this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. a new era in the uk's relationship with the european union, as the formal separation is completed. customs checks are stepped up between britain and france for the first time in decades, as the united kingdom adjusts to life outside the european union. research in the uk shows the new variant of coronavirus has a much quicker rate of transmission, this is bbc news, the headlines. than the original strain. trains and ferries are running between britain and france as the uk also in the programme, we look ahead begins a new life outside to a transformational change the european union. in us politics asjoe biden prepares more rigorous customs checks apply to take office in less than three weeks time. for the first time in decades. researchers in london have confirmed and bringing in the new year — that the new variant of coronavirus from london to new york, cities and countries adjust their celebrations is "hugely" more transmissible than the previous version. the new virus increased the number of infections linked to each person to fit their covid conditions.

by between 0.4 and 0.7. rescue efforts in norway are continuing, with rescuers going on foot into the crater caused by a landslip near 0slo on wednesday. ten people including two hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. children are still missing. a new era has begun for the united kingdom, after completing its formal adobe flash player — separation from the european union. once one of the most popular ways there will be changes to many to stream videos and play games aspects of life, from travel online — has reached the end of its life, to security, migration and... after failing to adapt to the smartphone era. perhaps of most concern to business, bureaucracy. as london's big ben chimed 11 o'clock last night — midnight in most of europe — great britain left the single market and customs union. as the sun dawned over the new arrangements, under which there will be no taxes on goods, but there will be more checks and paperwork — the first ferry left dover and arrived in calais. the government has

warned there will be some disruption in the coming weeks as new rules bed in for travel, trade, immigration and security co—operation. for today, though, few lorries attempted the crossing, leaving freight moving smoothly across the channel. prime minister borisjohnson said the uk had "freedom in our hands" and the ability to do things "differently and better". france's president macron however said britain would remain a friend and ally, but he described brexit as the child of "many lies and false promises". we'll have full reaction from around the world, including our correspondents in the us and china. but first. vivienne nunis is in doverfor us, and bethany bell is in calais. vivienne, we have been hearing that things are pretty quiet. yes, they have been. i think those businesses that can avoid shifting things

gci’oss that can avoid shifting things across the channel are doing so at the moment. they want to wait in there is any significant disruption similarto there is any significant disruption similar to what we saw before christmas when france closed its border because of the coronavirus. this morning, you make your some lorries rolling past me. they are coming here, police are checking drivers to make sure that they have negative covid tests, but what is different now is that they will also have a bar code and that is something that is going to be scanned when they reach the port of dover and then while they are on the vessel, the ferries across to calais, the french authorities will then check that bar code and see that it matches up with all of the correct new customs declarations and other documentation that hauliers now require if they are going to shift goods into the eu stoplight and, bethany, lets hearfrom the other side of the channel and how it feels and what they are preparing for when trade picks up. well, they are expecting 20 pick—up in mid—january, really. are expecting 20 pick—up in mid-january, really. this is a quiet day, it is a public holiday. and

they have also said that many companies have stockpiled ahead of time to avoid snarl ups. but the french authorities say they have prepared, that the new system is up and working and they have had a lot of practice on this, but they are waiting to see whether individual companies are properly prepared and whether individual drivers will have the right documentation when it comes to it, and if you travel the motorway from paris to calais, there area number of motorway from paris to calais, there are a number of signs warning of possible disruptions because of brexit. and people really waiting to see how it is. the french authorities keen to keep things moving as smoothly as possible. they have hired a lot more people to help process lorries going through there, a lot more parking places for lorries that will come here in the future, and also they know that they wa nt to future, and also they know that they want to keep things functioning smoothly here because there is the risk of course that if the companies

see that they are having snarl ups that they will move their trade to ports in belgium or the netherlands, so ports in belgium or the netherlands, $03 ports in belgium or the netherlands, so a lot of work is going ahead to make that sure things move as smoothly as possible. and, vivienne, you are in dover, but thinking about other ports, for those companies wanting to do business between britain and northern ireland, both still part of the uk, they have to think quite hard about how they do that. yes. we are seeing a change in system there as well to avoid a hard border being between the republic of ireland and northern ireland. a new customs checks and read literary changes were now take place between great britain and northern ireland, although there will behold on that for the first few months if people can't get used to the new system, parcels going across from the mainland of great britain to northern ireland don't need those customs checks quite yet, but that is certainly something we are going to see the future and something that businesses are going to have to have

to get used to. vivienne and bethany, thank you for bringing us the news there from both sides of the news there from both sides of the channel. i'm joined now by bernd lange, a german member of the european parliament — and chairman of the trade committee. first, think you forjoining us here on bbc news. your view of the brexit deal that was finally reached. yes, of course. the final decision of the british government, now britain is much more fire than switzerland or norway, which is a pity. it has been demonstrated now we need customs, we need rules of origin, and other elements which are more familiar with trade agreements with canada or japan than the system which we had working in the internal market. so it is really a pity, but nevertheless of course britain is a

partner and we will manage the deal as it stands. britain is a partner and you are going to have to have a lot more discussions, a lot more negotiations from now onwards. they don't stop. indeed. a lot of questions to open, for example the questions to open, for example the question of data flow and the question of data flow and the question of data flow and the question of protection of personal data. an equivalency agreement or i think specifically regarding the interests of the united kingdom are financial services, of course. the deal now with financial services is lost. there is no access to the internal market any more and we have to discuss situations where equivalency measures are possible. you are a leading member of the

socialist and democratic group in the european parliament. what you think this brexit deal means for worker placement right here in the uk? i hope that the achievement due to the eu legislation, for example the question of worker's representation and working time and so on representation and working time and so on will continue. if there is real divergences then we will come back and discuss if this has an impact on trade and the long—standing discussion about rights here and it is possible to send some measures to the uk has competition advantages due to the lowering of rights. very briefly, if we may, we do advise a new german business, a start—up, to do business

with great britain? of course. there isa with great britain? of course. there is a lot of science, a lot of knowledge. let's do it. thank you for joining knowledge. let's do it. thank you forjoining us. a new study released by imperial college london has found that the average number of people that someone with the covid—i9 variant can infect is far higher than the original strain, and is affecting more people under 20. the new variant has already led to strict lockdowns across the uk, where it was first discovered, but infection rates show little signs of slowing down. just yesterday, the uk reported nearly 56,000 new daily cases, the highest figure on record. professor emma thomson is working on the sequencing of this covid mutation and is part of the cog—uk association, which monitors the virus. shejoins me from glasgow university. thank is a much for being with us. what questions do you need to solve about this variant? well, there are some key questions about the variant. i think the first thing we

fully understand now is that this new variant is transmitting more rapidly across the uk. the percentage of cases now being caused by this new variant are starting to dominate all the other variants that are in circulation. so it is problematic because it is transmitting more. there are two other questions that we are in the process of trying to answer at the moment. 0ne process of trying to answer at the moment. one is whether or not the new variant moment. one is whether or not the new variant causes more severe illness, and also whether or not it compromises in anyway immunity, particularly immunity from vaccines, but there is no sign of any problem at the moment with the efficacy of vaccination, and there is no sign at the moment of any more serious sort of presentation of illness, thankfully. that talking about compromise, what do you think about the decision to get more people a single dose rather than complete the jabs more quickly. i think this is a

decision that has been made at a time of national urgency. what we know is that we have a certain, limited amount of resource in terms of people to deliver the vaccine and also a certain limitation in the number of vaccines that we have, although the government has ordered more than 300 million doses of the vaccine and they are arriving in batches from outside the country. and so we have to think about how to rule those vaccines out. we do know that if you have had one dose of the pfizer vaccine, then you are likely to have more than 80% protection against symptomatic infection, so the question really is should we be giving a first dose to as many people as we possibly can to reduce the pressure on the national health service, and i think that is the reason that this decision has been made by the licensing authorities. the other consideration, though, and this is the thing that is a concern, i guess, is that if you have partial

protection in the population, then there is a greater chance of resista nce there is a greater chance of resistance to vaccines developing, although it is a very short period to sort of worry about, and i suspect that the right decision is to make sure that as many people get the first dose as possible. there are other countries, i am thinking about the us for example, where resista nce about the us for example, where resistance to vaccination is perhaps higher. what do you make of the patchy nature of the global uptake of vaccines? well, i think that this is to do with people's perception of risk. and at the moment, the risk to all of us from catching this virus is quite high and if you're older it is quite high and if you're older it is very high. and you carry a substantial risk of developing bilateral pneumonia. the risk from the vaccine in terms of side—effects, there are side—effects, there are side—effects, but those are likely

to be very minimal, a slightly sore arm fora to be very minimal, a slightly sore arm for a couple of days, maybe a bit of fever, possibly a bit of headache. there are, of course, very rare side—effects like allergy and so on, which occur extremely rarely, and soi so on, which occur extremely rarely, and so i think the balance of risk is let's vaccinate as many people as possible and try to get control of this infection because at the moment lockdown on its own, i am sure it is helping, but on its own it is not controlling infection. it is not controlling infection. it is not controlling the infection. we have heard government ministers say that as well. as a scientist, do you feel that perhaps even stricter restrictions are necessary?” that perhaps even stricter restrictions are necessary? i think it is possibly necessary, yes. i would hope that at this we come in armed into the new year with two vaccines which are highly effective and preventing severe disease and people who have been vaccinated are very unlikely to be hospitalised, even after one vaccine dose. so we have that. we need to rule it out now to add to the public health

measures. you now to add to the public health measures. you are a now to add to the public health measures. you are a very busy woman. thank you so much for your time and. 0k, thank you very much. rescuers in norway are continuing to search for survivors after a landslide buried several houses in a village north—east of oslo. ten people are still missing, including two children, after an entire hillside collapsed. homes were buried under mud — some left teetering over a crater caused by the slide. a thousand people have been evacuated, and ten known to be injured. adobe flash — the internet browser plug—in for watching animations and playing games — is being discontinued after 2a years. released in the early days of the web, adobe's flash player was once one of the most popular ways to stream videos online, but the software failed to make the transition to the smartphone era. sudan's acting foreign minister, 0mer ismail, has said his country's army has changed and will protect civilians in darfur.

in an interview, he told the bbc that sudanese forces have taken over security in da rfur after a united nations and african union peacekeeping mission came to an end. in less than three weeks, donald trump will be leaving the white house and joe biden will take office, marking a dramatic shift in us politics. in the last of our series of look aheads to 2021, our senior north america reporter anthony zurcher, takes us through his predictions for the year ahead. of course, the biggest topic in us politics in 2021 is that there is going to be a new president leading the country. donald trump's time in the oval office is coming to an end and onjanuary the 20th, joe biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the united states. normally in the first 100 days of a presidency, the president focuses on his agenda and his priorities at a time

when his political capital is at its highest, butjoe biden pretty much has his agenda already set right now. 100 million shots in the first 100 days. his administration is going to be responsible for rolling out a coronavirus vaccine in an efficient and equitable manner. after that, joe biden is going to have to focus on the societal and economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. millions of american households are facing financial ruin. large swaths of the us economy are all facing financial devastation. state and local government budgets are facing massive deficits because of declining tax revenue. joe biden has already said he wants to pass a new coronavirus aid package in the first days of his administration and only after that will he focus on other parts of his political agenda. does he want to expand on health care reforms passed by barack 0bama? does he want to tackle the growing cost of college

education and student debt? 0r put money into infrastructure? 0r address climate change? now, the ambitiousness ofjoe biden's agenda will be determined within the first week of 2021 in two run—up elections for us senate seats in georgia. if democrats win them both, they will control the us senate as well as the house of representatives and the white house for the first time since 2010. if republicans win one, then it is two more years of divided government and probably legislative gridlock. the other big question hanging over 2021 in us politics is what donald trump does next. he is heading down to florida. will he continue to contest the election results from there, challenging democrats and trying to undermine joe biden's administration? will he start his own conservative media company that could compete with fox news or position himself or one of his children to run for president in 202a? now, former presidents,

when they leave the white house, tend to try and stay above the political fray and they slowly fade from the scenes. that does not seem likely in 2021 with this ex—president. donald trump may be leaving the white house, but as far as us politics is concerned, it does not seem like he is going to go anywhere. 0ur senior north america reporter, anthony zurcher, looking ahead to a new year in us politics. let's get more on our top story now — and britain has left the european union. we've been getting reaction from the uk and europe, but how is brexit being viewed around the world? 0ur correspondents have been looking at its likely impact on the uk's relationship with the us and china. four brexiteers, forging a new trade deal with china has been a much

sought—after prize and plenty of progress had been made under the trump administration. mr trump supported brexit and was keen for a deal on america's terms, but what does that mean for the incoming administration? well, much of the work towards an agreement has already been done, but key differences remain. for example there is the issue of how to regulate the pharmaceutical industry and what impact this may have on the buying power of the uk's national health service. of course, that is of heightened sensitivity, given the coronavirus pandemic. now, the change in leadership may also herald a more cautious approach to deal—making. biden has already made noises about putting the interest of american industry first. still, there is some pressure to put a deal before congress by april. if that deadline is mist, the mechanism to fast—track an agreement through congress expires, and the brexiteer‘s dreams of creating a new

trade deal with america— well, it is likely to get snarled up in political rows. the relationship remains strategically important for beijing and london in terms of trade, and there is no sign that brexit has dulled that at all. the uk is the number one destination in terms of chinese foreign investment, and that has been hugely significant in terms of an increase over the last five years. it is important the other way as well. china is the uk's six biggest export market. china hasn't really cultivated a trading relationship with the uk and seen it asa relationship with the uk and seen it as a bridge to the european union. instead, it has been driven by the prospect of returns. it is seen as a safe haven. and also prestige. life outside the european union holds a very significant challenge for the uk in terms of its relationship with

beijing because it finds itself starkly between the world's beijing because it finds itself starkly between the worlds to great trading nations, china and the united states. just look to what has happened over huawei and the pressure that has been exerted and in the end it was the us that succeeded, but look at pressure exerted from both sides there is a sign of the future that the uk could face. but the uk also has very little choice but to pursue, maintain and try and build upon its trading relationship with china. china has an ongoing need for advanced life sciences, advanced engineering, health care management, financial services, all things the uk is financial services, all things the ukisa financial services, all things the uk is a leading global player in. a challenge for the british government is going to be how it couples that with its diplomacy in terms of repression in hong kong, in terms of accusations of what is going on in other areas, that is going to be hugely challenging in terms of the

diplomatic relationship and ultimately trading relationship. around the world, the new year is being welcomed in many different ways. in many countries affected by coronavirus, streets were empty of the usual crowds. but in other parts of the world, it was fireworks and celebrations as usual. here's paul hawkins with a round up. normally rammed, times square this year was closed to the public. instead, only vips and a0 front line workers and their family were allowed. forget the crowds, new york cut back massively on its new york celebrations because of covid. likewise on rio's famous copacabana beach, the new year's eve

party was cancelled, a few private fireworks instead let off by the few locals allowed access. one hour after leaving the eu behind, the uk left 2020 behind. some fireworks were live, some pre—recorded. no crowds, no parties, the message — stay at home. it's been very strange because obviously i'm used to, like, the fireworks, big crowds but it's been very, like, quiet, and there's police everywhere so it'sjust, like... it's not like the usual. in scotland, they opted for this. not fireworks but, like fireflies, they were hogmanay drones, 500 foot in the air, perfectly synchronised at 25 miles an hour. in france, they had music maestro john micheljarre live from his studio playing in a virtual notre dame cathedral. the reality, however, was somewhat different. megaphone message in french.

translation: it's too bad because, especially in this neighbourhood, we are used to having a great atmosphere, and we don't see that today. it's too bad. australians also stayed indoors. there fireworks were cut to seven minutes. while the uae did it like this. and in the place where coronavirus began... it was new year like usual. the chinese reaping the rewards of tough lockdowns and a zero tolerance approach. no more social distancing. instead, socialising and parties. remember that? paul hawkins, bbc news. new year celebrations have been held in the chinese city of wuhan, where the pandemic began. these pictures have come into us in the last hour. in scenes unimaginable in many places around the world, the city's residents have thronged

the street to toast the new year. some were wearing masks, others either have them pulled down or were not wearing one at all. remarkably, since may the 10th — after lifting one of the strictest lockdowns in the world seven months ago. a reminder of our main news this hour. the uk has woken up notjust to a new year, but a new era. it has come out of the european union — and that signals lasting change to many aspects of life, from travel to security, migration and perhaps most worryingly for businesses, bureaucracy. but there's been no disruption to freight across the channel. the operators of the channel tunnel said customs checks were carried out away from the terminals, so the crossings didn't take longer. it added that no trucks had been turned back for having the wrong paperwork.

don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i'm @philippabbc. thanks very much for being with us. hello. the year may have changed, but the weather— not so much. it is still cold out there and it will remain cold for the next few days with some showers, rain, sleet and snow. some sunshine as well. on the satellite picture, you can see a lot of clu b satellite picture, you can see a lot of club that has been pushing its way southwards which has been producing some rain with sleet and snow mixing in over higher ground and that has been pushing southwards across england and wales and will continue to do so through the rest of the day. some showers across eastern parts of england, into parts of northern scotland. some of the showers with the and even to low levels later in the day. not a bad end to the day there but it will be turning chilly into the first part of the evening and then through the

night it gets very cold indeed, particularly where we have clear skies. still some showers by the north coast in northern ireland and northern scotland. following is no even to quite low levels. showers for eastern england and cloud and mist towards the south. where we have those clear skies, that is where it will get the most cold into tomorrow morning. lows of —7 or —8. a chilly start to saturday, a bit of ice around but there should be some sunshine in many spots. some showers too for northern ireland, west wales, devon and cornwall. some for eastern scotland and eastern england. some of those showers may drift inland towards parts of the north midlands as we go through the afternoon, could be some sleet and snow mixing in with those. another chilly day on saturday. and then as we get into sunday, as this area of high pressure wobbles its way northwards, we slightly shifty wind direction. the wince. to come in from the north—east and will be stronger by sunday as well, so it is good to feel particularly raw, i think, in the winds. but that will

focus showers into eastern areas, whereas by the west should be dry by the stage. temperatures will struggle, as i mentioned. and in the wind, it will feel really cold and raw. as we go into the start of next week, high—pressure to the north, lower pressure down to the south. quite a few lines on the chart squashing together which shows it will still be pretty windy through monday and into tuesday, particularly across the southern half of the uk. that wind coming from a relatively cold place so it is going to stay chilly actually throughout the coming week and we are likely to see some rain, sleet 00:28:34,771 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 and snow at times.