after the meeting and speak out after the meeting and speak to the journalists. out after the meeting and speak to thejournalists. it's out after the meeting and speak to the journalists. it's a possibility, it's also a possibility, it's also a possibility he heads straight back to the airport because he is heading back to florida. that meeting as far as we know is still going on, has been going on for the last 30 minutes or so, so we will continue to monitor those live pictures. president biden has told mr trump who was looking forward to a smooth transition, while donald trump assured president biden it would also be a smooth transfer of power. let's have a listen to some of the things said as they got together. the things said as they got together-— together. congratulations. lookinu together. congratulations. looking forward _ together. congratulations. looking forward to - together. congratulations. looking forward to having | together. congratulations. | looking forward to having a smooth transition so you are accommodated, everything you need, and we will get chance to talk about some of that today. thank you very much, and

politics— thank you very much, and politics is_ thank you very much, and politics is tough, and in many cases— politics is tough, and in many cases it's _ politics is tough, and in many cases it's not a nice world but it is_ cases it's not a nice world but it is a — cases it's not a nice world but it is a nice _ cases it's not a nice world but it is a nice world today and i appreciate very much a transition that is so smooth, it will— transition that is so smooth, it will be _ transition that is so smooth, it will be as smooth as it can -et it will be as smooth as it can get and _ it will be as smooth as it can get and i_ it will be as smooth as it can get and i very much appreciate that _ get and i very much appreciate that. ., ., . ., get and i very much appreciate that. ., ., ., ,, that. you are welcome. thank ou, that. you are welcome. thank you. all. _ that. you are welcome. thank you, all. that _ that. you are welcome. thank you, all. that meeting - that. you are welcome. thank you, all. that meeting came l you, all. that meeting came after donald _ you, all. that meeting came after donald trump - you, all. that meeting came after donald trump had - you, all. that meeting came after donald trump had metj you, all. that meeting came - after donald trump had met with republicans in washington as he continues to put his new administration together. earlier i spoke to the financial times' us national editor. he did campaign very explicitly. the basis of his campaign was to take rhetoric, to say, "i will be your retribution," to personify those in america who feel persecuted for one reason or another, with trump's sense of persecution over the prosecutions from 2020. so the appointment that matters the most in the coming days, we haven't had it yet, and the one thatjd vance said would be the second most

important person in the trump administration is who he appoints as attorney general to head the department ofjustice. then we will see and get an indication with that appointmentjust how serious trump is about retribution, or whether this was just rhetoric. you remember he did say he would lock hillary clinton up, and he made no real attempts in that direction. sorry to dive in, but just explain why that appointment is so important, because ordinarily you'd look at all manner of other appointments — secretary of state, defence secretary — as being above that appointment of attorney general. why does it carry such weight this time around in terms of what you're describing? well, so trump in his first term, his biggest complaint about the deep state, about the federal bureaucracy was that the department ofjustice, his attorneys generals, did not bend to his will.

they upheld what is constitutional tradition, at least since richard nixon was president, that it acts independently of the white house's political desires. and trump wanted the attorney general to essentially be his personal lawyer, to question the 2020 election, for example, to pursue hillary clinton, to fire mueller, for the mueller report and none of that happened. he wants to ensure that this time around, the department ofjustice does, and the fbi, does exactly what he wants. and so for those whose chief concern is the rule of law in america the department ofjustice is absolutely grand central in trump 2.0 administration.

edward luce from the financial times. when this meeting ends and donald trump emerges, potentially he may speak to reporters, potentially he may get into his convoy and head back to the airport, back to florida. we are also keeping a nigh on what is happening in the senate. we are waiting for the senate. we are waiting for the result because those republicans we saw a little earlier, donald trump met with those republican lawmakers at a hotel in central washington. they are having a secret ballot and that's why the journalists are assembled there. they are electing the next senate majority leader, the person who will take over from mitch mcconnell who has held the post since 2007. he has been minority leader until last tuesday's election but the republicans winning the seat is

there to give him a majority in there to give him a majority in the senate so now they elect one of three contenders. rick scott... so everyone watching to find out the result of the election to elect the new majority leader in the senate. let's return to the pictures from the oval office, seeing the two leaders. it's a key part of the peaceful transition of power, donald trump meeting with joe of power, donald trump meeting withjoe biden. the smiles, handshakes, the early words focused on the transition of power. those are the latest pictures from the white house. we will return to washington in the next little while. let's turn to some of the news because the post office has revealed that 115 of its branches are at risk. new proposals would boost the pay

of postmasters over five years. let's turn to the health secretary because wes streeting has announced the introduction of league performance tables which will show failing hospitals in england, he also revealed nhs managers who don't improve patient care will be sacked. he told a conference of nhs trusts there could be no more rewards forfailure. so improving services for patients should be rewarded, and the quid pro quo is there will be no more rewards for failure. we wa nt we want to move to a system

where freedom is the norm and central grit is the exception to challenge poor performance. improving services for patients should be rewarded and the quid pro quo is that they will be no more rewards forfailure. the work you do couldn't be more serious. when you get it right, lives are saved. when you don't, consequences could be tragic. if performance dips, i reserve the right to take those freedoms away. we will go from zero consequences for failure to zero tolerance. we will set out substantial reforms. the actor timothy west has died at the age of 90. in a diverse career spanning seven decades, he appeared in soap operas, dramas and tv sitcoms.

he is survived by his wife, the fawlty towers star, prunella scales. our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba looks back at his life. lords, i protest my soul is full of woe, that blood should sprinkle me to make me grow. as an actor he was one of the most skilled of his generation. he had a love and a gift for shakespeare. mourn with me for what i do lament and put on sullen black in continent. his henry bolingbroke in a bbc adaptation of richard ii won him huge acclaim. as did his appearances in king lear, love's labours lost and macbeth. his presence and passion meant he was also in demand in cinema. here portraying a calm determination as a police officer on the hunt for edward fox's jackal in the day of the jackal. without a name, all other proposals are meaningless. the first task then is to find it. over the years he was regularly cast in a variety of tv shows, and was one of the small group of actors to appear in both eastenders...

what's the beard for — lost your shaver? i like it. ah, suits you. ..and coronation street. i'm off for a walk. do you want company? no, i'll be on my own, if you don't mind. in later years he devoted himself to caring for his wife, fawlty towers actress prunella scales, who had been diagnosed with dementia. some of their time together was filmed for great canal journeys on channel 4. i just feel really that i don't any more have anyone really to talk to. as tv, it was gentle and moving. a touching view of a marriage and a partnership that lasted for more than six decades. the actor timothy west who has died at the age of 90. we are going to take a short break for the weather. when we are back, we will have all the latest live from the white house.

that's in a moment after the weather from tomasz schafernaker. hello. it's schaferna ker. hello. it's starting schafernaker. hello. it's starting to feel colder now and you would expect that, we are well into november. this week often cloudy, some morning mist and fog, and the really chilly conditions won't arrive until next week with widespread frosts expected at night. for the time being, it is still about the high pressurejust about, but we are seeing signs of the weather turning on the north of the uk. this is the satellite picture from earlier on, a weak cold front moving through scotland, england and wales through the night. light rain and drizzle possible, but to the north we are expecting skies to clear, and it could be quite chilly in the glens of scotland. for most towns and cities, you can see temperatures are between five and 10 celsius so relatively mild. starts off quite grey tomorrow in the south, again

some drizzle, but through the morning and into the afternoon, the cloud cover shifting and it may end up being a pretty decent day with sunny spells but not guaranteed. temperatures iii but not guaranteed. temperatures 1a in belfast but for the most part ii or 12. here is friday morning then. crucially the wind is still coming in from the south—west so the relatively mild air mass. it's behind this cold front that we have that colder air streaming front that we have that colder airstreaming in front that we have that colder air streaming in from the arctic. it will be a gradual process so we are not expecting a sudden drop in the temperature. it will be a couple of degrees every day over the weekend and into next week, but that is the headline because we haven't seen a chilly spell of weather for quite some time and this will be the coldest weather we have seen this season so far. the cold fronts sweeping across the country during the course of sunday, introducing the colder air, squeezing the milder air towards the south. look at the wind arrows pointing from the norwegian sea and the arctic.

next week we will see a widespread frost across the uk whether you are north or south. for many of us, scenes like the frosty countryside on the way, and by day temperatures could be only around five or six celsius. so yes, colder weather on the way but notjust yet. a few more days of this relatively mild weather.

live from london, this is bbc news. joe biden welcomes president—elect donald trump to the white house as the transition of power gets under way. congratulations. thank you. and lookinu congratulations. thank you. and looking forward _ congratulations. thank you. and looking forward to _ congratulations. thank you. and looking forward to having - congratulations. thank you. and looking forward to having him i looking forward to having him like we said, his smooth transition. fix, like we said, his smooth transition.— like we said, his smooth transition. �* . , ., ., �*, transition. a transition that's so smooth. _ transition. a transition that's so smooth, it'll—

transition. a transition that's so smooth, it'll be _ transition. a transition that's so smooth, it'll be as - transition. a transition that's| so smooth, it'll be as smooth as it — so smooth, it'll be as smooth as it can— so smooth, it'll be as smooth as it can get, and i very much appreciate that. i am gary o'donoghue _ appreciate that. i am gary o'donoghue at _ appreciate that. i am gary o'donoghue at the - appreciate that. i am gary o'donoghue at the white | appreciate that. i am gary - o'donoghue at the white house where donald trump and joe biden have been speaking for 50 minutes now after a minute of polite exchanges between these two sworn enemies. also on the programme, a palestinian militant group has released a video of an israeli hostage held in gaza since october 7. here, the father of sara sharif tells a court he takes full responsibility for the death of the ten—year—old found dead at her home near london last year. and the extraordinary story of the runaway beluga whale caught up in a russian spying row. we hear from the director of a new bbc documentary. hello and welcome to bbc news.

let's start at the white house, where donald trump is meeting