this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm lewis vaughan jones. the number of coronavirus cases in the us hasjust passed seven million — 20% of the world's total number of cases. tributes are paid to a police officer — sergeant matiu ratana — shot dead at a custody centre in south london by a man who was being detained. this service will never be forgotten and we are deeply grateful for it, and we are deeply grateful for it, and it is a really distinguished service, a lovely, lovely, much respected police officer.

lawyers for breonna taylor — the woman killed by police in her own home in the us — call for full transparency over the investigation into her death. in washington, female lawmakers form a guard of honour as the late supreme courtjustice ruth bader ginsburg's casket departs the capitol. look away if you don't like rodents, but this rat is officially a hero, and he's got a gold medal to prove it. welcome to the programme. the united states now has over seven million cases — that's according to statistics from johns hopkins university. the figure of 7,500,746 cases, confirmed by tests, is the highest in the world. india is second at 5.8 million cases and brazil third with 4.7 million. according to the tracker, more than 203,000 people have died from covid—19 in the us, which is also a global high.

the news comes as the head of the who emergencies programme has warned that the death toll from coronavirus could reach two million or higher if concerted action to curb the pandemic is not taken. asked whether it was unthinkable that the number of current coronavirus deaths — now nearing one million — could double before a vaccine is widely used, this is what he said. the dg has said it again and again and again. not just this, not just test and trace, notjust clinical care, not just social distancing, notjust hygiene, notjust masks, notjust vaccines. do it all. and unless we do it all, the numbers you speak about are not only imaginable but, unfortunately and sadly, very likely. i'm joined now by our correspondent larry madowo in washington. larry, good to see you again. 7 million, extraordinary number.m

is, this number of 7 million that hit today speaks to how quickly this disease spread in the us. it took 98 days to get the first million cases from january 22. it's only taken 25 days to get from 6 million to seven million and america's cdc says, still, 90% of the population is susceptible to catching coronavirus and there's no chance of vaccine anytime soon. even if it were available, only about 50 million doses would be available, so that would not be enough for the population for i spoke to bill gates, and he suspects the earliest a vaccine would be available in the us and ready rugby early next year. early next or would be welcomed. donald trump suggesting different timescales, often suggesting a vaccine before the election. he has been very keen to get a vaccine out

before the election because that would really help boost his numbers and convince some people to vote for him, and it's become a political issue as well, because more recently he's been talking about the white house approving vaccine is not the food and drug administration, as is the case, and that means there is people who do not trust vaccines. many americans said they would not ta ke many americans said they would not take a vaccine in this time period if it were approved and that is worrying health experts. you visited in icu unit unit -- unit —— unit back injuly stopped tell us about that secular i went to an icu unit in texas. these are families losing their loved ones. in the icu, you meet people on ventilators 2a hours a day, they are not logged any

guests or even to get into contact with the people attending to them, the nurses and the doctors where almost like a spacesuit, and they can only be id by the pictures on their next. it is a long, lonely life and people don't always make it. on some good days, many of them get to go home. what is next? 0bviously, get to go home. what is next? obviously, the weight for the vaccine is one thing, but what about life back to normal? paint a picture in different parts of the country. there is a big push and pull to open the country, especially in republican states, like florida come over there in new phase of reopening even though cases are rising. right now, in 22 cases in the country, there are a rising cases. 2003000 people have died in the us from kern of everest. —— 2003000 people have

died in the us from coronavirus. people want to be able to go to churches, two restaurants and go on holiday, and there are others who fear the worst is yet to come. the winter and the fall season, there might bea winter and the fall season, there might be a huge surgeon cases, and there is not enough agreement that people should be listening to the public health experts and trying to social distance and wear masks and avoid crowded places —— surge in cases. it's going to be a difficult winter if all this disagreement continues. 0k, winter if all this disagreement continues. ok, thanks, larry. tributes have been paid to a police officer shot dead by a detainee at a custody centre in south london. he has been named as 54—year—old sergeant matiu ratana — known as matt. metropolitan police commissioner cressida dick described the police sergeant as "a big guy" who was "big in heart". a 23—year—old suspect — who was being processed in croydon after being arrested —

is believed to have turned the weapon on himself. in a statement, the independent office for police conduct said the suspect was handcuffed. daniel sandford reports. examining the scene of the murder of one of their own colleagues. forensics officers working at the croydon custody centre in south london today. a suspect was brought here at around 2:15am this morning in a police vehicle, but he was carrying a concealed gun and he shot the custody sergeant in the chest before turning the weapon on himself. matt ratana, who'd served nearly 30 years as a police officer and was about to retire, was rushed to hospital but couldn't be saved. the met is a family. policing is a family in london and across the united kingdom. and today, we police are all mourning a great loss. we are all deeply

shocked and very sad. welcome to east grinstead rugby football club. i'm matt ratana, head coach. sergeant ratana, who was originally from new zealand, was a much loved colleague but was well known as a first—class rugby player and the coach at east grinstead rugby club in sussex. just before last night's shift, he what'sapped about how great the last training session had been. his assistant told the bbc that was typical of his enthusiasm. he affected so many people positively. so many people have gained something great from matt. and he's going to be a huge loss to the gym, to the rugby club, to just anyone that knew him. yeah. we begin our minute's silence for our fallen colleague. this afternoon, the metropolitan police held a minute's silence in tribute to the dead officer. the prime minister sent his deepest condolences to his family.

the police federation said the news was "utterly devastating and heartbreaking." this is a sad day for our country, as once again, we see the tragic killing of a police officer in the line of duty as they are trying to protect us and keep us safe. the suspect is in a critical condition at st george's hospital in tooting after having surgery. it's thought at least one special constable was involved in his arrest. as well as the metropolitan police's murder investigation, the independent 0ffice for police conduct has been called in. it will be looking at the level of experience of the arresting officers, what was previously known about the suspect, whether he was searched and handcuffed and how he was able to conceal a gun until he was inside the custody centre. but today, all those involved in policing are in deep shock. once again, an officer has been killed on duty. once again, they remember the hidden risks they face when they come to work each day.

daniel sandford, bbc news, croydon. in the last hour, the commissioner of the metropolitan police, cressida dick, spoke about matt and his career in the police. his colleagues knew him as a big guy, big in stature, big in heart, friendly, capable. a lovely man, highly respected by his colleagues, officers, staff and, of course, by members of the public — including, i may say, suspects he arrested or dealt with in custody. he was very well known locally and he will be remembered so fondly in croydon and missed there, as well as in the met and the rugby world. he leaves a partner and he leaves an adult son

from a previous relationship. our thoughts are with them. cressida dick there. let's take a look at some of the day's other news now. mali's former defence minister has been sworn in as the country's interim president, five weeks after a military coup overthrew its former president keita. the ruling militaryjunta has picked bah ndaw to head a transitional government until elections are held, expected in 18 months' time. the coup leader has been sworn in as vice—president. the usjustice department will oppose a request from chinese social media giant tiktok to delay its ban on apple and google's us app stores. the government faced a friday deadline to either delay the ban or oppose tiktok‘s preliminary injunction. the ban is set to come into place on sunday. to the us now. the lawyer for the family of

a black woman killed by police in the american city of louisville has demanded the transcript of the grand jury proceedings in her case be released. he called for transparancy if people were to accept the result. on wednesday, the authorities said no police officers would be prosecuted for the killing of breonna taylor. her mother was too emotional to speak at the press conference, but her sister — ms taylor's aunt — read out a statement on her behalf. and i quote, "i never had faith in daniel cameron to begin with. i knew he was too inexperienced to deal with a job of this calibre. i knew he had already chosen to be on the wrong side of the law." then he made a unilateral decision to put his thumb on the scales ofjustice to help try to exonerate and justify the killing of breonna taylor by these police officers.

they murdered breonna taylor. and until those officers are fired from this department, i promise you, i promise you we will continue to make these streets hot. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the us has now recorded over seven million cases of coronavirus. we'll be speaking to a professor of epidemiology from harvard university. ben johnson, the fastest man on earth, is flying home to canada in disgrace. all athletes should be clean going into the games. i'm just happy that justice is served. it is a simple fact that this morning, these people were in their homes. tonight, those homes have been burnt down by serbian soldiers and police. all the taliban positions along here have been

strengthened, presumably in case the americans invade. it's no use having a secret service which cannot preserve its own secrets against the world. and so, the british government has no option but to continue this action, even after any adverse judgment in australia. concorde had crossed the atlantic faster than any plane ever before, breaking the record by six minutes. this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. the headlines: the us passes seven million coronavirus cases — let's get more on that story. joining me now is epidemiologist bill hanage, an associate professor at harvard th chan

school of public health. thanks very much for coming on the programme. it's my pleasure. first of all, what you make of that figure, 7 million cases? it is enormous, but it covers a larger number, which is the true number of cases that have been here. these are potential worst and we appear. we under detected cases at the start, in the spring, but now we've got a better hold on the pandemic but, as you heard, place like florida have not learned their lesson. not learned their lesson, is it too soon to try and learn lessons? the first thing we have to member is the us has a large population so you would expect a large number of cases, but did it inevitably have to be to 7 million cases or are the things that realistically could have been done to reduce that number? it would be genuinely challenging, i accept, to

do something in the united states with the division of power between the federal government and the states, but the federal government did nothing, which is a failure power. the united states is big, yes, but we can look at per capita. the us has over 600 deaths a million and as you know, it is still ongoing. that set of statistics, it just overtook the united kingdom. and like i said, for it is reopening. where do we go from here? you say florida is reopening. reopening. where do we go from here? you say florida is reopeninglj think you say florida is reopening.” think the coming winter is going to be very crucially dependent upon what i call a situational awareness. you wants to know what is coming on, what the risk of transmission is within local communities and so on. why am talking to you from, which is in massachusetts up in the

northeast, we have a good situation, good testing, monitoring. 0ther parts of the country? maybe not so good. that is good to be crucial, because it's been monitoring the situation and being prepared for what happens if and when we see cases increase that is all the game right now. and ijust want to say something but new york city right now. that statistic of the number of dead million, for new york city, is around 2500. that's huge and so the death toll in the country and the pandemic in the countries of our has been very patchy, very patchy indeed, and much of the country is really yet to see it. most yet you really yet to see it. most yet you really see it, that means we are a long way off anything like herd immunity. and we are still waiting for a vaccine. that's correct. it is quite possible within some small pockets, a large proportion of people and been infected, but that's the thing with this virus. it is incredibly community specific, incredibly community specific,

incredibly patchy. you can have a postal code which has a high rate of immunity but the next one along bones, which means people in the first might be unlikely to be infected within that space, while if you walk out into the other one, all bets are off. 0k, bill, thank you very much for lending your expertise there. bill hanage. we are going to stay in the us now. ruth bader ginsburg has made history one final time. the late supreme courtjustice has become the first woman to lie in state at the us capitol building. senior officials, friends and family paid their respects today. thousands of others filed past her body as it lay in repose outside the supreme court building this week. 0ur correspondent barbara plett usher reports from washington. ready, step. this was a solemn part in the political tumult that has engulfed the capital since justice convert died a week ago. and she was

still breaking barriers —— justice ginsburg. the first woman to ever lay in state here, her casket placed on the platform that supported america's most famous president, abraham lincoln. i have the high honour to welcome justice abraham lincoln. i have the high honour to welcomejustice ruth bader ginsburg to lie in state in the capital of the united states. the democratic speaker of the house arranged the memorial for this liberal icon. it was a simple service, punctuated by the music she loved. a family friend led the tributes, praising the life and work of someone who changed the course of american law. justice did not arrive like a lightning bolt, but rather through dogged persistence. all the days of her life, real change, she

said, enduring change, happens one step at a time. justice ginsburg made ground—breaking advances in securing women the same rights as men, systematically eviscerating the obstacles thrown up by a male—dominated leader profession. 0n the supreme court, she established a reputation as a strong liberal voice. amidst all the goodbyes, a brutal partisan battle has taken shape overjustice ginsburg's vacant seat which is set to cement the supreme court's conservative shift for a generation. notably absent here were republican leaders, who are plunging forward with president trump's controversial plan to move quickly in an election year. and from fema members of congress, and honour guard of women acknowledging that their world was shaped by her pioneering work. this marks the end of the mourning period forjustice convert an president trump is ready to nominate her replacement on

saturday, setting off an unprecedented sprints to get a justice on the supreme court by the election and triggering a political and cultural battle that will continue no matter who wins the presidency. barbara plett usher, bbc news, washington. next, two people have been wounded in a knife attack outside the former offices of the french satirical magazine charlie hebdo. the victims, a man and a woman who are staff members of a television company, were seriously wounded, although both are reported to be out of danger. two people have been arrested. 0ur paris correspondent lucy williamson reports. in central paris today, the familiar scenes of a recurring nightmare, a knife attack that left two people seriously injured at a building once occupied by the satirical magazine charlie hebdo. the victims are employees of a television production company with offices there. translation: outside the metro, i saw a machete with lots of blood and people shouting.

it was a bit of a panic. in the passageway that is right next to my work, i saw a victim lying there covered in blood. that's when i panicked and people started panicking and shouting. the police arrived and asked us to stay locked up. all in all, on the way, i saw two victims with lots of blood. one man — believed to be the attacker — has been arrested and a suspected accomplice has also been ta ken into custody. police told the bbc that one of those detained was found with blood on his clothes. the sight of police cordoning off these streets will bring back painful memories for france. just around the corner from here, the former offices of the satirical magazine charlie hebdo, target of a deadly terrorist attack five years ago. those suspected of involvement in that attack are currently

standing trial at a court here in paris. the place and timing of this attack has meant prosecutors are treating it as a terrorist inquiry. charlie hebdo, which now operates from a different location, has tweeted its support to the victims. "the entire team offers its support and solidarity to our former neighbours and colleagues and to the people affected by this odious attack," it said. arriving after a government crisis meeting, the prime minister, jean castex, said the symbolism of this attack, its location and timing was clear. translation: this is the time for the government of the republic to reiterate its unwavering commitment to freedom of the press, its resolute will by all means to fight against terrorism and to affirm to the nation that we are fully mobilised. france has been reliving the horrific attack on charlie hebdo five years ago as survivors give testimony in the trial of those suspected of involvement. earlier this month, charlie hebdo reprinted the cartoons of mohammed

that originally made it a target for islamist violence — echoes of an attack that continues to leave its mark on france. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. right, before i go this hour, his name is magawa. he's a rat, an african giant pouched rat. he's also a life—saving hero. he's just been awarded a gold medal for his work detecting landmines in cambodia. he's the first rat to receive this honour. duncan kennedy tells his story. this is magawa, the mine—clearing, medal—winning, mind—blowing rat. he is actually a giant african pouched rat, capable of clearing an area the size of a tennis court injust 30 minutes. something that would take a human four days to do. and now for the first time in their 103—year history, one of britain's leading animal

charities has given him the highest award. magawa is a true hero rat and we're thrilled to celebrate his life—saving devotion by awarding him the pdsa gold medal. it took a year to train magawa to work in cambodia. he walks up—and—down, sniffing out the chemicals in the mines and gently taps it when he finds one. he's discovered 39 mines and 28 bits of explosive ordnance, making him the most reliable rodent. tell me, why is magawa so special? magawa, year after year, he searches the biggest amount of square metres, he finds more mines than any other rat. like i said, he is one of these rats that each handler wishes to work with. congratulations to him. that's it from me. get in touch with me online anytime. i'm on twitter. i'm lewis

vaughan jones and this anytime. i'm on twitter. i'm lewis vaughanjones and this is bbc news. bye— bye. hello. for most of us, the weekend isn't looking too bad. it's still going to be fairly chilly, particularly across eastern areas of the uk — with the wind blowing off the north sea. not a completely dry weekend because there are 1—2 showers in the forecast as well, but for the vast majority of the country, it should be dry. now, this is the more recent satellite picture. here's that nasty low pressure in the southern north sea that sent gale force winds along the north sea coast. we had gusts up to 67 mph near grimsby. now, the winds will still blow very hard during the course of the evening and night, and, actually, throughout the weekend, not as strong, but still very strong. elsewhere across the uk, the winds will be lighter and in fact, across scotland and northern ireland, light winds here and clearer skies. so temperatures will dip down

to close to freezing, especially outside of town. so, this is what it looks like on saturday then. the vast majority of the country wakes up to sunshine, pretty chilly conditions, but there is still that breeze blowing out of the north. however, towards the west, the winds will be lighter here, so with temperatures of around 15 in plymouth, it shouldn't feel too bad at all. 13 in belfast, 14 there expected in sunny glasgow. but towards the east, there is still that strong, very strong wind blowing down to the north sea. gales possible at least in exposed areas along that lincolnshire coastline and also the north norfolk coast. here's sunday's weather map. we are in between weather systems, so one in the atlantic here, this is the jet stream driving that area of low pressure with the fronts. some bad weather there out into the mediterranean. we're in between all of this, so the weather here is actually looking pretty good for many western areas. you will notice there is a change in the wind direction here.

it's coming in from the south. so that's a hint that things will be warming up a little bit for the second half of the weekend and into next week. in fact, 17 quite possible in cardiff on sunday with some sunshine. now, that should feel pleasant. eventually, next week, we are going to lose that cold air from the north. the milder atlantic westerlies or south westerlies will set in, so it won't feel quite so cold. but, unfortunately, with that also comes more unsettled weather. so, i think sometime next week, certainly from wednesday onwards, it does look as though things are going to turn wetter and windier for all of us. that's it for me.

this is bbc world news, the headlines... the united states has passed seven million confirmed coronavirus cases. that's according to johns hopkins university. it's the highest number in the world, with india second at 5.8 million cases and brazil third with 4.7 million. a police officer who died after being shot at a police station in croydon, south london, on friday has been named as matt ratana. he was 54. lawyers for breonna taylor, the woman killed by police in her own home in the united states, call for full transparency over the investigation into her death. the late us supreme courtjudge, ruth bader ginsburg, has become the first woman in american history to lie