this is bbc news, i'm kasia madera, welcome to our viewers in the uk and around the world. our top stories: as the eu struggles to vaccinate its own citizens, the eu commission president threatens to withold exports of covid vaccine to countries not supplying them. if the situation does not change, we will have to reflect on how to make exports to vaccine producing countries dependent on their level of openness. the uk, which is facing its own supply shortages in the coming weeks, says it expects all signed contracts to be fulfilled. russia is withdrawing its ambassador to washington for consultations after the us accused it of seeking to influence last year's

presidential election. tanzania's president, john magufuli, has died at the age of 61. the vice—president said he'd succumbed to complications related to a heart condition. birdsong and the birdsong that's almost become extinct. how the regent honey—eater has almost forgotten how to sing its own song. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. uncertainty over stocks of covid vaccines is causing growing tension between the uk and the european union. with around 25 million british citizens vaccinated, the nhs has warned that there'll be a significant reduction in vaccines available next month,

urging providers not to take new appointments for april. meanwhile, the eu has warned that it might need to impose export limits on vaccines from european factories. our brussels correspondent nick beake has more. in prague, in paris, and once again in bergamo, in northern italy, covid patients gasping for air. the nightmare prospect of a third wave in europe is now real. the continent is also facing a vaccination crisis. it is not getting the doses it ordered, and today a warning that the eu would do everything needed to get its fair share. all options are on the table. we are in the crisis of the century and i am not ruling out anything for now, because we have to make sure that europeans are vaccinated as soon as possible. officials in brussels have faced heavy criticism over their vaccine programme and have now come out fighting.

the eu says it has sent millions of doses to the uk in recent weeks, but has seen little in return from astrazeneca. but, remarkably, seven million of the company's jabs are sitting in fridges and its use has been suspended in most eu countries. it is still available here in belgium, but increasing numbers are saying they don't want the astrazeneca shot. i am not sure that it will be ok, if it is astra, for old people. that is why now i am afraid, everybody is afraid of this vaccine. the eu's medicine regulator is assessing the latest evidence from a very small number of cases of a possible link to blood clots. but it stresses the benefits outweigh the risks. a message amplified in today's downing street press c0 nfe re nce . vaccines don't save lives if they are in fridges. they only save lives if they are in arms. and that is a really important fact. all medicines have side—effects

and all medicines have benefits, and that is the whole point. that absolute confidence in the astrazeneca vaccine is now very hard to find in many european capital cities, but still the eu is adamant it should get all of the british—made doses it has ordered and has now raised the heat in this latest post—brexit row. and this evening, the government condemned the eu's action, saying it was wrong to threaten even tighter controls on vaccine exports. i am surprised we are having this conversation. it is normally what the uk and the eu team up with, to object when other countries with less democratic regimes than our own engage in that kind of brinkmanship. it is a deepening rift and will do nothing to ease europe's resurgent covid crisis. here in the uk, vaccine centres have been told not to take any new appointments from 29th march, although people who've already got a date

will not lose their slot. this is how health secretary matt hancock explained the hold—up. we are making absolutely fantastic progress in the vaccination effort. i'm delighted we're able to open up to millions more people today. and of course, the future forecasts are always lumpy, sometimes they go up, and sometimes they go down, but we made these public commitments and i'm absolutely delighted with the team because we are on track to meet them. russia may be hit with new sanctions from the united states after american intelligence published a report saying russia's president vladimir putin is likely to have authorised attempts to influence last year's us election in favour of donald trump. president biden has said vladimir putin would pay a price for the alleged interference. he also told america's abc news that he thought his russian counterpart was "a killer".

we had a long talk, he and i. i know him relatively well. the conversation started off, isaid, i know you and you know me. if i establish this occurred, then be prepared. you said you know he doesn't have a soul? i did say that to him, yes. and his response was, we understand one another. russia has recalled its us ambassador for consultations about future ties with america. a us intelligence report found that during the presidential campaign, moscow spread "misleading or unsubstantiated" allegations aboutjoe biden with the aim of undermining the broader election process. the report also accuses iran of trying to weaken support for donald trump. and it alleges russian intelligence pushed anti—biden narratives to media outlets and to senior officials and allies of mr trump. here's more from anthony zurcher in washington. i think the contrast they want to try to draw with the trump administration,

with donald trump in particular, is that you are not going to seejoe biden stand there next to vladimir putin and undermine us intelligence conclusions. that sanctions will be used as a tool of diplomacy when necessary. and that if russia, in the american view, transgresses international norms, that they will be punished for it. biden was blunt in his language last night, and it's gotten a response from russia. but i think that's the new look you're going to see in american diplomacy with russia. the report concluded that russia has found that influencing and meddling in american elections is a manageable type of situation. that the potential punishments do not outweigh the benefits. so this is not going to be something that changes. and i think the biden administration has to come to grips with that. obviously sanctions are a tool in its diplomatic arsenal, but if russia concludes there is still benefit to doing

it, this is not going to change and the united states has to find ways of hardening its electoral systems in order to avoid this sort of thing, so it is a difficult conundrum. the president of tanzania, john magufuli, has died at the age of 60 one. the vice—president said mr magufuli who was being treated in hospital in dar es salaam, had succumbed to complications related to a heart condition. he'd not been seen in public for more than two weeks. opposition politicians said last week that he had contracted covid—i9, but this has not been confirmed. the bbc�*s salim kikeke reports. whenjohn magufuli when john magufuli rose whenjohn magufuli rose to power in 2015, he seemed to be the leader tanzania needed and wanted, efficient and incorruptible. his fast action

was to purge thousands of so—called ghost workers, officials that were considered corrupt were fired publicly, sometimes on live television. his style was applauded by many inside and outside the country. the international community even hoped his influence would radiate in the region and help neighbouring countries with governance issues. but the honeymoon period was short—lived and magufuli instantly attracted criticism when live broadcasts of parliamentary debate were banned in 2016. the opposition saw the changes he implemented as a threat to freedom of expression, and his government grew increasingly intolerant of any criticism. translation: , translation: the truth is i have never— translation: the truth is i have never suppressed - have never suppressed democracy. since elected as president, i've actually been promoting it. democracy must have limits. what we are doing it in accordance with our constitution and tradition. but it was his _

constitution and tradition. but it was his handling of the covid—19 pandemic that became the most controversial, advising tanzanians to dedicate themselves to player to defeat themselves to player to defeat the virus. and without offering any scientific proof himself, he also warned tanzanians to beware of the vaccine. this directly challenged the who efforts to build vaccine trust in the country. translation: ., ,., translation: there are some tanzanians _ translation: there are some tanzanians who _ translation: there are some tanzanians who recently - ta nzanians who recently travelled tanzanians who recently travelled abroad in search of coronavirus vaccines. these people brought the virus into our country when they returned. let us stand firm. this vaccine is not good at all.— is not good at all. after the death of — is not good at all. after the death of zanzibar's - is not good at all. after the death of zanzibar's first - is not good at all. after the | death of zanzibar's first vice president, and as the country faced an important increase in the number of deaths, john magufuli finally seems to accept the importance of face covering and social distancing.

in october 2020, he won a second term in office, controversially. the opposition cried foul as he won with a landslide 84% of the vote. despite the promising start to his presidency, mr magufuli leaves behind a tanzania very different from the one he took overin different from the one he took over in 2015. some would say a very divided one. dutch prime minister mark rutte's party won the most seats in elections dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, putting him on course to lead his fourth coalition, according to exit polls. the pro—eu d66 looks set to gain seats, with the geert wilder's anti—islam party to loose ground in parliament. mr rutte thanked voters for their support. ijust noticed that the results of this election is that the folks in the netherlands have given my party, the dutch labour party an overwhelming vote of confidence, and it is humbling.

it is also forcing us to do everything we can to make a success out of it, not everything has gone well in the last ten years, take the child benefit issue, which we have to solve, the earthquakes, but of course the main issue also on the table for the next year is how to rebuild the country going forward after corona. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a leading charity says many thousands of children in syria could lose access to education if britain cuts its foreign aid. 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 - now that the search for it has i 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 world news, the latest headlines. the eu commission president has threatened to withold exports of covid vaccine to countries not supplying them, including to the uk.

the british government has said it expects all signed contracts to be fulfilled. tanzania's president, john magufuli, has died at the age of 61. the vice—president said he'd succumbed to complications related to a heart condition. an independent review of historic cases of sexual abuse in football in england has strongly criticised the sport's governing body, the football association, for failing to protect children, after allegations emerged. the report which covers the period from 1970 to 2005 says there was no excuse for what it calls the fa's institutional failings. our sports editor dan roan has the story. it is english football's worst scandal. failures by both the fa and a host of clubs laid bare in a damaging report on child sexual abuse. there was an institutional failing by the fa, they acted far too slowly in developing their child protection arrangements, once they were

aware of child protection being a problem in the sport, and they should have done more to keep children safe. accusing the fa of inexcusable failings, sheldon said the governing body had delayed safeguarding measures between 1995 and 2000, but there was no evidence it knew of a problem before then, nor that there had been a paedophile ring or cover—up. this is a dark day, but we are referring to non—recent cases. we have to hold our hands up and apologise for the mistakes of the past, make sure we don't repeat them, but that is not to say that football is not in a safe environment today, it is. sheldon found the fa failed to ban two of the most notorious football paedophiles, barry bennell and bob higgins, both former youth coaches, now serving long sentences. these were among the survivors present throughout the former coaches' trial and sentencing in 2018. today one of them, gary cliff, abusing by bennell when he played for a manchester city junior team, learned that

sheldon found the senior management of the club failed to investigate despite being aware of concerns. how does that make you feel? sort of vindicated, but i don't think he has gone far enough. throughout the whole report, i have read, there is a theme of people knew or suspected, but none of the officials had the gumption to raise it with anyone. it is disappointing in that respect. it has taken too long, it has been hell. you could say i have waited 35 years for this. it was the emergence some four—and—a—half years ago of bennell�*s crimes when working here at crewe as a youth coach in the 80s and 90s that opened the floodgates. hundreds of former players came forward with their own allegations. the scale of abuse identified is staggering, the investigation spanned four decades and the report said there were known to be hundreds

of suspects and survivors, and eight clubs were criticised. today came apologies from southampton, newcastle united and here at manchester city, whose own independent enquiry found that allegations about barry bennell were met with a wholly inadequate response by senior management, who were worried about the club's reputation. more than two decades ago, another of his victims became the first survivor to speak out. we had no idea how _ survivor to speak out. we had no idea how much _ survivor to speak out. we had no idea how much this - survivor to speak out. we had no idea how much this is - survivor to speak out. we had | no idea how much this is going on, where and to what degree, not just on, where and to what degree, notjust in on, where and to what degree, not just in football on, where and to what degree, notjust in football but in other sports and we need to be ever vigilant and ask the right questions when we place our children in the care of these people. children in the care of these ”eole. ,, ., children in the care of these --eole. ,, ., people. sheldon said safeguarding - people. sheldon said safeguarding could i people. sheldon said i safeguarding could still improve. but were forced to confront a scandal that shamed the sport and told to ensure there is never a repeat. —— football forced to confront.

the charity save the children has warned that planned reductions in british aid to syria could lead to hundreds of thousands of children losing their access to education. since the start of the conflict a decade ago, thousands of schools have been destroyed in what the un says is a deliberate ploy by president bashir al assad and his allies to terrorise communities a charge the regime denies. the foreign office says no final decisions have been made, but it is warning there are tough decisions ahead because of the pandemic. to be a parent in syria is to carry the world on your shoulders. forabu, his burden is constant vigilance. for years, he has watched the sun set and rise from this hilltop, waiting for the next attack. he is a flight spotter, a one—man early warning system, protecting the village below where his wife and five children live. at the end of another long shift, he calls home.

he knows first—hand the fear and the fury the warplanes bring. the screams in this playground are of terror. these are schooldays in syria, an entire generation brutalised and traumatised, as bombs fall by the school gates. how do you break the opposition�*s will? target their children, their teachers, their schools. there have been thousands of attacks on schools

since the war began. they are relentless in opposition areas and come mostly from regime and russian bombs. taken as a whole, it is a systematic terror campaign against children. in october 2016, a parachute bomb dropped steadily onto this school in hass. inside, pupils as young as five years old. 36 were killed in a series of strikes that day. 21 of them were kids. five years later, with their parents' permission, they told us what happened.

the world has turned its back on these children. it is tired of the syrian conflict. the un does what it can, applying a sticking plaster to a haemorrhaging wound. countries are now looking away from syria. britain, for example, is contemplating a 67% cut in its aid to syria. what would that mean for the un? for people on the ground in syria?

well, we can only give aid to those 7.5 million people we reach every month if we get the money to do so. the un doesn't have a magic... 350,000 fewer kids in school if britain pulls the plug on that money? it will mean feeding fewer people, it will mean fewer kids in school, it will mean less medical services and it is the wrong thing to do to balance the books on the backs of these starving and suffering people. ten years of international failure has left syria a landscape in ruin. this was a normal school day just last week. until the aircraft early warning alarm sounds. carefully, the children pack up and evacuate the school. they know the drill only too well. for syria, this is not history, this is now. quentin sommerville, bbc news.

let's get some of the day's other news. police in atlanta have charged a suspect with four counts of homicide, over a mass shooting at three spa and massage pa rlours. six of those who died were asian women. the suspect has denied having a racial motive. the creative head of the tokyo olympics has resigned, after making a derogatory comment about a female japanese entertainer. hiroshi sasaki, who was in charge of the opening and closing ceremonies, has admitted making remarks about the entertainer naomi watanabe. last month, the formerjapanese prime minister yoshiro mori stepped down from his role as president of the tokyo 2020 organising committee after saying women talk too much. campaigners for marriage equality injapan have welcomed a district court ruling that the legal ban on same—sex marriage is unconstitutional. lawyers for the six plaintiffs in the case

called it revolutionary. though homosexual sex has been legal injapan since 1880, same—sex couples are often banned from mutual hospital visits and find they cannot rent flats. a rare species of bird in australia has become so endangered it's forgetting how to sing its own song. there are only about 300 regent honeyeaters left in the wild, and because they rarely hear each other, some have started imitating the songs of other species. victoria gill reports. birdsong. with only 300 left in the wild, the striking regent honeyeater and its song are disappearing from their native south—eastern australia. researchers had set out just to find and monitor the remaining birds when they noticed that some honeyeaters no longer sang the right tune.

some birds learn to sing in much the same way as humans learn to speak, listening to and copying others of their species. what we're finding is the population is now so small and so sparsely distributed that some young males are actually unable to find other males of regent honeyeater to kind of learn their songs from. and so they are ending up just learning the songs of other species that they hear in the landscape. with so much of the forest habitat destroyed to make way for agriculture, the researchers say that about 12% of regent honeyeaters have now completely lost their natural song. and it is vital for them to attract a mate and to breed. there is some conservation hope, though. in an effort to preserve the bird calls, the researchers are playing recordings of the most melodious wild honeyeaters to captive—bred birds. reminding them how to sing properly before they are released into the wild

could help them to find a mate and eventually make a tuneful recovery. victoria gill, bbc news. let's hope they succeed. lots more on our website. hello there. there's going to be very little change with the weather for the end of the week and into the weekend and indeed into next week. high pressure will hold on to bring pretty benign weather. thursday looks generally cloudy, i think, for much of the country, and we'll have some patchy rain across more eastern parts of england. high pressure sits to the west of the uk bringing northerly winds to most areas, north or northeasterly winds, that is. a lot of cloud around generally, limited spells of brightness, early showers will clear from the southeast, but more rain will arrive across eastern england, east anglia and the southeast through the afternoon. probably the best of the sunshine will be through the central belt of scotland where we could see 15 celsius. some sunshine for south wales, southwest england, highs of 1a celsius.

but elsewhere, 10—11 and cooler along north sea coast of england where we have that area of rain and onshore breeze. it will stay damp through thursday night. elsewhere, generally dry, a few spots of drizzle here and there, but because of the cloud cover, it won't to be too cold anywhere, lows of 4—8 celsius. so into friday, similar story, high pressure dominating the scene. but we will start to tap into some colder air across the near continent in the southeast, so here, with that cooler air, it will actually be drier air, so we should see the clouds breaking up to allow some sunshine here. but elsewhere, another rather cloudy day, some spots of light rain or drizzle, particularly into northern england through the midlands, up towards the southwest. and it will feel cooler as well across the southeast, despite the sunshine, that onshore northeasterly breeze will bring temperatures back to around 7—8 celsius. you will have to head further west to see slightly higher values. again, bit of brightness through the central belt, 13 degrees, i think 10—11 will be the high for most areas, which is around the seasonal average. as we move out of friday

into the weekend, we still have high pressure with us, but we will see this weather front move into the north of the uk. that could bring some stronger winds across shetland later on on saturday, and outbreaks of rain. we could see some rain pushing to the north and west of scotland later on, but elsewhere, it's generally, again, a dry day with some spots of drizzle, quite a bit of cloud around, limited sunshine, and those temperatures around the seasonal average, 11—12 celsius will be the high. a similar story on sunday, and in fact, as we head on into next week, we dominate the weather scene with high pressure, generally light winds, quite a lot of cloud around, temperatures around the seasonal average.

this is bbc news, the headlines... the head of the european commission has threatened to withold vaccine exports to countries outside the eu that don't supply them in a reciprocal way. ursula von der leyen said the eu is still waiting for some shipments from britain. tanzania's president, john magufuli, has died at the age of 61. the vice president said he'd succumbed to complications related to a heart condition. magufuli became tanazania's president in 2015. russia is recalling its ambassador to washington for consultations, as it tries to prevent what it called the �*irreversible degradation�* of ties with the united states. the move follows a us intelligence report that accused russia of trying to influence last year's presidential election. police in atlanta have charged a suspect with four counts of homicide, over a mass shooting at three spa and massage pa rlours. now on bbc news, it's hardtalk with stephen sackur.