been told to stay away, too, and i think it is telling that the new south wales health minister brad hazzard explaining what has described as an avalanche of complacency for this outbreak. australia, since the pandemic began, has recorded about 28,000 known cases of coronavirus, 908 people have died but this cluster in syd ney‘s died but this cluster in sydney's northern beaches is another sharp reminder that the fight against coronavirus here in australia is far from over. not out of the woods yet. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: a full sports round—up — including the polish striker who beat ronaldo and messi to be named the world's best male footballer. music and chanting. saddam hussein is finished because he killed our people, our women, our children. the signatures took only a few minutes, but they brought a formal end to 3.5 years of conflict, conflict that has claimed more than 200,000 lives. before an audience of world leaders, the presidents of bosnia, serbia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. the romanian border was sealed and silent today. r

so the south wales area was underrepresented and we have samples from south wales too, the undeniable truth is that this new variant is being seen right across the country. we need to act it take into account the fact that this new variant will be a factor in the rapid growth in the cases in south wales, despite the measures taken. taking a national approach will give the best protection to those areas that have lower levels of infection. we are doing this all together to protect the whole country. i think that is the right choice, but one that is painful and difficult for other people. as a government, cannot get out of making difficult choices. the difficult choices you are talking about, how long will these latest restrictions last? we will review the measures after three months. —— three weeks. ido after three months. —— three weeks. i do not anticipate whole of wales will come out after three weeks, but we will have to look at data and be patterns of infection, how we can keep on a sustained basis a lower level of infection rates. we will also have to take account of the

wales, south—west england. more snow showers moving in across the northern half of scotland. rain and sleet showers around the east coast of england. most of the showers ease away through tonight, confined to coastal areas and the north—west of scotland. temperatures falling down to freezing, or a little bit below, another cold night with a sharp frost and iciness to start wednesday morning. wednesday is a little drier for most compared to today but later in the day we have more rain, sleet and snow pushing into the south—west of england, perhaps south wales and further snow showers across the north of scotland. goodbye for now. hello, this is bbc news with simon mccoy. the headlines... nhs england says health workers are "back in the eye of the storm" — as the number of coronavirus cases exceeds the peak that was seen in april. the military will provide remote support to schools and colleges in england with coronavirus testing, as they begin to re—open next week. the ftse 100 is up this morning, as uk

there is more rain to come tomorrow, the focus of it will be across south wales where we have this amber rain warning from the met office, flooding likely, travel disruption, by the end of the day four inches of rain over the hills of south wales. also getting some heavy rain threatening flooding in the south—west of england, it marches northwards across wales, northern ireland, and getting better in scotland. probably not much rain for the east midlands, east anglia and the east midlands, east anglia and the south—east of england but it will be a windy day with gales likely in the south—west and is a southerly wind so it is unusually mild for this time of year, 13—14. the rain is the story which continues into the evening pushing eastwards, clearing away in time for the weekend where we will have a mixture of sunny spells and scattered showers. the last of the rain clears east anglia and the south—east early on saturday then it is sunshine and showers, rattling into western scotland, wales, western england, heavy and thundery, some showers elsewhere but further east, dry large

and the heaviest of the rain is likely to be across south wales and south—west england. that will gradually slip towards the near continent. but something important is that behind that rainfall, we'll start to see slightly milder air. so that cold feel of recent days easing away as a southwesterly wind takes over. clear skies for a time through the night. that could be good news if you're trying to see the aurora in the far north—east of scotland. but elsewhere, really rather cloudy with the rain easing away from the southwest. but the cloud acting like a blanket, that means temperatures will hold up above freezing right across the country. but we start off on thursday on a rather grey, drab note with showery outbreaks of rain still to ease away. any sunshine will really be few and far between. it stays pretty overcast for much of the day, but with a light southerly breeze it will be a slightly milder feel to the day in comparison to of late, with temperatures at around seven to nine degrees. that's pretty much where they should be for the time of year, maybe double di

wales and snow potentially for south wales and more especially running eastwards a cross and more especially running eastwards across parts of southern england during wednesday and some uncertainty about how far north it will get and how muchly and snow there will be within this. it will bea there will be within this. it will be a cold day but much of the eastern side of the uk will stay dry and see a bit of sunshine. what rain, sleet and so there is will pull across parts of southern england overnight and into thursday morning before clearing and asked her to begin as we get some of these snow showers pushing him towards eastern parts of scotland and it's those that are going to move further south during thursday and again giving potential for some snow and ice in places and notjust on hills but the chance of some disruption as a result. so, this system will take its rain, sleet and snow showers out of scotland and into parts of england and wales as we go through thursday. the tendency for a lot of that to turn back to rain if you are seeing some snow away from hills during thursday, and wh

now, the heaviest of the rain will be affecting south wales, where the met office haveissued an amber rain warning. that rain could be bringing some travel disruption and some flooding, up to 100mm falling over the higher ground of south wales. now, through the course of the early hours of friday, that rain is moving its way in from the west. throughout friday, it's going to be heavy for the south west of england, wales, moving into northern england, into scotland as well. this is 3pm in the afternoon. not only will there be a lot of heavy rain, it will be drier in the south east. but the gusts of wind will reach around 60 mph three exposed parts of the irish sea, 30—110 mph gusts of wind elsewhere. northern ireland will see that rain clearing to leave sunshine and some scattered showers, but a wet end to the day for much of scotland, northern england, wales and the south west. very mild once again, 13—14 degrees. we could see 15 celsius and one or two spots. that rain will continue its progression, across east anglia and the south east, during friday evening and overnight into sa

now, the heaviest of the rain will be affecting south wales, where the met office haveissued an amber rain warning. that rain could be bringing some travel disruption and some flooding, up to 100mm falling over the higher ground of south wales. now, through the course of the early hours of friday, that rain is moving its way in from the west. throughout friday, it's going to be heavy for the south—west of england, wales, moving into northern england, into scotland as well. this is 3pm in the afternoon. not only will there be a lot of heavy rain, it will be drier in the south—east. but the gusts of wind will reach around 60 miles per hour through exposed parts of the irish sea, 30—110 mile per hour gusts of wind elsewhere. northern ireland will see that rain clearing to leave sunshine and some scattered showers, but a wet end to the day for much of scotland, northern england, wales and the south—west. very mild once again, 13—14 degrees. we could see 15 celsius and one or two spots. that rain will continue its progression, across east anglia and the south—east, during frida

now, the heaviest of the rain will be affecting south wales, where the met office haveissued an amber rain warning. that rain could be bringing some travel disruption and some flooding, up to 100mm falling over the higher ground of south wales. now, through the course of the early hours of friday, that rain is moving its way in from the west. throughout friday, it's going to be heavy for the south west of england, wales, moving into northern england, into scotland as well. this is 3pm in the afternoon. not only will there be a lot of heavy rain, it will be drier in the south east. but the gusts of wind will reach around 60 mph three exposed parts of the irish sea, 30—40 mph gusts of wind elsewhere. northern ireland will see that rain clearing to leave sunshine and some scattered showers, but a wet end to the day for much of scotland, northern england, wales and the south west. very mild once again, 13—14 degrees. we could see 15 celsius and one or two spots. that rain will continue its progression, across east anglia and the south east, during friday evening and overnight into sat

now, the heaviest of the rain will be affecting south wales, where the met office haveissued an amber rain warning. that rain could be bringing some travel disruption and some flooding, up to 100mm falling over the higher ground of south wales. now, through the course of the early hours of friday, that rain is moving its way in from the west. throughout friday, it‘s going to be heavy for the south west of england, wales, moving into northern england, into scotland as well. this is 3pm in the afternoon. not only will there be a lot of heavy rain, it will be drier in the south east. but the gusts of wind will reach around 60 mph three exposed parts of the irish sea, 30—110 mph gusts of wind elsewhere. northern ireland will see that rain clearing to leave sunshine and some scattered showers, but a wet end to the day for much of scotland, northern england, wales and the south west. very mild once again, 13—14 degrees. we could see 15 celsius and one or two spots. that rain will continue its progression, across east anglia and the south east, during friday evening and overnight into

throughout friday, it's going to be heavy for the south west of england, wales, moving into northern england, into scotland as well. this is 3pm in the afternoon. not only will there be a lot of heavy rain, it will be drier in the south east. but the gusts of wind will reach around 60 mph three exposed parts of the irish sea, 30—110 mph gusts of wind elsewhere. northern ireland will see that rain clearing to leave sunshine and some scattered showers, but a wet and to the day for much of scotland, northern england, wales and the south west. very mild once again, 13—14 degrees. we could see 15 celsius and one or two spots. that rain will continue its progression, across east anglia and the south east, during friday evening and overnight into saturday. so, again, it's an unsettled picture as we head through into the first part of the weekend. plenty of showers on the map first thing saturday, frost—free certainly once again with overnight temperatures between about 7—11 degrees to start off your weekend. so the weekend will be dominated by an area of low pressure sitting out tow

now, the heaviest of the rain will be affecting south wales, where the met office haveissued an amber rain warning. that rain could be bringing some travel disruption and some flooding, up to 100mm falling over the higher ground of south wales. now, through the course of the early hours of friday, that rain is moving its way in from the west. throughout friday, it's going to be heavy for the south west of england, wales, moving into northern england, into scotland as well. this is 3pm in the afternoon. not only will there be a lot of heavy rain, it will be drier in the south east. but the gusts of wind will reach around 60 mph three exposed parts of the irish sea, 30—110 mph gusts of wind elsewhere. northern ireland will see that rain clearing to leave sunshine and some scattered showers, but a wet and to the day for much of scotland, northern england, wales and the south west. very mild once again, 13—14 degrees. we could see 15 celsius and one or two spots. that rain will continue its progression, across east anglia and the south east, during friday evening and overnight into sa

throughout friday, it's going to be heavy for the south west of england, wales, moving into northern england, into scotland as well. this is 3pm in the afternoon. not only will there be a lot of heavy rain, it will be drier in the south east. but the gusts of wind will reach around 60 mph three exposed parts of the irish sea, 30—40 mph gusts of wind elsewhere. northern ireland will see that rain clearing to leave sunshine and some scattered showers, but a wet and to the day for much of scotland, northern england, wales and the south west. very mild once again, 13—14 degrees. we could see 15 celsius and one or two spots. that rain will continue its progression, across east anglia and the south east, during friday evening and overnight into saturday. so, again, it's an unsettled picture as we head through into the first part of the weekend. plenty of showers on the map first thing saturday, frost—free certainly once again with overnight temperatures between about 7—11 degrees to start off your weekend. so the weekend will be dominated by an area of low pressure sitting out towa

of england and south wales. north—east of scotland could see some sunshine, likewise the north—east of england. it will be windy but very mild with temperatures at 14, 15 degrees in the north—east of wales. that milder airgets the north—east of wales. that milder air gets pushed away overnight, the last of the rain clearing eastern england early on saturday and then through the weekend we draw in cooler and cooler air. i cannot buckle for the time of year, temperatures will be dropping but we have a mixture of sunshine and scattered showers again, most of the showers which could be heavy at times will be across the western side of the uk. that is it for me. a reminder of our top story... despite pressure to toughen the restrictions over christmas mixing — there's to be no formal change to the relaxation of covid rules. that's all from the bbc news at one so it's goodbye from me , good afternoon, it's 1.30pm and here's your latest sports news. west brom have sacked their manager slaven bilic after 18 mo

about the man is a dairy farmer who lives in new south wales one of the driest regions in the country. for many months now his reserves have been empty. the only solution for feeding his animal is to buy extra water from the private market. or he'll you know . go. to die to run just for my kale and it cost me close to half a $1000000.00 for 12 months of oil $500000.00 can you afford that it would put a great deal this trying on us if we if we did it a great deal a strong. right . like we now if i'm in the last 3 months it's already spent $1000000.00 on bordeaux. a storm could come straight tomorrow up at all and. so it's they've spent the money but still a game of fun with it but it's going to work on all. which basically the chaos alarm goes we've told the board to grow crops for the can . we can't afford a real lot of grinding out there getting very little not a grind at all at the moment. side they're producing. 50 percent less than what they should be but he's told me. it's just save all my drawings of all i keep going. and i am trying to get at the other end of it. strike by the

south wales so the cloud increases your through the day with outbreaks of rain and south—west england and south wales and the channel islands and wintry showers for northern scotland and bury north east england but for most it is dry, some sunshine after a cold and frosty start, 5—7 c the highest temperatures. on wednesday night and into thursday that area of low pressure slides into france, we could keep a few showers going across coastal counties on new year's eve but across east anglia and the south—east, some wintry showers providing some sleet and snow through the last day of 2020. and we could see showers across northern scotland and west wales but we end the year still on that cold note and those temperatures will keep dropping as we head towards midnight on new year's eve. a chance of showers for east anglia and the south—east bringing some wintry precipitation and more across scotla nd precipitation and more across scotland and west wales and as we go through the early hours of new year's day, those temperatures keep falling so we are likely to start the new year with m

now, the heaviest of the rain will be affecting south wales, where the met office haveissued an amber rain warning. that rain could be bringing some travel disruption and some flooding, up to 100mm falling over the higher ground of south wales. now, through the course of the early hours of friday, that rain is moving its way in from the west. throughout friday, it's going to be heavy for the south west of england, wales, moving into northern england, into scotland as well. this is 3pm in the afternoon. not only will there be a lot of heavy rain, it will be drier in the south east. but the gusts of wind will reach around 60 mph three exposed parts of the irish sea, 30—110 mph gusts of wind elsewhere. northern ireland will see that rain clearing to leave sunshine and some scattered showers, but a wet and to the day for much of scotland, northern england, wales and the south west. very mild once again, 13—14 degrees. we could see 15 celsius and one or two spots. that rain will continue its progression, across east anglia and the south east, during friday evening and overnight into sa

the heaviest rain will be across wales and south—west england. strong and gusty winds as well, so some difficult travel conditions here this afternoon as the day goes on. some rain across northern england, especially west of the pennines. and northern ireland is getting behind the rents afternoon. there will be a few showers here. very windy, but very mild. it stays very wet, particularly through wales and western parts of england this evening, allowing those rain totals to mount. the range and clears as it pushes east overnight to those parts of eastern england that were dry today. showers followed to the west, leaving a mild start the weekend. low pressure is still sitting to the rest of us, but instead of the persistent rain, we have these weatherfronts going from west to east. but these are bands of showers. in between the showers it will not just be showers. in between the showers it will notjust be drier, it will be sunnier as well. so there will be some sunshine this weekend. but it isa some sunshine this weekend. but it is a cloudy and da

now, the heaviest of the rain will be affecting south wales, where the met office haveissued an amber rain warning. that rain could be bringing some travel disruption and some flooding, up to 100mm falling over the higher ground of south wales. now, through the course of the early hours of friday, that rain is moving its way in from the west. throughout friday, it's going to be heavy for the south—west of england, wales, moving into northern england, into scotland as well. this is 3pm in the afternoon. not only will there be a lot of heavy rain, it will be drier in the south—east. but the gusts of wind will reach around 60 mph three exposed parts of the irish sea, 30—40 mph gusts of wind elsewhere. northern ireland will see that rain clearing to leave sunshine and some scattered showers, but a wet and to the day for much of scotland, northern england, wales and the south west. very mild once again, 13—14 degrees. we could see 15 celsius and one or two spots. that rain will continue its progression, across east anglia and the south—east, during friday evening and overnight in

of england and into south wales. eastern england bright and dry, temperatures only about three to six degrees. through wednesday night into thursday, this area of rain moves along the south coast, eastwards, could bring sleet and snow for the likes of london. thursday morning starts with low pressure towards the south—east. that slowly clears away but it could leave a legacy of sleet and snow for parts of east anglia and the south—east into thursday. further north, still some snow showers packing in across parts of scotland, perhaps northern ireland seeing some sleet and snow and also into northern england, some snow showers. a cold day for all, temperature about two to 6 degrees for most of on thursday. here's how it looks for the next five days. pretty chilly wherever you are and a few sleet and snow showers, watch out for icy stretches underfoot. goodbye. this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. scientists say the uk risks a coronavirus "catastrophe" in the new year w

the new south wales people so as for many strains who like to travel on the holidays this time of year it's a very difficult time on but look we're all holding this in perspective australia still has less than a 1000 deaths from private 90 this year and we know that in comparison to many parts of the world we're pretty good place yeah indeed correspondent speaking to us from sydney happy new year. thanks. and you're up to date here on data when the news i'm rebecca has it's been an absolute pleasure to have your company owned they send all our programs this year to stay tuned now the date of the business that's coming up after a short break i'll be back at the top of the hour with more headlines until then you can always visit our website devaney dot com happening. in these difficult times it's especially important to us to wish you all a happy new. sadness comes of family and friends or your entries into your last most racially during this holiday season we want to tell you right here when you move. on him this way tsunami new year coming new year and. installed into the news of the n

we must stop there but thank you so much indeed. joining us from the university of new south wales. let's talk about food. the latest tech when it comes to me, hitting the market in singapore. becoming the first country to approve the use of so—called clean meet. lab grown chicken. paving the way for eat just, san francisco company valued at $2 billion, selling lab grown chicken as an ingredient in the southeast asian nation. let's go live to singapore. and our correspondence. do you fancy lab grown chicken? what do you reckon? sally, i'm not sure. we've been talking about it all morning, some of our viewers might be wondering how it works. let me try and explain. it's called clean meet because it doesn't come from slaughtered animals, it's also as meat, basically made by putting stem cells from the animal into an environment that feeds the cells which then allows them to grow. the company says it is healthier and better for the environment and better for the environment and its founder has compared the whole process to brewing beer. i'm not sure if customers would agree. eat just

throughout friday, it's going to be heavy for the south west of england, wales, moving into northern england, into scotland as well. this is 3pm in the afternoon. not only will there be a lot of heavy rain, it will be drier in the southeast. but the gusts of wind will reach around 60 mph three exposed parts of the irish sea, 30 or a0 mph gusts of wind elsewhere. northern ireland will see that rain clearing to leave sunshine and some scattered showers, but a wet and to the day for much of scotland, northern england, wales and the south west. very mild once again, 13—14 degrees. we could see 15 celsius and one or two spots. that rain will continue its progression, across east anglia and the south east, during friday evening and overnight into saturday. so, again, it's an unsettled picture as we head through to the first part of the weekend. plenty of showers on the map first thing saturday, frost—free certainly once again with overnight temperatures between about 7—11 degrees to start off your weekend. so the weekend will be dominated by an area of low pressure sitting out toward

wales, south—west england. more snow showers moving in across the northern half of scotland. rain and sleet showers around the east coast of england. most of the showers ease away through tonight, mainly confined to coastal areas and the north—west of scotland. temperatures falling down to freezing or a little bit below, so another cold night with a sharp frost and iciness to start wednesday morning. wednesday is a little drier for most compared to today, but later in the day we have more rain, some sleet and snow pushing into the south—west of england, perhaps south wales and further snow showers across the north of scotland. goodbye for now.

wales with their crew and a large aerial tanker. any support that we have asked for, we have gotten, but because it is a complex environment, there is only so much you can do with crews on the ground because at the same time we don't want to put our crews at risk. some of these areas, literally you cannot get into them so we are going to have to get in from the airand run going to have to get in from the air and run crews can only work in the space they can get to. we are hoping today we're going to hit it with everything we've got, and try to sort of control that fire, and we are hoping by close of business today we may have it under control. we certainly hope so, too. brian cox, thank you very much for your time and we wish you and your crew the best. brazil has the third worst coronavirus outbreak in the world. it means christmas celebrations will look quite different there this year. but as sophia tran—thomson reports, the country's most populous city has — hopefully — found a way for people to enjoy christmas safely. the

wales could see some wintry weather to want to see showers into eastern parts of new south wales pushing up into the gold coast as we go on through friday the showers little more expansive as we go on into saturday i mean further east. 2019 sphere fee disputed election for this believe you the indigenous president. right style as ever morale is considered his future and hope to return his party rallied behind new candidates. with a tense new election drawing close in late 2020 people in power went behind the scenes to see if the indigenous movement could pull off a remarkable comeback from livia exile will return on al-jazeera. again this is for much of the main news this hour hong kong media tycoon and pro-democracy advocate jimmy lai has been refused bail the outspoken government critic has been charged with defrauding the government of businesses. follows a the india of meeting ministers for a 2nd round of talks as protests intensify against the rules of produce the farmers worry that the proposal will end better on crop prices and lead to corporate exploitation. more than 2700 people

chances of flooding for south—west england and south wales — areas which have seen lots of rain already. and it'll be a windy day. those gusts showing 30—a0 mph for many, particularly across southern and western coasts. with our winds coming in from the south, it's going to be a very mild day for the time of year. highs of 13 to maybe 15 celsius, for example, in parts of north—east wales. low pressure sticks around as we head on into the weekend. it'll send bands of showers into the northern and western areas. but there will be some sunshine around too. you will notice though the mild air starts to get replaced with those bluer tinges, so it will be cooling down through the weekend. so a sunshine and showers weekend. most showers across western areas. and then, it'll be cooling down, and that'll be particularly noticeable as we head through sunday. this is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world: no regrets — president trump's trade chief tells the bbc he's helped make the system fairer for us workers. plus, edging closer — republic

the state of queensland is reopening now to the whole of new south wales and the state of victoria. this is the first time in more than 250 days that cleans lands‘s borders have been fully open. as you say, other restrictions in other parts of the country are now being lifted. in the last hour or so we have heard from the western australian state government and they are to reopen their borders with a victoria and new south wales in a weak‘s time. in a week's time. many internal borders in this country were closed in an attempt to curb the spread of covid—19. it wasn't universally popular, the federal government said those state border closures where unnecessary but state and territory leaders were adamant they need to protect their populations. if you look at australia's numbers, this is a country that has recorded about 28,000 coronavirus cases, just over 900 people have died. we understand there are just over 60 active coronavirus cases across the entire country. so australia is now opening up fragmentation brought by covid—19 is being eased and australia now looking forwa

, and then we see an area of rain but turning to sleet and snow potentially for south wales, more especially running eastwards across parts of southern england during wednesday. some uncertainty about how far north it'll get, how much sleet and snow there will be within this. it'll be a cold day, yes, but much of the eastern side of the uk will stay dry and get to see a bit of sunshine. what rain, sleet and snow there is will continue to pull across parts of southern england overnight and into thursday morning before clearing. as thursday begins, we're getting some of these snow showers pushing in towards eastern parts of scotland, and it's those that are going to move further south during thursday, again giving the potential for some snow and ice in places, and notjust on hills, and the chance of some disruption as a result. so, this system will take its rain, sleet and snow showers out of scotland and into parts of england and wales as we go through thursday. the tendency for a lot of that to turn back to rain if you are seeing some snow away from hills during thursday, and where you don't

flooding likely in south wales. windy, mild. i have your friday forecast and prospects for a brighter weekend. it's friday the 18th of december. our top story. millions of people across the uk are braced for tougher covid restrictions amid growing concern about rising coronavirus infections. from tomorrow, swathes of eastern and southern england will move into tier 3 measures. northern ireland has announced it willjoin wales in starting a new lockdown after christmas day, meaning non—essential shops will close, along with pubs, restaurants and hairdressers. aruna iyengar has more. around the uk, restrictions are tightening. from saturday in england more than two thirds of the country will be in tier 3, with a number of areas, including bedfordshire and buckinghamshire, moving to the toughest level. but there's some respite. bristol and north somerset will move from tier 3 to tier 2. and herefordshire goes from tier 2 to tier i. in clevedon, north somerset, dropping down to tier 2 is a cause for celebration. yes! yes, yes, yes!

fairly wet all the way from queens and new south wales to victoria and a.c.c. with that breeze coming in from the north east the next heavy rains more light to be at neah darwin that's a particularly heavy back on its way through sydney's humid weather with some storms hang on till friday in the wind changes to a southerly and temperatures drop considerably as a result but our eyes are to the east it is tropical cyclone season some accordance to super soccer and it's certainly officially a severe cyclonic storm and it's on its way slowly south towards fiji as a dangerous thing now look at my record a category 5 internationally as a category 4 with winds likely only impact at their worst at 240 kilometers per hour they will gust higher than that landfall for the worst conditions probably going to be right about dusk in fiji but the winds pick up before that so it's an overnight damaging storm heading south and away during friday. the birthplace of democracy but ethnic turks from the northeast tell a different story they. believe their religious leaders jailed jo

wales now is just becoming active in what will be the typhoon or tropical psychoses dipping with your north and south of the equator this is the tropical cycle and it's a big one of the category 5 now that beijing get is about time it gets to fiji is going to be sometime on thursday as potentially of course a destructive tropical cycle we'll watch that very closely. building a new life on a beach living off the sea and. a dream is shared by so many but so few make it a reality. a family business led by a market. with a flair for cooking and disaster living. island kitchen on al-jazeera. home after a reminder of the top stories on al-jazeera members are preparing to roll out the pfizer bio on tech coronavirus vaccine as early as christmas european regulators are under pressure to approve the job and are expected to deliver their decision makes week or regulators a clue or close to approving the coronavirus vaccine for use in the u.s. tests show the mother in a jab is more than 94 percent effective when 2 shots are taken within $28.00 days. and u.s. senate majority leader mitch mcconnel

health officials in the state of new south wales say anyone who visited the bars, cavities and gems must get a virus test immediately and self isolate. the cluster on syd ney‘s isolate. the cluster on sydney‘s northern beaches has grown to 83, coming after a record 38,000 people came forward for testing across the state new restrictions are in place across greatest in the in an attempt to contain the new outbreak while state borders have closed once again. here is what some of what the prime minister had to say in a press conference the short time ago. as we look around the world we know what is happening, and we know what is happening, and we know we have to be cautious, and the great gains that have been made, the great sacrifice and cost, over the course of this year, we intend to maintain them, and that means in circumstances like this, as we have done so now on many occasions, we need to act swiftly as this is occurring, as the authorities get on top of this, and ensure we can preserve the gains and go into 2021 in a good state. meanwhile, as australia does its best to get on to

you might see the showers become a little less widespread over wales and south—west england, just for a time. a windy day for northern ireland and scotland. top temperatures between eight and ii celsius. that is your weather. it's this is bbc news. the headlines. the prime minister is to hold a news conference later this afternoon to announce a new tier 4 for london and the south—east which could affect christmas. it comes amid warnings from england's chief medical officer that a "new variant" of the virus is causing faster transmission in the south east. wales, scotland and northern ireland have held a four nations call with westminster and will have their own cabinet meetings this afternoon. more than two—thirds of those living in england — 38 million people — are now subject to the toughest restrictions in tier 3. that may change from four o'clock. meanwhile, italy imposes a nationwide lockdown over christmas and new year, as it tries to halt the sharp rise in coronavirus infections. americans are set to get a second coronavirus vaccine, as the moderna injection is approved

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 missing out? that's right, we are looking at 30,000 australians stuck abroad, they wanted to repatriate but they have been stranded and they haven't been

what you can see festival is in some areas have got very dark and here it is south wales and the south—east of england, and that the overall cases have increased by more than 50%. a substantial increase in over the period december. if ijust concentrate now on the south—east, east and london, we will see a picture which i think begins to link into the new virus variant. next slide, please. so this is hospital admissions per day in london, east of england and the south—east from nhs data from september through to now. you can see a gradual increase in the number of hospital admissions per day, and you can see very sharp during december. this virus has taken off, it is moving fast, and it is leading inevitably to a sharp increase in hospital admissions. next slide, please. if we now look just at the areas that are moving into tier 4, as the prime minister has just said, which is areas in london, the south—east and the east, and look at the number of cases, the case rate against time, but you can see is that the number of cases increase or in the case rate increases dramatically. if you l

wales as well. eastern england is bright and dry but temperatures only about three to six celsius. wednesday evening to thursday, this area of rain moves along the south coast eastwards, covering some sleet and some snow over london as we move through to the early hours of thursday so thursday starts with low pressure towards the south—east. that slowly clears away but it could leave a legacy of sleet and snow for parts of east anglia and the southeast into thursday. further north, still some snow showers packing and across parts of scotland. perhaps northern ireland seeing sleet and snow and also into northern england, if you snow showers as well. i cold today with temperatures of two to six celsius on thursday. here's how it looks for the next five days, pretty chilly wherever you are and a few sleet and snow showers. also watch out for icy stretches underfoot. bye— bye. this is bbc news, the headlines: the military is set to provide remote support to schools and colleges in england with coron

fairly wet all way from queens and new south wales to victoria and a.c.t with that breeze coming in from the northeast the next heavy rains more like to be up near darwin that's a particularly heavy back on its way through sydney's humid weather with sandstorms hang on to a frog in the wind changes to a southerly and temperatures drop considerably as a result but our eyes are to the east it is tropical cyclone season some according to super soccer and it's certainly officially a severe cyclonic storm and it's on its way slowly south towards fiji as a dangerous thing now locally because a category 5 internationally is a category 4 with winds likely on impact at their worst at 240 kilometers per hour they will gust higher than that landfall for the worst conditions probably going to be around about dusk in fiji but the winds pick up before that so it's an overnight damaging storm heading south and away during friday. the birthplace of democracy but ethnic turks from the north east tell a different story the green day to control our religion our believe their religious leaders jailed j

it is already before the year has ended the wettest year for 13 in new south wales and the rain that's falling is not as heavy as it was in its change its orientation to be still in northern territory and queen's liver not so much in new south wales a few showers around the edges in the future victoria with up onshore breeze but alice springs won't have a day of showers or it becomes generally find in temperatures start to rise to near the end or what 31 degrees and that interior warmth is being blown west into perth 40 degrees on thursday drop or down to the low thirty's by saturday as a card comes in and the wind direction changes the little bit it won't get anything like that warmth further east got $29.00 adelaide but only $21.00 down in melbourne and tropical quince and looks particularly wet for the end of friday and saturday his purse now suddenly. going to change your fortunes for the winter weather in east asia as well that brief warm a spell and it's all relative brings rain to the rather unstable snow fields of western honshu once that's happened the day after on friday that

wales police in new south wales agencies that they're aware of of people have breached their basic and nations and we will examine those phases and we will cancel them when necessary the world health organization is warning the next pandemic could be even worse officials say covered 19 has been a wakeup call for the world. just random it has been very severe it's spread around the world extremely quickly in the script at every corner but this is not necessarily the big well. this virus is very transmissible. and it kills people and it just deprives so many people of locals but its current case with our city is read recently look at other emerging diseases this is a wake up call the family of a prominent saudi woman's rights activists say they will appeal her jail sentence was in a huff law was sentenced to 5 and a half years in prison on monday drawing international condemnation she's been held since 2018 and relatives say she's been sexually assaulted and tortured while in prison or about money reports lose a know how good had been a prominent activist the years demanding more rights

the uk is very much focused on the southeast of england, the area around london and south wales, as well, some hospitals we've been speaking to today in those areas have been putting out requests to staff that have been taking a very well—earned break over christmas day, asking if they can come in now, they need their help. there's also talk that their help. there's also talk that the nightingale hospitals, which we re the nightingale hospitals, which were insurance hospitals set up during the first wave but have never really been fully used, they can now be put on standby to take covid patients if the level of bed occupancy in some of these areas, especially in london, gets too high and they're just especially in london, gets too high and they‘ re just enough especially in london, gets too high and they're just enough spaces to put covid patients in. the government will announce the extension of restrictions tomorrow. what's likely to happen? that's right, we will have a cabinet meeting tonight chaired by the prime minister borisjohnson meeting tonight chaired by the prime minister

of england, the area around london and south wales as well. 0utside around london and south wales as well. outside of that, less pressure on hospitals. as to why this is happening, one obvious reason is the sudden increase in cases that we are saying that down by some to a new variant of coronavirus in parts of the south—east of england in particular. 41,000 new cases yesterday in england and wales alone, we are expecting new figures in the next couple of hours. also we are starting to see people a p pa re ntly are starting to see people apparently in hospital for longer with coronavirus. that might be because treatments have got better, it might be that is slightly more relu cta nce it might be that is slightly more reluctance to discharge people into the community as quickly. that means if you have more people in hospital at the same time, you are keeping them in there for longer, increases pressure on the health service. there has been a lot of speculation in the uk about the use of these nightingale hospitals, which are emergency overflow hospitals, not being used much at the m

and southwest perth around 39 degrees celsius what's about the clearing away from new south wales will gradually push over towards new zealand so some rain is beginning to set in across the south and meanwhile it's going to be snow setting in across northern parts of china through the korean peninsula easing across japan once again then quite a lot of it as well you can see how extensive that is here's that cold air temperatures in seoul go from 3 degrees celsius on tuesday to minus 7 on wednesday . for. a unique perspective on nigeria we have so much more with those dots north of monies this most though we have. through the eyes of the sun liberated african photographer. on the tour enjoy impulse moment in still being us what he just did. it 3 years on how has life changed. rewind ga 30 on al-jazeera. the on world. watching al-jazeera live from london al main story this hour south africa's president has an el stricter measures to combat a surge in corona virus cases driven by a fast reading variant gatherings and the sale of alcohol will be banned and a curfew in forced from 9 pm. new

the prince and princess of wales are to separate. a statement from buckingham palace said the decision had been reached amicably. this is bbc news, the latest headlines. donald trump says his personal lawyer, rudy giuliani, has tested positive for coronavirus. south korea is raising its coronavirus alert level to the second highest tier, with infections rising to more than 600 a day. new restrictions will be introduced imminently. meanwhile, a rise in cases in hong kong has once—again postponed a travel bubble with singapore, as mark lobel reports. up up to now, south korea has been dealing with the pressure of the pandemic with flying colours. like their students taking important exams in these even more challenging times. achieving top masks two marks with the top testing and contact tracing. but their latest assessments do not look good, now that's daily cases have risen to a nine high. translation: this crisis is different from the crisis so far. there is no focused target on epidemic prevention measures. this could result in a