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 — one 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 — leaves hisjob in downing street.

and we'll be looking at how families plan to celebrate diwali during lockdown. in the united states, the number of new coronavirus infections recorded each day has doubled in just three weeks. latest records show 150,000 new coronavirus cases — that's a one day record. 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. 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 per cent — closing in on the 3 per cent 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 has become the second state to reach one million confirmed coronavirus cases after texas.

well the president elect joe 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 taskforce. she told the bbc that the current situation is deeply concerning. i would say we have a fire raging across the nation and the holidays threatened to be gasoline poured him back fire. i am very concerned by the spikes we are seeing in cases by the spikes we are seeing in cases by the increasing hospitalizations and we are seeing hospitals in many parts of the country overwhelmed with cases and e—mail that they case fatality rate and the death rate spikes increases when hospitals are overwhelmed because we simply do not have the staffing and resources to ca re 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 spray to advance the way you have people from multiple

generations and family members from multiple generations and different ages coming together, not socially distant, unlikely to be wearing masks, indoors, sitting around a cable to a mere and drinking and that unfortunately we know those kinds of indoor social gatherings are very high—risk for a transmission of the coronavirus. well, in the next hour, we'll be hearing from president trump, as he holds a news conference on operation warp speed, the government's plan to deliver a coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year. lets speak to our washington correspondent, will grant. great to see you. 0peration wire speed, remind us what this is and what we are expecting to hear from president trump. this is president's trump team who are trying to co—ordinate the efforts and deal and

ove i’co m e co—ordinate the efforts and deal and overcome the situation that you have laid out so clearly at this stage. we heard just how bad things are across the nation in the united states at the moment. 0peration warp speed, one of its objectives is to get that vaccine up and running. of course pfizer who were not part of that seem to think the closest major pharmaceutical company to reach the point where they might have something operational by early next year, may be the spring of next year but i think we can fully expect president trump to try to take a large part of the credit for that because of christ during the campaign he stated that a vaccine is very close even though a lot of people are sceptical about that. so, i think that is probably the kind of rhetoric we will hear from him when he addresses the press. going back to our president—elect, in the

earlier today, by the officials said that they are not interested in a food fight, they were hoping that the republicans would share security and have and also working progress on covid—i9. president trump a speaking rate in the next hour, is the biden camp getting this information yet? they would have to be some crossover. according to the biden transition team they are not getting it at all. this is —— pivotal time it is vital that it's biker him and his team receive real time information on vaccine and distribution plans. they are not currently receiving plans. there is a growing chorus of voices in the republican party itself urging mr trump to rethink on that and allow mr biden‘s team to start receiving those critical security briefings,

covid—i9 briefings and so on. of course if president trump continues to deny that president—elect biden won the race than one would assume that he will also be dragging his heels for a wild to come get on allowing his rival access to that information. earlier, the white house press secretary said that president trump will win this race. if anyone even listening to her? what is the latest on the action figures? the action figures are very cut and dry now. we had the final decisions from georgia and north carolina. the former going to join ——joe carolina. the former going to join —— joe biden and the latter going to donald trump. those are predicted to go that way. that gives us 306 electoral college votes forjoe biden and 232 to donald trump. that is pretty much laying out what we had already understood to be the situation by the time it got to this point. it seems like the white house is the only one continuing to deny

that an president trump core supporters. by the time being he is showing absolutely no signs of competing, no intention to do so least until at his remaining legal challenges run their course. at that stage he may say look, i don't agree with these results, but i am not going to take the legal situation any further. i think that is as much as the joe any further. i think that is as much as thejoe biden camp can hope for. thank you. the british prime minister's most senior adviser, dominic cummings, has left downing street for good. he walked out of downing street — very publicly — 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. russian peacekeepers are deploying in the breakaway region of nagorno karabakh, following a deal to end six weeks of war between azerbaijan and armenia. map)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. mehdi's uncle says they both took a secret to their graves.

we were welcomed to the family home, near the front city of tartar... ..and to a room full of anguish, generations grieving for what might have been. 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 mamedova, who is widowed, has lost her greatest support. she says mehdi chose to put his country first.

she is proud of him and of melek. melek‘s name means "angel". relatives say that described her in life. the son was quiet. mehdi was quiet, he worked the land and he couldn't wait tojoin 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, tartar, azerbaijan. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: fleeing conflict in ethiopia. now, the un calls for an investigation into potential war crimes after reports of a massacre in the northern tigray region. 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. the latest headlines: the us reports another record day of infections, as the coronavirus continues

its surge across the country. the uk prime minister's most senior adviser — dominic cummings — leaves hisjob in downing street. now to ethiopia, where reports of mass killings of civilians in northern tigray region have prompted the un human rights commissioner, michelle bachelet, to call for a full inquiry into possible war crimes. human rights campaign group amnesty international had reported that possibly hundreds of people had been murdered in mai—kadra town in the west of the region. eyewitness have blamed forces loyal to tigray‘s ruling party, tplf, but tigray‘s leader said the accusations were "baseless". the un said those responsible must be held accountable. i'm joined now by david shinn, who is former us ambassador to ethiopia and currently adjunct professor of international affairs at george washington university.

thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. what did he know about this alleged massacre? most of what we know comes from amnesty international and it's very clear it was a terrible coincidence in the western parts of the with probably hundreds dead but it's not well known is who exactly is behind it and that's why it's imperative that there be a full investigation of that i may the events leading up to it there was some fighting between military forces of the central government and tigray region prior to that incident. how long is such an investigation likely to take because while this is going on the piping may well continue and there are already reports of hundreds of civilians crossing the border into sit down —— so don.

civilians crossing the border into sit down -- so don. we have it slowly sliding into a civil war and there has to be a meaning for an investigation at this moment, one can only do it when the situation is, but nevertheless they must be an investigation. there must be an effort to try to stop the ongoing conflict between the two sides and that means both sides standing around. what is the source of that conflict? what is the tension? where have the tensions come and the prime minister? —— between tigray and the prime minister? putting aside the most immediate problem has been that tigray have its own region and election even though the central government decided it wanted to postpone national actions and the rest of the country did not go forward with connections and at that point that government cut off all

budgetary support to a and also sent some federal troops at least into the border areas of tigray in a region resulting in some fighting and it's escalated from there. at one point after another and it's necessary for both sides to step back. i know you said that their reasons go back hysterically but it might help i viewers to understand what it is that tigray wants.|j think they want greater autonomy within the federal republic of ethiopia was that as far as they understand they are not asking for an independent state, they are simply asking for greater internal economy. they ethiopia is a federal state and it's been based on federalism since 1991. the problem is in the early years of this federalism that people of tigray we re federalism that people of tigray were in the strongest position of

power in ethiopia although they were only 6% of the population. there was a lot of resentment over that and once they were effectively pushed out of power there is some effort now i think that take retribution. thank you very much indeed. france has remembered 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. 0ur paris correspondent, hugh schofield, reports. 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. here in the uk, more than a million hindus, sikhs and jains will be celebrating diwali, but how are families coping under the covid 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 the chancellor lit candles 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.

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 world news.

the headlines: 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. us media projects president—elect joe biden has won 306 votes in the state—by—state electoral college against 232 for donald trump. mr biden scored a victory in traditionally republican—leaning georgia. president trump, meanwhile, claimed victory in north carolina. and the most senior adviser to the british prime minister, borisjohnson, has left downing street for the last time. dominic cummings, who was said to wield huge influence over the government, was a key figure behind the successful brexit campaign. you're watching bbc news.

let's return to the news that boris johnson's chief adviser has left the government with immediate effect. dominic cummings was seen earlier leaving number 10 downing street carrying his personal belongings ina box. mr cummings had been at the centre of a power struggle at the heart of british government in recent days, which had also seen communications director lee cain leave. let's get more from our political correspondent nick eardley. nice correspondent nick eardley. to see you, then, nici only nice to see you, then, nick. he is only a special adviser, he is not empty, he is not the prime minister. put things into perspective for us. why is he in the news? why does this matter? the simple reason is he had an enormous manpower in downing street. he was one of the boris johnson's advisers but he had a lot of saying what went on behind the scenes and many mps and ministers

thought that he had far too much power was out they were worried about his style, he was part of the old vote leave faction from the referendum back in 2016 who likes to be direct in their approach and rubs people the wrong way. there were concerns from tory mps that, basically, too few people had the prime minister's year and he was relying on people like dominic cummings and his allies without speaking to his own mps and sometimes speaking to his own ministers. dominic cummings ismatzade who we should not hear that much about, because he is a background adviser, yet he made the headlines quite a lot. perhaps he wore member his infamous trip up to durham when lockdown was in full throes —— perhaps you will remember. what seems to have brought down mr cummings and led to him leaving for the last time number ten tonight is

a faction fight, quite frankly, where mrcummings and a faction fight, quite frankly, where mr cummings and his allies, the brexiteers who helped boris johnson campaign for brexit in 2016, went up against some more traditional tories worried about the style, worried about the policy. they included the prime minister's fiance, carrie symonds, and ultimately they have lost, the others have won. i want you to describe the adversary outside number ten describe the adversary outside numberten and. describe the adversary outside number ten and. i think it has been tense this week, is the honest answer, because this faction fight has been behind the scenes, been under wraps, kind of luck this week. 0n under wraps, kind of luck this week. on tuesday, we found out another one of boris johnson's on tuesday, we found out another one of borisjohnson's key aides, lee cain, was being touted for the chief of staffjob, which is basically the manager of what goes on in town

next. that caused fury among those people i was just talking about. there were concerns about how the vote leave faction operated. a few of them went to borisjohnson and said, you cannot do this. a few hours later, lee cain resigned, dominic cummings made clear he was going to leave by the end of the year, and then today, looks like borisjohnson has year, and then today, looks like boris johnson has had year, and then today, looks like borisjohnson has had enough of this infighting, frankly. there was a meeting this afternoon were mr johnson's book to mr cummings and mr cain and said, that's it. they are basically on leave, mr cummings is going to work on some of his pet projects until mid—december, but to all extents and purposes, that reign of the vote leave group in downing street is over. big question is, what comes next? and to be honest, we are not quite sure at the moment.

when we look at how much power these factions have got, to make the prime minister go in one direction or another, boris johnson is minister go in one direction or another, borisjohnson is ultimately the boss and the job is ultimately up the boss and the job is ultimately up to them. you read my mind, nick! i last question! thank you very much, nick eardley. back to one of our main stories now, and the serial killer peter sutcliffe, known as the yorkshire ripper, has died in hospital at the age of 7a. sutcliffe murdered 13 women across yorkshire and the north west of england between 1975 and 1980. emma glasbey has this report on how the killings affected women at the time. for more than five years, women in yorkshire were told they were at risk. any woman, anywhere, is a potential target. the warnings were everywhere, the awful atrocities so close to home. pretty awful. scared. we're very scared.

and we're not going to go out again on our own, ever. itjust worries me sick, really. i will never go out on my own at night. we're all the same. it's terrible. 13 women were murdered. 0thers survived attacks but were left devastated. my attack did shape my life. within a matter of five minutes, one side of that timescale, i was a happy—go—lucky, young, innocent art student, and after that, i became sarcastic and cynical and i lost trust. and sometimes i lost empathy because it was overshadowed by anger. and that did impact on my relationships. for women in yorkshire, it was terrifying but also restricting, with many feeling they could no longer live freely. chanting: men off the streets! reclaim the night protests began

as people marched in anger at women being told not to go out after dark. the protests spread, the movement has continued today. emma grew up in headingley, not far from where jacqueline hill was killed. she's made a plaque to marks the 40th anniversary of jacqueline's murder next week and talked to me about being at school at the time. even then, i remember girls being angry and having that kind of "it's not fair" feeling — "it's not our fault. why are we having our lives restricted like this?" some of the language and the tone used by senior west yorkshire police officers at the time has also caused distress. today, the force said sorry, an apology many had been calling for. i do remember when a victim was called "innocent", and i did even think back then that, "does that mean that all the other women had brought it on themselves, because of the way they've chosen to live their lives?"

we should all be treated with equal respect and victim—shaming is of the past. i'm very pleased that west yorkshire police have issued their apology. when you're speaking to victims and their families, it's really important that you're treated with respect. the world has changed over the decades, but many women who lived through that time won't forget the fear and the warnings that it wasn't safe to lead their normal lives. emma glasbey, bbc news. there's to 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. let's discuss this further withjenny sherrard, head of equalities at the university

and college union. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. first off, i take it you welcome this change, the reform? we certainly do, yes. you -- ucu —— ucu has been calling for reforms for yea rs —— ucu has been calling for reforms for years now, for the reasons that it is unfairand for years now, for the reasons that it is unfair and has an if it can disadvantag for more disadvantaged students. you will have to explain that. can you break that down for people? most listeners would think, you do your mock exams, you get your offer, your conditional offer, and then you do your real exams and you present your results. so how does that disadvantag present your results. so how does that disadva ntag disadva ntag students? i think the problem comes down to the accuracy of predicted grades. we did research a few years

ago that showed only one in six stu d e nts ago that showed only one in six students have all of their grades predicted correctly, and whenever you control for the background and prior attainment of students, those stu d e nts prior attainment of students, those students at state school are less likely to have their grades over predicted and... and so that leads to evil disadvantag for students from low income backgrounds who perhaps have had less support in this system until the point aeroplane for university —— a real disadvantage. where students are given their offers after they know their grades, it will empower stu d e nts to their grades, it will empower students to make favoured choices it. it's a level playing field, because you are presenting the day. 2023 - is that because you are presenting the day. 2023 — is that soon enough? because you are presenting the day. 2023 - is that soon enough? we have been calling for this some years now, and isaac at is what we have

seen —— isaac it is good we have seen the sector come around as a whole. it is clear there is a wide consensus that the current system is not fair and that we do need reform. i think the sooner we can get that, the better. i think students over this summer have shown that they really won't stand for unfairness in the system, that means that disadvantaged stu d e nts that means that disadvantaged students or students from lower income back runs are not dating a fair deal, so the sooner the better, but i think is really important we do take the time to consult properly, make sure the voice of staff working in schools, colleges and universities is able to form pa rt and universities is able to form part of the decision—making process and really helped the design of education. jani, it will be fresh and everybody‘s mines, the fiasco that took place this year with the results. how difficult or easy is it going to be to implement so we don't

see a two week fight?|j going to be to implement so we don't see a two week fight? i think that the crucial thing here is that we saw over the summer decisions being made without consulting those who are best placed to advise, which is education staff, and decisions were made ina education staff, and decisions were made in a top—down fashion and we ended up with a complete fiasco, as you say, so i think the most important thing here is that we really focus on getting the views of schoolteachers, college lecturers and university lecturers so that we can make informed choices that will be as fairand can make informed choices that will be as fair and transparent as possible. 0k, jenny sherrard, thank you very much for your time. you're watching bbc news. now, though, it's time for newswatch.

hello and welcome to newswatch, with me, samira ahmed. coming up: offensive comments about race lead to a resignation at the top of the fa. but what language is unacceptably racist for bbc news? and how should the bbc report president trump's claims of electoral fraud? first, it can often seem that journalists are unduly fascinated by the prime minister's chief adviser dominic cummings, perhaps to the point of obsession, so the announcement late on thursday that he'd be leaving his role by christmas — preceded by a day or two of frenzied speculation — was always likely to dominate the headlines. dominic cummings, the prime minister's top adviser, is to leave his job by christmas. a divisive figure, his departure comes amid reports of tensions in downing street. not all the audience shared

the media's fascination with all this, with phil campbell expressing a frequent concern about the bbc‘s political reporting... it'll be a few more weeks before the votes cast in the us presidental election are certified and the winner officially declared. but there's no doubt about who that will be in most people's minds, as ben wright described from washington on monday morning. donald trump continues to say nothing publicly aboutjoe biden having won this election. he has not given him his approval, he hasn't conceded, he's complained on twitter a lot, of course, about what he thinks is a rigged election — which he has no evidence for at all. on thursday, federal and state us election officials rejected

president trump's claims of fraud, but the phrase used in that clip — that there was no evidence at all for those claims — and similar statements elsewhere on bbc news, was queried by graham lascelles... there were also objections from the other side of that argument, with someone using the twitter name wattsupdoc? wondering... in recent months, the bbc has found itself making the headlines for how it's used racially offensive language in some of its reports. we're going to look at that issue now, with care, but we will be quoting some words.