scientists have discovered the largest single known piece of coral in the south—west pacific ocean. hello, i'm sarah campbell. we start in the united states. donald trump's republicans have taken control of both houses of congress, the body which passes laws in the united states. it means his party will control all the elected levers of power which will make it easier to fulfill his agenda when he becomes president in january. among his latest nominations, the president—elect has picked congressman matt gaetz as his attorney—general. he'd previousely been under investigation for sex and drug offences, which he denies. mr trump also plans to nominate florida republican senator marco rubio as secretary of state.

he's chosen the former democratic congresswoman tulsi gabbard as his director of national intelligence. on wednesday, the president—elect returned to the oval office for a meeting with presidentjoe biden. they both promised a smooth transfer of power injanuary. we'll have all the details, but first here's our north america correspondent rowan bridge. donald trump arrived in washington on a wave of success, a president—elect at the height of his powers. it's nice to win. it's always nice to win. the republicans now control the presidency and both chambers of congress — the house and the senate. that means they'll hold all of the elected levers of power. i will end inflation. i will stop the invasion of criminals into our country. and i will bring back the american dream. cheering on the campaign trail, donald trump promised to take the country in a very different direction. now he's poised to implement his ideas, and he has

the backing of the political leadership in congress. it could be, i believe it will be, the most consequential congress in the modern era, the most consequential administration of the modern era, because, frankly, we have to fix almost every area of public policy. so, what will be required of us is to plan deliberately and execute with precision. and that's what we're working on right now. thank you very much. and politics is tough. earlier, donald trump met with joe biden at the white house, a symbol of the changing of the guard that will happen in january. mr trump's moving quickly to nominate his team, but they'll have to be confirmed by the senate. his pick for defence secretary is pete hegseth, a former fox news host, who can't throw an axe. the drummer got quite a shock. now mr hegseth is set to shake up the military establishment, too. we should not have women in combat roles. it hasn't made us more effective, hasn't made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated.

gaetz. donald john trump. his pick for attorney general, the chief legal officer of the united states, is no less controversial. matt gaetz was investigated for child sex trafficking but never prosecuted. but he is something that donald trump holds dear — a loyal follower of the president's agenda. he voted to overturn the 2020 election result and will have the power to end the federal prosecutions of mrtrump. donald trump's choosing people in his own ideological image. from january, america will be taking a hard turn right. his picks reflect the new direction the united states will be taking. rowan bridge, bbc news, washington. what does this mean for trump presidency? let's speak to dr richard johnson, a senior lecturer in us politics and policy at queen mary's univesity london. what we know so far of the

nominations and what it tells us about the trump administrations. i us about the trump administrations. ., , administrations. i would put them into — administrations. i would put them into two _ administrations. i would put them into two categories. . administrations. i would put l them into two categories. the first people on donald trump's vice presidential shortlist and he has handed out good consolation prizes, i would say. these are marco rubio and others, although not appointed to cabinet level position. this happened microsecond group of people in congress, current or former members, very loyal to donald trump —— the second group. they stood by him in the impeachment hearings. they are the person nominated for epa administrator, matt gaetz, as mentioned, the proposed un ambassador, john ratcliffe, cia director. the extra percent you also mentioned pete hegseth who although was not serving in

congress, fox news host supportive of trump —— the extra person. these were people who are very loyal to trump, mostly former or current members of congress. but mostly former or current members of congress. but he is very clearly- -- — members of congress. but he is very clearly... they _ members of congress. but he is very clearly... they are - very clearly... they are loyalists, people who will support him and help what he wants to do, help put that into action. , ., _ wants to do, help put that into action. , ., ., action. yes, i would say to our action. yes, i would say to your viewers, _ action. yes, i would say to your viewers, we - action. yes, i would say to your viewers, we need - action. yes, i would say to your viewers, we need to l your viewers, we need to understand the traditions of a us presidential cabinet in contrast to a parliamentary cabinet like in the uk. in the us, people who were chosen to lead cabinet positions are usually expected to be people who have some deep knowledge of that area of policy, subject expert, not to say politicians do not get nominated to the cabinet, but usually they are very strongly associated with the policy area, contrasting with a parliamentary cabinet where in many parliamentary systems, the westminster model, the person who serves on the

cabinet is also a politician, a member of the house of commons, for example, in the british case. we are very familiar here in the uk with cabinets full of political appointees, people who are politicians, full—time politicians. this cabinet so far i think is unusually political for a far i think is unusually politicalfor a us presidential cabinet because he seems to have been selecting people with political loyalty as the overriding criteria and then trying to find some kind of subject expertise latterly. matt gaetz is not one of the most distinguished judicial mines in the us. in contrast to say the current attorney general and thejoe biden who had been a member of the dc circuit court, second highest court in the us. in the past, you have had attorney general is very senior legal officials.

matt gaetz credential for this is he has a law degree which is not saying that much.- is he has a law degree which is not saying that much. when you think about _ not saying that much. when you think about these _ not saying that much. when you think about these appointments | think about these appointments and talking about the fact loyalists... where are the checks and balances now, bearing in mind we know from this morning they have taken both houses of congress, the republicans?— both houses of congress, the reublicans? ,, ., ., , republicans? the senate has the constitutional _ republicans? the senate has the constitutional responsability - constitutional responsability to advise and consent on presidential nominations, so under the constitution, the nominations would need to be approved by the senate. president—elect trump has a majority in the senate, so in one respect we would respect these to sail through, even if he has some internal objections, he can lose three republican votes and still have the majority to get them through because the vice president has the casting vote in the senate. what is extraordinary is president—elect trump has already spoken about asking republican senate and effect to put itself out to pasture, go into recess, to give him the

ability to install his cabinet without even having to get the votes of the senate. the president has the ability to install recess appointments when the sun it is not setting but it would be unprecedented for the senate to voluntarily take itself out of action in orderfor the president to take itself out of action in order for the president to fill the cabinet without senate confirmation.— the cabinet without senate confirmation. . ,. ., ., ., confirmation. fascinating, good to talk to you. _ confirmation. fascinating, good to talk to you, dr _ confirmation. fascinating, good to talk to you, dr richard - to talk to you, dr richard johnson, senior lecturer at queen mary university london. weather red alerts have been lifted in southern and eastern spain. overnight, large parts the country were hit with more torrential rain, just two weeks after more than 220 people died in flash flooding in valencia. it's the same weather system affecting malaga and other parts of southern and eastern spain. this map shows the areas worst affected. valencia, which is still recovering from a year's worth of rain injust eight hours last month, may now be hit with several months of rainfall. will vernon reports.

spanish streets deluged once again. this time the province of malaga bore the brunt of the storm. thousands were evacuated away from rivers that had burst their banks. local residents struggled to get to safety. hospitals, schools and transport were disrupted. emergency services warned people to expect more flash floods here over the coming hours. and in valencia region, people are braced for further flooding to come. the alert level in some areas has now been raised to red. translation: they have told us to go home - because of the storm. heavy rains are coming so we should stay at home and in high areas if we can. only two weeks have passed since more than 200 people were killed here in spain's

worst natural disaster in decades, after a year's worth of rain fell in just one day. while the latest storm isn't expected to be as strong, large amounts of mud remain and drainage systems are blocked — even small amounts of rain could lead to more misery. experts say this year's floods have been made much worse by climate change. we know that there are links to climate change. we know that when we have storms that are otherwise conducive for the production of very intense thunderstorms and rainfall, a warming atmosphere allows those storms to contain significantly more moisture. but many spaniards blame the authorities for their plight, saying the lack of readiness and slow response to the floods has only made things worse. the spanish government has admitted mistakes were made. will vernon, bbc news. extraordinary pictures. let's speak to andrew poole,

an expat who now lives in benamargosa, one of the worst—affected towns. thank you for speaking to us on bbc news. take us through the situation where you are now. we are about _ situation where you are now. - are about 40 minutes away from malaga in a little village in the mountains, very much a rural village. the mountains, very much a ruralvillage. normally the mountains, very much a rural village. normally the river that flows through is dry, used as the local car park actually. we got an alert on our phone the evening before the storms hit, red alert. the water started to come down and it did not stop and it got worse under water levels started to teatime yesterday, the river itself burst its banks in the heart of the village, as you can see behind me. emergency services, locals, everyone coming together, working through the night to try to clear some of the roads so people trapped by floodwaters, emergency services can get in to see them. everyone's houses, businesses,

fully decimated, so sad. i everyone's houses, businesses, fully decimated, so sad.- fully decimated, so sad. i am so sorry. _ fully decimated, so sad. i am so sorry, we're _ fully decimated, so sad. i am so sorry, we're just _ fully decimated, so sad. i am so sorry, we're just showing. so sorry, we're just showing pictures. a lot of criticism in valencia about lack of help from local authorities, how much support have people been getting where you are? we have been very lucky- _ getting where you are? we have been very lucky. the _ getting where you are? we have been very lucky. the red - been very lucky. the red morning, a lot more casualties. i don't think there have been any here. we were fully prepped to stay indoors and stay away from floodwaters. the authorities themselves have been on site since the banks burst, in boats risking own lives, no complaints from the locals at this end in benamargosa. i locals at this end in benamargosa. locals at this end in benamaraosa. . , ., ., benamargosa. i imagine you have been seeing _ benamargosa. i imagine you have been seeing the _ benamargosa. i imagine you have been seeing the pictures - benamargosa. i imagine you have been seeing the pictures from - been seeing the pictures from valencia, we knew what happened there, and when red weather alerts were issued yesterday, you must have been fearing the worst. andrew, not sure if you can hear me. thinking about seeing the red weather alerts, knowing what had happened recently in valencia, you must have been fearing what could possibly happen where you are.

yeah, very much so. first red alert ever issued in malaga province. height and everyone's senses, people have been more sensible than they perhaps would have been otherwise. good to talk to, — would have been otherwise. good to talk to, hopefully _ would have been otherwise. good to talk to, hopefully the - to talk to, hopefully the clearer continues. far as you have been aware, no casualties. hope that continues. all the best you and the people there. thank very much. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

welcome back. india's capital delhi has overtaken the pakistani city of lahore as the most polluted city on earth. according to the swiss group iqair, delhi's air pollution index had reached 418 on thursday, which is defined as severe. a good rating is between zero and 50. the indian city has to deal

with smog every winter as cold air traps dust, emissions and smoke from fires. joining me now is our india correspondent arunoday mukharji, who's in delhi, and our pakistan correspondent caroline davies. let us start in delhi, this is a world title no one really wants to achieve, what is it like there with that level of pollution? it like there with that level of pollution?— like there with that level of pollution? it is certainly not the kind of— pollution? it is certainly not the kind of pack _ pollution? it is certainly not the kind of pack india - pollution? it is certainly not the kind of pack india would like to show off to the world as it tries to project an image of a developing country that is trying to make a name for itself on the global stage. not sure how much you can make out behind me. iam sure how much you can make out behind me. i am on a very busy road. the buildings behind me are clouded in a thick blanket of smog, that is the kind of picture that greets us almost every morning for the past few days. when you step outside of

the houses, our homes, a burning sensation in your eyes, your eyes start watering very fast, your throat starts itching, there is a shortness of breath because you are trying to breathe in as little as possible, i know it sounds difficult, psychologically, you start trying to take shorter breaths. some people have the option of staying indoors, keeping doors and windows shut, keeping doors and windows shut, keeping very expensive air purifiers on 24/7. many other people cannot afford purifiers, whose jobs are outdoors. you can see the traffic gives you a sense of how many people need to be out and about and it is the reality for a majority of the reality for a majority of the residents at the national capital region as they braved this kind of hazardous weather and he pointed out some of the figures. we feel the impact of the figures. the biggest concern is doctors and experts have said several families have gone to doctors with respiratory complaints over the last week at least, recorded by

various surveys conducted. there is a big concern especially for the elderly as well as children. this entire area is a suburb of delhi which has a lot of residential high—rise and all of them have a common park. you see a lot of children coming out to play. at that site has completely disappeared over the last few days because parents do not want to send their children. imagine the numbers you have mentioned, small children coming out to play in this kind of air, certainly a huge cause for concern. it is an annual affair. but experts say the government st