this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. cummings going. the uk prime minister's most senior adviser, dominic cummings, leaves his job in downing street. as poll workers in the state of georgia begin recounting votes, us government officials back the integrity ofjoe biden's victory, describing it as the most secure election in american history. almost half a century after he murdered 13 women, one of the uk's most notorious criminals, the yorkshire ripper peter sutcliffe, has died. his first victim's son gave this reaction. i'm not celebrating it, i'll put it that way. i feel some sense of closure. growing pressure on the uk's hospitals as covid infections

continue to rise, but there's a fall in the r rate, the reproduction number for coronavirus across the country. record rises in the us. more than 150,000 new coronavirus cases are reported, the highest daily figure yet. lockdown restrictions mean some of the uk's most popular temples are having to organise virtual ceremonies hello, welcome to viewers in the uk and around the world. boris johnson's most senior adviser, dominic cummings, has left downing street for good. he walked out very publicly carrying a box a short time ago after clearing his desk.

yesterday he said he would be staying until the end of the year. it comes after downing street's director of communications lee cain, who was a close ally of mr cummings, stood down this week amid reports of internal tensions in the prime minister's team. this report from our deputy political editor vicki young contains flash photography. leaving for the final time after a power struggle that erupted publicly and left downing street in turmoil. dominic cummings has been one of the most influential figures in westminster, advising the prime minister and making plenty of enemies along the way. dominic cummings made his name as a formidable campaigner first against the ukjoining the euro. it was the eu referendum that forged his relationship with borisjohnson, and he was credited with the winning slogan "take back control." but the move into government throughout different challenges. threw up different challenges. mr cummings was ruthless with those

he didn't consider to be loyal. he was dismissive of the cabinet, conservative mps and the civil service. parliament was controversially suspended when it tried to block a no—deal brexit. although he wasn't a member of the conservative party, he masterminded a huge election victory, appealing to leave voters in the north of england. he was always someone who would sort of shake things up. he didn't take things just because they'd been done that way. they couldn't be done any other way. and this was good, i think, to have people who challenge the system and challenge the way things are done. he's been very influential in that way. but the covid pandemic left little room for his ambitious reforms, and then there was the infamous trip to barnard castle. while millions followed the rules and stayed at home, mr cummings drove hundreds of miles to durham and was later forced to explain his actions. we agreed that we should go for a short drive to see if i could drive safely. there was uproar, but mr johnson stuck by him. today many tory mps are glad he's gone.

mrcummings has... i would like the prime minister to see this as an opportunity to muck out the stables, to get in the team of people that he really needs and deserves behind him. every day, the people walking in that building make important every day, the people working in that building make important decisions that affect every one of us, but this week, the prime minister's decided he wants a new team to do that. conservative mps hope that it will mean a different tone from the government, less division, less aggression. but we don't know whether it will mean a change in policy direction, and only the prime minister can decide that. the influence of borisjohnson's fiancee has also played its part. carrie symonds worked for the conservative party for years and was said to be unhappy with the team around him. others will now be taking the limelight and speaking for the prime minister. the aim is a smoother operation. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. an incredible day. let's get more from our political

correspondent nick eardley. next, tell us. there's some confusion about whether those pictures we saw of dominic cummings leaving downing street with a cardboard box was in fact his final time at downing street or in fact that wasn't the case. enlighten us a. let me try and clear it up. dominic cummings will be on the downing street books until the mid december, but we didn't expect him walking out the street and the famous front for. he may do some work from home. he's been quite involved in some of the mass texting plans of the government is drawing up, but to all intents and purposes, dominic cummings and borisjohnson's chief of communications lee cain have left the operation. the prime minister clearly looking for some sort of clear the air moment. there was some concern about the atmosphere in downing street after some of the tumultuous events of the last few days, and in a meeting this afternoon, it was made clear that

dominic cummings and lee cain weren't coming back to the office, evenif weren't coming back to the office, even if they were officially working for downing street until mid to send her —— mid—december. for downing street until mid to send her -- mid-december. some years might not be aware how important i think your dominic cumming is. just tell us how significant his departure is —— i think dominic cummings is. he's an influential figure in the last ten years of british politics because he was one of the masterminds behind the vote leave campaign, the campaign for the uk to leave the european union back in 2016. he came back into downing street, actually he came into downing street for the first time with boris johnson downing street for the first time with borisjohnson became prime minister, and he was a really influential member of mrjohnson's. he had more power than most special advisers have in the uk government over things like policy. he was part ofa over things like policy. he was part of a faction in downing street which was designed to push brexit over the line to make sure it happened. they

help make some of the really controversial decisions. unlawfully suspending parliament, introducing that legislation earlier this year, which ministers accept would break international law by going against the brexit withdrawal agreement that borisjohnson the brexit withdrawal agreement that boris johnson signed with the brexit withdrawal agreement that borisjohnson signed with the european union. in terms of what exactly his departure from downing street will mean, i think some tory mps, as you heard in vicky's report, will be hoping it marks a better change in the way the operation works. perhaps slightly less confrontational from works. perhaps slightly less confrontationalfrom downing street, perhaps allowing more mps and even some ministers to have boris johnson's ear rather than just a close group of advisers. remember as well that this is a really crucial point for the brexit negotiations. we're getting to the current point, in which the government in london has to decide whether it's going to sign up to a free trade deal or walk

away and allow the transition period to expire. not clear if this is going to have any impact on that. borisjohnson is going to have any impact on that. boris johnson is adamant going to have any impact on that. borisjohnson is adamant that brexit will happen and we will finish that transition period in just will happen and we will finish that transition period injust a will happen and we will finish that transition period in just a few weeks' time. i suppose some people might be asking the advisers moving on, doesn't really matter, but one of the fears that some politicians have here is that downing street at the moment, or at least in the last few days, has been wracked by factional battles between different people who want borisjohnson's ear. ata time people who want borisjohnson's ear. at a time when others say the focus should be on tackling coronavirus and making sure that brexit deals done. nick, thank you so much for the update. us federal officials have said the presidential election was the "most secure in american history", rejecting president donald trump's repeated claims of fraud. the cybersecurty and

infrastructure security agency said... ‘there is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised." it comes as us tv network cnn projected president—elect biden as the winner in the state of arizona, taking his projected total of electoral college votes to 290, and as officials in the state of georgia begin manually recounting the votes in what's being described as a routine audit of the voting system. joe biden remains ahead in georgia by 111,000 votes. i'm joined now by our correspondent will grant in washington. what everybody wants to know is when is this going to be sacrosanct, this result? when are we going to draw a line that is president—elect biden? all states have different points where they certify the race in their state, so there's still allowed to go before that happens. some of them into december. the reality is very

clearly written on the wall, it is just a question of whether the white house empress specifically president trump decides to accept it. —— the white house. he continues to tweet out his claims of electoral fraud. notice he uses the word rigged election rather than fraud, perhaps indicating some sort of watering down of his position. but by and large, he continues to claim that he was denied an election win. you mentioned in your introduction that arizona has gone to two president—elect biden and once suspects the pressure will be at the very least to allow president—elect biden to receive his sub purity briefing. thank you so much. -- security briefing. one of britain's most notorious

killers, peter sutcliffe, who was known as the yorkshire ripper, has died in hospital at the age of 7a. sutcliffe is said to have refused treatment for covid—19, and had a number of other health issues. the former lorry driver was serving a whole life prison term, after being convicted of murdering 13 women between 1975 and 1980, and the attempted murder of seven others. for years, women across yorkshire and northwest england lived in fear of going out at night, as sutcliffe was interviewed nine times by police but not arrested. 0ur news correspondent phil bodmer is in leeds. that's right. peter sutcliffe who ‘s terrorised the streets of yorkshire in the late 19705 streets of yorkshire in the late 1970s and early 1980s. behind me, where that shiny car park is, we've seen at central inquiries where the investigation was run from. it was then mill garth police station and such was the volume of inquiry and paperwork they had to reinforce one of the floors because it was a

large, wide—ranging investigation. but as you say, peter sutcliffe remained at large for a long time for the police finally apprehended him. danny savage looks back on peter sutcliffe's crimes of. 0ver over a period of six years, all these women were murdered by the same man. 13 families lives turn apart by seat dirt still peter sutcliffe. william mccann was the first to be killed and leeds in 1975. his son richard wasjust first to be killed and leeds in 1975. his son richard was just five yea rs old 1975. his son richard was just five years old when she died. he believes today brings some sort of closure.|j know that many people welcome this date and maybe they will get some peeps. it's a man who took my mum's live so it is significant —— get some peace. i got my own life and family now, and let's get on with oui’ family now, and let's get on with our lives. this was in halifax,

where19—year—old bank clerk josephine whitaker was killed. murder scenes were scattered across yorkshire and manchester. for several years, women in west yorkshire were scared. going out alone at night was a real risk. peter sutcliffe changed the way people lived. still, he found victims, like mobile lee, an art student in leeds who survived when sutcliffe and and busher. one side of that night timescale, i was a happy—go—lucky art student. after that, i became sarcastic and cynical andl that, i became sarcastic and cynical and i lost trust. sutcliffe was known to police. he was interviewed nine times, but things never went any further. i am jack. i see you are not catching me. that is partly because the police inquiry was

famously led down a blind alley by hoax tapes from a man dubbed where syed jack. he sent letters and tapes taunting the officers of.|j syed jack. he sent letters and tapes taunting the officers of. i have the greatest respect for you. even though he fit the description, it led to the conclusion that peter sutcliffe wasn't their man. there was one young detective, and he said, "i've interviewed a man today and he fits the description, the photofit description. now one of the top table officers said, "is he a geordie?" "no, no." "what's his name?" he said, "peter sutcliffe." "now listen boys, peter sutcliffe... ..peter sutcliffe is not the yorkshire ripper." so sutcliffe carried on killing, although he was interviewed on numerous occasions. colleagues at the haulage firm where he worked knew, and used to joke about it. he was nicknamed the ripper. and he used to answer to that sometimes. so it was, you know, it's rather... ..it's rather sort of... ..it's sad now, isn't it? bizarrely, he was finally caught after being linked to a car

at dewsbury police station, the publicist turned out to express their disgust. —— the public. sutcliffe was jailed for the rest of his life. he died after contracting covid—19 and refusing treatment. few, if any, will mourn the passing ofa man few, if any, will mourn the passing of a man who destroyed so many lives. william mccann -- wilma mccann was his first victim. she was murdered about a half a mile from here in leeds. her son richard was just five years old at the time. today, i asked just five years old at the time. today, iasked him just five years old at the time. today, i asked him about his thoughts on the demise of the yorkshire ripper. strange emotions. in fact, very little emotion. it's not an emotional time. what was emotional was hearing it from a little boy, my son broke the news. for the very first time in 45 years, idid hearabout for the very first time in 45 years, i did hear about something associated with losing mum through

the media. my son told me because he been told by his friend, that's the way it should been. no, in some ways, not celebrating it. i don't wa nt ways, not celebrating it. i don't want to celebrate the death of anybody. does is bring an element of closure finally? yes. it was always going to happen. but aware that that day will occur, that day has occurred now. that's dealt with. nothing like that can happen. no significant thing can happen in that way... but it's an odd day. it's over, to be fair. i can get back to getting on with my life. but he's a man that took my mum's life, so it is significant. i wanted to be... a voice for me mum because until i did

she wasjust that voice for me mum because until i did she was just that black—and—white picture. a bit of a positive element to see her son who'd moved on. you had to live with the press spotlight on you over the years. does this mean that weight will be lifted from your shoulders? yeah, that is a massive weight. off my shoulders. we will still get mentions from time to time. listing the crimes and how he did it so yes, i'm grateful that will decline and will max the and into that hopefully —— we'll see the into that hopefully —— we'll see the into that. joining us is bob, a former detective. what were your thoughts when you heard the news this morning? my thoughts were like a lot of people's and west yorkshire. the common thing today from ex—colleagues and members of the public that have passed in the

streets is goodbye and good riddance. that's my feeling. not a lot of tears shed for peter sutcliffe today. this was a complex inquiry. we know the police made a mistake. the chief constable has apologised for some of the attitudes that were ingrained in the culture of the police at the time. do you think that was the right call? and i think that was the right call? and i think well done, john robbins. the culture of the time... these were all innocent victims who were absolutely brutalised by them. he was an evil man and from that point of view, they all suffered at his hands. those that were attacked that think it was him that attacked him will wonder... and they will never know because he's had plenty of opportunity to admit to anything else. west yorkshire police have made an blast info —— made a vast

inquiry. no evidence and evidence is the key factor in any investigation. you are involved in the inquiry room, just over the police station all those years ago. do you think anything like this could ever happen again these days? fortunately not. back then, if you sort of outline the circumstances, in those early days, 1978, 79, if you wanted a screen days, 1978, 79, if you wanted a screen of something, you had to bring it up and we would take an hour and bring it up and we would take an hourand a bring it up and we would take an hour and a half. you didn't have dna or computers. everything was on paper. written reports are typed up on typewriters, and then copied out to everybody. like you said, the roof nearly collapsed with the weight of it. for me, the number plate used on the card...

presumably, police procedures changed as well. dramatically. every major investigation would turn on its head. the report in 2005, people thought because it was from yorkshire, it would be a whitewash. looking after one of his own and i'm glad to think... there were a lot of faults with the inquiry. not all individual faults, but the investment in the police service. what we were seeing was a dramatic change in the approach to major crime investigation. back then, it was all about admitting, so we know how they've been obtained on some occasions. we move forward a great deal, but peter sutcliffe is

outlived. a lot of the detectives on the investigation that worked night and day, it destroyed their lives as well. so as i say, hopefully it might give one or two a little bit of closure, but i don't think it'll make any difference today for a lot of people. thanks for sharing your thoughts. back to you from leeds. thank you very much, phil. coronavirus cases continue to rise in uk. the latest government figures show there were 27,301 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. that means that the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is now 24,430.

and 376 deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. however, today there is a glimmer of hope that lockdowns across the uk are helping. the r number, the rate at which the virus is spreading, is lower. it is still above 1, meaning the virus is still growing but it is slowing and now sits between 1 and 1.2. but hospitals are still under pressure across the country.0ur health editor hugh pym reports. it's really starting to hit. we've seen huge increase in numbers. the boss of milton keynes university hospital with a reminder that some services are still under immense pressure because of the covid second wave. here, they've seen a doubling of patients in the last five days, and that means staff are stretched even further. we know that staff are still tired from the first wave, we know there are high levels of anxiety, and everything that we're doing here at the hospital is focused on making sure that we keep our

staff safe and well. daily hospital admissions of patients with coronavirus in the uk have risen steadily since early october, but there has been a slightly slower rate of growth in recent days. hospital cases reflect infections picked up in previous weeks. community testing schemes like this one in liverpool, including some school pupils, are trying to find out how much the virus is spreading now, covering those with and without symptoms. there are also surveys covering the wider population. the office for national statistics survey covering infections in the community suggests that in england last week, one in 85 people had the virus, a bit more than the previous week. in wales, it was a similar figure, again a little bit higher. in scotland, the estimate is one in 135 people infected, down a bit on the previous week. in northern ireland, one in 105, again a bit lower. the 0ns suggests that in areas of high infections, there has

been a bit of a leveling off, but increases in other parts of the country. we are seeing a plateau of cases in certain areas. for example, northern ireland is starting to see a plateau of hospitalizations and deaths, and hopefully that continues and starts to decrease. however, in certain areas such as england and wales, it may be too soon to tell if those have had a positive impact. a key measure of how fast the virus is spreading or declining across the population is the reproduction, or r number. anything above one shows it's accelerating, below one and it's receding. the latest uk estimate is a range of one to 1.2, slightly lower than last week's number. that indicates a slowdown for the virus. some health officials think it'll fall below one in the coming weeks because of lockdown restrictions. but as to what's allowable over christmas, they say that's a decision for ministers and the different uk governments.

in the different uk governments. hugh pym, bbc news. just want to take you to us politics. the bbc has predicted that joe biden has won georgia and 16 electoral college votes by 14,152 votes. that gives him 306 electoral votes. that gives him 306 electoral votes. that gives him 306 electoral votes. that coming to us from our tea m votes. that coming to us from our team in washington there. of course, that magic number that we told you so much about over the last few weeks is 270 that each candidate needs to secured to gain the presidency. of course, we know that president—elect biden did that, but with this now, georgia win that gives him a total tally of 306 electoral college votes. that's to donald trump's 217 as well. that's coming to us, we will have more analysis from our team in the state.

stay with us. hello again. the afternoon brought usa hello again. the afternoon brought us a mixture of sunshine and showers. the majority of the showers we re a cross western showers. the majority of the showers were across western areas of the uk, but there are a few that seep through the central belt into eastern scotland, bringing the chance of catching a rainbow. this one framing the fourth bridge quite nicely. further southwards, we have some high cloud lurking in which brought us spectacular halo pictures. this was sent to us from a heart for sure. the high cloud is all tied in to our weathered system. there's going to be moving in just—in—time for the weekend. looking at the weather as we go through this evening. we've got plenty of showers across western

areas. these will tend to merge together to give longer outbreaks of rain progressively as night goes on. southerly winds bringing milder air, so by the end of the night, the temperatures will be rising across southern areas. routine degrees it at the beginning of saturday morning. the week and is unsettled with an area of low pressure to come through. that's often going to be bringing windy weather and we will seek several spells of rain. it is going to be pretty wet. saturday getting off to a wet start for many of us. there will be a few areas that start off dry, perhaps in northern scotland, some areas of eastern england. you can see these various areas of rain will work eastwards as the day progresses. it will be pretty windy around the iris seacoast. you can see some gusts getting up to 50 on miles an hour, so very blurry. —— iris seacoast.

most of us will see it rain at times, and belfast and london card is. low pressure still bringing outbreaks of rain which would loiter in scotland and northern ireland, perhaps the far north of england. plenty of showers potentially mirrored merging together and again, it's going to be wednesday. the strongest winds will be working through the english channel which work could get gusts around 50 to 60 miles an hour. and fresher air will be working on sunday, you'll notice that change to slightly cooler weather through the afternoon.

this is bbc world news. the headlines. the most senior advisor to the british prime minister, borisjohnson, has left downing street for the last time. dominic cummings was said to wield huge influence over the government but his abrasive style had angered many mps from the governing conservative party. his departure follows days of turmoil within mrjohnson's top team. the us president—elect is to start receiving national security briefings next week, according to his transition team. it comes as the bbc projects that joe biden has won georgia and its 16 electoral college giving him 306 electoral votes. the us has reported 150,000 new coronavirus cases — the highest daily figure yet. 0ne ofjoe biden's coronavirus task force members told the bbc that there was a fire raging

across the nation. one of britain's most notorious killers, peter sutcliffe, who was known as the yorkshire ripper, has died in hospital at the age of 74. ripper, has died in many women in the north of england lived in a climate of fear in the late 1970s before sutcliffe was arrested. our special correspondent lucy manning has been speaking to women about their experiences at the time. wilma mccann, emily jackson, irene richardson, patricia atkinson, jayne macdonald, jean jordan, yvonne pearson, helen rytka, vera millward, josephine whitaker, barbara leach, marguerite walls, jacqueline hill.

everyone remembers peter sutcliffe's name. how many remember theirs? what no one forgets from the time is the terror felt by women. for a 17—year—old in leeds when sutcliffe was left free to kill, it was a fear michelle teel couldn't shake. we had no mobile phone, so you couldn't ring to say, i don't feel safe. you had nothing, so my mum used to time it knowing when i would roughly be coming home and she would walk halfway to meet me. but it was a scary time. all of us were so aware of this case, to the point of actually suspecting friends, neighbours. joan smith reported on the murders and suffered nightmares after. she wrote about the misogyny of the police investigating. they kind of thought that the women who were involved in the sex trade were "asking for it" in inverted commas, and they were much more interested in the "innocent" women.

and i thought they missed the central point, which was that what he hated was women. do you think anything has changed for women since that time in terms of policing? what it changed was women's attitudes. it kicked off the reclaim the night marches, women saying, "we're the victims, why should we be the ones who stay at home?" and this was an absolutely foundational event. for a former yorkshire evening post journalist at the time of the murders, it boils down to one thing. i would say there was institutionalised misogyny. the victims who survived had all said he had a local accent, but they didn't take any notice of those people. and if they had, if they listen to the women, maybe he would have been caught sooner. violence against women is taken more seriously now, but few accused of rape are charged and convictions for that and domestic abuse are down. the murder in 2006 of five women

in ipswich who were daughters and mothers but also worked as prostitutes shows that vulnerable women are still at risk. and when the serial rapist john worboys was to be released two years ago, it was the victims themselves who had to campaign to keep him in prison. men off the street! in the late 1970s, it wasn'tjust a few weeks when women were scared to go out — it was five years. and today, there are still women who feel unsafe not just on the streets, but often in their own home. lucy manning, bbc news. there will be a radical shake up in how students are offered university places in england. the education secretary has told the bbc offers of places will be made after exam results — not on the basis of predicted grades. it could happen as soon as 2023. the move has been welcomed by university lecturers and head teachers' unions amid concerns the current system

is unfair to disadvantaged students. here's our education editor bra nwen jeffreys. working hard to get to university, they are applying with predicted grades. it's going to be really important... in an exclusive interview, the education secretary said change would help disadvantaged students. they don't have the same confidence, especially if they're maybe from a family who've never had anyone going to university before. maybe haven't always had the encouragement to apply to one of those top universities, yet they've got the potential to go to one of those top universities. universities are worried that this could be very difficult to implement for some of the most competitive courses. well, this is something that is done in many other parts of the world. so, we know it's possible to do. actually, we're going to end up with a much more efficient admissions system that will in time work for universities as it does

for students themselves. this is a change that many believe could make the system fairer. universities would like students to still be able to apply before their results and get offers afterwards. but others favour a more radical approach in which it all happens after results day. so, what do current sixth formers think? it would mean an end to predicted grades. no more offers before you sit your exams. i've already applied now, and i've got offers so i know what grades i've got to work towards. i think a lot more universities will do interviews and admissions tests as well. so, i think it could be a good thing. basing it solely on grades on results day sort of makes unis miss the bigger picture. having the unconditional app and people need that to know that they are going to get into university. it could mean college is working

harder to keep them on track. it motivates them, it gives them a sense of what year 13's all about. if that was left until the end of their exams, with the same with the same motivation happen? that probably would but in a different wave. and i think at least you would feel that you will give your exams your best shot and then you are able then to hopefully apply toothy places that you deserve be at. universities said today they'd backed change but the more radical it is, the bigger the challenge. just how practically could it be done but the second thing is of course if we do that, we're going to have to ensure that the students have a very good careers advice system during that period because there's going to be a week when they have to make up their minds and come to a decision. it means as colleges come out of this pandemic, another revolution is on the horizon, one that could spark change in the rest of the uk. branwen jeffreys, bbc news, st helens. in the united states,

the number of new coronavirus infections recorded each day has doubled in just three weeks. with the thanksgiving holiday less than two weeks away, when more people travel than at any other time of year, local leaders are introducing all kinds of restrictions to try to stop the spread of the virus. latest records show 150,000 new coronavirus cases — that's a one day record. chicago's mayor has asked residents to stay home for the next 30 days, beginning from monday. a similar move may be imposed across the state of illinois in the coming days. the governor of michigan has warned that hospitals are running dangerously low on personal protective equipment. she said cases are skyrocketing. in new york city, the number of positive cases among those tested has hit 2.6% — closing in on the 3% threshold that would close down all public schools. neighbouring newjersey state announced its highest daily case total since april. parts of newark now have a 9pm weekday curfew.

and on the west coast, california is now on the brink of becoming the second state to reach one million confirmed coronavirus cases after texas. president—electjoe biden has promised fast action on battling the virus and has vowed to be guided by the science. dr celene gounder is one of 13 experts appointed to the president—elect‘s coronavirus task force. she told me that the current situation is deeply concerning. well, i would say we have a fire raging across the nation, and the holidays threaten to be gasoline poured on that fire. i'm very concerned by the spikes we're seeing in cases, by the increasing hospitalisations. we're seeing hospitals in many parts of the country overwhelmed with cases and we know that the case fatality rate, the death rate, spikes increases when hospitals are overwhelmed because we simply do not have the

staffing and resources to care for patients the way we would like to. and with the holidays coming up, those are really going to be super spreader events where you have people from multiple generations, family members from multiple generations, different ages, coming together, not socially distanced, unlikely to be wearing masks, indoors, sitting around a table to a meal and drinking, and that unfortunately, we know those kinds of indoor social gatherings are very high—risk for a transmission of the coronavirus. you've been appointed to joe biden, president—elect‘s advisory team now to deal with this. what has he asked you to do for him in terms of getting his agenda right on this? well, i think it's important to understand it's not just the advisory board that's working on this issue. there is a very deep bench of scientists, doctors, public health and policy experts who have been working as part of the biden—harris team for months now,

developing a blueprint, a plan, how to operationalise that plan, really the nuts and bolts of that. and we as an advisory board were just named in the past week, we're really there to be thinking big, to be providing a second set of eyes on the plans that have been developed over the last several months. and what are those plans, if i can ask you? what exactly is the vision and the strategy that president—elect biden has put forward? well, there's going to be a huge emphasis on scaling up testing. i think, unfortunately, that has been notjust not done, but actively discouraged under the current administration. but it's very hard to control a virus that you cannot see if you don't see what the problem is, where it's spreading, and that's basically the nature of this. it's an asymptomatic infection in the vast majority of people, so it's invisible. so unless we dramatically scale up testing, we will be unable to say who exactly is propagating the transmission and

what settings and why this is happening. so testing is going to be very important as we move forward. can i ask what the strategy is with regards to the conversation on vaccines? because i know that this is something that you have been speaking about in the past, not only in your new role on the advisory board, but what are your feelings about what we're hearing in terms of the trials that have been under way in the united states? well, the vaccine does look extremely promising and there are a number of others. the astrazeneca, johnson &johnson, the moderno vaccines that are not far behind in terms of their phase three clinical trials, aand there are a host of others that are also coming down the pipeline. so i think we're going to have a number of vaccines available to us by the end of the calendar year, in early 2021. the challenge is really going to be manufacturing enough doses for everybody and distributing all of those doses. this could be, really, a major logistical challenge.

some of these vaccines like the pfizer vaccine require deep freezing, which most doctors offices cannot do, and they require, some of them, two doses. so that's also a logistical challenge and you need to make sure that someone who's gotten the first dose comes back to get their second dose, so that requires really tracking systems and call back systems. so that's very much part of what we're planning for. that doctor who is on president affect's coronavirus task force. —— president elect. russian peacekeepers are deploying in the breakaway region of nagorno—karabakh following a deal to end six weeks of war between azerbaijan and armenia. under the agreement armenia will withdraw from districts held since 1994. azerbaijan will keep territory in nagorno—karabakh and the surrounding areas retaken during the fighting. the enclave is internationally recognised as part of azerbaijan. but victory has come at a cost, as our international correspondent 0rla guerin reports from the city of

terter in azerbaijan. "get up and let's go," lalazar begs. a mother's lament at the grave of her only son. 25—year—old mehdi joined the azerbaijani army to fight for nagorno—karabakh. he was killed last month. buried by his side, his 17—year—old cousin melek. his uncle says they both took a secret to their graves. we were welcomed to the family home

near the front—line city of terter, and to a room full of anguish. generations grieving for what might have been. singing the women sing lullabies to those who died in battle, and who are revered as martyrs. we don't know how many families are grieving. azerbaijan has not revealed its military losses. but lalazar, a widow, has lost her greatest support. she says mehdi chose to put the country first. she's proud of him and of melek.

melek‘s name means "angel". relatives say that described her in life. mehdi was quiet. he worked the land and he couldn't wait to join up. according to his cousin. mehdi returned a hero to his bleak resting place.

azerbaijan is the winning side in this war. it has reclaimed part of its territory, but mehdi and melek didn't live to see it. 0rla guerin, bbc news, terter, azerbaijan. france is remembering the victims of the devastating series of co—ordinated militant attacks in paris five years ago. the shootings and bombings by three groups of islamist extremists left 130 people dead and hundreds more wounded. the commemoration ceremonies have been limited because of the current coronavirus restrictions nationwide. this report from paris and our correspondent hugh schofield. five years on from france's worst terrorist atrocity since world war ii, and it was a sombre and low—key commemoration led by the prime minister. his small delegation went from the stadium to the bars and cafes, and then to the bataclan concert hall, retracing the events of that

november evening with its long roll call of the dead. stephane albertini. nick alexander. jean—jacques amiot. baptiste chevreau. the attacks, carried out by islamist gunmen and coordinated by so—called islamic state are sharp in the memory today because of the recent resurgence ofjihadi terrorism in france. the beheading of the teacher samuel paty and the killings at a nice church two weeks ago were the work, it seems, of radicalised individuals, rather than a group. but the threat against france today is at its highest. president macron's robust defence of free speech and the right to publish cartoons of the prophet muhammad triggering new levels of hostility in parts of the muslim world. and coming up, a new potential source of tension. the trial of the one alleged participant in the november 2015 attacks who survived — salah abdeslam escaped from the scene and was captured in belgium four months later.

in paris, he faces charges of murder in france's biggest ever terrorist trial. hugh schofield, bbc news, paris. i spoke to guillaume denoix de saint marc, general director of the french association of terrorism victims about how those who witnessed these attacks are dealing with the trauma. the persons are trying to get back to society. they are working on it. it is very difficult for them to come back to be in a capacity of working and being a citizen as any other citizen. sometimes, it's positive. 0ther other citizen. sometimes, it's positive. other times, other citizen. sometimes, it's positive. 0thertimes, it's more difficult. and that is even for the person who haven't been wounded but having psychologically wondered or for the relatives of the person that

up for the relatives of the person that up and killed. so it is a long process and five years is a very short time under rehabilitation process and coming back. but it goes forward still some not everyone in the same path, some are going slower than the others. that's humanity. and today, all of them were sad not to be able to be together. because of the covid—19 but we are together online at least. how much is justice important to the rehabilitation process that you have just described there? we don't wanted to forward into anger and vengeance. and it is for that very reason that we respect the rules of state injustice. that means that they should abstain justice. they are a —— against the

penalty of course... they agree with all the human rights but they need justice. and for that we're all waiting the enormous trial that we will have in december of 2021. we have been told it was postponed and was supposed to beginning of next year and now postponed to september of next year. with that delay doesn't prolong the agony for the families or do you believe that they have now got to a situation where they are notjust grateful for the fa ct they are notjust grateful for the fact that the case is going to be heard in the justice court? the fact that they're going to be heard in the justice court is very important. the delay is not as important as that. what is important is that it is done in good conditions. good conditions for the perpetrators of course because justice should conditions for the perpetrators of course becausejustice should be perfect but also good conditions for the victims themselves, for them to be able to attend or not, to listen or not, to come during the six

months or only one or two days but to be able to understand what is exactly going on. and also to give their point of view because they are going to also be able to speak to the court as a civil part. so, you have to get ready for that. it was a bit anxious to note that it had been postponed because the victims were getting ready for it to start in january. but we will manage and we will go on and be ready for september. more than a million hindus, sikhs and jain's will celebrate the festival of diwali this weekend across the uk. the festival marks the victory of the forces of good over evil and communities get together and pray for peace and prosperity for the year ahead. but how are families coping under the virus restrictions. 0ur correspondent rajeev gupta has been finding out. diwali is one of the most celebrated times of the year for hindus, sikhs and jains.

but this year, the coronavirus means that things will be quieter, with families making do with festivities from home. and for some, they may not even be celebrating at all. mum was all about my family. that is something this woman from bolton knows all too well. the cruel reality of the virus has disproportionally affected families. her mother died just two weeks ago after contracting the virus in the second wave. she was only 63. she was self—isolating. we didn't expect what happened to my mum and we took all the precautions and it would just take an event where people get together for it to go rife, and we wouldn't wish that on any family. diwali is very special

in everyone's hearts and we can still celebrate and get dressed up but i think all within our own homes without mixing. with diwali falling on a weekend this year, extended families would have expected to come together for large gatherings. instead, preparations are now being made for diwali from home. and for me, that includes a video call with my mum and the kids instead of seeing her in person. we will miss all the love and cuddles. actual presence of the grandchildren and my children which, send next year we are together and able to celebrate it. as a chance outside downing street to welcome in diwali, the government had put out a plea asking people to respect the strict covid rules. there are thousands of nhs doctors

who celebrate diwali every year with their families but this year will be different for them as well with many staffing nhs wards instead. i can't celebrate with friends or family, diwali is all about giving, it is all about resilience, it is all about victory. and if i'm working on that day and i can help people, that is just as much a celebration in some ways for me. so despite diwali being celebrated in a different way, this year perhaps the festival's central message of triumph in the face of adversity is a more pertinent one. wishing you all a very happy diwali. it may not be the normal one as normal but it will still be... just an update and that is to do withjoe

biden the president—elect, the bbc projects on a number of us news networks now thatjoe biden has won georgia and its 16 electoral college votes by 14,152 votes. that then gives him a total of 306 electoral votes. of course he needed that magic number which he surpassed at 270 but this not giving him a tally of 306 electoral votes. with that george account coming in, that was a recount there but bbc calling it for joe biden. —— that georgia recount. we have more information coming to us and we understand that president trump is do to make a national address shortly, not exacted 100% clear on the time but perhaps within the next hour. a national address on the next hour. a national address on the number of daily coronavirus cases in the us that as we reported able to earlier has broken a new record and that is quite significant of course because this would be the first time we have seen donald trump for a number of days making this national address. we will bring that

to you life here on bbc news. that is it for me. lukwesa burak is with you with the headlines at 8pm but now here is the weather with chris fox. hello again. the afternoon brought us a mixture of sunshine and showers. the majority of the showers were across the western areas of the uk, but there were a few that snuck through the central belt into eastern scotland, bringing the chance of catching a rainbow. for example, this one framing the forth bridge there quite nicely. further southwards, we have some high cloud working in and that brought us rather spectacular halo pictures. this one was sent to us by head in the clouds from hertfordshire. that high cloud that caused the halo, is all tied in with our next weather system that just to the west of the uk at the moment, and this is our next area of low pressure that's going to be moving in just in time for the weekend. now, looking at the weather as we go through this evening,

we've got plenty of showers, particularly across western areas of the country. these are going to tend to merge together to give longer outbreaks of rain progressively as the night goes on. southerly winds bringing milder air, so by the end of the night, those temperatures will be rising across southern areas. 13 degrees as we head into the first part of saturday morning there in plymouth. now, the weekend is unsettled. we have that area of low pressure to come through. that's often going to be bringing windy weather, and we'll see several spells of rain pushing north and eastwards across the country as well, so it is going to be pretty wet. the rain quite heavy at times, too. saturday getting off to a wet start for many of us. now, there will be a few areas that start off dry, perhaps northern scotland, some areas of eastern england, too, but you can see these various areas of rain will be working northwards and eastwards as the day progresses. it's also going to be pretty windy around the irish sea coast, so for wales and western england, we could see some gust getting up to 50 odd miles an hour, so very blowy. brighter spells for a time across eastern areas of england, some drier spots through the central belt of northern scotland, too, but most of us will see rain at times.

a mild day, temperatures 13 in belfast, 15 in both london and cardiff. the second half of the weekend, low pressure still with us, still bringing outbreaks of rain which could loiter in scotland and northern ireland, perhaps the far north of england. plenty of showers potentially merging together to give some lengthier outbreaks of rain, and again, it's going to be windy but this time, the strongest winds will be working through the english channel coast, where we could get gusts of around 50—60 mph or so across those southernmost areas of england. and fresher air will be working in on sunday. you'll notice the change, just slightly cooler weather through the afternoon.

this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. our top stories: the us reports another record day of infections, as the coronavirus continues its surge across the country. some states take drastic action to slow the spread — 0ne ofjoe biden's top pandemic advisors warns of a disaster as the thanksgiving holiday season begins. we have a fire raging across the nation and fellow holidays threatened to be definitely imported on that fire. in the next hour president trump will give an update on the so—called ‘0peration warp speed' programme, which aims to speed up development of vaccines and treatments. cummings going — the uk prime minister's most senior adviser — dominic cummings —