this is bbc news. lama i am a kasia i'm kasia madera. the headlines at 8pm: the uk becomes the first country in europe to pass 50,000 coronavirus deaths, as a further 595 people die from covid—19. every death is a tragedy and we mourn everybody who's gone. and our feelings are with their families and friends as well. government medical adviser say the public can have confidence in the safety of any coronavirus vaccine thatis safety of any coronavirus vaccine that is approved by the regulator. ifi that is approved by the regulator. if i could rightly and morally be at the front of the queue, then i would do so, because i absolutely trust

the mhra on safety and efficacy. getting students home for christmas — plans for a covid testing programme before they leave their universities. 26—year—old khairi saadallah pleads guilty to the murder of three men who were stabbed to death in a park in reading. music: the last post remembering the fallen — armistice day, a century after the burial of the unknown warrior. the uk has become the first country in europe to pass 50,000 deaths from coronavirus, according to the latest government figures. in the latest 24—hour period,

another 595 deaths were reported — those are people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test. it means on average in the past week, 375 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 50,365. a little earlier today, the prime minister, borisjohnson, gave his reaction to the news. —— to what he described as a grim milestone. every death is a tragedy and we mourn everybody who's gone. and our feelings are with their families and friends as well. it is a global pandemic whose effects, whose treatments, whose implications for the economy, all of those have been becoming clearer and clearer as the months have gone on. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, said it was important the government focused on finding a vaccine.

well, it is a grim milestone. and we're the first in europe to hit it. behind these numbers is a devastated family for every death, and they have to be utmost in our mind. the government were slow at phase one, they haven't learned their lessons into phase two, and we owe it to all of the families who are grieving to get on top of the virus and head towards a vaccine. and that is what the government must absolutely focus on now. 0ur health editor hugh pym explained the significance of the figure of 50,000 deaths linked to coronavirus. remember, back in march, a senior government adviser said anything less than 20,000 would be a good outcome, and that figure ofjust over 50,000 is those who have died within 28 days of having a positive test. there is a broader definition, covering others who may not have had

a test at all but where covid is listed on their death certificate. and that figure for the uk is now above 61,000. what's the international comparison, relative to population? well, the uk's pretty high amongst leading economies. belgium, spain and brazil have a higher death toll relative to population, but the uk is ahead of the us and france and well ahead of germany. of course, each country does measure these things in slightly different ways, so we'll have to wait a bit longer for what's called excess deaths — that's everything over and above a long—term average. now, case numbers and new hospital admissions, if you look at those charts, they do appear to be flattening a little bit. deaths are a so—called lagging indicator, reflecting infections picked up a couple of weeks ago, and health officials do say this death figure could rise for a couple more weeks from now. well, with the new coronavirus vaccine potentiallyjust weeks away, medical experts have been making a concerted effort to reassure us about its safety. the head of the uk's medicines regulator said there was "absolutely no chance"

it would compromise on standards. and england's deputy chief medical officer, professor jonathan van tam, said he wanted the vaccination made available to those who need it most, and not to those who can afford to pay for it privately. here's our medical editor fergus walsh. this is the life we aren't living because of coronavirus, a world without social distancing orfacemasks, the freedom to meet, travel and celebrate together. only a safe and effective covid vaccine can guarantee an eventual return to this and an end to the pandemic. early results suggest fighter‘s vaccine is 90% effective at preventing covid. there's hope it could be given emergency authorisation by early december, but the medicines regulator says no corners will be cut. although we have adapted our

processes to undertake our rigorous review of effectiveness and safety in a rolling way, there is absolutely no chance that we will compromise on standards of safety or effectiveness. creating a completely new vaccine usually takes at least ten years from design and development and animal studies to clinical trials, regulatory review and production. this has been compressed tojust ten months. the clinical trial phases have been done in parallel and manufacturers have already begun large—scale production even before they know it works, so that a covid vaccine will be available as soon as regulators give the green light. the pfizer vaccine requires two doses three weeks apart. no major adverse events have been reported from the trials, involving more than 40,000 volunteers, but detailed safety and effectiveness data

has not been published yet. the government's health advisers know public support for the vaccine will be vital. do you think it might be a good idea if the prime minister and people like yourself were first in the queue for a covid vaccine, and that might be a mark of confidence in a covid vaccine? if i could rightly and morally be at the very front of the queue, then i would do so, because i absolutely trust the judgment of the mhra on safety and efficacy. he said priority must be given to the elderly. i think the mum test is very important. my mum is 78, she'll be 79 shortly, and i have already said to her, "mum, make sure when you're called, you're ready." gps have been asked to be ready to mass vaccinate

the elderly from next month, though most of the doses destined for the uk, enough for 20 million adults, will not arrive until next year. one of the hurdles with the pfizer vaccine is that it needs to be stored in an ultralow temperature freezer like this one at imperial college london. you can see the temperature is —76 celsius. this is where imperial stores some doses of its experimental covid jab. vaccines like these can be transported to immunisation centres in boxes of dry ice to maintain the cold chain. and pfizer says its vaccine can then be transferred to a normal fridge and will remain usable for up to five days. even if several covid vaccines prove successful, we should not expect a return to normal life this winter. but at least a future beyond coronavirus now looks possible. fergus walsh, bbc news. a lot to discuss.

we can speak in more detail with lawrence young, who's a professor of molecular 0ncology at the university of warwick. it's been described as a grim milestone. what is your assessment of how we got here? is a grim milestone and desperately, desperately sad. a lot of the deaths we saw earlier in the spring were because we were caught from the hopper, we were not prepared for the seriousness of this infection, for the way this virus spread so easily in the population, and of course we delayed lockdown, we struggled with testing and tracing, and sadly all of these things have contributed to this very sad milestone. what figures should we be focusing on? it is all desperately, as you say, tragic, but we could potentially be higher. and also, this particular figure is looking at the number of people who tested positive for covid without 28 days —— within 20 days.

there are potentially higher figures we could be looking at in the uk. this is going to be difficult, and as your report said, we're going to wait for data, and comparative data is particular difficult. i have looked at the numbers for dust from cove na nt tea m reported looked at the numbers for dust from covenant team reported in europe in the last fortnight. if you look at that, we're doing better than other countries —— numbers for deaths from covid. to really do down into the detail, particularly in relation to excess detail, particularly in relation to excess deaths, is going to take time. these arejust excess deaths, is going to take time. these are just numbers come up behind every number is a death, and we have to take seriously and remember we have not done as well as we perhaps should have. of course, families lives destroyed. if you could pinpoint it, what should we have done, go to liked him sooner, —— going to liked him sooner?|j

think —— going to liked him sooner?” think we realise with the extreme lockdown in the springtime, that works well, and perhaps we were complacent in the summer. because during the summer, it did not go anywhere, it was still there. we know the virus does not like the hot summer temperatures. and we knew in the winter, with the environment, things we re winter, with the environment, things were going to get worse. perhaps it should have prepared more, been mindful of travel, but some of the introductions of the virus over the summer were from introductions of the virus over the summer were from people coming back from places like spain. there is a big issue here about border control and that might‘ve been some the perhaps the required a bit more attention. let's look at something a little bit more positive, we are hearing about this, these first trials of this first potential new vaccine. how hopeful are you and how realistic is it that we will get it out to people that need it?” realistic is it that we will get it out to people that need it? i think, like everybody else, i am extremely

pleased and elated by that result, but it is tempered, by the fact that this is interim data, we have not seen this is interim data, we have not seen the full data set, it is tempered by the need to be absolutely sure about safety. but what it does show is something really important, and that is that we will be able to defeat this virus. and there was always a concern, a bit like the common cold or even hiv, that perhaps we were never going to be able to treat this virus, treat covid—i9, with a vaccine. with this first trial tells us, andi vaccine. with this first trial tells us, and i think there will be other trials coming soon that will be just as positive, is that we will be able at least to stop the virus causing covid—i9. so that's very, very encouraging. and then of course of got the logistic issue of how you roll out a vaccine now you prioritise distribution, and i think thatis prioritise distribution, and i think that is a big challenge they are going to have to rise to. and we

heard professor van tam describing the mum test. there is a lot of positivity about those people in the first wave who get it to take this up. absolutely. and i think that the order population will recognise that, and it is in the order population, folks that are in care homes, health care workers, who will be the first to receive a vaccine, we do need to think really carefully about how we promote the uptake of vaccines in the general population. there's been a lot of unfounded suspicion about vaccines over the yea rs, suspicion about vaccines over the years, and this has resulted in some terrible things. for instance, measles has become a problem again. in fact, their reports in the last couple of years of children dying of measles because of children not being vaccinated, and we do need to get across how important vaccination is and how important it is that as much of the population is vaccinated, if we're really going to

out the fire of covid—i9 infection. professor lawrence young from the university of warwick, take you for your time during university of warwick, take you for yourtime during a university of warwick, take you for your time during a very busy time. bird flu has been identified in a number of wild birds in southwest england. wild geese in gloucestershire and dorset and black swans in devon have tested positive for the h5n8 strain of the virus. outbreaks of the virus have been reported in germany, the netherlands and south korea in recent weeks. public health england says the risk to public health is very low. a man who launched a knife attack in a park in reading has admitted the murders of three men. khairi saadallah killed james furlong, david wails, and joseph ritchie—bennett during the two—minute rampage in june. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports. it was a warm june evening as the first covid lockdown was starting to ease when khairi saadallah launched his extremely

rapid and deadly attack. forbury gardens was full of people. the pubs, including the nearby blagrave arms, popular with reading's gay community, were still shut. three friends from the pub — a schoolteacher called james furlong, an american customer service manager called joseph richie—bennett and a scientist called david wails — were sitting together when they were all stabbed from behind. james furlong and joseph richie—bennett were killed with single stab wound to the backs of their necks. david wails died from two stab wounds. minutes later, khairi saadallah was arrested. he'd apparently deliberately cut himself to make it look like he was a victim. the 26—year—old pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and three counts of the attempted murder of stephen young, patrick edwards and nishit nisudan. at a hearing at the old bailey next month, the prosecution will argue that he should be given a whole—life tariff, that he should never be released from prison. they say that this was an ideologically motivated terrorist attack and it was substantially premeditated.

the defence will argue that the sentence should be reduced because of khairi saadallah's poor mental health. daniel sandford, bbc news, at the old bailey. we arejust we are just getting some breaking news from scotland yard, regarding an incident in north london. a p pa re ntly an incident in north london. apparently video on social media appeared to show a car had been driven into the front of edmonton police station in north london. footage post on twitter shows a vehicle partially embedded in the entrance of a building in metropolitan police have been tweeting about this, saying, we are aware of an incident at edmonton police station at enfield, and the just add more to follow. an incident in north london, edmonton police station in enfield is the area and, yeah, we are watching this. and as we get any more, we shall bring this to you.

let's get all the sport. i am hoping you will surely something magical in the gulf. we will see. there has been another blow to liverpool's defence following confirmation thatjoe gomez got an injury on england duty. gomez got an injury on england duty. gomez has put on the squad and return to liverpool for further diagnosis. the england boss gareth southgate has said that we cannot speculate on the exact nature of the injury, it is not possible until we have seen scans. that england match is one of the raptor friends tomorrow, but there is a huge amount at stake for scotland and northern ireland for some there in the euro playoff finals for one of ties with the winners taking the final places at next year's championships. scotla nd at next year's championships. scotland faced serbia, looking to reach a major championship for the first time since the 1998 world cup. the scots be israel on penalty last

month in semifinals and are on an eight match unbeaten run.” month in semifinals and are on an eight match unbeaten run. i was still playing the last time scotland qualified. it was a very long time ago, so yeah, there's definitely a generation that is missed the atmosphere and the feeling that you get as a nation when you do qualify, that proud feeling, so hopefully this group can deliver. countdown is on to this group can deliver. countdown is ontoa this group can deliver. countdown is on to a very different masters. this time tomorrow, the final men's major of the year will be under way the event has been rescheduled from the spring to the autumn and the first round, which starts tomorrow, we'll have a similar atmosphere to the practice rounds because, of course, no spectators are allowed into two coronavirus restrictions. for time major winner rory mcelroy says it will affect players but that this major is always a test of form —— mcilroy. you have to go out and earn it. you cannot blame people saying

you're going to win one. reg norman never did, early else never did. —— ernie els never did. it is not a foregone conclusion, i know that, if you go out and play golf. nowadays, with homey great players there are, i have to put a best golf to have a chance. to cycling, britain have recorded the first success at the european cycling shipping tips in bulgaria. he beat the rest of the field over the distance and improved on his fourth place from last year. portugal took silver. meanwhile, great britain won the silver medic in the teens preevent. —— medal in the teen spring event. it is the first time in major international competition that the women's event has been held under the same

conditions as demands. —— the men's. and that's all the sport for now. i will have more few in sportsday at 10:30pm. niemi, thanks so much. today, at "am, the uk fell silent to remember those who have fallen in the line of duty. prince charles and the duchess of cornwalljoined figures from government and the armed forces for a special armistice day service at westminster abbey. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell was following the scaled back events there and around the country. it occupies a place of honourjust inside the main entrance to westminster abbey. it is the grave of the unknown warrior, and for 100 years it has symbolised a nation's loss. it was on this armistice day anniversary in 1920 that the body of an unidentified serviceman was brought from the first world war battlefields of northern france.

it was carried through london on a gun carriage and borne into the abbey for burial among the kings, watched by a congregation of a thousand bereaved wives and mothers. 100 years later, social distancing had limited the abbey congregation to just 80. everyone wore a mask. led by the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall, they gathered to honour the one grave which represents every husband, son, or daughter lost in war. big ben chimes the hour at 11 o'clock, silence was observed.

music: the last post as a bugler sounded the last post at the cenotaph, the prince of wales placed a wreath of laurel leaves at the grave. choir sing the poet laureate read from his tribute to the unknown warrior. all this for a soul without name or rank or age or home. because you are the son we lost and your rest is ours. in his sermon, the archbishop of canterbury spoke about comradeship and shared sacrifice, whether in a world war or a global pandemic. when, as we have this year, we've faced deep uncertainties and difficulties, we do notjust look after ourselves.

we make a stand for our families, for our friends and neighbours. we look out for our loved ones, close and far, because we know that none of us are safe... ..until all are safe. the union flag which had covered the warrior‘s coffin was borne to the abbey's altar, and a prayer was said for all those who've served others during the pandemic. from the aftermath of a world war and the grave of an unknown warrior, a reminder of individual sacrifice and a nation's resilience. nicholas witchell, bbc news. some breaking news to bring you from cheshire police, regarding an investigation into a number of baby deaths. cheshire police is saying that a 30—year—old woman, lucy

letby, has been charged with eight tonnes of murder and ten cans of intent and —— attempted murder after this investigation of baby deaths. and this relates to the charges, the period ofjune this relates to the charges, the period of june 2015 this relates to the charges, the period ofjune 2015 tojune 2016, an ongoing investigation into a number of baby deaths at the countess of chester hospital, so a 30—year—old woman, lucy letby, has been charged, eight counts of murder and ten cou nts eight counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder. and also an update on the incident that we we re an update on the incident that we were ringing to you from edmonton police in north london. we have got a statement on the incident, the mitchell loewen police —— metropolitan police said a vehicle collided with the station office at edmonton police station. a man has been detained in connection with the incident, but no further details, the vehicle remains at the

scene and specialist officers are in attendance while it is being examined. ambulance service, fire brigade is also present and a police court and is in place, just an update, a statement there from edmonton police. of course, both of those stories, we will continue to monitor. now, let's turn to the united states. president trump has made his first public appearance in many days, as he attended a veterans day memorial event, laying a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier at arlington cemetery in virginia. president trump attended the event with his wife melania and the vice president. the president—electjoe biden also attended an event in philadephia. he'll meet his transition advisers today. mr biden has said president donald trump's refusal to concede victory in last week's white house election is "an embarrassment". 0ur correspondent gary 0'donoghue has more on mr trump's appearance today. this is really one of the few appearances where we've seen the president in the last week or so.

you'll remember the famous press conference he held on the night of the election. he had another one a couple of days later and really hasn't been seen much out in public. there have been no scheduled events that the press have had access to on the daily rota. he's played golf a couple of times — we do know that — since election day, but this is one of his first public appearances, really, since the election. and as you say, at a time when he is refusing to accept the outcome of the election and many in his administration are also refusing to co—operate with the president—elect, joe biden, and his transition team. gary 0'donoghue. a monkey that is new to science has been discovered in the remote forests of myanmar. but it's already critically endangered due to habitat loss and hunting. the popa langur, which is named after its home on mount popa, was identified as a new species after researchers examined dna. the newly described animal has distinctive spectacle—like eye

patches and unusual greyish coloured fur, but there are only around 200 of them left. now, let's us have a quick pause and look at the weather. here's sarah keith—lucas. good evening. it's been a cloudy and a windy day with some heavy rain around, windy conditions for all of us and that rain will be pushing its way east. it is all down to this what a friend here heading his way in from the atlantic, quite a lot of isomers on the map showing the strong winds. could be a gust of wind, some thunder... wherever you are, you could well notice those brisk winds

to the course of tonight, with the heavy rainfall too. during the early hours of thursday, it looks like that rain will be your free time, it should gradually clear away, still some showers clearing through in its wa ke some showers clearing through in its wake but of the bit quieter first thing tomorrow morning. and it will be frost free. a touch cooler in the moral spots first thing, but first a isa moral spots first thing, but first a is a quieter day compared to wednesday because we have got this bump of high—pressure, so that is just bring mostly dry conditions, less when the weather on thursday as well, but there will be a few showers. most of them easing away, a lot of dry weather with some sunshine breaking through, but there will be more cloud piling in late in the day. one or two showers a head of that, and temperatures about 10-13 , of that, and temperatures about 10—13 , so a touch cooler than recent days, but still mild for the time of year. as we move through thursday night and into friday, we have got this next frontal system bringing yet more rain and squally

winds eastwards across all of the uk. that frontal rain clearing from the southeast through friday morning leaving some sunshine and scattered showers. most of them in the northwest where they could be heavy and potentially thundery. rainfall mounting up across the west of scotland, for instance. a touch cooler about nine to 13 degrees on friday. look away now if you don't like the wet weather because the weekend is looking very unsettled. more areas of low pressure and a frontal system with lots of isobars moving in from the atlantic. bye— bye. hello this is bbc news with kasia madera. the headlines... a nurse is charged with eight counts

of murder and ten of attempted murder after an investigation into baby deaths at the countess of chester hospital. the uk becomes the first country in europe to pass 50,000 coronavirus deaths as latest figures show a further 595 people have died within 28 days of a positive test. government medical advisers say that the public can have confidence in the safety of any coronavirus vaccine that is approved by the regulator. getting students home for christmas, plans for a cobra testing programme before they leave the universities. 26—year—old pleads guilty to the murder of three men who were stabbed to death in a park in redding. remembering the fallen, armistice day, century after the burial of the unknown warrior.

the uk has become the first country in europe to pass 50,000 coronavirus deaths, according to the latest government figures. the prime minister gave this reaction to the news. every death is a tragedy. we mourn everybody who's gone and our feelings are with their families and friends as well. it is a global pandemic whose effects, whose treatments, whose implications for the economy, you know, all those becoming clearer and clearer as the months have gone on. i do think that we've got now to a different phase in the way we treat it. and after the tough measures which i hope people will stick to really, really rigidly as far as they possibly can. we are very much hoping that

two things will start to come to our aid. number one, the mass testing, the rapid turnaround testing and the other thing is now the prospect, the realistic prospect of a vaccine. so you have a kind of, to boxing gloves to pummel the disease in the weeks and months that followed. but i've got to stress that we are not out of the woods yet. it does still require everybody to follow the guidance, do the right thing to suppress the disease in the way that we all understand. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon made this comment on the level of covid deaths in the uk. these deaths, of course, and i think today in particular, it's important to remember this, these are not statistics, and none of us should ever see them in that way. every single one of the numbers i report to on a daily basis represents an individual

who was loved, unique and for many people, irreplaceable. so again, i want to send my condolences to all of those who have lost a loved one during this pandemic. 0ur health correspondent catherine burns has been speaking to some of those who have lost loved ones in the second wave of the pandemic. peter davies and steve horsfoal lived less than a0 miles from each other and died 11 days apart, both in the second wave of coronavirus. that's been the hardest thing, not being able to hug people. my dad was 79, but i do believe he had a lot of years left. peter was a family man, he died the week before his 52nd wedding anniversary. he was a brilliant dad who doted on his grandchildren. he was healthy until he went into hospital with a water infection. he was not an ill man, he was not a frail man, he died purely of covid.

if covid didn't exist, my dad would still be here. steve was a teacher but that barely summed him up. he was in a rock tribute band, photographer and a biker. wherever he went on his bike, he'd take an ice cream selfie. he had asthma and diabetes but did not think he would get covid. at the end of september, though, he and his wife became sick at same time. it was awful because we were both so ill. his oxygen levels were quite low, enough to make us realise that he needed medical attention. the last vision i have of my dad before his last day was him in the back of an ambulance in a wheelchair, so... ..sorry. that is the last vision i have of him is being 0k, really. as with so many other families they were not allowed to visit their loved ones in hospital. when beth's dad was in intensive

care nurses after video call him. it was quite comforting in a strange way. my dad was in an oxygen mask, and he could not speak back to us back his eyes were opened he could see us and the doctor was lovely and saying peace for each family. i think the last message i got from him was on thursday lunchtime and it was just a kiss, kiss. were you scared at that stage? i still thought he might get better. the shock came when i got a call on the early hours of the friday morning to say that he had developed a complication and that his heart had stopped, and the reason why his heart had stopped was... ..a clot on his lung. i knew they did everything they possibly could... she cries. beverley and her mum were able to see her dad one last time hospitalfull ppe.

he was talking when we first went into the room and he said, "where have you been?" and then he started with very laboured breathing which was just... ican't... just horrific to listen to that. my big, strong dad as i saw him. these people are not numbers, they're not statistics, they are people who are loved. people used to say, "you only live once" and he always used to turn round and say "you only die once." but you live life every day, and he said you have got to make "the best of every day." sue horsfall ending our report there, with health correspondent catherine burns. we can discuss all the latest developments with calum semple who's a professor of 0utbreak medicine at the university of liverpool.

as we saw very much there, the painful situation for so many families, each of those over 50,000 people affecting families. it's a devastating, tragic milestone. how do you think we got here? well, that's 50 , 000 do you think we got here? well, that's 50,000 bereavement and hundreds of thousands of people that have suffered illness, many of whom who will have complications and long covid. unfortunately, there still people out there that don't believe that this is a real disease or deny that this is a real disease or deny that there is a second wave. so it is real, and it is a problem, but there is hope. we've got treatment now that death rates and hospital are falling from one in three to one and six, and that's thanks to improved medical care and good clinical research the drug is saving lives, and we have now got a vaccine on the horizon. let's focus on that

vaccine. what's your understanding? how would you advise who gets it next? is at the vulnerable? for care homes? the front—line workers? what would your advice be to who gets priority with us? thanks to good research, we have got great information about which people in our population are most at risk, sadly, we also know that over 600 doctors, nurses and health care workers have died from covid, mostly through occupational exposure, albeit not all. so, people like me give advice to government. government have to make the policy decisions about the prioritisation and there is a committee specially set up to this, it's completely independent call the joint committee on vaccination and they will be making the prioritisation. is there an argument that this particular vaccine as and when we do get it within the uk that it should go to those people who are out and about who are potentially asymptomatic and

spreading? if the vaccine is in short supply, as it inevitably will be when the first batch comes out, there will need to be prioritisation. there's ethical groups that provide support and advice, and is thejoint groups that provide support and advice, and is the joint committee on vaccination which will prioritise the groups most at risk and other groups to. typically, we would expect the high—risk groups to be vaccinated the health care workers. in influenza, we would also focus on the children because of the understanding of how the disease can be severe for them. but in the coronavirus, fortunately come in children have been relatively spared. so i think this will take much more thought, at least think about which groups are most at risk, which groups will benefit most, and also about exposure in the community and some of the roles that people have in the community could mean greater risk, so this is going to be

an interesting time, and it's going to have to be thought about very carefully, but i'm quite confident that there are independent organisations supported by government that will make the right decisions, and it will be up to the ministers to ultimately make the decision. just briefly, when we look at the way the flu virus, the vaccination is given, it is a little bit sometimes hit and miss, not everybody can get their hands on it, some people pay for it, etc, is there a guarantee that this isn't going to be going to go the to those who can afford it and can pay for this vaccination? so coronavirus is due mutated over time, but quite a lot more slowly than the influenza virus does. so it's likely we will be able to get ahead of this virus and have an effective by the neck vaccine ready each season. so i think there's a lot of reasons to be very optimistic. 0k, faster, thank you so much, we will leave it there. nice to leave

it on will leave it there. nice to leave itona will leave it there. nice to leave it on a slightly more optimistic note —— professor. back to the breaking news we've been bringing you throughout the evening, that a nurse has been charged with murder after an investigation into baby deaths at the countess of chester hospital, well our correspondent has been following this for us. updated. this is just been following this for us. updated. this isjust coming in been following this for us. updated. this is just coming in this evening, and ongoing investigation that began in 2017 into a number of baby deaths and nonfatal incidents at the neonatal unit of the countess of chester hospital. this evening, cheshire police have said that they have charged a health care professional with murder in connection with this ongoing investigation. lucy letby of aaron avenue in hartford is facing eight charges of murder and ten charges of attempted murder. these charges relate to a period ofjune, 2015— june, 2016. she's 30 years old, she was rea rrested june, 2016. she's 30 years old, she was rearrested because she had

previously been arrested and bailed into thousand 18, 2019, now has been charged, say cheshire please —— 2018. she's to appear at rail magistrates' court tomorrow. we have had a police statement does well. yes, the police, i don't have that statement right in front of me, but the police statement that they just said has been an ongoing investigation that began in 2017, again, just to reiterate that she's facing eight charges of murder and ten charges of attempted murder. keep them as always come to think so much for bringing us up to date on the breaking story. ever since we saw that spike in cornavirus cases when students went back to their universities there's been a concern about what would happen when they all returned home for christmas. would they take the virus with them? now there's a plan across the country to get students home for the holidays, with rapid result tests before they travel home. 0ur education editor branwen jeffreys has the story. being wiped down for

the next student — this is rapid testing in action. lottie, a first year at de montfort, doesn't have symptoms. she'll get a result within hours. but will students turn up to be tested before christmas? i know a lot of the people that i have been able to make friends with, not that i've been able to make many, cos you can't go out and socialise, i know that a lot of them would come and get tested just to know that they they can go home, whether it meant they had to isolate or not. being able to go home would be the best christmas present. and there should be a bin there that you can pop it in. this pilot scheme is to be copied on other campuses — especially where cases are high. once this testing centre is up and running, it will be able to process more than 1000 tests a day, getting students results within a couple of hours. but testing is only one part of getting students safely home for christmas. so what is the student christmas travel advice for england ? you should travel home

between the 3rd and 9th of december. universities may suggest a day. voluntary rapid tests will be available at some universities. a positive test means you self—isolate for ten days at university. wherever you study, the local rules apply. in scotland, students asked to minimise contact. similar messages from belfast to swansea. across the uk, there are plans for students to travel home early. universities are planning to move all learning online, but at de montfort, libraries will be open until the end of term. at the end of the day, the students are adults, we can advise and guide them, they will do what they feel they need to do, but when i look across the couple of million students in this country, i do not see students doing crazy, out—of—control things. i see students behaving very responsibly. 0livia had coronavirus in her second week at nottingham. she hasn't been home all term.

when i spoke to them, mum paula can't wait to have her back. it would be just really nice to see her. there's grandparents who missed her, who she's not been able to see. you know, they're caring people, and theyjust need to come home and have some recuperation time and a cuddle. everybody would want to do whatever they could in order to go home, and i think, at the moment, there is nothing open, there is nothing to do anyway, so people wouldn't feel like they were missing out. already, public health officials are looking at transport — part of the push to help students make safe decisions. branwen jeffreys, bbc news, leicester. let's talk to some students and find out how they are feeling and how all of this is affecting them. joining me now is alex bilton, a geography student at the university of lincoln, george ragg—griffiths, a french, spanish and portugese student at the university of exeter and bonnie buchanan and ralph leng who are both students at the university of york.

welcome to you all. my goodness, alex, let's start with you, because you are in lincoln. your parents are in jaffe until you are in lincoln. your parents are injaffe until next i feel. you haven't seen them since you've been back at university. no, i haven't seen back at university. no, i haven't seen them at all since i back at university. i've been having the facetime calls, but, yeah, it's weird not seeing them and going home. are you looking forward to it when you eventually do get there?” definitely am looking forward to seeing my mum and dad, definitely. and george, your situation is rather interesting because you are a language student, well, normally, with language students, i remember backin with language students, i remember back in the day when i did my french degree, you go in year three to the country of the language that your learning to spend a year abroad polishing that language. you won't be though, will you? welcome it's difficult to say, really, because with un—certain circumstances at the moment, we have to arrange within the next six weeks, but we are just

having to go with the flow and see if we can do it, really. fingers crossed. finally, let's talk to you and ralph. you are in a house together. how are you supporting each other? how are you finding all of this? it's definitely been difficult locking down, and we have been into your two for a while, so we we re been into your two for a while, so we were sort of getting used to being locked down together, yet guess. we are getting used to it and doing things to get by, so it's been all right, it's been all right. yes, i feel like it's a all right, it's been all right. yes, ifeel like it's a lot less all right, it's been all right. yes, i feel like it's a lot less worse than the last lockdown just because the library is open, so you are still getting out of the house and going to the library and studying, adding a bit of structure to your day. so it's been 0k. is anything else open, ralph, is itjust the library? it's just else open, ralph, is itjust the library? it'sjust a library of the minutes, yeah. you book slots and it's really regulated, you wear masks. spending time, bonnie in a library, slightly different to the experience i had. how do you feel? i'm feeling all right. i appreciate

the difficult circumstances that lectures have been put into to put everything online and how difficult it must be and i really sympathise with them, but it has been quite difficult adjusting to online learning and, like, getting used to booking slots for the library, because a lot of the time from its full, you can't actually get into it, but yeah, it... iappreciate what the university has done to accommodate for us during this time. lets talk to alex, because none of you are fresh yours. alex, how would you are fresh yours. alex, how would you have felt, do you think, if this was your first year university? this is your third year, so actually, you are to potentially miss out on graduation from about something else that's going to be quite concerning. yeah, i know. the lincoln university obviously has the graduation and the cathedral come if you've ever been to lincoln from other is a massive lovely cathedral there, so i will be guided if i get to miss out on that as well. 0bviously, guided if i get to miss out on that as well. obviously, is welcome if i had been in first year, i think i probably would've differed, but if i had no other option then, you have

got to suck it up, i guess. and george, you actually had to run a virus. talk us through what happened. how did you go about even getting a test, and how do you feel now? well, luckily, university of exeter is really good with tests. there is an online page to fill in, andl there is an online page to fill in, and i filled in in in the morning and i filled in in in the morning and managed to get a test that very afternoon. so that's really credit to exeter there. but, yeah, afternoon. so that's really credit to exeterthere. but, yeah, i got it, and then i don't know from where, but luckily i was a symptomatic, but i got contacted by the university asking if i was ok andl the university asking if i was ok and i felt really good to match with my going through it and felt supported. how did you know if you had it if you are a symptomatic? what was the telltale sign? we got contacted by track and trace and i thought, "well, before going home for reading we come in to see my parents, better get tested to see." and i got tested and came back positive. it was, obviously can be up positive. it was, obviously can be up to follow the rules, and it is what it is, i guess. let's talk to

bonnie, because your trip home is a little bit further than the others. talk to us about where your family is based. both my parents live out in indonesia, so it's a good 18 hour trip over there. in indonesia, so it's a good 18 hour trip overthere. yeah, in indonesia, so it's a good 18 hour trip over there. yeah, so it's been a bit ofa trip over there. yeah, so it's been a bit of a struggle planning if i can even go back, fees and visas and whether i will even be allowed into the country. but now with the window, at least i have a bit of a plan of when i can try and get home, but it's been tough being away from them. ralph, do you feel, what kind of information are you getting, given, what are we now? november, you will be taking up for christmas, not... relatively soon, are you being supported? what details do have welcome to the university have been good about e—mail, telling us about what's going on so they have given us a window from the 3rd—9, and go home at a certain point. they recommend you get tested,

because obviously, no one wants to bring it down to their families. so we have been kept in the loop. let's go back to alex, alex, do you know it's going to happen injanuary? go back to alex, alex, do you know it's going to happen in january? we still haven't got really any guidance from the university. they are doing the best they can. university of lincoln have been very good. when we were isolating, they sent out food boxes for free and we have been given as much information as they can possibly get from the government, really. when it comes to george, george, i know you drive, so potentially commute could get yourself home not on public transport, but you've got the issue that your mum works in the nhs. that's correct. so i don't want to bring anything home, and she works in the hospital, she may spread it ifi in the hospital, she may spread it if i happen to give it to her, but lucky, i'm only a two and half— three are entered drive away, now i am semi—immune since having had it. what advice does george's mum give to you, george? shejust what advice does george's mum give to you, george? she just says to me to you, george? she just says to me to be sensible, don't go out partying all the time and all of that kind of —— i'm not that kind of

person anyway, so ijust ticked myself in the house and hope that all goes by in a senselessly. george's mum you're hearing it here on the bbc, he sensibly doesn't do that. bonnie and ralph, when you have been stuck together in the house for so long, has it been... have there been issues? have you been getting along with it, it's a difficult situation. laughing no it's been fine. the we have just been doing our work. yeah, it is the same as the first lockdown. everybody is finding things to keep them busy, it has been quite nice, university is a most like a thing to keep us going throughout the day. like having the lectures to do. but it's actually been really nice spending a lot of time with your housemates, and with each other and, i do know, getting to know each other even more, i guess. yeah, it's been nice. that's really nice, actually. friendship for life there. alex, when it comes to the online lessons that you have, do you feel... how does that compare

given that you are now coming to the end of year university time? how does that compare to when you are a fresher in your two? i said to my friends that i have a 9am on monday morning which is... but i am present andi morning which is... but i am present and i am there, but mentally, not really presence, other than being there in the lecture theatre, to be honest. 0k. brilliant stuff. listen, thank you so much all of you. alex, george, bonnie and ralph. thank you for sharing your experiences. good luck, yeah, really wishing you all the best and hopefully you do eventually graduate. thank you so much for your time. thank you. thank you. wishing thank you. wishing them thank you. wishing them all thank you. wishing them all the best. all of hong kong's pro—democracy lawmakers have resigned from the territory's legislative council — that's its parliament — after four of their colleagues were dismissed. it comes after the the government

in mainland china passed a resolution allowing politicians to be removed if they were deemed to be a threat to national security. the move has been condemned by the uk. this report from our china correspondentjohn sudworth contains some flash photography. it was a slow walk out of parliament and a sign ofjust how swiftly china has moved to quell hong kong's pro—democracy movement. four politicians had spoken in favour of us sanctions on hong kong, disqualified within minutes of the announcement from beijing. last year's mass protests — fuelled by fears that china was undermining hong kong's freedoms — have been stopped by a sweeping national security law, but few would've imagined that parliamentary opposition would be targeted too by new powers and handed to the city's pro—beijing leader. translation: from now on,

every lawmaker must support the basic law of hong kong and be loyal to the people's republic of china in order to build a political system dominated patriots. chanting. in protest, the remaining pro—democracy lawmakers announced that they were all resigning, leaving hong kong's leaders without any effective opposition at all. this act of resignation is notjust in protest against beijing's rule by decree — it's no longer rule of law, it's not even a rule by law — its rule by decree. hong kong's fractious parliament was not always a model of democracy, but it was one of the few spaces left for dissent. now it's gone too. john sudworth, bbc news, beijing.

i will be back with a little later with the papers, but now it's time for the weather. hello, we are seeing a transition in the weather. high—pressure bringing quite a bit of mist and fog for many of us, but seems like this to the day on wednesday, we had a lot of cloud around, this is in surrey. that cloud has been producing outbreaks of stop —— what we have got a smile they're in charge. that's been with us really since the start of this week, still at this moment, seeing this cold front introducing some slightly cooler air for a time at least through the course of thursday. but still temperatures are above average for this time of year. a ridge of high pressure holding on for a time on thursday, so after all the wet and windy weather through wednesday night, it's less windy and a little bit more sunshine as well especially in the east. the cloud will increase from the west later in the day ahead

of the next frontal system which will push some rain into northern ireland and western scotland later in the afternoon into the evening. temperatures still about 10—13 degrees, still just above temperatures still about 10—13 degrees, stilljust above average for the time of year. but not quite as mild as it was earlier in the week. now, through thursday night into friday, that is when this next weather front moves that's what you stretch across all of the uk. so, another a pretty windy weather to start on friday morning for many of us. ifrontal rain start on friday morning for many of us. i frontal rain clears towards the east and then it is clear skies and scattered showers. most of the showers in the northwest where they could be quite heavy in thundery at times too. temperatures still about 9-13 times too. temperatures still about 9—13 degrees or so on friday. a little bit above average, not expecting frost overnight because there is too much wind around. cloud and operates of rain as well. so, looking towards the week and now, and saturday sees the next fairly complex area of low pressure moving in from the atlantic. so quite a messy weather story for you on saturday. lots of showers around, windy conditions, especially in the southis windy conditions, especially in the south is welcome it could be a real squeeze and the winds in those

times. squally, heavy showers through the course of the day. still mild, 16 degrees down towards the southeast. well in double figures. moving through into the second half of the weekend and the next area of low pressure of the weekend and the next area of low pressure moves of the weekend and the next area of low pressure moves in on that conveyor belt. so not much rest bite from a further heavy downpour is through the day on sunday. it is further south and particularly, you will see the wettest and windiest weather. most of that rain should clear to leave some slightly brighter condition still with scattered heavy showers and thunderstorms possible later on in the day as well. so all in all, really unsettled weekend ahead. temperatures on sunday, little cooler on saturday can about 10—14 degrees. in looking towards next week, the next working week, we see this little ridge of high—pressure building and heading on into monday. soa building and heading on into monday. so a bit ofa building and heading on into monday. so a bit of a quieter day on monday, certainly after that fairly wet and windy weekend for us. a bit more in the way of sunshine breaking through, more cloud building for the west once again later on, and a few showers towards the northwest of the uk, little bits cooler, about 9—13 said that degrees again through the

day on monday. so, through next weekend, this is thejet day on monday. so, through next weekend, this is the jet stream, day on monday. so, through next weekend, this is thejet stream, and it's going to be pushing to the north of the uk for a time, so the orange colours, the milder air, not far away, particularly holding on in the south. as we had through the course of next week, it does look like higher pressure will try to nudgein like higher pressure will try to nudge in towards the southern half of the uk. lower pressure likely to stay in charge further north. so we are likely to see some slightly more settled weather, particularly in the south through the course of next week, but it will remain wet and windy in the north and northwest. things are set to stay mild for the time of year. bye for now.

this is bbc news — still not conceding. president trump digs in as republicans are mostly silent. joe biden, meanwhile, is preparing for the presidency one day, one meeting, one step at a time. today, the president—elect paid his respects to the nation's war dead, amid questions over why president trump sacked the civilian head of the military. we'll talk to former us defence secretary leon panneta. this is dangerous for the national security of the country, to go into a situation where the administration is not helping the transition to a new administration. mrtrump also marked veterans day,