this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm tim willcox. joe biden and kamala harris lead a ceremony to honour the 400,000 americans who've have died from covid—19. to heal, we must remember. and it's hard sometimes to remember. president trump releases a farewell video on his last day in office — and wishes luck to his successor without naming him. we did what we came here to do and so much more. donald trump's last day was soured when mitch mcconnell, one of his biggest allies, accused the outgoing president of provoking the capitol riot. in other news, another 1,610 people have died in the uk —

the highest daily figure since the start of the pandemic. people just dying and dying and dying. although it's ourjob and we deal with dead people every day, this level, i think, has taken its toll. hello and welcome to our audiences in the uk and around the world. 0n the eve of his inauguration, the president—electjoe biden — along with vice—president—elect kamala harris — has led a covid memorial service, in tribute to the 400,000 americans who've lost their lives to coronavirus. mr biden — who will spend

the night at the presidential guest house blair house, opposite the white 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. though we may be physically separated, we the american people are united in spirit. and my abiding hope, my abiding prayer is that we emerge from this ordeal

with a new wisdom, to cherish simple moments, to imagine new possibilities and to open our heartsjust a little bit more to one another. 0ne one of the formal events on the eve of the inauguration in washington, dc, a lockdown, very different city from what you would normally expect on the eve of inauguration. larry madowo was there for us now. larry. madowo was there for us now. lar . , . , , ~ ., larry. this city feels like a war zone- _ larry. this city feels like a war zone. we _ larry. this city feels like a war zone. we have - larry. this city feels like a war zone. we have armed | war zone. we have armed soldiers on the streets of the capital, 21,500 national guardsmen who are all around the capital, the perimeter of the capital, the perimeter of the united states capital, where that ceremony will take place tomorrow. and to make sure nobody has a direct line of sight to the capital balcony, where the actual event takes place, there have been barricaded set up around there,

garage is closed, even bridges coming into the city will be closed tomorrow. and alerts went out to residents of the city a minute ago saying, make a plan for tomorrow, several road and bridge closures will be in place and affect commute times. this is a heightened state of security after the storming of the capital on january six, and this 59th inauguration being declared a national special security event. the secret service is in charge of guarding the city right now, they are working closely with the national guard, essentially soldiers who work for the united states, also the metropolitan police of washington, dc, the capitol police and thousands of other law enforcement officers all in the city make sure there is no event tomorrow, there is no protest, coming to the city. the fbi has said there is no immediate threat. however, they are aware that some militia have been talking about possibly coming into the city disguising themselves as members of the national guard

or trying to do some activity that would disrupt tomorrow's swearing in ceremony. today was president trump's last full day in office. he gave a farewell address but did not mentionjoe biden by name. tomorrow, he will not meetjoe as is customary for stub in fact, whenjoe andjill customary for stub in fact, whenjoe and jill biden come to the white house, they we met by the white house, they we met by the chief usher, because donald trump is leaving the city before joe trump is leaving the city beforejoe biden is sworn in. he is going to florida, tamara lago —— to narrow —— mar—a—lago. 0ur north america editorjon sopel has been covering it all, and here it is, his final report of the trump era. 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, kimjong—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 where it 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. tonight in washington, we are just blocks away from the white house come over president donald trump is spending his last night in the white house, and just a block or two away is blair house, were president electjoe biden is also spending his last night as a civilian. tomorrow at noon local time, civilian. tomorrow at noon localtime, he civilian. tomorrow at noon local time, he becomes president, and he has said that the coronavirus crisis is going to be his challenge and he has all ready got a series of executive actions he is going be putting in place to tackle that crisis. 0ne be putting in place to tackle that crisis. one of the things he intends to do is make sure he intends to do is make sure he can get 100 million vaccinations in the first 100 days. today, he spoke at the memorial at the reflect in full outside the licking memorial, in iconic place, and it was an important event because just before that event happened, about an hour before, america crossed 400,000 deaths, the highest deaths of any country in the world, and president

trumpesque incessantly downplayed the seriousness of the crisis, even though he has taken credit for getting the vaccine out in america has two that seemed approved, by moderna and pfizer— biontech, and now, president biden would have to... rolling of stimulus checks. he is aware of the four crises he has to deal with, the coronavirus, the is also economic crisis, the climate crisis and the racialjustice crisis. we will be hearing a lot more from midday tomorrow, whenjoe biden takes over as president of these united

states. ., , president of these united states. . , ., ., states. larry madowo, in washington, _ states. larry madowo, in washington, dc. - as wejust heard, joe biden has vowed to speed up the us vaccination programme once he's 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. 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. what is joe biden what isjoe biden going to be saying in his speech tomorrow? dylan loewe wasjoe biden�*s chief speech writer when he was vice president. he was the speech writer from 2012 to 2013. and i asked him what he thought the speech writers tomorrow are looking at to make the case thatjoe biden could unify the country. i think, first of all, joe biden has met the moment many times with important speeches, and this is certainly one of them. i think that they are looking to make the case thatjoe biden can be a unifying force in a country that is quite divided, make the case that it is actually possible to turn the page on what we have experienced with donald trump and make

the case that we can actually solve the great challenges ahead of us, in particular the covid crisis — both from a health perspective and an economic perspective. and so i think he'll be speaking both to history and directly to the american people, and i think you can expect him 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 worked for him for a year. were you wary of great rhetorical flourishes? when you hear him speak, it's the simplicity, often, of his language, isn't it, almost the folksiness and his age? is that something that they will be concentrating on as well, do you think? i expect that atjoe biden�*s inauguration, joe biden will sound likejoe biden, thejoe biden he has been for his entire life, and that means being very direct, very granular. i think there are moments for rhetorical flourish,

to be sure, and we will see them here, but for the most part, what he is aiming to do is, for the first time in a long time, have a president explain to the american people what is happening and to tell the truth and to be perceived as the honest person that he is, and i think that's far more important than any particular turn of phrase or sound bite. dyla n dylan loewe speaking to me a little earlier. for coverage, of course, on bbc world news, live. there will be extensive coverage ofjoe biden�*s inauguration throughout wednesday, with special programming from washington, katty kay, from 1400 gmt all here on bbc world news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: donald trump plans to issue presidential pardons on his last full day in office — who are the likely candidtes? —— candidates.

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. our latest headlines... joe biden and kamala harris lead a ceremony to honour the 400,000 americans who've have died from covid—19. president trump releases a farewell video on his last day in office — and wishes luck to his successor without naming him. the united kingdom has recorded the highest number of covid deaths in a 24—hour period since the pandemic struck last year — more than 1,600. the faculty of intensive care medicine say that many hospitals are now "overwhelmed". the bbc�*s clive myrie has this report from the royal london hospital, with camera journalist david mcilveen and producer sam piranty. we must warn you that his report contains some distressing images. the birth of a new day brings a familiar demon —

more covid infections and more death. and it's others who must stare into the abyss to spare our eyes. like hannah, a senior mortician at the royal london hospital, part of a small team ofjust five that's handled hundreds of bodies in this pandemic. how do you ever prepare for people just dying and dying and dying? although it's ourjob and we deal with dead people every day, this level, i think, has taken its toll. does it feel like a conveyor belt? it does, it does, in a way, yes. i hate to say that, because i hate to think of it like that, but yeah,

yeah, it is, almost, yeah. that's what the pandemic�*s done, i mean... yeah. it's no—one's fault. no. sorry. i've done this for years, you know, i'mjust... when someone says to you, "how does it make you feel?" and you say how it makes you feel, yeah, this is how it makes me feel. 12 out of 15 floors, more than 400 patients, and there are not enough staff. it's madness. and curiously, despite all the drugs and fancy equipment, the simple technique of periodically turning over a covid patient — or proning — can help force oxygen into scarred lungs. but the manpower needed is immense. turning and turning and turning again. day after day.

frightening — one word that defines covid's second wave for the nhs. heartbreaking is another. as marie healy checks on a 28—year—old man with no underlying conditions, but who has been on a ventilatorfor more than three weeks. obviously very distressing and... this is a very serious complication at this stage. he also has other family members in critical care as we speak. time to call his wife. now, i know that he is quite sick. he could die from this, by the way. i'm sorry to have to say that. i know, love. i know. don't worry. we're doing everything

we can for him. very difficult because... it's very difficult because this poor family have been through a huge amount. and they're actually so nice. that makes it more difficult. the inner turbulence revealed. the rain mirrors shamima's recent tears for her family. she took marie's call, as her husband fights for his life. his condition remains serious, on life support. clive myrie, bbc news. plenty more, of course, on that story and the latest figures on the website. you're watching bbc news. in other stories, the outgoing secretary of state, mike pompeo,

has accused china of committing genocide and crimes against humanity in its far western region of xinjiang. in what's likely to be one of his last acts, mr pompeo said an investigation had concluded that beijing had systematically tried to destroy the uighurs and other minorities there since 2017. the italian prime minister, giuseppe conte, has narrowly won a vote of confidence in the upper house of parliament, aided by the support of some opposition senators. the margin of victory was tighter than mr conte's allies had hoped. he won a similar vote in the lower house of parliament on monday and can continue to govern with a minority. now, back to america. in his last 24 hours in office, mr trump 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. alvin s felzenberg is an author

and presidential historian. he says presidential pardons haven't been this controversial until recent times. —— i asked him whether pardons had ever been this controversial. the pardon process began, really, in mediaeval england. it's a throwback to the king's mercy. there was a presumption 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. of course, kings do not have to answer to legislatures and parliaments and even the public sometimes, so sometimes allies of the crown were pardoned who might perhaps have been imprisoned in previous regimes. but when it flipped over to the united states constitution, that element was preserved — the idea, again, as mr hamilton said, if you're going to have draconian measures sometimes, there has to be an antidote. sometimes governments make mistakes, sometimes people slip through. i would point out, though, that they had not been this controversial until

recent times. fdr may have pardoned 3,500 people, or whatever number you gave, but he was president 12 years. donald trump was only president forfour. and i would say that if you look at most of the roosevelt pardons, they may have been soldiers who had been deserting their posts or had some infraction, 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 a tremendous skill, we need him for the war effort. we re were going to take all this into account." 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 it became extremely controversial with the about six or eight in bill clinton's tenure. when bill clinton left the white house, one of people he pardoned was a fellow named mark rich, who had been in prison for violating sanctions... president trump has not announced his list. we will tell you when he does. 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 as 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 really is 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 news.

the headlines. 0n the eve of his inauguration, us president—electjoe biden has led a powerful tribute to the 400,000—plus americans lost to the coronavirus, as he arrived in washington. with vice president—elect kamala harris also attending the memorial, mr biden said the united states must heal as a nation. president trump has released a farewell video on his last day in office and wished luck to his successorjoe biden. however, he did not name the president elect. mr trump also said he was proud of what has been achieved over the past four years. —— president—elect. 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". now on bbc news, it's hardtalk.