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tv   BBC News  BBC News  November 19, 2020 11:00pm-11:31pm GMT

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this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. as coronavirus sees americans urged to stay at home for thanksgiving, joe biden lashes president trump for failing to co—operate. it will be another incident where he will go down in history as being one of the most irresponsible presidents in american history. president trump's lawyer sets out wild conspiracy theories in his latest claims of election fraud. a draft report into claims the british home secretary bullied staff concluded she broke rules on ministerial behaviour. and douglas stuart's novel about growing up in glasgow
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wins the international booker prize for fiction. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. i'm kasia madera. do stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. it's a sign ofjust how serious the coronavirus pandemic has become — the us center for disease control has urged americans not to travel during next week's thanksgiving holiday, america's most important family holiday of the year. the number of patients hospitalized with covid—19 in the united states has jumped nearly 50% in the last two weeks. in the last couple of hours, the head of infectious disease has said this. we're not talking about shutting
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down the country, we're not talking about locking down. we're talking about intensifying the simple public health measures that we all talk about — mask wearing, staving distance, avoiding congregate settings, doing things to the extent we can outdoors versus indoors. if we do that, we'll be able to hold things off until the vaccine comes. that press conference with dr anthony fauci followed one by the president—electjoe biden, in which he laid into president trump for blocking the transition, which he said would make fighting coronavirus more difficult. and there is no excuse not to share the data and let us begin to plan, because, on day one, it's going to take us time if we don't have access to all this
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data, it's going to put us behind the eight ball by a matter of a month or more — and that's lives. how many would be lost as a consequence of that? i can't tell you. president—elect biden on coronavirus in america. and we've just heard that california is now imposing a 10pm curfew on social gatherings inside and outside the home. well, across the atlantic, the world health organization is warning one person is dying every 17 seconds in europe from coronavirus. our science editor david shukman reports on the global second wave. intensive care in italy is under pressure yet again, as the second wave of coronavirus breaks across europe. medical staff have learned new ways of caring for covid patients, but they can't save them all. last week, europe registered over 29,000 new covid—i9 deaths. that is one person dying every 17 seconds in the european region from covid—i9. un, deux et trois...
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as in many countries, doctors and nurses in switzerland are exhausted from the first wave, and they're now stretched again. the numbers being admitted to hospital with covid—i9 give a good sense of how serious things are. these lines show how in france, spain and belgium, there was the peak earlier this year, then a drop in the summer, next, the second wave, and more recently, signs of numbers starting to fall again. for comparison, this is what has been happening in the uk. hospital admissions are still rising. and let's take a look at the united states — numbers there still climbing very fast. in maryland, huge lines for coronavirus testing, and the grim certainty that among the people infected, some won't make it. in el paso in texas, mobile morgues have been brought in. the covid death toll across the nation is set to rise.
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unless there is a concerted effort by all the governors in all the states to get on top of this virus quickly, within the next 60 days, we're going to see widespread death, suffering, sadness. there are countries getting things right. in taiwan, the new normal means masks everywhere and rapid tracing of new infections. the total today, just eight — the result of responding quickly. by moving very early on in the pandemic, it did help them probably continue to have a hold on the virus within their country. but i think what this virus is showing us is that you just can't become relaxed, you cannot become complacent. in south australia, the whole city of adelaide is in a six—day lockdown after a new cluster of cases. it's one of many different approaches while we wait for the vaccines. david shukman, bbc news.
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while the coronavirus pandemic intensifies, donald trump's personal lawyer has laid out wild, far—reaching conspiracy theories regarding alleged voter fraud in the 2020 election. during a 90—minute press conference, rudy giuliani went from quoting hollywood films to claiming a communist plot was behind the mass switching of votes tojoe biden. 0ur north america editor jon sopel reports. this news conference was billed as the moment the trump legal team would present its evidence of electoral fraud, fraud so great that the result of the 2020 election should be overturned. instead, it was a repetition of some outlandish allegations from a number of court cases that have already been dropped. i know crimes, i can smell them. you don't have to smell this one, i can prove it to 18 different ways. i can prove to you that he won pennsylvania by 300,000 votes.
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michigan by probably 50,000 votes. part of the focus was on a vote counting machine used in some states that it was alleged had been fixed to damage the president. the web of the conspiracy stretched wide. what we are really dealing with here and uncovering more by the day is the massive influence of communist money through venezuela, cuba and likely china in the interference with our elections here in the united states. as questions became heated, rudy giuliani was clearly having a bad hair dye. a reporter demanded to know what evidence there was. "you don't understand the legal process if you're asking for evidence," one lawyerfired back. but even some fierce republican combatants are saying enough is enough. these accusations have been made and mr giuliani and miss powell, either on behalf of
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themselves or on behalf of the president's campaign, have an obligation to the american people now to either prove these allegations or withdraw them. you can't leave this kind of stuff out there at the aftermath of an election. the president—elect isn't much impressed either. he will go down in history as being one of the most irresponsible presidents in american history. it's...it's just not even within the norm at all. at the white house, they're getting ready for the inauguration injanuary and donald trump is fighting by any means possible to ensure it's his. he's invited michigan republican legislators here tomorrow to try to persuade them not to certify that state's results. american democracy is being tested. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. joining me now is our correspondent in washington, will grant. before we speak about the latest rudy giuliani press conference,
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let's focus on the figures, because we've got thanksgiving in a week's time and for the first time, we've got americans being urged not to travel because of the soaring coronavirus figures. anthony fauci is the country's leading up an —— epidemiologist, keen to stress this was not a nationwide lockdown, aware of the political implication of something like that, but underlining this is about strengthening the measures that are already in place and urging people not to make the regular and annual family gatherings that they would make around this time because if we look at the numbers, they are deeply shocking, more than a quarter of a million deaths since the carter virus hit the united states —— the coronavirus outbreak. and just in the past 2a hours, more than 1800. it is not showing any signs of flattening, improving, and is still a white for these very hopeful signs
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on these vaccines come to fruition. and against this backdrop, we have the latest rudy giuliani press conference. what are we to make of this quick yellow it was —— make of this? -- make of this? it was at times rambling and strange. taking in everything from the hollywood, comedy film my cousin vinny... all very odd. when pressed for the evidence, it was lacking, and i think this gets to the heart of the south. the trunk and can repeat over and over these unsent and shady claims of electoral fraud, but it is good to the point that these court cases, these legal challenges are being thrown out, and until they can present some coherent and lasting evidence, it looks like it is not going anywhere and there being urged to do so, and so far they consul coming up short —— unsubstantiated
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claims. thank you for talking us through it, will grant in washington. lots more on our website, but let's bring you up—to—date with some of the day's other top stories. the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, has become the first top us diplomat to pay official visits to both a jewish settlement in the occupied west bank and to the golan heights, seized by israel from syria in 1967. the trump administration has taken a staunchly pro—israel position, both on settlements and onjerusalem in defiance of international law. negotiations on the future trading relations between britain and the european union have been suspended after a member of the eu team tested positive for coronavirus. the british team is returning to london and the talks — which are at a critical stage — will continue remotely. ethiopian forces say they are closing in on the capital
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of tigray region, where they've been fighting a two—week offensive against local rulers. the conflict has now killed hundreds of people and sent 30,000 refugees into neighbouring sudan. the united nations estimates that an additional 4,000 people are crossing the border every day. a draft report about one of the british government's most important members, home secretary priti patel, concluded this summer that she broke rules on ministerial behaviour. she'd been accused of bullying her staff. the most senior official in her department, who resigned, said that staff felt she "created fear" in the department. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg reports. good morning. she's 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's been a shadow hanging over priti patel because of this. dramatic claims made by the man who was her most senior official.
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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's starting to become clear. one source told me the draft report, concluded way back in the summer, says priti patel had not met the requirements of the ministerial code to treat civil servants with consideration and respect, and they said the investigation had found some evidence of bullying even if it was not intentional. another source said the report was unambiguous that priti patel had broken the code, the rules that are meant to govern how ministers behave. yet, for her part here at the home office, priti patel has always firmly denied doing anything wrong. are you a workplace bully, home secretary?
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the reports looked at her behaviour in three different departments and one government source told me it doesn't always give a flattering picture of what priti patel encountered. and the man who until recently was by the prime minister's side confirmed the findings have been in borisjohnson‘s intray for a while, but implied that if priti patel was found to have broken the rules, she might not have to quit. the prime minister wanted his advice and the prime minister needed to reflect and make a decision, that as i understand it is still in train. the expectation in westminster tonight is that ms patel will face some kind of reprimand but not be sacked. yet convention matters. there's not a single example of a minister who has broken the rule who stayed on. what message does it send if the minister says, "well, actually, i know i said there will be no bullying,
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what i actually meant was a little bit of bullying is ok and it's not a breach of the ministerial code that requires a resignation." that is not the sort of message i think the prime minister, who is also the minister for the civil service, wants to send to those thousands of civil servants. priti patel had to leave government in dramatic circumstances before, departing as soon as she arrived home from a foreign trip after it emerged she'd had unauthorised meetings with israeli politicians. there may not be an exit for her this time but still an unfolding political drama. laura kuenssberg reporting. stay with us on bbc news. still to come... what a debut for scottish writer douglas stuart — his novel based on his life growing up in glasgow wins the booker prize. benazir bhutto has claimed victory in pakistan's general election, and she's asked pakistan's president to name her as prime minister. jackson's been released on bail of $3 million after turning himself into police in santa barbara.
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it was the biggest demonstration so far of the fast—growing european antinuclear movement. the south african government has announced that it's opening the country's remaining whites—only beaches to people of all races. this will lead to a black majority government in this country and the destruction of the white civilisation. part of the centuries—old windsor castle, one of the queen's residences, has been consumed by fire for much of the day. 150 firemen have been battling the blaze, which has caused millions of pounds' worth of damage. this is bbc news. our main headlines: as coronavirus sees americans urged to stay at home for thanksgiving, joe biden lashes president trump
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for failing to co—operate. president trump's lawyer rudy giuliani has set out wild conspiracy theories in his latest claims of election fraud. so president trump's supporters are defiant, despite overwhelming evidence they've lost. what can't be denied, though, is donald trump has attracted more than seven million new supporters in this year's record vote turnout. so where does the republican party go from here — can it survive as the "party of trump" without the president in the white house? jane 0'brien has been finding out. the rugged coastline of new england hasn't changed much since abraham lincoln campaigned in1860. but if america's first republican president returned to the region today, he'd find the party he led utterly transformed. the republican party has got to decide if they are the party of trump or the party of lincoln. they cannot be both.
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jennifer horn is a republican who co—founded the lincoln project, an organisation dedicated to defeating donald trump and his brand of populist government. 0ur party system is broken. it does not serve the voters, it has become only about holding onto power and not at all about public service. and the republicans should be getting that message. they paid a price in this election. democratjoe biden may have won the popular vote in a record turnout, but president trump also attracted millions of new supporters, such as carlin. the evolution that the gop, the republican party, has undergone under trump is incredibly good. she left the democratic party in march after political tensions within her knitting circle and is now an active trump campaigner.
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he has effectively created a third party in this country, a party that is about populism, about opportunity for everyone and, frankly, a lot of the old—school neocons, or rinos, they don't like that. there needs to be a new influx of blood into the republican party with people like me. the split within the republican party is evident in the town of bedford, new hampshire. in 2016, residents voted for donald trump over hillary clinton. this year, he was narrowly beaten byjoe biden, but bedford voters still like the republican party — choosing republicans for governor, congress and state representatives. we hear it quite a few times that people did not like the tweets and the tone, but very few people opposed his policies. so i think if we can embrace the policies and put perhaps a friendlier face on those policies for the good of the american people, i think we would be just fine. there's no doubt donald trump has changed the republican party and galvanised voters in unprecedented numbers. but it's still too early
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to gauge his lasting impact. after all, what is trumpism without trump? the republican party now has four years until the next election to work it out. jane 0'brien, bbc news. philippines president rodrigo duterte has declared a "state of calamity" for the entire island of luzon after it was hit by devastating typhoons gonni and vamco. luzon, the country's largest and most populous island which is home to the capital manila, has been badly affected by widespread flooding. more than 70 people have died. 0ur correspondent howard johnson is one of the first foreign reporters to visit the worst—affected region of cagayan in the north of the island. he's back in manila now and joins us from there. howard, what did you see, what did you witness? last week, this was described, the flooding, as a pacific ocean. and yesterday, i saw
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a sea of mud. the water line, i could see marks on trees above head level, and i could see that plants we re level, and i could see that plants were complete the covered in mud, streets completely inundated with this stuff. i went to a market place that was completely ruined, people there were telling me that their livelihoods have been smashed by this storm, this most recent storm. not only that, two other storms prior to that had overloaded nearby dam it was because of that that the dam it was because of that that the dam opened up its gates and flooded the area. so what we were also seeing is lots of agricultural fields, this is an agricultural region in the north, lots of rice and corn up there, and i saw lots of fields that had been completed estimated. the department of agriculture put the cost to the economy and more than $250 million. and think about that given there is this covid—19 lockdown that is put this covid—19 lockdown that is put this economy into recession here, and this is also a poor region of the philippines, so many people are
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suffering. and what a rehearing from the president, rodrigo duterte? this week, we have heard a spat between himself and the vice president. there were lots of argument about who got there first. in fact, it was the vice president who got there first, but he has declared this state of calamity. despite the politics, we are seeing a lot of effort put into put eight into the remote parts, it drops, where food cannot reach because they're not roads. and the philippine red cross are delivering aid. we saw them handing out around $75 perfamily and also giving out food to people in need. howard, thanks so much for bringing us up to date, howard johnson, one of the first foreign reporters to get to that affected region. thank you. it is the story of a young boy growing up in glasgow in the 19805 with an alcoholic mother.
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shuggie bain was written by the scottish writer douglas stuart, based on his own childhood. it is his debut novel and it'sjust won him the uk's most prestigious literary prize — the booker. 0ur arts editor will gompertz has been speaking to him. covid restrictions meant the champagne wasn't flowing and the shortlisted authors weren't present, but the booker prize show still went on, and with a sense of occasion, as the winner was announced. shuggie bain, by douglas stuart. the glasgow—born author now lives in new york, where he's a successful fashion designer. douglas, congratulations. that looked like a genuine surprise? i was incredibly surprised. i think part of the reason that it took me so long to write the book is because i felt like an imposter. i've felt that way since i was a young man, to be honest. books were never really seen as something that a boy from the east end of glasgow should be doing with his life. i wasn't sure that my voice would be welcomed within publishing circles.
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and so this is just beyond my wildest expectations. douglas stuart's novel, shuggie bain, which took him a decade to write, is a moving, unflinching account of working—class life in 19805 glasgow. at its heart is a relationship between the alcohol—dependent agnes and her young son shuggie, who has his own issues to resolve. shuggie stood on the bed and put his arms on her shoulders. they swayed that way for a while. she kissed his nose, he kissed her nose. the chair ofjudges said the decision to give the award to shuggie bain was unanimous. if you like fine writing, read it. if you like to connect emotionally with the characters, read it. shuggie bain is a character that is unforgettable. the 2020 shortlist was the most diverse in the prize's 52—year history — a reflection, according to last year's joint winner, of a publishing industry changing, albeit very slowly. we shouldn't be seduced into thinking that the publishing
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industry has revolutionised its practices simply because i won the booker, and because the list this year is very diverse, and because we know that there have been breakthroughs. because when you do look at the statistics, you realise that there is still a very, very long way to go. shuggie bain will no doubt go on to enjoy the famous booker bounce, with a significant increase in sales. those readers will discover a troubled love story set in a bleak landscape, told with remarkable compassion. will gompertz, bbc news. congratulations to douglas stuart, who has won the booker prize for shuggie bain. it is so sweet to hear him think everybody when he has won the award, including his mother. a
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full list of nominees on a website. —— on our website. thanks very much for joining —— on our website. thanks very much forjoining us here on bbc news. hello there. the short—lived cold snap is on its way out now as we start to see mild air making inroads off of the atlantic, but laden with moisture. we will see a lot more cloud and outbreaks of rain spreading eastwards across the country during the course of today. you can see the cold air still looms across the eastern side of the country to begin today, but gradually that milder air will move in on a strengthening westerly breeze. it starts off dry and chilly, maybe some early brightness in the east. very soon the cloud thickens with patchy rain spreading eastwards. light and patchy and a few heavier bursts across scotland and even some brief wintriness briefly over the higher ground before
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that mild air moves in. the winds also picking up out across the northwest, gusts of a0 to 45 miles an hour. here, it will be turning milder by the end of the day. 12, 13 degrees but further east, still quite chilly under that cloud and rain. but as we head through the course of the night, it does look like it will turn milderfor all. it stays rather cloudy, drier for england and wales. scotland, northern ireland, a new cold front will be sinking southwards with outbreaks of rain and turning cooler with blustery showers, but double figure values for most. into the weekend, we've got that new cold front sinking southeastward across the country gradually. behind it, the air will be turning cooler, and along that cold front, there will be a band of cloud and patchy rain moving out of northern ireland, into southern scotland and heading south into england and wales. behind it, skies brighten up. sunny spells but blustery showers for scotland and northern ireland. it will be very windy here, particularly northern scotland with widespread gales. turning a bit cooler later in the day across the north but mild quite a bit of cloud around, 13—14 degrees.
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that cold front then moves southwards and ends up lingering across southern england on sunday, but behind it, you'll notice we're in that cooler air mass, so it could be cloudy across southern england throughout the day. but for much of the country, actually bright on sunday with good spells of sunshine, but it stays breezy in the north, with further blustery showers across northern and western scotland. winds lighter in the south. those temperatures lower than on saturday's eight to around ten or 11 degrees in the south. heading onto next week, it looks like it turns milder again, with south—westerly winds moving in, but a low—pressure system will bring outbreaks of rain, particularly to the north and the west of the country.
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this is bbc world news. the headlines... the us centers for disease control and prevention has urged americans not to travel for thanksgiving in a week's time. president—electjoe biden has called for unity amid what he described as a national emergency. more than two weeks after the us presidential election, donald trump's lawyer, rudy giuliani, has alleged there was centrally planned fraud in democrat—supporting cities which cheated the president of victory. he put forward no evidence to back that up. mike pompeo has become the first us secretary of state to visit a jewish settlement in the occupied west bank and the golan heights. israel is occupying both sites in breach of international law. a draft report into claims the british home secretary bullied staff concluded she broke rules on ministerial behaviour. an inquiry was launched in march after the most senior official at the home office resigned.

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