hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. for viewers in the uk and around the world. research confirms the new coronavirus variant discovered in the uk has a much quicker rate of transmission. if the new variant is now present, increasing the r number, instead of a decrease of 30%, we get a massive increase in the number of cases could triple. this is a more serious change in the virus we have seen. as the us struggles to roll out the covid vaccine, we look at which countries have responded best of the challenge. a new era begins as the brexit transition period ends and the uk completes its formal separation from the european union.

as 20/21 begins, cities across the world sing in the new year with smaller than usual events. —— 2021. there are growing concerns about a new variant of the coronavirus after more analysis confirmed it has a much quicker rate of transmission than the original strain. the variant has not been identified in at least 17 countries around the world after it was originally found here in the uk. it has led to a big increase in cases in britain and hospitals are under severe stress with emergency health care staff said to be at battle stations. 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. intensive care beds are a real pinch point. some patients have been moved from kent to bristol and plymouth where there is a spare capacity. thatin where there is a spare capacity. that in itself is not unheard of but doctors say it is the pressers that they are working under. doctors say it is the pressers that they are working undenm doctors say it is the pressers that they are working under. if the number of cases don't reduce soon and reduces sharply, we will be in a situation where the health care infrastructure not just situation where the health care infrastructure notjust in london but across the entire country is overwhelmed. 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.

in order to provide some relief, the nightingale hospital in london is being made ready for non—covert patients but still hospitals report the situation remains very difficult. when we are seeing a major london trusts as we have seen 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 where we know we are ina very space, that is where we know we are in a very challenging place. this surge in patient numbers is being driven by the new variant of the coronavirus. it's more contagious and it is affecting more younger people, and it's having an impact not just people, and it's having an impact notjust on people, and it's having an impact not just on hospitals people, and it's having an impact notjust on hospitals in london and the southeast but right across the country. and new research highlights the impact that new various of the pa rents the impact that new various of the parents is having on the r number, the rate at which it spreads. maybe

over the course of 2—3 weeks, maybe it will decrease by something a 30% but if the new variant is now present, with this increase in the r number, all of a sudden instead of a decrease of 30%, we get a massive increase. the number of cases over the same period could triple. this is more or less the most serious change of the virus we have seen since the epidemic began. the best defence against the virus remains maintaining social distance, good hand hygiene, and wearing face coverings. at the big concern is that as this new variant spreads, the extreme pressures now evident in london in the southeast will soon be seen london in the southeast will soon be seen across london in the southeast will soon be seen across the country. dominic hughes, bbc news. we heard from professor axel gandy in that report from dominic hughes — he helped author the report on the new variant and joins us now. professor, how much faster does this new variant move through the population than the previous variant? let me first say that the

analysis we are talking about is an update of an early analysis that was fed into government policy over the last few weeks. it has been a real tea m last few weeks. it has been a real team effort of statisticians, epidemiologists, geneticists and public health and went to get the data together and get this analysis done very rapidly. at the moment these are still early days result. we have only been doing this kind of analysis now for the last few weeks. but in terms of how more rapidly it spreads, we estimate the r number, the reproduction number, the number of people infected per infected individual increases by about 0.4 to 0.7. from november roughly where the lockdown was in place, to put these numbers into perspective as it... if we would assume through the lockdown was the article was below run and the virus was decreasing, over the course of 2—3 weeks if the reduction

number was course of 2—3 weeks if the reduction numberwas 0.9, it course of 2—3 weeks if the reduction number was 0.9, it was not quite that but let's assume that it was, over the prayer of time the number of infections would have decreased by something like 30%. if you're at —— add 0.4 to 0.7, you go above one and you can increase and quite a steep increase. now the range is quite white so that the stripling is just one number picked out of a large range but over the course of 2-3 large range but over the course of 2—3 weeks in november, the number of cases of the new variant double or triple. i should cases of the new variant double or triple. ishould point cases of the new variant double or triple. i should point to caveats one more thing here that it is not quite clear where —— whether this will happen. this is based in november. it's not clear how it will happen in the new context with the new tier resurgence in place. professor when the new variant was first talked about, there was some concern that it was particularly transmissible among young people. is there any more evidence that this is there any more evidence that this is the case? we have seen some evidence

that a larger proportion of young people were infected by the new virus than they would be otherwise but this may not be new to any biological reasons and could be simply due to the kind of effect or the restrictions that were placed with young people as opposed to older people, schools were open, but the lockdown for older populations we re the lockdown for older populations were in place was that it is not clear with that this is a biological difference or a consequence of the way the restrictions were in place. two things to add, the differences are not that big. the new virus affects the entire population. the second thing is in a newer data, it is not quite clear as we have come out of the lockdown in december, it seems this difference was not as prominent anymore. this is something we need to keep an eye on but it is not quite clear whether young people are more affected or not. thank you very much for tracking this for us. that was professor axel gandy, chair of statistics at imperial college london. let's take a look at some of

the other storeys in the news. the new york stock exchange says it will delist three chinese telecommunications firms because of their alleged links with china's military. the move comes after president trump signed an executive order in november barring us investments in chinese companies that were seen as a threat to national security. rescuers in norway have found a body in the debris of homes swallowed up by a landslide near oslo on wednesday. it's the first confirmed fatality. homes were buried under mud — some left teetering over a crater caused by the slide. nine people, including children, are still unaccounted for. adobe flash — the internet browser plug—in for watching animations and playing games is being discontinued after 24 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.

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 business. on the first day of the separation, there's been no reported disruption to freight across the channel between england and france. our correspondent mark easton reports from the dover port. the dawn of a new year and at the uk border in dover, the start of a new chapter for cross channel relations. brexit is now a reality. these lorries needing to navigate a tingle of red tape, customs checks and regulatory expressions. plus covert test before being permitted to cross the board. —— covert test. 25 miles outside the port, hgvs reach a police checkpoint on the m 20. need

to have a can't access perm, nicknamed kermit to demonstrate their paperwork is in order. heading to the continent, european truck services seem sanguine about the extra hassle. was it difficult or extra 7 extra hassle. was it difficult or extra? has extra hassle. was it difficult or extra 7 has it extra hassle. was it difficult or extra? has it been difficult for you today? no. it is ok. i like england. traffic is usually late on new year's day but with details of the trading deal with the eu published less tha n trading deal with the eu published less than a week ago, many import export companies are delaying journeys with fears of widespread disruption to freight in the next weeks and months. many shipments that we had booked for next week have been cancelled and they are choosing to get their supplies from europe rather than coming from the united kingdom. so, i do see that there is going to be some problems obviously with supplies. 1651 days since the uk voted to leave the

european union and finally, brexit has become a reality. now we shall see what the choice means for our relationship with our nearest neighbours and for britain's standing around the globe. today is the first day of our complete independence from the european union. technically we were independent on the 31st ofjanuary of last year but of course we have just gone through the transitional period, and now that's completed. so, we can say absolutely clearly that britain is a sovereign independent state. taking control of oui’ independent state. taking control of our borders has meant new infrastructure, new it systems to speed up customs processing, but they remain largely untested. new england borderfacilities they remain largely untested. new england border facilities but they remain largely untested. new england borderfacilities but the largest is still not ready to open. fingers are being firmly crossed. but the government has tried to do is essentially by itself more time in quitea is essentially by itself more time in quite a few areas. we know they will be weaving import controls on goods coming into the uk to allow them to get the necessary systems

and infra— structure in place to manage that. the government excepts there will be bobby moments as people adapt to the new post—brexit environment but insists today marks the moment that the united kingdom ta kes the moment that the united kingdom takes back control of its destiny. mark easton, bbc news, dover. we can cross over the channel now and join our correspondent bethany bell — at the french port of calais. bethany, what have you seen so far today, how is it going? there hasn't been a great deal of freight traffic today. there has been some anti—authorities here say things have gone relatively smoothly. —— and the authorities. this is a public holiday, there is a weekend coming up and as we heard in the report just now, coming up and as we heard in the reportjust now, a number of firms are waiting to see how things pan out over the next couple of weeks or so. out over the next couple of weeks or so. and what we are hearing here is that business may not be back to normal levels until the middle of

january or so. and the authorities here say that they are prepared, they have had a lot of dry runs about how to carry out all these new checks and custom formalities. at the question will be whether individual companies, the exporters themselves will be prepared, whether they will have got their heads all around the new red tape that is not required and the head of the port here said that congestion isn't a necessary given but everybody has to play their part in order to prevent delays. bethany, thank you very much, speaking to us from calais. let's speak now to the conservative mp and prominent brexiteer, sirjohn redwood. he was one ofjust two conservative mps to not vote for borisjohnson's brexit deal. thank you forjoining us. so, why did you not get behind the deal?|j was did you not get behind the deal?” was pressing the government for a bit more good news on fishing but i am very happy that we are out, i have been campaigning for this for a

long time. i think the british people made a very wise judgement in 2016 and they were badly let down by the previous parliament. well done the previous parliament. well done the prime minister in meeting us out. i now want us to take full advantage of the opportunities so i am pressing the government to come up am pressing the government to come up with exciting plans to rebuild oui’ up with exciting plans to rebuild our fishing industry and up with exciting plans to rebuild ourfishing industry and have up with exciting plans to rebuild our fishing industry and have an unsure fish processing and exporting industry as well as domestic consumption to have free ports and enterprise zones around our coastal towns to build up our industry again by building a sensible ground regime geared to british interests, by changing taxes which we were not allowed to get rid of. i am glad that the tampon taxes are gone already. i think there other bad taxes that need to go for example in bringing products. ithink taxes that need to go for example in bringing products. i think we can use a really exciting trade deals in the far east which we were not allowed to do under eu control. so this huge opportunity, i think we will have fast growth this year a nyway after will have fast growth this year anyway after —— as a result of the

recovery from the covid disaster as the vaccine is roll out, and we can supercharge that with these freedoms that we can now use but the report we have just heard and bethany bell reporting from calais also said there is a lot of nervousness. there isa there is a lot of nervousness. there is a lot of anxiety regarding the movement of goods in another country. some businesses are choosing just a hibernate for a while and wait and see how they're going to deal with the red is that really sighting the freedoms that you just mention? really sighting the freedoms that youjust mention? i know really sighting the freedoms that you just mention? i know the bbc once the dover — calais link...” don't know whether that is true. they are very keen to make it work but there are all sorts of links with the continent. and also ways of getting freight there. they will ta ke getting freight there. they will take the different bar chairs. i think the system will work perfectly fine. we do the bulk of our trade with non—eu already and that has a lwa ys with non—eu already and that has always worked very smoothly. that will continue to have tariffs and some other frictions that the eu trade does not have under this new agreement. so be positive, it is

going to work, calais and over want their business to keep going, they will smooth those passages there. and all this nonsense about paperwork, we live in the age of electronic computers and digital communications. businesses have to collect all this information about the products and services for their own records and for their customers, they can share them electronically with the authorities on both sides of the channel to comply with the requirements. thank you very much, sirjohn redwood. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come. with united states lagging when it comes to the vaccination, we will see how the roll—out is being undertaken by different nations next. 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. that wasn't sir david attenborough, and of course you can get more information on his speech on the bbc news website. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines... doctors warn that hospital staff in the uk

research confirms the the new coronavirus variant discovered in the uk has a much quicker rate of transmission. a new era begins, as the brexit transition period ends and the uk completes its formal separation from the european union. covid—19 vaccines are being rolled out around the world. almost ten million people have already received their first shot. but it's not being distributed evenly across the globe. some vaccine programmes are racing ahead. at the top of the list is israel — which expects to have vaccinated over 10% of its citizens by the end of this week. china has been able to vaccinate around four and a half million people. meanwhile, many vaccination programmes in africa are will not even start until the middle of the year. and the covax scheme — a who vaccine initiative — aims to protect twenty per cent of the populations from 92 low and middle and income countries by the end of 2021.

the uk's chief medical officers have defended the covid vaccination plan, after criticism from a doctors' union. people will receive the two doses of the oxford and pfizer vaccines 12 weeks apart, instead of four weeks. i have been speaking to professor adam finn who, with other experts, has been advising the uk government on who should get the vaccine first. he explains the reasons behind the recommended delay between the two jabs. it is well—known from all the vaccines that we use and have used historically and that protection after a first dose does notjust evaporate after a short period. pfizer are quite correct in saying they have not really tested doing this but we can be fairly confident that the very high efficacy we see even after one does, just about 10-14 even after one does, just about 10—14 days after the ministration of that dose will persist at least reasonably well for a longer period.

and a very important point is that enables us to immune eyes people who would have no protection at all by giving more of them a first dose in this crisis period. you say you are confident but where does this confidence comes from? if you are unsure how strong that first dose of the vaccine can be and what kind of protection it can offer, is it not possible that the government is making a big mistake by delaying the second jab? the confidence comes from our knowledge of the human immuno response which is very extensively studied in the context of many infections and vaccines. and we know very well that immunity does not evaporate after a short period of time for some it continues in process. it may wane over time over a longer period but we know absolutely with great certainty that it does not just absolutely with great certainty that it does notjust disappear over a short period like this. it has made some people quite nervous that the vaccine roll—out strategy has been

changed so quickly after it was first introduced. what assurances can you offer that it is under control and that it is going to plan? in terms of assurances that it will work because we are just starting here, we have a very strong tradition in the united kingdom of very effective deployment of vaccines and using them as efficiently as possible to achieve the maximum public health impact. and we are continuing to do that now. in terms of what will now happen next, well i think we have to have confidence in our national health service and its ability to act quickly and effectively in delivering these vaccines as soon as they become available. and we are going to see the second vaccine come through as early as monday next week. professor adam finn. us senators have convened for a rare new year's day session to continue action on a major defense spending bill trump had vetoed. senators are expected to cast procedural votes today, which will then clear the way

for a veto vote saturday. the bill had already passed both houses of congress with a veto—proof majority of 84—13 earlier this month. now for a look at all the sporting news — i'm joined by sarah mulkerrins at the bbc sports centre. thank you very much celia, let's start with what could be the biggest sporting events of 2021, the delayed and the percent paramedics and tokyo. japan puzzler prime minister says they will go ahead despite concerns of arising coronavirus cases. the city of tokyo is now reporting over 1,000 daily infections for the first samples of oui’ infections for the first samples of our correspondent has more. when the tokyo olympus were first postponed nine months ago, it was felt back then by the ioc that a one—year delay would be enough for the world to get this pandemic under control and for the games to get back on track. but the recent surge in cases in tokyo really underlines the huge

difficulties still facing organisers. remember the cost for these games has already increased by more than £2 billion because of the pandemic, they have had to significantly lower their expectations, and the public‘s appetite in japan for these games seems to be decreasing all the time. despite that, publicly officials seem despite that, publicly officials seem optimistic. in response to this news, the japanese prime ministers said the games will go ahead in the summerand be said the games will go ahead in the summer and be safe and secure, but the question still remains what form will they take? i think the next few months will be critical and a lot depends on the success and speed of the japanese vaccination programme but the ioc has already said that another postponement is out of the question, so this really is the last chance saloon. officials are confident that a form of the games will take place in july confident that a form of the games will take place injuly but i think given the current situation, no one can really say with any certainty exactly what these tokyo and the pics will look like. —— these

olympics. there are two games in the english premier bay, everton can go second with a time pink with a win against west ham at home. that game picks up shortly, david moyes is still looking at a first win at goodison park since leaving everton in 2013 and in the late game manchester united who are currently second can keep the pressure on leaders liverpool with a result against aston villa. you can follow that via the bbc sport website and app. and with austria and india tied on one test apiece, the australian has called for his fellow batsmen to be braver in front of the touring bullets. the test begins in sydney next week and so far the australians have been restricted to 200 or less i’u ns have been restricted to 200 or less runs in each of their complete three innings. i certainly don't want to share any of our plans with you guys because otherwise i'm not sure exactly what is coming. but i think there is definitely talk about once again rotating and forming your boundary option. the normal things to talk about in facing any bowling

attack and where you can get an upper hand against a certain bowler. ata upper hand against a certain bowler. at a certain time in the game, so i think there are things we are always talking about and always trying to stay on top of it. and make sure that when we come in, that we are brave enough to take on those options when they arise. as always, you can stay right up to date on the bbc sport website and app but for me for the moment, that is it for now. thank you, sarah. millions around the world have been seeing out 2020 and marking the start of 2021. with lockdowns or other restrictions in place in many countries, many would—be new year party—goers were told to have a quiet night in. although, thousands of spectators watched fireworks light up the night sky in taiwan to mark the beginning of 2021. but in new york city, just a handful of people were allowed into times square to watch confetti rain down and the tradition crystal ball drop. millions around the world have been seeing out 2020

scotland celebrated behind closed doors and instead of fireworks they staged a drone show with a series of videos titled fare well. the drones formed symbols and animals. that is all for us now. you canjoin me on 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 for 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.

you're watching bbc news. next, amol rajan takes a close look at a year dominated by covid—19 — and how it accelerated underlying trends and created new ones, in the media year. hello. what a year it's been. i hope you and your family are doing ok. welcome to our look back at the media year in 2020. and if there's one word i don't think we've heard enough of this year, it's unprecedented. when it comes to the media, the pandemic has had a cataclysmic effect. local and national media, especially those funded by advertising, have had one long nightmare.