this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. republican officials in two states re—confirm joe biden's victory. another setback for donald trump in his attempts to overturn his losses in the us election. the british home secretary, priti patel, keeps herjob after being found to have broken rules by bullying staff. now questions for borisjohnson, over his influence on the report. a rocket attack on the afghan capital, kabul. at least eight people have been killed and more than 30 injured. an online summit of the world's biggest economies begins today in saudi arabia. top of the agenda — the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout. the professional footballers‘ association in the uk calls for heading the ball to be reduced

in training sessions to protect players from the risk of dementia. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. i'm shaun ley. stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. we begin in the united states this hour. republican officials in two us states have re—confirmed in the last 2a hours that the results of the presidential election hold — joe biden won in georgia and in michigan. they said they found no evidence of any problems with voting or counting votes. president trump on friday asked a delegation of republicans from michigan to come to washington to see if they could help him challenge the results. they told him they were going

to certify mr biden‘s victory. our north america correspondent, david willis, reports. since losing the election, donald trump has largely confined his displeasure with the results to twitter, but he strayed from the theme of a white house event on drug prices to reassert his victory. big pharma ran millions of dollars of negative advertisements against me during the campaign, which i won by the way, but you know, we'll find that out. the president wants to see results in swing states such as michigan overturned, and republican lawmakers from that state were given a noisy reception as they arrived in washington for a meeting at the white house. joe biden won michigan by more than 155,000 votes, and his advisers called the invitation an abuse of presidential power. 0n the one hand, this is really very

harmful to the democratic process and naturally troubles people a great deal and on the other hand it is doomed to failure. so, it proved. after meeting with president trump, the michigan lawmakers released a statement saying they had not yet been made aware of any information that would change the outcome of the election, and vowed not to interfere with the process of certifying the vote. certification in another swing state, georgia, has already taken place, however, after a hand recount of millions of ballots. joe biden‘s victory there was slimmer, and the trump campaign could now request a machine recount. the president continues to allege voterfraud, claiming — without evidence — that hundreds of thousands of votes had been cast illegally, alleging in a tweet that without them he would have achieved a big victory. and georgia's governor, also a republican, seemed to suggest that the process might not be over there. we demand complete explanations for all discrepancies identified so that our citizens will have complete confidence

in our elections. after several states dismissed his lawsuits, donald trump's slim hope of remaining in the white house may now rest with republican officials in battleground states setting aside the results and declaring him the winner instead, subverting the will of the voters in a move unprecedented in modern american history. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. the judgment of the british prime minister borisjohnson is in the spotlight for a second weekend in succession. last week, it was the abrupt departure of his chief adviser, who mrjohnson had previously refused to sack. this weekend, it's claims he tried to get an independent report into the conduct of a senior cabinet minister toned down. it concluded that the uk home secretary — priti patel — broke the ministerial code by bullying staff. downing street has insisted the conclusions of sir alex

allan's investigation were "entirely his own". he has resigned. 0ur political correspondent, jess parker, reports. standing by her, borisjohnson says he has full confidence in priti patel and considers the matter closed after an independent report found her approach had, on occasion, amounted to behaviour that could be described as bullying. with evidence, it said, of shouting and swearing. i'm sorry that my behaviour has upset people. i have never intentionally set out to upset anyone. i work with thousands of brilliant civil servants every single day and we work together, day in, day out, to deliver on the agenda of this government and i'm absolutely sorry for anyone that i have upset. the report said priti patel had legitimately not always felt supported at the home office and that there was no evidence she had been aware of the impact of her behaviour. but the prime minister's independent

adviser on ministerial standards, sir alex allan, concluded she had breached the ministerial code even if unintentionally. borisjohnson disagreed and, as prime minister, has the final say. the system does make the prime ministerjudge and jury. but in the past, prime ministers have always acted when there has been a breach of the ministerial code and that's why, in a sense, this is a much more serious moment than previous ones, because the prime minister seems to have gone against what would have happened in the past and that does mean that you wonder what the value of the ministerial code is. now a whitehall source says that sir alex allan had resisted pressure to make the report more palatable. a separate source told the bbc there were discussions in the summer between sir alex and borisjohnson about the challenges the report presented. a downing street spokesman said that, as you would expect, the prime minister spoke to sir alex allan to further his understanding of the report. but that sir alex's conclusions were entirely his own.

jessica parker, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent helen catt says this all comes after a difficult time for the prime minister in recent weeks. this was a week when downing street really wanted to move on. that's because the week previously there had been huge disruption behind the closed door of number 10. it had resulted, in the end of the week, of two of borisjohnson‘s most senior aides leaving the government, dominic cummings and lee cain, who had had a huge impact on shaping government. so this week was supposed to be about moving on, making some big policy announcements like a big green strategy, many billions of pounds more to be invested in defence, in the military. we did get that, but it has been overshadowed. firstly, there was a political row at the beginning of the week in response to some comments that borisjohnson had made about how devolution was going in scotland. of course, he's also been hampered by the fact he's got to stay inside downing street because he's isolating after coming into contact with someone with coronavirus.

and at the end of the week we have the findings of this result which were unedifying and controversy over the government the government's response to it. the prime minister is obviously involved in the 620, which is kind of happening virtually. we will talk about that later in this bulletin. but one of his predecessors, david cameron picking up mrjohnson‘s remarks about not retreating from the world, re—engaging with the world, accused him of retreating on foreign aid. that is a concern for the government how to establish the uk on the world stage, we are about to leave the single union, the customs market and the single union. part of that big investment in defence spending in the uk this week, that has been about how the uk is viewed on the global stage. we have this warning from david cameron who is a recent predecessor of borisjohnson, someone he knows well saying, hang on, do not give way when it comes to the important soft power

that comes with global aid and it would be letting down the poorest i think is what he said. that is likely to give him some food for thought. former prime ministers david cameron and tony blair have warned borisjohnson that cutting the uk's overseas aid budget would undermine the uk prime minister, borisjohnson, has insisted he does not want to undermine devolution — which gave powers to nations in the uk. as we've just heard — it was reported earlier this week, he'd said it had been a "disaster" in scotland. he's told the scottish tory conference he wants policies which show "how devolution can work for scotland" — accusing the snp of making it "work against the rest of the uk". just because i criticised the performance of devolution does not meani performance of devolution does not mean i want to oppose devolution as a concept in itself. of course not, iama a concept in itself. of course not, i am a former mayor of london and i know how effective devolved powers can be, for example in making transport greener or tackling crime. devolution should be used, not by politicians as a wall to sequester, to break away an area of the uk from the rest. it should be used as a

step to pass power to local communities and businesses to make their lives better. at least eight people have been killed in rocket attacks on the afghan capital. officials say 14 rockets slammed into parts of central and north kabul 0ur afghanistan correspondent, secunder kermani is following the story. video shared online shows terrified students at a girls' school screaming and running in panic with the sound of explosions behind them. i've also been looking at cctv footage from outside a popular bakery showing the moment that rockets landed just outside there, sending passers—by and customers sprawling to the ground, reallyjust underlining how these tragedies are occurring as people are trying to live their everyday, normal lives. now, the taliban have denied responsibility for this attack, but levels of violence in the country, across the country have been intensifying over recent weeks in spite of ongoing, but slow—moving peace

negotiations in doha. the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, is actually expected there today. he's expected to hold meetings with both the afghan and taliban negotiating teams. we, of course, heard earlier this week an announcement that us troop numbers would be further withdrawn by january next year by the time thatjoe biden is taking over as president of the united states. there's been some suggestion that these peace negotiations in doha, that the two sides are on the verge of finally agreeing to the preliminary issues that they've been discussing so far. but as of yet, they haven't begun talking about the substantive issues, the ceasefire or a power sharing arrangement. certainly for many ordinary afghans, there feels a real disconnect between the violence they're suffering and living through on the ground and these talks taking place and are going at quite a slow pace in doha.

they began back in september and, as i say, it's only now that we're hearing suggestions that they're about to finalise the preliminary issues. it's important to remember as well, though, that as part of the us—taliban agreement that was signed back in february, setting out a timetable for us troop withdrawal, it was never formally agreed, it seems, that the taliban would stop doing attacks on the afghan security forces. it was hoped that that would be the case, but that certainly hasn't materialised. there is, of course, a line of thought that the taliban believe that the violence they carry out on the battlefield gives them more leverage on the negotiating table, but, of course, it's ordinary afghans who suffer the most and attacks like this today, well, we know the taliban are saying they weren't responsible. potentially there are other groups like the islamic state group who are responsible so, you know, the situation for ordinary afghans is really dire.

secunder kamani on the attacks in kabul. the 620 summit of the world's biggest economies is under way and its unprecedented for two reasons. it's all taking place online because of the pandemic and it's been organised by saudi arabia for the first time. that's controversial: it's only two years after the world was horrified by the brutal murder of the journalist jamal khashoggi in the saudi consulate in istanbul. the british prime minister, boris johnson, will take part. he is calling for urgent action on climate change and the pandemic. 0ur chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, is in riyadh and told us there's collective agreement on the handling of the covid—i9 pandemic going forward. there is a mantra here that no one is safe until everyone is safe and the race by richer nations to acquire the vaccines, acquire the pt has to be complemented by help for the poor nations —— ppe. let's go to

oslo tojoin the the poor nations —— ppe. let's go to oslo to join the secretary general of the norwegian refugee council. welcome to our programme. i know that you and other leading aid agencies have been emphasising that the world has to pay attention to the world has to pay attention to the poor, more vulnerable nations in this global crisis. there have been warning throughout the start, since the start of this pandemic. what is at the price being paid in the poorest and most vulnerable and at this time? the price is at the highest price, as much as our northern and western economies and at the saudi economy is hurt by the pandemic, it is much, much worse in the conflict stricken, disaster stricken poor nations of the south. i think it would be a historic mistake by the 620 countries, which are supposed to be the strongest,

richest, most robust economies on earth, if they are now talking about saving themselves only, given that any refugees that we work for and among and at the other disaster and conflict stricken populations are much, much harder hit. if we let a billion people just sink into the abyss, there will be pandemic, there will be a mass migration, there will be instability for all. the 620 leaders that emphasise per months that they are trying to find an inclusive response to this pandemic. have a day max to action and funding with words? not so far, really. i think it is impressive that i have heard of the some e11 trillion and

dollars have been spent on the 620 countries themselves. what we have seenis countries themselves. what we have seen is that humanitarian appeals are not even close to being fully funded. so we are having to say, no, to families who are not able to feed themselves any more when they ask for food. this is a meltdown, so i hope the 620 countries will understand that there needs to be commensurate investment in keeping the poorest economies under the poorest people afloat as it is to keep our economies going. he was talking their own at the beginning of neg 20 summit. the headlines on bbc news... republican officials in two states re confirm joe biden‘s victory. another defeat for donald trump in his attempts to overturn the us election results. the british cabinet minister priti patel keeps herjob

after being found to have broken rules by bullying staff. now questions for borisjohnson, over his influence on the report. a rocket attack on the afghan capital, kabul. at least eight people have been killed and more than 30 injured. the nhs has started setting up coronavirus vaccination centres across the uk with the hope of getting all adults vaccinated by the spring. with infection rates dropping and plateauing in all four nations, the government has officially asked the medical regulator to asses the pfizer—biontech vaccine for uk use. anna o'neill reports. this is the ray of light is described by the health secretary. millions of doses of this of this pfizer biontech vaccine against covid—19 could be heading to britain as early as next month, and the nhs is getting ready for a mass vaccination programme.

we will be ready to start the vaccination next month with the bulk of the roll—out in the new year. we are heading in the right direction. yesterday, another 511 people died within 28 days of catching covid—19. but there may be signs that the r rate, or infection rate, is flattening. in the latest office for national statistics survey, one in 80 people of england were thought to have coronavirus similar to the week before. in scotland, it was one person in 155 and rates were levelling off. in wales, it was one person in 165, with rates decreasing over the last two weeks. in northern ireland, rates have been decreasing over four weeks, and one in 135 people are infected. the deputy chief medical officer for england is cautiously optimistic. overall, clearly, it is an improving picture.

these are very early signs that the epidemic is beginning to level, but we should be cautious about interpreting that, and please everyone remember that it just takes a few seconds to create new infections. christmas family get—togethers may still be in doubt, but some restrictions are being lifted today. the government has changed lockdown rules in england so that christmas tree farms and sellers can start trading from this morning. anna o'neill, bbc news. a possible alternative to a covid vaccine is entering its final stage of trials. it's being developed for people with weakened immune systems who cannot be vaccinated. 5,000 patients from around the world are taking part in the study and trials involving 1,000 uk participants begin in manchester today. professor andy ustianowski

is the principal clinical research lead for the trial at north manchester general hospital and explained how this jab is different from a vaccine. well, a vaccine stimulates your immune system to produce antibodies and other immune mechanisms to help prevent coronavirus, but there are those that either can't have a vaccine or a vaccine may not work well, those with a poor immune system, maybe the elderly, the infirm, etc. so what is happening in this study is people are being given, directly into their muscles, the antibody or a neutralising or impairing antibody which should protect them, we hope, against coronavirus for a period of six to 12 months. how advanced are the trials on this and the research that's gone into this? so it's a well—established method in medicine. it's been used for other infections, but not yet for coronaviruses as a prevention. such antibodies are being looked at for treatment in those with coronavirus. in terms of how far it's progressed,

the phase three, the last stage studies commence today with the first patient globally enrolled in the uk. i suppose some people will ask if you can have this way of providing people with the protection and, in a sense, it's quicker because you don't inject it and then wait for the body to develop the antibodies and so on, why notjust do this for everybody? well, in theory, it would work for everybody. technically, though, it is quite difficult to manufacture the quantities needed in order to protect people. it's been quoted that all the manufacturing capabilities in the world wouldn't provide enough of this product for everybody in the uk so, therefore, i think, ultimately, it's going to be focused on those — probably a few hundred thousand people — who cannot receive the vaccine. and obviously it's therefore vital for them. while the rest of us might hope to benefit from the vaccine, this, for that proportion of the population, is effectively the difference between living a normal life with covid out and about and actually having to kind of stay restricted. that's right. i mean, i think vaccines and interventions like this

are really our way out of the covid—related restrictions and vaccines, as we said, don't apply for or aren't suitable for everybody, so i think this is a really important question to investigate. the brother of princess diana says the investigation into the bbc‘s panorama interview with his sister, needs to be allowed to "examine every aspect" of the programme. the broadcaster has appointed a retiredjudge, lord dyson, to investigate how the journalist martin bashir obtained the interview 25 years ago. but earl spencer said he's not satisfied with the parameters of the inquiry. the bbc insists the terms of the review are suitably wide—ranging. in the uk, the professional footballers' association has called for heading the ball to be reduced in training sessions, as a matter of urgency, to protect players from the risk of dementia. dr willie stewart led the research into brain injuries last year that showed former professional footballers are three and a half times more likely to die of dementia than people of the same age range in the general population.

he thinks this is just one of the steps that need to be taken. i think this is a long overdue move and one that i would welcome. i think that while the debate may rage on about the direct link to heading, i think on the balance of probabilities, heading is an issue that needs to be addressed quite urgently and so this is a good move. what did your research find? i mean, i quoted there the likelihood. what was causing that increased risk? could it actually be very specifically tied to heading or was it related more generally to football? no, i think it's important to point out that the research that we've done to this date was reallyjust trying to answer the question of was there a problem with degenerative diseases, dementias in former football players? because we heard these very strong stories from families like the astle family bringing forward their stories of dementia in football and, of course,

we know the 1966 world cup squad. so this was reallyjust to answer the question, is there a problem? it didn't really go into what might be that problem, but there's plenty of other research that we have done looking at the brains of former footballers that shows a pathology link to head injuries. in other sports, the same problem between a link to head injuries. so i think it's taking that evidence in total that suggests really we need to be thinking about head injuries and head impacts in football. this may be a daft question and you'll tell me if it is — what if people just wore headgear? it's not a daft question. you know, this is the kind of questions that people raise. and the reality is that you've got fantastic headgear already built in — it's your skull and the scalp. and the scalp tells you if something hurts and that is a way to stop you banging your head. adding layers that only takes away that sensation of pain and actually puts yet more risk of injury, rather than less, particularly to the brain. what we have found in sports like rugby, with social caps, it does not make difference. the best

way to deal with this is prevented, rather than cure. the best is to remove the head impact as much as possible and that can be getting rid of it in training, but you can retain it in a match. you just cut right back on it as much as possible. i do not know if you're a football fan or not, but the question a lot of fans and players will be asking, different questions arrive for different rugby players having different injuries, leading to problems with the nervous system and their pain, and they can suffer injuries as well. other sports too. whether they actually want to know something that is distinctive to the game? so, do you know, we talk about by, game? so, do you know, we talk about rugby, american football, football, it is the same problem, these are regular impacts, these injuries to the brain that we think is leading toa the brain that we think is leading to a gentle brain disease. i think —— degenerative brain disease. i think most people involved in the sport would rather see players with

a long, healthy clears and are living long and healthy into their retirement than be worried about having to stop there career because of brain injuries are suffering consequences 30 years any lines i think it is a balance. i think people would rather see the game continue safer with all the benefits than be carrying those risks. you're watching bbc news. time for a look at the weather with chris. hello there. we have a change to cooler weather conditions taking place this weekend but before the cooler air arrives across england and wales, we have a lot of cloud to come through the day today, so clouds like these pretty widespread. the cool air will be arriving behind this cold front, that's been bringing rain earlier today across scotland and northern ireland and as that continues to push southward through the weekend, you will notice those temperatures dropping away with the cooler air last to arrive across the far south of england during sunday. here is the cold front, bringing rain to northern ireland and scotland. it will tend to turn lighter

and patchy as it works its way across northern england and into wales as well. a lot of cloud to the south, still an occasional spit of rain in the air. for northern ireland, scotland and the far north of england, it brightens up a bit, some showers, still some strong it brightens up but with some showers, still some strong winds, those winds could gust to around 50 or 60 miles an hour into shetland through the rest of the day today. mild in the south of england and wales, 12 to 13 degrees quite widely. cooler air spreading in scotland, northern ireland and the far north of england as well. northern ireland and the far through saturday evening and overnight, the cold front pushes southwards taking the cloud and the light rain and drizzle with it. the skies clear for a time across wales and the midlands with temperatures dropping away here. further showers for scotland and northern ireland, still with some fairly strong winds and certainly feeling cold given the strength of those winds overnight as well. on into sunday, a day of sunshine and showers again for scotland and northern ireland. much brighter weather for northern england, wales, the midlands and east anglia with some sunshine and that sunny weather should arrive across the far

south of england probably later in the day. temperatures dropping, highs of seven to 10 celsius on sunday. the cooler air doesn't last too long because on monday, the next area of low pressure moves in, warm front pushes across the uk, winds turn to a south—westerly direction and that said on monday morning, we start off on a cold note, probably some patches of frost around, as that milder air works in, we see some low cloud, hill fog patches across wales and the pennines with some damp weather here. more general rain for scotland and northern ireland. turning milder in the south—west, 13 in plymouth but still quite chilly across the north—east of scotland. into tuesday, the milder air spreads right the way across the country before it turns colder again mid week.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... another defeat for donald trump in his attempts to overturn the us election results. republican officials in two states confirm joe biden's victory. the british cabinet minister priti patel keeps herjob — after being found to have broken rules by bullying staff. now questions for borisjohnson, over his influence on the report. a rocket attack on the afghan capital, kabul. at least eight people have been killed and more than 30 injured. an online summit of the world's biggest economies begins today in saudi arabia: top of the agenda the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout.