this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. the uk and the eu get ready for a new chapter in their relationship as the clock ticks down to the post—brexit era. some secondary school pupils in england face a delayed return to school with mandatory remote learning. it comes ahead of a government roll—out of mass testing. china approves its first, home—produced coronavirus vaccine for general use, claiming it's nearly 80% effective. people across the uk are asked to stay at home this new year's eve as covid cases continue to rise. new zealand welcomed 2021 with a fireworks and light show, but across the world celebrations are being scaled down due to the pandemic. this is the scene in taipei

as taiwan begins its celebrations. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. let's stick with those fireworks in taiwan to celebrate the new year. very welcome in the new year and of course gci’oss very welcome in the new year and of course across the world, we've seen some of these scenes, new zealand and australia for example, but invasion, the fireworks display, we normally see a bear, it's been cancelled. hong kong, as well, but

this time of the day, but taiwan, the great success story of coping with this covid pandemic, a light show going ahead. they have had a sense pandemic began, only 799 cases and seven deaths, their plans and quarantine, contact tracing, on the wide availability and acceptance of masks all kicking in and all successfully coping with coronavirus, hence their ability and their desire to actually have this fireworks display and light show to welcome in 2021, so there's a nice pictures coming us from taiwan. the united kingdom will complete its transition from the european union's single market and customs union at 11 o'clock this evening, bringing an end to a partnership lasting almost 50 years. legislation to ratify the uk's post—brexit relationship with the eu became law early this morning. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake reports.

four and a half years on from the referendum result... the british people have spoken and the answer is, we're out. ..after resignations... i do so with no ill—will but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country i love. ..political turmoil... behave yourself! be a good boy! ..and passionate protest... what do we want? people's vote! when we want it? now! ..the brexit process neared an end last night, with understatement in the house of commons. her majesty signified her royal assent to the following, european union future relationship act 2020. earlier, the prime minister signed the agreement he had struck with the eu, allowing boris johnson to claim perhaps his ultimate political victory. this deal satisfies the request of the british people to take back control, and what that meant was we now

have the freedom to do things differently and do things better, if we choose. brexit has dominated politics for so long it's hard to imagine life at westminster without it, such a divisive issue won't disappear overnight. although smaller opposition parties remains bitterly opposed to the trade deal, in the end, parliament gave its overwhelming support for a new set of rules and a new relationship with the european union. for businesses like this dairy farm in cheshire, it means more admin, at least, and some uncertainty still ahead. it protects our business and probably a great relief for many medium—sized businesses in the uk. there is an element of course, the great big christmas box with its ribbons and sparkles, you look inside, it isn't quite what we thought it would be, and we are now looking for the instructions to work out what we are doing. for now, the politics gives way to the practicalities,

a new normal that some never wanted, but others have longed to see. jonathan blake, bbc news. baroness geezla stuart, chairman and leader of the vote leave campaign, joins us now from malvern in worcestershire. stop baroness your thoughts as we edge to stay after a long campaign for you? the last four and half yea rs for you? the last four and half years been quite extraordinary if you think about it from a referendum toa you think about it from a referendum to a general election, three prime ministers, and we have now found that the resolution to this in a good way i think because we are leaving the european union with a trade deal and a joint press conference between borisjohnson and ursula von der leyen i thought was very significant when both spoke about whilst still at an end it was also the beginning of the new relationship. alderney leaving i

think it us a good framework to be significant economies on the main end of europe and they will continue to cooperate. the rapture, the division, was it worth it for theoretical sovereignty because this deal, fought so hard in different passages when you read it for the right to do things, perhaps we don't even right to do things, perhaps we don't eve n wa nt right to do things, perhaps we don't even want to do it. but, i know people argue about what you mean by sovereignty, but to me, what the fundamentals is you decide who makes your nose and much more to the point to people who legislate for you, you can remove indirect elections and i think the decision to leave in the uk was much more to do with community identity, belonging, and that's a struggle liberal democracies in various shapes and firms have all over the place, how they want to organise themselves, france and germany in particular,

their decision has been to relate to each other on the mainland of europe with much deeper political integration. and joint currency. there was something uk never signed up there was something uk never signed up to. what about practical terms? what do you say to those businesses who will be changing from tomorrow that find themselves with extra bureaucracy, extra costs, a de facto burden and the irish sea because none of that was promised in the league campaign, was it?|j none of that was promised in the league campaign, was it? i think for the first few you will have some bumpy patches in terms of notjust the uk exporters making sure they got the right paperwork, but also in some cases, we don't know how the european union will respond. however, if you are exporting globally, some of those structures you would have to deal with the majority of the rest of the world, plus a lot of the businesses have been preparing for this for a number of years and there will be changes.

that was the whole point of the decision. but i'm talking about practical things, for example, care homes, they have had so much criticism in the last few months would covid not be able to fill vacancies but now with ease restrictions on who can come into the uk in terms of immigration and how much they earn, what do you say to them in terms of how they move forward 7 to them in terms of how they move forward? should to them in terms of how they move forward 7 should the to them in terms of how they move forward? should the government stepping in these cases, case—by—case, or will have to find ways somehow to navigate this?|j think ways somehow to navigate this?” think what you are addressing is a very real problem which has got less to do with the european union but it may appear at first sight. i think the united kingdom has been able to ignore some of its own skill shortages by immigration and emigration doesn'tjust come from the eu, the number actually are much higherfrom outside the eu, the number actually are much higher from outside the the eu, the number actually are much higherfrom outside the eu. the

restructuring for me, i find it quite curious that we have a system where things like caring, which is so where things like caring, which is so significant in society, we cannot fill those vacancies from people here because they feel it is not valid enough and paid highly enough, and maybe we need to make some changes at home to address those fundamental structural problems. final question, because we were seen over the coming years whether those who say the uk will flourish, whether that turns out to be true or those who say we are weaker, less influence, but turns out to be true, but when i talk to people i often ask us. from tomorrow, when you go out, three things realistically for you in terms of your life, what will be better for you? i think what will be better for you? i think what will be better, and it's really, really important, the greatest gift you can have in a democracy is that you know you can directly remove those who

make your rules, that is what it's all about. i mean in practical terms, whether you are safer, better off on anything like that? well, if that had been the reason why people voted, then the remaining campaign was wrong, but the big lesson from 2016 referendum was people made the decision is not on economic grounds, they made it on fundamental groans of decision—making over their own future and unless we begin to suspect that that division over brexit will continue, and i do hope we can live up to rest. we shall see. thank you so much forjoining us see. thank you so much forjoining us here on bbc news. thanks for your time. most secondary school pupils in england will return to the classroom after the christmas break later than planned. the education secretary has emphasised the importance of getting coronavirus testing for school children properly in place before pupils return. but teaching unions have criticised the government's plans, with one labelling it a last—minute mess. primary schools will also remain closed in areas

with the highest infection rates. here's our education correspondent frankie mccamley. for the murray family, this latest announcement is going to have a big impact. siobhan has four children. all of them are going to be staying home next week. my husband works from home full time and it's going to be quite stressful to keep the children under control, working quietly. my work has been delayed. i understand why it was all so last minute, but a bit more time for primaries, for us to get our heads around it and make some plans, would have been helpful. the latest changes in england mean only secondary school children taking exams will go back on the 11th of january. all other secondary schools will be remote learning until at least the 18th. most primary schools will be open as normal except those in virus hotspots, like london and the south—east, which have been told to stay closed. whereas in northern ireland, children will have their return to school delayed by a week or more.

0nline learning is planned for pupils in wales until the 11th of january and, in scotland, schools won't return until at least the middle of the month. this is yet another u—turn by the department for education. you may remember, just a few weeks ago, it threatened some schools with legal action if they closed. 0n the one hand, teachers will welcome this latest announcement as it will give them more time to implement the mass testing programme but, on the other hand, this has been called a last—minute mess that could have been avoided. it's unfortunately something we have become accustomed to, in terms of late announcements, delayed announcements and sometimes u—turns as well. 0urjob is really to make sure that students get as clear an education as possible and that we're clear in our communication with parents. as for primary schools forced to close, some head teachers say they are prepared for this new way of working. we have good systems, the schools are used to closures now. we have had blended learning

for a term while we've had bubble closures and children have had to be learning online anyway. so our systems are robust and we are ready for that. the education secretary is confident mass testing in schools will be ready when pupils go back. there's absolutely no reason that schools won't be ready. we have given them extra time to fully prepare and we are giving them £78 million worth of additionalfunding. on monday of next week, all secondary schools are going to be getting a drop of tests, all the equipment they need to set up. as for those staying at home, it's back to the new way of learning for now — online or with your parents. frankie mccamley, bbc news. china has given its first official approval for the general use of one of its own vaccines.

sinopharm, who developed the drug, say it's 79% effective in phase three trials, which were conducted outside the country due to low numbers of coronavirus cases in china. this vaccine and several others are already in use in the country, after being granted emergency licenses months ago. jerome kim, director general of the international vaccine institute in seoul, compared this vaccine to others we've heard of recently. the pfizer and moderna vaccine are made from rna. these are new, different kinds of vaccines. we've never had approved rna vaccines before. the astrazeneca—0xford vaccine is made from a chimpanzee adenovirus vector, again not a vector that has previously been approved for use in humans. the chinese vaccines are what we call whole inactivated, they have grown a batch of virus and then killed it with a chemical substance. and they take the purified whole inactivated virus and inject it. that is actually a very common kind of vaccine that has been in use for decades. so it is a vaccine type we are familiar with, in general it can be manufactured

in large quantities, and it is relatively easy to make. although this one has some slight twists to it. it tends to generate a level of antibody protection — that is protective immune responses or defensive responses — that are at a level with many of the other vaccines. and the efficacy is in the same range also. so this is good news. but i think that, critically, this kind of vaccine not only has to be approved by the chinese regulatory authorities, but it has to also be approved by the world health organization, and other organisations, in order to have general applicability and use around the world for global health. an intensive care doctorfrom london has warned that people who don't follow social distancing rules or wear masks have blood on their hands. professor hugh montgomery told bbc radio 5 live that with covid—19 infections spreading so rapidly, hospitals were under

enormous pressure. huge numbers coming in, so, you know, my heart goes out as well to the emergency departments, i mean, our own one, but everyone else with whom i'm talking, their emergency departments are seeing the tsunami in the last week or two of cases. the wards are flooded. everyone's working at maximum stretch really. we've had to double up or sometimes triple up on consultant staff in. the nursing staff are back to being very overstretched. in some areas, it's one icu nurse to four patients again. and the numbers are still rising. this, quote, new variant, we should be a bit clear on this. i mean, it's severity of illness caused by it is no worse or better than the first one. it's not a nastier type of the virus. and its transmissibility is indeed a little bit higher. but it's making me actually very angry now that people are laying the blame on the virus. and it's not the virus, it's people. people are not washing their hands. they're not keeping

two metres distance. they're not wearing their masks. i've seen delivery people coming into this hospital in the last two days with no masks on, as if there's nothing happening here. this isn't the virus. this is people. people are not doing what they should be doing. 50% or more of people will not even know they have this virus. they'll have such mild disease that they might not even know they've got symptoms and that they're spreading it. but this is very highly contagious. each person can spread this to four to five people in an enclosed space and each of those can spread it to four to five people. so one person can infect hundreds of thousands of people very easily. people just have... i'm really sorry. i know it's horrible. i'm fed up to the back teeth with this virus, too, and i want to see my friends and family and hug someone. but we can't. we just can't do this right now. so i'm really, really sorry that new year's eve is going to be miserable, but it has to be. please don't gather in masses. don't make this the last swansong. don't give it a, "well, it's all going to be locked down so we'll have one more night out"

because we can't have another spread of this. we're going to, you know...it takes ten days for someone who's infected to hit an intensive care unit. so the bad behaviour that might have happened over christmas, we're not going to see that until next week. and if people behave badly on new year, we're not going to get that hitting us until the 8th orjanuary 10th. anyone who's listening this who doesn't wear their mask who behaves like this they have blood on their hands. they are spreading this virus. other people will spread it and people will die. they won't know they've killed people, but they have. we're seeing whole families coming in now. and i'm watching one parent, then another parent or parent and a child die. you know, i'm watching whole families getting wiped out here and it's got to stop. an incredible first hand account from an intensive care doctor in london. at the backdrop of course. the highly anticipated 0xford—astrazeneca vaccine was approved for use yesterday bringing with it a change in strategy in how the uk aims to innoculate the population. like the pfizerjab, the oxford vaccine is most

effective after two doses, but protection is provided after the first dose. the medicines regulator has changed its advice that people should have their second dose three weeks after the first. now gps and hospitals must prioritise getting the most people possible their first jab. the second can be administered up to three months later. joining me now is dr helen sailsbury, a gp from oxford, who faces having to cancel more than 1,000 appointments for people already booked in for their second pfizer dose. and dr richard vautrey, gp committee chair at the british medical association. helen, first of all, just give us an idea of the impact of deposition has made a band that second vaccine and what you have been told to do. well, we we re very what you have been told to do. well, we were very surprised when we learned last night that we were going to be expected to cancel the appointment that we'd already made

for our elderly and most vulnerable patients who are coming back next weekend to have their second dose. it would be not only futile because it's a lot of work when you have to ring up that number of people, and explain to them what's changed, but also we are very unsure this is the right thing to do. it doesn't seem that we have the science to show that we have the science to show that this is the right thing to do, certainly the vaccine manufacturers as far as certainly the vaccine manufacturers as farasi certainly the vaccine manufacturers as far as i know haven't said they are confident about giving a second dose much delayed real work. who come to the manufactures in a moment before you feel them to produce a black matt hancock to do a shift on your phones. tell me why you said that. well, i just your phones. tell me why you said that. well, ijust think your phones. tell me why you said that. well, i just think that sometimes decisions are made without really thinking them through what the implications are. there are both practical implications like actually

having to have a conversation with over a thousand patients about the fa ct over a thousand patients about the fact that the arrangement you have made no longer applies and no can you don't know what's going to happen next and no, don't know what that means the vaccine, but they we re that means the vaccine, but they were told you definitely need two doses. there's also the implications for chest, trust in us as doctors, as theirgps, and for chest, trust in us as doctors, as their gps, and trust in the whole science project, the whole vaccine project. if you keep changing the rules all the time and saying you definitely need two doses, no, you can wait... briefly, what if you actually told patients in those because you've made so far? what have you said to people who presumably were due to come in the next couple of days? they are due to come next weekend and we have not yet made those calls. 0k. come next weekend and we have not yet made those calls. ok. you mention what the manufacturer said, i want to put on the screen what

pfizer stayed in their statement following the change... so how worrying is that for you as a clinician? i think it's very worrying. the people that we have given a first dose to our our most elderly and vulnerable patients, and i think there's some really interesting questions about whether you should spread out some protection to the maximum number of people or should give maximum protection to a smaller number of people, we plan to do the former and that's what we promise them and i don't think... i think we should stand by patients and science. thank you, i will come to riches in a moment. i want to be the latest figures released by the government

in terms of coronavirus cases. it was just over in terms of coronavirus cases. it wasjust over 50,000 in terms of coronavirus cases. it was just over 50,000 yesterday. a further 96a deaths, of course, that figure was 981 in the last 2a hours. those are the latest figures coming from the department of health. let's bring richard in. you were listening to what helen was saying. your assessment of this change in strategy? i think it illustrates very well the vital importance of getting an effective vaccination programme working. gp practices and hospitals have delivered over 700,000 vaccination so far. we do need to recognise the logistics that individual practices are having to contend with particularly over this weekend. a few days notice to change thousands of appointments early next week. it's not practical for practices to do that. a practical

question, what happens if a gp on is that appointment, despite what they are being told and delivers a bad second phase a job? what would happen in terms of the bma's approach? we are supportive of those decisions, each practice knows their patient as well as anyone, and they can make the appropriate decision, particularly this group of 80 euros, 90 euros, and even older, have made their plans are ready for early next week ——18—year—olds,19—year—olds practices need to full information so practices need to full information so they can give it their patients and explain why things are changing and explain why things are changing and provide them with the evidence of that but they can't do that over bank holiday weekend. a quick final question because i read the latest figures, that the backdrop to the huge pressures on the nhs. we heard from intensive care doctor, it's made for the government to pivot strategies given that sort of

pressure to try to give the greatest amount of protection and ease what is happening in nhs hospitals on the front line, isn't it? yes, we want to provide as much vaccination to as many people as quickly as possible. that's exactly what practices have been doing over the last three weeks and will continue to do that, since we get the vaccine will be given to our patients in particular those most vulnerable and health care professionals as well, the evidence and scientific evidence the government of seem to be published so we can government of seem to be published so we can share it with everyone. richard, thank you for your time. a quick statement read out from the nhs on this story. in a statement to the bbc, an nhs spokesperson said: "the mhra, jcvi and uk chief medical 0fficers have updated the second dose timing guidance which the nhs has to follow, so as to increase the number

of vulnerable people protected against covid over the next three months, potentially saving thousands of lives. that's the latest statement from the nhs. we will take a short break and iam back nhs. we will take a short break and i am back with headlines injust a moment or two. don't go away. hello, cold and wintry end to 2020, mrand merk around hello, cold and wintry end to 2020, mr and merk around in places during today. we've had some sunshine but also some wintry showers. as you can see, speckled cloud, some showers bringing snow to low levels around wales in the south—west. this more general area of cloudiness across scotla nd general area of cloudiness across scotland will sink southwards into northern england and northern ireland, a mix of rain, sleetand snow, most of it over high ground. some slightly less cold air working in with the weather system. a very chilly particular quest the south as we head into the first part of this evening and then overnight as the end of the old year and start a new one, making the band of rain, sleet and hail snow across more than

england, and wales. to the south of that, mist and fog, freezing fog, “i! minus five degrees. quite chilly further north particular end in spots in scotland and northern ireland and here, as we go into tomorrow, a mixture of sunny spells and showers. still wintry of a high ground particularly in northern scotland. a band of rain and snow will weaken as it pushes southward across england and wales, staying quite cloudy and murky down towards the south. another rather cold day with temperatures getting between 3-6 at with temperatures getting between 3—6 at best. as we head deeper into the new year, out of friday into saturday, high—pressure to the west. low pressure to the east, a familiar weather set up for now, northerly wind, not a desperately strong wind, it will bring some showers into northern and eastern coastal counties. some of these wintry over high ground. 0ne counties. some of these wintry over high ground. one or two showers in pembrokeshire and cornwall, some sunshine in between and it will be another rather cold day. we stick

with that chilly theme as we move into sunday. by this stage, high—pressure is likely to build the north of the british isles, lower pressure to the south. the isobar starting to squeeze together. the wind will pick up and the wind will come from a slightly different direction, a north—easterly direction, a north—easterly direction, but still, it's going to feel cold as we head through next week. i'm not a dry weather around, there will be some spells of sunshine. there is the forecast for the next five days. there will be some rain at times and some of it can turn wintry with sleet and snow over the hills.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the uk will complete its brexit transition from the european union in just a few hours — bringing an end, to nearly half a century of close political and economic links. the new arrangements come into force at midnight, brussels time. china has approved its first home—produced coronavirus vaccine for general use. the sinopharm drug is said to be almost 80% effective. several other foreign—made vaccines are already being administered across china. around 900 migrants, mostly from africa, south asia, and the middle east, have been left stranded at a burned—out camp in bosnia. they returned to the site after an attempt to shelter them in a military barracks failed. countries in the pacific have been celebrating the start of the new year. there were firework displays in australia and new zealand, but many countries are discouraging large gatherings due to the pandemic. now on bbc news, as the world reacts and deals with the fallout