this is bbc news, i'm mike embley. our top stories: hope — as the world marks exactly a year since the pandemic was declared, with the vaccine now reaching some of the most cut—off communities. the motion is adopted. nearly $2 trillion approved by lawmakers to kick—start the us economy, with some of the money going straight into americans' pockets. fallout continues from the oprah interview — it's revealed meghan complained to itv herself about comments made by piers morgan. people injapan return to the ocean to pay tribute to those killed in the tsunami ten years ago to the day.

hello to you. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. it's exactly one year since the world health organization officially declared the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic — that's the point the disease was confirmed as a truly global problem. covid—19 has so far claimed 2.6 million lives, but there's hope corners of the world. our global health correspondent, naomi grimley, has been looking at the pandemic, one year in. it's been a year that most of us will remember for the rest of our lives. one of grief and loneliness on a scale none of us could've imagined. it's exactly 12 months since the world health organization officially sounded the alarm about the seriousness

of covid—19. we have therefore made the assessment that covid—19 can be characterised as a pandemic. and yet, after a whirlwind of scientific discoveries, we're now seeing vaccines being distributed to some of the most remote communities on earth. in brazil, they've mounted a vaccination campaign reaching reservations and villages like this one, deep in the amazon jungle. translation: i'm happy. we are grateful for the vaccination, so we will not catch the disease and my people will get better. because of a new variant spreading there, brazil has seen some of the worst death toll figures since the pandemic began in the last few days. but overall, scientists are positive about bringing the pandemic to an end. we're in a much more powerful situation because we understand so much more about the virus now. so i am very optimistic of the future, i think we have a better handle on the virus, and we're able to keep up, i suppose,

with the race against an evolving virus. this graph shows some of the differences in pace, however, of vaccination rates globally. chile, israel, and the us have powered ahead. faring less well are brazil, russia, and china. in europe, there's been a huge amount of disquiet over disappointing vaccination rates. the situation in france has not been helped by negative remarks from president macron about the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine, which he later retracted. this family doctor is doing his best to persuade reluctant patients. translation: there's always a hesitation, i and we have to convince some patients. that's time and energy used. if we don't have support, both from government and media, it's hard to go up from there. patients trust us — but only to a certain extent. meanwhile, the international covax programme says it's delivered over 20 million doses to more than 20 developing countries, mostly in africa.

but it's really only enough to vaccinate key medical workers. whether it's drive—through vaccinations in la or doctors and nurses in nigeria — get ready for an increasingly divided world, depending on who's been vaccinated and who hasn't. with over 2.6 million deaths in the pandemic so far, everyone can agree that much better protections are needed to ensure it never happens again. naomi grimley, bbc news. one year on since the pandemic was declared, three of our correspondents look back at what's happened in shanghai, rome and johannesburg — and what the situation is there now. we start in china, where covid—i9 was first discovered, with our correspondent

robin brant. this is the place where it all began and it started as an outbreak in a small part of a city. it went on to become an epidemic and now it is a global pandemic. but here, 15 months on from that, in the country where it all started, things are pretty much normal. in shanghai everyone wears a mask, but the buses are running, the banks open and the restaurants are doing business. most of the schools across this country have been teaching face—to—face since last august. and people are travelling in the millions on the planes, on trains, but china is a country shut off from the rest of the world. almost no—one is allowed in internationally. it is rolling out vaccines. there are three home—made versions at the moment, but it's doing it slowly. it's aiming to get almost half the population having had those jabs, but not until this summer.

at the same time it's using some of that stock to help other countries abroad and also to try to win diplomatic favour. now, china's official version of how it dealt with coronavirus is one of success. and look at the official numbers, in a country of 1.4 billion people, 15 months on from the outbreak they have had 180,000 cases, according to the official numbers, and just under 5,000 deaths. this week marks a year since italy became the first country in the world to impose a nationwide lockdown and one year on the situation is again not looking good. with the infection curve arising here and the r—value, the spread of the virus going back above one again within the last week, italy is thought to be in a third wave. it's become the second country in europe to surpass 100,000, deaths after the uk, and fatalities remain high at 300—400 today. the government of the new prime minister, mario draghi, is tightening restrictions with different regions in different tiers — yellow, orange, and red —

but he's under pressure to tighten further and faster with supporter growing for a more stringent lockdown despite the dire economic impact. italy's economy shrank by about 9% last year. the vaccination roll—out here is rather sluggish. italy has administered 5.8 million doses, but that's a lower dose of per 100,000 people than the rest of europe, including spain, greece, and portugal. it's been a year since - south africa recorded its worst case of coronavirus. the country went from a mere two cases at the beginning - of march last year to . currently reaching over 1.5 million infections. and with more than 50,000 deaths, this is the worst - affected countryl on the continent. a third wave is expected - here during the winter months and there are fears that less than half the population - will have been - vaccinated by then. president biden's massive coronavirus relief package has cleared its final hurdle

in the us congress. the economic aid plan — worth almost $2 trillion — was approved by the house of representatives without a single republican vote in favour. the bill includes a one—off payment of $1,a00 for most americans and extends weekly unemployment benefits, as well as providing funding for vaccine distribution, and re—opening schools. our washington correspondent, lebo diseko, has more. this is a huge victory for democrats and president biden's first major piece of president to be made into common law. speaking up there past, democratic leaders of congress said bill would give vital help to americans.— said bill would give vital help to americans. you will receive $1400 checks _ to americans. you will receive $1400 checks by _ to americans. you will receive $1400 checks by the - to americans. you will receive $1400 checks by the end - to americans. you will receive $1400 checks by the end of. $1400 checks by the end of march. help is on the way. vaccines will be available far more quickly to far more people. more quickly to far more maple-— more quickly to far more --eole. , , ., ., people. help is on the way! for man , people. help is on the way! for many. that _ people. help is on the way! for many. that is — people. help is on the way! for many, that is sorely _ people. help is on the way! for many, that is sorely needed. i many, that is sorely needed. the economy is down 9.5 million jobs from february last year.

and around 40% of americans say they are still feeling the financial impact of the pandemic. i financial impact of the pandemic.— financial impact of the andemic. ., , pandemic. i do need help right now. pandemic. i do need help right nova more _ pandemic. i do need help right now. more than _ pandemic. i do need help right now. more than ever. - pandemic. i do need help right now. more than ever. single . now. more than ever. single mother christy _ mother christy was laid off in november. it mother christy was laid off in november-— november. it is like having a hue november. it is like having a huge anxiety _ november. it is like having a huge anxiety attack - november. it is like having a huge anxiety attack every . huge anxiety attack every single day. huge anxiety attack every single day-— single day. the motion is adapted- _ single day. the motion is adopted. this _ single day. the motion is adopted. this was - single day. the motion is adopted. this was a - single day. the motion is adopted. this was a vote | adopted. this was a vote strictly on _ adopted. this was a vote strictly on party - adopted. this was a vote strictly on party lines, i adopted. this was a vote | strictly on party lines, not adopted. this was a vote i strictly on party lines, not a single republican voted for it in either chamber of congress. they say democrats sidelined their concerns and the bill contains beings that are unrelated to the pandemic. this isn't a rescue _ unrelated to the pandemic. this isn't a rescue bill, _ unrelated to the pandemic. this isn't a rescue bill, it _ unrelated to the pandemic. ti 3 isn't a rescue bill, it isn't a relief bill, it's a laundry list of left—wing priorities that predate the pandemic and do not meet the needs of american families. no wonder even how's democrats have said they are embarrassed by what is in it. �* , , in it. but despite the criticism, _ in it. but despite the criticism, mr - in it. but despite the criticism, mr biden l criticism, mr biden insist this is a win for everyone.- is a win for everyone. this bill represents _ is a win for everyone. this bill represents a _ is a win for everyone. this bill represents a historic, | bill represents a historic, historic victory for the american people. a look forward

to signing it later this week. joe biden began his term looking to work across the political aisle, although he met with them early on, both he and democrats decided early on to advance this bill anywhere that didn't require republican votes are. but the president will need them to past future legislation, including upcoming bill on infrastructure, that support looks unlikely to be forthcoming. lebo diseko, bbc news, washington. i spoke to professor teresa ghilarducci, economist at the new school for social research and i said politics aside this was a big deal. right. as an economist, this is a huge deal and it's really welcome for the us economy and for the world economy. it's $1.9 trillion, over $3 trillion has already been spent, about $3 trillion that's already been spent,

and it'sjust the kind of fiscal stimulus that this deep recession needs, the recession in the us and the recession in the rest of the world, caused by the disease, the disease also triggered a recession. so i'm happy today. and the stock market is happy today. as an economist, speaking in economic terms, what, then, do you then make of the republican argument it's kind of "unfocused", a "grab bag", a "laundry list of left—wing priorities", as kevin mccarthy said, and also, socialism of the kind that people on the right would say is not appropriate for the united states, and in some ways, bigger than it actually needs to be? uh, so, there's a lot there. as an economist, we look at how much fiscal policy we need to have the appropriate multiplier to get people back to work, and this is about the right size. so, no matter what it's spent on, we know this from keynesian economics back from the great depression, we need to jump—start the economy, the private sector economy, with temporary fiscal spending, so it's right out of the textbooks, and the size is correct. the republicans, through a lot of criticism towards the bill and many of them were wrong.

it does not speak of socialism at all, because this is public money given to private households so they can buy private goods. there's going to be more demand for goods and services from for—profit companies, and that's why the outlook for for—profit companies and for profits is so encouraging right now. because this is way — far away from a socialist bill. there's hardly any public investment in the bill. so that's wrong. and the other thing that is wrong that republicans say is that the economy is strong and doesn't need it. the labour market is very, very weak. we have 10 million people out of work and the way we're going, if the economy is left on its own, we wouldn't get to the jobs that we had a year ago.

so, the economy is soft. and this is welcomed by for—profit companies, so there is really nothing, again, in the republican criticism except (inaudible) that i can see has any economic merit. and often they do, but this criticism today from the house republicans was not based on economics. there is quite a bit not in it, isn't there? there's nothing on pensions, it doesn't really change the balance of power between employers and employees, it doesn't improve the minimum wage. it is likely the child tax credit is a long—term game changer? let's talk about the balance of power between labour and employers or labour and capital. before this pandemic, even the big, private hedge funds were talking about how the balance of power and the wealth inequality has gotten too far, and they admitted that workers — most workers in the united states — did not have what they deserve because of a decline in union and because of the erosion of the minimum wage.

that — none of that is in the bill. the labour market is so soft that when workers go back to work, they will likely be on employers' terms. and the companies working from the recession will be bigger and stronger, so this is a pro—monopoly recession and recovery. now, let's talk about the childcare tax credit. that was amazing to me, and to most economists that were watching — all the good ideas but never got implemented — i think two things made it possible for the child tax credit to be in the bill. one was that mitt romney, a republican, a pro—natalist, pro—child republican, said we needed it, and second, the recession really hurt women and children, and young families with children the hardest. so it's a temporary provision as well, nothing permanent is in the bill. but temporarily, families with children will get relief from the tax code. and that's directly related to the disease

and the recession. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: 10 years on from the fukushima nuclear disaster, ourjapan correspondent returns to the site to meet the people whose lives were changed irrevocably on that day in march 2011. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this, the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 24 hours, then, the soviet union lost an elderly sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years his junior. we heard these

gunshots in the gym. then he came out through a fire exit and started firing at our huts. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged 41, - sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, i travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an eight—car convoy. i paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. what are you going to do now? is it going to change your life much, do you think? i don't know, really — i've never been married before! this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: one year on from the moment the who declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, there's hope as vaccine supplies reach some of the world's most cut—off communities. president biden has scored an important victory after just 50 days in office, with

the house of representatives approving his covid stimulus package worth almost $2 trillion. the duchess of sussex has reportedly filed a formal complained with the british broadcaster itv about the conduct of presenter piers morgan and the alleged effect of his comments on those suffering with mental health issues. piers morgan resigned as host of good morning britain after saying he didn't believe a word of meghan markle's interview with oprah winfrey. our media editor amol rajan has been looking at the way morgan's brand of personality—led news is changing the media landscape. from the conversation of... "he won't be given security". from race to mental health, and progressive californian values to the british monarchy. and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born. what? ..every element of this story about prince harry and meghan markle is catnip for the frenzy and theory

of today's culture wars, in which all of us are pitched against each other and expected to take a side. has she said anything about you... sometimes it boils over. i don't think she has and yet you continue to trash her. ok, i'm done with this. broadcaster piers morgan left itv yesterday, unwilling to apologise for saying he didn't believe meghan's claims. her team had complained to the broadcaster. morgan was bullish this morning. i believe in freedom of speech, i believe in the right to be allowed to have an opinion. if people want to believe meghan markle, that's entirely their right. into this heady brew, britain is about to launch a new experiment, partly inspired by america. and while piers was busy throwing a fit before he quit, the all white teenybopper trump fan club was getting equally hysterical about the interview. in the us, cable news is no longer regulated. it prioritises personality and opinion in prime—time slots, from the liberal msnbc to the right—wing fox news. britain still has a broadcast regulator, ofcom, but is moving in the same direction.

more than 30 years after he was the launched chairman of sky, former sunday times editor and ex—bbc broadcaster andrew neil is playing the same role for gb news, a soon—to—launch centre—right antidote to established broadcasters. will we be different from the existing networks? yes, because they all do the same thing. so what's the point in doing what they do? will we cover stories a different way? yes. will we give voices to people outside the metropolitan consensus? yes. do we have any interest in fox news? no. disinformation? no. conspiracy theories? no. between impartiality within programmes and balance across a network that the likes of radio station lbc have navigated. in an age of super abundant information, our attention becomes the most precious resource. and the momentum within our news culture is with those who can best grab

that attention. but generating noise is easy. generating news is hard and expensive. gb news will galvanise british broadcasting, but it will do so mainly by accelerating trends that we're already seeing online and in america, toward big personalities. we do not need further division by creating a system of broadcasting where people only see the opinions that they like. i must listen to opinions i don't agree with and i don't like, that's how i come to know the truth. once upon a time, the news was the star. in the new world, it's the stars who will be the news. amol rajan, bbc news. lawmakers in mexico's lower house have voted to legalise the recreational use of marijuana. the bill will now pass to the senate for a final vote.

if the bill becomes law, mexico will be the world's largest cannabis market, potentially disrupting the country's powerful drug cartels. it's exactly 10 years since japan was hit by a giant 9.0 earthquake that triggered a massive tsunami which crashed in to the coast less than an hour later. people are gathering along the shoreline to remember the thousands who were killed. the disaster also triggered a meltdown at the country's fu kushima nuclear plant. our correspondent rupert wingfield hayes has been meeting people who were affected. a major earthquake hitjapan on friday afternoon... 11 march, 2011. on the northeast coast of japan, a huge earthquake has triggered a giant tsunami. live pictures are broadcast around the world as the wave sweeps through the little fishing port of yuriagi, destroying everything in its path. by the end of the day, one in ten of yuriagi's residents are missing. among them are kiyokazu sasaki's whole family, including his wife and 14—year—old daughter.

ten years on, sasaki—san takes me to the place his house once stood. clutched in his arms, his most precious possession — his daughter's school uniform. all that he has to remember her by. translation: in the beginning, i was drinking heavily. i really don't remember much of the first three years after the earthquake. after four years, i started to tell my story. i had a fight with my wife that morning before the quake struck. so now, i tell people, "what would you do if tomorrow never comes?" i tell them to live every single day as if you don't have tomorrow. down the coast, the tsunami triggered a second disaster at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. explosions ripped through the reactor buildings, releasing a huge radioactive cloud. today, the two towns closest to the fukushima plant remain deserted,

frozen in time. the plant itself is now circled by vast waste dumps. underneath these green sheets are millions of tonnes of contaminated topsoil. unlike with chernobyl, the japanese government has set out to decontaminate the land here around the fukushima plant. vast areas of topsoil have been removed, creating millions and millions of tonnes of waste. and here behind me, you can see new towns being built for the nuclear evacuees. and in large part, it's been a success — the radiation levels here are very low, and it is safe for people to return to live here. unfortunately, that's no guarantee that they will. yoshihiro shiga is struggling to open the door to his deserted and badly—damaged workshop. after ten years, the roof is falling in. this is where his family made pottery for 300 years. but shiga—san now has no desire to see this place decontaminated.

translation: this place may look like a mess. but i want it to be left alone. i don't want others to come in and trample on everything. on the spot where his house once stood, sasaki—san has planted three pine trees to commemorate those he lost. nearby, a huge new seawall has been built to protect yuriagi from future tsunamis. but he, too, has no desire to return to live here next to the ocean that took his family from him ten years ago. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in yagi, northern japan.

some live pictures from india were people are gathering on the banks of the ganges, for the first day of the religious festival, a major festival and pilgrimage, celebrated in 12 year cycles. government officials have put a number of measures in place for this including testing to stop the spread of covid—19. and, before we go, a bit of bird news. for the northern royal albatross flying is an effortless act, but when it comes to landing, well, that can be a different story. the albatross often has trouble coming back down to earth because of its narrow wings, which make it harder for the bird to fly slowly.

who amongst us get it right all the time? you can reach me on twitter — i'm @embleymike hello. march may have come in like a lamb, but the lion has now arrived early. and, after a stormy night, we have a very windy thursday to come — yes, some sunshine, but also heavy, blustery showers. all around an area of low pressure that's sitting to the north of us, but the tightly—packed isobars right across us indicating that wherever you are, thursday will be a very windy day. but it's england and wales bearing the brunt of the strongest, most disruptive winds, particularly early in the day as we see this area of wet weather move across northern england, wales, the midlands, and on towards east anglia. first thing in the day, the strongest winds will be wales, western england, gusting up to 70 mph, maybe more exposed coastal hills, especially in wales, very rough seas and large waves hitting the coastline here, so that could be disruptive in terms of flooding. and the winds across england

and wales as they continue to gust, 50—60 mph, maybe a little bit more in places during the morning, could be disruptive before easing gradually into the afternoon. weather—wise, wherever you are, it is sunshine and blustery showers from heavy hail and thunder. these are your wind gusts at the end of the afternoon, so they're easing a bit in england and wales, but still very windy in northern ireland — in fact, the winds picking up again in northwest scotland, approaching 60 mph at this stage. single figures in scotland and northern ireland, 9—12 celsius in england and wales. and it remains very blustery overnight thursday and into friday. further showers around increasingly falling as snow into the hills of scotland, perhaps northern ireland, into the pennines, as well — some here with a covering of snow at the higher ground as friday starts. and these are your temperatures. and then, for friday, spot the difference — yes, there'll be drier moments and sunshine, but there'll be further heavy showers around, some with hail and thunder, and still falling as snow into the hills of scotland, northern ireland, northern england, perhaps into wales at times, too, the higher

up you are. and, ifanything, perhaps a little bit cooler on friday. and then, into the weekend, well, still low pressure. a frontal system bringing more wet weather more widely overnight and into saturday. then saturday, it's sunshine and showers. bit of a lull first thing sunday, but this weather system bringing more rain at least into western parts as we go on through sunday. so, a selection of locations here for your sunday weather. and then, looking into next week, well, it turns drier and calmer once again, as that march lamb makes a comeback.

this is bbc news. the headlines: it's one year on from the moment the world health organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. despite more than 2.6 million deaths and at least 117 million confirmed cases in just about every country on earth, the source of the virus has still not been scientifically confirmed. president biden's massive coronavirus relief package has cleared its final hurdle in the us congress. the economic aid plan worth almost $2 trillion was approved by the house of representatives without a single republican vote in favour. the bill includes a one—off payment of $1,400 for most americans. thousands of pilgrims are gathering on the banks of the ganges river for the start of the kumbh mela hindu festival. officials have put a number of measures in place — including testing — to help stop the spread of coronavirus. india's government says devotees who flout guidelines will be prosecuted.