this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk government extends the toughest restrictions to three—quarters of england's population, as deaths from coronavirus soar to 981 confirmed on wednesday. but light at the end of the tunnel. the uk gives approval for the astrazeneca vaccine, with the firstjabs due to begin next week. it's a moment to celebrate and have some optimism about where we've got to today and moving forward. ireland's prime minister announces his country is returning to lockdown, with the opening of schools delayed in january. the uk and eu sign an historic trade agreement, after british mps give overwhelming backing to borisjohnson‘s brexit deal.

hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk and around the world. millions more people in england are entering tougher restrictions for covid—19 as the second wave of the virus continues to spread at an alarming rate. the uk authorities have announced a further 50,023 new infections recorded in the latest 2a hours. the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is nowjust over 40,000. and 981 deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. it means on average in the past week, 500 deaths were announced every day. amidst the terrible toll the virus is taking, there was other news which does give hope for the future. the uk medicines regulator gave the go—ahead for the oxford astrazeneca vaccine, making the uk the first country in the world to approve it. fergus walsh has the story. the approval of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine,

which is a fantastic achievement for british science. it's a great day, we are very proud. this is a really significant moment in the fight against this pandemic. it is, i think, a game—changing moment. this is the vaccine, more than any other, that will eventually bring coronavirus under control. unlike pfizer's, which needs ultralow temperatures, the oxford astrazeneca vaccine can be transported in a fridge, meaning every care home in the uk should now be in reach. the medicines regulator said no corners had been cut. with this approval of the second vaccine, we are another step closer in helping to defeat this virus. 0ur clear message is that you can have every confidence in the safety, in the effectiveness and in the quality of covid—19 vaccine astrazeneca. the vaccine uses a gene from the spike—shaped protein on the surface of coronavirus. this is put inside a

modified, harmless virus. the vaccine instructs human cells to make the spike protein which prompts the immune system to create antibodies which can recognise and destroy coronavirus. and it stimulates t cells, which should destroy cells that have become infected. so, just how effective is the vaccine? the latest estimate is it gives 70% protection against covid three weeks after the first dose. the nhs will now hold back giving the second dose of all covid vaccines until 12 weeks, so more people can get protected. the most pragmatic thing to do is to give as many at—risk people as possible the first dose of the vaccine because we know that from three weeks after that first dose, there's a very good level of protection and nobody in the clinical trials at that point, after their first dose, was in hospital with covid or experienced severe disease.

this is now a race between the vaccine and the virus. that means getting millions of doses approved quickly. we are going to shift 500, or a bit more than 500,000 doses this week which can start being used on monday and then from there, we will rapidly escalate the deliveries so i really think, by the end of march, we will be in a very different place. what many want to know is when will they get immunised. prime minister, how many people will the nhs immunise every week? because surely it needs to be in the millions? the best answer i can give at the moment is that we will have millions of doses, tens of millions of doses, by the end of march. we're working to get the programme going as fast as we can. i don't want to give you specific numbers at the moment. much of the production is done

in the uk, like here in oxford, unlike the more expensive pfizer jab, which is produced in belgium. there are manufacturing facilities like this all over the world which are producing bulk quantities of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine. the aim is to have 3 billion doses of the vaccine by the end of 2021. to deliver a safe and effective covid vaccine in less than a year is a stunning achievement. the challenge now — to ensure rapid roll—out to those who need it most. fergus walsh, bbc news. more areas in england are being placed under the highest tier 4 restrictions in the coming hours. the health secretary, matt hancock, said the change was due to the rapid jump in new cases linked to the new variant of coronavirus. dominic hughes reports. in birmingham, just time

for a last trim before tier 4 restrictions at midnight. after a tough year, it's another bitter setback for owner dale sampey. absolutely devastated again that we have just got going after reopening on the 2nd of december. we are just getting back on our feet again. how many more times can we be locked down? the bills keep rolling in. it is really difficult to keep coming back. in england, more than three quarters of the population will be in tier 4, the highest level of restrictions. health secretary matt hancock told mps the new more contagious covid variant was driving infections up. unfortunately, this new variant is now spreading across most of england and cases are doubling fast. it is therefore necessary to apply tier 4 to many other areas, including remaining parts of the south—east as well as large parts of the midlands, north—west, north—east and south—west. this is a global crisis, but let us be clear, this is a national emergency. our national health service is becoming overwhelmed.

i hope the tier 4 restrictions are enough, but many believe even tougher restrictions are now inevitable. but public health experts believe restrictions and lockdowns can only do so much. the effect of escalation of tiers lasts for three or four weeks and then it wears off, so it is doubly important that regardless of which tiers we are in, we continue to take the test, and more importantly maintain social distancing, and hand washing and two metre rules. rising case numbers are hurting the health service. already buckling under pressure in the south and east. infections are now growing in the north and west. burnley has already been hit hard by the pandemic this year but has again seen a rapid growth in cases, and it is notjust businesses the local hospice depends on the money raised each that will be affected

by new restrictions — the local hospice depends on the money raised each year by its charity shops. it has been a huge hit for us this year. we have been full throughout the pandemic. 0ur hospice at home services are also caring for more people in the community. to then close our shops is a real kick to us. parts of england that have seen relatively low case numbers in recent months, like taunton in somerset, now find themselves in tier 4. it is clear we are heading into the new year in the middle of a second wave that has yet to show any signs of subsiding. it is a place no one wanted to be. dominic hughes, bbc news. the republic of ireland has extended a ban on travel to the country from the united kingdom and south africa untiljanuary 6 due to the new more infectious variant of covid—19. ireland's prime minister, micheal martin, has also announced that tough public health restrictions will remain in place for the next four weeks to try and stop the spread in his country. i've always been clear that we will do what we need to do to suppress the virus when it is growing, and it is now growing exponentially.

the truth is, that with the presence of the new strain and the pace of growth, this is not a time for nuance in our response. we must apply the brakes to movement and physical interaction across the country. we must return to full scale level five restrictions for a period of at least one month. california has detected its first known case of the so—called "uk variant" of the coronavirus. the newly discovered strain of the virus is highly infectious and is currently spreading rapidly across the uk. california governor gavin newsom made the announcement during an online discussion on covid—19 with the us' leading infection expert, dr anthony fauci. he said it had been found in southern california, a day after the first known us case was documented in colorado. let's ta ke let's take you now to the scene live in westminster. this is the house of lords, where members have been voting on the government's

brexit trade deal. the house of commons, you might remember, has already passed the measure, 521—73. that happened after just four hours of debate. they will bea just four hours of debate. they will be a result of this vote in the next few minutes in the house of lords. we will come back to it when that happens. moving to argentina now. argentina's medical regulator has approved the oxford—astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine, following quickly on the heels of the uk. the country has a contract to buy more than 22 million doses, which will be delivered in 2021. it has already begun vaccinating health workers with the russian sputnik v vaccine, as it prepares for a possible second wave of the virus. natalio cosoy is a journalist in argentina. hejoins me now. thank you so much forjoining us. how has argentina been able to approve the astrazeneca 0xford vaccine so quickly? a law passed in

congress in november, a special law particular lease to approve contracts and disturbed vaccines in argentina. it allows for emergency approval such as the one that has got approved, the astrazeneca vaccine, as well as the russian‘s sputnik vaccine and the pfizer vaccine that is not yet arrived at the country because there is a conflict between the government and the company. they don't agree terms of the potential contract. that is based of how the country managed to get such a quick approval of this vaccine. 22.4 million doses is a lot. it is it? is it enough to vaccinate argentina's most honourable people? not in itself, but you also to take into account that there were around 20 million doses from the sputnik vaccine, and that will be enough for another 10 million people, so 11 million from astrazeneca's vaccine, plus 10

million from sputnik‘s vaccine, that should give you around 21 million people vaccinated. that might be just enough, but the diseases quickly spreading again in argentina, and some fear the second wave is not far from the current time, it might not be arriving in time, it might not be arriving in time to stop this second wave. in terms of the russian vaccine, a number of countries in the west say this and please do not have enough information from russia in orderfor them to evaluate it. how did argentina evaluate sputnik v? this isa argentina evaluate sputnik v? this is a question here, how the government acted in this situation. someone from the regulator to travel to russia to seal the is produced. they say it is safe and it is ok to apply the

vaccine to the population here, but that criticism still remains in argentina, and everone is waiting for the publication of the phase three results in a peer—reviewed magazine so that they can really feel it is safe to get vaccinated with the sputnik vaccine. natalio cosoy from argentina, thank you very much. the uk prime minister has told the bbc his new trade deal with the european union means the country will have its cake and eat it. but borisjohnson refused to acknowledge that new barriers to doing business with the eu will come into force when the transition period ends at 11pm tomorrow, only admitting that there will be "changes". he was speaking to our political editor laura kuenssberg. signing on the dotted line over there, then a short hop for the 1246—page document — the cargo of an raf plane to get back here. ready for boris johnson's signature. here it is.

the man who campaigned for brexit became prime minister because of it, and now his deal, this day, scrolled into history. what this deal does is it satisfies the request of the british people to take back control, and what that meant was that we now have the freedom to do things differently and do things better if we choose. in the knowledge that there are no barriers to... but, prime minister, that's just factually not the case. it's not true that there will not be more barriers. you have got more political control, but you can't sit there and say that there won't be extra friction. there will be changes, and we've been very clear with people that they'll have to get ready forjanuary the 1st, that things will work differently, and at the same time, we cannot only exploit the advantages of a zero tariff, zero quota deal with the eu. people said that that was impossible. and they said that that was having your cake and eating it. so i want you to see this

as a cake—ist treaty. so you are having your cake and eating it? you've said it. but there will be new barriers because, if you don't admit that, honestly now, aren't people going to be really peeved when they find out? all we're doing is, i think, solving what everybody said was a kind of impossible, you know, contradiction in terms. the political screaming and shouting of the last few years only echoes in parliament's halls now. the prime minister had his day. prime minister. perhaps brexit‘s opponents have only reluctance left. it is the only deal we have. it is a basis to build on for years to come. ultimately, voting to implement this treaty it is the only way to ensure we avoid no—deal. an awkward moment for labour, but only one mp voted against, and a sprinkling of labour mps quit the front bench to join others abstaining.

i have the greatest respect for the result of the 2016 referendum, but this shoddy deal falls short. only the smaller parties raging and officially voting against, even though no—deal was their worst case scenario. we now finally know what brexit means, we have it in black and white. it means a disaster of a deal. it means broken promises, it means economic vandalism. but not a single tory mp voted against the deal. remember, europe ended the careers of several of the prime ministers whose portraits line this famous staircase. do you believe that you have ended the conservative party's agony over europe? well, i am very hopeful that that is the case. this is not the end of britain as a european country.

because there will be people watching this and worry that it is. that emphatically is not the case. with the overwhelming backing of the commons, after years, it is the end of one profound relationship and outwardly, at least, the calm start of another. but in the time to come, our relationship with the rest of europe may be no less complicated underneath. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. let's have another look in what is going on the house of lords. just to remind you, the house of commons has approved the bill, but in orderfor to become law, it needs not to pass the upper chamber, the house of lords, and there has been a very short debate and voting will happening remotely. that voting process will take around ten minutes. they are voting on another amendment now come but it is expected at those an immense will be defeated because this is a rushed debate, and we do expect that the house of lords will vote for this and approve this quite quickly. 0nce it does so, they would've been coordination with buckingham palace in the queen, and the queen will give her royal assent, at which point, after the commons and dealers

have both voted in favour, that royal assent will take place, the queen herself is actually in windsor at the moment. as soon as that royal ascents takes place, the bill becomes law and it will come into action at 11pm on the 31st of december. we will keep an eye on that vote. new york was the epicentre of the initial coronavirus outbreak in the us. the city that never sleeps was put into hibernation by covid as cases and deaths soared. covid—19 has exposed many of america's long—term ailments, and for many in new york, its effects haven't gone away. nick bryant sent this report from the city about how the virus has changed america and americans. christmas 2020. where the carols sound more like laments. and where the traditional decorations come with the new protocols of the pandemic. social distancing, at a time when people normally congregate together.

for many new yorkers, the festive season sounds more like a misnomer. it's a time of empty chairs at the family table, a time to think of loved ones who didn't survive the year. last time i was here was with my dad. the funfair at coney island brings back memories for angelina pryer, of herfather richard, a keen long—distance runner, who died from the coronavirus at the beginning of the outbreak. he was just 66 years old. i feel like my country has turned its back on us. i feel like i lost more than just my dad. i've lost a feeling of safety, a feeling of confidence in my living situation, in my government, in my fellow citizens. itjust feels like we're all alone.

then there's the economic toll of this crisis. forjust as poverty has been a propagator of the pandemic, the pandemic has become a propagator of poverty. good morning, everyone! please have your bags open and ready, thank you. pre—covid, this foodbank served 200 people a week. on this morning, it provided vital assistance to 200 people in the first ten minutes. these queues are as long now as they were in march. it's extraordinary to see. yeah, they keep getting longer and longer. the lines and the need keeps growing and growing. and it's harderfor us as an organisation to keep up with the need and the demand. people are gathering again in times square, the crossroads of the world. but this is a global city

that's suffered so much bereavement and where the flags are still at half staff. the coronavirus outbreak has exposed so many of america's long—term ailments — its income and racial disparities, the dysfunction in washington, the rundown of its government and the politicisation of everything, even the wearing of facemasks. 2020, the year of the pandemic, and one that people here can't wait to consign to the past. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. let's look at some of the day's other news now. the government in yemen has blamed the houthi rebel movement for a rocket attack on the airport in aden which killed at least 22 people. rockets hit soon after a plane carrying members of the new government landed. the cabinet ministers are all reported to be safe. the houthis deny having launched the attack. rescuers in norway are continuing to search for 11 people believed missing after a landslide engulfed houses in a village outside oslo. emergency workers have used helicopters to search the rubble, with mud making the centre of the crater too unstable to cross.

a wildlife project in kenya was recognised in 2020 with a united nations equator prize, for its work in sustainable development. nashualai, in the maasai mara, is run by indigenous groups who manage the land, working so that humans and animals can exist side by side. 0ur africa correspondent, catherine byaru hanga, has been to visit. five years ago, this place, which we call nashulai was bare land. it was overgrazed, there were poaching activities, hunting in the area, but when we decided as a community to come together, then we have seen tremendous change in the ecosystem. this is really a story of possibility. this is nelson. he is the co—founder of nashulai.

it is a few thousand acres on the edge of kenya's famed maasai mara national reserve. but this small place has a big idea. it's one of the few, maybe the only, community—owned and operated conservancies in kenya. here, community elders, rather than western conservationists, make decisions about how the park is run. translation: we divided our land into three portions. the core area is mainly occupied by wildlife animals. during drought seasons, our animals can also graze on that area with the supervision of elders. the holding area is a free grazing land where members of the conservancy can graze their animals. this is another thing that sets nashulai apart. you can see just how close this herd of wildebeest is to the community, just over there in the horizon. traditional conservation methods often meant removing maasai communities from their land to make way for wildlife.

but what this conservancy offers is the opportunity for both to live side by side and support one another. the community is also trying to provide new opportunities. betty is a safari guide who was trained by nashulai as part of an effort to bring more locals into the tourism industry. the people in the community could not imagine it would be successful, because at first, many of them told me, "oh, my god, you are going to do the work for men? you cannot get a job." but for now, actually, they are... they are motivated with my work. and this makes them to encourage young girls tojoin us in this industry. singing younger maasai like betty are eager to get into tourism and nashulai still relies on it for income. but 2020 has shown

how fragile it can be. kenya's billion—dollar tourism industry saw a 95% drop in visitors this year. nashulai is small compared to other conservancies, but the people here want to prove that they can hold onto their traditions while protecting the environment around them. catherine byaru hanga, bbc news, masai mara. seven—time formula 1 champion lewis hamilton has been awarded a knighthood in the queen's new year's honours list. sir lewis, as he now is, had a memorable 2020, as he equalled michael schumacher‘s record of seven world titles. the majority of this year's honours have been awarded to people outside the public eye — with a particular focus on recognising the work of members of the public and their contributions during the coronavirus pandemic. a reminder of the main story. the house of commons has passed the

brexit trade deal vote and we are waiting for the house of lords to approve it. it is proceeding through that chamber. hello. snow and ice continue to be hazards for some as we move into the final day of 2020. still very much in the cold air across the uk, temperatures widely well below freezing through the early hours of thursday morning, with the potential for some freezing fog across parts of england and wales. for new year's eve, it's a cold day wherever you are. for most, a mixture of wintry showers with some sunshine, but across scotland through the morning, a more general spell of rain, sleet and snow sliding its way southwards and also into northern ireland as well. as the morning wears on, that snow will tend to become confined to higher ground, just pushing to the far north of england through the afternoon. a few wintry showers for parts of northwest, southwest england, west wales. the further south and east you are, mainly dry with some sunshine once

any freezing fog has lifted through the morning. still a cold northerly wind, particularly biting for parts of western scotland and northern ireland. not quite as cold across scotland and northern ireland compared to wednesday, five or six celsius the top temperature here, compared tojust two or three celsius further south. through the final hours of 2020, we see this band of wintry showers just continuing to sink their way southwards, but most of the snow by this stage should be over higher ground. bit of wintry mix across scotland, quite a few showers along the east coast, where temperatures will hold up to around four or five celsius at midnight. head inland, they'll be closer to freezing. a few showers developing across northern england, parts of northwest wales, maybe south west england through the early hours of new year's day. but also once again, the potential for some freezing fog developing across central, southeastern parts of england and wales as we head through the early hours of 2021. another cold night but not quite as cold as recent nights, but some places still getting a few degrees below freezing. so here's how we start 2021, with still a fairly messy picture, low pressure to the east of the uk and frontal systems still just trying to slide their way across.

not much on them, but certainly through new year's day, there will be a fair few showers around, particularly for east and northeast coasts. and a few of those will penetrate their way a little bit further inland. still the chance they could be wintry, particularly over higher ground. the further south you are across the uk, much more cloud around, and temperatures still not much higher than five or six celsius. looking ahead, then, to the first weekend of 2021, it stays cold, we'll see fewer showers but still the risk of some ice and snow in places. bye— bye.

this is bbc world news. the headlines — the uk recorded 981 confirmed deaths from coronavirus on wednesday, the highest total since april. the continued spread of the virus could soon be slowed by a second vaccine, from astrazeneca, which has been approved. ireland's prime minister has announced a return to lockdown during january. ireland has extended a ban on travel from britain, blaming increased cases of covid—19 on the new variant first identified in the uk. borisjohnson has signed britain's post—brexit trade agreement with the european union. in brussels, ursula von der leyen signed the deal on behalf of the eu. the agreement also won the backing of the house of commons. and rescuers in norway are still searching for people missing following a landslide. houses were crushed and buried in mud after the landslide hit a village near oslo after heavy rain.