this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm lewis vaughan jones. reports in us media say president trump has decided to nominate federaljudge amy coney barrett to the supreme court. the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the us has now 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. his service will never be forgotten and we are deeply grateful for it. it isa and we are deeply grateful for it. it is a really distinguished service from a lovely, much respected police officer.

and 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. us media reports say president trump has decided to nominate the federaljudge, amy coney barrett, to fill the supreme court seat left vacant by the death of ruth bader ginsburg. the bbc‘s us partner cbs has been told by multiple sources involved in or familiar with the selection process that she will be nominated by mr trump tomorrow. supreme courtjustices are nominated to the bench by the us president, but must be approved by the senate. with the death ofjustice ginsburg, a liberal stalwart, mr trump was given the chance to cement a rightward ideological tilt of the nine—member court by replacing her with a conservative.

so, what do we know about his reported pick, amy coney barrett? she's a judge on the circuit court of appeals, a position she was nominated to by president trump. she's 48 years old, was born in new orleans, and has seven children. previously, she served as a clerk for the conservative supreme court justice antonin scalia, who died in 2016. and, she's described as a devout catholic, making her a favourite among religious conservatives. our north america correspondent david willisjoins me now what david willisjoins me now do what david willis joins me now do you what david willisjoins me now do you make what david willis joins me now do you make of this repo this what do you make of this report of this nomination? she was the odds on favourite, president trump had said that he would be selecting a woman to this seat vacated by the death of ginsberg and amy barrett was seen at

the white house for a meeting with president trump earlier this week. she is conservative and that applies to her views on abortion and since she was appointed to the appeals court by president trump back in 2017, she has ruled on two cases involving abortion rights in both cases, ruling in favour of those rules being tightened. so, as long the target of abortion rights advocates who will not be very pleased to see this 48—year—old woman being appointed to the highest court in the land. her appointment something of a formality now because of course, it has to be approved by the us senate, republicans have the majority in the upper house and despite the objections of two republicans, it seems that the

majority that they need to approve the appointment of amy barrett and before, the us presidential election in november. that is potentially highly significant and not only because of all the various rows that are going on surrounding the election this year, extremely volatile and tumultuous time in american politics, but also because the us supreme court could ultimately be brought to bear to determine the outcome of that election and given that it could be highly contested and given the fact that president trump in the past couple of days is said that he might not accept the result of the ballot. will be covering the official announcement, if it is true, tomorrow you're on bbc world news. meanwhile senior officials, friends and family paid their respects today to the late

supreme courtjustice ruth bader ginsburg. she became the first woman to lie in state at the us capitol building. 0ur correspondent ba ra ba ra plett usher reports from washington. ready, step. this was a solemn part in the political tumult that has engulfed the capital since justice ginsburg died a week ago. and she was still breaking barriers. 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 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. the united states now has more than seven million coronavirus cases — that's according to statistics from johns hopkins university. the figure of seven millon five thousand seven hundred and 46 cases, confirmed by tests, is the highest in the world. the united states now has

more than seven million coronavirus cases — that's according to statistics seven hundred and 46 cases, confirmed by tests, is the highest bill hanage is an associate professor at harvard th chan school of public health. he gave me his reaction to the figure. in fact, things are potentially worse than they appear, we have detected cases for the start in the spring and however much better hold of the pandemic, but still, some places like florida have not learned their lesson. is it too soon to look back and try and learn lessons because the first things that the us has a very large population and so, you would expect a large number of cases, but did it inevitably have to lead to 7 million cases or other things that could've realistically been done to reduce the number? things that could've realistically been done to reduce the number7m would be genuinely challenging, for somewhere that has the division of power between the federal government in the state, but it is noticeable that the federal government made no real attempt to do anything about this, which is been a really desperate failing so far. i will point out that the united states is

big, but we can account for this by coming up with the per capita mortality and taste statistics most of the united states had 21,000 or so cases of the united states had 21,000 or so cases for of the united states had 21,000 or so cases for every of the united states had 21,000 or so cases for every million of its population and it's got over 600 deaths per million at the moment and as you know, it is still ongoing. that second statistic just overtook the united kingdom and like i said, florida is leading. —— reopening. when we go from here? coming in the winter, it's going be very crucially dependent and we call it a situational awareness. you want to know what is going on about the risk of transmission is within the local communities and so on. where i'm talking to you from, massachusetts up talking to you from, massachusetts up in the northeast, with a pretty good situational awareness, testing, monitoring. 0ther good situational awareness, testing, monitoring. other parts of the country are not so good. monitoring the situation and being prepared for what is going to be happening this week, if and when we start seeing

cases increase. 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. a 23—year—old suspect — who was being processed in croydon after being arrested — is believed to have turned the weapon on himself. 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 at around 2:15am this morning in a police vehicle, but he was carrying a concealed revolver and, still handcuffed behind his back, appears to have shot the custody sergeant in the chest before shooting himself. the dead officer, 54—year—old matt ratana, who'd served his whole career in the metropolitan police and was about to retire, was rushed to hospital, but couldn't be saved.

he gave 29 years of his life to the public of london. he has now tragically been killed on duty. his service will never be forgotten and we are deeply grateful for it, and it is a really distinguished service from a lovely, lovely, much respected police officer. 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 also 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 whatsapped about how great the last training session had been. his assistant said 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. matt ratana leaves behind a partner and an adult son from a previous relationship. his colleagues knew him as a big guy. big in stature, big in heart. friendly, capable. a lovely man, highly respected by his colleagues. 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, led by the head of the force and the mayor of london. the prime minister sent his deepest condolences to his family. i think that a police officer can be killed in a police station is a huge concern notjust to the police, not just to those of us politicians who are charged with giving the police the tools they need, but everyone.

the suspect is in a critical condition in st george's hospital, tooting, after having surgery. he was originally arrested on suspicion of possession of class b drugs and possession of ammunition. how he then managed to smuggle a gun into the custody suite is at heart of an investigation. 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. stay with us on bbc news, still to come. a rare apology from north korea's kim jong un, he says the brutal killing by his soldiers of a south korean official was "disgraceful affair". music. 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, the latest headlines.

reports in us media say president trump has decided to nominate federaljudge amy coney barrett, to fill the supreme court seat left vacant by the death of ruth bader ginsburg. and the us has now recorded over seven million coronavirus cases — that's according to johns hopkins university. it's the rarest of apologies — and it comes from the north korean leader kim jong un. and it comes from the north korean he's expressed his regret for the killing of a south korean at sea. the official was shot dead by north korean soldiers, and his body set on fire, apparently as a precaution against coronavirus. and it comes as tensions between the two koreas are high. so, it really is bizarre because i think that the south korean government and, rightfully so, the media have actually taken this as really a true apology from the north korean leader, when in fact they did express "regrets", but at the same time they did take the time to point the blame

and to criticise the south korean government for their contact as well. we still have to see since it's been less than 2a hours since we saw the "apology" from north korea, but one — the facts still remain to be disputed, and two — as you just mentioned, i think it is really in the interest of the south korean government to try to smooth out the seams between the two koreas so that one — the international attention is not so much on the north korean belligerence, and two — if there are any prospects for inter—korean reconciliation and peace, that any questions about, any doubts about north korean intent and their sincerity towards the south can sort of be quelled. as to what extent that can be done, that remains, i think, to be seen. relations between china and the united states took another hit this week when president trump used his speech to the un

to criticise beijing's handling of the coronavirus outbreak. the ongoing souring of relations has prompted the un secretary general to warn against the outbreak of a new cold war. our world affairs editor, john simpson has this special report. china's new—found strength is everywhere, confronting taiwan and hong kong. taking on australia, japan, india. sparring with donald trump. they let the plague out. they shouldn't have done it. china uses its economic muscle right around the world. this week it was accused of ordering barbados to ditch the queen. in the years when china was building up its strength and wealth, its official slogan was a modest one, "hide your light and bide your time." but in the past ten years as china's strength has grown, the official slogan has changed. now it's, "strive for achievement".

should we be worried? the leading chinese dissident, ai weiwei, now in exile in cambridge, thinks the west is so dependent on china, it's incapable of resisting. the west should really worry about china from decades ago. and now it's already a bit too late. there's almost no way for the west to stop this, kind of, profit—making business and to simply cut it off, it will hurt, deeply. that's why china is very arrogant. china sees it differently. it regards itself as a developing country, only now taking its rightful place in the world.

hello, sorry for the wait. this newspaper owner is closely linked to the top chinese leadership. translation: the situation is tense. that's a fact, but we are not confronting not confronting the west as a whole, the west does not equal the usa. i think the hard—line attitude of the usa is, in part, caused by its election politics. yet, he is pretty hardline himself. he told me that under certain circumstances, china could use military force to invade taiwan. as for hong kong... translation: if the violent protesters threaten police lives by throwing projectiles and petrol bombs, i believe the police should be allowed to use their guns and they should open fire. do such threats imply a new cold war?

one former british foreign secretary thinks not. there are areas where china needs to be confronted, but there are other areas where there is room for cooperation. we have to take very seriously, a robust analysis but one "cold war" is the right way to analyse and understand china's rise. the key seems to be the us election. directly that's over, we'll see if the winner wants further confrontation with china 01’ more coexistence. 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. our 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.