welcome to bbc news, i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: joe biden presses on with preparations for his time in office — he's expected to announce members of a coronavirus task force on monday. i pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide, but unify, who doesn't see red states and blue states, only sees the united states. president trump plays golf again. on twitter, he continues to claim, without evidence, that the election was "stolen". joe biden has met every british prime minister for the last a0 years. but questions are being asked about his future relationship with borisjohnson, a man he's previously described as a clone of donald trump. bell tolls.

queen elizabeth attends a ceremony to mark remembrance sunday to honour the dead from the two world wars. people across the uk observe a two minute silence. joe biden is wasting no time in making preparations for his move to the white house. the president—elect is preparing a series of executive actions, reversing mr trump's decisions once he takes office in january. these include informing the un that america wants to rejoin global efforts against climate change. but first, he'll have to address the health of the nation.

the covid pandemic has so far claimed 238,000 american lives. he's already announced he will form a coronavirus response committee to ensure it is ready to implement decisions from his inauguration day in january. previously he said he wants to provide free testing for all and hire 100,000 people to set up a national contact—tracing programme. mr trump has still not admitted defeat. he renewed his claims that the election was stolen, without offering evidence. other senior republicans have largely remained silent. and fresh from another round of golf, the president was back on twitter, asking:. ‘since when does the lamestream media call who our next president will be? we have all learned a lot in the last two weeks!‘ let's speak to our washington correspondent, ben wright. will come in to donald trump m essa 9 es will come in to donald trump messages on twitter at the moment. let's start with joe biden. what do we know about his plans? he has confirmed or people around him have confirmed what he was saying

around the campaign which is that he wants to reengage america in multilateral institutions, sign up again to the paris climate accord, the who, he wants to reverse a lot of action that donald trump took on the world stage and that will please a lot of america's partners who have struggled with the trump —— trump presidency and how they expect presidents to behaviour. they will be a series of executive actions in early on, in the first days of president iden's time in office, come january. —— president biden. we know he will also announce his coronavirus task force. this is his number one pressing issue. the pandemic continues to surge and the debt toll continues to rise and joe biden said throughout the campaign that much more co—ordinated federal action is needed, working with governors around the face mask mandate, providing more federal aid to states that are really

struggling and of course when the time comes, forming a national strategy for vaccine rollout. these are the things that he will be grappling with right now and preparing for in the 70 odd days between now and the 70 odd days between now and the inauguration. let's move on to donald trump. he is obviously been on twitter claiming that the election has been stolen. still no evidence of anything like that, though, so far. no, assertions, unsubstantiated assertions about fraud, he has claimed that his team, led by rudy giuliani, complained about access that their watchers have had two polling stations was not asked for a recount in wisconsin, but his team have provided nothing in the way of evidence to substantiate claims of widespread fraud or his allegation that this election is rigged. he has so far refused to concede, he hasn't phoned president—elect biden to

offer his congratulations ad was “— offer his congratulations ad was —— as would be the normal course of events. he maintains clearly there might be a fight here still to win and he is not going to give up and concede until he thinks every avenue has been exhausted. i'm sure that the people around him in his very close circle are giving him all sorts of pretty conflicted advice about how he should be handling this moment but it is certainly not the normal actions of the president who has lost the election. you would expect pretty soon him to be sitting down with president—elect biden and discussing how the transition might work. that normal formality has happened —— none of that normal formality has happened but joe of that normal formality has happened butjoe biden and his tea m happened butjoe biden and his team are preparing for the transition and it doesn't matter really how donald trump conducts himself in the coming days on that front. thanks for that, ben. let's look at these legal claims, then. we can now speak to andrew stoltmann who's an attorney and northwestern adjunct law professor.

hejoins us from chicago. thank you for coming on the programme. any time, thank you. took us through this, then. legal challenges in various different states. just broadly, what kind of racist you think they are going be launched on? well, it's interesting. most of the allegations have centred around fraud and alleging fraud and proving fraud are two different things but i think the primary allegations are going to be it is not the state legislatures that ended up making these rules with respect to absentee ballots but it has been unelected officials who have done it and obviously they have done it and obviously they have been doing things during a pandemic to try to make voting much easier. now trump in his tea m much easier. now trump in his team —— and his team are going to say wait a minute, that's fraud, because we have unelected officials changing those rules and those rules are favouring joe biden. that sounds like a technicality, almost, that they are not saying actually there are tens of thousands of votes or donald

trump that weren't counted or tens of thousands of illegal votes that were actually there, this is a procedural technical approach, is that right?” would say that is a witty fair characterisation. now remember, we have a pretty conservative supreme court right now, in a large part because of the three pics. —— that donald trump has put on the supreme court. —— a pretty fair characterisation. those technical issues might be the sort of thing a conservative supreme court might be interested in hearing. even though we have had no evidence at all of widespread fraud, using actually, that may not be the point, it is the way this was done that could actually yield some success? potentially? yeah, i think the trump administration has thrown the term fraud around very, very easily because it is not and traditionalfraud very easily because it is not and traditional fraud argument was up here in chicago, having dead people voting was not that isa dead people voting was not that is a fraud in the traditional

sense but i think what the trump team is alleging is that the procedures were not in place to ensure that all of these votes are being processed at the same way and it is a fraud based argument, it isn't just not fraud in the traditional sense. what chances do you give it of succeeding? very, very small because of it is an uphill climb, it will be an extraordinarily difficult climb. i don't think donald trump and his team will be successful. that is good to clear that up on the percentages chances, not very many at all. just to be clear as well, these are boats coming down in different states, tens of thousands of votes, not very many in the big scheme of things compared to 74— 75 million versus 71 million. so sit —— pretty small numbers but still, the actual number of fraudulent balance will have to be in the tens of thousands and across all the contested states, hundreds of thousands, for there to actually be a case where more votes were given to donald trump and joe biden and

realistically, thatjust isn't true, is it? no, it is not. it is an uphill climb, the odds are so stacked against donald trump's team for that i think the primary reason they are doing this is to be able to claim to their base that "we we re claim to their base that "we were robbed". it is an argument thatis were robbed". it is an argument that is factually going to be —— actually going to be a very difficult argument for he and his team to successfully make. fascinating, thank you for coming on and giving us your expertise. joe biden's victory has prompted a positive response in global markets, and many world leaders have already sent their congratulations to the president—elect. the british prime minister says he's looking forward to working with mr biden on climate change — as well as on international trade and security. but as our diplomatic correspondent, james landale, reports there could be some tricky issues ahead. from the days of margaret thatcher, joe biden has been no stranger to britain,

making it his business to know the prime ministers of the day. at least, until now. for borisjohnson has yet to meet the president—elect and the two men have their differences. mr biden has described the pm as a "physical and emotional clone" of donald trump. and as for brexit... had i been a member of parliament, had i been a british citizen, i would have voted against leaving. views shaped in part by his ancestry. mr biden, a quick word for the bbc? the bbc? i'm irish. he's made clear that peace in northern ireland should not become a casualty of brexit, with a uk—us trade deal very much on the line. a warning repeated by allies. there are of course significant concerns here about how any departure arrangement, final status, between the uk and eu might impact the border in northern ireland. from downing street, the prime minister insisted the us was britain's closest, most important ally,

and there was a good chance of a trade deal. there is far more that unites the government of this country and government in washington, any time, any stage, than divides us. we have common values, we have common interests, we have a common global perspective. there are issues where mr biden agrees with mrjohnson. being tough on russia, reviving the deal curbing iran's nuclear programme and agreeing new carbon reduction targets at a big climate summit in britain next year. above all, a president who supports multilateral organisations such as nato, unlike his predecessor. but... the hard truth is that britain outside the eu is less useful to washington, and so, whenjoe biden wants to influence europe, he will go to paris and berlin, not london. there was a time when american presidents were so important to britain that 160,000

people paid a few pounds to build a statue of one, like franklin roosevelt here. but those days are gone. joe biden's priorities will begin at home, fixing covid and the economy. allies, trade deals, may have to take second place. so for now, a relationship, not as special as once, but more predictable than of late, with perhaps fewer tweets. james landale, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: honouring the fallen — queen elizabeth leads a socially—distanced service of remembrance at the cenotaph in london. the bombastic establishment outsider donald trump has defied the pollsters to take the keys to the oval office. i feel great about the election results. i voted for him because i genuinely believe that he cares about the country. it's keeping the candidate's name always in the public eye that counts. success or failure depends not

only on public display, but on the local campaign headquarters and the heavy routine work of their women volunteers. berliners from both east and west linked hands and danced around their liberated territory. and with nobody to stop them, it wasn't long before the first attempts were made to destroy the structure itself. yasser arafat, who dominated the palestinian cause for so long, has died. the palestinian authority has declared a state of mourning. after 17 years of discussion, the result was greeted with an outburst ofjoy when the ministers who'd long felt only begrudgingly accepted among the ranks of clergy suddenly felt welcome. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: joe biden's team is pressing ahead with preparations for his time in office. on monday the president—elect will announce members

of a coronavirus task force. divisions are emerging in the us republican party over the presidential election result. donald trump has posted another stream of tweets claiming the vote was stolen. let's stay in the united states and consider what happens now thatjoe biden is the next president. 75 million americans voted for him — 71 million for donald trump. can mr biden bring a divided country together, especially amid another surge in covid cases? in the final report of his series, here's clive myrie. america has always been an unruly place. when the sun rises, it warms a land of competing ideas, of states and minds determined to show their independence. but this fractured existence was held together by a common thread — that all are equal, that all can dream. but recent years highlight

the fraying of the thread. in the years up to the era of donald trump, americans ate the same brunch but too often talked past each other, left and right on parallel roads. canjoe biden wipe away the stain of divisiveness? eileen weisberg is a retired former hospital worker and she voted for the democrat here in philadelphia. her recollection of recent american history is wistful. they forget that when bill clinton was in office, everyone made money and people seemed to be united. now, it's... all these people coming out, these groups that are for trump and causing problems, it's just... it's a sad thing. i don't remember it being like this. tony picks up the bill — he wouldn't tell us his surname — and the sting of defeat

as one of the 70 million who voted for donald trump leaves him in little mood to hear the arguments of the winning side. he got the economy going. more people are working today than ever before — forget about the covid—19, before that. he might go down as one of the best presidents for the working people. history's judgement on this age is to come, and it won't be kind on the handling of the coronavirus. there will also be a truly damning verdict of america if this new opportunity many believe has now come with the election isn't seized to bridge the parties and divide, if this generation fails to truly reflect on the legacy it wants to leave. laurie martorano voted forjoe biden and expresses the hopes of millions. in a lot of ways, he wasn't, like, my first choice, i'll be honest. but i think to unite people, he is excellent for that.

i think that he will do really well. we have to come together, we have to. as the light fades on america's election campaign, where joe biden says he wants to lead, will america follow? clive myrie, bbc news, in philadelphia. kamala harris was the first female district attorney of san francisco, the first female attorney general of california and the first indian american in the us senate. now, as the first first female, first black, and first asian—american us vice—president—elect, what does her election mean to those women she spoke to in her acceptance speech? let's speak to fania davis — a socialjustice activist, civil rights lawyer and a leading voice in the united states on restorative justice. thank you so much for being on the programme. thank you for having me. that speech by

kamala harris yesterday, it represented a lot symbolised a lot, but on a more practical level, what you think it will remain for the us over the next four years? first of all let me just say that we have been celebrating in this country, we are no longer in freefall to near fascism, we are are no longer in freefall to nearfascism, we are no longer, we still have 7a days we have to get through that beer was celebrating because the presidency from hell is over. the long of our country is over, people have been dancing in the street and clanging on pots and pans and clanging on hordes, so it was a good day yesterday for us in the united states of america. but of course 71 million people still voted for donald trump, and they don't see the last four yea rs they don't see the last four years like you see them. absolutely. and that is what...

it's a mixed bag, our response. we are celebratory, we were stunned a bit and shocked that even after all the misery that donald trump has caused, all of the racism that he has aroused, all the emigrant families he has destroyed, and all the horrendous things, all of the people who have died from a mismanaged pandemic, in spite of all of that, you have almost half the country, mostly white, majority white still voting for trump. we have to realise that the exit polls may not be correct, it says that 57% of white people voted for donald trump, but it's probably about that, even though we have not been able to trust our polls, exit polls, they said the

democrats... let's take that number as red for the moment, how much of a challenge than does that mean people in office, like kamala harris, does she face? there is no—one rebuilding we have to do, and in the final analysis, it is not individuals who create massive changes in society, it not who create the changes, its massive movements that do that. no individual can do that, and so it's really going to depend on us and historically, you look at the abolitionist movement against slavery, look at the movements during the depression era that brought us unemployment insurance and social security, and movements during the 60s when i was very active, and i'm still active, that brought us a civil rights

and by power, the bernie sanders movement, the indigenous family movement, the black lives matter, that is what is going to make the difference that we need. i'm afraid we have run out of time, but thank you so much for coming on and talking us through that, i'm sorry to have to cut you off. we do appreciate your time. thank you. here in the uk, queen elizabeth led remembrance sunday commemorations. people around the country paid their respects to the fallen — largely from home, due to coronavirus restrictions. there was a scaled back service at the cenotaph in london. our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell was watching. nimrod by elgar plays. the numbers were depleted, but for all that, the massed bans and everyone else had to be socially distanced and the pavements were empty of crowds, the purpose was unchanged. nimrod by elgar continues. on remembrance sunday in a year when loss has been more keenly felt than most, the ceremony of remembrance at the cenotaph had a particular power and poignancy.

nimrod by elgar continues. as 11 o'clock approached, the queen took her place on a balcony as the prince of wales led other senior members of the royal family to their places in readiness for the two minutes' silence observed in whitehall and around the nation. big ben bongs. band plays last post. in whitehall, the prince of wales placed the queen's wreath against the cenotaph's northern face.

other members of the royal family followed. absent, for their different reasons, were princes harry and andrew. the wreath—laying by the politicians, a small group of commonwealth high commissioners and the military chiefs, would normally have been followed by the march—past by thousands of veterans. the record will show that in 2020, 100 years after the cenotaph was unveiled, things had to be done differently. the veterans were represented by a group of 25. yet, for all the changes required by the pandemic, lives lost in war, and more recently, were recalled and honoured, for remembrance is carried in the heart. nicholas witchell, bbc news. celebrations have been taking place in ireland and india afterjoe biden and kamala harris were confirmed as the next president and vice—president of the united states. joe biden has links to ireland, and kamala harris' mother was indian, as paul

hawkins reports. celebrating one of their own. this is the village in south—east india where kamala harris's maternal grandfather came from, the historic news triggering fireworks, paintings, and prayers. thousands of miles away in the capital delhi, her uncle's celebrations are more sedate. capital delhi, her uncle's celebrations are more sedatelj knew celebrations are more sedate.” knew she was going to win, i was not tense, i wanted to define results to come in so i could celebrate. despairing it isa could celebrate. despairing it is a january 20, could celebrate. despairing it is ajanuary 20, i could celebrate. despairing it is a january 20, i hope to be there. his sister, kamala harris's mother shyamala gopalan harris passed away in 2009. her brother has this advice for the brace president—elect. advice for the brace president-elect. do what your mother told you to do, and you will have been doing everything correct. if she is doing something wrong, i will tell her why don't you change it? simple, ok? her why don't you change it? simple, 0k? every little girl watching tonight sees that this

isa watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities. little girls like maya. she is a big fan of the vice president—elect. this painting is kamala harris's big idea. all across india, kamala harris's assented to america's second highest office is big news, and this is an a beach in eastern india, a homage to kamala harris and joe biden, whose victory is also being celebrated in irish town. a historic moment for the town. his great—great—grandfather was born just his great—great—grandfather was bornjust up his great—great—grandfather was born just up the street here. that was paul hawkins reporting there, and because you live pictures of the white house where president trump is still president, he has not conceded yet, his term in office does and in the 20th of january, but no concession so far. that it,.

you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ l vaughanjones this is bbc news, goodbye. hello there. southerly winds are going to bring us a mild start to the week but they are also bringing extensive cloud, a little bit of damp weather and we've seen mist and fog patches as well, so rather murky conditions for a time, too. now, the satellite picture shows the area of cloud responsible for the drizzle and some fog lurking underneath that. got pressure to the south—west and then a more substantial area of cloud. now, that's going to be coming in towards the middle part of the week so we are going to see some rain over the next few days as well. now, for the early risers, i think it's probably going to be a damp start to the day around the east coast of scotland, some eastern areas of england as well with mist and fog patches dotted around across scotland, england and wales, so murky conditions too. then we will start to see further bits and pieces of rain working into northern ireland and wales and south—west england, and that is all tied

in with this area of low pressure that's going to be pushing north—eastwards as we go through the course of monday. so monday, a cloudy start to the day. as i say, pretty murky across scotland, much of england and wales, with some bursts of rain for northern ireland, wales, western areas of england and through the day, this rain will gradually push its way northwards and eastwards. it will very gradually brighten up across western areas but otherwise, scotland and most of england staying pretty cloudy, really. despite that, it'll be mild — temperatures reaching a high of up to 16 degrees celsius in the south—east of england. now, through tuesday, the low pressure is still on the charts and we've still got a lot of cloud in the forecast, still with some bursts of rain slowly pushing north and eastwards. but the low pressure on tuesday is going to weaken significantly, and so the cloud will begin to break up and we should start to see some brighter weather slowly pushing in from the west, so a greater chance of seeing at least a little bit of sunshine, and it's still mild — average temperature for this time of year is about 11 in london, so 15 degrees is still four above normal.

wednesday sees a more substantial area of rain move in off the atlantic and this one will be accompanied by some strengthening winds with gale force gusts working in across western areas. so heavy rain for northern ireland, heavy rain also developing through the day for west scotland, southern wales and the moors of south—west england. a very squally band of rain, too. notice it's dry for much of the day over eastern areas of england — it'll probably have brighter spells as well — but this band of squally rain will push its way eastwards as we go through wednesday night to reach all areas.

this is bbc news, the headlines: mr biden's team is pressing on with preparations for his time in office. on monday he is expected to announce members of a coronavirus task force, led by scientists and public health officials. he is also preparing to return the us to the paris agreement on combating climate change. the former american president, george w bush, has congratulated joe biden — calling the election "fundamentally fair". but donald trump is still refusing to concede — he continues to assert that the election has been "stolen" without supplying evidence. queen elizabeth has led remembrance sunday commemorations — as people around the uk paid their respects to the fallen largely from home, because of coronavirus restrictions. at the cenotaph on whitehall in london — the queen was joined by other members of the royal family and political leaders.