this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. joe biden says he's confident he's going to win the us presidential election — and insists he will fight to ensure every vote is counted. the numbers tell us it is clear, they tell us a clear and convincing story. we are going to win this race. as biden supporters celebrate — donald trump warns that legal challenges are onlyjust beginning. we'll bring you the latest in the race for the white house — we're live in washington shortly. the uk government bans all visitors from denmark — due to outbreaks of a mutated form of coronavirus in the country's mink farms which has spread to humans. greece becomes the latest european country to reimpose a lockdown due to rising rates of coronavirus. people are told to stay home —

unless absolutely necessary. scotland becomes the first nation in the uk to ban parents or carers from smacking or hitting their children. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world — and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. "stay calm, stay patient," the words ofjoe biden, who says he is on track to win the us presidency. speaking at his campaign headquarters a few hours ago, the democratic party candidate said he had a clear and convincing lead. this how the race looks, four days on from election day. mr biden has 253 electoral college votes, with president trump on 214. remember 270 is the number

required for victory. a final result is taking so long because they're still counting ballots in several knife edge states including pennsylvania and georgia. lebo diseko has the latest. joe biden supporters danced through the day and into the night in the city of philadelphia. their candidate's lead in this state is steadily growing and they can taste the victory. winning in pennsylvania would mean joe biden becomes the president. with more than 95% of votes counted, he is inching his way there. but with some votes still to come in, it may be some time before a result is declared. we don't have a final declaration... on friday evening, joe biden addressed the nation. he stopped short of declaring victory but his tone and message — deliberately presidential. the numbers tell us it's clear — tell us a clear and convincing story. we're going to win this race.

just look at what has happened since yesterday. 2a hours, we were behind in georgia. now we're ahead and we're going to win that state. 2a hours ago, we were behind in pennsylvania, and we are going to win pennsylvania. on twitter, donald trump again expressed frustration at seeing his election night lead "miraculously disappear". but it was the counting of postal votes that shifted the numbers so dramatically — a process donald trump had told his supporters not to trust. as results trickle in from other battleground states, the picture building is not in his favour. in both nevada and arizona, joe biden‘s lead is increasing. georgia's results are so close, an automatic recount was triggered but it's unlikely that would change the result by more than a few hundred votes. donald trump has filed legal action in several states in an effort to turn his fortunes around, and there's no evidence of the widespread fraud that he alleges. the legal hurdles may

create a bumpy path, butjoe biden increasingly seems to be on firm footing on his road to the white house. the gap between donald trump and joe biden may be growing — but the race in the remaining battleground states is still incredibly close. reeta chakrabarti takes a look at the electoral map and where the presidency will be decided. this is the state of play at the moment. this is the electoral map, and you can see the states in grey are the ones that are still to be decided, and there are some very close races going on. it's so close in georgia that they're going for a recount. arizona is also extremely close. pennsylvania in the east, which we have all been focused on all day, well, there we have seenjoe biden edge his way past donald trump. and the democrats are now confident that they will take pennsylvania. what happens if they do? well, let me turn pennsylvania blue using the blue pen, and you can see that takesjoe biden

passed the winning line, and he will then have won the election. but what's interesting... i will take pennsylvania away from him. joe biden has other routes to the white house too. let's assume that he succeeds in keeping nevada — hillary clinton won that in 2016 — and that he manages to flip arizona as well. that gets into 270 as well. so there are different routes forjoe biden to the white house. i will return the map to the state of play to show you that for donald trump, it's more difficult. he's got to win pennsylvania. and then also three of the four other major swing states in order to stay in the white house. a much more uphill task. it's now certain that the balance of power in the us senate won't be known until january. neither of the two senate races in georgia produced a clear winner, with no one securing more than the required 50% of votes. it means that two run—off elections will be held on the fifth of january.

lets speak to our washington correspondent, lebo diseko. on the overall picture, any idea of how close we are to having their selection finally being called? goodness, i think the whole country is wanting to know that. we have been waiting and waiting to see what happens. we have been told time and time again by election officials that they are interested in getting things right rather than our need to know. we did to have an inkling, more than an inkling that it might ta ke more than an inkling that it might take some time to count the votes because of the postal ballots and the large number of votes that were expected. that does seem to be what is happening. in pennsylvania, joe biden did open up a little bit more ofa biden did open up a little bit more of a lead but yeah, again they are nearly done in counting the votes they have, but there are other issues, there are still military votes that need to come through and

also the issue of votes from people who may have issues around their identity or other issues they need to fix. those things need to be dealt with. we don't know how long it is going to take for that. in georgia, there is the issue of the recount. unlikely to change very much in terms of the outcome. recount is generally only shift things a handful of votes, hundreds generally but it will slow things down a bit certainly. joe biden sleeping in the last few hours, called for a can and an end to the vitriolic debate in the last for years. there are republicans on the street and donald trump supporters that have taken to the streets to show that they are still backing him. we were in detroit not

long ago and there were people there who felt very strongly about supporting him. in terms of republicans, there have been some that said they are backing donald trump. mike pence is a notable one, saying he supports donald trump and he supports counting all the votes that should be counted. i guess the suggestion there is there are some votes that shouldn't be. there is no indication of that. donald trump's children have taken to twitter to call out republicans and the republican party, they would like them to do more. there are republicans who have been critical of donald trump is not behaviour, especially that media briefing he gave recently as well. 0k, thank you. we heard there about the wait for a result in pennsylvania. to give you an update on the count as it stands at the moment — joe biden is in the lead with more than 28,000 votes — giving him 50% of the share versus trump's 49 percent.

to win pennsylvania mr biden needed a swing of 0.4% — he currently has a swing of nearly 2 percent. that means we could be close it's why crowds have gathered in the state capital, philadelphia. music donald trump did bad things to philadelphia. we are dumping trump! this is incrediblyjoyous. it's as if there is nobody besides celebrators here right now. trump is mad. he wants to win this election, but the numbers are here. they will not kill democracy!

no way! trump is the president! i'm sick. i am sick to my stomach. we will not accept this voter fraud. we will fight this. if people are not going to allow the process to be examined, we must have an answer for all of these discrepancies that have popped up. i can't hear the trump supporters. they are over there. they have their flags, but there is way more of us. look at us. we matter. philadelphia matters. and i can't wait. cheering we can speak now to jennifertaub, professor at the western new england university school of law. she joins us from northampton in massachusetts. thank you forjoining us today. in

terms of these legal challenges we are hearing about from the trump campaign, can you explain how they work, what level of evidence is required for them to take off? good morning. his legal challenges at this point are very weak and it is mostly bluster. there are two types of challenges he has tried to bring and only one type so far it has been moderately successful. in some cases, he has tried to argue there was fraud, and those have been dismissed. for example, a republican poll worker in one of the states saidi poll worker in one of the states said i saw some ballots come in late. that case was dismissed. another example in the state of michigan was an argumentative try to stop counting the vote and the judge laughed it off saying, it is amusing

because trump was behind in that state at the time. the place where he has been more successful but there is not much success was recently at the supreme court yesterday. in that case, all he was asking for was just the status quo to be maintained and also for some votes to beat not counted in pennsylvania. i want to be very clear what we are talking about there. as you mention, there is a lot of celebration in pennsylvania because that might putjoe biden over the top and decisively clinching his victory. the votes that are in dispute and those that arrived after november three, it was arrived after november three, it was a mixed victory for trump there. on the one hand, thejudge who a mixed victory for trump there. on the one hand, the judge who screened this particular case said yes, it is good to segregate those votes. this

is exactly what pennsylvania was doing anyway, keep them separate from the ones that arrive on november three. on the other hand, trump lost what he really wanted which was to stop the counting of those votes. ever there votes just get counter, which i suspect they will, they will be irrelevant. in other words, it is very clear that based on the votes that arrived by november three, that biden will win in philadelphia, and that is not what trump... he would love for the votes accumulator not to be counted so votes accumulator not to be counted so he can keep stretching this idea that there is no decisive when. —— the votes that are coming in.“ biden was to win by the votes already accounted, even if there was any dispute about the votes that arrive after the third, it is irrelevant? that is a matter of

practicality. we have heard from the supreme court is meeting the status quo, keep those that late arriving ballots segregated. the rest of the quickest way to pick us up. i am not worried about the outcome of that as a legal matter. typically, i love talking about that map and you showing it to your viewers. let's remember, four years ago the press, the immediate networks called a victory for trump. he ultimately only had 301! electoral votes. he only had 301! electoral votes. he only won three states by 78,000 votes. biden already has a much better picture. he is on track. he is on track for a 206 —— 306 if you count arizona and nevada, which has already been counted. if you can't judge and pennsylvania, —— count georgia and pennsylvania. the votes

we re georgia and pennsylvania. the votes were willing to correlate and content considered. the biggest difference is the postal ballots that people are not as familiar with, and the second thing is the real fear of donald trump. with, and the second thing is the realfear of donald trump. he has been a bully, i think the networks are afraid of him and they want to be extra cautious. just to interrupt, a quick answer. in pennsylvania, it is it clear that result cannot be stretched in a long legal process or do we not know that yet? there are various grounds of appeal. even if the numbers, let's say those numbers came in and let say those numbers came in and let say the supreme court decided it doesn't matter, we have decided that go—ahead and countless books. the reality is we will not have an official result if trump does not

concede. in america, you do not have a president to declare it until january. it will not be until january. it will not be until january six and our electoral couegein january six and our electoral college in the states do not meet until december 14, so if trump does not concede based on the vote coming m, not concede based on the vote coming in, we will be waiting until december 11! for the electoral couege december 11! for the electoral college to vote. until that point it's going to litigate. so get ready for a lot of new stories around us. he will probably fight until the end. no doubt we will talk to you again in that case. many thanks indeed for your time. much appreciated. donald trump's chief of staff, mark meadows, has reportedly tested positive for covid—i9. mr meadows made headlines in octoberfor saying "we're not going to control the pandemic" as cases surged across the us. mr meadows was last seen at a white house party on election night. his condition and the circumstances of how he might have become infected are so far unclear.

france has recorded more than 60 thousand new coronavirus infections, its highest daily total since the start of the pandemic. the country — like a lot of europe — is one week into a second lockdown with the aim of curbing the spread of coronavirus. meanwhile denmark has begun culling its mink population because it's worried about a coronavirus mutation found in the animal. paul hawkins reports. staff working flat—out at the victor provo hospital in northern france. intensive care capacity has been increased from 20 to 30 beds in recent weeks as more covid patients than the first wave come in. translation: at the beginning of the second wave, it was more vulnerable people and elderly people coming to the hospital. but for several weeks now, that is no longer the case. the average age of patients in the unit has lowered. we have people aged a0 or 30 who had to be ventilated.

the government claims that intensive care units like this one will be overwhelmed by the middle of november without the current lockdown. france hit its highest one—day total since the pandemic began with just over 60,000 coronavirus cases. that is why, until the ist of december, people can only leave their homes to go to work, to buy essential goods, seek medical help or to exercise. in italy, it is a similar story. much of the country is in lockdown, including here in milan, capital of the lombardy region, where the one—day death toll hit 445, a six month record. bars and restaurants here are also shut, but people can exercise near their homes if they wear masks. hairdressers remain open. so too are the country's eight mink farms. animal rights groups are calling for them to be shut down by january. there are fears the animals could become contaminated with a mutant form of coronavirus, similar to the one found in mink in denmark which affected 12 people.

the danes are the world's biggest producer of mink fur. that hasn't stopped the cull of all 70 million animals in denmark in an effort to stop the disease spreading further. this unique mutation has a reduced response to antibodies, which can ultimately affect the efficiency of a potential vaccine. that is why denmark isn't taking any risks. greece is the latest country to go into lockdown after the number of cope with 19 cases in the country rose. after the number of cases with covid in the country went up. the country will go into a three—week lockdown aimed at combating the sharp increase in coronavirus cases. joining me now is greece's former finance minister, yanis varoufakis. thank you forjoining us today. are you supportive of the lockdown or worried about the economic implications? both. but i am livid

with the fact that the government has done nothing for many months to prepare for the inevitable second wave. many governments have been rather remiss in this, but our government i think wins the prize of unpreparedness, government i think wins the prize of unprepa redness, especially due government i think wins the prize of unpreparedness, especially due to the fact we have a national health service that has suffered a decade of immense cuts as a result of the ba n kru ptcy of immense cuts as a result of the ba nkru ptcy of of immense cuts as a result of the bankruptcy of the greek state. all this comes together into a kind of this comes together into a kind of this topic situation at the moment. —— dystopian situation. this topic situation at the moment. -- dystopian situation. is it the case that blue—collar workers have to go out and do front line jobs and are more at risk, and covid makes structural inequality even worse? that is the case everywhere, isn't it? it is the case in the united

states, the united kingdom and here. the inequities and imbalances, gross injustices that pre—existed covid—i9 are being turbo—charged by this virus. there is no difference by what is happening here in greece and everywhere else. the great difference is the fact that we have a population that has already suffered a great depression and a health service which is running 50% short of the personnel that they should have had in order to cope with the normal mode, let alone covid. it is an already depleted society that is having to deal with this crisis. every country is facing the same challenges. i must ask you about the story of the week, the event of the year, the us election. you have been on a similar political journey. have you spoken to bernie sanders about the results? we haven't had any confirmed, of quest.

i have not spoken to bernie personally, but i have spoken to many of his collaborators and my friends and comrades. we are in a state of shock because the great difference with 2016 is that the bernie sanders vertical movement worked diligently to help elect biden, as a result of an agreement between bernie and joe biden and the teams to work together now, with a great success of trump, i have to say, sadly, in securing a kind of stalemate in the senate, biden who was always not particularly keen on agreeing a new deal, it has now been liberated from having to implement that which is necessary, notjust for the united states but for the world will stop this is why i feel this is a bad outcome for progressives. you are worried there was not enough support forjoe biden and therefore he want to be able to

go far enough? he is not going to have control of the senate. without control of the senate, he cannot implement a green new deal. we had biden who was already unwilling, not particularly enthusiastic about the green new deal, and now he has a perfect excuse for not implementing it. and a genuine inability to do so given the balance of power in the senate. we do not know if it is the end of trump yet, but in his era is coming to an end, what will that mean my body for europe? —— more broadly for europe? we are banking on this transition from trump to biden to return things back to normal. with nato, the defence umbrella, of the united states again protecting europe and germany in particular, which is very unwilling to invest in its own defence. i fear

that european leaders are not going to be very pleased with what they find out in the next few months and yea rs. find out in the next few months and years. trump may have gone, or may be on the way out, but i don't think that the shift in geopolitics that he affected through the last four yea rs he affected through the last four years is going to be dispersed. people might be surprised to hear you being so negative today about the and of a trump presidency and at least a move towards the centre and ce ntre—left least a move towards the centre and centre—left in the us. least a move towards the centre and centre-left in the us. well, because we have had the best possible outcome from a perspective on the left. —— west. a tiny marginal effect free from biden. the radical right now feels firstly they have been robbed and secondly, much more powerful than they were before. they got 5 million more votes. the republican party is going to become

even more for a trump than before. they are going to be radicalised and united. the left will have to defend its support of a president, president biden, who is not going to be implementing the green new deal that the left fought very hard for. it is difficult for the bernie sanders supporters to be defending to their electorate support for a president who is not implementing the policy that they fought for. fascinating to talk to you. thank you very much indeed. scotland has become the first nation in the uk to make smacking children under the age of 16 illegal. the new law means parents and carers will face prosecution if they use any form of phsyical force to discipline their children. wales will be introducing a similar ban in 2022. there are currently no plans for england or northern ireland to follow suit.

there is more on that story and the latest updates on what is happening in the us on our website. you're watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. we had a little mist and fog around this morning, but by now most of it should have cleared away. we have got a fine day on the way with plenty of sunshine. it is also relatively mild. but tomorrow, a very different story. we will see a lot more cloud and there is also some rain on the way. and in fact, the rain bearing cloud, here it is on the satellite picture. it is linked to a low pressure just to the south—west of our neighbourhood, and all of this cloud is heading in our direction. there is a bit of a gap in the cloud at the moment, but this cloud will be in place across the uk during the course of sunday. so enjoy today's sunshine. the winds are also coming in from the south and pushing the colder air away to the north. that is why the temperatures are relatively mild for the time of year.

there is still one or two bits of pieces of mist and fog lingering through the early afternoon, but other than that, it is a mostly sunny story. there is just the outside chance of a spot of rain in the south—west of the country. how about the temperatures? saturday afternoon, around 16 degrees possible in the south of the uk. around ten or so there for aberdeen. tonight, the skies will be clear, so the temperature's going to drop, particularly across scotland. there will be an early frost here, at least in one or two areas, but clouds are increasing. the southerly wind is increasing, so that means it is going to be mild early on sunday morning. 12 degrees in plymouth, and temperatures up to as high as eight, nine, 10 degrees. even into northern england. here is the weather map for sunday. this is sunday's weather forecast. you can see the weather fronts crossing the country here. we are expecting the rain to reach northern ireland and also some western parts of the uk. a lot of cloud around, so even if you don't get the rain tomorrow, it is going to be a cloudy day. the chances are, that some of these

clouds will break up and give way to some sunshine across the south. 16 in london and cardiff, 13, 14 in liverpool. here is the outlook into next week. we keep the southerly winds, we just get a suggestion of this current of air coming in from the southern climes. keeping things relatively mild, and a weather front will be heading towards us. at times, there will be some rain. take a look at these temperatures, possibly peaking at around 17 degrees in the south of the country. even in belfast, around the mid teens. but watch out, some rain on the way, too. that's it from me, goodbye.

hello, this is bbc news with geeta guru—murthy. the headlines: joe biden says he's confident he's going to win