this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. george floyd's death shook the world. the officer who knelt on his neck now stands trial. at a minneapolis courtroom the two sides laid out their cases. you will hear and see if the same time while he is crying out, the deputy never moves. the sunglasses remain undisturbed on his head, and it goes on. the officer did exactly as he was trained — the officer did exactly as he was trained to— the officer did exactly as he was trained to do. use of force is not attractive — trained to do. use of force is not attractive. but it is a necessary component of police work. back in the swim of things and on her way! the ever given is dislodged from the bank of the suez canal, after a week—long saga that captured imaginations, and clogged up global trade.

urging caution, for a country longing forfreedom. borisjohnson says people must remain vigilent, even as covid restrictions ease across england. and — we take a look at beijing's questionable tactics in its attempt to control of what is said about china's role in the pandemic. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world — and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe.in the united states — the trial has got underway of a white former police officer accused of killing a black man, george floyd. the prosecutor focused on mr floyd's final minutes, replaying video footage which showed him gasping

for breath as the officer, derek chauvin, knelt on his neck. the defence argued that mr floyd's health conditions and drug use had contributed to his death. our north america correspondent aleem maqbool reports. this marks the start of what will be an emotional and fraught few weeks for the family of george floyd. but the reminders have, of course, never gone away of the way he died. we need justice. i think throughout this whole trial, that's one word that you will hear me and my family say a lot — justice. somebody needs to be held accountable. do you swear or affirm... the outrage the case sparked became an examination of systemic racism in the us. but prosecution lawyers started by bringing back the focus to the man seen here on the right. this case is about mr derek chauvin and not about any of those men and women, it's not about all policing at all. this is when i started watching again.

they showed jurors new cctv footage of the lead up to george floyd's death, as well as the full infamous video that caused such distress. and the most important numbers you will hear in this trial are nine two nine. what happened in those nine minutes and 29 seconds when mr derek chauvin was applying this excessive force to body of mr george floyd. in his opening statement, the lawyer for the former police officer defended his tactics. derek chauvin did exactly what he had been trained to do over the course of his 19—year career. the use of force is not attractive, but it is a necessary component of policing. but primarily, they are also questioning one fundamental aspect of the death of george floyd, as i heard from a lawyer for the city's police union. the defense�*s main arguments are going to focus around whether or not chauvin actually

caused his death. that is an argument that he would've died anyway. right, right. yeah, and i think, well,... that, for a lot of people who saw the video, will sound ludicrous, frankly. um, well, the video isn't the whole story, it's a piece of the story, and that is what the jury will have to decide. these protests outside the courthouse are a reminder of the strength of feeling there was last summer, notjust here but all over the world. but in this case, one of the most important in us history, will come down to, of course, is the opinion of 12 jurors. aleem maqbool, bbc news, minneapolis. larry madowo joins us now from hennepin county courthouse in minneapolis. for many, larry, this is seen as a test of us police accountability.

what did we learn todayjust in the opening day? 50. what did we learn today “ust in the opening amt what did we learn today “ust in the opening “wt what did we learn today “ust in the opening day? so, we got a sense of what the strategy _ opening day? so, we got a sense of what the strategy is _ opening day? so, we got a sense of what the strategy is going _ opening day? so, we got a sense of what the strategy is going to - opening day? so, we got a sense of what the strategy is going to be - what the strategy is going to be here for both the prosecution and the defence with the calls to the witness stand today, but also the line of questioning. it centres around the cause of death. the prosecution in the state of minnesota essentially straight to convince this jury that george floyd died because derek chauvin was kneeling on his neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds. he said no less than 27 different times, "i can't breathe." on the other hand, derek chauvin's defence led by eric nelson is saying that the reason why he died is because he had a history of drug use, that they found fentanyl and methamphetamine in his blood that he had a history of other underlying health problems and that you cannot blame kneeling on his neck for the cause of his death, and every witness that we have come on the stand today, we have three witnesses, they tried to paint this narrative of a man who did not use

proper police procedure, who betrayed his badge to the prosecution and what the defence did by cross—examining those witnesses is to try and prove that this was perfectly acceptable. this is what the police officer trained in this sort of incidence should have done. this incident as we know spreads protests right around the world. i was just wondering how it has impacted the united states politically and the political divide? , p, , politically and the political divide? , , ., , , divide? this has been a deeply charied divide? this has been a deeply charged trial _ divide? this has been a deeply charged trial already _ divide? this has been a deeply charged trial already since - divide? this has been a deeply charged trial already since day | divide? this has been a deeply - charged trial already since day one, because from the moment we saw the questioning of thejurors because from the moment we saw the questioning of the jurors when they were being sapped, you can see the direction it was heading, this is certainly a case about race even though the defence would like to make it about anything other than, the whole of america is watching what is happening here. it has not been a single rights case like this since rodney king riots a few years ago. and even then, there has not been a major civil rights trial in the air of black lives matter in the

way that this is setting out to be. president biden is said to be watching it closely. the rest of the nation is watching to see what happens, and if this changes how black people are policed in america. larry, outside the courthouse in minneapolis, thank you very much. the giant ship that has blocked the suez canal for nearly a week has finally been freed. the ever given was wedged across one of the world's busiest shipping routes — weighed down with 18,000 containers. it took 13 tugs and the removal of tens of thousands of tonnes of sand to free her. dharshini david reports. for six days, it's gripped and confounded the world, but the bottleneck sealing one of the busiest shipping lanes has been uncorked. the ever given, owned by company evergreen, is finally on the move thanks to a fleet of tug boats, diggers and an exceptionally high tide. moving the ship was never going to be easy. the iso—year—old canal is less than 300 metres wide. by contrast, the mega ship is 400 metres long,

and 20 times heavier than the eiffel tower. almost 30,000 cubic metres of mud have had to be shifted, also shifting the costs. carrying 20,000 containers, the ever given is the answer to our growing shopping list. a similar number of ships go down the canal as did a0 years ago, but now they're carrying more than three times as much. around 52 go through everyday, accounting for around i2%, or £7 billion, of global trade. now, behind the ever given, there have been more than 300 vessels queueing, their cargo everything from food to medicine to livestock and cars. they too may have more trouble on the horizon. there is a large backlog of vessels that are waiting to go through the canal from both sides, and i think even operating at full capacity, it's going to take probably several weeks to get

back to normal. and in the meantime, of course, the vessels that are starting off that were due to travel through the canal at the moment will continue to be diverted. the ever given and its cargo was due to arrive in felixstowe next week, but its customers and many other still await an eta. we have six containers on the sea on the wrong side of the suez canal, and the reality, we're a fun gift business, which means our product isn't critical, but there's a lot of critical products and essentials on those vessels. but how to prevent a repeat of this disruption? analysts say the egyptian authorities will be looking closely. it's a major artery for the world so none of us want to see - this happening again, - so anything that can be done to create a safer environment for this i think will be looked i at and dealt with in due course. a pandemic, changes due to brexit, rising shipping costs and now this.

the trade that propels jobs and profits has faced fierce headwinds. it will be awhile before it gets back on course. dharshini david, bbc news. latin america's largest country has descended into covid—induced chaos, with more new case numbers, and deaths, than any other nation on earth. president, jair bolsonaro, has also lost two key cabinet ministers, as he comes under increasing pressure over his handling of the pandemic. foreign minister, ernesto araujo, resigned after clashing with senior members of congress and being accused of damaging relations with brazil's main trade partner — china. shortly afterwards, the defence minister, general fernando azevedo, announced he too was standing down. let's get an update from bbc�*s brazil reporter camilla motta who's in sao paulo. it is, unfortunately. i think one of the main symbols of the hospital collapse that we are seeing are

these morbid i lines that have been reported over the last three weeks or so. reported over the last three weeks orso. people reported over the last three weeks or so. people there are severely ill, but they cannot get treatment because the system is completely stretched, complete the overwhelm. so if you catch covid—i9 in brazil right now, there is no assurance that you are going to get treatment either on the private or the public sector. one procedures institute has already established this as the worst hospital collapse in the country's history at the beginning, 13 months ago, we saw different epicenters as time went by, but now there is no epicentre. the virus seems to be out of control all over the country and brazil is a big country. here in the england — the public have been enjoying their first day of freedom after the government's stay at home order came to an end. it means people can now meet in groups of six outdoors — it's a major step in the easing of the government's lockdown. but the prime minister has urged extreme caution — borisjohnson said he hoped this

would be the last lockdown — but the public must continue to obey the rules — and the vaccines need to remain effective. here's our health editor, hugh pym. new freedoms, and all on a sunny day — no wonder these swimmers at a lido in norfolk were enjoying themselves, with outdoor pools in england allowed to reopen. very nice. it's lovely, it's amazing, it's a great feeling. it's pretty great. it's cold! yeah. until today, weddings were only permitted in exceptional circumstances, but now ceremonies with up to six people are allowed. and in coventry, dwayne and nyasha tied the knot after postponing in the winter. even, like, yesterday, it was like, they could just ring, couldn't they, and go, actually... yeah, not today. ..not today. so, it's surreal, it's wonderful. at the new downing street

media briefing room. isn't there a danger of mixed messaging when you talk both about a road map to freedom and getting back towards normal life but, also, the need to be cautious because of cases rising in some parts of europe? we're pleased to be able to have some measure of relaxation today. it is important, it is valuable. i know it will be prized by people. but also very important to stress that we are continuing to be cautious. the main thing we're concerned about is the risk of importing into the uk variants which could have a reduced effectiveness on the vaccines we're currently using. now, in the long—term, there would be ways around that, but in the short—term, that is the principal thing that is driving concerns about border issues at this stage. fresh air dilutes the virus _ particles and can blow them away... a government advert reminds people that meeting outdoors is less risky than in their homes. hands, face, space and fresh air. and labour urged ministers not

to drop their guard. it's good we've got to this stage of lifting some of the restrictions. we've got to be cautious about it. and i think the single biggest risk is, of course, what we're seeing happening in other countries, where the numbers are still going up. the number of daily reported cases was coming down, but it's been fairly stable for the last few weeks — between 5,000 and 6,000 on the seven—day rolling average. but the number of daily hospital admissions with covid is falling steadily. it's down to around a few hundred a day. health officials say fewer people are getting seriously ill with covid, and the vaccine is having an impact. from ice hockey and rock concerts to communityjabs, the sse arena in belfast has opened as a mass vaccination centre. ministers said it was a significant milestone. in northern ireland, from thursday, outdoor sports will resume and six people can meet in private gardens. some beaches in wales

were busy over the weekend, with travel restrictions lifted and youth sports and meetings of up to six people outside permitted. scotland's stay—at—home message changes to stay local on friday — each nation moving at its own pace out of lockdown. hugh pym, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: why are australian women protesting? prime minister scott morrison has promised to put women at the heart of his government, but will it be enough? the accident that happened here was of the sort that can at worst, produce a meltdown. in this case, the precautions worked, but they didn't work quite well enough to prevent some old fears about the safety features of the stations from resurfacing.

the republic of ireland has become the first country in the world to ban smoking in the workplace. from today, anyone laying up in offices, businesses, pubs and restaurants will face a heavy fine. the president was on his way out of the washington hilton hotel where he had been addressing a trade union conference. the small crowd outside included his assailant. it has become a symbol of paris, |100 years ago, many parisi endsj wished it had never been built. the eiffel tower's where they is being marked - by a re—enactment of the first assent by gustave eiffel. - this is bbc news... australia's prime minister scott morrison has promoted women to the centre of his cabinet. he said the changes would bring more female perspectives into senior levels of the government.

the reshuffle comes after a series of rape, misconduct and sexism allegations which have rocked australian politics. there have been women's protest and the government's poll ratings have dropped. let's speak now to janine hendry — she's one of the organisers of women's march fourjustice protests in australia — shejoins me live from melbourne. thanks forjoining us here on bbc news. some of the allegations and revelations about the political world have beenjaw—dropping, really portraying much of australian politics as a sort of toxic boys club. what was the public reaction to that before you started organising these large demonstrations? if organising these large demonstrations? �* , ., ., , , demonstrations? if it's “aw-dropping in the ou demonstrations? if it's “aw-dropping in the you cannot h demonstrations? if it'sjaw-dropping in the you cannot begin _ demonstrations? if it'sjaw-dropping in the you cannot begin to _ demonstrations? if it'sjaw-dropping in the you cannot begin to imagine i in the you cannot begin to imagine what it is like for us down here. i think the women of australia have sacked 5a many months watching what was going on in our parliaments, and

itjust got to the point where we recognised very clearly that this and all of the other abuse and gender violence that is occurring against women in australia was really occurring as a result of structural inequality that exists and is being supported by the australian parliament. it and is being supported by the australian parliament. it seems to be also that _ australian parliament. it seems to be also that this _ australian parliament. it seems to be also that this is _ australian parliament. it seems to be also that this is the _ australian parliament. it seems to be also that this is the treatment i be also that this is the treatment of women notjust in politics but the treatment of women in the workplace, the treatment of women in the community, which can't be put downjust as an the community, which can't be put down just as an old—fashioned rather quaint sexism. absolutely, absolutely. there is just so much structural inequality, and it is really difficult to fathom why. australia was one of the very first countries in the world to introduce equal opportunity legislation, and i think that many

women from australia in particular we thought we had equal opportunity website appears to be happened is that we got on with our lives and walking behind us, all these varying misogynistic structures had established not only in our parliaments but also in our major lawmaking institutions, just a few months ago, whole slew of revelations coming out of our sort two court system of systemic sexual assault against working for some very seniorjudges in those courts. these are the institutions that make the laws. they affect 50% of our population they affect women, and yet they are dominated by what i would say is certainly male—dominated but certainly

misogynistic culture, even in our current parliaments, we have only got 32% representation from women, so structurally come australia has got a long way to go, we are in 2021, and this should not be happening. 2021, and this should not be happening-— 2021, and this should not be happening. 2021, and this should not be ha-nenin. �* , happening. janine, i'm sorry, we must leave _ happening. janine, i'm sorry, we must leave it _ happening. janine, i'm sorry, we must leave it there, _ happening. janine, i'm sorry, we must leave it there, but - happening. janine, i'm sorry, we must leave it there, but thank i happening. janine, i'm sorry, we i must leave it there, but thank you very much indeed forjoining us on bbc news. a long awaited report into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic following a world health organisation's mission in china, will be released on tuesday. china's response to the covid—19 outbreak has been scrutinised ever since the virus was first detected in wuhan. at the same time beijing has been trying to take greater control of what is said about its role in the pandemic — often with questionable tactics, as krassi twigg from bbc monitoring reports. the truth about the coronavirus pandemic according to china. over the past year, china has been trying to convince the world that it has handled the crisis well.

in an effort to shift any blame for the outbreak, beijing launched an all—out information offensive, fighting the assumption it all started in wuhan and undermining western vaccines. state media and officials have been keen to highlight the death of people who have received pfizer shots, questioning the safety of western vaccines without basis. we have seen evidence that audiences internationally are engaging in content produced by chinese state media outlets surrounding vaccine hesitancy, surrounding concerns about the western vaccines. these messages are in some cases quite effective because it is reinforcing doubts that people may already be having. the fears are this kind of misinformation risks damaging public health. china's determination to push its counter narrative on the crisis goes back to the origins of covid—19. this report by the chinese state channel, cgtn suggest

that the virus came not from china but from a military research base in the us. china endorsed the theory in response to us claims that the virus escaped from a lab in wuhan, as well as provocative remarks by donald trump. coronavirus, right? "kung—flu", yeah? this claim was amplified by a host of actors, state media outlets abroad in many languages. the so—called will for your diplomats taking a fiery new brand ——the so—called wolf warrior diplomats taking a fiery new brand of diplomacy to twitter and the huge network of box. china really has a wide variety of tools at its disposal, one of the first big questions ofjoe biden's presidency is how he will deal with the huge numbers of migrants gathering at america's southern border, hoping to cross into the us. many have risked all they have — including their lives — to make the journey. few parts of the trip are safe,

but one area in particular has become notoriously dangerous — the border between colombia and panama. the darien gap is home to murderous trafficking gangs — but the geography of the area makes it all but impossible to find another route. our correspondent daniel pardo has been there — and sent this report. this is the darien gap, one of the most dangerous and remote forests in the world and the border between colombia and panama. on the colombian side, the region has been controlled by guerrilla and paramilitary groups who profit from extortion, smuggling and drug trafficking. recently, this border has seen another type of crisis, with thousands migrants from all over the world, awaiting their chance to cross the jungle. they come from haiti, venezuela, cuba, but also many countries of africa. it is impossible to know how many cross each year or how many die en route. in cemeteries like this one, it is increasingly common to see graves of those who drowned while trying to cross the gap. these two are from cuba.

they are trying to get to the us. now because of the pandemic, the border between colombia and panama is closed. there is no sign of humanitarian or state organisations here. the future of these people completely depends on those who can cash in on it by helping them cross illegally. in the jungle, they are led by coyotes like these — this man with the red cap. he is telling them when to start the journey. this is the last piece of a civilisation that the migrants are going to sea for at least a week. now, they are going to the darienjungle. the coyotes seem to be controlled by the so—called clan del golfo, one of the most powerful armed groups in the country. they have around 3,000 soldiers. the army captain tells me illegal migration isn't the only thing they are keeping tabs on.

for at least 15 years, migrants have been departing from this beach onto the darien where they cross the border to panama. but with the pandemic, they tend to get stuck here. they don't have access to a room, to water, to a toilet here. this journey can be deadly. but hundreds of people embark on it every day. they feel that the risk is worth it, as it means they might reach the us and start a new life.

that is it from me and the team for now. see you soon. hello. monday brought us the warmest day of the year so far. temperatures in the southeast at 20.1; celsius and things will get even warmer for the next few days. a lot of warm, sunny weather but not everywhere. wet weather the northwest of scotland, persistent rain there, and then later this week, thursday on is when things are turning colderfor all of us with the return of some overnight frost as well. for the here and now, here's the weather front, slow moving across the northwest of scotland. that is producing rain and we could see localised flooding for northern and western parts of the high lands, also for the westin isles and the northern isles. elsewhere, a dry story, cloudy for parts in northern ireland, southern scotland in the far northwest of england

but the coulds should break up later in the day, long spells of warm sunshine further south and light winds too. temperatures up to around 23 degrees. but above 20 for england and wales, up in the high teens for scotland in the northern ireland. high teens for scotland and for northern ireland. through this evening, and overnight, we see that rain persisting again across the western half of scotland but it will start to edge its way gradually a little bit further south. temperatures first thing wednesday morning won't be quite as chilly as first thing tuesday morning, so typically between seven to 9 degrees. now as we head through tuesday night into wednesday, there is the weather front which is slowly during wednesday morning will start to filter its way a little bit further south. so the rain's continuing across parts of scotland through the day, very slowly some of it nudging across northern ireland and really england and wales staying quite dry once again on wednesday and with those clear, blue skies it will be another warm day. very warm in fact for march, between 19 to 23 degrees once again

but things starting to turn a little bit cooler across scotland and northern ireland. 11 or 12 degrees here and single figures across the northern half of scotland. that's down to the fact this weather front is introducing colder air from the north, towards the end of the week as that slips its way down towards the south and the blue colours will return to the map so this cold air moving in from an arctic direction, and that is going to feel very different as we head towards good friday and into the easter weekend as well. so certainly turning colder later this week, wintry showers possible, but the next few days looking warm for many of us. bye— bye.

this is bbc world news. the headlines:

the trial of a white police officer accused of killing a black man, george floyd, last may has begun in the us city of minneapolis. the prosecutor replayed to the court the full nine minutes video showing the former police officer kneeling on mr floyd's neck as he struggled to breathe. derek chauvin faces three counts — second degree murder, third degree murder — and manslaughter. he denies the charges. this defence told the jury there are always two sides to every story. the suez canal authority says a giant ship that has been blocking one of the world's most important waterways for a week has been fully floated. tug boats taking part in the operation honked their horns in celebration. the major french pharmaceutical company has been found guilty of the manslaughter that of a man. —— been found guilty of manslaughter of a