this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. president trump pardons michael flynn, his first national security adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi about his contacts with the russians. on the eve of thanksgiving, president—electjoe biden urges americans to unite and recommit to the fight against coronavirus. i know the countries grown weary of the fight. we need to remember, we are at war with a virus not with one another, not with each other. the biggest economic decline in 300 years — the uk finance minister warns the worst effects of the covid—i9 pandemic are still to come.

diego maradona, world cup champion and for many the best footballer in history, dies at the age of 60. and the duchess of sussex talks of the "unbearable grief" she felt when she suffered a miscarriage earlier this year. donald trump has pardoned his former national security adviser, michael flynn. general flynn served just three weeks in office at the start of the trump administration before pleading guilty to lying to the fbi during the investigation into russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. the president wrote on social media,

"it is my great honor to announce let's head to washington now and speak to our correspondent nomia iqbal. not really unexpected but he has now, president trump has now issued there is full pardon. that's right we were expecting this to happen. but there has been anger from the democratic side as you can imagine to theirs. nancy pelosi the speaker of the houses released a statement saying making a point of the fact that michael flynn was twice pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi. and she calls this part in a brazen abuse of power and great corruption. just to remind people of the story of michael flynn, his problems began in 2016 when donald trump won the election. he had a conversation with a then russian ambassador about sanctions that

president 0bama had imposed on russia over accusations of election interference. he then lied about those conversations with the vice president mike pence and repeated it to the media. then he, when he was being investigated he lied to the fbi twice about it. and then there was the investigation by the special counsel, robert mollo. in his plea deal he admitted to lying. in the last two years he's been trying to ta ke last two years he's been trying to take back that guilty plea. but what donald trump has essentially done is taken this matter out of the courts. after ajoe biden taken this matter out of the courts. after a joe biden —controlled justice department. just to give you more reaction from michael flynn's family, they say he's an inner delete that innocent man he's been politically persecuted. what's interesting is the white house released a statement calling him an innocent man and american hero. they don't acknowledge the fact that it was donald trump who fired michael

flynn just before his prosecution. fascinating to hear all of that once again. donald trump also busy not just with that part and he's also thin again talking about those unfounded allegations of election fraud. that's right. he was a p pa re ntly fraud. that's right. he was apparently going to go to a meeting in pennsylvania and his team are trying to present this at some kind of state senate hearing and pennsylvania full—time it was no such thing. it was essentially a press event at a hotel in pennsylvania featuring his personal lawyer rudolph giuliani again pushing baseless claims of election fraud. hardly any republicans there. many republicans are now coming out to backjoe biden. when donald trump didn't actually even bothered to appear at the event. we have to turn the election over because there's no doubt, we have all the evidence, all

the affidavits, everything. all we needis the affidavits, everything. all we need is to have some judges listen to it properly without having a political opinion or having another kind of a problem. looks like he was speaking by a speaker phone. staggering as well. in the meantime president electjoe biden, he was speaking. he did make an appearance. he did. he appeared in delaware and he was talking about, head of thanksgiving and he issued a very apathetic address. which combine his two goals of showing leadership on the pandemic and also trying to unify americans. he's really concerned about the millions of americans that are doing that traditional getaway for thanksgiving. today is the busiest travel day in america. he was urging caution because of the pandemic. the numbers are spiking and he urged americans to make personal sacrifices this holiday. americans to make personal sacrifices this holidaylj americans to make personal sacrifices this holiday. i know the

country is grown weary of the fight. we need to remember, we are at war with the virus not with one another, not with each other. this is the moment where we need to steal our spines, redouble our efforts and recommit ourselves to the fight. let's remember, we are all in this together. president elect joe biden yet another busy day in terms of us politics. thank you so much for talking us through that. here in the uk rishi sunak has set out his economic. the cost of fighting the pandemic has led to record government borrowing in the worst recession in three centuries. next year it's feared that more than two and half million people could be out of work with some public sector workers facing a pay freeze. this year alone the government will be borrowing

nearly £100 billion. the highest everin nearly £100 billion. the highest ever in peacetime. in moment we will be hearing from her economics editor but first here is mr sunak delivering the grim news in the house of commons a little earlier. the grim news in the house of commons a little earlier. economic output is not expected to return to precrisis levels until the fourth quarter of 2022. and the economic damage is likely to be lasting. long—term scarring means in 2025 the economy will be around 3% smaller than expected in the march budget. grim economic numbers are of no surprise to anyone looking out on high street. here in waitsfield in yorkshire lockdown means that no shoppers or staff as elsewhere months of pandemic uncertainly is in the spread of the tale appear in one of the so—called blue hall seats locals have mixed feelings about the governments public pay squeeze. well, just gotta do

what you think is best for the country at the moment. people done the hard work during covid that you get the pay raises. public—sector workers. today's forecast shows that the economy is set to shrink by over 11% this year. three century record before recovering slowly from next year. that means an annual increase in bartering only seen during world war is merely for hundred billion pounds, 19% of the size of the national economy. a staggering figure yet the interest bill to pay for it is also tumbling. as is historic and frankly unimaginable as some of these numbers are both the hits to the economy and the huge rise in borrowing. there are in the past this big that they could have an impact for years to come. but there is this other record, a record low in just how cheap it will be to actually pay for this massive debt.

that buys time for the chancellor and means relative lease small down on shrinking the borrowing is all that's required. but where the economies goes depends. unemployment is expected to go down from up a million to 7% as a result of the crisis. the forecasters see them progress on a vaccine and functioning testing system without that, the economy and jobs picture gets much worse. peaking at 11%. 0n the other hand, we are better expected health progress, unemployment barely goes up at all. the government official forecaster acknowledges the uncertainty. the economy at the mercy of medical developments imminent decision and a post brexit trade deal. if the vaccine proves effective and also we end up leaving the eu without a deal, and trading on wto terms that would combine a 6% hit to the economy and the fact that to the economy for the fact that trading with our trading partner on wto two. the chancellor is earmarking huge amounts to health to deal with the pandemic to get the economy back to normal. but other areas of spending on pe for example, for teachers earning

above average wages, for police officers and prison officers have been frozen alongside cuts to it. --aid. i can wake field is council worker union rep married to a teacher it says it feels a return to austerity. it's a bit of a kick in the teeth, really. i've worked like my fellow colleagues throughout the pandemic to keep working. it feels like public—sector workers being punished again by the government for a crisis that was not of our making. the lowest paid work protected by the economic shadow of covid—19 will last notjust pass this christmas but many futures festive seasons. let's get some of the day's other news. germany will extend its current coronavirus restrictions to early january unless there is a dramatic drop in infections. chancellor angela merkel made the announcement after a meeting with the heads of germany's 16 states. berlin will also seek a deal

with european partners to close ski slopes through to early january, to prevent the virus spreading further. iranian state television has announced that a british—australian academic kylie moore—gilbert has been released after two years in detention. it said that ms moore—gilbert had been released in exchange for three unnamed iranians imprisoned abroad. she was detained in iran in 2018 and given a ten—year sentence for espionage — a charge that she has always denied. a severe storm has made landfall in southern india triggering torrential downpours in coastal areas of tamil nadu. cyclone nivar hit land with winds of up to 120 kph, and the intensity is likely to increase. one of the world's most famous footballers and one of the sport's all—time greats, diego maradona, has died. the argentine player was 60 and reportedly suffered a heart attack. maradona led his nation

to world cup victory in 1986, scoring some of the tournament's most legendary goals, including the infamous "hand of god" one, which saw england eliminated. andy swiss looks back at his life. 0ur our apologies we cannot bring you the report. instead let's bring you some of the tributes. 0ne one of the worlds greatest footballers he has of course died at the age of 60. he was a superstar who is understood to have suffered a heart attack. diego maradona had long struggled with substance abuse and ill health. but said that playing football always gave him great joy. it was playing football always gave him greatjoy. it was like touching this guide with your hands. like i say, tributes from so many have been pouring in. by some distance arguably the greatest of all time. after blasted by troubled life of.

hopefully he'll find some comfort in the hands of god. kelly said... cristiano renaldo... from argentina... lionel messi that many still compared to diego maradona. we can speak to our south america coroners correspondent. the tributes speakfor coroners correspondent. the tributes speak for themselves without even

the pope has been paying his respects. just an incredible talent. an incredible presence. yes, i think that you can argue that diego maradona was or was not the best football player in history. but you cannot argue that he was one of the most important or one of the most important players in history for that because he was more than a football player. he was a cultural and politicalfigure. football player. he was a cultural and political figure. he football player. he was a cultural and politicalfigure. he was probably the first football player who was a global figure. he was one of the first the world was able to see on tv. also, he protagonist epic victories. not only for his country and we remember that game against the english team in 1986 but also to the english team in 1986 but also to the napoli team in italy. a team that wasn't that huge when he came. but beat all the classic football teams from the north where they are

rich and white. he embodied this fight of the deprived. of the people who felt excluded of the world. and he was able to play victory from that point from the bottom to the top. such absolute humble and difficult beginnings. then he went on to break the world record for a football tra nsfer feet on to break the world record for a football transfer feet twice with top isjust staggering football transfer feet twice with top is just staggering to the heights that he reached. all the media attention that he received again, he was the first global football player. we now see messy and renaldo and we think that's normal. welp diego maradona was the first want to be like that. and that generated huge attention for him. huge pressure that obviously had consequences. all the drug addiction, all the pressure, all the fights between him and his former partners and all the injury he suffered. all the fact to do that he

was so pressured by the italians, the argentines, cultures and people who suffer a lot from football. it was a person who had to deal with a very tough life. and very tough pressure from society. but loved by so many. thank you so much. lots more attributes of course on our website as well. to stay with us here on bbc news. a year on. year on. a stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a year on from hong kong chief executive carrie lam's chaotic address to parliament — what is the mood ahead of her speech this year? 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 ten 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. this is bbc news, the latest headlines donald trump pardons michael flynn, his first national security adviser who pleaded guilty to lying

to the fbi about his contacts with the russians. 0n the eve of thanksgiving, president—electjoe biden urges americans to unite and recommit to the fight against coronavirus. more on that story and america's fight against the coronavirus. we can talk now to dr keren landman, who is an infectious disease specialist and medical journalist who's in atlanta. just talk us through the situation that we've got in the united states. of course, the figures are so high. we are coming up to thanksgiving which is usually such a joyous occasion for the united states. and yet we have these staggering figures that are absolutely devastating the country. yes, thanks so much for having me. if you look at the

figures they are indeed alarming. there is a huge trend upward in cases over the past few weeks. and it is alarming to everybody who works in health care, public health or ca res works in health care, public health or cares about humanity. it is quite alarming. as you mention, thanksgiving is in important holiday forfamilies to thanksgiving is in important holiday for families to gather around in the us. and so we are quite afraid of what that is going to portend when a lot of people from hot spots are travelling to other hotspots and then back. we are very worried that it's going to result in some amplification of viral spread. and some pretty bad rises in cases. what you might have noticed looking at maps of the us is that a lot of the worst rises, the steepest rises in cases in the highest numbers of cases in the highest numbers of cases per capita happening in the american midwest. likely because of cooler weather which leads to both

increase spread of the virus and more crowding inside. that's probably some reason that you are seeing those levels in those geographies right now. but i think we can expect this to really spread elsewhere as well. some of the good news is that there are much more tools in health care workers right now for treating people with covid. even though there are many more cases now than they were in the spring time in over the summer, the death rates that we are actually seen so far are somewhat lower. although, we should be mindful of the fact that there is quite a lag in deaths behind rises in cases. we do fear that we will see increased deaths following the current rises in cases in the weeks to come. thank you so much for talking us through it. just giving us a little bit of help there. thank you so much and

happy thanksgiving to you. now turning to asia, where hong kong's chief executive, carrie lam, has sent a warning to all civil servants. she said the territory had become a "gaping hole" in china's national security. in her words — hong kong was facing its most severe challenge since it was returned to chinese rule in 1997. let's head to hong kong and speak to the political analyst, lawyer, and author antony dapiran, who wrote "city on fire: the fight for hong kong" very good to have you with us. what a contrast to what we saw last year when she was trying, attempting to make her address. that's right. a year ago she was forced to deliver her address by video because of protests by democracy politicians inside the chamber. this year they weren't there. they resigned en masse a few

weeks ago to protest government disqualification on some of their number. the speech went ahead to a half empty chamber with politicians some snoozing through the two hour address. given that we've had those opposition members resign and that effectively, going out to protest is illegal given the strength of security of these new laws in hong kong for the top is opposition, is there any type of way that people can oppose what is happening safely on the streets of hong kong? not at the moment. the combination of course the virus, much harsher policing measures in this new national security law it really has taken people national security law it really has ta ken people off national security law it really has taken people off the streets for now. there is a shrinking public space for dissent of any form. i don't think that's to say that dissent is completely dead in hong kong. but it certainly going through

a period of you could say depression, reconsolidation as people think about what people can do next and what forms of opposition will be allowed. but the space seems to be shrinking rapidly. she was talking about this idea to integrate hong kong further into the greater bait networks of cities. this is this group in southern mainland china, is that the view now? is that in your opinion what is going to happen to hong kong? it certainly seems to be the central governments policy to integrate hong kong much more tightly. to enable flows back and forth across the border to happen more freely. i think it means that hong kong will continue to be an international financial centre but its future is very much and would less outward looking to the rest of the world. the duchess of sussex has described

the ‘almost unbearable grief‘ she experienced when she suffered a miscarriage in july. writing in the new york times said that talking about losing a baby was still something of a taboo and led to what she called ‘unwarranted shame'. 0ur correspondent sarah campbell reports on meghan's decision to speak out. wait, listen, did you hearthat? i heard duck sounds. quack, quack, quack! archie's first birthday in may. two months later, his mother, the duchess of sussex, suffered a miscarriage, revealing today in a newspaper editorial the impact on her and her husband, prince harry. she described how, after changing archie's nappy, she felt a sharp cramp... "and yet," she added... her words have resonated with those all too familiar with pregnancy loss. if i had seen this essay when i had my first pregnancy loss, i would've felt a lot less isolated

and a lot less alone. because although i knew that the loss of pregnancy was common, no—one really talked to me about it, and no—one actually really knew what to say to understand what i was going through. meghan joins a number of high—profile women who have opened up about the loss of a child. chrissy teigen was widely praised for sharing intimate pictures in the aftermath of a stillbirth. michelle 0bama wrote of her miscarriage in her autobiography. and zara tindall, prince harry's cousin, revealed she'd suffered two miscarriages before the birth of her second child. it's estimated that up to one in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage. all couples will cope in their own way. but experts agree it's important those that want to talk about it feel that they can.

hello. we've plenty of fine weather in the forecast for the uk for the next few days, thanks to a building ridge of high pressure. but that ridge of high pressure will bring with it an increased chance of many of us seeing frosty nights. could be some chilly days, as well, as under the ridge of high pressure, there's an increasing chance of us seeing fog developing by night and lingering on into the coming days. today perhaps not so bad, though. we will have a weather front still pushing a bit more cloud into southernmost counties of the uk first thing, a little bit of rain for kent. 0n the whole, the majority seeing sunshine from the get—go. but even with the sunshine after a chilly start, our temperatures won't recover to the heights we've seen previously this week. we are looking typically at highs of 7—9 celsius, with the odd spot getting up

to 10—11 celsius. you may all notice this weather front trying to come into the northwest. these two fronts tend to try to squeeze the high through thursday and friday, but through the centre of the high, we have the greatest risk of seeing some fog as we move into the small hours of friday. and here, too, are our chilliest spots, dipping down below freezing. a little bit more cloud to the far southeast and far northwest, which means our temperatures may stay above. and through friday daytime, those fronts as you can see, just capped at either end of the uk. through the core of the uk, you may think we are set up for a lot of sunshine. some areas will get some decent sunshine, but some of that fog will really struggle to clear. there's not much breeze set to work on it, and the sunshine isn't particularly strong this time of year. and if the fog does stick, temperatures at 2—3 celsius are possible. as you can see, even in the best of early brightness on friday, we are looking at 6—7 celsius.

as for the weekend, i suspect fairly similar temperatures and a fairly similar looking picture overall. some chilly nights to come. you'll notice that our high looks a little different for saturday and sunday, but it stands across us from the continent. just a chance as well on sunday that we will see a weather front trying to push into the northwest. but the effect overall is still the same — a lot of fine weather, light winds, and the chance of some fog forming by night that lingers through the day or lifts up into low cloud — hence sunshine for many parts of the uk may well be at a premium as we head on into the weekend.

this is bbc news, the headlines... donald trump has granted a full pardon to his former national security adviser, michael flynn. general flynn served three weeks in office at the start of the trump administration before pleading guilty to lying to the fbi. 0n the eve of thanksgiving, the us has recorded more than one million cases of coronavirus in two consecutive weeks. the disease has now killed 260,000 americans. one of the greatest footballers ever, diego maradona, has died aged 60 after reportedly suffering a heart attack. the argentine superstar had struggled with substance abuse and ill health, but said playing football always gave him greatjoy. the uk chancellor, rishi sunak, has warned britain's economic emergency has just begun, as he forecast a huge hit to output in his spending review.