damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin. by people from a new cluster of coronavirus cases. health officials in the state of new south wales say anyone who visited the bars, cafes, and gyms must get a virus test immediately and self—isolate. with me is our news reporter, tanya dendrinos. welcome to you, take us through what is happening in sydney and the new restrictions imposed on lots of people there? in syd ney‘s lots of people there? in sydney's northern beaches suburbs they have gone back into lockdown for five days and an effort to get this cluster under control. that cluster has now reached 83 cases, so hopes are riding on those numbers coming right back down copy it has also meant broader restrictions across sydney and general and we have just seen these beautiful love actually like scenes of families reuniting at airports and state borders reopen but they are firmly shut as well so families much like elsewhere in the world looking at a christmas without their loved ones copy but it's notjust australians at home miss

damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin.sing numbers of covid infections is putting a severe strain on the national health service. the london ambulance service says it has had it's busiest 2a hour period since march. in scotland doctors say health services could be overwhelmed, if the relaxation of covid restrictions for christmas, triggers a surge in cases. but in wales one health board has had a huge response, after appealing for medical students to help out, in intensive care wards. here's sangita myska. hospitals and other front line services are under mounting pressure tonight in some parts of the uk. that's the warning from the nhs. the bbc has learned that student paramedics and two other ambulance services outside the capital have been called in to assist after a sharp rise in calls. the london ambulance service says that yesterday, boxing day, was one of its busiest ever, with calls up by more than 50% compared to last year. i never want to say that the nhs is going to be overwhelmed because we see the nhs being en

damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin.ed from the debris of the campervan that exploded in the city of nashville on christmas day matches samples taken from the main suspect‘s home. at a press conference, us attorney donald cochrane announced the name of the man who blew himself up deliberately outside a telecoms office — knocking out communications across the state and injuring three people. based on the evidence that we have gathered at this point, we have gathered at this point, we have come to the conclusion that an individual named anthony warner is the bomber. he was present when the bomb went off and that he perished in the bombing. we based its conclusion under forensic evidence including dna evidence you will hear about as well as evidence that was gathered at the scene of the bombing. let's get some of the day's other news. the british government is launching a new campaign to remind businesses of the changes need to continue working following last weeks brexit trade deal with the uk. businesses have to be ready

damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin. let's get some of the day's other news.ng a new campaign to remind businesses of the changes needed to continue working following last week's brexit trade deal with the eu. businesses have to be ready for the new terms by the end of the transition period this thursday. parliament will debate the new trade agreement this wednesday when it is recalled. afghan officials say the next round of peace talks with the taliban will resume in qatar on the 5th january. president ghani had previously insisted that the next round of negotiations should be held in afghanistan itself. the talks began in september but were suspended earlier this month. the hugely popular american wrestler and actorjon huber has died. he was a1. better known to fans as brodie lee or luke harper, his wife says he passed away after a battle with a lung complaint not related to covid—19. the fbi says that dna recovered from the debris of the campervan that exploded in the city of nashville on christmas day matches samples taken from the main suspect‘s home. us

damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin.ries have reported cases of the new variant of coronavirus — which was first detected in the united kingdom. norway's institute of public health says its traced the new variant back to two travellers from the uk who entered the country in early december. the portuguese island of madeira has also blamed travellers from the uk for an outbreak — but has not specified how many people are infected. and, it's a similar story injordan, which has reported its first two cases of the variant. canada, australia, italy and the netherlands have also confirmed cases of the new variant, which scientists say is up to 70% more transmissible. in other news: south africa has registered more than a million cases of covid—19 since the outbreak began in march. it comes just a few days after the south african authorities confirmed that a new faster—spreading coronavirus variant had been detected. some hospitals and medical centres have reported a severe rise in admissions, placing a heavy strain on resources

damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin. that "big" changes are on the way for the uk following his brexit trade agreement with the european union. in an interview with the sunday telegraph, he says he wants to focus on "leveling up the country" and "spreading opportunity." however some have accused him of "caving in" to the eu, pointing out the deal doesn't cover services, which accounts for around 80% of the uk economy. here's our business correspondent, vivienne nunis. glad tidings of greatjoy. 1,200 pages of detail spelling out britain's new trading relationship with the eu. mps and others are poring over the fine print. this morning, the chancellor tried to dispel any fears the uk might be worse off under this new trade agreement. for those who were anxious about the economic implications of leaving, they should be enormously reassured. the free trade deal means that when it comes to the price of french cheese or spanish tomatoes, there should be little change, according to the chair of the uk's largest supermarket chai

damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin.ver rising numbers of covid infections is putting a severe strain on the national health service. the london ambulance service says it's had it's busiest 2a hour period since march. in scotland, doctors say health services could be overwhelmed if the relaxation of covid restrictions for christmas triggers a surge in cases. but in wales, one health board has had a huge response after appealing for medical students to help out in intensive care wards. here's sangita myska. hospitals and other front line services are under mounting pressure tonight in some parts of the uk — that's the warning from the nhs. the bbc has learned that student paramedics and two other ambulance services outside the capital have been called in to assist after a sharp rise in calls. the london ambulance service says that yesterday, boxing day, was one of its busiest ever, with calls up by more than 50% compared to last year. i never want to say that the nhs is going to be overwhelmed, because we see the nhs bein

damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin.ave reported cases of the new variant of coronavirus, which was first detected in the united kingdom. norway's institute of public health says its traced the new variant back to two travellers from the uk who entered the country in early december. the portuguese island of madeira has also blamed travellers from the uk for an outbreak, but has not specified how many people are infected. and, it's a similar story injordan which has reported its first two cases of the variant. canada, australia, italy and the netherlands have also confirmed cases of the new variant, which scientists say is up to 70 per cent more transmissable. some other news now... bangladeshi authorities are planning to move a second group of rohingya refugees to a remote, flood—prone island in the south of the country. officials say up to 1,000 of the refugees, orignally from myanmar, will be moved from camps in to a specially built housing complex. at least 10 climbers are now known to have died during an avalanche in

damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin.e reported cases of the new variant of coronavirus — which was first detected in the united kingdom. norway's institute of public health says, its traced the new variant back to 2 travellers from the uk, who entered the country in early december. the portuguese island of madeira has also blamed travellers from the uk for an outbreak — but has not specified how many people are infected. and, it's a similar story injordan — which has reported its first 2 cases of the variant. canada, australia, italy and the netherlands have also confirmed cases of the new variant which scientists say is up to 70% more transmissible. in other news: south africa has registered more than a million cases of covid—i9 since the outbreak began in march. it comes just a few days after the south african authorities confirmed that a new faster spreading coronavirus variant, had been detected. some hospitals and medical centres have reported a severe rise in admissions, placing a heavy strain on resources. afghan

damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin.y's health ministry has said a person arriving in rome from the uk in recent days has tested positive with the new, more infectious, covid strain. the patient and their partner arrived at rome's fiumicino airport a few days ago and the couple are in isolation together with other family members and close contacts. the italian health ministry says all established procedures are being followed. so what's the immediate impact of the travel bans imposed on the uk just days before the end of the brexit transition period, the 31st of december? here's our transport correspondent caroline davies. this weekend has already seen queues of lorries waiting at dover. today's news that france has banned all forms of transport from the uk for 48 hours from midnight, including goods being transported as freight, has many worried this will get much worse. this is an absolute hammer blow after all the queues we've had at ports in the last week caused by brexit stockpiling and, of course, the christmas rus

damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin.south wales have thanked medical students who've responded to an appeal for volunteers to help in intensive care departments. the cardiff and vale university health board had tweeted that it was urgently looking for medical students for its critical care department. the health board said while staffing was still challenging, the situation had improved and it had now withdrawn its appeal. the scottish government has pledged an extra £41 million to support businesses which were forced to close as they entered the country's top tier of coronavirus measures yesterday. the holyrood government says it's now allocated more than 5.5 billion to support businesses and help the economy recover from the pandemic. millions of americans have lost unemployment benefits as a consequence of president trump failing to sign a massive covid relief bill into law by a deadline of midnight. president—electjoe biden has warned of devastating consequences for the people who would have been helped by the bill,

damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin.tried to reassure natural services it will not be damaged by the deal. rishi sunak is committed to making london the most attractive place in the world to do business. borisjohnson says the brexit deal provide new regulatory freedoms. it's now 2a hours since the government published its 1,200—page trade deal with brussels. this morning, the chancellor was quick to dispel fears the uk might be economically worse off under this new trading relationship with the eu. for those who were anxious about the economic implications of leaving, they should be enormously reassured. the free trade agreement will cover nearly £670 billion worth of trade every year, making it the largest in history. there will be no added taxes on imports — known as tariffs — and no limits on how much can be bought and sold. but there will be checks, red tape and form—filling when goods move across the border. that could mean delays and added costs for businesses. labour says the deal is better than no deal but it's n

damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin.e latest developments have sparked bans on travel from the uk into several countries, including france, which is barring arrivals by air, sea, rail or road, including freight. germany, italy, the netherlands and ireland are also restricting travel. here's our transport correspondent caroline davies. this weekend has already seen queues of lorries waiting at dover. today's news that france has banned all forms of transport from the uk for 48 hours from midnight, including goods being transported as freight, has many worried this will get much worse. this is an absolute hammer blow after all the queues we've had at ports in the last week caused by brexit stockpiling and, of course, the christmas rush. so, there's real confusion, real uncertainty in the industry tonight. obviously, the ban is into france, other routes that these goods could be taken into in a different part of europe instead? there are other routes, other sea routes, other ports to other parts of europe that can be used.

damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin.raced an image of a syringe in the skies to mark the launch of vaccination campaigns across the european union. flight tracking data showed the small plane — a diamond da20 single—propeller piloted by samy kramer — tracing an image of a syringe above friedrichshafen, a town in southern germany known for its importance in aviation history. mr kramer said he thought it was a fun way to raise awareness on such an historic day. health officials in south wales have thanked medical students who've responded to an appeal for volunteers to help in intensive care departments. the cardiff and vale university health board had tweeted that it was urgently looking for medical students for its critical care department. the health board said while staffing was still challenging, the situation had improved and it had now withdrawn its appeal. the scottish government has pledged an extra £41 million to support businesses which were forced to close as they entered the country's top tier of coronavirus m

damien mcguinness, bbc news, burling. —— berlin.he us are investigating whether a campervan explosion in the city of nashville on christmas day was a suicide bombing. three people were injured in the blast, and dna tests are now being carried out after human remains were found near the site of the explosion. no motive has been established, and no—one has claimed responsibility. gusts of more than 100mph have been recorded as storm bella continues to bring heavy rain to large parts of the uk. the needles, on the isle of wight, saw winds that reached 106mph with a number of train operators reporting delays across the south of england. the met office has also issued yellow warnings for snow and ice — meaning disruption is likely for parts of wales, north—west england, scotland and the whole of northern ireland. chi chi izundu reports. storm bella making her presence known on british shores. winds of up to 106 miles an hour have been recorded on the isle of wight, bringing down trees, including on this car, and huts alongside brighton b

damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin.south wales have thanked medical students who've responded to an appeal for volunteers to help in intensive care departments. earlier, the cardiff and vale university health board had tweeted that it was urgently looking for medical students for its critical care department. the health board said while staffing was still challenging, the situation had improved and it had now withdrawn its appeal. olwen williams, vice president of royal college of physicians in wales, says it's only the tip of the iceberg. i think the situation across wales is quite sobering. the number of people that are presenting symptoms of covid—i9 that not only require hospital admission but are so seriously ill they require intensive ca re seriously ill they require intensive care and more than 50% of our bed occupancy in intensive care is now due to covid—i9 patients, it's very worrying. meanwhile, hospital admissions for coronavirus have continued to rise across england. saffron cordery is the deputy chief exec

damien mcguinness reports now from berlin. the european vaccine roll—out has begun.irst vaccines from this distribution centre to those who need it most — the elderly in nursing homes. this airport once provided a lifeline for west berlin at the height of the cold war. it was closed down in november to make way for a larger airport and now it has been turned into a mass vaccination centre, providing, yet again, a lifeline for berliners, but this time in the fight against the pandemic. one of the first people in berlin to get the vaccine this morning was gertrude haase, 101 years old. in italy, where fatalities among health care workers have been particularly high, doctors and nurses are also among the first to get the jab. translation: it's not the end of the pandemic because there's still a long way to go, but it is the beginning of the end. today is a beautiful day. to boost support, some european leaders have also gone first. the czech prime minister said he wants to set an example and said the vaccine provides hope that we will return to a normal life. across eur

damien mcguinness reports now from berlin.reports now from berlin. don't have that report, wi bring we don't have that report, we will bring it to you later. in the meantime... millions of americans have lost unemployment benefits as a consequence of president trump failing to sign a massive covid relief bill into law by a deadline of midnight. president—elect, joe biden, has warned of devastating consequences for the people who would have been helped by the bill, which passed overwhelmingly in congress. the relief package aimed to provide a $1.1; trillion federal budget, agreed by both sides of the house. it also proposed one—off payments of $600 to most americans, but despite his administration negotiating the deal, president trump changed his mind, saying he wants to give $2,000 instead. he also wants to cut foreign aid. legislators could pass a stopgap bill by monday — to prevent a partial government shutdown. you are watching bbc news. more now on brexit and the chancellor has sought to reassure the city of london in the

has highest death toll in europe and the fifth—highest in the world. 0ur europe correspondent damien mcguinnesst in germany. yes, that's right, so i'm actually at a former airport, this closed down a few months ago. it is now being used as one of the many mass vaccination centres set up across germany — 400 in total. and they are set up in concert halls, stadiums and an airport. they are purpose—built, specifically for people to go in there, to follow a track around and to get the vaccine. that hasn't started yet today, but what's been happening today this morning in berlin, vans have been coming out of this vaccination centre, out of that tunnel there, and they are being sent right around the city to care homes, because that is the first priority here in germany. the elderly in care homes are getting the vaccine this morning. the very first woman to get the vaccine was yesterday, at a nursing home in north—western germany. got a batch slightly earlier, they decided to go ahead, they said every day counts. that meant the first person to get a vaccine in germany was yesterday, a ioi—year—old wom

our correspondent, damien mcguinness, is in berlin.that this roll—out is finally beginning this weekend. yes. that's right. i met a former airport. this close down a few months ago. it's now being used as one of the many mass vaccination centres in germany. there are 400 in total. they are set up in concert halls, stadiums, and an airport. they are purpose built specifically for people to go in there, to follow a track round, and to get the vaccine. that hasn't started yet today but what's been happening this morning in berlin, vans have been coming out of this vaccination sent out of that tunnel there, and they have been sent right around the city to ca re have been sent right around the city to care homes because that's the first priority in germany, that the elderly in care homes are getting the vaccine this morning. the very first woman to get the vaccine was actually yesterday at a nursing home in north—west germany. they got a batch slightly early. they decided to go ahead because they thought every day counts. that means the fir

damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin. this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. join the queue! several european countries ban entry from the uk — afraid of a new strand of the coronavirus. us lawmakers agree a $900 billion stimulus package after last minute wrangling. the power behind the electric car revoulution. the battery! we speak to one manufacturer who's benefitting from our urge to go green. european nations have begun to impose travel bans on the uk after it reported a more—infectious and "out of co ntrol" coronavirus variant. ireland, germany, france, italy, the netherlands and belgium are all halting flights. the measures vary and are initially short—term but the french rules also affect channel freight.an eu meeting on monday morning will discuss a more co—ordinated response. the seriousness of the situation is already having economic consequences. all freight transportation between the uk and france is now halted for two days. joining me now is alex veitch, head o

our berlin correspondent, damien mcguinness has this report.ds is one of the first country to act. on sunday morning, passenger flights to and from the uk we re passenger flights to and from the uk were banned. belgium came next, announcing borders would be close to all travellers from the uk for 2h hours. this means notjust a ban on flights but also on train and car travel. germany has followed suit, announcing a ban on uk flights until the end of the month. other countries including ireland, france and italy have also quickly announced their own individual uk travel restrictions. pressure is now growing for an eu wide response. on monday morning from european government representatives will meet to come up with a plan. the travel bands came after british health secretary, matt hancock, warned that the new strain of virus was out of control. in the uk, the uk has sparked a scramble among international travellers wanting to get back home before the borders close. coming for christmas, the most important thing is being with family. so i think ij

damien mcguinness is in berlin. this is the worst bit of the pandemic germany has seen so far.rmany so far until very recently was thought to have done quite well. infection rates were relatively low in the death rate overall remained pretty low and certainly throughout the summer infection rates dwindled massively, but we seen over the past month are really alarming surge in numbers. so typically now at death rates, daily death rates might be anywhere between three and almost 600 per day which is the highest that germany has ever seen, and that means that the overall death toll has risen very rapidly from 10,000 we re has risen very rapidly from 10,000 were it was stuck for quite a while, until very recently now to over 20,000 in rising pretty rapidly. probably because there's quite a few outbreaks in nursing homes and among elderly people, but also because the numbers overall, the daily infection rates have risen quite rapidly. a month and a half ago angela merkel predicted that if we don't act quickly will end up with over 20,000 new infections per day and will actually that

europe correspondent damien mcguinness joins us now from berlin. what is happening there today?g home in north—west germany decided that every day counts and as soon as they got the vaccine yesterday they started vaccinating around 40 residents. that means the first person in germany has already received the vaccine. it is a 101 year old and she proudly had photos taken of her having the vaccine taken. the health minister said despite the fact nursing home pressed ahead against the unity with which they had hoped to give a message about how the eu had stuck together, he wished her the best of luck. it is being seen as positive because even though germany did pretty well in the first wave of the pandemic, and having much lower infection rates and death rates than most other european countries, the second wave has really hit germany hard. so we have a total now of 30,000 deaths, and that rocketed up from 10,000 for months and months. suddenly in the last six weeks it has really shot up, so that's created a lot of worry in germany. we are now ten days into a complete lockdown, so t

damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin. hello, this is bbc news with annita mcveigh.r 48 hours, borisjohnson will chair a meeting of the government's emergency committee. numerous countries restrict travel to and from the uk due to the new, more infectious variant of coronavirus. india has just announced it will suspend all flights from britain until the end of december. supermarket group sainsburys says gaps could appear on shelves in days if the ban extends beyond 48 hours. the transport secretary says he's in talks with his french counterpart. we have just heard from the french government they hope to have a protocol in place to allow movement within the next few hours. that is the protocol, not the moment, hopefully that will come soon after. it is actually primarily french and european goods which are exported rather than british goods leaving the country, it's balanced in that direction. of course, it is in their interest to get it resolved as quickly as possible as well. the easing of northern ireland's coronavirus rules over christmas will be reduced from five

let's go from london to berlin and speak to our correspondent damien mcguinness. deal has been done. she described it as historic and she said she is very confident that the german government will agree because as you mentioned earlier, the next stages that all member states of the eu will have to go through the ratification process with their own respective parliaments. now, angela merkel‘s government will do this on monday. the cabinet will hold a telephone conference and that is the point at which, presumably, over the conference and that is the point at which, presumably, overthe next conference and that is the point at which, presumably, over the next few days they will look at the details and wading through these hundreds of pages of text and then on monday they will discuss their position. in this statement angela merkel said that she is confident the girl —— german guy will pass the deal because the commission has kept the member states on site —— the german government. and they have been kept informed every step of the way. and she said governments are no

really interesting, many thanks, damien mcguinness, our correspondent in berlin.ens of hospitals across the uk are receiving batches of the new coronavirus vaccine, with the first jabs to be given tomorrow. front—line health staff, those over 80, and care home workers will be first to get it. the government says the army could be used to help transport further stocks of the pfizer/biontech vaccine. here‘s our health correspondent sophie hutchinson. military personnel running a mass coronavirus testing centre in liverpool. now they may be asked to help again, this time in transporting stocks of the vaccine from belgium to the uk, in what has been described as a significant challenge. we are looking at non—commercial flight options, so we will ensure... i mean, this is such an important product — probably perhaps the most important product — so we will look to ensure that those supplies are available in the uk in whatever circumstance. in total, the uk has bought 40 million doses of the pfizer vaccine, enough to protect 20 million people. a small proportion of that