this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. on donald trump's final day in office, his staunchest ally in the senate directly blames the president for the deadly capitol hill riots. the mob was fed lies. they were provoked by the president and other powerful people. for his part, donald trump releases a farewell video, expressing pride over his achievements of the past four years. we did what we came here to do and so much more. president—electjoe biden leads a ceremony to honour the 400,000 americans who have died from covid—19. to heal, we must remember.

and it's hard sometimes to remember. all around allaround him, in all around him, in the capital, though, is unprecedented security, following the attack on the home of congress a fortnight ago. hello and welcome to bbc news with me, tim willcox, whether you're watching in the uk or around the world. stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. we start in washington, where donald trump's final day as american president has been an eventful one. today saw the us death toll from coronavirus pass a00,000,

while politically, mitch mcconnell — the senate republican majority leader — directly blamed mr trump for the storming of capitol hill two weeks ago. the outgoing president released a farewell address, in which he claimed, "we did what we came here to do and so much more." on wednesday, joe biden will be sworn in as the 46th president, amid the tightest security in recent memory. here's our north america editor, jon sopel. where once a sea of faces would greet the incoming president as he stood on the capitol steps, tomorrow it will be flags — thousands and thousands of stars and stripes. this is partly about covid, but even more so now about security. the entire national mall, which stretches for two miles, has been closed off. washington, dc has been transformed into a fortress, with 25,000 national guardsmen drafted in. razor wire and fencing everywhere. now, nearly two weeks on from the storming of congress by a mob incited by donald trump.

we fight like hell. and if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to— have a country any more. the shock in america over that attempt to overthrow a fair and free election seems to deepen with each passing day, not dissipate, and washington has become a city on edge. the last time the president was seen in public was a week ago when he went to the border wall, something he'd point to as one of his achievements from the four years in office. but it will be his behaviour since the election that will be his lasting legacy. the most audacious and unexpected foreign policy move came when donald trump flew to singapore to meet his north korean counterpart, kim jong—un. the meeting diffused tensions but has done nothing to slow north korea's nuclear programme. here, donald trump's election plans were upended by the covid outbreak and the damage it did to the us economy. coronavirus didn't cost him the election, but his erratic

handling of it and occasionally bizarre statements didn't help him. and then i see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute, and is there a way we can do something like that...by injection? and just a little later, america was convulsed by the death of george floyd at the hands of a white policeman. amid the protests and rioting, donald trump saw an opportunity to present himself as the tough president of law and order. tonight, he's issued a farewell video. this week, we inaugurate a new administration and pray for its success in keeping america safe and prosperous. but there's still no concession that he lost, and now impeached twice, it will be what's happened in america since the presidential election that donald trump will likely be remembered for. he still faces a tricky senate trial — with the influential republican leader,

once a firm supporter, piling in. the mob was fed lies. they were provoked by the president and other powerful people. but from tomorrow, the focus will be onjoe biden — today leaving wilmington, delaware for the last time before sworn in. well, excuse the emotion... but when i die, delaware will be written on my heart. there will be a flurry of announcements and actions in his first days in office. but perhaps the overriding goal will be to lower the political temperature and bring a fractured nation together. it'll be a herculean task. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. well, in the past hour, joe biden has attended a covid memorial service, in tribute to the 400,000 amercans who've lost their lives to coronavirus.

mr biden — who will spend the night at the presidential guest house blair house — paid tribute to medical workers and spoke of the importance of healing as a nation. to heal, we must remember. and it's hard sometimes to remember, but that's how we heal. it's important to do that as a nation. that's why we're here today. between sundown and dusk, let us shine the lights in the darkness along the sacred pool of reflection and remember all whom we lost. 0ur correspondent larry madowo has been at the memorial in washington. close by, a few blocks away. evidence that the nation certainly

has not healed, or is not likely to heal for has not healed, or is not likely to healfor sometime, has not healed, or is not likely to heal for sometime, just in terms of the security presence where are, larry. the security presence where are, lar . ~ , ,., , ., the security presence where are, lar . ~ , ., . , the security presence where are, larry. absolutely, the whole city is on edae larry. absolutely, the whole city is on edge and _ larry. absolutely, the whole city is on edge and of _ larry. absolutely, the whole city is on edge and of the _ larry. absolutely, the whole city is on edge and of the inauguration i on edge and of the inauguration tomorrow. this will probably be the most protected inauguration in history, the 59th inauguration, at least 25,000 national guardsmen, essentially armed soldiers, in the streets of washington, dc guarding the perimeter around the capital. there are bridges coming into washington, dc that will be closed, there are garage is around this area that are closed, there are checkpoints coming to the main sections leading into the white house of the united states capital —— the white house, the united states capitol, and a building drawn here. you are seeing... correlated by the us secret service because this is a national security event. they're working with the us capitol police to guard this after the attempted insurrection and the fear

they might be armed protesters coming back into washington, dc to protest the inauguration ofjoe biden. protest the inauguration of joe biden. ~ ~' ., protest the inauguration of joe biden. ~ ~ ., protest the inauguration of joe biden. ~ ., , biden. we know rose about the number ofthe biden. we know rose about the number of the inauguration _ biden. we know rose about the number of the inauguration tomorrow, _ biden. we know rose about the number of the inauguration tomorrow, we - biden. we know rose about the number of the inauguration tomorrow, we had . of the inauguration tomorrow, we had by donald trump coming in. we'll be there? —— who will be there? the by donald trump coming in. we'll be there? -- who will be there?- there? -- who will be there? the lie about the crowd _ there? -- who will be there? the lie about the crowd size _ there? -- who will be there? the lie about the crowd size was, _ there? -- who will be there? the lie about the crowd size was, you - there? -- who will be there? the lie about the crowd size was, you might say, the original lie. sean spicer claimed this was the largest crowd to witness in the log —— and inauguration period. if he was press secretary, he might say this is the smallest inauguration tomorrow. usually they send invites tomorrow. usually they send invites to members of congress and senate and guests. this time, only one guest each, and they are hoping to have a virtual celebration that will have a virtual celebration that will have a virtual celebration that will have a primetime special, about 90

minutes, with celebrity performances. the actual event itself, what you see on television tomorrow, will be muted because the times we live in, bugs of the pandemic and because of the violence —— because of. bud pandemic and because of the violence -- because of-— -- because of. and 'ust briefly, mike pence h -- because of. and 'ust briefly, mike pence says _ -- because of. and 'ust briefly, mike pence says he]— -- because of. and just briefly, mike pence says he is - -- because of. and just briefly, mike pence says he is going. i -- because of. and just briefly, i mike pence says he is going. what struck me is mitch mcconnell, the outgoing senate majority leader, he will be minority from tomorrow afternoon, he will be attending a church service with the bidens as well as popular the bidens are beginning their well as popular the bidens are beginning thei— well as popular the bidens are beginning their day, essentially, when they ascend _ beginning their day, essentially, when they ascend to _ beginning their day, essentially, when they ascend to the - beginning their day, essentially, i when they ascend to the presidency at a service, and mitch mcconnell has been invited, nancy pelosi, the speaker of the house, has been invited, the leadership of the congress and the bidens interest together before they go through the events of the day, the inauguration, so that is quite a traditional way many presidents begin, with a church service, and biden, a staunch

catholic, doing the same thing. larry madowo in washington, dc. joe biden has vowed to speed up the us vaccination programme once he's president. in a divided country, getting the virus under control is likely to be his biggest challenge as president. this report from our north america correspondent nick bryant contains some flashing images. we normally associate new york with the self—confidence of america. but the coronavirus crisis has shown us the frailties of the world's most powerful land. siren wails in the final weeks of the trump presidency, there have been days where more than 4,000 americans have died — a higher death toll than on september the 11th. it's bizarre, it's scary, it's frightening. angelina proia lost herfather. they're not in the same reality. her mourning made more painful by family members who refuse to believe the coronavirus

took his life. she's angry at donald trump for spreading misinformation and downplaying the pandemic. furious, angry, confused... ..disconnected, abandoned. those are all ways to describe how i feel. there are 350,000 plus people who've died and it doesn't seem like any of those people matter. i mean, it's insane. we've seen queues for covid testing, we've seen queues for covid aid but there's hope at the end of this line of medical staff and teachers. a school gym that only weeks ago served as a polling station has now become a vaccine hub. and done. much to the relief of new yorkers such as michelle kleinbaum — a teacher on the educational front lines. yourupperarm. i've been working in person pretty much since the beginning and itjust feels like a weight�*s been lifted off my shoulders, that i can go back now with a different peace of mind.

joe biden has set the goal of 100 million doses in the first 100 days of his presidency, and despite concerns about vaccine supply, here, we witnessed a can—do spirit that's so emphatically american. there's been so much despondency in this city for the past ten months, but this is really the turning point. i believe it will be the turning point. we're going to get new york city back up and running in no time. a little bit more spread out, give yourself six feet, give yourself six feet. this isn'tjust a health crisis, it's been an economic catastrophe. and in the city that never sleeps, we're seeing food banks now having to open 24 hours a day. joe biden is promising an almost $2 trillion rescue package. the challenge is enormous, the crisis is huge — but america is strong and i believe and i'm hopeful that the president could turn things around.

there'll be talk of a new day in america, but will be the biden presidency really be a panacea? the politics of this country are so sickly, the divisions are so deep. the coronavirus has revealed so many american ailments. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. back to tomorrow's inauguration. joining me now is dylan loewe. he served as chief speech writer to vice presidentjoe biden from 2012 to 2013. thanks forjoining us on bbc news. joe biden is no natural or rater come up but then neither was donald trump. what do you think his speech writers will be looking for him to convey, and in what sort of language? i convey, and in what sort of language?— convey, and in what sort of lanuauae? ~ , ., ., convey, and in what sort of lanuauae? ,, , ., ., language? i think, first of all, joe biden has met _ language? i think, first of all, joe biden has met the _ language? i think, first of all, joe biden has met the moment i language? i think, first of all, joe biden has met the moment manyj language? i think, first of all, joe i biden has met the moment many times in speeches, and this is certainly one of them. i think they're looking to make the case thatjoe biden can be a unifying force in a country thatis be a unifying force in a country that is quite divided, make the case that is quite divided, make the case that it that is quite divided, make the case thatitis that is quite divided, make the case that it is eckley possible to turn

the page on what we have experienced with donald trump and make the case that we can actually solve the crisis ahead of us, including the covid crisis. he will be speaking both to history indirectly to the american people, and nothing you can expect them to ask of the american people that they join expect them to ask of the american people that theyjoin him in that effort and that it notjust simply bejoe biden at work and the rest of us waiting for a rescue. you be joe biden at work and the rest of us waiting for a rescue.— us waiting for a rescue. you work for him for _ us waiting for a rescue. you work for him for a _ us waiting for a rescue. you work for him for a year. _ us waiting for a rescue. you work for him for a year. were - us waiting for a rescue. you work for him for a year. were you i us waiting for a rescue. you workj for him for a year. were you wary us waiting for a rescue. you work i for him for a year. were you wary of great rhetorical flourishes, when you hear him speak, it is the simplicity of his language, all as the folks enus of him and his age? is that something they will be concentrating on as well, do you think? i concentrating on as well, do you think? , . g ., concentrating on as well, do you think? , . �* �*, think? i expected joe biden's inauguration, _ think? i expected joe biden's inauguration, joe _ think? i expected joe biden's inauguration, joe biden i think? i expected joe biden's inauguration, joe biden will. think? i expected joe biden's i inauguration, joe biden will sound inauguration, joe biden will sound likejoe biden, thejoe biden he has

been for his whole life, and that is very direct, very granular. i think there are moments for rhetorical flourish, to be sure, but for the most part, what he is him to do is, for the first time in a long time, have a president explained to the american people what is happening and to tell the truth and to be perceived as an honest person that he is and i think that is far more important than any particular turn of phrase or sound bite.— important than any particular turn of phrase or sound bite. yeah, but obviously he _ of phrase or sound bite. yeah, but obviously he will _ of phrase or sound bite. yeah, but obviously he will want _ of phrase or sound bite. yeah, but obviously he will want to _ of phrase or sound bite. yeah, but obviously he will want to unite i of phrase or sound bite. yeah, but obviously he will want to unite the| obviously he will want to unite the country as well, and that could be quite a herculean task for him. i suppose the other important thing is, how he refers to his predecessor, how do you think he will do that? i predecessor, how do you think he will do that?— predecessor, how do you think he will do that? ., , . , ., ., will do that? i would expect you are not use the — will do that? i would expect you are not use the name _ will do that? i would expect you are not use the name of— will do that? i would expect you are not use the name of his _ will do that? i would expect you are not use the name of his presidentsl not use the name of his presidents are in this speech, i think that he will talk about the things that need to be changed and the implication will be that they came as a result of the failures of the previous administration, but i think in terms of the effort to move forward, he is going to speak about the future more

than the past —— the name of his predecessor. it is indeed a herculean task and it is not something you can achieve in a single speech, but tomorrow is the first day where he will have the opportunity to start at work. fiifi opportunity to start at work. ok, i [an opportunity to start at work. 0k, dylan loewe. — opportunity to start at work. 0k, dylan loewe, thank _ opportunity to start at work. 0k, dylan loewe, thank you so much for joining us here on bbc news. stay with us. still to come: who could donald trump pardon in his last remaining hours in office? we'll talk live to a presidential historian. donald trump is now the 45th president of the united states. he was sworn in before several hundred thousand people on the steps of capitol hill in washington. it's going to be only america first. america first.

demonstrators waiting for mike gatting and his rebel cricket team were attacked with tear gas and set upon by police dogs. anti—apartheid campaigners say they will carry on the protests throughout the tour. they called him the butcher of lyon. klaus altman is being held on a fraud charge in bolivia. the west germans want to extradite him for crimes committed in wartime france. there, he was the gestapo chief klaus barbie. millions came to bathe as close as possible to this spot, a tide of humanity that's believed by officials to have broken all records. hello, you're watching bbc news with me, tim willcox. 0n donald trump's final day

in office, his staunchest ally in the senate, mitch mcconnell, has directly blamed the president for the deadly capitol hill riots. in his last 24 hours in office, mr trump has uploaded a recorded video and is expected to grant presidential pardons to around 100 people, featuring many of his allies and loyalists. although much of trump's term in office has been mired in controversy, last—ditch pardons are relatively common in the final days of a presidency. joining me now is alvin s felzenberg, an author and presidential historian. imean, i mean, you're notjoking— they are controversial. and i was surprised that president trump's only thinking of 100. that president trump's only thinking oino. fdr, i that president trump's only thinking of100. fdr, iwas reading, parted over2000 of100. fdr, iwas reading, parted over 2000 people. when did this all start and for what reason? departed rocess start and for what reason? departed process began. _ start and for what reason? departed process began, really, _ start and for what reason? departed process began, really, in _ start and for what reason? departed process began, really, in mediaeval| process began, really, in mediaeval england, it is a throwback to the

king's mercy. there was a resumption that certain people had slipped through the cracks of the justice system and there are certain times a year when the king could make that right. kings do not have to answer to legislatures, parliaments and even the public sometimes, so sometimes allies of the crown who might have been imprisoned in previous regimes, but when it flipped over, the united states constitution, that element was preserved, this idea that mr hamilton said, if you're going to have jacobian measures sometimes, there is going to have to be an antidote. sometimes governments make mistakes, sometimes people slip through full—time would point out that they have not been this controversial until recent times —— slip through. fdr may have pardoned 3500 people or whatever number you gave, but he was president 12 years, donald trump was only president for four and i would say that, if you look at most of the roosevelt

pardons, they may have been soldiers who had been deserting their post or had some infraction number they may have been petty criminals, they may have been petty criminals, they may have been petty criminals, they may have been people who... district attorneys said, he may have harmed society but he was a model prisoner or he has tremendous skill, we need this for the war effort it is only in recent times that a few of these pardons have been people who have broken the law, let's say, on behalf of the president and he became extremely controversial with the about six or eight in bill clinton's tenure. bill clinton left the white house, one of people reporting was a fellow named mark rich... —— one of the people he pardoned. bend fellow named mark rich. .. -- one of the people he pardoned.— the people he pardoned. and bill clinton pardoned _ the people he pardoned. and bill clinton pardoned his— the people he pardoned. and bill clinton pardoned his brother- the people he pardoned. and bill clinton pardoned his brother for. clinton pardoned his brotherfor drug offences. how controversial is it, though, nowadays with modern

americans and how controversial, briefly, and this is ridiculous to say briefly because it is such a controversial question, if president trump or wanting to pardon himself? we will get to that in a second. clinton did cross the line. before, it was hard to see relatives being pardoned, clinical donors being pardoned, clinical donors being pardoned and people who went to prison and stay quiet about it. president trump, if you think of bill clinton on steroids, there seems to be one pattern, the pattern seems to be one pattern, the pattern seems to be people whose infraction was caused by illegal service to the president, not to the country, not to a petty crime, not to bake robbery or theft or tax evasion, these are things that involve the president of the united states in

his campaign and various business pursuits. —— bank robbery. iwas his campaign and various business pursuits. —— bank robbery. i was a most magnanimous pardon was gerald ford's pardon of richard nixon because he felt the country had been through enough watergate, we had tremendous economic problems, energy shortages, we still had a vote in war in vietnam winding down —— we still had a war going on. ford said, we have to get onto other things, we can only do that if we get richard nixon off the news. it was seen as a way to criticise the— way to criticise the country, even thou:h a way to criticise the country, even though a lot _ way to criticise the country, even though a lot of _ way to criticise the country, even though a lot of people _ way to criticise the country, even though a lot of people criticised i way to criticise the country, even | though a lot of people criticised it at the time, even the journalists who uncovered watergate. i would love to talk for a lot more time. alvin felzenberg, thank you for joining us on bbc news. the incoming biden administration

looks set to reverse many of the foreign policy decisions made during donald trump's presidency. one part of the world that will be watching developments particularly keenly is the asia pacific region, where the influence of china continues to dominate. 0ur correspondents in beijing, seoul and tokyo have taken a moment to reflect. what many in government here are hoping is that an incoming biden administration might offer the chance for something of a reset in beijing—washington relations, especially given how frosty they've been in recent times. however, can we expect the new us leadership to have different attitudes on, say, the south china sea, the trade war, alleged human rights abuses in this country? well, the realists in beijing think that at least a biden presidency won't be as chaotic and dysfunctional, meaning it could open the door to sensible discussions on at least some fronts. yet, the foreign policy challenges in this region remain enormous.

just look at the korean peninsula. just as it was for donald trump, north korea will remain one ofjoe biden's key national security concerns especially after the last week, where kim jong—un vowed to build more nuclear weapons. he even announced a wishlist of an arsenal, and he showed off some new technology in a parade. now, analysts believe that the door to diplomacy with north korea is still open. but they also believe joe biden's team has to act now if they want to avoid more missile tests over this peninsula. for its part, seoul is keen for biden's team to engage with pyongyang as soon as possible, and the united states is keen for a meeting with its allies in this region. they want to counter a strengthening china, but that will require tokyo and seoul to ease their tensions, and that takes me to my colleague rupert wingfield—hayes. here in tokyo, i think the japanese government's big question

is, "will president biden's asian policy be more of an 0bama 2.0 or will it be more of a continuation of what president trump has been doing over the last four years?" because the assessment here in tokyo certainly is that president 0bama's asian policy was something of a failure — that he didn't take the rising threat from china seriously enough, fast enough, and then when it came to the south china sea, america completely dropped the ball, allowing china to build those enormous island bases in the south china sea, and, effectively, can take control of that enormous area of ocean. so, when it comes to president biden, i think tokyo is looking for a continuation of the assertiveness against china but also a recommitment by america to its old allies, like japan, and a re—engagement with international agreements such as the paris climate accords, the iran nuclear accords, and even perhaps america re—entering the trans—pacific partnership — although, i have to say, i think

that one is a bit of a long shot. but it all starts tomorrow. that's it. hello there. storm christoph will bring disruptive weather over the next 48 hours. the rain's been falling through the day on tuesday, already mounting up to over an inch in places, and there's a lot more rain yet to come. and as it bumps into the cold air in the north, potential for snow as well. let's focus on the rain because in some parts of england and wales, we could have around 150—200 mm of rain falling over the hills onto ground that's already saturated. river levels are already high. so, this amber warning from the met office highlights those areas particularly saturated at the moment with the high river levels plus the snowmelt

to take account of. that also runs into the river systems but it's by no means exclusively these areas. as i mentioned, it's wet right the way up into northern ireland and southern scotland with the added potential of several centimetres of snow falling on some parts of the southern uplands, possibly even the central lowlands through the night, and ice, too. further south, it's milder, it's windier, and that south—westerly wind, that moist south—westerly wind, keeps pumping that rain up onto the hills and mountains of england and wales through the day, but there'll be some heavier rain elsewhere as well. so, a fairly grey, wet, windy sort of day and with some risk of snow as well as further rain across some northern areas. so, quite a contrast in our temperature and that really comes into play later in the day on wednesday because as that colder air starts to dig southwards, as that low pressure, storm christoph, starts to move out into the north sea and the cold air digs in, it will turn the rain progressively to snow. even at lower levels, potentially 5—10 cm through wednesday night and into thursday. certainly more over the hills. notjust scotland exclusively — we could see some across the hills of northern england, too.

and the winds by that stage — as the low pressure, storm christoph, moves out into the north sea — get towards gale or even severe gale force winds. so blowing that snow around, blizzard conditions but at least they're blowing that rain away by that stage. however, by that stage, we will have seen significant amounts of rainfall, as i say, and the flood risk is really going to escalate in the next 12—24 hours. then the cold air digs in and things slowly start to quieten down. but between now and then, we've got that heightened flood risk across england and wales, with persistent rain and several hundred millimetres in places, and then that snow risk — heavy snow with drifting and blizzards in the north. the weather warnings and the flood warnings all on the website.

this is bbc world news. the headlines.

the top senate republican leader, mitch mcconnell, has directly blamed donald trump for the riot at the us capitol two weeks ago. mr mcconnell said the mob was "fed lies" and "provoked by the president". 0n the eve of his inauguration, us president—electjoe biden has led a tribute to the 400,000—plus americans lost to the coronavirus, as he arrived in washington. donald trump is expected to issue dozens of presidential pardons, on his last full day in office. he's reported to be planning to grant clemency to the rapper lil wayne and a former speaker of the new york assembly, sheldon silver. italy's prime minister giuseppe conte has won a confidence vote in the senate, but without the absolute majority he achieved in the lower house on monday. the votes were triggered when one of mr conte's coalition partners quit the government.