simon jack, bbc news.n north—west nigeria say they are negotiating with a group of gunmen for the safe return of hundreds of children abducted from a boarding school on friday night. some 800 pupils were enrolled at the all—boys school in katsina state, and almost half remain unaccounted for. it is not clear how many ran away durng the attack and how many were abducted. from kano, our correspondent mayeni jones sent this report. abdulhadi escaped friday's mass kidnapping byjumping out of a window. translation: i was afraid, terribly afraid. but what frightened me the most was that my brother would be in danger. when i looked for him, i couldn't see him. but in the chaos, he lost his twin brother — one of 333 boys the state governor says are still unaccounted for. some of them, like abdulhadi, managed to run away but many are believed to have been taken by armed men for ransom. three days later, the campus is eerily quiet... ..littered with the reminders of a childhood shattered just days ago. this dormitor

simon jack? sorry, we are nearly out of time, just want to bring in simon. the india — china fight.rk here. the deterioration of the relationship between the us and china and also for businesses, what they discovered during the pandemic, they had an awful lot of eggs in one basket. in manufacturing in china. india realises that they noticed that and there is an opportunity for india to ta ke there is an opportunity for india to take up some of that business from china. they need to be more open and have market reforms, as marc said and as ashis said, some of these market reforms are hitting the traditional power base. when you deregulate like that, you will always come up against that. that is fiction we are seeing at the moment. india will try to get in position to ta ke india will try to get in position to take some of the chinese business and to do that, as marc said, you need to de—regulate and become more open. but that is not without problems. ashis, kamala harris, she is half indian, vice president elect, key indians in politics at the moment in the uk. is this a good moment

here is business editor simon jack. mon: it is a tough one to land, but after a titani struggle overish, we have finally netted arade deal, perfect last minute present for businesses that feared the damaging consequences of cutting ourselvesift from the eu. >> this is a huge relief to british industry. our economy has suffered an awful want of damage this year, and we couldn't take anymore. o yes, we have stille the details, but i think a frtariff deal means our factories and farmers --d tariff quota-free deal means our factories and farmers stay in this we are going to need--stay in business. weng are g to need immediate guidance for businesses. we are going to need to agree with europeans. -- a piod of adjustment. simon: without a deal, cheddar cheese from the u.k. could have a phased of up to 50%.--faced tariffs of up to 50%. >> we are hugely relieved we have got certainty now. we have got tariff-free access to europe. the terrace for our business -- tariffs for our business amounted to 4 million pounds per year. anwe

our business editor simon jack has been finding out.ish, the customers are all over the eu. 50% of everything produced at this factory in worthing heads for europe. the lack of progress on a deal is making the owner and her customers very nervous. it's really stressful. it's really hard, because all the time there's that feeling like, you know, are we doing the right thing? is there something that we should be doing more than what we are doing? our customers are asking us all the time what's going to happen, what's going on? they want reassurances and certainties from us. they are asking us questions that we can't give them answers to as well, which makes it so difficult, and yeah, we have got a few customers who are actually holding off on placing really big orders with us and contracts and things because they want to know the outcome and what is going to happen. so nervous, in fact, her business partner was in spain today looking at new premises to limit any damage a no deal might bring. a couple of warehouses. there is one behind whi

simon jack, thank you.us show another 18,447 infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. it means the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week was 18,023. 1,530 people were admitted to hospital on average each day over the week to the 9th of december. 144 deaths were reported for the last 24 hours — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. on average in the past week, there were 420 deaths per day. the total number of uk deaths is now 64,170. one of the scientists who led the development of the oxford university covid vaccine has warned that mixing over christmas could mean a sharp rise in infections injanuary. it comes amid warnings of the existing pressure on some hospitals, with one health board in wales suspending outpatient appointments and non urgent surgery. here's our science correspondent, pallab ghosh. although some are being vaccinated now, the majority of high—risk people will get theirjabs next year. the aim is to immunise those most at risk

we can speak now to our business editor, simon jack. ast time we hear the b word, brexit. but will it be quieter? that was the question he put out the end of the package, will things be quieter now and what will the day one challenges be after we finish the transition phase at 11pm tonight? well, i think ever since the deal was struck a week ago on christmas eve, you heard a huge sigh of relief from businesses. that was the catastrophic outcome, that we had no—deal. so that was warmly welcomed. it does not mean everything will be the same. it is going to be very, very different from tomorrow. principally because businesses which have been used to dropping stuff in berlinjust like they can in birmingham, they will have a mountain of paperwork to get stuff into the eu. they will have to sign customs declarations, 220 million additional declarations every year, at a cost to british business of £7 billion. that figure is hmrc‘s own figure. so, a big challenge. we are going to waive some of the restrictions, and some of the paperwork for stuf

simon jack, thank you. suggest the levels of coronavirus are continuing to rise across most of the uk, except in scotland where cases are falling. the data from the office for national statistics suggests one in 85 people in england had covid—i9 in the week to december the 18th. in wales the figures are up sharply, in northern ireland up slightly. with the details, here's our health correspondent, laura foster. her report contains flash photography. not all people with covid—i9 will need hospital treatment, but if the virus keeps spreading, the nhs will be put under even more pressure. a new, more contagious variant is driving cases in the south—east of england, but now there are fresh concerns about another variant from south africa. we only have evidence ofa south africa. we only have evidence of a couple of cases that have been detected. like the new variant of circulating in the south—east, it appears to be more infectious. again, it is not clear we are getting more severe symptoms and a higher risk of

simon jack, bbc news.hasn't been released yet, though some details are beginning to emerge. 0ur deputy political editor vicki young looks at what we know about it so far. after months of talks, a deal‘s been done which will shape a new relationship between the uk and the eu. the uk is no longer in the single market or customs union, which means there will be restrictions on trade that we didn't have before. the deal agrees that there won't be quotas or taxes known as tariffs on wholly british goods exported to the eu and vice versa. but there will be new paperwork and checks. now, what about resolving disputes and making sure that both sides stick to the rules? well, they have agreed not to water down the existing standards on things like the environment and workers‘ rights. but if one side wants to change that in the future or complain about how it's all working, they can go to an independent panel. special arrangements have already been agreed for northern ireland. it stays in the eu single market for go

simon jack, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news.er says the country has reported a record daily number of new coronavirus cases. according to the yonhap news agency — chung sye—kyun said there had been more than twelve—hundred cases — the highest daily count ever recorded. the outbreak had been largely contained over the summer — but has seen a recent surge. authorities in south africa, say hospitals in the western cape, are under severe pressure from a rising number of covid—19 cases, which are possibly linked to a new variant of the coronavirus. the country is experiencing a surge in infections, with more than 1a,000 new cases recorded on wednesday. and here in the uk — levels of covid—19 are still on the rise — with one in 85 people in england infected. in wales, the virus is infecting one in 60 people — which is a sharp increase. infection levels are also up in northern ireland. democrats and republicans are blocking each other‘s attempts to amend a vital coronavirus stimulus package. president donald trump has urged congress to

simon jack, bbc news.igures show there were 33,361; new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is now 29,121. 1,821 people have been admitted to hospital on average each day. 215 deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. the figures are usually lower after the weekend. it means on average in the past week, a59 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 67,616. in wales, where the nhs is under growing pressure, the first minister mark drakeford said he wished he could have given "more notice" before limiting plans to allow families to mix over christmas. but he went on to say that some parts of wales actually ran out of intensive care beds yesterday, and that the nhs and its staff were being "stretched to the limit". well, pressure on hospitals is increasing across the four nations as a result of the sharply rising numbers

simon jack, bbc news.eement hasn't been released yet, though some details are beginning to emerge. 0ur deputy political editor, vicki young, looks at what we know about it so far. after months of talks, a deal‘s been done which will shape a new relationship between the uk and the eu. the uk is no longer in the single market or customs union, which means there will be restrictions on trade that we didn't have before. the deal agrees that there won't be quotas or taxes known as tariffs on wholly british goods exported to the eu and vice versa. but there will be new paperwork and checks. now, what about resolving disputes and making sure that both sides stick to the rules? well, they have agreed not to water down the existing standards on things like the environment and workers' rights. but if one side wants to change that in the future or complain about how it's all working, they can go to an independent panel. special arrangements have already been agreed for northern ireland. it stays in the eu single mark

simon jack, bbc news.er news: south korea's prime minister says the country has reported a record daily number of new coronavirus cases. according to the yonhap news agency, chung sye—kyun said there had been more than 1,200 cases — the highest daily count ever recorded. the outbreak had been largely contained over the summer but has seen a recent surge. authorities in south africa say hospitals in the western cape, are under severe pressure from a rising number of covid—19 cases, which are possibly linked to a new variant of the coronavirus. the country is experiencing a surge in infections, with more than 111,000 new cases recorded on wednesday. and here in the uk, levels of covid—19 are still on the rise — with one in 85 people in england infected. in wales, the virus is infecting one in 60, which is a sharp increase. infection levels are also up in northern ireland. democrats and republicans are blocking each other‘s attempts to amend a vital coronavirus stimulus package. president donald trump has urg

simon jack, bbc news. so what has the european union been saying about the deal?ock is no longer ticking. after four years of collective eu unity to preserve peace and stability on the island of ireland, to protect the citizens and the single market, to build a new partnership with the uk. thank you all, thank you all. 0ur europe correspondent kevin connolly was listening to michel barnier and he gave us his assesment of reaction in brussels. michel barnier‘s a really dry, technocratic figure, so when a man like that starts giving what basically sounds like an 0scars acceptance speech, you know there is a sense of occasion in brussels, but the sense of occasion here is different of course to the sense of occasion in london. brexit is still a matter of regret in the european union. they didn‘t want the uk to go. they miss the uk. they have seen it as a challenge to be managed, with the minimum possible disruption to the european union. their goal has been to defend the integrity of the single market and to attain their political unity under the pressure of negotiat

simon jack, bbc news. to crack as the issue of fishing. leaving the eu‘s common fisheries policy was touted as a key benefit of brexit, with britain in theory being able to control who fished in its waters and how much fish they were allowed to catch. barrie deas is the chief executive of the national federation of fishermen‘s organisations and explained what the industries hopes were for the deal... what we wanted was actually nothing very extraordinary, just the same relationship that the eu currently has with norway, which is another independent coastal state. so annual negotiations, quotas that reflect the fish resources in each other‘s waters, in respective waters. access arrangements that are agreed as part of those annual negotiations. and what we have got is something much less than that. of course, the eu have made this artificial linkage between trade and fish because they have a relatively weak negotiating position on fish, so they made this linkage and i think to some extent it has paid off. we

now, i have a tweet, which if you are on twitter you'll see from simon jack, our business editor, whoght companies about this. france blocks lorry movement from uk for 48 hours due to the new coronavirus strain alarm. the cabinet meeting means that you can bring in all of the other departments. the usual volume is 9000 lorries a day going in both directions, although often slower on a sunday. a ledge industry chiefs have told him thatjust when you thought it couldn't get any worse, disaster on top of disaster. they fearfor disaster on top of disaster. they fear for supermarket supply chains. although freight coming from france is still allowed to come into the uk, simon has been told by haulage chiefs that many will be reluctant to make the crossing to the uk is they can't get back, given there is already congestion. so a rather worrying development. unless the uk can get this logjam unblocked in discussions with the european council tomorrow in behalf of eu members, clearly if there is a problem in terms of getting agreement, if countries agree, then that could make this even more di

simon jack, bbc news.on the 31st december without a trade deal — it will mean changes for our every day lives. here's our deputy political editor, vicki young. trade deals make things run more smoothly for businesses. since leaving the eu, britain has agreed dozens of them, but the one that's arguably the most important of all has run into trouble. for decades, the uk and the rest of the european union have bought and sold goods across borders without checks or taxes, known as tariffs. but if there's no deal, then companies will have to operate under rules set by the world trade organization. that means that most of the food imported to the uk from the eu would attract an extra tax. the british retail consortium has calculated that it will mean 48% on beef mince, 16% on cucumbers and 57% on cheddar cheese. when it comes to exports from the uk to the eu, it will mean a tariff of 10% on cars and 35% on dairy products. both sides are putting measures in place to reduce disruption from the start of january. in

simon jack, our business editor.has voted in favour of the government's plan to introduce a tiered system of restrictions in england when the lockdown ends at midnight. dozens of conservative mps had questioned the new measures, with 55 voting against, arguing the restrictions should be targeted at smaller areas. but the plans were approved, meaning that from midnight tonight, more than 23 million people will be placed in the highest tier, tier 3. there's no socialising indoors or in private gardens. pubs and restaurants can only do takeaways. more than 32 million will find themselves in tier 2. again, no mixing indoors but up to six people can meet outdoors. and you can go to restaurants or pubs that serve substantial meals with people you live with. tier1 has the lightest restrictions, but fewer than three—quarters of a million people are in this tier, where up to six people from different households can socialise indoors and outdoors. 0ur deputy political editor, vicki young, has the latest. tomorrow, lancaster wi

our business editor simon jack examines the details. the last of a generation.on. nuclear supplies 20% of the uk's electricity,

our business editor simon jack is here.n a no—deal? they were always going to like anything other than a no-deal? this is the first time it has really had to react since christmas eve when the deal was struck. the market had anticipated this with a bit of noise. no—deal has been avoided. there will still be some difficulty, processes , there will still be some difficulty, processes, customs forms etc, but no—deal has been removed from the picture. all they need to know is that tomorrow is looking better than today. it's all about sentiment. they can time travel months in a few seconds. if you are a manufacturer and you know you can now sell your stuff into europe, but if you look at the bank shares, they are all down quite a bit. 3—4%. that's because in the deal one of the features was what wasn't in it, financial services were barely mentioned. the access financial services companies will get to the eu will be much less than they had previously. let's have a look at how the ftse generally has responded this morning. it is

simon jack, bbc news.364 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is now 29,121. 1,821 people have been admitted to hospital on average each day. 215 deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. the figures are usually lower after the weekend. it means on average in the past week, 459 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 67,616. pressure on our hospitals is increasing as a result of the rising numbers of coronavirus cases and the spread of a new variant. 0ur health editor hugh pym is here. eight areas in england and wales now have an infection rate of one in 100, how is the nhs coping? with difficulty, fiona. some hospitals in different parts of the uk are now even busier than they we re uk are now even busier than they were back in april with coronavirus patients. let's take one example from the official charts, the

simon jack, bbc news.op of a covert pandemic. i think that is pretty impressive. if there is one thing that the prime minister could crow about actually justifiably, it is that a lot of people said this deal can be reached in this timeframe and that he should‘ve extended the time scale. he didn‘tand should‘ve extended the time scale. he didn‘t and he has been proved right. i think some on the content may be are not quite so accurate but certainly in terms of bridging the still, a major achievement. that will the work of years now to take the deal as it is. it is really a framework is much as anything else. and to seek to improve it, to make changes where it is not quite working, because this deal is all about a new way of trading with the eu. trade changes fundamentally with the eu on january eu. trade changes fundamentally with the eu onjanuary the 1st. we are not quite sure what that looks like, this still eases that change a little bit. but actually the nature of that change is really fundamental and th

our business editor, simon jack, joins me.he most important port in the uk, possibly in europe, and when it blocked doughy backstops, things get blocked profoundly. toyota annoys that —— announced it was shutting down production today, and the other thing people will notice will be in the supermarkets, lots of pictures of empty shelves circulating on social media. i'd been speaking to some of the major supermarkets and they say there are empty shelves, but not because they are running out of stock. people are buying more quickly than they can be physically restocked. 0ne buying more quickly than they can be physically restocked. one person said there are many christmases now going on, people who might have been going on, people who might have been going to parents or relatives are having to recreate them at home because of the restrictions. while people are buying heavily, they are buying rationally, no panic buying. 0ne supermarket said they saw no reason to introduce caps on many sta ples, reason to introduce caps on many st

and our business editor simon jack joins me now.in so manyjobs in retail have been cut 01’ so manyjobs in retail have been cut orare at so manyjobs in retail have been cut or are at risk now. is there any hope at all for debenhams?m doesn't look great, but you can never rule out a last—minute bid. mike ashley is never far behind, when a distressed retailer is on the block. he used to own a chunk of debenhams, that got wiped out when it went into administration the first time. he made an offer that they thought was lower than the value ofjust liquidating the stock, as emma was describing. i think the chances of that are lower. people may pick up bits and pieces of this as we go along, but i think the one thing that is really bleak is the employment outlook. lots and lots of jobs are going there. it is an environment where there are no other high street roles for them to move into. not only that, across the economy, unemployment is rising very quickly. so, the options are limited for people that will be losing their jobs. i think the

. —— simon jack. from our business editor simon jackson. —— simonjack.r 48 hours. there is a concern lorries may decide not to travel from france to the uk in case they get stuck here. our business editor tweeting he has been speaking to sainsbury‘s supermarket, they are saying all products for the great british christmas lunch are already in the country and we have plenty of these, we are also sourcing everything we can from the uk and looking into alternative transport for products sourced from europe. sainsbury‘s goes on, if nothing changes we will start to see gaps over the coming days and lettuce, salad leaves, cauliflowers, broccoli, citrus fruit, all of which are imported from the eu at this time of year. we hope uk and french governments can come to a solution that prioritises immediate passage of produce and food. that very much chimes with what we heard from the road haulage association a little while ago, saying when a pinch point comes, if it comes, it will be those fresh items such as the ones simon mentions that sainsbury‘s are talking abou

our business editor simon jack explained that arcadia's trading issues did not have a significant effecttjd sports wanted with debenhams in the first place. so arcadia's demise, and some of that revenue that they used to get from arcadia franchises was more a pretext or an excuse to get out of a deal they had already got cold feet on. and a week of horrors on the high street, and we are only tuesday. yeah, i mean, 25,000jobs in the last 24 hours. you have to go back to woolworths about 12 years ago to have a bigger retail bust than this. it is tempting to think the entire retail sector is doomed, it is not. even some high street retailers are doing ok. next is doing pretty well, even marks & spencer's has got its mojo back a little bit. but these are weak businesses. debenhams, the second time it has been in administration. arcadia almost collapsed last year. basically, it has been brutal, the pandemic, for businesses that already had underlying financial health issues. the prime minister has defended plans to introduce a stricter tiered system of restrictions across england when the nat