a very warm welcome to bbc news. my name's mike embley. our top stories: india suspends all major exports of the astrazeneca vaccine following a domestic surge in coronavirus infections. brazil's daily covid—19 death toll passes 3,000 for the first time, as the virus continues its rapid spread. dealing with the growing number of migrants at the us—mexico border — vice president kamala harris is given herfirst big job. oil prices climb over fears that supplies could be disrupted, after a giant container ship gets wedged across egypt's suez canal. and the tokyo 0lympic and the tokyo olympic flame is lit as the torch really gets under way in fukushima.

the delayed games are due to start injuly. hello to you. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the global demand for covid vaccines has reached a peak just as the number available appears to be running into problems, at least for some countries. joe biden will talk to eu leaders on thursday, and they will be hoping to get more cooperation over supplies as the us continues to enforce an export ban. on wednesday, india suspended all major exports of the astrazeneca covid vaccine following a surge in the number of infections there. officials said it was a temporary squeeze to meet domestic demand for the jabs. the serum institute of india, the world's biggest manufacturer of vaccines, produces the astrazeneca dose under licence. the institute has already delayed shipments to several countries, including brazil and the uk. the who—backed covax scheme is also affected. 0ur correspondent nikhil inamdar is in mumbai

and following developments. this is a temporary squeeze, or a temporary suspension, according to government sources that the bbc has spoken to, because domestic demand for vaccines here in india has shot up because the government is speeding up its inoculation programme, and also because people above the age of 45 are now being allowed to take the vaccine starting next month. it's unclear when these exports will resume, but certainly it's a move that will hit several countries, given that the serum institute of india is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer and india has shipped over 60 million doses. that's more than it has used to domestically inoculate its own people. clearly, with the country now in the firm grips of a second wave, it does seem like india's vaccine diplomacy is going to have to take a back—seat, at least for now. after weeks of tension between the uk and the european union over the distribution of vaccines, a joint statement

has been issued pledging to "create a win—win situation and expand vaccine supply for all citizens". this is a notably different tone to the one struck earlier by the eu, when the commission proposed tougher controls on exports of vaccines. those plans are due to be presented to eu leaders on thursday. here's our europe editor katya adler. a brutal third wave. desperate lockdown protests. a deadly failure so far to get vaccines into arms. eu covid woes are deepening by the day. angela merkel, normally the european symbol of calm and control, suddenly u—turned today on a planned easter lockdown, amid mounting political pressure. translation: this whole business has created - even more uncertainty. i deeply regret that and ask for forgiveness. across the eu, there is growing

frustration at a roll—out far slower than the uk's. some blame their government, others the european commission. it's now on the defensive, accusing pharmaceutical company astrazeneca of not delivering vaccines promised and demanding extra controls on vaccine exports to richer countries. 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. 0n the other hand, you have eu governments like france or spain that are sitting on millions of astrazeneca jabs and not using them. i'm not sure it's millions, but that's a very good point. we need to try to accelerate the campaign. we need to make sure that member states are able to have the logistics to be able to do this. it is true that in the uk, the british government did

pretty well in this first phase. the eu says it has already exported over a0 millionjabs in the last two months, a quarter of those to the uk. existing export controls, used once so far, allow brussels to keep hold of vaccines made by companies that owe jabs to the eu. now the commission also wants to be able to block exports according to reciprocity — if the country in question has production facilities but does not send jabs to brussels — and proportionality if its vaccine roll—out is ahead of the eu. "we're not after an export ban," says the commission. "we just want to secure vaccine supply." but the world outside is accusing the eu of vaccine nationalism, and not even all eu leaders are convinced about these new controls. some worry they'll disrupt the global supply chain for vaccines, and others that it will further damage already strained post—brexit relations with the uk.

ahead of their summit, eu leaders promised vaccine campaigns will take off soon, one way or another. but rising death and infection rates mean the short—term looks bleak. katya adler, bbc news, brussels. in brazil, the number of deaths from covid—i9 has now passed 300,000 — with oxygen running low in some of the country's busiest hospitals. brazil is the second worst—affected country in the world after the united states and has recorded more than 12 million cases of the virus. earlier, the president announced he was launching a special crisis committee to try and control the pandemic. translation: i want to reassure the brazilian i people and confirm that vaccines are guaranteed. by the end of the year, we will have reached 500 million doses to vaccinate the entire population. we will soon return to normal life. president bolsonaro. but there are real problems with the vaccination programme.

it's unlikely the situation will improve quickly. congresswoman tabata amaral is in sao paulo. we are, by far, in the worst moment of the pandemic here in brazil. we have different covid variants that are spreading really fast. we still don't have a decent vaccination plan. so far, for you to have an idea, we have vaccinated only 5% of our population. and we are talking about a president who has been speaking for an entire year against vaccines, against the use of masks, against social distancing, and who only yesterday, after an entire year, announced he's going to create a crisis committee. i want him to take it seriously, to look at all the families who have lost loved ones, to stop denying the crisis, denying the pandemic, to give a stop to his populism, to all this negligence. i'm sure that we have lost thousands of lives that could be spared if we had a president, if we had a leader, who takes the whole

situation seriously. and for me and for many others in congress, the cost of keeping him in power is way too high. that's why we are seeing, for the first time, broad coalitions that are uniting — people from the left, from the right, from the centre. congresswoman ta bata amaral speaking congresswoman tabata amaral speaking to us from sao paulo. let's quickly round up some more of the main news for you. japan says north korea has fired two ballistic missiles into the sea. the japanese prime minister, suga yoshihide, denounced the launches as a threat to peace and security. south korea and the united states confirmed that north korea had fired two projectiles into the sea of japan. facebook says it's blocked a group of hackers in china who used the platform to spy on uighurs overseas by infecting their devices with malicious software. the social media giant said the group targeted under 500 uighur activists, journalists and dissidents living in the us, canada, australia, turkey and other countries.

pope francis has ordered cardinals in the catholic church to take a 10% pay cut, to try to free up money to protectjobs of ordinary employees working in the vatican. a spokesman said the decision was taken after the pandemic affected the income of the holy see. the us vice president, kamala harris, is to lead efforts with mexico and some central american countries to try to stem the flow of migrants into the united states. she said there was a huge problem, with a sharp rise in unaccompanied children trying to cross the borderfrom mexico. us government—run detention centres along the southern border currently accommodate more than 5,000 child migrants, and they are close to being overwhelmed. there's been a surge in arrivals since mr biden reversed several of the trump administration's tough immigration policies. so this new surge we're dealing with now started with the last administration, but it's our responsibility to deal with it humanely and to stop what's happening. and so this increase

has been consequential, but the vice president's agreed — among multiple other things, and i appreciate it — to lead our diplomatic effort and work with those nations. while we are clear that people should not come to the border now, we also understand that we will enforce the law and that we also, because we can shoot gum and walk at the same time, must address the root causes that cause people to make the trek, as the president has described, to come here. —— chewed gum. president biden�*s pick to be assistant us health secretary, rachel levine, has become the first openly transgender person to receive senate approval for a top federaljob. two republicans broke ranks to vote with democrats in her favour. dr levine will work in washington on combatting covid—i9. do stay with us if you can. there's much more to come on

bbc news, including this. egyptian authorities try to free a huge container ship that became wedged across the suez canal. i'm so proud of both of you. let there be no more wars or bloodshed between arabs and israelis. with great regret, the committee have decided that south africa be excluded from the 1970 competition. chanting

streaking across the sky, - the white—hot wreckage from mir drew gasps from i onlookers on fiji. welcome back. very glad to have you with us on bbc news. the latest headlines: india suspends all major exports of the astrazeneca vaccine following a domestic surge in coronavirus infections. brazil's daily covid—i9 death toll passes 3,000 for the first time, as the virus continues its rapid spread. virginia has become the first southern us state to abolish the death penalty. signing the bill into law, the democratic governor, ralph northam, said capital punishment had been applied disproportionately to black people and a flawed legal system had too often led to mistakes. at the bill signing, mr northam noted 296 of the 377 people executed by the state in the 20th century were black.

jayjones is a delegate for the virginia state legislation and he was chief co—patron of the legislation to abolish the death penalty. very good to talk to you. this is a big deal. it very good to talk to you. this is a big deal-— is a big deal. it is an incredibly _ is a big deal. it is an incredibly big - is a big deal. it is an incredibly big deal, l is a big deal. it is an i incredibly big deal, we is a big deal. it is an - incredibly big deal, we are the first southern state to abolish the death penalty, the 23rd in the death penalty, the 23rd in the united states. i think even just a few years ago, signing this bill into law would be unthinkable, but it is the by—product of a tonne of hard work, a lot of passion by advocates across the state and lawmakers, and i think a change in climate here in virginia and across the country. find in climate here in virginia and across the country.— across the country. and there is no way _ across the country. and there is no way to _ across the country. and there is no way to sugar-coat - across the country. and there is no way to sugar-coat it, . across the country. and there is no way to sugar-coat it, is| is no way to sugar—coat it, is there? this is a penalty that has been applied disproportionally, across the country and historically, to black people. country and historically, to black maple-— country and historically, to black people. absolutely. i think this _ black people. absolutely. i think this practice - black people. absolutely. i think this practice has - black people. absolutely. i think this practice has its l think this practice has its roots in racism, it is the descendent of lynching, it is state—sponsored murder in a way that we don't want to have in our system any more, it doesn't

reflect our values. best not who we are. and the data speak for itself. it does this personally affect black people in a particular here in virginia, and that is something we could no longer stand for. clearly for a long time, for a long time it did reflect a sniffing portion of the values in the state. was there a particular moment, a particular case, that change enough people's mines? i case, that change enough people's mines?- case, that change enough people's mines? i think it was the by-product _ people's mines? i think it was the by-product of— people's mines? i think it was the by-product of a _ people's mines? i think it was the by-product of a lot - people's mines? i think it was the by-product of a lot of - the by—product of a lot of work. but if we have gotten to a point where we needed to fully reassess ourjustice system and this was one of the many things we were able to do, notjust in this legislative session in 2021 the last year and our special session in 2020, and i certainly think as we move ahead, people will look to virginia for continued reforms in ourjustice system, and i think this is one we will herald a long time coming and something that will make our commonwealth more equitable and just. commonwealth more equitable and 'ust. ~ . , commonwealth more equitable and 'ust. ~ ., , ., , just. when was the last time vir: inia just. when was the last time virginia executed _ just. when was the last time | virginia executed somebody? just. when was the last time - virginia executed somebody? and

where the people very close to the death who now will not? irate the death who now will not? we have not the death who now will not? - have not executed somewhat in quite some time for some there are two folks who were on death row. this legislation would actually make it so they will not be executed. it is retroactive in its application, so those people will probably be in prison the rest of their lives but not be executed by the state. when the governor cited today at the correctional facility, it was a powerful moment, knowing that there were two people there who would no longer be subjected to this heinous and barbaric punishments.- heinous and barbaric punishments. heinous and barbaric unishments. ., , punishments. there was a surge in applications — punishments. there was a surge in applications of— punishments. there was a surge in applications of the _ punishments. there was a surge in applications of the death - in applications of the death penalty since mr trump left office, but there seems to be a move against it. what do you think about it now? this move against it. what do you think about it now?— think about it now? this is virginia. _ think about it now? this is virginia. a _ think about it now? this is virginia, a place _ think about it now? this is virginia, a place that - think about it now? this is virginia, a place that has i think about it now? this is i virginia, a place that has had a challenging history. either we have confirmed that head on in the last couple of years and

this is yet another step in that process. i would hope the other states, the 27 other states that still do employ the death penalty, can have a look at that, followed virginia's lead and say, we don't want to engage in this process any longer. the united states is in a very ominous number of countries that still employed this process.— countries that still employed this process. when you talk to families, as _ this process. when you talk to families, as i'm _ this process. when you talk to families, as i'm sure - this process. when you talk to families, as i'm sure you - this process. when you talk to | families, as i'm sure you have, of people who have died at the hands of people who might have been executed, what reaction do you get from the families and friends to this change? i think it is important _ friends to this change? i think it is important to _ friends to this change? i think it is important to know - friends to this change? i think it is important to know there l it is important to know there were seven legislators in the general assembly in virginia who have family members who have been victims of murder who were on death row, and they were on death row, and they were facing those penalties, even those folks voted to appeal the death penalty because i think we are now moving into a period, in particular in virginia, where we do not want that to be part of our system, but certainly it

is a challenging set of circumstances when you're confronted with those most heinous crimes. i think the governor cited today, and i agree, if you commit a terrible and tragic crime, you are going to be punished accordingly, but we are to n we are —— we are not going to execute you. the state should not be involved in that. jar; you. the state should not be involved in that.— involved in that. jay jones, thank you _ involved in that. jay jones, thank you for _ involved in that. jay jones, thank you forjoining - involved in that. jay jones, thank you forjoining us. i following israel's election on tuesday, the prime minister benjamin netanyahu's party looks to have won the most seats, but not enough for a majority in parliament, so he needs to form a coalition. many israelis are wondering whether any new government will last, given how close the election was. 0ur middle east correspondent yolande knell has this. there's plenty of drama about who's going to sit in israel's parliament here, and especially about who's going to be in charge. while it's 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's 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, 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 ultra—0rthodox, 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. yolande knell for us there.

one of the world's most important shipping routes, the suez canal in egypt, has been blocked by a grounded giant container ship. at least 10% of global trade passes through the canal, which connects the mediterranean sea to the red sea. the hold—up has sent oil prices to higher levels on international markets. our global trade correspondent dharshini david has the story. there are bottlenecks on the daily commute, and then there's this — a ship the size of the empire state building blocking one of the busiest shipping lanes, after it was aground by strong winds, it's claimed. behind the stricken ever given, a mounting queue of marine traffic, carrying cargo from oil to clothes and food. whereever they hail from — china, the middle east or south asia — they're going nowhere. seen from above, the problem is clear. ships have grown to match our appetite to consume more, but they are ill—suited to a waterway that's just 205 metres wide.

this canal, connecting the red sea and the mediterranean, was originally built 150 years ago. it's still crucial for modern trade. the ever given ran aground at 5:40am on tuesday morning. it's one of 52 ships a day that travel through this passage of water. they carry 12% of global trade, worth over £2 billion per day. there is no easy alternative route, so this disruption could be costly. the suez canal is blocked for, what, the third time in its history. how damaging could that be to global trade? when we think about exports from china, they will take about 10% longer, in terms of shipping time, to arrive at their destination. and when we think about the importance of chinese products for the production of goods all over the world, we have to be worried that this will still have major consequences.

they're hoping tug boats, diggers and the tide will refloat the ship. tonight, a side channel has been reopened to divert some traffic, but it could take weeks to deal with the consequences of this disruption. however mighty the forces of globalisation, we're all vulnerable to the whims of nature. dharshini david, bbc news. 50 years ago, bangladesh — then east pakistan — started a nine—month struggle for independence. the northern village of ataikula endured some of the worst atrocities of the conflict — men were shot and women were raped by pakistani soldiers. decades later, the women have been given the honourary title "war heroine". they were also promised financial support that many still haven't received. the bbc�*s akbar hossain has been talking to survivors. this woman survives by making pottery at her home in northern bangladesh, where she has lived for over 50 years. she was a young woman with a husband and two children

when soldiers arrived in her village. she says the details of what happened to her are too horrific to discuss. 36 women were raped in this village alone. this woman also struggles to describe what happened to her. in this sleepy rural area, one of the worst atrocities of the war took place. the pakistani army and their bengali collaborators attacked fellow muslims

across the country. but in this village, the hindu bengalis were singled out, suspected of being pro—india. 52 men in the village were killed, shot by firing squad. the women were the poorest of the poor in 1971 and still are today. the survivors tell me they struggled to raise a family on their own. they made a huge sacrifice for independence, and the state is yet to recognise it. many years after the war, women who had been raped were told to apply for birangana, or war heroine status. it meant they would be given financial support. but in this village, less than a third of the women were accepted. after 50 years, they're still waiting.

akbar hossain, bbc news, northern bangladesh. the olympic torch is starting its four—month journey around japan, as it heads to tokyo for the delayed opening ceremony of the 2020 summer games. members of the japanese national women's football team have been using the olympic flame, flown in from greece, to light the torch. the pictures we have been seeing, we have seen the lighting of the cauldron at fukushima, and the first torch kiss of the relay, as one torchbearer hands the thing to another torchbearer. the games were delayed is the first ever organised in a global pandemic. organised in a global this were delayed is the first ever organised in a global this path will go... this at the site of

that tsunami. intended to highlight the theme, reconstructed 0lympics. roadside onlookers will have to wear masks and socially distant as japan battles the virus and is still screaming to vaccinate its people. it has fared better than most countries during the pandemic, fewer than 9000 virus deaths, but has been very slow to roll out the vaccine. and before we go, as the temperature warms up in many parts of the world, some people may hope to start sailing — but in the cold of russia, hey, they do it a bit differently. ice yachters from around the world gathered on lake baikal, the world's deepest freshwater lake, for ice sailing week. they brave the frigid siberian cold, with yachts reaching speeds of up to 62 miles per hour. due to covid—19 restrictions, turnout was lower than usual, but the race is open to anyone who has the gear and guts to take on that brutal cold. more on that, more on all the

news, on our website. also on our twitter feeds. thanks for watching. hello there. the weather's looking pretty unsettled over the next few days and it's going to be turning a bit colder as well. before we get there, though, today on the satellite picture, we can see some thick cloud developing to the west of the british isles. and this is going to be moving its way across northern ireland, with a little bit of rain here developing over the next few hours. more general rain and cloud heading into western scotland, so wet weather into the highlands, the western isles and perhaps pushing into 0rkney as well as we head into the first part of thursday morning. so for these northwestern areas of the uk, cloudy with rain at times. now, there will be a few showers elsewhere developing through the day across england, also some spells of sunshine, but towards eastern england, we're going to have a zone of convergence. this is where the winds

bash together and make a line of showers. and if you happen to live in this kind of area, that's where the greatest chance of showers are, whereas across the midlands and across the south coast, your chance of showers is much lower and there should be more in the way of sunshine. in the sunshine, temperatures widely around 13 or 1a degrees across england and wales. a bit cooler across scotland and northern ireland, 10 to 12 celsius, about 10 where it stays cloudy with rain. now, it is going to be turning colder. colder air that's just to the west of greenland at the moment has our name on it, and it's going to be arriving across the british isles as we head into friday behind this stripe of rain, which is our cold front. so, this band of rain, squally winds on it, will push its way eastwards across england. then, sunshine and showers follow. cold enough for a little bit of snow across some of the higher mountains across the northwest of the uk, and those temperatures really taking a plunge. just 7 degrees celsius in both belfast and in glasgow through friday afternoon. now, beyond that, into the weekend, it does stay pretty unsettled. often, the weather's going to be quite windy and there will be some rain

around as well. of the two days, probably saturday the better of it, but quite cloudy across western areas with some patches of rain, more general rain spreading into northern ireland. and all the while, we'll have gusty winds. temperatures still below par for the time of year, about 9 to 12 celsius on saturday. and on sunday, we've probably got some heavier rain on the way, working into some central portions of the uk. to the south of this area of rain, temperatures not so low. we're looking at highs of around 12 or 13 degrees. but cold still in scotland, about 8 to 10 — below average, then, for the time of year.

this is bbc news. the headlines: india has suspended all major exports of the astra—zeneca covid vaccine because of a surge in infections. the foreign ministry says rising cases mean domestic demand is likely to pick up in the coming weeks, so the doses are needed for india's own roll—out. in brazil, the number of deaths from covid—19 has now passed 300,000 — with oxygen running low in some of the country's busiest hospitals. brazil is the second worst affected country in the world after the united states and has recorded more than 12—million cases of the virus. authorities in egypt are due restart their efforts, to free a giant container ship that has become wedged across the suez canal. tug boats and diggers have been trying to refloat the huge vessel for almost 48 hours. around 10% of world trade passes through the waterway. now a special programme on this year's bbc young

reporter competition.