this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm mike embley. greenlight for president—elect joe biden as transition process is finally given the go—ahead. the trump administration say they will do what needs to be done in the best interest of the county. joe biden‘s team issues a statement saying the transition will begin with meetings with government officials on a response to the pandemic and national security issues. hello and welcome. a key us government body, the general services

administration, says joe biden‘s transition as president—elect can formally begin. donald trump has tweeted saying that in the best interests of the united states he's told his team to cooperate with protocols. mr biden‘s team will now begin meeting with government officials to discuss the pandemic response and national security issues. joe biden‘s team welcomed the decision, saying in a statement: "today's decision is a needed step to begin tackling the challenges facing our nation, including getting the pandemic under control and our economy back on track. in the days ahead, transition officials will begin meeting with federal officials to discuss the pandemic response; have a full account of our national security interests; and gain a complete understanding of the trump administration's efforts to hollow out government i. let's head to washington now and speak with out correspondent nomia iqbal.

it has to be said, a lot of people are picking this up in the statements, nowhere other concession or president—elect appearing? yes, i think this is what we call a yes, i think this is what we calla non— yes, i think this is what we call a non— concession concession. but as far as biden and harris' transition team are concerned, this is good news. finally the transition can begin. there has been huge pressure on emily murphy, who is head of the gsa, to sign this document, weeks ago. back in 2016 that is what happened, you know, that is the way that it goes. but she had been holding back, and in the matter, it is really interesting, because she does still, there is kind of a sense of reluctance, and as you mentioned, she does not refer to him as president—elect. donald trump's tweets show no sign of concession. he says the fight will continue. if he means the legal fight, and fight will continue. if he means the legalfight, and it is interesting, because already more than 30 of his lawsuits

have been shucked out of the courts because of no evidence of voterfraud. courts because of no evidence of voter fraud. all these unsubstantiated claims he keeps making. ithink unsubstantiated claims he keeps making. i think this was always going to happen, loads of republicans are increasingly breaking ranks and coming out and saying, joe biden needs to be recognised as the president—elect and the transition needs to begin. i think it wasjust transition needs to begin. i think it was just a matter of time until this happened. think it was just a matter of time until this happenedlj suppose time until this happened.” suppose what might have made this difference was the certification of votes in michigan, an important step, and perhaps this feeling that in georgia, where those two crucial run—off elections are taking place to decide control of the senate, although mr trump is very popular there, some appealing perhaps that his attitude was affecting the republican campaign? —— some are feeling. yes, donald trump has been very much focused on the fact that he didn't win the election. it has been a huge distraction. even now, his relu cta nce distraction. even now, his reluctance to even acknowledge joe biden as the victor, even

though he has also agreed that this should happen. it is so contradictory. as i mentioned, there has been just pressure on him. chris christie, a very close ally to donald trump, came out and said, this was embarrassing the legal team, donald trump's legal team was an embarrassment. but they needed to concede. i think, yes, this was always going to happen. whether or not we will actually get donald trump publicly, and officially, acknowledging joe biden as the next president, remains to be seen. i would next president, remains to be seen. iwould be next president, remains to be seen. i would be very surprised if that happens, because what is donald trump's strategy right now? i think there is probably a part of him but genuinely thinks he can overturn the election results, but also, there is another argument that this is about showing strength to his supporters. he is still hugely popular in this country, more than 7a million votes, various surveys and audis have shown in recent weeks that his

supporters back him, when he says that this election was stolen from him. nomia, thank you. we can now speak to moe vela who moe vela who's a former senior advisor to president—electjoe biden and a long time washington insider, hejoins us from vermont. i assume you are welcoming all of this. doesn't actually any difference? yes and no. first of all, thanks for hunting me back. it does make a difference, frankly, i am being a little sarcastic, but it is nice to win again, mike! this is our seventh victory in nine or ten days stop so there is a morale boost from this, i served on transition for the obama administration, the obama— biden administration, and looked, it is very vital to our national security continuity of government, sea mlessness continuity of government, seamlessness on the transfer of power, all of these things are ona power, all of these things are on a serious note are very important, and on a serious note are very important, and the releasing of

these funds, the ability to communicate and connect with those agencies, and that the biden— harris transition team, it is very serious. it is vital, integral, and it does matter that this has happened, yes. you talk about "so much winning", is the phrase goes, andi winning", is the phrase goes, and i think 30 or so of those trump lawsuits that have now been thrown out, lots of people, we know, millions of people, we know, millions of people, 73 or 7a million people do not wantjoe biden as president. they wanted mr trump to continue, even after four yea rs. to continue, even after four years. how doesjoe biden bring this country together? you know what, having worked for him, i consider him a dearfriend of mine. i knowjoe biden. let me tell you something. follow 7a million people, you are never going to find a man who is going to find a man who is going to find a man who is going to reach out to you more. he will literally reach out with open arms, with an open heart, with an open mind. he's not getting when he says that his goal is to unite our country, to bridge these divides. we are in a volatile time right now proud of the sea, and our nation's future,

andi sea, and our nation's future, and i think the world is rooting us on. they wanted us back, we are back, and there is nobody i know who is more equipped, mike, more prepared and more able to begin that healing process thanjoe biden. soi healing process thanjoe biden. so i encourage my fellow americans who voted for donald trump, please, for the betterment of our country, for the future of the children of our country, and for our relationships around the world, come and join us. come and join us. let's come together and find common ground. just briefly, we are seeing quite a few biden appointments committee administration coming through, genuinely groundbreaking ones. anthony lincoln, you know him, you had an office next to him for quite while? yes, i did. that is exactly right. tony blinken, mr secretary designate, i should say. i am so proud of him. he has an incredible human being. not only is he an absolute brilliant foreign relations

expert, with expertise in diplomacy, he already served our nation as deputy secretary of state, he is on a first name basis and is in a very strong and respectful relationship with allies around the world. he will be a magnificent secretary of state and i am deeply proud of him and proud to call him my friend. thank you for talking to us. thank you for talking to us. thank you hunting me. as you might expect, the asian financial markets have already reacted to the news the transition is under way in the united states. sharanjit leyl under way in the united states. shara njit leyl is under way in the united states. sharanjit leyl is in singapore for us. what is the news? well, yeah, i mean,japan's for us. what is the news? well, yeah, i mean, japan's nikkei 225, the benchmark index there, it opened considerably higher on venues and it is now trading at highest levels in about 30 yea rs. at highest levels in about 30 years. since may 1991, and essentially reacting to that news, as we mentioned, trump agreeing to transition aid, accepting that a formal transition can finally begin

for president—electjoe biden to ta ke for president—electjoe biden to take office to some analysts who said, the markets are really welcoming this. we know that what markets hate is uncertainty, and the fact that president trump had refused to concede was one of those uncertainties. president—elect joe biden can now finally get on with thejob joe biden can now finally get on with the job that has been welcomed, especially as there was no sign yesterday the president was prepared to concede. also the certification of most of the swing states, but also signals that it was an endgame for president trump. this is being seen as a market positive, many people are saying. it also crucially let's be biden can't get on with stimulus plans for, remember, a coronavirus ravaged economy. we saw us markets, in fact, rising yesterday on news thatjoe biden's team is expected to nominate former federal reserve chairman janet yellen to the job of treasury secretary. this is the first time that a woman will hold that post. she is

seen as amply qualified for the job, a safe pair of hands, and a nalysts a re job, a safe pair of hands, and analysts are also telling me that for asia, president—elect biden will be seen to be more friendly to trade with this pa rt friendly to trade with this part of the world. hopes are that the relationship with china will be a bit more smooth, and there will be more ofa smooth, and there will be more of a re— engagement in the us in trade agreements in the region as well stop so all of thatis region as well stop so all of that is welcomed by markets here, most of them are up. sharanjit leyl, here, most of them are up. shara njit leyl, many here, most of them are up. sharanjit leyl, many thanks. ravi agora is a journalist and editor of find policy—making. what do you think about the news? well, finally we have a transition now. this is something many americans have been waiting forfor something many americans have been waiting for for quite a while. democrats of course had been urging the gsa to authenticate the results, to allow, finally, for a transition to begin. this is really crucial, because what it means is that officials in national security and various

other departments at the white house can begin to brief the infa nt house can begin to brief the infant biden administered nation on various but to no they prepare for a new white house administration, the daily present that president—elects are things that president—elect job set out only begin to have the first makings of a transition from the trump administration to a biden administration. i guess it is worth noting that normally the transition process, the gsa signing off on it, is really just a formality. it is not usually a thing. yesterday we saw emily murphy being threatened with contempt of congress, possibly, because she didn't show up to justify to two committees. that's right. this, along with pretty much everything else in the last couple of weeks here in america, has become politicised. this is, you know,

the results have become politicised. and democrats, for quite a while, have been calling on murphy, who was a trump of pointy, to ascertain these results, but especially since the republican side and donald trump and his lawyers have simply failed to provide any evidence so far of their claims that there was widespread fraud to use their words in this election. so, you know, i think the clincher was earlier today when the state of michigan finally ascertained its results, and certified them, and that led to, i think, it was the final thing that emily murphy was waiting for, because to put it bluntly, she could hold out no longer. let's speak now to christina ann taylor, a democratic party strategic. she is in washington, dc. christina, does it matter that nothing from the

trump campaign so far contains the word concede all the phrase president—elect? the word concede all the phrase president-elect? absolutely not, it doesn't. thank you hunting me this evening. i think all we needed was for the funds and resources to be made available to vice president biden, now president—elect biden, now president—elect biden, so that he can get his tea m biden, so that he can get his team up and rolling, and they are certainly already kind of dizzy artwork. this was the last thing they needed to make sure that they had all of the resources , sure that they had all of the resources, including intelligence briefings and things like that stop it does matter, surely, that mr trump says the fight continues? his legal teams as the race is not over, even though so many of the trump campaign teams legal challenges are being thrown out of court for many, many people. this damages the process, democratic process? it absolutely damages the process overall. this is not what we envisioned is kind of the gracious handover of power the peaceful process that has gone

on with every other administration. at the end of the day, i think it is all done, there aren't any more legal ways, any more legal wagers. the campaigns are using it as an opportunity, the trump campaign is using it as an opportunity to raise money, and i think that is the key. what signals do you think the administration is sending them about how it will operate, what it will really do? some of the appointment so genuinely groundbreaking. they are. it is amazing. for example, the first latina secretary of homeland security, homeland security is charged with immigration and this is certainly a message to the latino community, a big pa rt the latino community, a big part of the voting bloc that helps get vice president biden elected. they are 18% of the population and having the first latino dhs secretary is a big deal. i think there will be

more of them to come that will be groundbreaking. i am certainly looking forward to that. i think the treasury secretary, when it is announced, will be a big one. so we continue to stay tuned. but this should be the most diverse cabinet we have ever seen. we talk about the transition process normally being a formality. there are national security implications. i think back in the year 2000 but very difficult transition between bush and gore and the feeling that perhaps some various people took their eyes off the ball, might have facilitated 9/11. obviously now, there is a national emergency. they must be worries about how prepared to be biden administration will be to deal with the pandemic? i think that's absolutely right. that is why you have seen republicans behind closed doors be in favour of the vice president getting the briefings he would need, obviously the campaign orthe he would need, obviously the campaign or the transition team we re very campaign or the transition team were very careful to note that senator harris is still on the intelligence committee and was

receiving her intelligence briefings so there would be this availability of information. we also heard in the last couple of days of the last week that there were quietly conversations happening with the vice president—elect‘s tea m with the vice president—elect‘s team so they would be aware of information, but certainly the coronavirus response, the biggest one, especially the vaccine, being able to disseminated effectively, a lot of his team of folks who have had this kind of experience with the obama administration, even g. ron claim. they don't need a giant learning curve to get up to speed and be ready, they need the basic information thatis they need the basic information that is currently going on. these folks are going to know what to do with it right away and now they have the entire month of december and january had they should be able to hit the ground running. all right. thank you very much. thank you, mike. thanks to you for being with us. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: joe biden is no longer waiting and he's building his team. and the message is steady as she goes.

president kennedy was shot down and died almost immediately. the murder ofjohn kennedy is a disaster for the whole free world. he caught the imagination of the world. the first of a new generation of leaders. margaret thatcher is resigning as leader of the conservative party and prime minister. before leaving number 10 to see the queen, she told her cabinet, "it's a funny old world." angela merkel is germany's first woman chancellor, easily securing the majority she needed. attempts to fly a hot air balloon had to be abandoned after a few minutes but nobody seemed to mind very much. as one local comic put it, "it's not hot air we need, it's hard cash." cuba has declared nine days of mourning following the death of fidel castro at the age of 90. castro developed close ties with the soviet union in the 1960s. it was an alliance that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war, with

the cuban missile crisis. welcome back. good to have you with us on bbc news. the latest headlines: donald trump has accepted that a formal transition of power to president—electjoe biden can begin, but stopped short of conceding. all using that phrase. the prseident—elect says the transition will begin with meetings with government officials on a response to the pandemic and national security issues. just how different a face the united states will present to the world underjoe biden has been underscored by his choices for top roles in the new administration. long time ally antony blinken, is to be the new secretary of state. and john kerry, who did that job under president obama, is to be the new climate tsar. their global outlook contrasts with the america first approach of donald trump, as our state department correspondent barbara plett—usher reports. hi, i'm deputy secretary tony

blinken, from the state department. wow, you have a long name! the us is presenting a new diplomatic face to the world — someone with a lighter touch, ready to reframe america's relationship with the international community. the un stands for united nations — a place where nations or countries from all over the world come together... it's a great pleasure to welcome all of you here today. forjoe biden, tony blinken is the safest possible pair of hands as top diplomat. blinken has been advising biden for nearly 20 years. he's so close to the president—elect, he's been described as an "alter ego", a virtual mind—meld. this veteran foreign policy hand would be returning to familiarground. he began his career at the white house during the clinton administration, and he was a key figure on barack obama's national security and diplomatic team. the united states has conducted an operation that killed osama bin laden. he was at the table for all of the important meetings.

his appointment signals that the us is resuming its conventional international role, after four turbulent years of donald trump's "america first". what can the united states do to try to help put our globe back on its axis? and i think for the vice president, it really comes down to three big things — leadership, cooperation, democracy. which i think also sums up the profound differences between president trump and vice president biden. blinken's priority will be to re—establish the us as a trusted ally — to rejoin international agreements such as the paris climate accord, the iran nuclear deal, the world health organization. blinken will be reunited with other seasoned members of the obama—biden administration. jake sullivan as national security advisor. he helped open the back channel with iran that led to the nuclear agreement. and the former secretary of state, john kerry, as special envoy for climate.

he brings stature and vast experience to the new role, but may not excite young climate activists who voted for biden. there's also linda thomas—greenfield as un ambassador — a long—serving career diplomat who was sidelined by the trump administration. good afternoon, everyone, welcome. . . with this team, international leaders know what they are getting — stability and familiarity. but both america and the world have changed in the last four years, and blinken has a lot of catching up to do. barbara plett usher, bbc news, washington. i'm joined by marc fisher, a senior editor at the washington post and co—author of the post's biography trump revealed. very good to talk to you. thank you for your time. what are you thinking about this news? well, the decision by the trump administration to finally go ahead and ascertain or confirm the election of joe ahead and ascertain or confirm the election ofjoe biden is obviously a necessary step, it is one that biden folks have

been extremely eagerfor because it frees up a bunch of money that allows them to smooth this transition, it also allows them access to national debriefings and other material about the current state of play in any number of policy areas. so it is extremely important for this to have happened. it isa for this to have happened. it is a bit delayed. and there is also a bit of a symbolic victory that in the donald trump, while he has not conceded, he couldn't even bring himself to use joe biden's name in his suite announcing this, but nonetheless he is obviously moving towards or edging toward the idea that joe moving towards or edging toward the idea thatjoe biden is the next president full up he is, the same time, trying to encourage his base to remain angry about the way the election turned out and to agree with trump that there is some sort of rigging or stealing going on here. yes, as you say, mr trump does not use the word conceit or concession, the word conceit or concession, the letter from emily murphy, general services administrator, doesn't use the phrase president—elect and everybody on the republican side at the

moment seems to be making it clear that the legal fights are going on even though 30 cases have been rejected. all of this blows a hole in the democratic process for many, any people, doesn't it? i think it does for some. i think that group shrinks by the day and is really limited primarily to trouble's base and that base is going to stick with him as he continues to try to stay at the centre of attention. for the most pa rt centre of attention. for the most part i think this is opening the way for larger and larger percentage of the american public, including the republicans who voted for donald trump to accept the biden presidency and move on and we will see the president moving in that direction bit by bit in his own special way. this is a man who was incapable of admitting loss, he sees losing as the lowest form of human behaviour. so he is going to resist that label as long and as vociferously as he can. so you will continue to see some of these wild stabs at legal remedies, but they have

all been put down so far, there is no reason to believe that will change. what message are you getting about what the biden administration will actually do from the appointments that have been announced ? appointments that have been announced? the appointments in announced? the appointments in a very clear announced? the appointments in a very clear message announced? the appointments in a very clear message that this isa a very clear message that this is a new administration that is not interested in celebrity, the way trump was, is not interested in having high—profile political figures in these positions, rather what we are seeing is a bunch of people who, but forjohn kerry, really not household names in the united states. they are mostly career bureaucrats, people who have been deeply invested in policy matters throughout their careers. they have long pedigrees, but they are simply not known to most people and what that tells us is thatjoe biden is going to have a serious policy oriented administration that seeks to make progress on any number of points and so we will see a lower tone, but also more of a dedication to getting things done. just very briefly, marc,

if you can, janet yellen, avril hines, big news there. janet yellen, the former head of the federal reserve will take of the treasury department, that isa the treasury department, that is a position where she is going to be leading the charge against the economic paralysis that was caused by the covid—19 pandemic stop and she is very much outspoken in her desire to have much greater government investment in getting the economy moving again and in helping out those who have been sidelined by the pandemic. so that's a big change from what we have seen at the head of the treasury up till now. marc fisher, washington post, thank you very much. good to be with you. just briefly, reminder of that use. the general services administration has now written administration has now written a letter, finally, tojoe biden saying his transition as president zelenskiy informally began. the latter crucially does not use the phrase president—elect ——

president—elect. the trump legal team has suggested that the legal race is not over, to use the phrase. more on that to come. thanks for watching. hello there. monday was really quite a chilly day, particularly so across central and eastern england, where temperatures quite widely only got to around 7—8 celsius — just six there in north yorkshire. but one of the things that brings us the biggest temperature rises this time of year are warm fronts. and we've had one of those across the country, south—westerly winds have been following, and hour by hour we've seen those temperatures rise recently — such that by the time we get to tuesday, 6am, those temperatures will be far higher than the highest temperatures we had all day yesterday, at around 10—11 celsius quite widely. so milder air is on the way, south—westerly winds to thank for that. but we'll also have this weather front which will be one of these slow—moving weather fronts — it's bringing rain at the moment in northern ireland and scotland, and it will continue to rain for these areas through much of the day on tuesday, as well.

now further southwards and eastward across england and wales, it'll be a mild start to the day, with temperatures 10—12 celsius in places. quite a brisk south—westerly wind, some low cloud over the high grounds, some mist and fog patches higher up, a bit of drizzle around as well. but as we go through tuesday morning, i think the cloud may well break up at times across england. the best chance of that probably in the morning, really, across east anglia and south—east england. otherwise, probably keeping the cloud through most of the day for most areas. and the rain continues to come down for northern ireland and scotland. whether you see sun or cloud, temperatures around 11—13 celsius — a little bit cooler in the far northwest of the uk. that colder air is behind this cold front sinking southwards over the next few days. as it pulls away, we will get that colder air lingering around the uk for much of the rest of the week. so here's the chart for wednesday — here's our cold front, bringing clouds, still a bit of rain moving southwards and eastwards into east anglia, southeast england, a few showers for scotland and northern ireland, it may be 1—2 sneaking down the irish sea, as well. you notice those temperatures cooling off — highs more typically around 8—9 celsius for northern areas, still around 11—12 celsius in the far southeast. the pressure then rises,

giving us clear skies through wednesday night. there'll be a frost with high pressure around towards the end of the week. lots of dry weather with mist and fog patches in the morning, a few patches of frost, but it's a mostly dry picture, perhaps generally turning a bit more cloudy as we head into the weekend. that's your weather.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: a key us government body, the general services administration, has written a letter tojoe biden saying that his transition as president—elect can formally begin. anaysts say the gsa statement means that the trump administration must now cooperate with the incoming biden team. president donald trump has said he has given the go—ahead despite plans to continue with legal challenges to the election result. mr biden's team has said the transition will begin with meetings with government officials on a response to the pandemic and national security issues. the head of the world health organization says a new coronavirus vaccine developed in britain is more evidence that the light at the end of the tunnel is growing brighter. overall results from oxford university and astrazeneca's vaccine trial show it protects 70% of people from covid—19.