possibly the south west. the snow showers continue across parts of scotland. elsewhere in the uk on tuesday, it's going to be a mixture of sunny spells and just the odd fleeting shower, perhaps wintry. and then through the course of tuesday evening, you can see snow and wintry showers continue there in scotland. elsewhere, it's going to be largely clear. here is the forecast for tuesday night into wednesday, and we expect the next spell of wintry weather coming in from the north—west, moving across ireland and then eventually into wales. now, again, there's a lot of cold air sitting across the uk. just hints of something a bit milder nibbling in the south west, but that's pretty much it. on wednesday, the next spell of wintry weather moves across ireland through the early hours, and then the thinking is it will move into wales. remember, there's a lot of cold air sitting on top of the uk, and then that wintry weather spreads quite possibly into the midlands, the south west and the south.

north of that, it's clearer, some snow across scotland, and temperatures around freezing. notice that over the next few days, heading towards the end of the week, we see certain areas of rain and snow mixed in, circling in areas, so there could be some substantial snow towards the end of the week. i say substantial, a covering. this is what it looks like, a sneak peek of new year's day, chilly and dry for now. bye— bye.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: in the uk, the daily number of confirmed coronavirus cases has passed 40,000 for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic. there were 41,385 new cases — with 357 deaths in the last 24 hours, further increasing pressure on hospitals across the uk. president trump has signed a coronavirus relief and spending package despite previously threatening to block the bill — saying parts of it were ‘wasteful‘ and a ‘disgrace'. democrats have urged the president to follow up the bill with more help for struggling american workers. a senior british government minister warns travellers and businesses to expect a few bumpy moments in the coming months as the country gets to grips with the uk's new relationship with the eu. the terms of the new deal come into effect on the first of january next year. now on bbc news... it's hardtalk

with stephen sackur