welcome to bbc news — i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: with president trump still refusing to concede the election, barack obama accuses senior us republicans of undermining democracy. it's one more step in delegitimising, notjust the incoming biden administration, but democracy in general. the migrant crisis continues. seventy people drown off this is bbc news, the coast in libya trying the headlines: to get to europe. with donald trump yet to concede former president barack obama has severely in nagorno—karabakh, the ethnic armenians criticised senior republicans. burning their own houses down many in mr trump's party have to prevent them falling backed the president's stance in not yet conceding into the hands the election to his democratic rivaljoe biden. the french prime minister says of their enemies. there's now more coronavirus patients in hospitals than in april, with a new admission

every 30 seconds. in the uk there's been a 50% jump in cases compared to the previous 24—hour period. hello and welcome. president trump's predecessor barack obama has accused senior amnesty international says it us republicans of undermining has evidence that possibly hundreds of civilians have been killed in what it calls democracy, by humouring a massacre in ethiopia's mr trump who refuses to admit he lost last week's election. the comments in a cbs interview tigray region. are the first by the former president since the vote, which was won by his former the government has vice—president, joe biden. launched an offensive there against local forces. boris johnson's most senior they appear to be motivated aide, dominic cummings, in part because the president is set to leave downing street doesn't like to lose at the end of the year. and never admits a loss. now on bbc news it's time for panorama. i'm more troubled by the city in the eye of the covid storm... the fact that other you took us scousers for granted. now we stand shoulder to shoulder with the north republican officials, west. who clearly know better, are going along with ..first into the top this, are humouring tier of restrictions... him in this fashion. have you got a mask? put it on, mate. it is one more step it feels like we're in the land in delegitimising, of the living dead. notjust the incoming

biden administration, ..now the first place to get mass testing. but democracy in general. and that is a dangerous path. i bit their hand off and i said absolutely, yes, let's have it, meanwhile a group of respected let's bring it on. independent leaders founded by nelson mandela say they've seen enough. this is a message for the elders — as they're known — the people of liverpool. say mr trump is undermining for you. let's start the fightback democracy around the world. here's their chair, the former president of ireland, against covid. mary robinson. so how have people here handled the crisis? the tragedy is that the united states has always been looking forward to going back to school? the supporter, a strong advocate for democracy and for adherence to the will of the people. when the votes are counted, you accept that. and so we do see it as being serious for the united states in the short term but also very worrying internationally because it is obviously something that autocrats and bad leaders are rejoicing in. they arejust laughing. they are saying, who talks about democracy? look at the united states. our correspondent in washington, lebo diseko, explained the impact of these statements by former leaders.

i think it is quite something, lewis, coming from the elders. this group of really the world's elder statespeople saying that this is undermining democracy in the us and how do they go to other countries and say, ‘look, your election wasn't free, wasn't fair. you have undermined the democratic process.‘ how is it going to lead us in other parts of the world and say look, it is time for you to go. i think it is quite telling that barack obama also, echoing those types of comments, this is his first interview since the election and saying that this is undermining democracy. and what about the fact that, let's go into specifics, about what barack obama was saying there. he said, listen, trump's trump but what he's really disappointed about is other leading republicans who, in his words, should know better. they know that the republicans and donald trump lost this election. they are going on with it, humouring him. where are we now if republicans

publicly at least aren't declaring who won this election? i suppose the calculation that a lot of republicans are making is that donald trump is still incredibly popular. he got the second most votes of an electoral candidate ever. we know also that he is not one that forgives or forgets and can really relish his supporters and mobilise them if he doesn't like how someone has behaved. there is a senate run—off coming up in georgia. that is really important. whoever holds onto it, the senate, can essentially control the way legislation laws or bills go through in terms ofjoe biden‘s term. so that is a big consideration for them. also the midterms are coming up in a couple of years. we are barely through this election but that will be on their mind as well. the senate is certainly where a lot of power lies and that is something that they will be considering.

in terms of where we are, there was a group of several republicans came out today and said look, joe biden really should be given access to those security briefings he's supposed to be getting. donald trump has blocked that for the moment. they have stopped short of saying that they should recognise that donald trump lost the election. i'm thinking particularly of lindsey graham who is an ally of donald trump. on the one hand saying that joe biden should get these briefings and on the other saying that donald trump needs to fight on. officials at the department of homeland security have released a statement saying that the selection was one of the most secure in history.

onto the pandemic now and the world health organization has issued a warning saying: "we may be tired of covid—i9 — but it is not tired of us." many countries are in their second wave of infections and are seeing the number of hospitalisations or new cases reaching figures not seen since the start of the pandemic. in some countries the outbreak appears to be worse than its ever been. the us has seen a record number of new cases in a single 2a hour period, with more than 142 thousand people being diagnosed with covid—i9. in the uk, there's been a record rise, with 33,470 new infections and the second day since may where deaths exceeded 500. and while cases are dropping in france, the number of people in hospital is now at an all—time high of 32,638.

the french prime minister outlined the severity of the crisis there. last week, between 400 and 500 people died every day of covid-i9. that people died every day of covid—i9. that means that today in france, one death out of four is because of covid—i9. we have also seen in the last few days, one hospitalisation every 30 seconds and one admission into intent of care every three minutes. more than seventy people have drowned off the coast of libya on thursday in the latest disaster to strike migrants trying to reach europe by sea. there were children among more than 120 boat passengers. 47 survivors have been brought ashore. mark lobel reports. survivors of a shipwreck. dejected, exhausted, and yet, in this all—too—familiar scene, these migrants are also the lucky ones. they may have failed in recent attempt to reach europe, some reportedly from nigeria,

the gambia and burkina faso, now back on libyan sand, but they have escaped with their lives. they're now receiving the basics in the middle of a pandemic. having been rescued out at sea and brought to khums by the libyan coastguard and localfishermen, who weren't able to help at least 70 others, including children, who drowned in what the international organisation for migration said was the ninth shipwreck since the beginning of october in the central mediterranean. a problem, they say, currently suffering from an unworkable approach to tackling it. there needs to be a shift in the approach to the situation and to migration management. this includes redeploying search and rescue capacity and vessels from states, lifting all of the restrictions on the work of ngos that are operating in the deadliest sea crossing in the world. the international organisation for migration says at least 900 people have drowned on this route this year.

another 11,000 have returned to libya where, for those who do survive the shipwreck, the organisation says they face human rights violations, trafficking and exploitation. they are urging a change of approach. establishing a clear, safe and predictable disembarkation mechanism, followed by solidarity from other states with countries that are receiving arrivals. libya has had no stable government for almost a decade, although there are hopes current un—led talks could lead to a transitional government and then elections. but right now, both out at sea and on libyan land, it remains a risky environment for migrants. mark lobel, bbc news. just want to bring you some breaking news now we are receiving out of myanmar and that's the election results, and they are showing that the

leader and —— has won enough seats to form government. five days ago or so it was confirmed the national league for democracy party has secured 322 seats needed in the legislature. —— aung san suu kyi. a senior volkswagen executive has defended the decision to continue operating a plant in china stopping mounting international concern has led some multinational companies to cut ties with the region but volkswagen has told the bbc that there is so far no evidence that any of their employees have been through the detention camps as our china correspondent reports.

volkswagen makes more than 4 million cars a year in china, as many factories here know a vital part of its global success vital part of its global success story, except for one. opened seven years ago and she andjan, this opened seven years ago and she and jan, this client has found itself at the centre of a major controversy, sharing the vast desert landscape with a network of detention camps that china has built in recent years. images said to show the mass incarceration of xinjiang province neck uighur muslims, makes this one of the most pressing human rights issues of oui’ pressing human rights issues of our time. and now vw is having to defend itself. we know about the allegations and it's certainly very much concerns us and we also want to check whether any of our supply chains are affected or if any of our people are affected, so far we haven't found any

evidence. can you be completely certain that none of your employees in that xinjiang province has been through a temp? i would say that no company can ever make sure stopping the only thing we do is... if you can't be sure, should you just not be there? i'm not sure, i guess we have a footprint all over the world in different countries, and situations are not always to a situations are not always to a situation how we would like to haveitin situation how we would like to have it in volkswagen. but xin jing is notjust any other place, and the re—education camps and work camps, however much they are denied by china, raised tough questions for a company founded by the nazis and one which relied heavily on forced labour during the war. one prominent german politician described your company as a company without a conscience, complicit in upholding a totalitarian hell in xinjing. with comments like that, isn't it time to close that plant and

leave ? it time to close that plant and leave? i would say, it time to close that plant and leave? iwould say, leaving it time to close that plant and leave? i would say, leaving a plant is a serious decision and oui’ plant is a serious decision and our history here also in china has proven that for the benefit of people in society, not only for the benefit of the company, we can mutually develop. and whatever the reputational damage from keeping the plant, volkswagen knows there would be a cost to closing it, too stopping the anger of a government on which it is now s0 government on which it is now so dependent. stay with us on abc news, still to come coal on a golden breed by the president of turkmenistan has unveiled a 19 foot statue of a dog in the country's capital. 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. women ministers who'd long felt only grudgingly accepted among the ranks of clergy, suddenly felt welcome. this is bbc news.

iam i am lewis vaughanjones. the latest headlines: ba rack obama criticises senior republicans after president trump still refuses to concede the presidential election. the migrant crisis continues. 70 people drown off the coast in libya trying to get to europe. thousands of ethnic armenians are fleeing areas of nagorno—karabakh that will be handed over to azerbaijan as part of the recent peace deal. there've been six weeks of violent clashes in the region which is internationally recognised as azerbaijan's but has been run by ethnic armenians. some armenians have resorted to burning down their own homes rather than see them in the hands of their enemies. steve rosenberg reports. in nagorno—karabakh, the fighting has stopped. the exodus has started. ethnic armenians are rushing to leave before much of this

area is handed to azerbaijan. for these armenian soldiers, defeat is hard to swallow, everyone here has lost comrades, but for these young men there is relief, too, that a bloody six—week war is over. translation: if this war had continued we would have all been killed. azerbaijan has more money, weapons, and military equipment than us. armenia was given less than a week to vacate this land. sarkis is packing up and taking absolutely everything with him. he's stripping the house bare. he's even removed all the windows. translation: i feel so much pain, you cannot imagine. i don't know when to go. i have seven children but i have no home. nearby, silent prayers in an armenian monastery,

but within days, azerbaijan will control the town. the ancient monastery in dadivank is proof, say people here, that this land was and is armenian. but history is complicated in the caucasus. only 30 years ago dadivank was part of azerbaijan, until armenian forces captured it. and if they must leave now, some armenians are leaving nothing behind. this family are destroying their home, so that no azerbaijani can move into it. translation: i built this house from scratch. i can't leave it to anyone. we've taken whatever we can and now i'm just going to burn it. if my children can't use this house, then no—one can. there's nothing these people can do about this peace agreement. there is nothing they can do

about losing this land. the only thing they can do is make sure they leave nothing behind for azerbaijan. a peace agreement may have ended war but the hatred keeps burning. steve rosenberg, dadivank, bbc news. amnesty international says it has evidence that scores and possibly hundreds of civilians have been killed in what it calls a massacre in ethiopia's tigray region. this comes as a conflict between the federal army and tigrayan forces has entered a second week. the aid agency says the victims were stabbed or hacked to death in mai kadra town on monday night. anne soy reports. is this ethiopia on the cusp of civil war? these are federal forces in the northern region of tigray. a bitter fallout between the national government and leaders of this region descended into confrontation. this is humera airport. federal forces say they've

captured it from the regional tigray people's liberation front, which led ethiopia for nearly three decades. tplf has called for talks, but the national government says it's past that point. translation: we have come here with high morale since we heard about this. we are determined that this force has to either surrender or be destroyed, whatever it is. little is known about the welfare of civilians in tigray. phone lines, internet and banking have been cut off. aid agencies say the situation is dire. we definitely need to have food, fuel and other basic commodities brought into the region because they're running low already of sugar, oil and all the basic needs, including banking services. there's no cash. the northern region of tigray is home to over five million people.

the region's leaders have ordered them to mobilise to defend themselves in a report on tigray state media. thousands of civilians are fleeing across the border into sudan. many are yet to receive any help. we are very concerned that with the continued attacks, military attacks and the fighting, more persons may flee, including refugees who are in the camps, and other members of the population. in the capital, addis ababa, hundreds turn up to donate blood for the army — a stark reminder of how bad things could be on the war front. but even here, opinion about the fighting is mixed. translation: our defence force is the flag bearer and guardian of our nation. i'm so proud that our people come here en masse to donate their blood for our military. i believe this shows our unity. translation: waging war

at this time is not proper. war has no benefit for us. it hurts our economy, our country. we need to work together to develop our country rather than going to war. when there is a war, industries will be damaged and the people who will die would have contributed a lot to the country. pro—government militia are seen here travelling north to fight alongside nationalforces. there are fears this could morph into full civil war — a stand—off between ethiopia's former and current rulers threatens to push the country to the brink. anne soy, bbc news. it's understood the uk prime minister's senior aid, dominic cummings, is expected to leave the government by the end of the year. he told the bbc tonight that his position hasn't changed since the start of the year, when he wrote that he wanted to make himself "largely redundant" by the end of the 2020.

our political correspondent, jessica parker, has more. there seem to be a power struggle behind the doors of number10, struggle behind the doors of number 10, then the cane would be leaving downing street at the end of the year. the cane, a close ally of dominic cummings, and while he is an important figure —— lee cain, dominic cummings is a very centralfigure in downing street, the prime minister's chief aid, a man who really has the ear of boris johnson. chief aid, a man who really has the ear of borisjohnson. and if you remember, there was a huge controversy earlier in the year when mr huge controversy earlier in the yearwhen mrcummings huge controversy earlier in the year when mr cummings travelled from london to county durham during the height of lockdown. borisjohnson during the height of lockdown. boris johnson refused during the height of lockdown. borisjohnson refused because to sack him, emphasising his importance to the prime minister but following the departure of lee cain, there is a lot of speculation regarding

the future of dominic cummings, and he has been speaking to our political editor, laura kuenssberg, tonight, and a nswered kuenssberg, tonight, and answered these rumours about him earlier. he said his position hasn't changed and that he seeks to be largely redundant by the end of 2020. a senior government redundant by the end of 2020. a senior government source says he will be out of government by christmas. why this is important, a couple of big picture things here. there has been quite a lot of turbulence over the past couple of days about who gets whatjob and who has the ear of the prime minister. of course this is a government that is trying to tackle a pandemic on the other thing as well as lee cain, dominic cummings, both worked on the vote leave with boris johnson and were in the fire together. they have a competitive style —— combative

style in the way they run things. if they live, it could bea things. if they live, it could be a significant change in the way the country is run. you can't miss this new statue in turkmenistan. balloons, music and dancing, full fanfare in ask about some of the unveiling of this, a 19 foot statue of the alabi, in this case, all that glitters is gold. turkmenistan's president bestowing the honour on his favourite dog breed. dogs are of course known as mount was best friend, and as part of the ceremony, one boy was handed another. the dog is a variety of the central asian shepherd dog and is listed under the country's national heritage. the president's affinity runs deep, last year he devoted a

book to the breed, while in 2017 he gifted a puppy to rising president vladimir putin. translation: we have a common friend. you probably know this is the world's unique breed of dog and today i brought this one with me. the price tag for the city's newest guard dog is unknown, but its grandeur it certainly isn't representative ofa certainly isn't representative of a nation where much of the population is impoverished. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. just before i go, archaeologists in norway are raising against the onset of mould to dig out the first viking ship in more than a century. discovered in the south—east of the country, two yea rs south—east of the country, two years ago, the 20 metre ship is being excavated because of its poor condition, experts say the site has been disturbed many times and precious relics may have been plundered. that is it for me. you can reach me online

at el vaughan jones —— for me. you can reach me online at el vaughanjones —— l vaughan jones on twitter. hello there. today is shaping up to be not too bad a day. we should see a bit of sunshine around once we lose the morning rain. the band of rain has been spreading its way east slowly during overnight and followed by blustery showers which will be running into scotland and northern ireland. so this is the rain i'm talking about, lying on the cold front, fresh air behind it. it will be working its way eastwards and ahead of it, cloudy, breezy and mild. there will be lots of showers across the north—west from the word go. sunshine behind this rain band, continuing to journey eastwards through this morning, eventually clearing the south—east by around lunchtime. then a bright afternoon for most, but the showers will continue in the north—west — some heavy, perhaps even thundery. blustery day to come for all but very windy for the north—west of scotland, and winds here touching 50 mph. for the temperatures, it will feel cooler, particularly in the

north, 9—11 degrees. 12—14 degrees for the south. as we head through the overnight period, it looks like it will stay dry for a while, but then the next area of low pressure sweeps in from the atlantic, bringing increasing cloud and wind and rain getting heavier across southern and western areas. signs of milder air getting into the south of the country by the end of the night but most are in single digits. into the weekend, it will stay unsettled because we will have low pressure nearby. windy with gales and heavy rain in places, too. low pressure will be moving in right across the country for saturday, many isoba rs on the charts, and it will be largely cloudy for most. outbreaks of fairly heavy rain at times but not raining all the time, and going to be windy with gales around the irish sea coast and south coast, up to 50 mph. a mild day to come — 14—16 degrees in england and wales and 10—12 further north. further rain saturday night into sunday. low pressure still with us — a squeeze in the isobars, you'll notice there, across southern britain and lots of weather fronts, indicating outbreaks of rain. southern britain, gales up to 50—60 mph through the day causing disruption and spells. showers and longer spells of the rain in places, but there will be some sunshine around as well. not a complete washout. 00:27:57,701 --> 2147483051:50:43,565 a slightly cooler day on sunday 2147483051:50:43,565 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 — your highs 10—14 degrees.