Good morning. Its wednesday, the 30th of december. Our top story. Millions more people in england are expected to be moved into the highest level of coronavirus restrictions, after a record rise in infections. The Health Secretary, matt hancock, will make the announcement in the house of commons this afternoon. Anisa kadri has more. The centre of southampton empty, after the toughest coronavirus restrictions came in on boxing day. Today, the government is expected to announce more areas of england will enter tier 4. And theres also talk of whether four tiers is enough. Yesterday, the uk announced another 53,135 covid cases, a record daily figure. Its partly down to a christmas lag in reporting, but also reflects the fast spreading new variant of the virus. And nhs staff say theyre at risk of becoming overwhelmed. The peak is not going to come for maybe two weeks from now, three weeks from now . And the big thing for us will be weve had the christmas social mixing. People will do the same thing at a new year, and then well have another peak further up. More than 21,000 people are being treated in hospitals for covid across the uk. In wales, theyre dealing with their highest level of patients now. This is something thats taking a real toll on the staff. At some point we will sit down and take stock. I dont think weve fully absorbed the effects on us all psychologically. But at the minute were very focused that weve got a job to do, weve got several months more of the winter to get through, and were really still in the eye of the storm. In Northern Ireland, hospitals say although under pressure, they are coping. And in scotland, people are being urged to stay at home over new year as cases hit a record high. In romford, patients had to be treated in parked ambulances outside the queens hospital. Essex has declared a Major Incident, enabling the county to seek further support from the government to address the pressures. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is expected to decide whether to keep secondary schools shut, in order to try to reduce coronavirus transmission. Nhs providers, the Group Representing hospitals and other health trusts in england, want to see the government put more areas under tier 4 restrictions today, concerned that services are being stretched to their limits. As many pin their hopes on the vaccine for normality to return, trying to keep cases down through the winter remains a priority. Anisa kadri, bbc news. And well be talking to the Health Secretary, matt hancock, at around half past seven. There is so much to talk to him about. If you have got any questions, do send them in. Borisjohnson is calling on mps to back his post brexit trade deal ahead of a vote in the house of commons later. Parliament has been recalled for the vote a day before the brexit transition period ends. 0ur political correspondent, jessica parker, reports. Boris johnson will tell the commons its a new chapter in our national story, time to reassert global britain. His post brexit trade deal has the broad backing of tory mps, including long standing eurosceptics. There are bits and pieces where weve had to compromise that we dont like. But overall, to produce a sovereignty compliant deal, a Free Trade Agreement with the eu, where we get free access to the eu Single Market for our goods without tariffs and without quantitative restrictions, is what people said we would never be able to achieve. Talks went to the wire. The agreement, set to be approved today, will take Effect Tomorrow night. That is when the uk stops following eu rules as the transition period comes to an end. Up against no deal, we accept this deal. Sir keir starmer has instructed his mps to back the deal. He said its thin, but suggested its better than no deal. But some labour mps are expected to defy him. I think keir is making a fundamental mistake in whipping to do this. I think if hed whipped to abstain, hed have a unified party. I think also as well, our cons on this, or why were voting for this, have been, ithink, appalling. And i think what we are doing is walking in, yet again, to a long term bear trap that the government has put down. Brexit has often caused division, even at times political turmoil. But after years of heated debate and hard negotiations, the country will soon start to find out what brexit really means. Jessica parker, bbc news. Rescuers in croatia have spent the night searching for survivors after a powerful earthquake hit the country. At least seven people, including a 12 Year Old Girl, died and there was widespread damage. The epicentre of the quake was just 30 miles from the capital, zagreb. Keith doyle reports. A man is rescued from a crushed car. Hes reunited with his child, who had already been pulled free. It was a little after midday when the 6. 4 magnitude earthquake hit, the strongest to hit croatia in decades. The town of petrinja took the full force. Half of its buildings have been destroyed, according to the mayor, who was talking to reporters when the quake struck. Screaming. A 12 Year Old Girl died. These women were able to walk away from the collapsed town hall. Others were moved to safety, however they could be. Rescuers from all across croatia searched amongst the rubble for survivors. This man said, i dont have anything left. Everything crumbled. In the nearby city of sisak, the mayor was holding a News Conference when the tremor started. The main hospital here was badly damaged. It was also felt hundreds of miles away in the Slovenian Parliament building. The town of petrinja was almost destroyed during the brutal civil war in the 1990s. Todays earthquake has brought devastation here once again. Keith doyle, bbc news. The us president elect, joe biden, has strongly criticised donald trump for the slow pace at which americans are being vaccinated against the coronavirus. Speaking just weeks ahead of taking office, mr biden said the roll out of the pfizer and moderna jabs had fallen well below expectations, and promised to ramp up a programme of immunisation. Im going to move heaven and earth to get us going in the right direction. Im going to use my power under the defence production act when im sworn in and order private industry to accelerate making of the materials needed for the vaccines, as well as protective gear. Vice president harris and i have been speaking with county officials, mayors, governors of both parties to speed up the distribution of the vaccines across the nation. The duke and duchess of sussex have shared their hopes for 2021, with a little help from their i9 month old toddler archie. After me, ready . Happy. Happy. New. New. Love to grow. Laughter micro. Prince harry and meghans son has spoken publicly for the first time, in the royal couples new podcast for spotify. The half hour holiday special features celebrities, including sir eltonjohn and james corden. They reflected on the past year and paid tribute to Health Care Workers for their sacrifices. Lets get the weather with matt. Very cold start this morning, mad. Those figures just prove it. Very cold start this morning, mad. Those figuresjust prove it. They do indeed. Good morning. Coldest at the moment in the highlands of scotland. Minus nine degrees. A widespread frost elsewhere. 0nce minus nine degrees. A widespread frost elsewhere. Once again to go with some icy conditions, a little bit of sleet and snow. Let me show you with the latest of these showers have been. I see around North East Wales in two parts of north west england. More significant snow putting into words the islands. Rain around the coast. For mostly dry and bright start. For many it will stay that way. Hazy sunshine. Rain affecting south wales. Snow continues to fall across parts of the north and west of scotland, to be some good covering possible over higher ground. Southern scotland are staying dry and bright. Showers in Northern Ireland potentially this afternoon. Showers going into north wales, rain and of the coast, snow over the higher ground. Towards the south west many will see rain. Snow across the moors. That extends across the moors. That extends across the moors. That extends across the downs and other southern counties of england tonight. A covering of snow possible here and there. Rain for many. Tonight, mostly there. Rain for many. Tonight, m ostly 5 now there. Rain for many. Tonight, mostly snow flurries to north wales, north west england. The most significant snow through eastern scotland. A cold and icy starting new years eve. 0r scotland. A cold and icy starting new years eve. Or in an hour. Yeah, plenty more. Thank you, matt. Lets take a look at todays papers. New tiers eve is the headline in the sun, which reports that two thirds of england is set to be under the toughest coronavirus restrictions from as early as tomorrow. The paper also suggests that school years 11 and 13 are now likely to be delayed from returning until 11 january. They were the ones due to the back on time. Where to go back in time. Millions more people will be placed under the stay at home measures, says the times. It reports that hospitals in london are drawing up plans to send intensive care patients to other parts of the country, amid increasing alarm that covid cases have reached a record high. 0nline, the i reports that the Prime Minister has been warned that the nhs faces a catastrophe in the new year without a nationwide lockdown. The mail reports that borisjohnson is to hail a new chapter in britains history as his eu trade deal goes before parliament. The paper says mps will spend five hours scrutinising the 80 page bill which places the trade deal into law. Lets look inside some of the papers. This is inside of the sun. Talking to mad about the cold weather, the cold start. A lot of snow yesterday in many parts of the country. Some pictures here mainly from the north, from wakefield, barnsley, stalybridge, but also worcestershire. People enjoying the snow. There could be six inches of snow. There could be six inches of snow for a new year, it says here. It is nice that some people are out enjoying it, isnt it . Yes. This is in quite a few of the papers today. It is a bad cups of tea. I have quite a few cups of tea. If you are over 85 it is a good thing. I am not over 85 i have too many. Probably more than five, i would say. I have cut them down a little bit. It has got caffeine. Pensioners are drink more than five cups a day have better brain function than their counterparts who dont. But according to research. 676 people we re according to research. 676 people were studied. Tea drinkers who enjoyed more than five cups a day had more focus and a sustained attention span, according to Newcastle University research. Youve got a dog is, so you will empathise with this. I have one. This is incredible. The Festive Season . We are dog tired. The wolfhounds that turned into real party animals. Claire and jason have got nine dogs. Here they all are lined up for their christmas lunch. A very organised, i have to say. Here they are flaked out. |j a very organised, i have to say. Here they are flaked out. I think you get a Critical Mass once you have passed two. Nine is obviously a lad. I took our little dog out of this morning before i left the house. Rooting around, picking m essa 9 es house. Rooting around, picking messages up from house. Rooting around, picking messages up from the loan and you think, really . What a glamorous life. You dont want him to get use to you waking up at 4am. You will expect that. Lots of tributes paid to the pioneering designer piet cardin, who died at the age of 98. Lots of sci fi things. He changed suits, for example. The beatles, the sharp suit they wore in 1963. A lot of people talking about him yesterday. You are up to date. Those are the stories in some of the papers. New york is known as the city that never sleeps but that all changed when it became the epicentre of an outbreak of coronavirus. Thousands of people lost their lives and the citys economy has suffered badly. Our new york correspondent, nick bryant, reports. Christmas 2020, where the carols sound more like laments, and where the traditional decorations come with the new protocols of the pandemic. Social distancing at a time when people normally congregate together. For many new yorkers, the Festive Season sounds more like a misnomer. Its a time of empty chairs at the family table, a time to think of loved ones who didnt survive the year. The last time i was here was with my dad. The funfair at coney island brings back memories for angelina, of herfather, richard, a keen Long Distance runner, who died from the coronavirus at the beginning of the outbreak. He was just 66 years old. Do you feel let down . Um, let down is an understatement. Um, i feel like my country has turned its back on us. Um. I feel like ive lost more than just my dad. Ive lost a feeling of safety, a feeling of confidence in my living situation, in my government, in my fellow citizens. It feels like, um, were all alone. Then theres the economic toll of this crisis. Forjust as poverty has been a propagator of the pandemic, the pandemic has become a propagator of poverty. Good morning, everyone. Please have your bags open and ready. Thank you. Pre covid, this food bank served 200 people a week. On this morning, it provided vital assistance to 200 people in the first ten minutes. These queues are as long now as they were in march. Its extraordinary to see. Yeah. They keep getting longer and longer, the lines, and the need keeps growing and growing. And its harderfor us as an organisation to keep up with the need and the demand right now. I was present during 9 11. I was present during Hurricane Katrina and hurricane sandy. Those incidences stopped, and thisjust keeps going and going. People are gathering again in times square, the crossroads of the world. But this is a global city thats suffered so much bereavement and where the flags are still at half staff. The coronavirus outbreak has exposed so many of americas long term ailments. Its income and racial disparities. The dysfunction in washington. The rundown of its government. And the politicisation of everything, even the wearing of facemasks. 2020, the year of the pandemic, and one that people here cant wait to consign to the past. Nick bryant, bbc news, new york. 17 minutes past six. Good morning. Cat is here with the sport. Sport is being somewhat affected by coronavirus, isnt it . Yeah. No surprise it is following what we are seeing across the country. A huge debate about what schools should do. Whether they should be open for the new term. A debate about whether we need another National Love them. And football, huge debate about whether foot ball football, huge debate about whether football itself should take a pause. Maybe we should go back to march, not have the game is happening. Good morning everyone. West brom boss Sam Allardyce says there should be a circuit break in football, after the premier league returned its highest number of positive coronavirus results in a single round of testing this season. 18 were found in total. Manchester city have had an outbreak which meant their gamer against everton was cancelled on monday. And theres doubt over fulhams game against tottenham tonight because of new cases of cancellations at fulham. Covid 19. The efl has also been affected with seven of 12 championship games postponed last night because of outbreaks. Sam allardyce says the games authorities need to take action. We can only do the right thing, which would be to have a circuit breaker. You know, im 66 year old, and the last thing i want to do is catch covid. So, if thats what we need to do, thats what we need to do. I mean, probably all the players will overcome it. Itd be more difficult for me to overcome it, if i caught it, than them. So, yes, im very concerned for myself and football in general. Well, allardyce was speaking after his west brom side lost 5 0 at home to leeds, a defeat that included one of the most bizarre own goals in premier league history. It was scored by midfielder romaine sawyers. I doubt hell have watched match of the day last night. Elsewhere, Manchester United are now up to second in the premier league after a 1 0 win over wolves at old trafford. Marcus rashford got the only goal of the game which came three minutes into injury time. Theyre just two points behind leaders liverpool. Arsenal look to be through the other side of their crisis as they won their second game in a row. They beat brighton 1 0, Alexandre Lacazette scoring just 29 seconds after coming on as a substitute. Several players and staff at Sheffield United tested positive for coronavirus ahead of their match against burnley. The game went ahead though, and it was burnley who got an important win at the bottom of the table. Elsewhere, southampton and west ham drew 0 0. And the wales forward jake ball says hes retiring from International Rugby union because he still hasnt seen his newborn son. His wife gave birth to theirfourth child in november, but they live out in australia, and ball plays his rugby for scarlets in wales. Hes decided that he wants to be with his family, and welsh rugby rules mean that he cant play for the National Side unless he plays for a welsh club. That is a really tough decision, isnt it . Isnt it. If you want to play for wales, you have to play your professional rugby in wales. That means he hasnt seen his newborn son. That is the tough bit of it as well. Thanks, carter. Four years ago, Deborah James was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer. Since then, she says shes approached every christmas as if it was a gift. She has shared her experience of the disease on social media and co hosts the Award Winning bbc podcast, you, me and the big c. Now, deborah has been speaking to breakfasts Graham Satchell, as she reflects on a year of living with cancer during a pandemic. Im Deborah James. Ive been living with metastatic bo