this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm james reynolds. our top stories: america's leading infectious disease expert warns of a surge of covid cases between thanksgiving and christmas. when you have the kind of inflection that you have, it all live aside and does not turn around like that so clearly in the next few weeks, we're going to have the same sort of thing and perhaps even two or three weeks down the line. president trump claims the fbi and the department ofjustice are working against him and again repeats un—substatianted claims the election was rigged. the united nations says 110 civilians have been killed in an attack by suspected islamist militants in nigeria.

a miraculous escape at the bahrain grand prix — romain grosjean's car hits a crash barrier and bursts into flames. imperial death march from star wars plays. and the man who became darth vader — the actor david prowse — has died at the age of 85. the us‘s top infectious disease expert is warning there could be a "surge upon a surge" in covid—19 cases as millions travel home after thanksgiving. anthony fauci says the outbreak is likely to get even worse and has urged people to wear masks. the us has recorded more than 13 million coronavirus cases since january this year. as of sunday, the number of covid—19 cases

recorded in the us this month has passed four million — that's double the figure recorded in october. health experts had called for people to spend thanksgiving this past thursday at home, but, anywhere from 800,000 to more than one million travellers passed through us airport checkpoints on any day during the past week, marking the busiest period since march. the bbc‘s nomia iqbal reports from washington. you know what's coming... he is america's most trusted voice on the coronavirus pandemic. and dr anthony fauci, the country's leading expert on infectious disease painted a dark picture as we head towards christmas. i can't see how we're not going to have the same thing because, when you have the kind of inflection that we have, it doesn't all of a sudden turn around like that, so clearly in the next few weeks we are going to have the same sort of thing and perhaps even two or three weeks down the line, martha, we may see a surge upon a surge. his warning comes a few days after thanksgiving, one of the biggest

holidays in the us. more than 9 million americans stuck to the tradition of travelling to celebrate with theirfamilies, despite pleas the day before to stay home, over fears it would increase the spread of covid—i9. so hang on. don't let yourself surrender to the fatigue which i understand. it is realfatigue. i know we can and we will beat this virus. america is not going to lose this war. it will take a few weeks to find out what overall impact those decisions to ignore warnings could have, but already a stark number in la county, in california. more than 5000 new coronavirus cases were reported on thanksgiving day. officials have now issued a new stay—at—home order from monday, limiting people's movements, which will run right up to december the 20th and,

as we approach christmas, dr fauci's message to america's leaders is close the bars, keep the schools open. if you look at the data, the spread among children and from children is not really very big at all. not like one would have suspected so let's try to get the kids back but let's try to mitigate the things that maintain and just push that kind of community spread that we are trying to avoid and at those are the things that you know well — the bars, the restaurants where you have capacity seating indoors without masks. he reminded americans help is on the way, with vaccine trials proving to be effective so far, but he said current restrictions and safety measures will still be necessary for the christmas holiday season to keep alive any chance of beating the virus. nomia iqbal, bbc news, washington. mexico's health ministry has confirmed 196 new coronavirus

deaths and more than 6,000 new cases on sunday. more than 105,000 people have now died from the virus in the country. the health authorities say the real number is likely to be much higher, because there isn't enough testing going on. president trump has lashed out at both the fbi and us department ofjustice, saying they were working against him in his efforts to overturn the result of the election. in his first interview since his defeat, donald trump repeated unsubstantiated claims the election was, in his, words, "rigged". this is total fraud and how the fbi and department ofjustice, i don't know, maybe they're involved. but how people are allowed to get away with this stuff is unbelievable. this election was rigged. this election was a totalfraud. my mind will not change in six months. there was tremendous cheating here. let's get some of the day's other news. police in argentina are investigating diego maradona's doctor for manslaughter following the former footballer‘s death last week.

detectives have carried out searches of leopoldo luque‘s home and private clinic. the footballer died of a heart attack on wednesday at the age of 60. aid workers have urged the ethiopian government to allow humanitarian supplies into the tigray region after the authorities asserted that more than three weeks of fighting was over. the international committee of the red cross has warned that a major hospital in the main city mekelle is dangerously low on basics, including antibiotics, painkillers and even food. communications have been cut, so there are still no details of the numbers killed or injured. human rights activists in belarus say more than 300 opposition supporters have been detained by the security forces this weekend. it's the 16th straight weekend of protests against president alexander lukashenko‘s disputed re—election. tens of thousands of people across the country took part, with as many as 60 separate demonstrations in the capital minsk. trade negotiations between the uk and the european union are continuing after talks

stretched over the weekend. there's only a month to go until the end of the transition period. the british government says a deal could soon be concluded, although substantial differences remain over eu fishing rights in uk waters. the un says nigeria's most deadly islamist attack this year could have left up to 100 people dead. dozens of farm workers were brutally killed although the exact number isn't known, with some people still missing. paul hawkins reports. another grim milestone in nigeria's long war with its islamist militants. dozens of farm labourers rounded up and their throats slit. rice fields which became killing fields. a number of women were also reportedly kidnapped. translation: there were six of us in the bush yesterday. we headed back into the village. we were shocked as we reached them. we found their corpses and that was where the main

killings took place. we changed our route and went through a nearby village. we met so many people fleeing without knowing where they were going to. some were even unconscious. a huge quantity of harvested rice was set on fire. the latest attack happened near maiduguri, the capital of borno state, in north—east nigeria. that's a region where two islamist militant groups, boko haram and islamic state west africa, have been fighting the government. over the 10—year conflict, 30,000 people have died, over 2 million have been made homeless. this latest attack is one of the worse in recent months. neither group have claimed responsibility. president buhari's official spokesperson say the president described the attack as insane and said... translation: boko haram killed many of our people. 32 people were slaughtered. we need assistance, we need some weapons and armed men, because we have youth who can volunteer to guide our farmers while working. please, please, for god's sake.

those calls for more military assistance are growing. it is not the first time farmers have been attacked by islamist militants who suspect them of passing on information to the military. last month 22 farmers were killed, in two separate incidents, but local media quoting an mp said this recent attack was because farmers had arrested a boko haram gunman on friday. it is one audacious and rather horrific reminder of past attacks, such as the mass abductions in 2014 of the chibok schoolgirls, and even the mass abductions that occurred in 2018. it reminds us of how bad the crisis is. a crisis that seems without end. the government repeatedly claims that the militants have been defeated but the attacks keep coming, people keep dying, the grief and insecurity keeps rising. paul hawkins, bbc news.

professor, which group do you think is behind the attack? great opening question and thank you for having me on your programme, james. this has all the fingerprints of a boko haram attack although it's splinter organisation, the islamic state west africa province has also operated a bit in the local government area in question. but one thing that did stand out to me immediately reading some of the early reports about this attack is that the attackers did arrive on motorcycles, which is one of boko haram's signatures very early on, a decade ago, when the insurgency first started. what is this attack

tell us then of boko haram's capabilities? well, it is another low—tech and gruesome attack and does not suggest tremendous capability in terms of any new technology or anything like that. it does tell us that the military‘s approach to securing towns in the area what has sometimes been called garrison towns, does not seem to be working. this took place, quite close, only 20 kilometres from one of the strongholds. and it does suggest a return to soft targets obviously, if this does appear to be targets obviously, if this does appearto bea targets obviously, if this does appear to be a recurring pattern in the coming weeks, thenit pattern in the coming weeks, then it means that the nigerian government must significantly mmp government must significantly ramp up and increase its protection of civilians. what

is your assessment of the nigerian government response so far? so far the response has been inadequate on many fronts. the local people have been calling for greater co—ordination with the civilian organisations that have been providing security, the combined joint task force, and of course there has been ongoing demand for leadership and greater co—ordination with the partner military across the la ke the partner military across the lake chad basin but fundamentally, nigerians are expecting a good deal more compassion and direct acknowledgement that this is a significant crisis. it is facing the country and people are ina facing the country and people are in a tremendous amount of grief and certainly by the accou nts grief and certainly by the accounts online so far, it seems like people in many of

the elites and ordinary people do not feel like the government is showing any real empathy. internationally, the us has played a role in tackling islamist groups in other parts of the war, do you think the incoming joe biden administration want to get involved more? i think the biden administration want to ta ke biden administration want to take a holistic approach to the insecurity in the region and i think that with the robust american humanitarian assistance to the region will continue and hopefully will be able to build new partnerships with allies who will be able to approach the problem from many different angles and i think what will be most urgent needs to be on the biden administration's agenda early on is that these particular attacks that contributing to a significant risk of a famine. the famine early warning

network of the international organisations warned against the risk of famine earlier this year, in the summertime, about 10 million people in the lake chad region already receiving humanitarian assistance and if attacks escalate, they said they would be a significant likelihood that the risk of famine would grow. this appears to be what we have seen, that there were attacks in october and over 600 people were killed in october and in april, there we re in october and in april, there were about 1800 deaths the loan. we have really seen an increase. these most recent tax by the weekend with specifically farmers, which decreases food production — — most decreases food production — — m ost rece nt decreases food production — — most recent attacks. thank you so most recent attacks. thank you so much. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come: the mystery of the metal monolith

discovered last week in a us desert. it's vanished as unexpectedly as it arrived. it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. i am feeling so helpless that the children are dying in front of me and i can't do anything. charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippie cult suspected of killing sharon tate and at least six other people in los angeles. at 11am this morning, just half a metre of rock separated britain from continental europe. it took the drills just a few moments to cut through the final obstacle. then philippe cozette,

a minerfrom calais, was shaking hands and exchanging flags with robert fagg, his opposite number from dover. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: america's leading infectious disease expert warns of a surge of covid cases between thanksgiving and christmas. the united nations says 110 civilians have been killed in an attack by suspected islamist militants in nigeria. the australian prime minister has demanded an apology from china after an official in beijing tweeted a faked image of an australian soldier holding a knife to an afghan girl's neck. scott morrison has said beijing should be totally ashamed of the incident. let's speak to the bbc‘s shaimaa khalil in sydney. take us through this story, please. this was a tweet that

was posted by the chinese foreign ministry spokesperson zhao lijian and in that he expressed shock at the findings of the war crimes report that last week found that australian special forces committed 39 unlawful killings against afg ha n unlawful killings against afghan civilians during the war in afghanistan. what was really shocking about that tweet was the image that you referred to, the image that you referred to, the image that depicted, and digitally —— a digitally altered image which pictures an australian soldier holding the knife against the threat of an afg ha n knife against the threat of an afghan girl holding a lamb. this really shocked the australian government, the australian government, the australian prime minister held a press conference and used his strongest language yet against china. he said the chinese government should be ashamed of that post and described it as outrageous a disgusting slow and asked twitter do something and take down that post. —— a disgusting

slur. the language he uses plus the image from the chinese government are strong indicators of how bad things have become between the two key trading partners, something which the prime minister has actually acknowledged. he said look, china and australia have had their problems and this has been going on for weeks and months now and it started with china —— australia asking for the investigation into the origins of covid which infuriated china and we have had weeks and weeks of back—and—forth and tariffs slipped by china onto australian exports, this is something that has been ongoing, but he said that tweet and that image has gone too far 110w. and that image has gone too far now. he says australia is open to dialogue with china. he says that there have been inaudible when this has been happening, we have not heard from china yet so there is no indication that china has actually responded to australia at the moment but very strong language andi moment but very strong language and i would say a new low in the relationship, already tense relations, between the two countries.

shaimaa khalil. formula 1 driver romain grosjean has escaped serious injury after a horror crash at the bahrain grand prix. his car smashed into a barrier during the first lap of the race. the vehicle split in half with the front part bursting into flames. grosjean was taken to hospital with minor burns. joe wilson reports. the bahrain grand prix begins. 20 cars race, each with a halo — a titanium bar protecting the cockpit. protecting romain grosjean. commentator: and a big fire there! fla mes insta ntly surrounded the driver. that should not happen. it will be part of the investigation. but with medics attending, grosjean, hands burning on the metal, was able to force his own way out — an escape which seemed miraculous. grosjean was able later in hospital to reflect how the ca r‘s improvements had saved his life. ijust wanted to say i am 0k — well, sort of 0k! thank you very much

for all the messages. i mean, i wasn't for the halo some years ago, but i think it's the greatest thing that we've brought to formula 1. without it, i wouldn't be able to speak to you today. at the circuit, the teams watched the replays. lewis hamilton tweeted that the crash was a reminder of the risk — the extreme danger that's still there. as soon as the grand prix resumed, another collision, a car upturned. lance stroll was the driver pulled out unharmed. a safety car finally led the racers home after another incident. lewis hamilton won. but 20 drivers came to bahrain, 20 lived to drive again. joe wilson, bbc news. criminal charges have been brought in new zealand a year after a volcanic eruption killed 22 people. the country's health and safety regulator said ten organisations and three individuals had failed to meet their obligations. if convicted, the maximum fine is us$1 million. the white island, or whakaari, volcano erupted last december

when nearly 50 people, most of them tourists, were visiting. many had travelled there on a cruise ship. the volcano had shown signs of increased activity in the weeks before the disaster. visitors have not been to the island since. criminal charges have been brought in new zealand a year —— he was the man behind the mask, playing darth vader in the original star wars films, and co—stars and fans have been remembering the actor david prowse, who's died at the age of 85. 0ur entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba looks back at his journey from bristol to one of hollywood's most successful franchises. at 66", with a towering figure, dave prowse was physically perfect for the part of darth vader in the original star wars trilogy in the 1970s and 1980s. looks like you two need a lesson in crossing the road! at the same time, he was also the face of road safety, presenting videos and visiting hundreds of schools as the green cross code man. we won't be there when you cross the road,

so always use... the green cross code. when i became darth vader — or at least when the star wars film came out — i almost got the sack from the government because they thought that my image as darth vader would have a detrimental effect on my image as the green cross code man. a champion body builder, he eventually tried acting. as darth vader, he had the bulk, he had the build, but he also had a bristol accent. bristol accent: you are part of the rebel alliance and a traitor! take her away! when when the first film came out, he found his disalogue had been replaced by the now familiar booming tones of james earljones. commander, tear the ship apart until you've found those plans, and bring me the passengers. i want them alive! mark hamill, who played luke skywalker, led the tributes, calling him much more than darth vader, describing him as "actor, husband, father, member

of the order of the british empire, weightlifting champion, safety icon, a man who loved his fans as much as they loved him." i am your father. he may never have been the voice behind the villain, but the man behind the mask of darth vader is how he'll always be remembered. for so many, he played the most iconic cinema villain ever seen. the actor david prowse, who's died at the age of 85. darth vader. a mysterious metal object which was discovered in the utah desert last week has now vanished. the discovery of the silver object captured the national interest, with people questioning how it ended up there. well, we may never get an answer, as utah officials say the structure is no longer there. tom brada reports. standing at more than 12 feet tall and shimmering in contrast to the red desert sands, a strange object discovered in utah last week is shrouded in mystery. and that mystery has

only deepened as now, it has disappeared. known as the utah monolith, this was the moment it was found. man: the intrepid explorers go down to investigate the alien life form. evidence of life beyond this planet? 0rsimply an intriguing work of art? the curious structure sparked a national guessing game with people desperate to work out what it was and how it got there. who does this kind of stuff?! chuckles. before long, people were setting out to see it for themselves, some travelling more than nine hours to find it in the desert. now, hardly two weeks later, and the object has vanished. there was several people walking out of the wash that leads to the location, and just before we were there, somebody had mentioned "oh, by the way, it's not there any more" and we were heartbroken. we were like "no!"

but it was still cool to see, you know, the small piece that was left and to see the actual location, and just the beauty of everything around it. imean, i mean, it's three different panels. it's unclear how the structure first got there and it's equally unclear where it has gone. the utah bureau of land management denies removing the object, and released a statement saying: now, with just a small piece of the original structure left and a pile of rocks in the sand, it seems like the mystery of the utah monolith may never be solved. tom brada, bbc news. alternatively, if you are the artist behind the utah monolith, send me a message. i'm on twitter. i'm @ jamesbbcnews.

quite a lot of us would like to see it. to stay with bbc news. —— do stay with bbc news. hello there. there was some sunshine around on sunday across south wales, south—west england. some areas saw temperatures of 15 degrees. for many, though, it was another one those dull and gloomy sort of days. but the weather is changing and that's happening now. these weather fronts coming down from the north—west, bringing patchy rain southwards on monday, the breeze picking up and blowing away that area of high pressure that's brought all the gloom during recent days. so, a frost—free start, but still quite gloomy in the south. the mist and fog are lifting as that patchy rain heads its way southwards. the rain affecting the hills in the west, little rain or no rain across southern parts of england. and in the afternoon, we get some sunshine after the rain in scotland and one or two showers.

here, those temperatures start to drop away, mind you, but elsewhere, we stay in the mild air. temperatures 9, 10 or 11 degrees. that patchy rain continues to work its way southwards during monday evening, clearing away for most areas, but still a hangback of cloud out towards the west. but with clearer skies across central and eastern parts of the uk, we're going to find a frost across eastern scotland and the north—east of england. that colder air has come down in a northerly breeze, behind the weather front bringing the patchy rain. but out to the west, the air is very different. this is much milder air, and it comes with a lot of cloud. and that milder cloudy air will topple its way steadily in from the atlantic into the uk and it will bring a little light rain or drizzle. but through the midlands, across lincolnshire, east anglia and the south—east, we're going to hang onto the sunshine — some welcome sunshine. not a bad day here, temperatures of 8 or 9 degrees. quite a cold day across eastern scotland and the north—east of england. further west, temperatures may make double figures. it's a fairly quiet day on tuesday, but there's another weather front heading our way on wednesday. this one again won't bring very much rain at all. it's more a broad area of cloud that's moving down

across england and wales. and then behind that, towards the north—west, we get some sunshine, the wind picks up and we get some showers. gales in the north—west of scotland, and over the highlands, there may be some sleet or snow as it turns colder. 5 degrees here. further south and east, highs of 8 or 9. the weather is set to change later on in the week. low pressure is returning, stronger winds, some rain at times. not only that, but it will be feeling a lot cooler.

this is bbc news, the headlines: america's leading infectious disease expert, anthony fauci, has issued a warning about a surge of coronavirus cases. mr fauci says the severe outbreak is likely to get worse in the next few weeks due to millions travelling home after the thanksgiving holiday and the run up to christmas. donald trump has attacked the fbi and the us department of justice, accusing them of working against him in his efforts to overturn the result of the presidential election. he was speaking in his first interview since joe biden was declared the winner more than three weeks ago. the united nations says a deadly attack on farmers in the borno state of nigeria, was the most violent assault on civilians this year. the humanitarian agency estimates at least 110 civilians were killed by suspected islamist militants. many of the victims were tending to crops when it happened.