this is bbc news, these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. a new era begins, as the brexit transition period ends and the uk completes its formal separation from the european union. doctors warn that hospital staff in the uk are at battlestations as the number of patients with coronavirus continues to rise. they are turning whole floors into additional icu space. that's when we know we are in a very challenging place. asjoe biden prepares to take office in less than three weeks‘ time, we look ahead to a dramatic shift in us politics. and bringing in the new year — in us politics. from london to new york, cities and countries adjust their celebrations

to fit their covid conditions. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. a new era has begun for the united kingdom, after completing its formal separation from the european union. there will be changes to many aspects of life, from travel to security, migration and 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". our political correspondent nick eardley has more. all quiet as a new era begins. lorries travelling from dover to france face new paperwork from today, but it might be a few days before we know what impact that will have. traffic is traditionally quiet on the 1st of january. 11 o'clock last night, the moment when the brexit transition ended. the uk officially left

the eu 11 months ago, but it's now that the rules will change and the impact of brexit will become clear. i'm optimistic, i'm looking forward to hopefully being able to back british farming. not excited, not from a personal perspective. from a business perspective, we have to deal with it. excited is maybe not the right word, but definitely ready and looking forward to how it's all going to unfold. here it is, folks, this is it. for the prime minister, one of the most influential politicians in making this happen, it's a moment of opportunity. a chance, he says, to make the most of new—found freedom. he writes in today's daily telegraph... as well as practical changes, there are political ones today, too. for many, a moment at which the uk takes back control. today is the first day of our complete independence from the european union and we can

say, absolutely clearly, that britain is a sovereign, independent state. for others, a moment to mourn. nicola sturgeon saying if scotland became independent, it would seek to rejoin. but this feels like a long time ago now, when brexit paralysed parliament and led to daily protests outside. it's now about the reality and what brexit means for people and businesses. nick eardley, bbc news. emergency health care staff here in the uk are at "battle stations" amid the rising number of coronavirus patients being treated in hospital, especially in london and the south east of england. adrian boyle, from the royal college of emergency medicine, told the bbc that staff were "tired, frustrated and fed—up". the warnings of pressure in the nhs come as a study confirmed the new variant of coronavirus has a much quicker rate of transmission, than the original strain. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports.

it might be a new year, but there is no letup in the pressure on hospitals in london and the south—east. a surge in seriously ill covid patients means staff are being pushed to the limit. what we're having to now do is stretch those ratios, so one intensive care nurse is finding themselves looking after two, three. in some cases at the peak, they were looking after four or five patients at a time and that puts a phenomenal amount of stress on the team. it's not just rising patient numbers. staff themselves are falling ill, meaning resources are getting stretched. everybody's reporting a lot of pressure, everybody is saying that it's really difficult to off—load ambulances, because our departments are full, because, in turn, our hospitals are full. it's very frustrating because you can't look after patients in the way that you want to and you feel helpless when you know there is a sick patient in an ambulance which you just can't get into a department, because there isn't space.

intensive care beds are a real pinch point. already, some patients have been moved from kent to bristol and plymouth, where there is spare capacity. the nightingale hospital in london is being made ready for non—covid patients. but still, hospitals report the situation remains very difficult. when we are seeing major london trusts, as we're seeing in the media today, basically saying that they are under real pressure, they are at more than double the normal rate of icu admissions than they would see, they are turning whole floors into additional icu space, that is when we know we are in a very, very challenging place. the light at the end of the tunnel is the vaccine. the doctors' union the bma has criticised the decision to give the two jabs 12 weeks apart instead of 21 days, but the uk's chief medical officers argue more people will get protection from falling seriously ill. this surge in patient numbers is being driven by the new variant

of the coronavirus. it's more contagious and it's affecting more younger people. and it's having an impact not just in hospitals in london and the south—east, but right across the country. in the short term, our best protection from the virus remains social distancing, wearing a face covering and good hand hygiene, but, in the long term, it is the vaccine that is going to get us out of this crisis. dominic hughes, bbc news. the new relationship has meant an end to free movement of people between the uk and europe. in 2019, before covid, british travellers made more than 66 million european trips our correspondent anna holligan is in amsterdam's schiphol airport this morning. she's been finding out how things are changing there. this time last year, if you wanted to spontaneously catch a flight to spend the new year in amsterdam, you could have done. this year, if you are in the uk, you can't. and that's because of a combination

of brexit and covid—i9. travelling from non—eu nations into the eu is currently restricted to limit the spread of the virus. that means uk citizens shouldn't be coming here unless it is essential. so passengers arriving here at the airport must bring proof of a negative covid—i9 test taken within 72 hours of landing. this dutch departures hall is actually much quieter than usual and it's a similar picture right across the continent. passport—wise, existing uk passports will be valid, as long as they are less than ten years old and have at least six months left before they expire. british citizens may need to show a return ticket and prove they have enough money to cover their stay. they may need to get their passport stamped and they won't be able to bring most meat or dairy products over. pet passports issued

in great britain are no longer valid for travel to the eu. owners will need to get hold of an animal health certificate from their vet for each round trip instead. the free movement of people between the uk and eu countries has ended. that means british citizens are no longer have the automatic right to live and work in the eu and vice versa. you will need to check each individual country's immigration rules if you want to do those things. uk nationals who want to stay in the eu for more than 90 days in a 180 day period will need a visa. for now, people around the globe are being advised to only travel when it is strictly necessary. anna holligan, bbc news, amsterdam. the latest headlines on bbc news. a new era begins, as the brexit transition period ends and the uk completes its formal separation from the european union.

doctors warn that hospital staff in the uk are at battlestations as the number of patients with coronavirus continues to rise. and bringing in the new year from london to new york, cities and countries adjust their celebrations to fit their covid conditions. customs checks are being stepped up on goods crossing the channel between britain and france for the first time in decades as britain adjusts to life outside the european union. uk ministers have warned there will be some disruption in the coming days and weeks, as new rules bed in and british firms come to terms with the changes. borisjohnson said the uk had "freedom in our hands" and the ability to do things "differently and better" now the long brexit process is over. let's cross now to the bbc‘s newsroom and speak to our business

presenter ben bland. how is it going so far? i know it's early days, but what does it look like? i suppose as a new year's resolutions go, the eu and britain have won big aim when it comes to trade which was to keep things as smoothly as possible from 2021 onwards. the reason that's important, if you take one example, just one example, carmaking. factories in the uk will need to make sure that the parts that they may be importing from france germany arrive on time so that it doesn't stall production in the factories here in the uk. equally, when some of those cars look ready to be shipped out to europe, they want to make sure they can get them to showrooms on time when they are expected without hold—ups. that applies to so many physical goods that pass between the uk and europe. it seems to be working pretty well so it seems to be working pretty well so far. there have been no reports

of any major hold—ups at the ports and the first lorries arriving at borders both going from the uk to europe and in the other direction seem to have managed to do that without any significant delay. we are focusing on physical goods but what about services that matter so much to britain's economy. that's an important point. services like banking, finance, insurance, accountancy, architecture, consultancy and so on make up 80% of the uk economy. businesses based in the uk economy. businesses based in the uk economy. businesses based in the uk no longer have the automatic right that they once have to sell services to people and firms in the eu. it is still possible, itjust has become more complicated. they have to follow the rules in each individual country rather than just adhering to european wide regulations. so it's possible, but more complex. the uk and eu have on that front agreed that they will

keep talking to try and make sure that the flow of services continues to happen as smoothly as it seems the flow of goods has done. thank you, ben. we will hear more from british businesses trying to make these adjustments in just a few moments. sir david attenborough has praised mankind's ability to pull together after a tough year, in a special new year's message. the veteran broadcaster says "the need to take action" against climate change "has never been more urgent". today, we are experiencing environmental change as never before. and the need to take action has never been more urgent. this year, the world will gather in glasgow for the united nations climate change conference. it's a crucial moment in our history. this could be a year for positive change for ourselves. for our planet.

and for the wonderful creatures with which we share it. fines were issued across the uk last night, to those who breached covid rules for new year's eve. in london, fixed penalty fines were given to more than 200 people, while five others could be fined £10,000 for organising large gatherings. essex police issued more than £18,000 in notices, and greater manchester police handed out more than 100 fines for breaching covid rules. the leaders of eight london boroughs have written to the education secretary asking him to reverse plans to reopen primary schools in some areas. around a million primary school pupils will not return to lessons next week in a bid to cut covid transmission rates. however, schools in 10 london boroughs are due to remain open. a new era has begun for the united kingdom after it completed its formal separation from the european union. the uk has stopped following eu rules, as replacement

arrangements for travel, trade, immigration and security co—operation came into force. many businesses will be affected in different ways due to changes to the trading relationship between the uk and eu. let's see how uk businesses are reacting to their new relationship with the eu. with me is irina bragin, founder of the carpet bags fashion brand made of carpet. alsojoining me is arpana hathi, ceo and founder of flowerap, a flower gift wrap company. irina bragin, if i can ask you first, all your suppliers and manufacturers are based on the european union but he voted to leave. how's it for you? yes, they are. but for us, it's changed nothing at all because since i am also the proud designer of our bags, before i ordered all materials to be

made separately for us in different european union countries and they we re european union countries and they were delivers to the end manufacturer. but now, our end manufacturer. but now, our end manufacturer who is based on the european union as well, he will do it on behalf of us, so the materials won't change jurisdiction and we will get end product at british border. nothing changed. lets turn to you, arpana hathi. you owned several businesses and you also voted to leave. why is that? do you think things look better out there shinier prospects for you now? you are right. my first businesses and events and we did all of our work in europe and when i voted for brexit, it was going to affect our business. but when you vote brexit, it's bigger than your own business. you have to think much wider and the future and my vote was brexit

because i wasn't thinking about tomorrow awe in five years but the next 30/40 of 50 years, for my children. i'm very mindful that it has affected my business in a detrimental way, but as i said, you have to think bigger and change is always ha rd have to think bigger and change is always hard but if you have an entrepreneurial spirit, i think you will always find your way and there are always pluses and minuses. in the events business, a lot of my clients started looking at the uk to do events, which is great for britain. let's also join now bindi karia who is in innovation expert. we are hearing a lot there about innovation, about british entrepreneurial spirit. what are your thoughts on the tech sector after brexit? i think you wanted to stay, but what are your thoughts now? i voted to remain. it is what it is, we are where we are today. i have been working closely with the

european union on the european council and funding entrepreneurship and luckily, the uk has signed on as and luckily, the uk has signed on as an associated country, so a lot of out an associated country, so a lot of our innovation research will continue to be funded, but actually, we really now have to look after ourselves and our entrepreneurs need to be funded locally. so there is a lot of funding that has gone. but we just have to carry on. it is what it is. i think that's kind of howl have dealt with it personally. irina bragin you are in the fashion business, we are hearing about funding going. what most worries you? what makes your heart skip a beat because you see better things ahead? nothing, really. we are ok. we are ok with brexit. for others, it's very good because it's profitable. 0ur it's very good because it's profitable. our business to customer because we are business to customer online. this is very important

because before brexit, we paid not only in uk but for our sales in european union as well. in other words, for me to sail to america, japan oh saudi arabia was 20% more profitable than to sail to germany, france and poland. after brexit, we won't pay everything is equal because our prices online are actually flat. so for me, i welcome brexit very much. for us, it's very profitable. yes, 2096 brexit very much. for us, it's very profitable. yes, 20% vat is profitable. yes, 2096 vat is significant. just moving on to you, opportunities, because i think you are saying you are thinking about your children's future. what can britain do better that it hasn't been doing for the last 47 years? well when you have 47 countries that you are trying to deal with, decisions can't be made quickly. this might sound a simple way of looking at it but i almost see it as

a home. i make decisions very quickly, but if i had to make decisions with 20 other families, it would be difficult. we are asian, we are immigrants in our own right, i really wa nt are immigrants in our own right, i really want them to embrace britain. i think we do things greatly. i think the world is your oyster. they can now think the world is your oyster. they carl now go think the world is your oyster. they can now go out globally and i know they always could, but we are very focused on europe. as i want to see beyond and wider than that. if i may just mention my other business, we are a memberof just mention my other business, we are a member of made in britain, we we re are a member of made in britain, we were adamant that we want to manufacture in britain and actually it is worked out brilliantly. so i think, citizens of britain wants to champion british product as well. i think in some ways, leaving europe has think in some ways, leaving europe ha s a llowe d think in some ways, leaving europe has allowed us and made us do that. bindi karia, let me ask you about tech start—ups and innovation in particular. you think, they don't

need to be physically present. does it make a difference to you the restrictions on the rights to travel and to work around the eu? personally, for my own self, i am actually going to look at setting up my business in europe as well. to operate from europe and to take payments in euros as well. sol operate from europe and to take payments in euros as well. so i have a pride hurt the estonian citizenship programme and it means i carl citizenship programme and it means i can set my business up there. —— i have applied for the estonian citizenship programme. i certainly spend more than 90 days a year in europe with the work that i do. it is going to be difficult. it is what it is, we have tojust deal with the red tape. the good news is that we all went remote very quickly, we all work remotely and a lot of our teams are distributed, so luckily technology enables us to do that. but from the travel perspective, it will be more difficult. have you

seen will be more difficult. have you seen companies moving staff out of london and the south—east, for example? i have seen companies setting up in europe. i have seen a lot of movement to lisbon, to paris, to berlin. i am seeing companies leave. but again, because of covid and the way we work, a lot of companies have just gone fully remote. so location is less of an issue, but yes, i am seeing movements across to the continent. bindi karia, arpana hathi and irina bragin. thank you so much, great to get your perspectives on where we are and what might lie ahead. 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 40 front line workers and their families were allowed. forget the crowds, new york cut back massively on its new year 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 jean—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. their 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. now, for those of us wrapped up warm indoors — not everyone chooses to start the new year in comfort. in rome, the thing to do on news year's day is this... there he goes. that's the traditional leap into the river tiber. he struck a pose there as if about to dive elegantly, but that was more of a jump. i think some of them do actually dive. anyway, you can see there is a rescue boat to pull them out, so this is obviously well organised. please don't dash out

to your local river to try this! hello. the year may have changed, but the weather, not so much. it is still cold out there and will remain cold for the next few days. some showers and a mixture of sleet and snow and also some sunshine. in the satellite picture, you can see a lot of cloud that has been pushing its way southwards, which has been producing some rain with sleet and snow over high ground and that has been pushing across england and wales and will continue to do so through the rest of the day. some showers across eastern coasts of england into parts of northern and north—east scotland. some of these wintry on high ground, but even to quite low levels later in the day. not a bad end to the day in northern ireland, but it will turn chilly into the first part of the evening and then through the night it will get very cold indeed particularly where we have clear skies. some showers by the north coast

in northern ireland and northern scotland. and some cloud, mist and murk towards the south—east. where we have those clear skies in the west and in the north—west, that is where it will get coldest of all into tomorrow morning. lows of —7 or —8. a chilly start to saturday with some ice around but there should be some sunshine in many spots. some showers for northern ireland, west wales, devon and cornwall and more for eastern scotland and england. some of those 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 pretty chilly day on saturday. as we get into sunday, this area of high pressure wobbles its way northwards, we slightly shift the wind direction. the winds will come in from the north—east and will be stronger by sunday as well, so it is going to feel particularly raw in those strong winds. but that will focus showers into eastern areas, whereas further west it should be dry by this stage.

those temperatures will struggle, as i mentioned. add on the strength of the wind and it will feel really cold and raw. into the start of next week, high—pressure to the north, lower pressure down to the south. quite a few white lines on the chart squashing together. that shows it will be windy to monday and into tuesday, particularly across the southern part of the uk. that wind coming from a relatively cold place so it'll stay chilly actually throughout the coming week and we are likely to see some rain, sleet and snow at times.

this is bbc news — the headlines: a new era begins, as the brexit transition period ends and the uk completes its formal separation from the european union. doctors warn that hospital staff in the uk are at battlestations as the number of patients with coronavirus continues to rise. they are turning whole floors into additional icu space. that's when we know we are in a very challenging place. big ben chimes. and bringing in the new year — from london to new york, cities and countries adjust their celebrations to fit their covid conditions. next, from theatre screenings to sofa screenings, mark kermode takes a look back at the big releases, on both the big and little screens, and how the film industry has had