Image of what the pandemic did to india would have been of the plight it left daily wage workers in. And how a group of Engineering Students have come up with new Lightweight Type of prosthetic thats giving young people hope. Good to argue with us. Good to have you with us. Just over three weeks before he takes over the white house, joe biden has complained that his team is still not getting the co operation it needs from the outgoing Trump Administration. The President Elect says Many National security agencies have been damaged, hollowed out during Donald Trumps time in office. Its an allegation rejected by the Trump Administration. Russell trott reports. It was a Video Conference call with key advisors who play a core role in any government administration. The President Elect, joe bidens National Security advisor and Policy Experts reiterated his belief that his predecessor is obstructing a smooth transition of power. In delaware he singled out two departments for special criticism. We have encountered roadblocks from the Political Leadership of the Department Of Defence and the office of management of budget. Right now were just not getting all the information we need on the ongoing and Outgoing Administration in key National Security areas. Its nothing short in my view, of irresponsibility. Mr biden has repeatedly claimed he was blocked from receiving key Intelligence Briefings and essential and normally routine pa rt essential and normally routine part of the president ial transition. These are hard issues, but the Current Administration has made it much harder by trying to erode our capacity. Following bidens remarks, acting Defence Secretary Christopher Miller said officials had been working with the utmost professionalism to support transition activities. The Department Of Defence has conducted 164 interviews with over 400 officials, providing over 5000 pages of documents, far more than initially requested by bidens Transition Team, he said. Although donald trump refuses to accept defeat in novembers election, mr biden ta kes novembers election, mr Biden Takes Office onjanuary novembers election, mr Biden Takes Office on january 20, novembers election, mr Biden Takes Office onjanuary 20, a date he has always maintained that cannot come soon enough stop russell trott, bbc news. President trumps acting secretary of defense, Christopher Miller has suggested Security Transition Meetings were postponed due to a Mutually Agreed Holiday Pause the biden team denies any agreement. We put all that to a former Defence Secretary, william cohen. In a very different, less divisive age, he, a republican, was appointed by democratic president bill clinton. Well, my answer as there are no holidays from history, there are no holidays for National Security. Its not as though you can take off, fly to mar a lago and leave the world to turn on its own. Sojoe biden needs to have his team briefed in great detail on issues affecting our National Security, and to the extent he is not getting dark, then our nation is put at risk. There is no more, i wouldnt say no more, but one of the most dangerous periods of time is between an election and the new administration. Now, joe biden by virtue of many years in the senate and dealing with intelligence and two years of serving as Vice President , He Isa Serving as Vice President , he is a generally on intelligence. But if the details that really matter and he needs more information. Generally up on intelligence. This is like a relay race. We want the person who is handing off the baton to be running when you cut it so you can be at full speed when you can be at full speed when you take that baton and continue on. And what president drop is doing and we are seeing by vetoing the defence authorisation bill, putting at risk where were going to be in terms of budget planning, for the Defence Department the coming years, i would say the president has walked away from his responsibilities on many occasions. But right now, this is one of the most critical, even the activities of president putin, who he continues to defer to and each and every occasion. So doesnt surprise me, it should, in fa ct, surprise me, it should, in fact, alienate his greatest supporters who believe he is a patriot. Patriots dont put the country at risk. So im disappointed. We have had four secretaries of defence in four yea rs, secretaries of defence in four years, and so Whenjoe Biden says its in hollowed out in the defence apartment, he has much to point to. Defence department. All three major us Share Indices have closed at record highs after mr trump signed into Law A Coronavirus Stimulus and Government Spending package. The democratic controlled us House Of Representatives has voted in favour of increasing the aid to individuals in the package from 600 to 2,000 a move unlikely to be approved by the republican led senate. Our new York Business correspondent, michelle fleury, has the latest. Well, many of us cant wait to see the back of 2020. Us stocks started the last week of the year on a high note. Investors are betting that fresh Stimulus Spending will give the Worlds Largest economy a much needed boost. The dowjumped more than 200 points, or0. 7 . Disney and apple were among the stocks that saw big gains. After days of drama, President Trump backed down from his threat to block a 900 billion coronavirus economic aid package and signed into law on sunday night. The move paves the way for 600 checks to be paid directly to people hit hardest by the pandemic. It also extends unemployment benefits, releases billions of dollars in help for small businesses, includes Emergency Aid for airlines and much more. The decision also means that a Government Shutdown that would have been starting this tuesday has been averted. Now, taken together, with the rollout of the vaccine and a supportive central bank, investors are finding plenty of reasons to feel festive heading into this new year. That is michelle fleury, who is based in new york. Lets turn to what is happening in england. Hospitals in england are now treating more coronavirus patients than at any other point in the pandemic, as numbers surpass the peak that was seen in april. It once again shows the strain the nhs is under, with the head of nhs england saying Health Workers are back in the eye of the storm. Keith doyle reports. Health services across the uk are being stretched as they deal with increasing numbers of patients with covid. In london, accident and Emergency Departments are reporting intense pressure. In scotland, doctors say there a danger services be overwhelmed. In wales, the situation in hospitals is described as incredibly challenging. And in northern ireland, the Health Minister has said the next few Daysis Minister Has said the next few days is a crucial period. The stark messages show the impact the covid virus is having. Stark messages show the impact the covid virus is havinglj was the covid virus is having. was on on Christmas Day and it was on on Christmas Day and it was walter while covid. So we see patients who are coming in who have covid symptoms, but we also see other patients coming in with other problems, who turn out to be covid positive. Tween that, there is a great deal of difficulty getting those patients through into the wards. In england, the number of people being treated for the virus in the hospital is over 20,000. Higherthan virus in the hospital is over 20,000. Higher than the previous peak of 19,000 in april, although more testing has been done now than was then. 0ver has been done now than was then. Over 41,000 new cases we re then. Over 41,000 new cases were reported yesterday, a record, with 357 deaths. Nhs providers said some trusts were reporting up to three times the number of Deborah Knight patients than at the peak of the first wave covid patients. Queen elizabeth in london said it had recorded an internal incident due to so many covid positive patients. The rising number of covid positive patients means staff are being redeployed and routine procedures are being postponed. With the infection is rising and the admissions rising, see disruptions to other Services Stock we are desperate. 0ur other Services Stock we are desperate. Our members are desperate. Our members are desperate to keep disruptions as low as possible, but u nfortu nately, of as low as possible, but unfortunately, of our planned services will be disrupted both in hospitals and other settings as well. Acknowledging the work Health Workers are doing ahead of the nhs in england has given a message to staff who they say have had a very tough year. By late spring we think with Vaccine Supply continuing to come on stream, we will be able to offer all Vulnerable People across this country this covid vaccination. And that perhaps provides the biggest sign of hope for the year ahead. That will only be possible thanks once again to dedication and the commitment of countless nhs staff, our brilliant gps, our pharmacist and nurses and many others. And now is therefore, the right time, i believe, on behalf of the whole country, to record our enormous debt of gratitude and our nude thanks stop tomorrow, the Terror Levels in england will be reviewed. Across the uk, ministers have pleaded with people to stay at home for new years, sticking to restrictions in place. And our huge thanks. Keith doyle, bbc news. One of the most devastating effects of the pandemic in india has been on the lives of daily wage workers, who live on the margins of society, and are now struggling to get by. Yogita limaye reports from mumbai on how the covid 19 crisis has exposed just how vulnerable indias poorest citizens are. The men who keep india running. Labourers who do everything from constructing buildings to cleaning sewers. They come to cities from rural india in search of work. Every morning, they wait at Street Corners for contractors who might have a job for them. But the pandemic has struck a hard blow. Translation what do we put in our stomachs . Going hungry. There is no work available. Should we steal money so we dont starve . translation now, i often get worked just one day a week, and i get paid less for it. The fear of Contracting Covid is eclipsed by the battle for survival. Here, in one of mumbais poorest areas. Its an urban slums like these that the people who build the cities live. And back in march, when the National Lockdown was announced, with barely four hours of notice, these people have found themselves left rudderless, without any support. And so even as the Coronavirus Spread rapidly through the country, for many of us, the enduring image of what the pandemic did to india will be of the fight that it left daily wage workers in. Plight. Millions were left stranded with no money, jobs or food. As lockdown wore on, millions were forced to walk hundreds of miles to their villages. Some even died along the way. This woman was one of those who made the difficult journey back home. Translation i feed my children whatever little there was and went to bed hungry on many days. So, we went back to our village, but even there we could barely manage. She is being forced to return to mumbai and to Thisjob Being forced to return to mumbai and to this job where she spreads old clothes for a recycling factory. Worried, about where her familys recycling factory. Worried, about where herfamilys next meal will come from. In the first few months of the pandemic, hundreds of organisations stepped in to distribute food and basic supplies to the needy. That has now dried up. This man, the head of a local ngo, told me. There isnt money. There is no business, so there is no saving. Where are people going to get money to share it with others . The factor of the medical crisis became a humanitarian crisis tells us a lot about the kinds of institutions that we have. With a large population, it could ta ke yea rs a large population, it could take years for india to get a grip on the virus a long wait for a return to normal life and livelihoods. Yogita limaye, bbc news, mumbai. Spains Health Minister has said his country will set up a registry of people whove refused to be vaccinated against coronavirus. And although the list would be shared with other European Union nations, it would not be made public. Salvador illa said vaccinations would not be mandatory. Stay with us on bbc news. Still to come this year it was zoom calls and Online Shopping that dominated technology, but we are next in 2021 . Will show you in a moment. Where to next . Music. The most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got under way with the introduction of the euro. Tomorrow in holland, were going to use money we picked up in belgium today, and then well be in france, and again, itll be the same money. Its just got to be the way to go. George harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed at his oxfordshire home. A 33 year old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. I think it was good. Just good . No, fantastic thats better bells toll. This is bbc news. The latest headlines us president Electjoe Biden complains his Transition Team is not getting cooperation from the Trump Administration on the crucial matters like National Security. And a massive us stimulus package, covid vaccines and the Brexit Trade Deal send us Trade Indices to record highs. A prominent saudi Human Rights Activist who campaigned for women to be allowed to drive cars, has been sentenced to almost six years injail on charges of spying and conspiracy. Mark lobel has the story. It was Loujain Al Hathlouls public campaigning to get saudi women in the driving seat four years before the ban was lifted that first saw her spend weeks behind bars. She was asked by the bbc after her release in 2015 when equal rights would be achieved. Equal rights . The entire one, the entire package . Oh, my god, it will take forever. I wont be alive to witness it. But the activist was detained three years later for seeking to change the saudi political system, by calling for an end to male guardianship and speaking to foreign diplomats and the media about womens rights. Following an international outcry, human Rights Groups demanded her release. But while behind bars, her family says she was subjected to electric shocks, waterboarding and sexual assault. At the time, saudi authorities denied the allegations which a saudi court has now dismissed. Her brother says this latest conviction, including a five year travel ban, now adds salt into those wounds. A sham trial, we can put it that way. It can clearly show that the court and the trial from day one has been politically motivated. She started crying because of the fact that she has been labelled as a terrorist, basically. The Un Human Rights Office has said the sentence is deeply troubling. President Electjoe Bidens National Security adviser, jake sullivan, agrees it is unjust, adding pointedly, the Biden Harris Administration will stand up against Human Rights Violations wherever they occur. But the kingdoms leadership has returned some basic human rights to help diversify its all dependent economy, and after the saudi authoritys controversial role in the murder ofjournalist jamal khashoggi. But for many others, as Loujain Al Hathlouls brother put it its like going one step further but also going 10 steps backwards. As the search for equal rights in the kingdom continues. Mark lobel, bbc news. As the Curtain Falls on 2020, the stage is set for another year of technological innovation and growth. As part of our series of lookaheads to 2021, our correspondent Rory Cellan Jones assesses what the next 12 months have in store for the tech world. For most of us it was the worst of times, but as the pandemic shutdown normal life, Technology Companies prospered. Particularly those that enable us particularly those that enable us to keep communicating via video. The big question for 2021 is will we continue to spend hours on zoom, Microsoft Teams or apple facetime, or will we want to get back to schools and offices and onto planes as quickly as possible . Tech event organisers will be hoping for a swift return to normality. Barcelonas mobile World Congress was among the first conference is counselled by the coronavirus. It is coming back, albeit not until the summer. The mobile revolution hasnt stopped, of course. Expect to see more Folding Phones in 2021, and the move to 5g networks which promised to connect everybody and everything to the nat should gather pace. The boom in Online Shopping has made and is richer, but has also accelerated the pace of automation, both in warehouses where robots are Getting Better at picking and packing and in the delivery process, expect to see more of these on the streets. Thank you for sharing this with me. It is interesting to know more about you. The pandemic may also accelerate demand for robot carers, though an idea which is popular in japan may not sound quite so attractive elsewhere. We have been promised Self Driving Cars for a while. Concerns about how safe they are and how they will be regulated have slowed progress. But electric motoring is likely to surge ahead, as Battery Performance improves and country set deadlines for the end of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. With people spending more time at home, the Videogames Industry has boomed. The new xbox and playstation Games Consoles will get plenty of use next year. While streaming Video Platforms may gain more customers even when cinemas reopen. Living room, evening, on. Voice controlled lights to smart speakers and doorbells, our homes are becoming more automated. But with the Technology Come concerns about privacy and security, and those arejust privacy and security, and those are just two of the issues which may make 2021 the year when tech giants faced tougher regulation. A facebooks Mike Zuckerberg and twitters jack dorsey are among the twitter leaders getting used to being grilled in washington. But regulators Around The World are blaming the tech giants for everything from spreading misinformation to crushing competition, and they are determined to clip their wings. Rory cellan jones on the year ahead in technology. Tomorrow, Aaron Heslehurst looks ahead to whats in store for business in 2021. Even the most up to date Prosthetic Limbs can often be too heavy or hard for Young Children to use easily, but now a group of Engineering Students have created a flexible device called the mitt. Duncan kennedy explains how it works. Is it isita is it a Christmas Present . Yes. Inside the wrapping, inside the box, inside the bag. Prosthetic hand sevenyearold phoebe is discovering something. Awesome. That will change your life. It is a new type of Prosthetic Limb called a mitt. For phoebe, who was born without a lower arm, it is opening up a new world. From skipping to painting to blowing bubbles, Everything Else seems possible. You can hold a pen and that bit, you can actually hold a microphone, even though we dont have a microphone. Hold a microphone, even though we dont have a microphonem just gives us a much more independence and so much more ability to be a lively seven year old and run around and do all the things she wants to do. For people who have lost their hand, they are looking for tools to do stuff. It was designed by nate motorbike and other students at Imperial Couege other students at Imperial College london. They wanted to rethink existing rigid prosthetics and create something light and flexible. All attached by magnets, this is where Technology Meets clothing. We could potentially service millions of people Around The World who havent had anything before, and the impact that represents is mind blowing. It is so unique, nate is now working with the Douglas By The Foundation to provide one bit for every child in britain under nine. One mitt. Somewhere over the rainbow. Children like these, now using the device. But the Douglas Baderfoundation the device. But the Douglas Bader foundation says it needs the publics help to fund the project. So it has asked alex lewis to help. Alex, who lost all four of his limbs through sepsis, says mitts, which cost around £1000, will transform the way children think about our disabilities. Very comfy, like a slipper. It is all about trying to encourage inclusivity and we have had feedback from kids who have gone into School Wearing their mitt and other kids are saying, my goodness, thatis kids are saying, my goodness, that is causing weve seen, we wa nt that is causing weve seen, we want one. Now, ive never had an adult, ever, look at my Prosthetic Limb and say, thats cool Prosthetic Limb and say, thats cool, i want one. Prosthetic limb and say, thats cool, iwant one. Children like phoebe may use a rigid prosthetic later, but for now, this is all about softness, affordability and freedom. Duncan kennedy, bbc news in hampshire. Some good innovations there. We had Earlierfrom Rory Innovations there. We had earlier from rory who was talking about his thoughts on the year ahead for technology. We ask you for your thoughts today on twitter. Some of you have been in touch. I have to say, not many of you optimistic at this point. If you are a real optimist, please do get in but George Williams says 2021 looks gloomy. Vaccination rollout could be slow, and other issues. I will see you soon. A very frosty night out there in the glens of scotland. Temperatures are not far off 10 degrees celsius, and over the next few days, it certainly is going to be cold enough for further wintry weather. Not all of it pure snow, there will probably be some sleet around as well. Now, the cold air has spread across many parts of the continent. The point is its here to stay, so were not going to see a wave of milder air coming off the atlantic any time soon. Through the early hours, were expecting snow showers across parts of scotland and also across the pennines. You can see sub zero temperatures here, icy conditions in some areas as well. To the south of that, i think hit and miss showers. Now, this is what happens through the morning. The wintry weather, for some of us, spreads from the north into the north west of england, through parts of the midlands, parts of wales and quite possibly the south west. The snow showers continue across parts of scotland. Elsewhere in the uk on tuesday, its going to be a mixture of sunny spells and just the odd fleeting shower, perhaps wintry. And then through the course of tuesday evening, you can see snow and wintry showers continue there in scotland. Elsewhere, its going to be largely clear. Here is the forecast for tuesday night into wednesday, and we expect the next spell of wintry weather coming in from the north west, moving across ireland and then eventually into wales. Now, again, theres a lot of cold air sitting across the uk. Just hints of something a bit milder nibbling in the south west, but thats pretty much it. On wednesday, the next spell of wintry weather moves across ireland through the early hours, and then the thinking is it will move into wales. Remember, theres a lot of cold air sitting on top of the uk, and then that wintry weather spreads quite possibly into the midlands, the south west and the south. North of that, its clearer, some snow across scotland, and temperatures around freezing. Notice that over the next few days, heading towards the end of the week, we see certain areas of rain and snow mixed in, circling in areas, so there could be some substantial snow towards the end of the week. I say substantial, a covering. This is what it looks like, a sneak peek of new years day, chilly and dry for now. Bye bye. 2021 . Will show you in a moment. Where to next . This is bbc news. The headlines us president Electjoe Biden has complained that his Transition Team are facing what he called irresponsible obstruction from the Political Leadership at the department of defense. Mr biden said his staff were not getting adequate information and briefings on key National Security matters. All three major us Share Indices have closed at record highs after donald trump signed into law a massive coronavirus stimulus and Government Spending package. The rollout of more covid 19 vaccines and a post Brexit Trade Deal are also helping to drive up investor sentiment. Hospitals in england are now treating more coronavirus patients than at any other point in the pandemic, as numbers surpass the peak that was seen in april. The head of nhs england said Health Workers are back