this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. a serving metropolitan police officer is charged with the kidnap and murder of sarah everard. 48—year—old wayne couzens will appear in court this morning. a vigil in sarah's memory has been cancelled. the police say the event would breach covid rules. the organisers will now fundraise for women's causes. more pressure on the governor of new york to resign over allegations of sexual misconduct, but andrew cuomo refuses to step down. italy announces new coronavirus restrictions to stop the number of new cases. schools, shops and restaurants will close from monday. a national service is held

in new zealand to remember the 51 people killed when a gunman opened fire at two mosques in christchurch in 2019. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. a metropolitan police officer will appear in court today, charged with the kidnap and murder of sarah everard, who went missing while walking home in south london, ten days ago. wayne couzens, who's a8, will appear at westminster magistrates�* court today. he was taken to hospital yesterday for a second time in two days, to be treated for a fresh head injury sustained in custody. a vigil planned for sarah everard on clapham common will now not take place, organisers have confirmed. charlotte wright reports.

it is ten days since sarah everard disappeared in south london. she was walking home. today a serving metropolitan police officer, 48—year—old wayne couzens, will appear before magistrates, charged with her kidnap and murder. it follows a large—scale police investigation spanning sites in london and kent, woodland in ashford, where her body was discovered, and 30 miles away in deal, where the suspect lives. sarah's family have, of course, been informed of this development and remain supported by specialist officers. i would like at this stage to pay tribute to sarah's family for their fortitude and forbearance through what can only have been the most intensely difficult few days. our thoughts remain with them as this matter progresses. wayne couzens is part of the parliamentary and diplomatic protection unit. previously he had guarded britain's nuclear power stations.

he had also served in the territorial army. since his arrest, he has been taken to hospital on two separate occasions after being found with head injuries inside his cell. for many, the disappearance of a woman just walking home has galvanised the demand for safer streets. the home office is now reopening a public consultation to help inform its strategy on tackling violence against women and girls, due to be published in the summer. the 33—year—old's death has made headlines across the world, but sarah's family and friends will remember her life. "we are very proud of her," they said. "she brought so much joy to our lives." charlotte wright, bbc news. and charlotte also sent us this update from clapham common in south london. the bandstand here on clapham common has become a bit of a focal point

for people to come and leave flowers and pay tribute to sarah. we are just a few yards from where she went missing. lots of people have come out this morning to lay flowers. just standing and having a moment of reflection. and i think that is what the organisers of the vigil had hoped forfour 6pm but the organisers of the vigil had hoped for four 6pm but we have the organisers of the vigil had hoped forfour 6pm but we have now heard that vigil has been cancelled. the organisers, third group called reclaim these streets said they repeatedly tried to find a way to hold the event this evening, making suggestions like staggering start times and splitting into time slots, saying it would be socially distanced, but it is against lockdown rules to hold a large mass gathering for any reason at the moment and the metropolitan police had been keen to impress that on people that the rules say you should not hold mass gatherings and organisers of those can receive pretty hefty fines. the group say

they are disappointed but they have strongly encouraged people not to turn up here this evening at 6pm when the vigil was planned and instead people are encouraged to light a candle and put it in the window are on the doorstep for a moment of reflection, fitting with lockdown restrictions. the group say they hope to raise money for charity instead, £320,000, and they say it would be the combined total if the organisers of all the vigil is planned across the country where to receive a £10,000 fine, how much money it would come to, so they hope to raise that money instead for women's charities. we're joined now by caitlin prowle, from reclaim these streets. the organisation was hoping to have a vigil this evening. you have been frustrated by the decision that it would breach coronavirus rules

preventing people gathering. some questions, did you think about this before you considered having the vigil, and what alternatives are you looking at to try to mark the understandable deep concern about women's safety? fin understandable deep concern about women's safety?— women's safety? on your first question. _ women's safety? on your first question. i — women's safety? on your first question, i think _ women's safety? on your first question, i think it _ women's safety? on your first question, i think it is - women's safety? on your first | question, i think it is important women's safety? on your first - question, i think it is important to emphasise we are well aware of the context here. we wanted safely to be the top priority from the beginning and that is the reason we engaged with the local police in lambeth and the local council and the metropolitan police more widely from the beginning. as people read, our statements said we had initially quite supportive indications from police and then yesterday that changed. we are disappointed but yesterday in court we consider it to be somewhat of a win, the judge

ruled the police are wrong to put a blanket ban on all protests under coronavirus legislation when it is red with the human rights act. while it has not worked out in our case, we are pleased and think it is important. your second question about alternatives, as mentioned in the report, we tried to find multiple ways through with the met police and where unsuccessful and it is a shame. but it does not end here by any stretch. we encourage people to light a candle in their street at 9:30pm to remember sarah everard and her life and the lives of so many women lost to violence of this kind. we also have a team working on online vigil events to be held this evening, to replace the physical one that we originally planned. the

awful context _ that we originally planned. the awful context is _ that we originally planned. the awful context is notjust the terrible news about sarah everard, her disappearance and death, but that these kinds of incidents, while proportionally rare, they happen and continue to happen, women attacked simply by being in our public place on their own, and potential vulnerabilities exploited. what can we do in terms of behaviour? 0lder viewers will remember a0 years ago, a serial killer in the north of england, women were told to stay at home. i think our attitude has changed, why should a man's behaviour, one individual with murderous intent, stop other people living their lives in an ordinary way? what do we still need to do to make that realistic and possible and make that realistic and possible and make women feel they have that safety and control of their own lives that they can do things like walk alone on the street at night?

it is an interesting question and a big question. what you are referencing they are, the decades having passed with this message to women that it is their responsibility to stay at home and stay safe, i don't think we have lost that. there has been a lot of that on social media in recent days. the police told women specifically in clapham to stay—at—home while the investigation was ongoing. i can appreciate the immediate need for safety, which is paramount, but i think what i have been thinking a lot about over the last couple of daysis lot about over the last couple of days is women don't need to be reminded or told to be safe or to be careful. certainly not speaking for myself, i don't need that reminder and i don't think anyone does. i think that is at the forefront of our minds every day. it is an immediate concern at all times. i agree we need to change the conversation. in terms of where we

go from here, i heard in the report that the government are opening a consultation and i would strongly encourage people to flood the responses to that, it is hugely important and a good step to take, and overdue, i would say. more widely we have to stop looking at individual behaviours, both women and, to be honest, maine. i think a lot of men have reached out in recent days and asked what they can do as individuals to make women feel safer on the streets. that is a compassionate way to approach this and i appreciate it but you do not solve an issue as big as this with individual changes and i think there are massive structural issues at play that must be addressed in terms of criminaljustice, the charity sector and funding to support women in these terrible situations, and for me as a campaigner that is where i would start. for me as a campaigner that is where i would start-—

new york's governor andrew cuomo says he will not bow to what he calls "cancel culture" and resign. there are growing calls for him to step down after allegations of sexual misconduct. us democratic senators chuck schumer and kirsten gillibrand havejoined the list of politicians saying he should go. paul hawkins reports. andrew cuomo, new york governor, but for how much longer? 0nce widely praised for his leadership during the first wave of coronavirus, he's now fighting for his political life. i did not do what has been alleged. period. there are often many motivations for making an allegation. seven women have now come forward making allegations against him, including sexual misconduct and assault. politicians who don't know a single fact but yet form a conclusion and an opinion are,

in my opinion, reckless and dangerous. the latest of those politicians includes chuck schumer, one of the most senior democrats in congress and the senate majority leader. along with fellow new york senator kirsten gillibrand, they released a statement, saying... but, they add... already, more than 55 democratic legislators in new york have signed a letter calling on him to step down. the city's mayor bill de blasio says he should go. so too some democrats in congress, including alexandra 0casio—cortez. and as for the white house... the president believes that every woman who has come forward deserves to have her voice heard, should be treated with

respect, and should be able to tell her story. there also is an independent investigation that is ongoing, of course, in the state, with subpoena power overseen by the attorney general, and he certainly supports that moving forward. andrew cuomo says he'll wait for the outcome of that investigation before deciding whether to step down. people know the difference between playing politics, bowing to cancel culture, and the truth. i'm not going to resign. but there's also another investigation, a federal one, into claims the state undercounted the true covid death toll in care homes. the pressure for him to go now could be too much. paul hawkins, bbc news. shops, schools and restaurants will close across much of italy from monday after the prime minister confirmed the country was now experiencing a third wave of coronavirus infections. cases have been rising steadily with more than 25,000 new infections now reported each day. 0ur rome correspondent mark lowen reports.

it's just over a year since italy imposed the world's first national lockdown of the pandemic. now, the first country in the west to be overwhelmed by covid is in a third wave. with cases rising for the past six weeks, exceeding 25,000 a day, italy is closing its doors again. from monday schools, shops and restaurants will shut in more than half the country. for three days over easter they will close nationwide. the new prime minister, mario draghi, said urgent action was needed. translation: i am aware that today's l restrictions will have consequences l in the education of your children, on the economy and on everyone's mental health but they are necessary to avoid a worsening of the situation that would require even stricter measures. it's a bleak situation in some other parts of europe, too. poland has seen its second highest daily number of cases since november and germany is reporting a rapid rise among schoolchildren, with new variants to blame. the speed of vaccination programmes

in most of the eu remains sluggish. italy has administered just over 6 millionjabs, about a quarter of the doses of the uk, with similar populations. austria's chancellor said vaccines were not being fairly distributed among the member states, with signs that some countries were striking side deals with manufacturers. mark lowen, bbc news, rome. the irish foreign minister, simon coveney, has accused the uk government of "perverse nationalism" for trying to get its own trade deal with the us. he said the eu, uk, us and canada should join together to reach a joint trade agreement rather than each racing to sign a deal. mr coveney has also called for talks to end the dispute over brexit border checks on goods going from britain to northern ireland. what the eu wants to do is resolve these issues through negotiation. to listen to business leaders in northern ireland, to understand what the problems with the implementation of the protocol are and try to accommodate their concerns.

that's what we all want to do. nobody wants disruption or rancour or division. we have had enough of that on brexit. at least three people have been shot dead by the security forces in myanmar, as protests continue across the country against last month's military coup. two men were killed in front of a police station in thaketa township in yangon, while a woman was shot dead in mandalay. images posted online show several severely injured people, including a buddhist monk. let's speak to aung now, an anti—coup protester from mandalay, where some of these killings happened. can you tell us what is happening when people turn out and strike to protest? fist when people turn out and strike to rotest? �* ., ., , ., ., ., , protest? at our demonstration it was a lot more calm _ protest? at our demonstration it was a lot more calm than _ protest? at our demonstration it was a lot more calm than what _ protest? at our demonstration it was a lot more calm than what happened | a lot more calm than what happened in mandalay. the demonstration where

the monk was shot, three people were killed. 0ne clarification i would like to make, the rally was at an end when the police showed up. they were basically they are not to break up were basically they are not to break up the protest or crack down on the protest, they were there to kill people, they killed three people and shot a monk. people, they killed three people and shot a monk-— people, they killed three people and shot a monk. presumably organisers are very careful— shot a monk. presumably organisers are very careful about _ shot a monk. presumably organisers are very careful about how— shot a monk. presumably organisers are very careful about how they - are very careful about how they disseminate information about where protests will take place and presumably the protests are quite short and sharp to prevent them becoming targets for this kind of action. , ., ., , ., action. yes, for example today the rotest action. yes, for example today the protest started _ action. yes, for example today the protest started gathering - action. yes, for example today the protest started gathering at - action. yes, for example today the protest started gathering at 9am i protest started gathering at 9am today. the police showed up at 10am. by today. the police showed up at 10am. by then the rally was already over, as i said. they were there to kill. they didn't have to, they didn't have to fire a single shot. people

were about to disperse. but the shot anyway. were about to disperse. but the shot an a . ~ . , ., ., anyway. what is the thing that would chan . e the anyway. what is the thing that would change the situation _ anyway. what is the thing that would change the situation any _ anyway. what is the thing that would change the situation any positive - change the situation any positive for you, change the situation any positive foryou, in change the situation any positive for you, in myanmar? change the situation any positive foryou, in myanmar? as change the situation any positive for you, in myanmar? as much as you would hope for a more international help, beyond sanctions it is unlikely there will be much else concrete to change things. can you change things within the country or will this pattern carry on where you try to protest, they try to kill you, another protest somewhere else, more death and injury, stuck in a terrible cycle of death and no resolution? we terrible cycle of death and no resolution?— terrible cycle of death and no resolution? we are stuck in a terrible cycle _ resolution? we are stuck in a terrible cycle of _ resolution? we are stuck in a terrible cycle of death. - resolution? we are stuck in a terrible cycle of death. we i resolution? we are stuck in a | terrible cycle of death. we are tired of waiting for the international community to help us. it is good to call for r2p and it is good that crp h and the doctor are

trying to raise awareness but i would call for full immunity for those in the security forces choosing to defect from their ranks. i don't think they are in love with their superiors, i don't think they are in love with theirsuperiors, paid i don't think they are in love with their superiors, paid well enough fed well enough. we believe when they are told to crackdown on protests, they are given one meal, breakfast, that is it. if we are able to and if the crp h could give them immunity from prosecution, i believe it would bring mass defection. believe it would bring mass defection-— believe it would bring mass defection. ., ~ , ., , defection. thank you. there is opposition _ defection. thank you. there is opposition saying _ defection. thank you. there is opposition saying the - defection. thank you. there is opposition saying the military| opposition saying the military regime should not have happened. now to the american city of minneapolis, and one

of the largest pre—trial settlements in us history, $27 million, to the family of george floyd. he's the african american man who died while being restrained by police officers in may last year. lawyers for his family say the city has agreed to settle in the civil case for damages. seperately, a former minneapolis police officer, derek chauvin, is standing trial on criminal charges, including third degree murder, following the incident. here's the floyd family lawyer, ben crump. the financial compensation most directly impacts george floyd and his family, the future of their family. but it is the policy reforms that affects all of us. today marks the one—year anniversary of the killing by police of breonna taylor in her apartment in the us. the police shot 26—year—old ms taylor eight times and no criminal charges have ever been brought over her death. her death sparked protests in her home city of louisville, kentucky, and across the country, and it became part of the wider

black lives matter movement. we can speak now to professor kehinde andrews from the university of birmingham. those cases happening relatively close together and focused huge attention on the much longer a problem in the us. how have they changed the political debate do you think? the changed the political debate do you think? .. , ., changed the political debate do you think? , ., ., , ., think? the fact it is a one year anniversary — think? the fact it is a one year anniversary of— think? the fact it is a one year anniversary of the _ think? the fact it is a one year anniversary of the killing - think? the fact it is a one year anniversary of the killing of. anniversary of the killing of breonna taylor, they have not brought in a new prosecutor, it sure is not much has changed. it is good there is a settlement in the george floyd case but we have seen that before in high profile things but in day—to—day experiences many more black people have been killed and

the treatment of breonna taylor and her family shows things have not changed at all. the circumstances for those who _ changed at all. the circumstances for those who don't _ changed at all. the circumstances for those who don't know - changed at all. the circumstances for those who don't know the - changed at all. the circumstances| for those who don't know the case changed at all. the circumstances i for those who don't know the case is that police officers entered the apartment, her boyfriend says he fired a shot into the air too, as he thought, warn off burglars because he thought someone was breaking in, there was no shout of police, the police fired back, multiple shots and miss taylor was killed. police liability for their actions seems to be a real problem in the us, even more so than in other countries. there is an accepted level of violence from the police. there were 22 shots blind into a house that killed breonna taylor. there is no accountability and you see it again and again in the us, that the police are allowed to get away with this wanton violence. a big settlement

for george floyd does not change that. , , ., . ~ that. the wider debate between black and white americans, _ that. the wider debate between black and white americans, something - that. the wider debate between black and white americans, something we | and white americans, something we can tap into in other parts of the world, europe and the uk, how has this opened up? it has had huge attention but i wonder about the day—to—day relationships people have. did you find with students, other people on campus, may be socially, has there been more of a debate on these questions in the last year or so? debate on these questions in the last year orso? 0r debate on these questions in the last year or so? or has it been a bit of a flash and melted away? we bit of a flash and melted away? - unfortunately get into a cycle with a big spectacle happening and we talk about it. the reason it resonates here as we have the same problems, please don't kill as many people here because they don't carry guns but you are more likely to die in police custody, be arrested etc. so it resonates here but there was a lot of talk last summer that everything was going to change and i

am not sure it is any different one year later. there has been a backlash and now we talk about race with the royal family and the national anthem. we have to talk about things that matter.- national anthem. we have to talk about things that matter. there has been mention _ about things that matter. there has been mention of— about things that matter. there has been mention of people _ about things that matter. there has been mention of people distorting l been mention of people distorting their behaviour as a result of it. parents having conversations with their children. before they go out as kids and teenagers, sorts of conversations that my white relatives and families would not have with their children, because they do not have that life experience. that is deeply corrosive, isn't it, if you are trying to build a society in which colour is not an issue?— trying to build a society in which colour is not an issue? yes, life is deel colour is not an issue? yes, life is deeply affected — colour is not an issue? yes, life is deeply affected by _ colour is not an issue? yes, life is deeply affected by racism. - colour is not an issue? yes, life is deeply affected by racism. thesel deeply affected by racism. these cases in the us as a reminder that it is a matter of life and death. the spectacle of the royal family, it is a spectacle, but meghan markle

saying she wanted to kill herself because of racism, it is a matter of life and death. there is racism and we have to take it seriously and understand it as a matter of life and death and not something we can put on the sidelines and talk about occasionally when there is a big story. it is everyday experience. thank you very much. a huge car bomb in herat in western afghanistan has killed at least eight people. the powerful blast also injured around 50 more, and destroyed more than a dozen houses. the united nations has condemned what it called an alarming increase in attacks deliberately targeting civilians, despite peace talks taking place between the taliban and the afghan government. no group has claimed it carried out the latest attack. on monday, two years will have passed since a gunman opened fire at the al noor and linwood mosques in christchurch, new zealand, killing 51 people. bereaved families joined religious and political leaders to honour those lives at a remembrance service on saturday, with the overarching theme of unity.

you are watching bbc news. more on the website. he was the teddy bear with magic powers that became a cartoon favourite among a generation of children, and now superted is being brought back to life once again. more than 35 years since his last adventure, his creators are working to recreate the show for a new audience. tomos morgan has the story. this is a story about an ordinary teddy bear. almost 35 years later and this little bear could be back on our screens once again... that bear became superted. ..foiling cigar wielding bank robbers and skeletons. oh, no. just when i was beginning to enjoy myself. the original idea behind superted came in the form of a bedtime story for the creator's stepson.

he was a bit afraid of the dark. i found myself standing in the bedroom with a tea towel in my hand, i'd been washing the dishes, there you are, and there was a teddy bear on the bed so i tied the tea towel round its neck and i said, "this teddy bear, he is also afraid of the dark but when he whispers a secret magic word he changes into superted." first broadcast on welsh language channel sac in november 1982, its success led to it being dubbed into 32 languages, beamed in over 100 countries, and it became a huge hit, even within the royal family. we had the superted children's ward at the princess of wales hospital. princess diana came down to open the ward etc and i was introduced to her and, first of all, don't forget she had two little boys at the time, she could give me chapter and verse

on superted, she could pitch superted to me. she knew all about superted. i didn't see anything to tickle my fancy. not even this? we will certainly have to pitch it to netflix and disney plus and hbo max and a lot of the big guys, because you're probably looking at investment of $10.5 to $11 million to make a full series. the plan is for the original superhero teddy bear to be upscaled into high—res first... i'm terribly sorry. yes, everyone makes mistakes. it's only human. ..before being reimagined into cgi. only one thing could top this little bear�*s reappearance for his creator. it's either superted or cardiff city winning the european cup, one or the other. it'll be another two years at least for this dream to become a reality but the curtains haven't closed just yet... i will use some cosmic dust. ..on a nostalgic resurrection of another animated superhero.

bubbling blancmange! where's texas pete? tomos morgan, bbc news, cardiff. the voices ofjon pertwee and derek griffiths. keepers at chester zoo are celebrating the birth of a rare kind of giraffe. the calf — who doesn't yet have a name — was born to mum 0rla on the 3rd of march. he's already six feet tall. the rothschild's giraffes are highly threatened in the wild and their numbers have halved in recent years. now it's time for a look at the weather with 0wain wyn evans. it has been rather unsettled over the past 2a hours. we have had low pressure nearby which has brought us very heavy spells of rain and blustery winds as well. that is the headline for the weekend. we are likely to see further showers, the winds will still be quite strong, but there are some sunny spells in the mix as well.

let's put some detail on the map for the rest of the day. we will see heavy showers continuing to move into northern ireland, western scotland, through the north west of england. further south and east it should eventually turn drier and this is where we will see the highest temperatures, about 10 celsius in the far south—east. still very blustery with wind gusts of up to 50 mph. 0vernight it will remain quite windy although i think the wind will gradually ease. these heavy showers will continue to feed in on the north—westerly wind, turning to sleet or snow on the hills, and we might hear the odd rumble of thunder. lows of around 1—2. tomorrow a dry start and then we see this feature pushing in from the west, introducing heavy spells of rain, sleet or snow on hills. top temperatures 11 celsius, and more settled next week.