this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. our top stories, the eu's biggest nations suspend use of the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine, after a number of cases of blood clots. but the world health organisation says there's no proof of any link, and that countries should continue to use the vaccine. the un's secretary general says he's appalled by the escalating violence in myanmar at the hands of the military. the sister of north korea's leader, has said the us must avoid causing a stink if it wants peace — as america's top diplomat arrives in the region. it's a moment that each of these nominees will never forget.

and the nominations are out for this year's delayed oscars — so who's in the running for an academy award? hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world — and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. the biggest member states of the european union have now joined the list of nations questioning the performance of the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine. germany, france, spain and italy are all taking the precautionary measure of suspending use of the vaccine because of fears about possible side—effects, including blood clots. the astrazeneca vaccine has already been suspended in the netherlands, ireland, iceland, bulgaria, denmark and norway. the world health organisation, along with the eu's very

own medicines regulator, says there is no justification for the temporary ban and leading british scientists insist the vaccine is safe. our medical editor fergus walsh has the latest. a public display of confidence in the oxford astrazeneca vaccine from northern ireland's chief medical officer today. by contrast, you cannot have the jab in the irish republic, in france, germany and is a growing list of eu countries which have temporarily suspended its use. this is a safe, effective vaccine as recommended by mhra. let's remember, this virus kills people, kills people my age, younger people and older people and the benefits are strongly in favour of people getting this vaccine at that time. the eu roll—out was already lagging well behind that of the uk. france has said it will wait for a safety analysis from the european medicines agency due tomorrow, before deciding whether to restart using

the oxford astrazeneca vaccine. translation: the decision - which is being taken is to suspend, as a precaution of vaccinating with the astrazeneca vaccine, in the hope we can carry on quickly if the opinion of the european medicines agency allows. ten european countries have suspended the use of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine pending safety investigations. germany, itlay, france, the netherlands and spain are the latest. ireland paused at the weekend following denmark, iceland. several other countries, including austria have stopped using certain batches of the vaccine. that leaves several eu nations using the jab, which has been approved in over 70 countries around the world. astrazeneca says more than 17 million people in the uk

and european union have now had its vaccine. that fewer than a0 cases of blood clots have been reported. it says the risks of having a clot are significantly lower among those who have been vaccinated compared to the general population. we know that blood clots are remarkably common and we would expect them to happen in one to two people per thousands, per year. which is a very large number. and much higher than the sorts of levels we are talking about in this particular report. scientists in the uk are frankly baffled by the decisions made in the eu. there is concern that the pause in using the astrazeneca jab will cost lives because people will not be protected from covid and that it will damage public confidence in a highly effective vaccine. fergus walsh, bbc news. and we will have more on the vaccine just shortly in this programme. there has been fresh condemnation of myanmar�*s military,

following yet another day where the army used lethal force against unarmed protestors. the united nations secretary—general antonio guterres said he was appalled by the escalating violence. he accused the military of killings, arbitrary arrests and the reported torture of prisoners, in defiance of un calls for a return to democracy. latest estimates from an activist group say twenty more people were shot dead on monday. the assistance association for political prisoners said 7a people were killed on sunday, in the worst single day of brutality by the security forces since the army coup last month. the group said a total of 183 people have died at the hands of the security forces. a virtual court hearing for myanmar�*s ousted civilian leader, aung san suu kyi, was adjourned because of reported internet problems. our south east asia correspondent jonathan head told us more about the dramatic events of the weekend.

we are all reeling from looking at these images. and seeing the dreadful injuries people suffered and the numbers were so much higher than in previous episodes of violence. and also video of the security forces deliberately shooting people, completely uncaring and some of the dreadful treatment they administered to people, people who are dying, wounded, dragged off like animals. this is an army and police force showing total disregard for the lives and welfare of the people they are supposed to protect. and they seem to be revelling in taking on these huge neighbourhoods, large areas of the country which are rebelling against them as though they are fighting a war against an enemy, and we saw the casualties rise significantly over the weekend because they went in to two industrial neighbourhoods where the resistance to the military coup was well—organised and strong and it seemed as though the military saw this as a challenge decided to teach them a lesson. the difference between this uprising

and the one they all remember in 1998 when they use equally more savage for us which had been in nationwide uprising then people were rising up against decade of military misrule. today they are rising up preserve the ten years of progress towards a more open country which brought enormous benefits despite its many, many problems. particular to younger people. they know what they've got in those last ten years and they've heard but their parents didn't have. and it's a desperate attempt to stop this qquu from becoming permanent. they know that if the military crushes all resistance the rest of the world particularly asian countries will start doing business with them and the military will then decide how long it stays and powerful to the mindset of the military i think terrifies them. the military mindset it sees itself as the sole guarantor of unity and is having a right to run the country and plunder it as it sees fit. i think these young people have now got the support of much of

the population saying, we have to try and stop this now. if we can't stop there now entrenching their rule will be stuck with them for many years afterwards. rule will be stuck with them for many years afterwards. jonathan head reporting. let's speak now to gwen robinson — she is a senior fellow at the institute of security and international studies at chulalongkorn university in bangkok. thank you forjoining us. i'm not sure if you are able to hear what jonathan think thatjonathan had to stay there. he was talking about the 1988 uprising for some help fearful are you that the military might escalate this yet further? fearful. i think it's absolutely _ escalate this yet further? fearful. i think it's absolutely inevitable i i think it's absolutely inevitable and i agree with his take. i think the real new thing about this significant escalation of brutality and obvious strategy now that has become very clear that all, there is no bar is now on military violence. i think there are probably directives to shoot to kill. also to

and handbag bodies of people who have been taken was up have been handed back to relatives, some of them horribly mutilated. it's all designed to spread fear and i think the military strategy is to partly use this kind of intimidation. in fact, i think that's backfired because what we're seeing on the street shows that people are angrier than ever. obviously it's a much smaller core than what we saw in the first weeks of the coup where there were as grannies and small children's on the street. these are very hard very committed young protesters who seem to be willing to die for their cause. i think what's really new is that right now we are seeing i think, new militancy on the part of the protesters. were seeing photographs of the last few days of little bands of protesters arming themselves with at this stage i've

only seen swords. many analysts fail it's inevitable that the next stage could be getting hold of weapons and fighting back. which would mean civil war? yes. fighting back. which would mean civilwar? yes. i fighting back. which would mean civil war? yes. iwas fighting back. which would mean civil war? yes. i was going to say that but you said it for me. that's really seems to be a real possibility at this point. because one might ask, how much longer can protesters stay peaceful and keep being mowed down? if they're not on the streets the troops are terrorising them even at night, shooting into apartment blocks and breaking down doors, taking people off for questioning. thousands have been arrested now. nobody knows where most of them are.- been arrested now. nobody knows where most of them are. forgive me. where do you — where most of them are. forgive me. where do you see _ where most of them are. forgive me. where do you see china's _ where most of them are. forgive me. where do you see china's role - where most of them are. forgive me. where do you see china's role in - where most of them are. forgive me. where do you see china's role in all. where do you see china's role in all of this? over the weekend we saw chinese factories burned, china has been accused of the protesters of not doing enough, turning a blind eye to theirs. where do you see it

moving for china? it’s eye to theirs. where do you see it moving for china?— moving for china? it's really difficult to — moving for china? it's really difficult to say _ moving for china? it's really difficult to say for _ moving for china? it's really difficult to say for sure - moving for china? it's really i difficult to say for sure because there are merry conspiracy theories particularly on the targeting of chinese factories at the weekend. china itself has confirmed that 32 of their factories with chinese investment were targeted for attack about ten were burned. some very badly. and china has come out swinging. the official statements out of beijing would indicate that they are angry and concerned. more disturbingly, urging, presumably this is to urge them to crack down, enough is enough. and warning that there would be more drastic action taken if their interests were threatened. including a very valuable pipeline to china, gas and oil that stretches across me and mark. china is very concerned,

obviously. —— myanmar. who is behind these attacks on the factories? that's also not clear. protesters were brandishing banners last week threatening saying they would attack chinese facilities. but the brutality of these attacks on the factories which actually injured some workers would suggest that there is a very militant group at work that did them. anything is possible. clearly, china has been reluctantly dragged into this by the attack on its own interest before it was trying to stay out of it. i think that's also a new factor in this terrible saga. thank you. a day before america's top diplomat and secretary of defence are due to arrive in seoul for their first talks with south korean counterparts, north korea has warned the us to avoid "causing a stink" — if it wants peace. in a statement carried

by the state news agency, the sister of north korean leader, kim yojong, also criticised ongoing military drills in south korea. earlier, the white house said north korea has so far not responded to invitations to engage in dialogue. president biden�*s spokeswoman said the new administration had reached out, through a number of channels and had also consulted with former government officials, as well as america's allies. and we have and will continue to engage with otherjapanese and south korean allies to solicit input and explore fresher approach is without a trilateral concentration are goal diplomacy is always our goal. our goal is to reduce the risk of escalation. but to date we have not received any response. let's get some of the day's other news. top us diplomat antony blinken is now injapan on his first overseas trip. he will be joined by pentagon chief lloyd austin for talks

with their counterparts, as well as with prime minister yoshihide suga. they will both continue on to south korea, before secretary of state blinken returns to america for meetings with chinese officials. key economic data from china surged dramatically in the first two months of 2021, pointing to a continued recovery for the world's second largest economy. china's industrial output grew 35% more injanuary and february compared to the same months last year. some suspect that the strong numbers are likely distorted, however, since most of china's factories were put into lockdown in 2020. the ugandan opposition politician and former presidential candidate bobi wine has been arrested in the capital kampala during a protest. he was leading rallies against the arrest and disappearance of his supporters that happened around the recent election. security forces fired tear—gas to disperse the crowd marching with the politicians.

the vatican has ruled that roman catholic priests cannot bless same—sex couples, and that any such blessings are invalid in the eyes of the church. the statement was approved by pope francis, who supports civil rights for homosexual partners but opposes gay marriage. conservative catholics had asked for a ruling after bishops in germany and the united states expressed approval for the pastoral blessings some priests had bestowed. stay with us on bbc news, still to come. the nominations are in — but the effects of the pandemic are all over this year's oscars. today, we have closed the book on apartheid, and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway passengers were affected. nausea, bleeding, headaches

and a dimming of vision. all of this caused by an apparently organised attack. the trophy itself was on a pedestal | in the middle of the cabinet here. | now, this was an international trophy, and we understand - that the search for it has become an international search. - above all, this was a triumph for the christian democrats of the west, offering reunification as quickly as possible, and that's what the voters wanted. this is bbc news, the latest headlines... france, germany, italy and spain have become the latest countries to halt the rollout

of the astrazeneca covid—19 vaccine after a number of cases of blood clots. the world health organisation say there's no proof of any link. the un's secretary general says he's appalled by the escalating violence in myanmar at the hands of the military. as we've been reporting — italy is one of the countries suspending the use of the astrazeneca vaccine. it is now facing a third wave of the pandemic, with a sharp rise in the rate of infections, so the government is introducing new restrictions — including the closure of schools, shops and restaurants. more than half the country is affected and for three days over easter, in early april, there will be a full national shutdown, as our correspondent mark lowen reports from milan. for 95 years, guido di nardo's family have dressed the men of milan. his boutique passing down from his grandparents. but these 12 months have ruined him.

with losses of 75% and now closing for another lockdown, even europe's fashion capital is fraying. translation: i hope we don't have to shut down completely, _ like so many others here. when i think of how this shop was my parents�* and grandparents�* life, it makes me want to cry. i'm only staying open for my children. if it were up to me, i would have given up already. a third wave, fuelled by the british variant, has closed shops, restaurants and schools in over half of italy's regions, including here in lombardy where europe's first wave exploded a year ago. forfamilies, it's like being stuck in time. for the covid generation, it's like time stolen. we feel pretty dreadful. it's like back to square one after a year. it is incredible that we haven't, the government, the schools haven't had the chance to think about an alternative. we look at israel, we look at the us, and we look-

at the uk thinking while,| things are working there. and here? not really. turbo—charging italy's slow vaccine roll out, this drive—through centre opens today in milan. the government pledging to almost double dailyjabs now and triple them by mid april. well, italy is finally in full vaccine mobilisation but there is frustration here that it has taken weeks to get to this point. yes, there have been supply problems, but only now with the drive—through starting and jabs also in schools, theatres and gyms. in the race between vaccine and virus, there is a feeling that italy has let the latter win for too long. butjust hours after vaunting its vaccine increase, italy halted its astrazeneca jabs. covid's fix thrown into doubt. as the pandemic drags on, it is taking the new poor with it.

3,500 a day now come to this hand—out. the price of survival in this, italy's financial capital. it's a disaster, says roxana, whose mother died of covid. neither my family nor i can find work now. at least this stops me sleeping under the bridge. from the exhausted, to the fearful. italians are desperate for a sign of hope. but for the first western country engulfed by the virus, its longed for path out has been pushed back again. mark lowen reporting from italy. meanwhile in germany, doctors have been calling on the government to take steps now to avert a dramatic increase in cases by easter. pausing the roll—out of the astrazeneca vaccine could potentially make the situation worse — as our europe editor, katya adler reports from brussels. covid is still biting hard across europe as you say.

several countries tightening their restrictions, italyjust today. and the eu of course has been complaining loudly that it has a severe vaccine shortage. that hasn't had deliveries of the amount of vaccine that it expected. many countries invested heavily in astrazeneca particularly. austria and other countries in central and eastern europe but every eu country had access. and now as you say quite a number have just said we are going to pause the roll—out of astrazeneca while we investigate these claims of blood clots. when you have number of countries taking these measures, denmark, austria and the netherlands yesterday you have germany and italy, france feeling under pressure to take the same kind of action. germany said there's a precautionary measure, and waiting to hear from the european medicines agency which they state still believes the use of the astrazeneca vaccine

far outweighs any risks. bear in mind that here in mainland europe people tend to be more sceptical about the vaccines and this could endanger others just even using astrazeneca or any other vaccine and the critics of government who are halting the use of the vaccine say this could actually just cost further lives. the nominees for this year's much—delayed academy awards are finally out. it's been a strange year for hollywood. most movie theaters have been closed, so viewers watched the year's best films at home. it's the most diverse oscars ever, with nine of the 20 acting nominees from ethnic minority backgrounds — and two women nominated for best director. our arts editor will gompertz takes us through the nominations for a ceremony that will be unlike any other — taking place in a railway station. welcome to the 2021 oscar nominations, not coming from sunny hollywood,

sadly, but from a rather damp leicester square where the cinemas have been shut all year but, by hook or by crook, the films have been released so we have got a shortlist to discuss with larushka from the metro newspaper. let's start with the acting nominations and best actress. who should win? who will win? i think who should win is vanessa kirby, the british actress, for pieces of a woman. i still haven't got over the 20—minute birth scene that she does at the beginning of that film. but i think who will win is andra day, who puts in a terrific transformational performance as billie holiday. # blood on the leaves and blood at the root. #. best actor, who is in the running and who is going to win? i would love to see riz ahmed win for sound of metal. he plays this ex—drug addict drummer who goes suddenly deaf. he is electrifying in this role. but who can begrudge chadwick boseman for winning for his final role in ma rainey�*s black bottom that he shotjust months before he died from cancer? if my daddy had known i was going to turn out like this, he would have named me gabriel. best supporting actress? could it be eighth time

a charm for glenn close? she's got the record for the most nominated and never won actresses, for hillbilly elegy. unfortunately, everyone hates the film. that's a bit of a problem. and i'd love to see maria bakalova win for borat 2. who would have thought borat 2 would have been in the running for the oscars race? i want this one with the baby on it. 0k. ok, larushka, best supporting actor? daniel kaluuya is winning all the awards forjudas and the black messiah. a revolutionary! but here he is up against his co—star lakeith stanfield in the same category, both up for best supporting. where is best actor in this film? any last words? welcome to san simeon. we haven't talked about mank, although it does lead the way with ten nominations, the film about the writing of citizen kane, starring gary oldman. it's up for best picture. will it win? no. in a word, no. so what will win best picture? nomadland, no doubt. it is a timely portrait of a woman who is living in isolation. to me, this is the great film of the pandemic era.

you're my sister. when you were growing up you were eccentric to other people. it was just because you were braver. let's finish with best director. who's going to win? who should win? first of all, let's just say two women up for best director at the oscars this year for the first time in history. emerald fennell up for promising young woman, the me too revenge drama starring carey mulligan who's also up for an award in the best actress category. but it's going to be chloe zhao for nomadland. she is going to become the second woman ever to win best director at the oscars. and if she does she will also become the first female asian director to win in what has been called the most diverse academy awards of all time. will gompertz, bbc news. if you haven't seen it it is a brilliant film. if you haven't seen it it is a brilliant film. a reminder of our top story.... the world health organisation has urged countries to keep using the astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine, as a growing list of european nations

suspend injections. hello there. in comparison to this time last week, it is a much quieter weather story to tell. but i suspect we will be chasing cloud amounts around over the next few days, just like we had on monday. in cornwall, it was a beautiful day with blue sky and sunshine, similar story for northern ireland. but further north and west, cloud gathered as we went through the day, rather threatening looking skies, indication of what's to come. yes, we have some weather fronts bringing some rain into the far northwest. high—pressure is trying to build in from the southwest, but some of this rain will be heavy through the night. isobars squeezing together as well, strengthening winds particularly in the far north of scotland. now, the rain will sink its way south and east, a lot of cloud across the country, so a relatively mild night for many.

so as we start off tuesday, there will still be some heavy rain to come, particularly across scotland accompanied by some strong gusty winds from the northwest. widely, we could see gusts in excess of 13 mph first thing, but in the far north, 40—115 mph not out of the question. that strong wind will help push the rain south and east as we go through the day, quite a clearance, the winds will fall light, the sunshine will come through. the only exception, perhaps, across east anglia, essex and kent, it may well stay cloudy for much of the day. top temperatures though through the afternoon, generally around 10—15 celsius — not bad. now, high—pressure will anchor itself across northern ireland. a little bit more of a breeze always around the periphery of the high, and that is going to continue to drag in cloud amounts, hence the reason that we will be chasing cloud from time to time. so on wednesday, there will be quite cloudy skies with the odd light shower into the far north and some cloud coming in off the north sea, so sheltered westerns parts

of england and wales seeing the best of the sunshine potentially. now, as we move into the end of the week, the high—pressure just moves a little bit further west again, and that allows more of a northeasterly flow, a cooler source, particularly across east anglia and southeast england. so what that will do is it potentially breaks up the cloud to allow more sunshine to come through, but it means that it might feeljust that little bit cooler the further south and east you are by the end of the week. further west, it stays largely dry, but there is always the risk of a little more cloud. that's it, take care.

hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be

this is bbc world news, the headlines... france, italy, germany and spain have joined the list of countries which have suspended the use of the astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine. the world health organisation and the european regulator, the e—m—a, have advised countries to continue using the jab for now. the un's secretary general says he's appalled by the escalating violence in myanmar at the hands of the military. at least 50 protestors are now thought to have been killed on sunday, with further deaths on monday. the sister of north korea's leader, kim yo—jong, has said the us must avoid causing a stink if it wants peace. it comes as america's top diplomat, anthony blinken, arrives in the region. and the netflix—produced movie "mank" led the way at the oscar nominations — being put forward in ten categories. for the first time, two women were nominated for the best director award.