this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. our main stories: calls for the uk government to force social media companies to remove anti—vaccine content from their platforms. clashes in washington — with one person stabbed — as thousands march through the streets to show their support for donald trump's unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. thousands of ethiopians flee their country amid fighting between their government and forces in the tigray region — with the conflict now spilling across the eritrean border. and the promise of an extra £40 million for green spaces in england as part of a plan to restore species and combat climate change. the british entertainer des o'connor — known for his prime—time tv shows —

has died at the age of 88. hello and welcome to bbc news. in britain, the labour party is calling on the government to bring forward legislation that would impose financial and criminal penalties for social media companies that fail to remove anti—vaccination content — ahead of the expected roll—out of a jab against the coronavirus. under the plan, social media platforms would have to create filters to prevent such content from being published, and to remove anti—vaccine messages if they do appear. katherine da costa has more.

with hopes rising of an effective coronavirus vaccine being rolled out by the end of the year, labour is calling for the government to fast—track emergency legislation to stamp out what it calls "dangerous anti—vax content online". the party claims dedicated groups with hundreds of thousands of online followers are still spreading disinformation, which it says poses a real threat to the take—up of the vaccine. labour says it would back legislation which includes financial and criminal penalties for social media giants that failed to act. it's urgent because we have the vaccine on the horizon, thank goodness. and we cannot have anything that is going to prevent or undermine the roll—out of the vaccine programme and create dangers for public health which is what this anti—vaccination content does. the government insists it takes the issue extremely seriously. in a statement it said it had... but labour has warned the measures do not go far enough and has questioned why anti—vaccine groups are not being closed down.

katherine da costa, bbc news. thousands of people have marched through the streets of washington dc to show their support for donald trump's unsubstantiated claims of fraud in the presidential election. protesters chanted "four more years" as they marched toward the supreme court. counter demonstrators heckled the trump supporters. david willis reports. a long and fractious election campaign has brought long—simmering tensions to the surface. as thousands of donald trump supporters, among them members of the far—right militia group the proud boys, turned out in the nation's capital, they were met by a smaller crowd of counter protesters and members of the black lives matter movement. chanting: usa, usa! and the police sometimes struggled to keep the two sides apart. the president had said he may stop

by and say hello and he was seen smiling and waving as his motorcade appeared on pennsylvania avenue. he continues to claim voter fraud and is refusing to concede. many in the crowd believe he is right to do so. we are not conceding because we have won the election. we may well end up in the supreme court. he is not president—elect. the media does not call the election. but there's no evidence of widespread voter fraud and election officials have branded this the most secure election in america's history.

nevertheless, as they marched on the supreme court supporters called for four more years as his democratic rivaljoe biden took to his bike in his home state of delaware during a break from deciding the shape of his new cabinet. the president—elect continues to display an air of business as usual. are you any closer to making a cabinet decision? yes. even in the absence of federal funding needed for the transition. as night fell in the nation's capital, tensions between trump supporters and opponents started to grow. in the white house the president tweeted, "there is tremendous evidence of widespread voter fraud" and said republican watchers had been barred from several key events. the scene here is of two versions of america, each refusing to accept what the other considers to be irrefutable fact, that their side won this election. it doesn't bode well for an easy transition or for a peaceful handover of power. and david gave us this update

about how many people turned out for that march. there were undoubtedly thousands of people there today, not perhaps enough to fullyjustify the title the million maga march but a very, very large turnout. it was all peaceful enough to start with, the police managing two separate donald trump supporters from black lives matter and left—wing groups and then night fell and things changed dramatically with clashes between the two groups, rocks, bottles and fireworks being thrown and there are reports at least one person is seriously ill tonight after being stabbed.

you mentioned president trump instead of appealing for calm took to twitter to basically blame or castigate the local police for not containing the violence and blaming it on the left—wing group antifa but this does not bode well for the peaceful transition of power which is stalled at the moment because president trump is of course refusing to concede. it does, i think, perhaps rather starkly illustrate the growing polarisation of politics here and the increased tribalisation of the same. the leader of ethiopia's tigray region has confirmed his forces have bombed the airport in the eritrean capital, asmara. the attack widens the conflict which erupted between the ethiopian government and the governing party in tigray last week. leaders in tigray have accused eritrea of siding with ethiopia. tens of thousands of people have been displaced to sudan. our africa regional editor, will ross, has this report. escaping from war, these ethiopians are making the difficultjourney across the border into sudan after fleeing the fighting in the tigray region. they were stuck between the opposing forces, and fearing for their lives abandoned their homes in a hurry.

the un says thousands of refugees have made it to this very remote area of sudan where the conditions are tough. as the fighting intensifies, camps are springing up for displaced civilians. they spoke of the dangers that forced them to flee. in the chaos, many have been separated from their family members. translation: i went out with my father, my mother, and my child with only what we wore and now we have no money or anything. we fled from death. translation: forces entered and burned our homes and killed people. they left nothing. we fled to sudan. this is a conflict between ethiopia's army and fighters who are loyal to the politicians in charge of the country's tigray region. the government says the fighting

was triggered by an attack on a federal military base last week. with telecommunications switched off in tigray, it's hard to know what's happening on the ground but there have been reports of hundreds of soldiers being killed on both sides. and the conflict has heightened ethnic divisions. dozens of civilians were killed on monday night in what amnesty international describes as a massacre. ethiopia's been through big changes since its prime minister abiy ahmed came to power in 2018. he was awarded the nobel peace prize last year after reaching out to make peace with neighbouring eritrea. but the widespread reforms he pushed through sidelined the tigrayans of the tplf party who had long dominated the political scene. they accuse mr abiy of teaming up with his new friend the eritrean president to attack the tigrayan forces. earlier came the threat to target eritrea with air strikes. ethiopia's prime minister had predicted a swift win, but he may have underestimated the enemy. the impact of a drawn—out regional

conflict would be devastating for the horn of africa region. will ross, bbc news. i'm nowjoined by our correspondent in addis ababa, kalkidan yibeltal. the significance of tigrayan leaders admitting to bombing asmara airport — what will be the likely response? we know as some have earlier that this conflict is not domesticated and has crossed international borders and now with these attacks on eritrean soil and other countries involved in this conflict which the prime minister and his administration want to end quickly and swiftly. sudan is also affected by the conflict with the influx of refugees so now we are seeing eritrea might also be drawn into the conflict so we are seeing

things are escalating pretty much and things are going from worse to worse. and there is a humanitarian crisis as well with many, many people leaving their homes. yes, we understand from reports in sudan that many people, thousands of people, crossing borders to seek refuge there but we also understand that there might be displaced people within the borders of ethiopia. civilians are killed in what the report called a massacre so in addition to hundreds of soldiers reported to have been killed from both sides we think the displacement of civilians and with basic humanitarian assistance in short supply due to the communication breakdown and transportation being entrapped by the conflict we are seeing more and more dire stories of

the outcomes of the conflict. this conflict seems to be escalating. it isa conflict seems to be escalating. it is a very dangerous conflict for the horn of africa. indeed. it has been a very important country in this area and the second most populous nation in the continent and has had lots of stability and fast economy growth in the past decade are called. now we see if this conflict causes a civil war or further disturb live session in the region we may see bigger impact in the area and beyond. —— further destabilisation.

the irish foreign minister has said that a deal is doable between the uk and the eu. the time is really running out now. what are the various parties saying? familiar talk of a crunch week, make or break moment for brexit negotiations. there is an immovable deadline at the end of this year, december 31 when the transition period we have beenin when the transition period we have been in since last year comes to an end and the uk and eu will have to trade on a different basis. either a free trade agreement which both sides are attempting to negotiate at the moment are on world trade organisation rules which will see ta riffs organisation rules which will see tariffs and charges imposed and quarters are limits on the amount of goods that can be traded between each side. as you say an absolutely crucial time for the negotiations

between both sides. they have been happening in london over the past week and are due to continue in the coming days. this morning the irish foreign minister simon coveney has talked up a deal and said it is difficult but doable. he said this is move week in a sporting metaphor and interview on sky news this morning so and interview on sky news this morning so pressure and interview on sky news this morning so pressure on both sides to come to an agreement. on the uk side, they have accepted that has been very little progress over the past week or so. earlier on in the week the uk source described to me the eu position on fishing, one of the eu position on fishing, one of the key sticking points remaining as com pletely the key sticking points remaining as completely unrealistic and it doesn't really seem that has been any progress they are on the other areas of contention, a level playing field and regulatory alignment

between the two side and enforcement and governance of any agreement that does emerge. this morning, the environments secretary george eustace sounded relatively upbeat about the prospects of a deal. the prime minister last week said that we really needed to re—energise and the eu really needed to focus and refresh their mandate in these final weeks because yes, and many areas progress has been made an agreement exists and a lot of text has been drafted. there are the sticking points around for instance fisheries and state aid rules that can be resolved. we are not asking for anything miraculous. we really asking for what other countries like norway and canada already have and so it should be possible to reach that agreement. what mic in terms of that agreement. what mic in terms of that agreement. what mic in terms of that agreement and what we can do is the uk, the irish deputy fire minister has said this morning if we do not drop the internal market bill that will be no deal. do you accept that will be no deal. do you accept thatis that will be no deal. do you accept

that is reality? no, he also said if there is a deal the concerns over there is a deal the concerns over the uty that uk internal market will follow when i think that is correct. the measures we took were really a safeguard to give effect to give classes within the withdrawal agreement should the joint committee not come up with the result. george eustace talking about the other elements the process which is the controversial legislation giving the government the power to break international law and the terms of withdrawal agreement which set the uk exit terms from the eu. talk that eu countries would not ratify the deal of that legislation remained in play. there are few weeks to go so we will see what happens there but undoubtedly crucial days ahead for the trade negotiations between the uk and the eu.

calls for the uk government to force social media companies to remove anti—vaccine content from their platforms. clashes in washington — with one person stabbed — as thousands march through the streets to show their support for donald trump's unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. the british entertainer des o'connor has died at the age of 88. 15 asia—pacific countries have formed the world's largest free trade grouping in a deal which is seen as an extension of china's influence in the region. it includes ten south—east asian countries, along with china, japan, south korea, new zealand and australia. vietnam — which hosted the signing ceremony — said the group would account for 30% of the world economy, reaching more than two billion consumers. armenia says it has uncovered a plot to stage a coup d'etat. the alleged plot involved several of the opposition leaders who were detained earlier this week after they organised demonstrations against the prime minister, following his decision to sign a controversial peace

agreement with azerbaijan. as part of the peace deal agreed a week ago, several territories will be returned to azerbaijan. in the early 1990s, when they were taken by armenia's forces. this map shows how territory has once again changed control — following several weeks of fighting. jonah fisher reports. the war over, its dreadful human cost is becoming clear. this is a road near the largest town in nagorno—karabakh. it was the site of armenia's last stand a week ago. and there are scores of bodies and destroyed vehicles on the ground. armenia now says at least 2,300 of its soldiers died during the six weeks of fighting.

azerbaijan has declined to publish its casualty figures. for armenia, this loss is notjust about lives, but territory. in kelbajar, just outside nagorno—karabakh, the villagers are packing up their things to leave before the land is handed to azerbaijan on sunday. some chose to burn and destroy their homes, rather than let them be taken over by their enemy. 27 years ago, it was the other way around — armenians driving out azerbaijanis from kelbajar after they'd won the war. having negotiated this week's peace deal, russia already has troops on the ground, overseeing its implementation. several thousand have been deployed to keep the warring sides apart and to maintain a land corridor between armenia and what's left of its nagorno—karabakh enclave. this war has been a victory not just for azerbaijan, but for russia, too. jonah fisher, bbc news, yerevan.

the bodies of a kurdish family that drowned whilst trying to cross the english channel have been repatriated and buried in iran. an iranian man who is accused of being the captain of the boat, has appeared before an investigating judge in france, with a view to being charged with manslaughter. bbc persian'sjiyar gol has been retracing the family's footsteps and talking to people who were on the boat with them. a warning, you may find some of the testimony distressing. speaks own language. nine—year—old anita auditioning to be a movie star. she can do happy... ..and sad. "say it, ‘i want to be an actress,”' her dad tells her. the video captures a father's ambition to see his child pursue her dream.

but a year later, that dream was fatally dashed in the cold waters of the english channel. man speaks own language. ebrahim and his friends were on the same boat. when it capsized, he tried to save anita. translation: the boat was turning upside down and rolling. i noticed the child was in the water. i held her. i kept shaking her. i wasn't sure if she was alive or dead but she felt limp. all i could do was to cry. anita, her parents, and her brother armin all died. baby artin is still missing, presumed dead.

all passengers on board were from sardasht, an economically impoverished and politically oppressed kurdish border town in western iran. alex met the family in france. those regions, they have less opportunities, definitely. the governments, iranian governments or even on the other side of the border, iraqi government, they fail this community. the governments do not consider them as a first—class citizen in these countries. on an early october morning at this beach, the family crammed onto an eight—man boat with 18 others. anita took shelter in the cabin with her mum and brothers. but when the boat sank, they were trapped. translation: we tried to break the glass of the cabin but we couldn't even crack it. i saw baby artin floating inside,

and his dad outside crying for help. hundreds of kurdish refugees are waiting in france to cross. the tragedy of anita's family has not persuaded them to give up on their dream — whatever the cost. jiyar gol, bbc news. the prince of wales will tell an audience in berlin in the next few hours that germany and the uk must work together to tackle issues such as the pandemic and climate change. prince charles and the duchess of cornwall will become the first members of the royal family to attend germany's national day of mourning, when the country remembers victims of war and tyranny. in a speech in the lower house of the german parliament, the bundestag, prince charles, will say that the uk's and germany's national interests, whilst distinct, will always be entwined. the british government has announced £40 million of extra funding for green projects, which it says will enhance england's

natural environment and create or support thousands of jobs. some of the money will be invested in the creation of new national parks. the funding is part of a plan for a green recovery from the pandemic. here's our environment analyst, roger harrabin. the lake district, one of britain's favourite landscapes. it looks wild but that is an illusion. the diversity of habitat and species on these naked hills has been depleted over centuries by overgrazing sheep. the government wants to bring back the wildlife here to its previous state. it also wants to restore peat bogs and woodlands which capture the carbon emissions that are overheating the planet. £40 million is being provided for charities to put thousands of boots on the ground to bring back the nature. green campaigners welcomed the cash but they say that last chunk of £40 million was oversubscribed seven times.

every little helps but, let's be clear, £40 million is a drop in the ocean compared to the £1 billion investment that's needed every year, year—on—year, to rebuild our natural infrastructure in this country. unless we do that, unless we turn around the declines of our species and habitats in this country, we are going to see the foundation for our food security, our water security, our health and our economy eroding away. meanwhile, next year the government will designate new national parks, like the yorkshire dales, and ten long—term landscape recovery projects will be initiated to restore wilder landscapes. the prime minister is said to be turning towards green initiatives like this to signal a move to kinder policies. roger harrabin, bbc news. a charity that works to combat poverty is urging the government to offer renters more protection over the winter. thejoseph rowntree foundation says that in a survey of nearly 3,000 tenants,

about three in ten were worried about whether they will be able to pay their rent over the next three months, because of the pandemic. the government says it's supporting tenants in need — whilst also ensuring landlords have access to justice in the most serious cases. the comedian, singer and tv personality des o'connor has died at the age of 88. for decades, he was one of the best known faces on british television, both on the bbc and itv. david sillito looks back at his life and long career. des o'connor was in the ‘70s famous, a star, and on morecambe and wise, the butt of hundreds of gags. but the singer and comedian took it all with grace. number one: eric — i've just heard some good news. ernie — what good news?

eric — des o'connor has got a sore throat. nothing seemed to dent that clean—cut, deep—tanned optimism. number two. ernie — des o'connor is a self—made man. eric — i think it's very nice of him to take the blame. # be sure it's true when you say i love you, love you, love you. # his interest in show business had started in the raf and he had been a butlin's red coat and learned his craft are struggling to get laughs in theatres such as the windmill with an audience that had come for the naked flesh more than the comedy. this fellow was always in everyday in the front row and on about the third house of the fourth day iforgot, i dried, just couldn't remember what was next. he said, "you tell the one

about the parrot next. "oh, thank you very much. # loneliness. # alone you'll always find me. # by the '60s he had star billing. he made more than 1,000 appearances at the palladium and recorded 36 albums. the son of a dustman from the east end of london he had gone to a childhood blighted by rickets to tv stardom but he was never going to be one of the cool gang. an old lady came up to me one day to the stage door and said, "mr o'connor, i have enjoyed your show. "here is £5. could you send me your new lp? " i said, "you can get it for £3 in the shop, you "don't have to give me five. could you send me your new lp? " i said, "you can get it for £3 in the shop, you "don't have to give me five. she said, "no, the last time i went

into the shop "and asked for a des o'connor lp the guy said, "you're kidding. " laughter as the decades rolled by he remained an almost ageless fixture in the schedules. he married four times, his fifth child arrived when he was 80. he was never really fashionable and so never fell out of fashion. it was a career of 60 yea rs of professional, " laughter. as the decades rolled by he remained an almost ageless fixture in the schedules. he married four times, his fifth child arrived when he was 80. he was never really fashionable and so never fell out of fashion. it was a career of 60 yea rs of professional, unflappable, good—natu red charm. you have my word. well, that's good enough for me. and when the joke was on him he was always the first to laugh. laughter and applause he was never really fashionable and so never fell out of fashion. it was a career of 60 yea rs of professional, unflappable, good—natu red charm. you have my word. well, that's good enough for me. and when the joke was on him he was always the first to laugh. laughter and applause. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith—lucas. hello, the weather is set to cause us some disruption through the course of today. we've got a deep area of low pressure driving our weather, bringing some outbreaks of really

heavy rain at times for many of us and also some strong winds, especially towards the south. so that deep area of low pressure has been moving its way in from the west, sitting to the north of the uk, but it's to the south of that where you see all these isobars here, that we see the strongest of the winds. and a couple of weather fronts moving their way through as well. so we've had heavy rain earlier across the south—east, which will be clearing away into the afternoon, but then more showers rattling around that area of low pressure. nowhere really immune to catching outbreaks of rain. for scotland and northern ireland, the rain won't be quite as heavy, but it will be persistent and slow—moving in places. further south, look at the wind gusts this afternoon, up to about 60, even 70 miles per hour or more through the english channel. even inland gusts about 45 miles per hour, enough to bring down some small trees and a lot of debris on the roads as well. so temperatures only about eight to 11 degrees this afternoon, noticeably cooler air than we've had around recently. into this evening and tonight, then, still outbreaks of showery rain lingering for some of us, particularly through scotland, northern england as well. mostly dry further south, still enough of a breeze to keep things frost—free with overnight temperatures falling to around about five to nine degrees.