this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. pfizer formally applies to health regulators for emergency authorisation for its new covid vaccine. governments around the world are hoping it can be approved next month. the british prime minister boris johnson gives his full support to the home secretary priti patel, despite an inquiry upholding claims against her of bullying. yelling. as we still wait for georgia to officially certify joe biden as the state's winner — donald trump invites michigan state legislators to the white house in another attempt to overturn the result of the presidential election. in an interview with the bbc, saudi arabia's minister of state for foreign affairs rejects calls from human rights groups

for the release of detained activists in the run—up to this weekend's 620 summit. we don't allow people to lecture us or dictate what we should or should not do. just like we don't tell people in the uk or america or other places what they should or should not do. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world — and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. the world could be one one step closer to a usable covid—19 vaccine, with the drugs company pfizer and its partner biontech filing for emergency authorisation of their vaccine in the us and countries around the globe. the uk government has also asked the medicines regulator to formally assess the pfizer—biontech vaccine.

if approved, it will begin to be rolled out from next month. our north america business correspondent michelle fleury told me more about the next steps. these are unprecedented times i think and we've seen the development of a vaccine take place in a much more compressed timeline then historically has been the case. having got through that phase where you have developed the vaccine and the test results are showing positive signs, the next hurdle in the process is that regulatory approval and what we see now is pfizer going to regulators around the world trying to get permission, in the us it is called emergency use, when a drug has not been properly fully tested in other words, there are conditions under which it can gain approval to be used. and that is what it is doing in america. also doing that in the eu

and we understand it is trying to do that in the uk. they are in talks with regulators around the world because clearly this is going to be in huge demand notjust here in america where i am but obviously globally, everybody will try and get everybody will try and get their hands on this as soon as it gets through the necessary hurdles that we are talking about today. timeline wise, if it does surpass those hurdles and gets to what are we talking about in terms of timing for rolling the vaccine out? not only in the us but globally? what's fascinating is if you listen to what these companies are saying, they have come out and say that within hours of approval, they can have vaccines ready to go, that is a huge achievement if it is true given the scale and the demand that we are talking about. we are talking about several hundred million being delivered here in the us and i believe the eu has an agreement for a similar

delivery and the uk and they have agreements with japan. the idea is this all gets rolled out, you have to think about it is notjust the approvals process that we're talking about today. there is the manufacturing, distribution, how you get it into the right places? this is a logistical as well as a medicine and science breakthrough that we are talking about here. and another piece of potential good news — new research from the university of oxford, suggests that people who have had coronavirus are highly unlikely to get the disease for six months after being infected. earlier we heard from professor david eyre, who co—led the study and is working to answer the question so many people are asking — if you catch coronavirus — can you get it again?? the simple answer is at least for the first six months, you're really quite unlikely to get it again. the way we have been able to investigate this is to a big collaboration between the university of oxford and also offer university hospitals, where we follow what has happened to

over 12,000 health care workers —— oxford university. over the last six months. in april we started to measure antibody levels in the numbers of staff and we can use this to work out who would been affected before and who hadn't been. and then we can see whether what happened to the two groups over the time differed. in what we found was that in the group who have been affected before and had antibodies, that actually none of them over 1200 of them that we investigated them, none of them develop a further symptomatic infection. where as in the 11,000 or so people who didn't have antibodies, 89 of them went on to get another first infection. what we can take from this is if you have been affected before, we can measure antibodies can be a chance of being affected again is low. here in the uk, the prime minister borisjohnson has expressed full confidence in his home secretary, priti patel — despite a report into claims of bullying — which found that she broke the rules on ministerial behaviour.

the inquiry looked into allegations about her conduct as a minister in three different government departments. the man who investigated the bullying claims today resigned, after borisjohnson contradicted his advice. this afternoon, priti patel told the bbc she was sorry if her behaviour had upset people. our deputy political editor vicki young reports. he is standing by her. boris johnson has taken months to give his verdict on the home secretary's behaviour, which an independent report described as bullying. priti patel shouted and swore at staff. the prime minister hasjudged she didn't break ministerial rules. i asked her what she thought about the criticism in the report. are you a bully? i am here to give an unreserved apology today, and i'm sorry if i have upset people in any way whatsoever. it was completely unintentional. i will be very candid, the work that i do here, in this department and across government, is deeply challenging so,

if i have upset people, that has been completely unintentionalfor top was not my intention. it all started nine months ago, when sir philip rutnam, the most senior civil servant at the home office, walked out, complaining about miss patel‘s actions, but his former department has been criticised for being inflexible and unsupportive. the prime minister ordered an enquiry and today sir alex allan concluded that the home secretary had not consistently met high standards required by the ministerial code. her approach on occasions had amounted to behaviour that could be described as bullying and, to that extent, her behaviour had been in breach of the ministerial code, even if unintentionally put up code, even if unintentionally. despite this, the prime minister has the final say and has disagreed. sir alex has resigned. in overruling his independent adviser, the prime minister has made a huge political decision. downing street points to what they call mitigating circumstances, the fact that no one

mentioned the home secretary's behaviour to her at the time and the fact she has apologised. miss patel‘s friends think she has been the victim of snobbery and sexism. the home secretary insists the culture in the home office has changed. at the time, it says this in the report, issues were not pointed out to me, we were not being supported in our work, but this is a challenging department. people listening will think you are making excuses and actually there is no excuse for somebody in a senior position treating others badly. there are no excuses. i am giving an unreserved, fulsome apology today. i cannot be any clearer about that whatsoever. labour say priti patel should resign or be sacked. the prime minister has said he loathes bullying and yet today he has comprehensively failed a test of his leadership, where he has had a report on his desk

precisely on that issue. sir alex allan could not have been clearer that the home secretary has not consistently met the high standards of the ministerial code. hanging on to priti patel will be a popular decision with conservative party members but it will bring mrjohnson or political pain. more political pain. the state of georgia is preparing to certinyoe biden as the winner of the election in the state after a recount. it's another blow to donald trump's attempts to overturn the results of the election, which he claims — without evidence — was rigged against him. today he's expected to welcome republican leaders of michigan's state legislature to the white house. let's just see how they were greeted upon their arrival at the washington airport. shame on you! it's thought donald trump will urge them to take the highly

controversial step of refusing to certinyoe biden‘s clear lead there. a move criticised by the president—elect‘s team. it is an abuse of office, it is an open attempt to intimidate election officials, it is absolutely appalling, and also pathetic, but having said all of that, it will be unsuccessful and this is really very harmful to the democratic process and it naturally troubles people a great deal. on the other hand, it is doomed to failure. there is nothing that i can imagine that is more beneath the president of the united states then to be harranging officials to try to give people the impression that there's a possibility that he will still win the election. meanwhile president trump still refuses to concede the result of the election. our washington correspondent nomia iqbal gave me the latest on the president's position. he just finished a press conference in the white house and it was about covid—19 and the prices of drugs and said, "i won the election and got more

than 73 million votes," he did get more than 73 million votesjoe biden got way more votes and won the election, so donald trump is still in that state of denial about election results, but yes, this is a hugely controversial move, both men are at the white house and understand they are aware of what the president wants to do, but whether or not it will actually happen is another thing. georgia's secretary of state, whose name has been in the news quite a lot recently, has said quite openly that he is disappointed that the republican party didn't win, but the votes don't lie. and he is expected to certify georgia later so that is another state that donald trump is looking at and hoping to try and overturn the votes there as well. what does this mean in terms of timing? january the 20th is getting closer and closer. what do you think president trump is hoping to achieve

by doing all of this? i think he wants to sow doubt in the integrity of the election process, we know he doesn't like to admit that he has lost and the press conference today if that is anything to go by, that is who he is, i think he wants, if we go by the words of kayleigh, her press conference earlier today, she claims that the democrats were not fair to the republicans or donald trump in 2016. she says that his presidency was never seen as legitimate and mentioned how the russian investigation and the claims that his victory was influenced by russia comes to that of the democrats didn't play nice so why should they expect us to place nice but of course by this point, in 2016, barack obama had met with donald trump and michelle obama had met with melania trump, and the democrats view is that should be happening for us as well.

stay with us on news, still to come: they're calling it a "letter of hope" to their fans. k—pop band bts issue their second album of the year — about life under lockdown. 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. 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, the latest headlines. pharmaceutical giant pfizer applies for authorisation in countries around the world for its vaccine. it could be approved by the first half of next month. the british prime minister boris johnson gives his full support to the home secretary priti patel, despite an inquiry upholding claims against her of bullying. some news coming out of the us for

us, breaking news in the last few minutes, joe biden‘s victory in the us state of georgia has now been certified. he has been certified as the official winner after a hand recount in the state of georgia. it is still a pretty narrow to refer the us president elect but a victory none the less. certified by the republican secretary of state there. just to reiterate, the president—elect has beaten president trump and georgia byjust over 12,000 votes according to the audit required by state law. that is the latest coming from georgia become a certified victory there for the president elect after the hand recount. there are just six weeks left before the end of the brexit transition period, which is where the uk has been following eu rules on a temporary basis, to allow for a new trade deal to be thrashed out. it's been a fraught process —

and talks have stopped for a short time, because one of the eu team tested positive for covid—19. over the months, deadlines have come and gone. but now that it's crunch time, how ready is the uk? here's our political correspondent alex forsyth. sunday night, six minutes past six, heading into dover for the boat to france. this is a familiarjourney for lorry driver vic. he's been moving goods to and from europe for years. he kept us a video log of a recent trip. it is relatively easy. all you do is show your passport, and i'm presuming that'll go out the window. it is all about to change. new trade rules come into play injanuary. goods moving between the uk and eu will be subject to new customs controls and checks, some phased in, but still, for drivers and traders, a whole new system to grapple with. now leaving in calais. straight off the dock

and away we go. i doubt that'll happen injanuary. the driver is almost going to have to have a briefcase full of new paperwork. in lincoln, permits and papers are piling up as the boss of vic's firm prepares. his transport company specialises in international haulage. he fears, after some brexit false starts, not all businesses have realised this time change is coming. there's a sort of feeling of, we've all been here before, and it's been put back a couple of times, and i think that hasn't helped, and add covid to that, that hasn't helped, either. but i certainly foresee severe disruption in the first few weeks as far as goods moving to and from the uk are concerned. in kent, work is under way on this new lorry park to help both process vehicles and manage traffic. the fear is lorries backed up, supply chains disrupted. to try and avoid that, hgvs will need permits to enter kent,

to show they are prepared. all part of government efforts to keep things flowing. but some local residents aren't convinced. it will be very interesting to walk up here onjanuary the first and see what's happening. it will no doubt be completely inaccessible by vehicles, because they'll be queueing right round the motorway exits in both directions. preparations by government have ramped up. there are checklists, guidebooks, help centres for hauliers, millions spent on technology and infrastructure. but it is late in the day. the diggers are still in the ground, with six weeks to go. whether we reach a trade deal with the eu or not, these changes will happen come january, because we've left the customs union and the single market. the government says its systems should be in place in time, but there is a real worry that businesses don't have long enough to be ready. at this manufacturer's in kent, there is uncertainty. they export engineering parts to the eu.

they are ready for new systems but don't know about tariffs, which are still the subject of trade talks. there is a large amount of nervousness. we understand the process, we understand that we've got to change our paperwork. we also believe there is going to be tariffs, but if you go on the website, it doesn't really tell you what it's going to be. it always says, to be confirmed. wacky races, here we go. for those like vic, on the front line of trade, the changes brexit will bring really are now just a few weeks away, with much still to be done to keep things moving. alex forsyth, bbc news. saudi arabia has rejected calls from human rights groups for the release of detained activists in the run—up to this weekend's g—20 summit hosted by the kingdom. this is the first time an arab state has hosted this gathering of heads of the world's biggest economies, but in the midst of a global pandemic leaders

will be meeting online. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet has been speaking to the minister of state for foreign affairs, adel al—jubeir. she began by asking if saudi arabia had been disappointed by calls to boycott the summit. we are not disappointed, not many countries called for it. all the 620 countries are going to show up, we have a great statement that will come out. we have achieved great things during the year of our presidency as head of the 620. what will you say to g20 leaders when they raise the issue of the jailed activists? we will tell them we have a legal system, we have laws. we implement our laws and ourjudiciary is independent, and we do not allow people to lecture us or dictate to us what we should or shouldn't do. just like we don't tell people in the uk, or in america, or in other places what they should or should not do. we will never sit injudgment of the decision of a german court. that's for germany to decide. and as a consequence we will not allow people to sit

injudgment of saudi courts. that's for the saudi people to decide. the jamal khashoggi murder, the jailing of the dissidents still cast a shadow of the kingdom, whatever changes you make here? i think that people have not been fair when it comes to dealing with the kingdom of saudi arabia, and i think they always look for the negative part of it rather than the positive part of it. the murder of jamal khashoggi was a terrible tragedy that hit saudi arabia very, very hard. nobody in saudi arabia wants a citizen to be murdered. and so what happened is, like i said, we investigated, we held people accountable, and people will be punished for this, and we will try to ensure that something like this never happens again. we have never, in the history of saudi arabia, had a citizen of saudi arabia murdered. we just don't do this as a government, that's not our policy. i must ask you about loujain alhathloul. today her photograph is being, is on the louvre museum in paris. she's become a symbol of the call

to release some of the activists. an interview in 2018, mohammed bin salman said that she was a spy. why hasn't the evidence been presented? in our legal system the evidence is presented after the verdict is rendered so that you don't embarrass somebody who turns out to be innocent. so that's how the system works. loujain alhathloul was detained because of issues relating to national security, dealing with foreign entities, supporting entities hostile to saudi arabia. it has nothing to do with advocating for women's right to drive. if every woman who advocated for the right to drive in saudi arabia was to be jailed, half the women in saudi arabia would be jailed. so this has nothing to do with advocacy or women's rights, this has to do with national security. friday marks a major event in the k—pop calendar. south korean megaband bts have a new album out — ‘be‘. and the new single ‘life goes on' has been watched more than a50 million times so far today on youtube.

the seven—piece will perform it live for the american music awards on sunday. imelda ibarra from us bts army, joins me from los angeles. before i talk to you, must have a quick listen to one of their songs. music. singing in korean i can see you singing and swaying to that. you clearly like the new album. absolutely. it is amazing. what is it that is so popular about k pop in the united states? it is obviously a big deal globally but what is it that makes it so popular in the us in the market which is normally so tough to crack? welcome i can't

necessarily speak too much about k p0p necessarily speak too much about k pop but definitely when it comes to bts, it is who they are as people, it is their music, it is their lyrics, a culmination of all of these things that so many people identify with and i love and appreciate and it is just over all who bts are as people best friend from not just the who bts are as people best friend from notjust the us but everywhere i follow my love with them. they are singing in korean, so do you understand what they are saying or do you google translations? the amazing thing about our fandom if they are so many other amazing fans out there who do translation for us so out there who do translation for us so when a new album releases, you have fa ns so when a new album releases, you have fans who stay up night translating the songs and posting them for the rest of us to share. i personally do not speak any korean. what do you think about the new album because i've been reading about that and they have really drawn on the experience of covid—19

and the pandemic and just a way that we've all seen our life changing over the last six to eight months globally? for me, ithink over the last six to eight months globally? for me, i think this is definitely puts more emphasis on the fa ct definitely puts more emphasis on the fact that they are musicians who write about what they know, they are human beings just like us who were disappointed when covid—19 cancelled tours and a lot of other things they have planned, but silver lining because of that they were able to get together and fully create this album on their own and all of them had different roles in it, and i thinkjust the fact had different roles in it, and i think just the fact that they talked about their experiences and what they are going through, again reiterates why fans love them so much. a quick message if they are watching. i love you guys, thank you so watching. i love you guys, thank you so much for all your hard work and everything you have given to us fans. hopefully they are watching bbc news. somewhere in the world.

thank you forjoining us. that is that from us. more news at the top of the hour. goodbye. good evening. friday brought us a fairly cloudy, grey sort of day with outbreaks of rain that have been making their way from west to east. as we head into the weekend, we will be keeping the rain for some areas but there will be a bit more sunshine coming through for some of us, particularly in the north. through the day tomorrow, as the weather front slip south, it'll be mild and breezy and it'll be some rain around. we are seeing that rain overnight pushing across scotland and northern ireland, too, turning particularly windy across the north of scotland, the northern isles seeing gales and gusts of around 60 miles an hour. in the south, breezy, cloudy, a few breaks in the cloud but it'll be a mild night, a few spots of drizzle around, and temperatures for most of us holding up between 10—12, but turning a little bit cooler in that cool air moving across scotland. so, heading through the day tomorrow, we have this cold front

slowly sinking its way south, low pressure to the north and quite a lot of isobars on the map as you can see, especially across the northern half of scotland. so, another windy day to come, could be gale force gusts of up towards the northern isles, western isles and northern highlands as well. plenty of showers rattling through on that brisk breeze across scotland and northern ireland, then we have this band of cloud and rain sinking across northern england into wales, too. further south, mostly dry, fairly cloudy at a few breaks in that cloud and it'll be mild. if the sunshine does break through, 13—14 down towards the south, typically about 8—10 further north. these are the gusts of wind we are likely to see so the wind will be a feature. 20—30 miles an hour, even stronger, 30, 40, 50 or even 60 across the northern half of scotland once again. saturday evening remains breezy in the north with scattered showers, cloudy and mild, still, in the south because this frontal system, this cold front pushes its way south overnight into sunday and it parked itself across southern england and south wales

so we still have the mild air in the far south, quite cloudy, a few spots of showery rain here but away from that anywhere north of the m4 probably sunday is going to be a largely dry day, lots of sunshine around although there will be lots of showers packing in across the west of scotland. single figures temperatures for most of us, about 8—9, butjust in the south where we have that milder air, up to about 11—12 and, then, a look ahead into the new working week and things are remaining unsettled, quite a lot of cloud, rain especially in the north and west, a little bit brighter in the south by the time we get to tuesday. bye— bye.

this is bbc world news, the headlines... the drug company pfizer has asked american regulators for emergency authorisation for its vaccine — as the uk government says it hopes to roll it out to the public in the new year. borisjohnson gives his full support to the home secretary priti patel, despite an inquiry upholding claims against her of bullying. the us state of georgia has officially certified thatjoe biden won the presidential election in the state. meanwhile, donald trump has invited michigan state legislators to the white house in another attempt to overturn the result of the us election. the g20 summit of the world's biggest economies is being hosted online this weekend, from the saudi capital riyadh. but the event is in danger of being overshadowed