hello, i'm karin giannone, this is outside source. americans are told not to travel for thanksgiving as the virus spreads. with hospitalisations surging, the centres for disease control urged americans not to meet relatives outside their households. more unfounded claims from president trump's campaign, alleging there was centrally planned fraud in cities that voted forjoe biden. fraud in cities that this fraud in cities that is not a single voter fraud in one this is not a single voterfraud in one state. this pattern repeats itself in a number of states, almost exactly the same pattern. it comes asjoe biden‘s win in georgia is expected to be confirmed

after a recount. also coming up: australia faces up toa also coming up: australia faces up to a shameful record of war crimes. a report fine soldiers in afghanistan unlawfully killed at least 39 civilians and prisoners. and an angry reaction from palestinians after mike pompeo becomes the first us secretary of state to visit a jewish settlement on land occupied by israel. we start in the us, where the number of people who've died from coronavirus has hit a quarter of a million. cases are rising in all but one of the 50 states. we'll take a look at the national figures shortly. but first, the centers for disease control has strongly recommended people don't travel for the thanksgiving holiday next week, with fears household mixing will cause a new spike in cases. here's dr dara kass, an emergency medical doctor at the columbia university medical

center in new york. we have seen a spike in cases after every american holiday since this pandemic started, from memorial day to labor day, and we expect to see something like this for thanksgiving. remember, it is about a month after thanksgiving to christmas which is exactly the timeframe that we see a surge in cases after the exposure. so let's take a look at the nationalfigures. on wednesday there were 170,000 new confirmed cases. the average number of new cases per day is now up 77% on two weeks ago. deaths are rising too. on wednesday, more than 1,900 americans died from covid. that figure is up more than 50% in the past two weeks. states have been making their own decisions about implementing restrictions, many remaining open. this map from the new york times shows where stay at home orders have been put in place — the states in grey are those where there are currently no restrictions. as you can see that's currently

much of the country. the miami—dade county in florida, for example, is among those with the highest number of deaths — and the state is mostly open, has no stay at home orders or mask mandate. but, as you can see in brown, states are increasingly making the wearing of masks mandatory. that is in at least some settings. one area that is reintroducing restrictions is new york city — on wednesday, it announced it would be closing schools. this graph shows how the numbers are rising in the city. the threshold for closing down schools again was set at a 3% positivity rate — in other words, when 3% of all people being tested came back positive for the coronavirus. schools in the city have only been open again for eight weeks. here's the mayor bill de blasio. no one is happy about this decision. we all, in fact, are feeling very sad about this decision, because so much good work has been put into

keeping the schools opened, and opening them up to begin with, let's start there. 0pening opening them up to begin with, let's start there. opening the schools went almost no other major school system in america open, making them so system in america open, making them so safe. but we set a very clear standard, and we need to stick to that standard. but while schools have closed again businesses like restaurants and gyms remain partially open, although with a 10pm closing time. not everyone is happy with this. here's one city council member. but the governor andrew cuomo has warned that there may be further restrictions on the way. the state of kentucky and denver in colorado have also followed suit in closing schools. and illinois and parts of california have also brought in new restrictions. while the death toll is already high in the us, the projections show it could rapidly get worse. the institute for health metrics and evaluation a few days ago

predicted the number of deaths from covid—i9 could nearly double by the beginning of march, reaching 438,971. there's a lag between when someone contracts the virus and then becomes ill enough to be hospitalised, as this doctor points out. here is the top infectious disease expert, anthony fauci. as we get deeper into the cooler months of the late fall in the colder months of the winter, it is a very serious situation, because there are lagging indicators, for example, when you see cases, then a couple of weeks later, you see hospitalisation, and a few week later, you deaths.

meanwhile, the president—electjoe biden has said president donald trump's refusal to concede the election could hold up plans for distributing a vaccine. remember, without the formal transition process beginning the incoming administration doesn't have access to briefings or intelligence reports. we'll have more on this in the next few minutes, but first, here's mr biden speaking on wednesday. a whole lot of things, we just don't have available to us. unless it is made available soon, we're going to be behind by weeks and months, being able to put the whole initiative relating to the biggest promise we have, with two drug companies coming along and finding 95% effectiveness, efficiency, in the vaccines, which has enormous promise. dr celine gounder is one ofjoe biden‘s team of scientists and doctors advising him on controling the coronavirus. 0n the note we just heard there from joe biden, how much of a challenge to set present to you, the incoming

team? well, it is really a problem that the general services administration in the united states has still not confirmed the election results, meaning we cannot move forward with the current team and the administration handing of detailed blueprints and plans to the incoming administration. so this is kind of like trying tojump incoming administration. so this is kind of like trying to jump from one train going at top speed to another train. it's kind of an indiana jones kind of move we are being asked to move on january 20. these kind of move we are being asked to move onjanuary 20. these kind of transitions historically have been major periods of vulnerability and fragility, and so this is really the kind of handoff that needs to take time and be done thoughtfully. and what do you think the impact of it might be? do you fear that lives may be lost as a result? well, i think any delay that you have in terms of distributing the vaccine, getting people vaccinated, will

result in lives lost, and so, we have the expression time is money. in this case, time is life. you are in new york. new york city now closing its schools. what do you make of the fact that the schools are closed, yet businesses are still open, restaurants, and gyms remain open, restaurants, and gyms remain open, i'll be at having to close at ten o'clock? well, the consensus on the biden — harris advisory board is that we need to be scaling up and scaling down restrictions based on what areas are, what settings our highest risk for transmission, so that would imply indoor restaurants, indoor gyms, where they have classes, perhaps, bars, those kinds of settings. schools are much lower risk, as we have observed, notjust in the united states but in other countries, especially younger children under the age of 12 do not

seem to be significant spreaders of the illness to adults. and so we would really advocate for an approach that dials up or dials down restrictions on the basis of true risk, as well as essential services, andi risk, as well as essential services, and i would argue that schools are a pretty essential service. and at the moment, the us has every state having its own way in terms of restrictions on how to tackle the crisis. do you think the country needs a nationwide federal strategy, and will that change underjoe biden? well, the united states is a federalist system, and historically, thatis federalist system, and historically, that is just how our constitution is written, how are government functions. so there are certain limitations to what any president can do to override that. that said, i think you will see a much more coherent, cogent national plan here and a lot more leadership coming from the white house as well as the cdc and other agencies within the federal government. but doctor, you

are part of the incoming administration's advisory board. thank you forjoining us from the york. my pleasure. donald trump still hasn't conceded — 12 days sincejoe biden was declared the winner of the election. and his campaign team is continuing to make claims of fraud without proof. here's his personal lawyer rudy giuliani at a press conference earlier. this is not a singular voterfraud in one state. this pattern repeats itself in a number of states. almost exactly the same pattern. which, to any experienced investigator, prosecutor, would suggest there was a plan from a centralised place to execute these various acts of voter fraud. well, as we've discussed many times on this show, those claims are unsubstantiated. gary 0'donoghue is with me now from washington.

increasingly outlandish claims, gary. any foundation in evidence? no, there is no foundation in evidence. what essentially rudy giuliani and the trump legal team are suggesting is that the democrats in large cities across america got together, hatched a plan, implemented it without anyone kind of knowing, and managed to steal the election. it's quite an extraordinary claim. it's one of those things that you would expect to see circulating on the internet, and really, preferably, staying there. but this is something that they haven't produced any great evidence for. there are miss counts in all sorts of elections. that a lwa ys in all sorts of elections. that always happens. some miss counting of ballots, machines not working, disputes over certain ballots. that is why you have a kind of recount process like we have seen in georgia, but this idea of a sort of nationwide criminal conspiracy to

defraud the american people, there is really no evidence for that at all, and its risks, ithink, undermining americans' trust in democracy generally. and as you say, gary, there has been a recount going on in georgia due to the narrowness of the margin. are we likely to hear anything about that anytime soon? well, we were hoping to hear something about that a couple of hours ago. we haven't yet. the deadline for that particular hand recount of those 5 million ballots was last night at midnight, overnight. that will hopefully... we will hopefully get the result of that later today. that will not be the end of it, because they can be a machine recount ordered or requested in georgia, where they feed ballots into a machine. that could take another bunch of days as well. so it may not be all over in georgia, and it's certainly not all over in georgia in the sense that they will have two senate run—off elections at

the beginning of january. have two senate run—off elections at the beginning ofjanuary. hugely important in the sense that that will decide the balance of power in the senate, because if the democrats win both of those likejoe biden won the state, the senate would be 50—50 and kamala harris, joe biden‘s vice president would have the deciding vote. thank you very much, gary. mike pompeo has become the first us secretary of state to visit a jewish settlement in the occupied west bank, breaking from decades of us policy in the region. he visited a winery in a settlement close to ramallah. a wine was named in his honour. earlier he met israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu in jerusalem. their friendship was on show. here they are giving each other an elbow bump. last year mr pompeo caused outrage when he said israel's settlement policy didn't contradict international law. he made a case for that again. you talked about the fact that for a long time, the state department at the wrong view of settlements. it took the view that they did not

recognise the history of the special place, and today, the us department of state stand strongly in the view that the settlements can be done in a way that are lawful, appropriate and proper. palestinian leaders immediately hit back, calling it a step towards supporting occupation. here's plo member dr mustafa barghouti. well, it seems that mr pompeo does not lose any opportunity to make himself and his administration participant in a war crime. the crime of annexing occupied territories, the crime of building illegal settlements on occupied territories. these visits are unacceptable. they are provocative. whether to settlements which will become part of the state in the west bank, or to the golan heights, which we re bank, or to the golan heights, which were illegally annexed by israel. in

my opinion, pompeo is running a very provocative policy, and they are trying to create difficulties for mr biden and his administration to stop they are trying to create as much as possible what they think could become a reversible fact on the ground, that will destroy the potential and possibility of two state solution and peace in the region. might pompeo arrived in israel on wednesday, in what many people consider his last trip before leaving office next year. palestinians called him an unwelcome visitor. this was the scene on the west bank. dozens demonstrated in al—bireh, a community betweenjerusalem and ramallah. they burned tyres near israeli settlements. the settlements are bitterly disputed. this is the background. more than 600,000 jews live in settlements that israel has built on land it's occupied since 1967. there are 140 settlements in total, in eastjerusalem and the west bank — land that palestinians consider is rightfully theirs and seek for a future, independent state.

this is likely to inflame tensions. mike pompeo has announced that imports from israeli settlements in the occupied west bank will be labelled as having been "made in israel" or "product of israel". mr pompeo's visit continued in the occupied golan heights on israel's border with syria. last year, the us became the first country to recognise israel's sovereignty over the area, which israel annexed in 1981. that's not internationally recognised. and here's mike pompeo on why the us chose to go it alone. 35 years ago, as a young cadet, i studied about this very place, this amazing and important piece of real estate. you can't stand here and stare out at what is across the border and deny the central thing that president trump recognised, that president trump recognised, that previous presidents had refused to do, that this is a part of israel, and a central part of israel. our state department

correspondent barbara plett usher joins us from washington. what you think mike pompeo's strategy was in paying a visit like this in the dying days of trump administration? mike pompeo has been a real cheerleader of trump's policy on israel, which essentially embraced that vision of the israeli right, the expansionist vision with regard to the occupied territories, and as you said, he really made his mark last year when he announced that he was changing the us assessment ofjewish settle m e nts the us assessment ofjewish settlements in the occupied territories, that they did not contradict international law as the state department has previously assessed. so by visiting the first secretary of state to visit the jewish settlements in the west bank and the golan heights, he can physically stamp that policy with his imprinta, physically stamp that policy with his imprint a, if you like. it is a victory lap for all the pro israel moves the trump administration has made, and some commentators say it is also a photo opportunity in case

mrtrump does is also a photo opportunity in case mr trump does decide to run for presidency in 202a. stay right there, barbara. donald trump and benjamin netanyahu have made no secret of their close friendship in the past four years. they've seen eye—to—eye on numerous issues. we were reminded of that again today. thanks to president trump, the us recognise jerusalem as israel's n moved its embassy here. thanks to president trump, the united states recognised israeli sovereignty over the goal and heights. thanks to president trump, the us pulled out of the dangerous nuclear deal with iran. place crippling sanctions on the iranian regime, and eliminated the iranian regime, and eliminated the terrorist soleimani. thanks to president trump, the united states proposed the first truly realistic plan for peace between palestinians and israelis, thanks to president trump, israel was able to forge peace with three arab countries, the uae, bahrain and sudan.

barbara, after the extreme warmth we heard there to watch president trump, how different is israel likely to find things underjoe biden? well, it won't be the same. it isa biden? well, it won't be the same. it is a blow for mr netanyahu, because president trump fulsomely supported his right—wing policies. having said that, joe biden is not left—wing. he is a moderate, a traditional pro—israel democrat, so he would not, for example, tight us aid to any conditions, which is what some of the left—wing members of his party wa nt. some of the left—wing members of his party want. he said he is not going to reverse the trump administration's decision to recognise jerusalem as administration's decision to recognisejerusalem as israel's capital, but he will almost certainly want to restore us policy towards israel and the west bank and the occupied territories and the settlements. though i do not think he is going to come up with an initiative, a big peace process initiative. where you might see the most pragmatic differences in policy towards the palestinians, with those relationships cut off under the trump administration, i think he would want to restore diplomatic

ties and humanitarian assistance, reopen that consulate in east jerusalem that used to serve as palestinians'. i think when mr biden and mr netanyahu will clashes over iran. mr netanyahu strongly opposes the iran nuclear deal whereas mr biden wants to rejoin it. and just briefly, going back to their visit to the winery resort, that new policy, that goods from the west bank and settlements can be labelled as coming from israel, how controversial is that? well, it reverses us guidelines. current us guidelines had been that they should be labelled goods made in the west bank. for mr pompeo to say they are to be made in israel, it is again blurring that line between israel and the occupied territories. it is consistent with the trump administration's peace plan, which envisioned israeli sovereignty over all the jewish settlements with envisioned israeli sovereignty over all thejewish settlements with a kind of truncated palestinian state alongside, and it could throw up hurdles for mr biden if he wants to restore or roll back the trump administration's policy on

settlements. thank you very much, barbara. to australia, where a long—awaited report into alleged war crimes has found credible evidence that some of the country's elite soldiers murdered 39 civilians and prisoners while serving in afghanistan. this is the head of the australian defence force. it is alleged that some patrols took the law into their own hands. rules we re the law into their own hands. rules were broken, stories concocted, lies told, and prisoners killed. the inquiry found credible evidence that 39 men and teenagers had been unlawfully killed. allegations include junior soldiers being coerced into executing prisoners to get their first kill, in a practice known as ‘blooding'. and claims that weapons were planted on victims to make the killings look legitimate. the report found 25 soldiers had carried out alleged crimes — or been accessories to them and it recommended 19 people be referred to the australian federal police.

here's the defence chief again. these findings allege the most serious breaches of military conduct and professional values. 19 service personnel could face prosecution over the allegations, but that process could take years. let's get more from our australia coreespondent, shaimaa khalil. the defence chief's language left us in no doubt about how grave the alleged violations in afghanistan were. general campbell used words like shameful and appalling. he also described a toxic culture of deceit and secrecy which allowed this kind of behaviour to go unchecked for yea rs. of behaviour to go unchecked for years. a special investigator will now be appointed to look at the findings, gather evidence, and then present it to the public prosecutor. it isa present it to the public prosecutor. it is a process that could take yea rs. it is a process that could take years. the published version of this report is heavily redacted, with no specific details on individuals or

incidents. but the little information we have is enough to make for very uncomfortable reading, not just for the military make for very uncomfortable reading, notjust for the military or the government, but for the australian public as well. let's look at how the report is being received. this is the front page of one sydney newspaper. "disgraceful betrayal" is the headline. let's hear from an academic who carried out initial research into the incidents. she's told the bbc they were "deliberate, "repeated and targeted war crimes" and said she felt vindicated by the report. i think they have a certainly tarnished reputation because of what has occurred, but i think they are also making... i would hope that the very swift actions that defence has taken an general campbell is leading to rectify and address, these at every level will hopefully stand us in good stead going forward. the australian prime minister scott morrison called

afghan president ashraf ghani — before the report was released — to express "his deepest sorrow". afghanistan's foreign ministry says the allegations are "unforgivable" but that the report's publication is "an important step towards justice". and reuters has spoken to people in kabul. here are some views. translation: those who have committed such a big crime must be handed in to face the law of afghanistan, and should be punished accordingly. translation: we want the government to investigate this accurately. and those who committed these acts should be brought to afghanistan and must be tried. some views from the afghan capital. next let's hear from hadi marifat, the director of the afghanistan human rights and democracy organisation in kabul. the release of the enquiry report and the start of the investigation will mark the beginning of a process

of closure of open wounds. but nothing can heal the open wounds of the families of the victims, other than bringing those responsible for unlawful killing and treatment of afg ha ns to unlawful killing and treatment of afghans to justice. and as we know the report is establishing, a number of important incidents identifying the type of war crimes allegedly committed and methods of killing and torture use, and providing significant details about command responsibilities across the military units, but what the report is badly missing is a recommendation of support to the victims and their families in afghanistan. let's remind you of our main story. the us has now recorded more than a quarter of a million deaths from covid—19, a bleak marker, as the cases across the country saw. in the last few hours, the centres for the has urged people in the us not to

travel for thanksgiving. —— the centre is what is the. i'll be back inafew centre is what is the. i'll be back in a few minutes. don't forget, i am on twitter. good evening. thursday brought a colder interlude in a milder november, but the cold weather won't last too long. this is how we ended the day in wakefield. fairly clear skies around there, but the cloud has already been building from the west, and much milder air will spill eastwards overnight. it will spill eastwards overnight. it will stay dry and clear across the far east, so there will likely be a bit of frost in the focus tonight. rain moving on from the west will lift temperatures there. a ridge of high pressure has been with us today, which will get squeezed away towards the east. this warm front moves in from the atlantic, introducing milder air. quite moves in from the atlantic, introducing milderair. quite a moves in from the atlantic, introducing milder air. quite a lot of clout, and also some outbreaks of rain. the wind will also pick up on the north—west later in the night. this rain will push across parts of northern ireland through the early hours of friday, eventually heading into western fringes of england,

wales and south—west scotland, but further east, you will be sticking with those clear skies all night. that is where temperatures will fall lowest, particularly across parts of east anglia and the south—east as well. there could be frosty air, and the ric stretch where surfaces are still quite damp out there. temperatures will just about still quite damp out there. temperatures willjust about dip below freezing. that mild air will spread gradually further ec friday, bringing with it cloud and outbreaks of rain. the rain will be fairly light and patchy through central and southern england. heavier early in the day towards the north—west. further showers pushing in from the west later on, temperatures in belfast are reasonably mild 13, but only 9 degrees in norwich after that cold and frosty start. heading towards the weekend, low sits towards the weekend, low sits towards the weekend, low sits towards the north of the uk. quite a lot of isobars indicating the strength of the wind, and is trailing cold frontier will work its way slowly south through saturday and into sunday. initially a bit of rainfor and into sunday. initially a bit of rain for northern ireland and southern scotland, which will then push its way across england and wales, bringing some outbreaks of rain, and quite a bit of cloud. to

the north, return to sunnier skies and a few scattered showers. blowing in on this brisk south—westerly wind. temperatures reasonably mild for most areas on saturday, about 9-14. it will for most areas on saturday, about 9—111. it will turn a touch cooler on sunday is that cold front introduces cooler air. we still have the cold front, a fairly weak affair, bringing the odd —like shower across south england and south wales. for the rest of the uk, more sunshine on sunday compared to what we are likely to see on saturday. still blustery showers in the north—west. colder, only 7—12. goodbye.

hello, i'm karin giannone, this is outside source. americans are told not to travel for thanksgiving as the virus spreads. with hospital admissions surging across the us, the centres for disease control urges people not to meet relatives outside their households. more unfounded claims from president trump's campaign — alleging there was centrally planned fraud in cities that voted forjoe biden. nearly 2 trillion euros hang in the balance — as poland and hungary block the eu budget — in a row over the rule of law. and in the uk, the home secretary priti patel was found to have broken rules on ministerial behaviour, in a draft report over allegations into bullying.

eu leaders are meeting to discuss their coronavirus response — but it's all being overshadowed by a huge row over the eu's budget. on monday, hungary and poland vetoed the entire budget — because of a clause blocking countries from receiving eu funds unless they respect the "rule of law". the budget includes 1 trillion euros to fund the eu's entire operations for the next six years and a 750 billion euro fund to help countries fight coronavirus. the european comission says it's essential this money gets approved, without delay. so let me conclude with a call to all member states to show a strong sense of responsibility. to their

own citizens and to all europeans at this crucial moment, and to get this recovery plan over the line. poland and hungary say if the need is so urgent, why is the eu attaching new conditions? here's hungary's justice mininster, speaking to hardtalk here on the bbc. it is morally irresponsible behaviour when those are not concentrating on the covid and the economic crisis, but actually pressuring and blackmailing with ideological debates certain countries which made the all new we would never accept. tying eu funds to the rule of law was an initiative of the european parliament, with the support of several member states. and the commission is already pursuing infringement proceedings in this area against the two members. it referred hungary to the eu's court ofjustice when hungary passed a law which made it a crime to help people claim asylum. hungary's government opposes mass migration into europe which has often put it at odds with the eu.

the eu also took action when hungary forced a university run by george soros, an opponent of the government, to shift its activities abroad. the european court ofjustice ruled that broke eu law. one of the countries leading the drive against hungary is the netherlands. here's the prime minister. translation: we are worried about the rule of law in, for example, hungry. about gay rights by press and democracy. we it is important that there will be an instrument to safeguard the rule of law. poland has been found to be in breach of eu law for trying to force judges into early retirement. the measure was seen as an attempt to undermine their independence. the court ofjustice also ruled that poland's efforts to discipline thejudiciary contravened eu law. the polish government essentially says none of this is any of the eu's business. and its prime minster says the budget proposal unfairly singles his country out.

translation: we say a resounding no to all the mechanisms that punish us like naughty children which treat poland and other member states of the european union unequally. the budget can only be approved with a unanimous vote of all 27 member states — but those who support attaching conditions say it's the other side that needs to back down. here's germany's europe minister. translation: those estates that so far have been unable to accept the compromise on the rule of law mechanism must aware that in the end their citizens will also pay a price. the financial framework that is still the norm today is an offer to all member states and all peoples. this is a responsibility that we must shoulder together. matina stevis—gridneff is brussels correspondent for the new york timesmatina — so it's the tying of eu funds to conditions regarding the rule of law that's made poland and hungary dig in their heels — how serious is this stand off?

i think the standoff is quite serious. and even the delay it's causing is serious. the stimulus package in particular was on track to be deployed early in the new year and several member states of the european union, in particular countries that don't have space in their budgets to find established packages were really depending on that money to support their citizens through the economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis. and so i think that it's deftly quite serious, it's not going to be resolved tonight at this teleconference by eu leaders. and there's clearly a sense that it's going to get much uglier. his neck would be resolved tonight you say, but do you sense that it might be resolved, there might be a way through sometime soon given the magnitude of what that steak? that magnitude of what that steak? that magnitude is precisely what's making eve ryo ne magnitude is precisely what's making everyone dig their heels in. for example, among most eu member states led by the netherlands as her story

mentioned earlier is a real feeling that this is a make or break moment for the european union. that those two member states have too long gotten away with breaking rules that pertain to the rule of law. to be clear, the hungarian prime minister has attempted to link this debacle to migration, and that's completely incorrect. the rule of law has nothing to do with migration law which hungry has also broken. it has to do with eroding the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary by controlling judges. also has to do with the fact that at his close circle relatives and friends have been seen to be enriching themselves through spending of eu funds, or that's what they are accused of. it's those types of things that eu leaders are standing against, and those two member states are trying to make them face up to. the reality is that evenif them face up to. the reality is that even if there were to be a

compromise among the eu leaders themselves, the european parliament is very attached to a forcing poland and hungary to change these policies that are eroding rule of law standards. and so to clear the european parliament hurdle is going to be very difficult if this rule of law mechanism is watered down or even thrown out entirely. stay there matina. the second wave of coronavirus has hit hard on both sides of the atlantic. throughout the autumn cases soared in europe and the united states. this chart shows new confirmed cases per capita. but then in europe something happens — you can see the curve has begun to bend downwards, in just the past few weeks. the same cannot be said for the red line here — the united states. cases there are still rising — currently averaging about 150,000 per day. matina, you've been covering coronavirus in europe for the new york times — what do you think might explain why europe's managed to bend

the curve, and the us hasn't? it's clear that in europe we have not had a uniform approach to the coronavirus outbreak, and in fact very few countries have had identical approaches. very few countries have had identicalapproaches. every very few countries have had identical approaches. every country has its own cultural, economic, social, geographical conditions to contend with. and so certainly we don't want to make out like europe is covid lala land and everything is perfect or in everyone will be living in the equivalent of new zealand, but the reality is that most governments in europe have done something about the coronavirus. they have excepted, for example, the scientific facts that mask wearing it helps contain it. in particular in the context of the autumn second wave which coincides with bad weather and people staying indoors more comeau they have seemingly accepted that some limitation to gatherings indoors needs to be in

place. and so in most of the lockdowns we've been seeing in europe dining, going to cafes and bars and so on has been either prohibited or really limited. that does not seem to be the case across the atlantic where fragmentation of policies from state to state has just really been the theme of the coronavirus response in the us. there is disagreement and politicized nation of basic facts around the coronavirus, and that's not to say there are not covid deniers in europe, there are, or even governments that are taking bad measures or measures that fail. but it seems the more the case in the us. we are out of time, brussels correspondent for the new york times journey us from brussels. one final thing, talks over brexit were also scheduled in brussels today. but there's been a bit of a bump in the road. the eu's chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier has gone into self—isolation, after a member of his team, tested positive for covid—19. he'll remain in "permanent contact" with his counterpart lord frost, who is leading the talks for the uk side.

here in the uk, a draft report into the home secretary's conduct concluded that priti patel did break the rules on ministers‘ behaviour. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. good morning. she is the most powerful woman in the cabinet, long—standing brexiteer backer of borisjohnson, in charge of the police, immigration, one of the most important jobs in the government. but since february, there has been a shadow hanging over priti patel because of this. dramatic claims made by the man who was hurt most senior official. i have received allegations that her conduct has included shouting and swearing, belittling people, making unreasonable and repeated demands, behaviour that created fear and needed some bravery to call out. he quit but she wanted to stay so the government launched an investigation into what really happened and now, months on, perhaps it is starting to become clear. one source told me that the draft report concluded way