welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the us has recorded 14.1 million cases and 276,000 deaths from covid—19 — the highest of any country in the world. on thursday, it broke all records with almost 3,000 deaths recorded in a single day — the equivalent of two deaths every minute. the mayor of san francisco, along with political leaders across the bay area, are imposing new lockdown orders and business restrictions to try to contain the surge of covid—19 infections, saying it's time for action. the measures we have tried so far simply have not bent the curve the way we needed to. we have to do everything we can to prevent this from being a holiday season that we look back on as one of sickness and death, especially now when we have vaccinations that are really within sight. there is a light at the end of the tunnel. erin allday is the health correspondent for the san francisco chronicle. thank you very much for coming on the programme. of course, thanks for having me. give us a flavour of what is going wrong there. how bad is the problem? it's pretty bad. i think we are what —— i think what we are concerned about his guessing the pressure on our hospitals and especially the intensive ca re and especially the intensive care numbers get higher than they ever have been at any point in the pandemic and we have tried to restrict things, we have tried to hold back this latest swell a nd we have tried to hold back this latest swell and nothing has worked and we just keep seeing these numbers climb and of course what is especially concerning is we just had thanksgiving here in the states and we have not even seen the infections come up from that holiday which almost certainly will have resulted in a lot of new cases. give us a flavour of what restrictions now will be in place and if you think, well, if they go far enough. in place and if you think, well, if they go far enoughlj think that is the question. so the new order that will be put in place in san francisco and other parts of where i'm living in northern california, they will be put in place on sunday. it is essentially a throwback to march and april and the very earliest stages of the pandemic when we were really fighting ha rd to when we were really fighting hard to try to stop this thing in its tracks. so it's the most restrictive measures we have had in many, many months. it is essentially a stay at whole give a stay at home order, telling everyone to stay at home as much as possible and don't go out and don't interact with others and just kind of only go outside and go about your business if there is something you really need to be outside and doing so it is very dramatic. i think the people are not dramatic. i think the people a re not really dramatic. i think the people are not really looking forward to this coming into effect and it will be in effect through the end of the year so that is through the christmas holidays and all of the other holiday so you know it is definitely really impactful. as for if it helps, you know, ithink really impactful. as for if it helps, you know, i think that's what were all kind of fingers crossed at this point. this is all we've got, right? like there isn't anything more that we have got kind of in our pocket to throw at this. nobody really has an appetite for even more extreme kind of lockdown where you start arresting people on the street situation. so we can'tjust have to hope that this is going to be good enough. just for our viewers, erin, around the world, give us an idea about how san francisco and the area there fits into the broader us picture. is it one of the worst areas, and how is the rest of the country feeling? well the strange thing is we are actually one of the better areas, i mean, we're doing better than a lot of a lot of areas are, even places in california, and we doing a pretty good job of keeping our cases pretty in check, relatively low. the problem we ran into his we have always had a pretty good baseline of virus around here, it is never really gone away completely and nobody knows you know why, whether it is geography, we were one of the first places to be hit by the first places to be hit by the virus in the united states and it is kind of lingered. but we have had you know pretty serious restrictions in place kind of all along. and we do have especially in san francisco the lowest fertility rate of any major city in the united states. i think some of these restrictions we are seeing are about kind of maintaining that record. we don't want to look like some of these other parts of the country or even the rest of the state that have experienced really, really bad and awful situations where there hospitals have been overrun and you see people dying because we don't have appropriate care for them. 0k, well thank you so much for coming the —— coming on and putting that into context for us. erin allday, thank you. talks on a post—brexit trade deal have been temporarily halted without an agreement, less than a month before the transition period comes to an end. that's despite an earlier warning from downing street, saying the time to reach an agreement was in short supply. the two sides's chief negotiators issued a joint statement, saying they were still too far apart on key issues. they will speak tomorrow afternoon in an effort tomorrow afternoon in an effort to break the deadlock. everything will soon be changing for this distribution company and thousands of others. injust four weeks, goods going back and forth across the border with the eu will need extra paperwork and checks. some fear that could lead to widespread disruption and congestion. it's difficult enough getting in and out of the uk at the moment with the delays at the border crossings and ferries. if you're adding eight, 16, 12 hours — whatever that may be going forward — who's going to pick up the costs? if our wheels aren't turning, in effect, we're not earning any money. in kent, they're preparing a park for 10,000 lorries. a trade deal with the eu would mean businesses can buy and sell goods without paying taxes or tariffs, but there will still be more checks whether there's a deal or not. reporter: will we get a deal? the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier has been in london all week... important day. determination. ..but the uk has accused the eu of making last—minute demands. we want the eu to recognise that the uk is a sovereign and independent nation and it is on the basis of that that a deal will be done. it is tricky, but we are working hard. david frost and his team are working incredibly hard on this in good faith, so let's see where we get to. but they didn't get very far. tonight, after another day of intensive talks, everything is on hold. a joint statement on behalf of chief negotiators lord frost and monsieur barnier said: there is a lot at stake, and the irish prime minister says he fervently hopes there will be a deal. given the enormous negative impact of covid—i9 on our economic and social life, the last thing our citizens need now is a second shock of the kind that a no—deal brexit would bring. for example, if the uk government wants to give financial help to tech firms, will it need permission from the eu? would there be a punishment if it went ahead anyway? this is all about businesses on one side not having an unfair advantage over their competitors — the so—called level playing field. and then there's fishing. eu countries want a guarantee that their boats can continue to operate in uk waters. if not, the eu might make it much harder for us to sell fish to them. translation: france, like all its partners, has a veto. we'll conduct our own evaluation of a deal, if one exists. that's normal. we owe it to the french, we owe it to our fishermen and to other economic sectors. tonight, discussions have stalled and no one is quite sure when the negotiators will be back. vicki young there. our europe editor katya adler gave us her assessment of the pause from brussels. like so much during the brexit negotiations, we can look at this as a glass half—full or glass half—empty kind of way. on the glass half—full side, both sides still say they want a deal and they want to work toward a deal, so it really depends what steps they now take and how willing they are on both sides to comrpmosie to get a deal. —— they are on both sides to compromise to get a deal. don't forget, these compromises are difficult and they are political, so you could cynically say this crisis is quite useful for both sides to show to their domestic audience we have fought to the bitter end before they then agree a deal. on the glass half—empty side though, there are clearly very big differences and it makes sense because the eu and uk have approached these trade talks from very different directions. the eu — the priority has always been the single market. they worry about uk competition. they hope to bind the uk in a kind of common rule book, like on government subsidies, for example. but the uk after brexit wants to be competitive, it wants to be nimble, it doesn't want to tie its hands, and wants to hold onto as much sovereignty as possible. this is a deal still possible, yes. but is it definite? no. one thing is definite, and that neither side will sign up to a deal unless they believe they can sell it back home as a victory. president trump has ordered the withdrawal of nearly all american troops from somalia, where they've been conducting operations against al—shabaab and islamic state militants. it follows the drawdowns of forces from afghanistan and iraq. somali officials say the us withdrawal would be a morale boost for terrorists. the pentagon says the us remains committed to counter—terrorism operations. let's speak to dr paul poast, associate professor in the department of political science at the university of chicago. he is also the author of the economics of war. thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you for having me on the programme. so the firstjob i think is to explain why does donald trump wa nt to explain why does donald trump want to get these troops out of somalia? welll want to get these troops out of somalia? well i think there's really potentially three explanations. the first explanations. the first explanation can actually be strategic, that may be the us is going back what we would call and over horizon policy, move the trips back, put them into us bases that are in the region so that that way they are more flexible. that is a possible explanation but i'm not sure that's the main explanation. i think a better explanation. i think a better explanation might be more political domestically. this is in some way of filling a campaign promise that he made to withdraw us troops from quote endless wars, whether that was involvement in somalia, syria, yemen, afghanistan, iraq, all of these various walls throughout the region. and you may see wait a minute, didn't he just lose region. and you may see wait a minute, didn't hejust lose an election? why would he be campaigning? keep in mind he may be looking at a 2024 campaign and this would be a way for him to say look, i've still done this. the third possible explanation is, and this is the cynical explanation, it is trying to solder the earth for the biden administration and create a very difficult strategic situation for the biden administration that they would then have to deal with. however some folks have actually said this might actually make the situation easierfor the this might actually make the situation easier for the biden administration because now in the status quo is us troops are already moved and that is a much more flexible situation to deal with. given that, much more flexible situation to dealwith. given that, what much more flexible situation to deal with. given that, what do you think president biden would do if these troops were withdrawn? do you think there would be an appetite to reverse this decision by donald trump? i actually think first of all, it's important to keep in mind two things, it would be actually relatively easy to reverse the policy, especially if us troops are moved into nearby bases, they into a country that has a number of bases by a number of countries, that would be the most likely place to go. it would be fairly straightforward for us troops to move back in, at least in that sense. whether greater concern comes in, this is where the critical policy comes in, they are concerned about us credibility and even if the biden administration says no, no, we did not mean that, to what the trump administration did, we will move in. the somali government or any government believe a promise by the us to do that? and so that is where the concern comes in. i see. just briefly, i'm afraid, because we're running out of time but fill us in more broadly with how successful you think donald trump has with this policy of bringing the troops home. i think it's been much more words than actions. go back to syria. there was a very big deal made when he tried to withdraw troops from syria that actually lead to general matters, his first secretary of defence, resigning over that. and then he actually did not withdraw that many trips from syria —— mattis. instead he shifted the trips around and so i think we're still for the quote big win in terms of showing that he can move the us out of analyst was —— troops. move the us out of analyst was -- troops. i see, great to have you on and your analysis. dr paul poast, thank you. thank you. us president—electjoe biden has called for urgent bipartisan agreement in congress to help people who have lost theirjobs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. 2.3 million more people have become long—term unemployed over the past three months. mr biden says americans need help now, especially as many covid relief measures are set to expire at the end of the year. if congress and president trump fail to act by the end of december, 12 million americans will lose their unemployment benefits they rely on. merry christmas! unemployment benefits alloweing them to keep food on the table, —— unemployment benefits allowing them to keep food on the table, to keep the lights on and the heat on, pay their bills. emergency paid leave will end. a moratorium on evictions will expire. states will lose the vital tools they need to pay for covid testing and public health. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: music of the trees. the german pianist trying to do his bit to save the environment. it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. i am feeling so helpless that the children are dying in front of me and i can't do anything. charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippie cult suspected of killing sharon tate and at least six other people in los angeles. at ”am this morning, just half a metre of rock separated britain from continental europe. it took the drills just a few moments to cut through the final obstacle. then philippe cozette, a minerfrom calais, was shaking hands and exchanging flags with robert fagg, his opposite number from dover. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: new lockdown orders and restrictions are imposed in san francisco to help curb a surge in coronavirus cases. brexit trade talks have been temporarily put on hold without agreement. the lead negotiators say the eu president and the british prime minister will talk directly on saturday. russia's vaccinations programme rollout on saturday. writer is using its own vaccine known as sputnik the which developers claim is up to 95% effective. but it is still in phase three trials with questions of how much of it russia can produce. russia's rollout begins here in moscow with a cautiously mystic public looking on. translation: i don't know whether the vaccine works or not that i'm sure there is nothing wrong with it. i am not an anti vaxxer, but it's yet to be proved how effective it will be. the first to sign up on line medics, teachers and social workers and those in contact with people on their day—to—day duties. contact with people on their day-to-day duties. we expect to vaccinate around 2 million people in december. sputnik has good faith and efficacy that it can be stored at two plus eight and money and it's a good contender to be part of the solution but of course it cannot be the only solution to the world vaccine issues. president putin has now ordered the large—scale rollout of this vaccine across russia, which is yet to finish its stage iii safety checks. having registered it back in august as the country with the world's or the country with the world's or the worst caseload for coronavirus and the recent grim domestic record of 589 covid deaths in one day. so far the sputnik vaccine's trial results of not in peer reviewed or approved by an international drug control agency but the vaccine has been reordered by india, south korea, china, brazil and hungary. it has been approved by the russian authorities and then it will be of proved by other regulators we believe in december and january. one challenge will be to convince some of the somewhat constrictive russians of the reliability of sputnik the. translation: i'm not going to get vaccine jab. whatever else could vaccinated and if they will, i will survive. at they will, i will survive. at the vaccine producers say this offers real hope for russian medical workers and hospitals alike who, despite the constraints put on their path by coronavirus, are still finding ways to smile and keep safe this christmas season. it's four months since a devastating explosion tore through the centre of the lebanese capital beirut. a cruise ship was dangerously close to the blast. the orient queen capsized, and two crew members lost their lives. quentin sommerville has the story of those who survived. a warning — some viewers may find images in this story distressing. lebanon is living in a state of aftermath, a country turned on its head. this was its only cruise ship, the orient queen. four months ago, it took the full force of the explosion at the port. only the crew was on board. they watched as a warehouse fire took hold, not knowing what was to come. the ships home port, its safe harbour, lay in ruins. the orient queen was upright but the engine room was flooding and crew members were missing. on the quayside, chef michael was badly injured. translation: our ship's interior was wrecked. we had a hard time getting out. i didn't feel the second blast because i was slammed into a wall on the first one. when i came to, i tried to stand but my leg was shattered. now back in the philippines, four operations later, they have managed to save his leg. the port and much of beirut was in chaos. at the orient queen, they were still searching for missing crew. it took more than two hours to find the body of haile rette. the ethiopian crewman had been blown off the ship. he was found at a nearby pier. mustafa airout wouldn't be found for days. his father travelled from syria. his dna was used to identify his son's remains. the explosion tore away any remaining shred of credibility from a government that stored, for years, dangerous chemicals here, in the heart of the city. it's too much for the brain to accept and for the heart to even handle. hana abou merhi is the ship's owner. if this happened to metal and to concrete, can you even imagine? she is seeing the wreckage for the first time. like many here, she is overwhelmed with anger and disbelief that a disaster so easily avoidable was allowed to happen. i blame every person that knew what was there at the port for not taking action. so many lives, so many innocent people have lost loved ones, have lost their homes, their work, their dreams. it's notjust us, it's not just the orient queen, it's everyone. dozens of arrests have been made but an investigation that was promised to take only days four months later is still dragging on. this is a crime scene. the government knew that the dangerous chemicals were being stored here. so did thejudiciary. so too did the port authorities. it was only the lebanese people who were being kept in the dark, and few of them believe that the truth will ever emerge from this pit of corruption. the orient queen is lost. she will never sail again. and the reputation of the authorities that allowed this to happen is beyond salvage. quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut. climate change remains one of the major issues facing humanity today. the planet continues to warm up and the dangers facing us all continue to mount. in germany, a group of activists are trying to combat the destruction of an ancient forest, and they had very special guest to help them. the bbc‘s tim allman explains. so renowned and so respected is pianist igor levit. .. so renowned and so respected is pianist igor levit... he can sometimes be found in the studios of the bbc. here he is rehearsing for an appearance on bbc news in 2017. a very different kind of performance, though, taking pace in the wilds of central germany. a rendition of danny boy in memory of the dannenroder forest, some of which is being torn down for a rodents tension. translation: even though the occasion is very sad, i'm doing a rehearsal, i feel like i'm playing a swansong for something that leaves us, i'm still thankful, happy and content to be here with you. protests have been going on here for more than a year. environmental groups, trying to preserve the country's habitat. the authorities, determined to allow lawful construction work to go ahead. translation: what is happening here is quickly reduced to a conflict between activists and the police. this is an attempt to defend and protect ecosystems and our livelihoods so that we can survive. something almost deeply poetic about it. the presence of igor levit certainly attracted some attention but the felling of trees continued. for these demonstrators, the day ended on a sad note. tim allman, bbc news. a reminder of our top story. the mayor of san francisco along with political leaders across the bay area i'm posing new lockdown orders and business restrictions to try and contain the surge of covid infections. you can get me on social media any time on twitter at @lvaugha njones. social media any time on twitter at @lvaughanjones. i am lewis vaughan jones and twitter at @lvaughanjones. i am lewis vaughanjones and this is bbc news. hello there. it's been a wintry scene for many parts of the uk. we started with some widespread snow in scotland. that then turned to rain and most of any snow that's falling right now is really over the higher ground. but, more recently, there has been some snow through the midlands, and particularly again over the peak district. but it's been a messy picture because we've had these bands of cloud bringing wet weather swirling around an area of low pressure together with some stronger winds. that low pressure, though, will tend to move down into france, so, for a start, the winds will ease and through the weekend we should be turning drier as well. but we're still in cold air. with some clearing skies by the morning across some parts the midlands, eastern england, we are likely to find a frost and likely to find some icy conditions as well. elsewhere across the uk, it won't be quite as chilly, not going to be as cold as last night in scotland. there's more cloud around, there's wetter weather too. and the wetter weather across wales, western england will become confined to the south—west. we've got a few showers breaking out, running into some eastern coasts of england but for many, it will be turning dry with some sunshine. the weather improving in northern ireland as well and those showers in scotland becoming fewer with sunshine especially in the south—west. another chilly day, not as windy as it was on friday but those temperatures 4—7 degrees. heading into the evening, clearer skies in the evening allowing those temperatures to fall quickly but we are likely to find some cloud and wetter weather just running into the far east of scotland and into the north—east of england as well. that'll keep the temperatures up here, perhaps, but elsewhere we're likely to find frost, probably more widely, and it brings the risk of some icy patches as well. not only that, but quite foggy by the morning and across the south—east of england, east anglia. that should tend to lift, perhaps only into low cloud, mind you. and we will still keep some cloud coming into the north—east of england, perhaps the midlands, bringing with it a few showers. the odd shower around elsewhere but also some sunshine. probably the best temperatures will be in wales and the south—west, 8, maybe 9 degrees but in the cloud further east, it's going to be colder, around 4 celsius or so. early next week, we've got one area of low pressure running to the south—west of the uk, another one threatening to come in off the north sea. and that will bring some wetter weather probably on tuesday into parts of scotland, but early next week, genearlly it is going to be dry. with some patches of persistent fog. this is bbc news. the headlines: the mayor of san francisco says she and political leaders across the bay area are imposing new lockdown restrictions to try to contain the surge of covid—19 infections. the us has recorded more than 14 million cases, the highest of any country in the world. trade talks between britain and the eu have been put on hold until prime minister borisjohnson put on hold until prime minister boris johnson and put on hold until prime minister borisjohnson and the commission president ursula von der leyen hold talks on saturday. they will try to bridge significant differences in three key areas, competition, governance and fisheries. the pentagons has president trump has ordered the withdrawal of nearly all american troops from somalia before he leaves office next month. some of the trips would be relocated to neighbouring countries, allowing for cross—border operations. officials say the few that remain will be in the somali capital mogadishu.

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