hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. the eu and uk agree to co—operate on vaccine supply. after weeks of recrimination the two sides say they will work together to create a "win—win" situation. the eu has given more details on how it may limit vaccine exposed a country like the uk. those measures may still go ahead and we are trying to work through that. we will be live in brussels to work through it all. india announces a temporary hold on all major exports of the astrazeneca vaccine. it wants to use the doses inside india. and we will look at a push in the us for gun control after another mass shooting this week.

welcome to our viewers on the bbc news and our viewers on pbs in america. we begin in europe — where in the past hour — the uk and the eu have issued a joint statement — vowing cooperation in the fight against the pandemic. it says: "we have been discussing what more we can do to ensure a reciprocally beneficial relationship between the uk and eu on covid-i9." given our interdependencies, we are working on specific steps we can take — in the short—, medium — and long term — to create a win—win situation and expand vaccine supply for all our citizens." it comes after the european commission put forward its plans to toughen controls on the export of coronavirus vaccines made in the eu. here's european commission vice president valdis dombrovskis outlining the new rules. going forward, member states and commission should now consider two additional elements

when assessing the impact of planned exports. first, is the country of destination, which has a large reduction capacity, restricts its own exports of vaccine or substances either by law or by other means, it may be appropriate to consider whether exports of this country are justified. the second element is proportionality. which means finding the right balance. member states and the commission will consider these conditions prevailing in the country of destination, particularly the epidemiology situation, its vaccination rate and the existing availability of covid—19 vaccines. lets have a closer look at these new powers announced today. they could target wealthy countries that produce vaccines themselves but aren't exporting to the eu. or where the vaccine roll—out is significantly ahead of the eu ,

as it is in the uk. eu officials deny the suggestion that the measures were designed to punish the uk. thierry breton is the head of the european commission's vaccine task force. we are the largest producer of vaccines for us and for the world. we know that the us is not exporting anything at all and we export vaccines already for 32 countries, all of our partners, all of our nato alliances and, of course, massively for the uk. but we just want reciprocity. let me give you an example, for this astrazeneca, in our contract says there are two factories in the uk, which were part of our production and we were expecting them to deliver the doses to the eu. they didn't do it. we wanted to have an explanation from our side we deliver massively to the uk but there is nothing to penalised. we just want to have the reality and then to be able to discuss. we ordered 120 million doses. we got only 30 million doses.

if astrazeneca had delivered exactly the number of doses which was planned like they did in the uk, we would be today, exactly at the same rate of vaccination as the uk. so, we have been heavily penalised. heavily. we just want to know why? let's hear from katya adler on the diplomatic moves between the uk and the eu. he asked him how he felt about these export restrictions. i’m he asked him how he felt about these export restrictions.— export restrictions. i'm not... this could create _ export restrictions. i'm not... this could create major— export restrictions. i'm not... this could create major reputational. could create major reputational damage to the european union, who used to be the world free trade to champion and so i don't think that this is right, although i do have

understanding about the recent move of the commission and some member states. i believe that we have to pull back from a vaccine war. let's hear from katya adler on the diplomatic moves between the uk and the eu. in the uk, the prime minister has been very careful not to get dragged into a public row with the eu over vaccines and in recent days, there have been high—level contact between both sides. just a few moments ago, we have seen a joint eu — uk statement on vaccines, where they have both recognised their interdependency and are saying that they are trying to work on concrete steps in the short, medium and long—term on how they can better cooperate over vaccines. let's get more on the surge in coronavirus infections in europe. yesterday, germany announced plans for a new nationwide lockdown over easter. 2a hours later it's suddenly reversed course. here's chancellor angela merkel.

i have decided on this short press briefing because i decided this morning not to go ahead with the necessary regulations for the additional easter rest that we had approved on monday, that is the holidays on holy thursday and holy saturday, but to stop it. to say it very clear, the idea of an easter shutdown had been created with the best intention, because we absolutely have to put on the brake on the third wave and turn it around. however, the idea, of the so—called easter rest was a mistake." the five—day lockdown would have been the strictest in germany since the start of the pandemic. here'sjenny hill in cuxhaven — on why the chancellor changed her mind. what an extraordinary thing to say. it's not often that you have a world leader insisting so openly that they want to take the blame for something. it's difficult to say exactly what caused angela merkel�*s change of heart. there was a fair amount of criticism from the business sector here, saying that

they are not quite sure how they will implement this five day shutdown over easter. it is quite normal for people in germany to go on a three day public holiday in germany. businesses are asking whether the employees are on holiday, do they have to pay them and so on. the logistics of what angela merkel had said eventually persuaded her to change her mind. i think the fact that angela merkel came out and was very open about the fact that she thought that she had made a mistake, tells us a little bit about her character. we know that angela merkel by and large likes to be straight with the public. i think she is also perhaps trying to ensure that the public give her more trust. i think this is about transparency as well to a degree. i think the effect of what she has achieved may be in the reverse. already public support to the government is wavering a bit with people getting fed up to a chaotic response to the third wave

of the pandemic with the bickering response between regional leaders who want to do one thing and angela merkel wanting to do another. today's events will not help with that. i'm standing on the north coast of germany in a seaside resort, where hotels, bars, restaurants are all shocked and people are saying, we just went open for the season. they know that infection numbers are serious and they are rising exponentially. vaccinations here are going very slowly as well but it doesn't help the people here are trying to plan ahead, trying to run the businesses, when the government is giving them all sorts of advice and then going back and appearing to change its mind. , , ., ~ ., mind. jenny, i wonder if angela merkel has _ mind. jenny, i wonder if angela merkel has a _ mind. jenny, i wonder if angela merkel has a certain _ mind. jenny, i wonder if angela merkel has a certain political i merkel has a certain political freedom given that she is quite close to her time —— the end of her time leading germany? young mag yes but she has got an eye on her legacy as well. it seems pretty clear to me that unless she can get some

vaccines and get germany back up and running, her reputation built over 16 years as a crisis manager and a safe pair of hands may well start to be quite compromised. i safe pair of hands may well start to be quite compromised.— safe pair of hands may well start to be quite compromised. i don't think an a olo: be quite compromised. i don't think an apology today — be quite compromised. i don't think an apology today was _ be quite compromised. i don't think an apology today was about - be quite compromised. i don't think an apology today was about trying l be quite compromised. i don't think| an apology today was about trying to secure that reputation. she knows that she needs to do more to get the country back on track. neighbouring belgium is imposing a new month—long partial lockdown to curb infection rates. schools will be closed and access to nonessential shops will be limited. the government warns belgium has entered a �*new phase' in the pandemic. here's the prime minister. we have seen that contaminations double almost every two weeks, we see that the level of circulation of the virus is at its highest level for 4 months. there is a high pressure on our intensive care units, with the risk of being untenable in the long term. and we see that more and more medical care are being postponed". we've talked a lot about the second

wave of covid infections — which started overwhelming parts of central and eastern europe back in october. it hasn't gone away. according to the financial times — hungary, montenegro, slovenia, bosnia, bulgaria and the czech republic are now the 10 worst affected by the pandemic — in the world. whlie slovakia and poland are in the top 25. —— while slovakia and poland are in the top 25. top of the list is the czech republic. this graph illustrates the crisis there. it has the highest cumulative death toll in the world per capita — 231 deaths per 100,000. these pictures came in from prague on monday. this is the old town square. at this time of year, it's usually packed with tourists. this year though, 25,000 white crosses have been painted onto the cobble stones — marking each virus death in the country. we just mentioned poland. in the past 24—hours it's reported nearly 30,000 new cases — the worst since the pandemic began. and the government is vowing to toughen its partial lockdown. here's adam easton in warsaw.

the main course of the surge in the infections is the rampant and highly contagious uk variant which is now responsible for four out of every five case here in poland. three quarters of hospital beds and ventilators are now occupied and some hospitals are reporting shortages. the government is considering sending patients to different regions to help hospitals cope. different regions to help hospitals cope. next to india. it has just announced a temporary hold on all major exports of the astrazeneca vaccine. supplies from the serum institute — the world's biggest manufacturer of vaccines — are being held for domestic demand. the institute has already delayed shipments to several countries including brazil and the uk. here's nikhil inamdar in mumbai. india has been seeing a massive surge in covid—19 cases. that is the

highest this year. the government is clear of its position that it wants to prioritise domestic needs of the vaccine. in fact, when there was news that the vaccination programme in the uk was potentially facing a delay on the count of the delays in shipment from the institute, the minister said clearly in parliament that exports of vaccines will be completely dependent on domestic supply and we had in the past seen some shortages of the vaccine that has been manufactured by the serum institute. this is something that will affect several countries globally because this is, we believe, also likely to impact supplies to the who covax... we know that india is one of the largest producers of coronavirus vaccines. here's an idea of the scale. according to this list on india's

foreign ministry website — it's sent its vaccines to 76 countries. and its last shipment abroad was 6 days ago. two sources have been speaking to reuters news agency. "everything else has taken a back—seat, for the time being at least." the other source — "no exports, nothing till the time the india situation stabilises. the government won't take such a big chance at the moment when so many need to be vaccinated in india." here's nikhil in—amdar on how this might play out. we have no indication of how long the temporary will —— band. if you have a look at the surge in cases, it does seem that it is getting trickier for india to continue with the vaccine diplomacy that it did in the vaccine diplomacy that it did in the past few months, in fact, it has exported about 60 million plus vaccines and that's more than a number of people that it has inoculated domestically — about 50 million. it has a target to do,

about 300 million byjuly 2021. certainly, there is going to be a requirement for these vaccines domestically now, also given that there are new strains being reported. he mentioned new strains there. scientists have discovered a new �*double mutant�* variant of the coronavirus in maharashtra — the state worst hit by the virus. its biggest city is mumbai — we have these pictures from there. this is a testing centre. we're told the variant — where two mutations come together in the same virus — was found in over 200 samples in the state and detected in nine samples in new delhi. it's unclear whether it's more infectious or less affected by vaccines. stay with us on outside source still to come... after another mass shooting in the us, we will look at what president biden may do with gun control. hong kong and macau have temporarily suspended the use of the pfizer— biontech coronavirus vaccine because of a packaging defect in one batch.

the authorities said they were taking the action as a precautionary measure. robin brant is in shanghai. they think they have discovered issues with the cap on some of the vials into batches of these vaccinations. these are vaccinations that are frozen, transported to their destination, in this case the two former colonies in the south of hong kong and then forward before they are given. apparently, there was an issue with the caps on the top of these files. for now, the centres that were giving out these vaccinations are not doing so. they emphasise that they hope it is temporary. there are other options in hong kong. there is a vaccine made by the company on the chinese mainland is still available. overall, it is not great for hong kongin overall, it is not great for hong kong in particular. only about 7 million people in its population has been vaccinated so far...

this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story is? the eu and the uk are saying that they have agreed to cooperate on vaccine supply. the eu is, however, still proposing measures that could prevent exports to the uk. let's turn to the us — in the wake of two mass shootings in a week — and 18 people dead — the debate over guns has resurfaced. presidentjoe biden has called for a ban on assault weapons and wider background checks. here is the president speaking on tuesday. i don't need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common—sense steps to save the lives in the future. i have urged my colleagues in the house of senator act. unfortunately mass shootings, which are shootings where 3 or more people are killed, have become a common occurence in the us. but in 2020 there were notably less

— largely due to the pandemic. there were two mass shootings in 2020 — 9 people were killed. far less than the peak in 2017, when 117 people were killed across 11 mass shootings. but overall, shootings were even more prevalent last year. this graph is from the washington post showing deaths from guns on the left — injuries on the right. 2020 set records in both—. almost 20,000 people were killed — nearly 40,000 were injured. so, the issue is as prevalent as ever. here's vice president kamala harris speaking on the this morning programme on cbs. it is time for congress to act and stop with the false choices. this is not about getting rid of the second amendment. it is simply about saying that we need reasonable gun safety laws. they are weapons of war. they are designed to kill a lot of people quickly. well this year there's already been some movement in congress. earlier this month, the house of representatives

passed two bills — one which will require background checks on all firearms sales and transfers. the second would extend the review period for background checks from three to ten days. but, the bills are unlikely to pass the senate —it�*s currently split 50/50 — with kamala harris having the deciding vote. but because of the senate rule known as the "filibuster", in practice 60 votes are needed to get legislation through, so a considerable amount of republican support is required. and that support is unlikely — here's republican senate minority leader mitch mcconell. i'm certainly open to discussion. we were _ i'm certainly open to discussion. we were in_ i'm certainly open to discussion. we were in this — i'm certainly open to discussion. we were in this place august of 2019, when _ were in this place august of 2019, when we — were in this place august of 2019, when we had another series of incidences. what i am not attracted to is something that doesn't work. they— to is something that doesn't work. they have — to is something that doesn't work. they have been deep seeded, philosophical differences between republicans and democrats about how to deal— republicans and democrats about how to deal with gun violence.

so unlikely anything major will pass through the senate — but lets look at whether he has broader support in the community. a gallup poll in november found that just 57 % of americans want stricter gun laws — the lowest number in favour since 2016 — and gun sales hit a new record high in january. here's shannon watts a leading gun control activist. gun violence is a pandemic within a pandemic — gun violence is a pandemic within a pandemic. we know about 50 million .uns pandemic. we know about 50 million 9th were _ pandemic. we know about 50 million guns were sold in the last year. many— guns were sold in the last year. many of— guns were sold in the last year. many of them to people who live in states _ many of them to people who live in states that don't require a background check or training or permitting. so, i background check or training or permitting. so, lam background check or training or permitting. so, i am truly afraid that the — permitting. so, i am truly afraid that the gun violence that we are seeing, _ that the gun violence that we are seeing, notjust mass shooting but the daily— seeing, notjust mass shooting but the daily gun violence that we see in our— the daily gun violence that we see in our communities, is going to increase — in our communities, is going to increase in— in our communities, is going to increase in the coming weeks and months — so we've looked at the situation in congress — and whether stricter gun control laws have public support — now let's look at president biden's record on gun control in 1994 — as chairman of the senate judiciary committee,

he helped push through the first assault weapons ban but shortly after it passed the democrats lost control of the house and much of the blame was put on the ban in 2004 — that 10 year ban expired and congress didn't renew it. once again, legalising assault rifles. in 2012, there was the mass shooting at sandy hook elementary school — 26 people were killed — 20 of them children. and as vice president, joe biden took the lead on trying to pass gun control laws for president obama — but was unsuccessfull. here'sjoe biden again. we can ban assault weapons once again. i did that when i was a sanity. it brought down these mass killings. —— when i was a senate. one fixture of the gun control debate in the us has been the national rifles association - the nra. it's a powerful pro guns lobbying group. but in recent years its influence

has diminished, losing millions from corruption scandals. as former nra lobbyist and president of the independent firearm owners association richard feldman told the daily beast — "the nra leadership is diminished... it's no longer the "only game in town' nor is it the 800 lb gorilla of days gone by." alex gangitano — reporter at the hill. good to have you on the programme. thank you very much for your time. for viewers around the world, there are sometimes a perception that america comes back to this debate time and time again but nothing really shifts is mac ages. time and time again but nothing really shifts is mac— really shifts is mac yes, that's exactly right- _ really shifts is mac yes, that's exactly right. in _ really shifts is mac yes, that's exactly right. in 2012, - really shifts is mac yes, that's exactly right. in 2012, we - really shifts is mac yes, that's exactly right. in 2012, we had| really shifts is mac yes, that's - exactly right. in 2012, we had one of the most horrific shootings in elementary school. biden was vice president at the time and nothing happened in congress. the pandemic has posed things, which was an interesting reality to see that

without schools being open, workplaces, concerts, other places were mass gatherings, we did not have any mass shootings and so now that those are starting to open back up that those are starting to open back up and life is opening back up, we have had to in the past week and this is a familiar reality. why can't president biden use... like he doesin can't president biden use... like he does in other irt areas chrome... like you heard the vice presidency... there are some avenues that the president can take in terms of gun violence prevention, like putting more funding towards the issue and may be expanding, who can pass a background check and the verbatim around that. we have heard from advocates that they want him to

act on something. president biden has a good record of caring about theseissues has a good record of caring about these issues and, of course, he speaks the rhetoric around these issues which is that he wants change and as i mentioned, it seems like they are eyeing the senate to create they are eyeing the senate to create the change as opposed to creating something... let's return back to our story about the eke —— eu and the uk and the vaccine supply. good mood music david but has anything changed? is it even good mood music? there is absolutely no specifics on the statement up, whatsoever. brexit is

the underlying, pre—existing condition in the covid—19 discussion between the eu and the uk but, in fact, other than saying that they are looking for a win win and other than saying that they are all in this together in this pandemic and they want to increase the supply is, there is no clue whatsoever as to how they will go about that. none at all. no indication of where they might find doses where they can share and ship will somehow get factories open working to more than the capacity that they are doing right now. it is a bit more ominous. it is intended to send some reassurance about any imminent trade war that is about to break out but it shows that, in fact, political leaders really don't know what to do. �* ., , ., leaders really don't know what to do. ., do. and given that you can't find any detail. _ do. and given that you can't find any detail, are _ do. and given that you can't find any detail, are you _ do. and given that you can't find any detail, are you expecting - do. and given that you can't find | any detail, are you expecting the do. and given that you can't find - any detail, are you expecting the eu to push on with the plans to further

restrict vaccines? irate to push on with the plans to further restrict vaccines?— to push on with the plans to further restrict vaccines? we know that the eu will continue _ restrict vaccines? we know that the eu will continue to _ restrict vaccines? we know that the eu will continue to make _ restrict vaccines? we know that the eu will continue to make these - eu will continue to make these threats. they rolled out a more draconian set of regulations today and a toughened rule is that they have already created. but they tell us that they don't want to use them and, of course, most of the angus has been directed at astrazeneca. —— most of their anger. most of it has been directed to the uk, although the uk government has not done anything to cause that. they are very honest about the fact that even if they stop shipments, they cannot just seize those boxes of vaccines. it does not belong to them and they don't have the legal authority for that. that will require a whole other process for emergency measures. we don't see them wanting to answer companies that are fulfilling their requirements ——

anger companies. we don't know where they are going with this even though they are going with this even though they do have those new rules. we will leave it. always good to speak to you. wednesday brought us today of some spells and sunshine. this is the picture in staffordshire on wednesday afternoon. some clear spells there. and over the next few days, we are going to keep with that theme of sunny spells and scattered showers but we will notice that things turn colder by the time we get to friday. in the here and now, have 77 have got 7 77 have got a 77 have gota fairly 7 77 have gota fairly weak 7 77 have got a fairly weak weather? we have got a fairly weak weather front. clearing skies for east anglia behind that weather front it will be quite chilly here. across england and wales, we have got more clouds and some patchy rain sinks its way south throughout the night. in scotland and northern ireland,

clear spells but some scattered showers in the west later tonight. these areas could just see a touch of frost first thing on thursday morning. a day of sunny spells and scattered showers. particularly late in the day, we will start to see some in southern and south—east england. in between these two areas, in england and in wales, a lot of dry weather and sunshine. temperatures up to about 40 degrees or so. a little bit cooler in those parts of scotland. particularly in those blustery showers. moving through, on thursday night into friday, a cold front pushes its way eastwards. it will bring wins coming in from the north—west. a different feeling on friday. we start the day with cloud and rain across england and wales which will move slowly in his words. —— eastwards. some sleet

and snow over the higher ground, particularly in highland scotland and snowdonia as well. guess of 40 mph but up to 50 mph around coasts and hills. a colder start to the day. into the weekend, after that brief cold spell, things will top the mac start to turn warmer. —— things will start to turn warmer. temperatures up to about 30 degrees. goodbye.

hello i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. the eu and uk have agreed to co—operate on vaccines apply after weeks of recriminations they say they will work together to create a win—win situation the details on how our scarce was that the eu has given more details of how it may limit vexing exports to countries like the uk. those measures may still go ahead, we are still trying to work out what the plan forward is for the eu and uk. also to do with vaccines, india is announcing a temporary hold on all major exports of the astrazeneca vaccine, they want to use those doses inside india and one of the efforts to raise this 200,000 tonne ship that is stuck in the suez canal blocking one of the world parts of

most important trading routes. —— world's most important. the eu is looking to bring in more export controls on vaccines. it's being accused of vaccine nationalism by critics in the uk. and the former president of the european commission, jean claudejuncker, is confused. nobody knew or understands why we are witnessing such stupid vaccine more. —— such a stupid vaccine war. well let's try and understand it. it's a story of two competing world views. the eu's frustration starts with this graph. it's vaccinating at a much slower

rate than the uk and the us. it is planing in part the uk. it is now threatening restrictions on exports and being criticised in the uk. the former conservative party leader rights... the eu would dismiss it as doing any such thing but the british press has been unimpressed. here is the front page of the daily mail on sunday again. this is certainly a change of tack from the eu but is the european union really doing anything more than a diluted version of how the uk and us has approach the issue of vaccines from the start? donald trump me know soon enough what he was doing. in just a few minutes i will sign an executive order to ensure the united states government prioritises

in just a few minutes, i will sign an executive order to ensure that the united states government prioritises the getting out of the vaccine to american citizens before sending it to other nations. the us has a stockpile of tens of millions of doses of the astrazeneca vaccine. it's just agreed to send four million to mexico and canada. it's declined to send any to south america. despite the us not using any of them as the vaccine's yet to be approved. indeed, here's politico, telling us the biden administration is also using export controls to prevent companies exporting vaccines without government authorisation. america first isn't only a phrase that works for donald trump. and if that's the us, then this is the uk. this was borisjohnson last year. the health of every country depends on the whole world having access to a safe and effective vaccine, wherever the breakthrough might occur, and the uk will do everything in our power to bring this about. and it's true the uk has donated millions to the covax

scheme to provide vaccines around the world. but here's the eu with an accurate summary of the uk's import export equation. 10 million doses have been exported from the eu to the uk. and zero doses have been exported from the uk to the eu. the uk produces millions of doses — and it isn't exporting any. none of which is a surprise to anyone who's been listening to boris johnson. our vaccines task force has secured more than 350 million doses — more than enough everyone in the uk, the crown dependencies and our overseas territories. or the health secretary matt hancock was also clear on how watching the pandemic film contagion helped him. in the film, it shows that the moment of highest stress around the vaccine programme is not in fact before it is rolled out when actually it is the scientists and

the manufacturers working together at pace. it's afterwords when there is a huge row about the order of priority. now i should add does matt hancock and the uk government apologise for this. health secretary matt hancock confirmed this month... the exclusive deals are a source of pride to the government and its supporters. but the eu appears to have looked for an ally and found a rival. as dave keating, brussels correspondent at france 24 says... and the miscalculation wasn't only on how the uk and the us would behave. it was also the eu's decision to allow vaccine exports to go anywhere, including canada and australia.

this is matina stevis—gridneff, brussels correspondent for the new york times. the eu is fundamentally a trading block. they didn't think to not permit exports from eu —based companies and facilities to wherever those companies were going to sell. is that naive? retrospectively with hindsight it appears so. and is that naive? retrospectively with hindsight it appears so.— is that naive? retrospectively with hindsight it appears so. and what we see now is the _ hindsight it appears so. and what we see now is the eu _ hindsight it appears so. and what we see now is the eu trying _ hindsight it appears so. and what we see now is the eu trying to _ hindsight it appears so. and what we see now is the eu trying to toughen l see now is the eu trying to toughen up see now is the eu trying to toughen up and put itself first and while its critics queue up, to be clear thatis its critics queue up, to be clear that is what the us and uk data from the start. and this raises a far broader point about how the world takes on this pandemic. have a listen to the who.— listen to the who. vaccine nationalism _ listen to the who. vaccine nationalism might - listen to the who. vaccine nationalism might serve i listen to the who. vaccine - nationalism might serve short-term nationalism might serve short—term political goals but it is ultimately short—sighted and self—defeating. short—term political goals are very hard to ignore. just look at the pressure on the eu right now to sort out its faxing roll—out, look to

boris johnson's better out its faxing roll—out, look to borisjohnson's better polling numbers as a vaccine numbers go well in the uk committees are inevitable calculations in democracies and both the uk and the eu are now trying to take the heat out of this moment they have reached. in this joint statement, they have said... what that means in practice we are not sure and while words are important, actions perhaps tell us more. maybe the real expedition for jean—claudejuncker and everyone jean—claude juncker and everyone else was jean—claudejuncker and everyone else was confused by this is a more long—term one. brexit was so this putting the uk first and taking back control, completing on the global stage. the eu is based on the idea that institutionalised international cooperation is a good thing. one is not right and one is not wrong, sometimes they can fit together very

well, but they are two fundamentally different visions of how countries interact. we sought with brexit. we are now seeing it with the covid vaccines, too. —— we saw it with brexit. the uk has announced plans to change the way asylum—seekers are treated when they arrive in the uk. the proposals would penalise people who entered the uk illegally as opposed to those who will arrive through government schemes for refugees. here's the home secretary. at the heart of our new plan for immigration is a simple principle, fairness. access to uk's assignments system should be based on need, not the ability to pay people smugglers. if you enter illegally from a safe country like france where you should and could have claimed asylum, you are not seeking refuge from persecution as is the intended purpose of this a sign on system. instead you are choosing the uk as your preferred destination and you are doing so at the expense of those

with nowhere else to go.— are doing so at the expense of those with nowhere else to go. under what it calls the new— with nowhere else to go. under what it calls the new plan _ with nowhere else to go. under what it calls the new plan for— it calls the new plan for immigration, the government says that people who arrive a week we will become harder for them to gain residency and stay. those that are about to say we have fewer rights to bring family members to join them in the uk and head will have limited access to benefits and will be regularly assessed for removal from the uk. the government says it wants to stop arrivals like this, this was dover on wednesday morning. uk authorities said they dealt with the three incidents with small boats, 67 people were brought ashore and on the french sigh the 37 of the 114 people were prevented from crossing overnight. charities are condemning this proposal as inhumane and unreal, if the changes go through, campaigners are likely to challenge them in the courts. arguing they contravene a treaty from the un in 1950 when the covers the treatment from... let's listen to a barrister

specialising in immigration law. has specialising in immigration law. s proud specialising in immigration law. is proud signatories of specialising in immigration law. sis proud signatories of the refugee convention, the uk has a obligation to fully properly assess all claims. there is no authority for the uk to price one asylum—seekers or for another any more than it can prize one mode of entry over another in assessing protection because it is not the way you flee that matters, it is whether you need protection. the home office says the uk's assignments system is collapsing under the weight of illegal entries. let's look at the numbers, last year just over 30,000 people sought assignment and uk, about 8500 of them cross the english channel and small boats with the help of people smugglers. the government said today it was strength and support for people arriving by the legal route, the uk resettlement scheme allowed for 5000 people last year but less than 1,000 were granted entry before it was halted during the pandemic. there is another angle to this, brexit. when the transition period ended at the start of this year it

brought important changes to the asylum system. the hurst is an immigration barrister who can explain. immigration barrister who can exlain. ., , immigration barrister who can exlain. .,, ., ., , explain. there was a double regulation _ explain. there was a double regulation which _ explain. there was a double regulation which was - explain. there was a double i regulation which was european law allowing asylum—seekers to be returned to other european countries in certain circumstances including where they had previously made asylum claim. we were returning people prior to the end of last year, returning them under the dublin regulation but the government chose not to keep that as part of uk law when we left the european union at the end of last year. and these measures are in place in attempt to impart an measures are in place in attempt to impartan attempt measures are in place in attempt to impart an attempt to replicate dublin but of course, they extend beyond the eu with countries that are potentially very unsafe indeed. here is our political correspondent damien chromatic is. the thing that caught most people's i is that it wants to create a two tier system where depending on how you come to

the uk you might be treated differently. that has caused more because what the government is saying is that if you come through what the cause illegal means like in one of those boats across the channel, well then you could first of all what they would do is seek to try to return you to a country you had passed through. if they weren't able to do that and they then had to process your claim here, well what they would do is only give you lesser rights than you would have if you would come through legal means and those lesser rights would mean you could not hope to be given permanent rights to stay in the uk. you could not hope to bring your family here, you could not hope to access government benefit in future and in future you could be removed from the uk at any point in the future too. all of that would be lowering your rights that you could claim at the end of it but i have to say a wad of this there are big

question marks over because how would the government returned people to countries they don't have agreements at the minute with european countries to do that. that comes down to partly brexit having left at the eu but also how would it create these alternative safe routes? another big question. can i ask you just about the capacity that the uk is willing to offer a? there are some circuits —— some circumstances where in the syrian conflict no one disputes the terrible circumstances in which people find themselves in. will the uk be willing to review the number of people in those kind of situations who it is willing to allow in and to support? this situations who it is willing to allow in and to support? this was a ruestion allow in and to support? this was a question put _ allow in and to support? this was a question put to _ allow in and to support? this was a question put to the _ allow in and to support? this was a question put to the government i question put to the government today. how many people will come under these systems, these routes you are proposing to set up and went. there was no answer. what the government has done with the syrians is during that conflict, they did not take part in those european schemes to settle migrants. what they did was a set up a system where

they did was a set up a system where they have taken around 5000 a year, syrians, directly brought them here to the uk but that system was one of the few routes for people to come, that has come to an end. there is the question what with the uk doing future? the issue there is that is only a system that operates by un agencies, and humanitarian organisations, identifying people usually in refugee camps and bringing them to the uk. not a system where people can go, watch a claim, and asked for asylum. proponents here in refugee groups are saying a route to come here legally doesn't exist and so these changes would simply they say drive people to take more illegal options because they wouldn't have an alternative. from westminster to israel a fourth election in two years has failed to

produce a clear winner. israel's fourth election in two years has again failed to produce a clear winner. with most of the votes counted, parties sympathetic to the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, are expected to fall short of a parliamentary majority. with about 90% of the votes counted, his right—wing block is on course to win 59 seats — two short of the threshold. if neither grouping can form a majority coalition, the country could face its fifth general election in just over two years. our correspondent yolande knell is injerusalem and gave us this update. there is plenty of drama about who is going to sit in israel's parliament here and especially about who is going to be in charge. while it is clear that benjamin netanyahu's party has won the biggest number of seats, about a quarter of the total, there are several small parties each with a few seats and they could determine whether he remains in power or whether his opponents can keep him out. what unites opposition leaders is their insistence that israel's longest—serving prime minister must go. he is currently on trial for corruption, but denies doing anything wrong. with so little movement from the results of previous elections, this result shows once again how divided israeli politics are. there are those who support

netanyahu and those who are against him. but already moves are being made and deals are being done behind the scenes. it looks like mr netanyahu's best path to securing another term could be a highly unusual one involving building a coalition with ultraorthodox, ultranationalist and arab parties. how that would work is anyone's guess. israelis are left wondering if the latest election will again prove inconclusive, whether the long political stalemate will continue. inafew in a few minutes i'm people continue hearing how efforts to free a giant boat stuck sideways in the suez canal and blocking one of the world's main trade routes. scotland was a former first mr alex salmond has made his first public statements since the inquiry, one about the

scottish government handling complaints against him and whether the current first mr broke the minister of code. here is nick aird we on what he said. it minister of code. here is nick aird we on what he said.— minister of code. here is nick aird we on what he said. it was the last iece of we on what he said. it was the last piece of the _ we on what he said. it was the last piece of the story _ we on what he said. it was the last piece of the story what _ we on what he said. it was the last piece of the story what alex i we on what he said. it was the lastl piece of the story what alex salmon positive reaction would be. it was only a few weeks where he said there was a plot to bring him down, he was leaving open the door for nicola sturgeon having to stand on. two things that mr salmon says he will do now, he's about to launch a legal action in the scottish highest civil court against the scottish government, another legal action about he says the actions of the permanent secretary. she was in charge of the harassment policy used to investigate mr salmond back in 2018. no details about what that legal action will fall but he says that will be coming soon for some of the other thing he is going to do is make a formal complaint to police about the leak of the fact that inquiry by the scottish government

into him was taking place in 2018, that appeared in a newspaper and mr salmond says he wants police to make a formal complaint. however and i think this is something many in the scottish government will look at in the moment, he makes it clear that he absolutely accepts the findings of the two reports we have heard this way. so that the report clearing this sturgeon of breaking the minister of code but also the committee report which criticised her and the government but has been kind of dismissed by some as political. he says in the statement he has just sent out, at the inquiries are over and despite their limitations the findings are in and it must be accepted. i intend to move onjust as it must be accepted. i intend to move on just as scott should now move on just as scott should now move on just as scott should now move on just as scotland should now move on just as scotland should now move on. he is not disappearing completely as i say because there is that legal action coming in the complaint to police. i’m that legal action coming in the complaint to police.— that legal action coming in the

complaint to police. i'm ros atkins with outside _ complaint to police. i'm ros atkins with outside source _ complaint to police. i'm ros atkins with outside source and _ complaint to police. i'm ros atkins with outside source and the i complaint to police. i'm ros atkins with outside source and the bbc. complaint to police. i'm ros atkins i with outside source and the bbc and newsroom. i reread straight concerns the uk and eu both saying they will co—operate on vaccine supply. the use is still proposing measures which could limit vaccine exports to the uk. to myanmar now — where a seven—year—old girl has become the lastest victim of the country's violent military crackdown. khin myo chi's family — told the bbc — — she was killed by police, while she ran towards her father, during a raid on their home, in the city of mandalay. here's her older sister — who witnessed the attack. translation: they went upstairs and asked, i will you open the doors or not? upstairs and asked, and then they asked, who else is in this house? when nobody open the doors, my dad replies, no one else, that's all. they said, don't lie and fired gunshots while my sister was sitting translation: they went upstairs and asked, i against my dad's chest. they brutally shot a seven—year—old child. protestors today staged a nationwide �*silent strike'. these pictures are from yangon. many businesses are closed, and as you can see the streets are deserted for the first time

since the military coup on february the 1st. meanwhile — more than 600 people — who were arrested after protests following the coup — have been released from a notorious prison in yangon. let's hear from one of them. so, atabout 11:30am, i was with a group of friends protesting. we were sitting with people protecting us. it happened very very quickly. there was smoke grenades. i entered a group of people and by the time i stood up, the soldiers were alljust trying to shoot us. we were told that if we run, they will shoot us. they put us in a police truck first and then they took us to the stadium, where we were detained for four hours. run 8:30am we were taken to —— the

biggest prison in myanmar... i was detained for 21 days 14 of which was without any charges. one of the world's biggest container ship is blocking the suez canal — one of the world's most vital trade routes. here it is, the ever given. the ship is registered in panama and was en route from china to rotterdam. it was passing north through the canal on its way to the mediterranean when it lost all power and steering. here's one expert on what might have happened. engine failure, you lose control due to engine failure. you would lose control due to steering failure or you would lose control which appears to be the case here because they have been... they have experienced

high winds. have been... they have experienced high winds-— high winds. let's have a closer look. the suez canal crosses the suez isthmus in egypt, and is almost 200 km long. it's the shortest sea link between asia and europe — and one of the most important waterways in the world. 50 ships a day normally pass through the canal, carrying 12% of the world's trade. these thoughts show congestion. this is totally blocking the route. here is totally blocking the route. here is a maritime historian on this. it's an unusual situation. it's a very dire one. this is the largest vessel ever to go round in the suez canal and she has gone sideways in the canal blocking both north and south passages. it is going to have huge consequences for global trade, particularly in asia and in europe. so what will it take the free the vessel? marcus baker is global head of marine and cargo and marsh inc... this is a big ship. 20,000

containers on board. the issue i think is if they cannot free her from the banks, than they have got to find a way to off—load some of those containers to reduce the weight of the ship so that she can actually then be free to float. now the practicalities and logistics of getting a container crane into position alongside to actually reach up ten stories high above the ship to take off some of these containers and then put them somewhere else i think is going to be... it would be very interesting. the delays will have repercussions on global trade and oil prices. let's hear from our business correspondent samira hussein. just imagine. this is what you would call, sort of, the biggest international traffic jam. imagine the worst traffic that you have ever been on and now transport that

onto this really important waterway. remember that 90% of all goods are actually transported by water, so this is really important. and right now, you have this ship that is 1300 feet wide that is just stuck. think about the implication. they are carrying, as rightly pointed out, all kinds of goods. anything from oil, to printers, to bicycles. any kind of goods that you would really want that is really made overseas is being shipped through this canal. and in only about 14 hours, we have already seen about 100 ships have been blocked. that is pretty significant. it doesn't seem like it is going to get unstuck in the next hour or so. the only other route between asia and europe, would be around africa. a much, much longer route. let's go to cairo now and hear from the bbc�*s sally nabil on what the authorities are doing.

the suez canal authority are trying to send a message of reassurance to the world, to everybody, because if that incident continues for a few days, it would affect global trade. it would definitely affect the oil market. the suez canal is one of the most important waterways around the world. so, this is why they are trying to send a message of reassurance to everyone that things are going to be fine but, so far, we expect it to take a couple of days before rescue efforts are over. thanks for sally, there is more on the bbc news app and website. you can download that onto your site —— a smartphone. you can go to the website... you can find further analysis of thisjoint website... you can find further analysis of this joint statement from the uk and eu as they try to

resolve their issues on vaccine supply. thanks for watching, see you soon. good evening. wednesday brought us a day of some spells of blue sky and spring sunshine but other areas had more in the way of cloud with some scattered showers, too. this was the picture in staffordshire wednesday afternoon. some clear spells over there and in fact over the next few days, we're going to keep with that general theme of sun sunny spells, some scattered showers, but we will all notice that things are going to turn quite a bit colder by the time we get to friday. for the here and now, we've got a fairly weak weather front, a cold front which is clearing away from the south—east of england through the course of tonight. so clearing skies for east anglia and the south—east behind that weather front, it's going to be quite chilly here. further north across england and wales, we've got more cloud as a band of light patchy rain just sinks its way south overnight, and across parts of scotland and northern ireland, clear spells but also more cloud and scattered showers working in from the west later in the night. it will be coldest tonight

across parts of aberdeenshire, north east scotland down towards east anglia and the south—east too. so, these areas could see just a touch of frost first thing thursday morning. a bit of a chilly start to the day, a day of sunny spells and scattered showers. the bulk of the showers will be for northern ireland, scotland, perhaps north west england as well but particularly later in the day we will start to see more for southern and south east england as well, they'll be fairly hit and miss. in between these two areas, for central england and for wales, a lot of dry weather with some sunshine flows of temperatures in the warmest parts up to about 14 celsius or so, a little bit cooler than that across parts of scotland particularly where you've got the blustery showers. now moving through thursday night into friday, it is all change as an active cold front pushes its way eastwards. as it does so, that's going to open the doors for this cold air mass whose winds are coming in from the north—west. so, a different feeling day on friday, we start the day with cloud and rain across england and wales that will slowly move its way eastwards followed by clear spells but also some showers and some of these showers will be wintry,

so some sleet and snow over the higher ground, particularly highland scotland, snowdonia for instance as well. and gusts of wind of a round about 30—40 mph wind. but up to about 50 mph around coasts and hills as well. so, it's a colder day. temperatures on the thermometer only 7—11 celsius on friday but feeling colder where you are exposed to those brisk winds as well. into the weekend and after that brief colder spell, things will start to turn a little bit warmer, some rain at times, but we won't all see it. most places looking predominantly dry on saturday, some showers in the north and west on sunday, and temperatures up to about 13 celsius. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, i'm james reynolds. the headlines at 8pm. tighter rules for people seeking asylum in the uk — the home secretary says the current system is collapsing under the pressure. persistent failure to impose immigration laws with a system open to exploitation by criminals is eroding public trust and disadvantaging vulnerable people who need our help. john lewes is to shut eight more stores, putting over 14 persistent failure to impose immigration laws with a system open to exploitation by criminals is eroding public trust and disadvantaging vulnerable people who need our help. john lewes is to shut eight more stores, putting over 14 hundred jobs at risk. the closures are part of its new strategy to adapt to online shopping. as a third covid wave sweeps europe — the eu tightens coronavirus vaccine export controls. here, the government says it has confidence in its supplies and the country remains on track to meet its vaccinations target. the great suez snarl—up —

the 200,000 tonne vessel that's run aground.