this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. disturbing videos which appear to show the massacre of unarmed civilians in northern ethiopia have been obtained by the bbc. george floyd's former girlfriend reflects on his life and their battle with addiction on day four of ex—police officer derek chauvin�*s trial. a british policeman has become the first serving officer to be convicted of a terror offence, after he was found guilty of belonging to a banned neo—nazi terror group. why did you join a terrorist organisation thenjoin why did you join a terrorist organisation then join the police? he was also found

guilty of fraud, for lying on his police application form. police in belgium charge a crows of thousands of revellers who had'd tricked into attending a hoax concert in brussels. the eurovision song contest has been given permission to allow fans to watch the event in person as part of a trial by the dutch government. welcome to the programme. we start in northern ethipia and some disturbing videos obtained by the bbc. they appear to show the killing of unarmed civilians by people apparently dressed in ethiopian army uniform. in november, the government launched a military campaign in the region of tigray. this was after an attack on an army base there thought to have been carried out by the rebel tigray people's liberation front. there have been accusations of serious abuses, by all sides

in the conflict. our africa correspondent leila nathoo�*s report contains images that some will find very disturbing. armed men in uniform, leading a group towards a cliff edge. bodies appear strewn across the ground. a man is urged to throw one off the cliff. these graphic videos and others like it were passed to the bbc and began circulating on social media last month. we have been able to match elements of the landscape shown to features visible on satellite images to identify the location. it's in ethiopian�*s northern tigray region. in november 2020, following an attack on a military base, the ethiopian army

began an offensive in the region against the tigray people's liberation front, or tplf. they are challenging central government rule. troops from eritrea are also involved, backing the ethiopian government. the conflict has largely been hidden from view, as access has been severely limited. the un is currently investigating numerous allegations of atrocities committed by all sides. we can't say for sure when these videos were filmed, but the armed men are wearing uniforms that match those used by the ethiopian national defence force, or endf. they are heard speaking one of ethiopian�*s official languages. the victims are dressed in civilian clothing and are heard speaking the language of the tigray region. for those trying to piece together what is happening on the ground, this is more evidence of shocking violence. since the beginning of the conflict in the tigray region we have documented the whole magnitude of very serious abuses,

including extrajudicial executions by ethiopian government forces and their allies and this is absolutely an incident which will require further investigation because what we are seeing here in the video could amount to war crimes. we put the videos and claims to the ethiopian government, who said they were open to independent investigations in the tigray region and said social media posts and claims could not be taken as evidence. they added that investigations into allegations were welcome for remedial action and accountability. after months of darkness, slowly a horrifying picture is beginning to emerge of the blood events picture is beginning to emerge of the bloody events that have occurred there over the past five months. leila nathoo, bbc news, in nairobi. i'm joined by selam kidane, who is a human rights activist monitoring events in ethiopia. thank you for coming on the

programme. i want to ask for your reaction. it is difficult to watch some of those images. it is horrifying. it is not the first time i have seen it because it has been circulating on social media for a few weeks now. it is horrifying, especially when you can hear what you are saying. it is one of the languages i am very familiar with and i use every day. the tone of voice, the kind of language being used, the cruelty, the disdain, it is just too difficult to watch and hear. ~ ., ., , , , hear. what does it represent for the region? _ hear. what does it represent for the region? it _ hear. what does it represent for the region? it representsj for the region? it represents an escalation _ for the region? it represents an escalation of _ for the region? it represents an escalation of violence, i for the region? it represents an escalation of violence, a l an escalation of violence, a continuation of the cycle of violence that has an skewed since the end of last year. —— continued. people happy to

field themselves or being found while doing this is a new level of cruelty that seems to be condoned. of cruelty that seems to be condoned-— of cruelty that seems to be condoned. ~ ., ., , ., ., ~ of cruelty that seems to be condoned. ~ ., ., .,~ ., condoned. what do you make of the government _ condoned. what do you make of the government response? - condoned. what do you make of the government response? i - condoned. what do you make of the government response? i am disappointed- — the government response? i am disappointed. the _ the government response? i —n disappointed. the government seems to have been emboldened by the fact that the international immunity seems to be happy by that lipservice. the international community says with drop foreign troops, investigate the government and the government seems to be saying what sounds right but not doing anything about it. rather than saying, come and investigate, we should be saying stop this with immediate effect because these are trips that are governed by the government of ethiopian. ——

troops. government of ethiopian. -- troo s. ., government of ethiopian. -- troos. . ., , troops. there are accusations of abuse on all sides? - troops. there are accusations of abuse on all sides? there l of abuse on all sides? there are accusations _ of abuse on all sides? there are accusations of _ of abuse on all sides? there are accusations of abuse - of abuse on all sides? there are accusations of abuse is l of abuse on all sides? there l are accusations of abuse is by several sides including eritrean troops that seem to be invited by the government of ethiopian. they have been allegations of massacres, looting and horrific allegations of rape of women and girls and so this is been reported consistently by various, very credible organisations, including human rights watch, and ethiopian�*s nine human rights commissioner, funnily enough. —— ethiopian human rights commission. from troops and militia, they have

been accused of atrocities. thank you very much for coming onto the programme.— thank you very much for coming onto the programme. the girlfriend of george floyd, whose death in minneapolis last year sparked protests across the world, took the stand today in the trial of derek chauvin — the police officer accused of murdering him. courtney ross cried as she talked about how she first met mr floyd and described their struggle with opioid addiction. derek chauvin has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one of manslaughter. our north america correspondent lebo diseko has been watching the evidence and a warning her report contains some disturbing images. a man who enjoyed food, exercise and taking dad selfies — george floyd's girlfriend of three years painting a picture of the man she loved. she told the court about the life that they'd shared, including their addiction. our story is... it's a classic story

of how many people get addicted to opioids. we got addicted and tried really hard to break that addiction, many times. the prosecution wanted to show mr floyd's addiction was not a reflection on his character, but the issue is central to mr chauvin�*s defence. for the majority of the time, mr floyd was clean, right? yes. and it was your belief that mr floyd started using again about two weeks prior to his death, correct? i noticed a change in his behaviour, yes. the court heard that mr floyd had previously overdosed and that both friends with him on the day he died had sold him drugs before. next on the stand, the paramedics who'd been called out to the scene. both testified that mr floyd was unresponsive when they arrived. in a living person, there should be a pulse there.

i did not feel one — i suspected this patient to be dead. and at the moment that you're checking for this carotid pulse, are the officers still positioned on top of mr floyd? yes. for the first time, we had medical evidence that suggested george floyd died at this spot, and while that was less emotional than the testimony heard at the start of the day, it was no less impactful. lebo diseko, bbc news, minneapolis. a metropolitan police officer has been found guilty of belonging to a banned neo—nazi terror group, and possessing extremist material. the 22—year—old, is the first serving british police officer, to be convicted of a terror offence. benjamin hannam, was a member of the far right extremist group, nationalaction, which was banned in 2016. he lied about his past, when applying to join the met. our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford has the story. pc ben hannam, 22 years old,

who today became the first police officer in britain to be convicted of terrorism. although he faces a certainjail term, he was released on bail until the sentence is passed. we had to chase him to talk to him because he ran from a side door of the court. why did you join a terrorist organisation and then join the police? ben, ben... his father, keeping me from asking questions, and whisking him away in a taxi. he'll be sentenced in three weeks. at his passing out parade three years ago, it was cressida dick, the head of the metropolitan police, who oversaw the ceremony and walked right past him as she welcomed the new recruits. just two years earlier, here he was taking part in propaganda for the banned neo—nazi terrorist group national action. let's go. doing fight training in the woods. and daubing a nazi torch on a wall in swindon.

traces of the graffiti ben hannam sprayed on that trip are still visible in swindon to this day. when he did it, he was still an active member of a banned neo—nazi terrorist organisation. within weeks of doing it, he was applying to join london's metropolitan police. the propaganda video from the trip was posted on the internet just days before he put in his application. this was the police raiding his home to seize phones and computers. it had taken two years to realise they had a nazi in the ranks. i've got... just point them out, don't touch them, if you can try and avoid it. yeah, yeah. no, it's fine. that phone, this apple watch... they only found him because the membership list of a neo—nazi internet forum had been leaked. on his bedroom wall, he still had pictures of german soldiers from world war ii. police also found indecent images of children. this is a unique case, and never before has a serving police officer been prosecuted

for being the member of a terrorist group. when we identified the person we were looking at was a police officer, it was of course a shock, but we then moved very quickly to arrest ben hannam. in a diary, pc hannam noted that hejoined national action — or na — in 2015, left in 2017, and joined the metropolitan police service — the mps - in 2018. 0therformer national action members includejack renshaw, who admitted plotting to kill his mp. zack davies, who was found guilty of attempting to behead an asian dentist, and jack coulson, who made a pipe bomb. it seems incredible that a man who's been part of a group that has been banned as a terrorist organisation can go on and join the police, and the police not know anything about his background. we're not talking about a huge number of people here. seen here doing a nazi salute in a propaganda video, ben hannam had just ticked a box on two police forms... hey, good accuracy!

..saying he'd never been a member of the bnp. the force never took a reference from the school he'd just left, where one teacher had been shocked by his racism. daniel sandford, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: this news, still to come: year's new revision contest this year's new revision contest will have spectators. —— eurovision. 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 these stations from resurfacing. the republic of ireland has become the first country in the world to ban

smoking in the workplace. from today, anyone lighting 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. a small crowd outside included his assailant. it has become a symbol of paris. 100 years ago, many parisians wished it had never been built. the eiffel tower's birthday is being marked by a re—enactment of the first ascent by gustave eiffel. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: disturbing videos which appear to show the massacre of unarmed civilians in northern ethiopia have been obtained by the bbc. george floyd's former girlfriend reflects on his life and their battle with addiction on day four of ex—police officer derek chauvin's trial. the united nations secretary

general has told the bbc that rich nations should share the coronavirus vaccines they've bought instead of stockpiling them. 600 million doses have been distributed worldwide but more than 80% of them have been used by the richest countries. meanwhile, many countries are struggling to secure any vaccines. the un secretary—general antonio guterres spoke to the bbc�*s laura trevelyan. secretary general, thank you so much forjoining us. a great pleasure. the united states and other developed countries are stockpiling coronavirus vaccines. what is your reaction to the situation? we have been asking developed countries not to stockpile vaccines and to share the vaccines they have bought and, in many circumstances, they have bought more vaccines than the ones needed for their population, to share them early with the developing world. because if you want to defeat the covid, you need to be able to defeat it everywhere,

and it's very important to start vaccinating especially front—line workers and vulnerable populations everywhere. but the united states is saying that it's holding on to its stockpile because it may want to vaccinate adolescents, for example. is that a good reason to hold onto it? it's important to vaccinate the whole population but for us, the priority is to vaccinate those that are in the front line and those vulnerable groups everywhere before we vaccinate the whole of the population in developed countries. and the reason is very simple — we have a virus that mutates. and we see that we have mutations that are more frequent when spreading is more frequent too. and so, if we don't stop the spreading of the virus in developing countries, there will be more and more variants and some of those variants might put into question the vaccines that exist today, being used in the developed world. which means those vaccines might become useless for the future.

so to make — even to make the vaccination campaigns in the global north effective, we need to make sure that we are able to vaccinate in the global south, to avoid the spreading, and with the spreading, the development of new variants that might become a serious problem to eradicate covid. there is a lot of talk here in the united states about a vaccine passport, so that people can begin to live their lives again. but what concerns do you have about the idea of a vaccine passport? the main problem of a vaccine passport is equity. i mean, is it possible to have a vaccine passport that facilitates exchanges and movements, but at the same time that creates a new level of inequality in the world. that is the concern. we see that there is a huge inequality in the way people have access to vaccination and treatment and huge inequality in the way that countries are able to mobilise resources for recovery. and that is why we are insisting on the need

to provide more liquidity and effective debt relief for the developing countries and middle income countries that need it, in order to be able to guarantee to their populations, while the developed world being able to do with the massive mobilisation of resources that is being made. what is the lesson that you hope the world has learned from the pandemic? i mean, the biggest lesson is to understand how fragile we are as a global society. fragile in relation to the pandemic, fragile in relation to climate change, fragile in relation to lawlessness in the cyberspace, fragile in relation to the lack of capacity to have, i would say, control about technological development that can put into question our global security, so we are very fragile, and where we recognise — when we are humble enough to recognise how fragile we are, i hope we will learn

that we need solidarity to face the challenges that are so clear to this world. secretary general, thank you so much forjoining us. it is a pleasure. police in belgium have dispersed the crowd of 7000 young people who have turned up for a non—existent concert announced on social media, apparently is an april fools' dayjoke. it apparently is an april fools' dayjoke— apparently is an april fools' da 'oke. ., day 'oke. it started as a 'oke on day joke. it started as a 'oke on semi day joke. it started as a 'oke on social media * day joke. it started as a 'oke on social media but i day joke. it started as a 'oke on social media but this h day joke. it started as a joke| on social media but this april fools' prank quickly gained traction, striking a nerve with young crowd demanding freedom. translation: tao young crowd demanding freedom. translation:— young crowd demanding freedom. translation: too many rules are im osed translation: too many rules are imposed on — translation: too many rules are imposed on us — translation: too many rules are imposed on us that _ translation: too many rules are imposed on us that deprive - translation: too many rules are imposed on us that deprive us - imposed on us that deprive us of our freedom, imposed on us that deprive us of ourfreedom, even imposed on us that deprive us of our freedom, even though we are aware of the problem. we don't deny the existence of covid—19 and we are careful but we just need to be allowed to live a little.— live a little. around 2000 eo - le live a little. around 2000 people attended - live a little. around 2000 people attended the - live a little. around 2000| people attended the event live a little. around 2000 . people attended the event in the belgian capital, ignoring warnings from police and prosecutors. those who showed up

prosecutors. those who showed up and violated health measures would face charges with outdoor gatherings limited to four people. police arrived on foot and on horseback. translation: i wasn't here to protest or anything, i came here to say that we have the right to be here in a public place and we get gassed for absolutely no reason. we stayed in front, we made a change. there were people behind to through beer bottles. 0k, we said stop doing it, please, —— but police, you are here to protect and serve. stop. are here to protect and serve. sto -. ,, . are here to protect and serve. sto. ,, . x' , are here to protect and serve. sto. ,, . ,. stop. since quickly descended into chaos _ stop. since quickly descended into chaos with _ stop. since quickly descended into chaos with water - stop. since quickly descended into chaos with water cannons j into chaos with water cannons and tear gas used to disperse the crowd. arrests were made and people injured, including a number of police officers. investigations are under way to uncover those behind the event, a hoax integration for invitation turned unruly

gathering. now a contest of a different type. the eurovision song contest has been given permission to let 3,500 fans watch the event in person as part of a trial it will be staged at an arena in rotterdam in mid may and everyone attending will need a negative covid test. however, this event could be scaled down if there is a surge in coronavirus infections. the announcement follows a similar trial involving 1,500 fans at a music festival near amsterdam in march. joining me now to discuss this is eurovision fan daniel pashley. think you for coming on the programme. think you for coming on the programme-— think you for coming on the programme. think you for coming on the rouramme. . ~ , . programme. thank you very much for havin: programme. thank you very much for having me- — programme. thank you very much for having me. -- _ programme. thank you very much for having me. -- thanks. - programme. thank you very much for having me. -- thanks. i- for having me. -- thanks. i presume — for having me. -- thanks. i presume you _ for having me. -- thanks. i presume you are _ for having me. -- thanks. i| presume you are welcoming for having me. -- thanks. i- presume you are welcoming this is good news?— is good news? yes, i do think it is quite _ is good news? yes, i do think it is quite good _ is good news? yes, i do think it is quite good news - is good news? yes, i do think it is quite good news and - is good news? yes, i do think it is quite good news and i - is good news? yes, i do think| it is quite good news and i was surprised i must say, i received an e—mail today from the organisers, well, from the ticket sellers, letting me know about this news because i was actually assuming that the contest was going to go ahead without an audience. most of

the countries who are taking part held a national final to select their song earlier this year and those all went ahead pretty much with no audiences and so i think everyone was pretty much assuming that was going to happen with your vision itself as well.- vision itself as well. your vision itself as well. your vision has _ vision itself as well. your vision has been - vision itself as well. your vision has been a - vision itself as well. yourj vision has been a pioneer vision itself as well. your i vision has been a pioneer of satellite feeds and delays —— eurovision. they were well ahead when it came to zoom call delays and that sort of thing that you would have thought this would have been the perfect event that would not leave those crowds there. that's a really good point, actually! back in the 90s, there were a couple of what looked like early zoom calls where the producers of the show put together all of the jury spokesman in a grid on the screen and so in some ways, it has always been ahead of its time but it is a show which goes back to the 1950s and it is a really good example of television being added absolutely most adventurous, you know? i'm sure we've all seen those clip shows where the

presenter is saying hello, copenhagen, can you hear us and obviously they cannot get through to the jury at the other end and there are always those moments with eurovision where it's trying new things and sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. figs and sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. as you ri . htl sometimes it does not. as you rightly say. — sometimes it does not. as you rightly say. it _ sometimes it does not. as you rightly say. it is _ sometimes it does not. as you rightly say, it is always - sometimes it does not. as you rightly say, it is always more l rightly say, it is always more famous in a way for the times that it does not work. if the fans do not get letting with a surge in cases and a change of heart, do you think the show will still have the soul and the fun and rally people together as it usually does? i think so. i think the joy of the eurovision song contest is all about bringing people together wherever they may be in europe and it attracts a television audience of hundreds of millions of people each year and it is always a big excuse for a party and and it is always a big excuse fora party and in and it is always a big excuse for a party and in fact the majority of people watching eurovision are of course not in

the arena, there are many, many hundreds of millions all over the place and so for them, it probably will not be all that different. whether there is an audience in the arena or not but for those of us who do like to go, it is a wonderful experience to actually be there. it is a very, very joyful and fun occasion and certainly quite special. something to look forward to in may. daniel pashley, great to have you on. ajudge in new york has ordered brooklyn company to temporarily stop further sales of satan shoes it produced in collaboration with the rapper lil nas x. earlier this week, nike sued the company mschf product studio, claiming that the black and red devil—themed sneakers, which carry the nike swoosh logo, infringed its trademarks. the sneakers are customized versions of the nike air max 97 sneakers that purport to contain one drop of human blood in the soles.

that's it from me. i'm lewis vaughn that's it from me. i'm lewis vaugthones. this is bbc news. bye. hello there. temperatures have been coming down day by day and it's going to stay chilly now into the easter period but with high pressure nearby, we should see quite a bit of sunshine around, though it'll be cold with overnight frost so gardeners and growers, beware. and then as we head on into easter monday, a significant cold, arctic blast will bring us a mixture of sunshine and also wintry showers. so for good friday, we've got high pressure building in, some slightly cooler air around it and it will be breezier across northern and eastern areas. here's where we'll see most of the cloud — northern—eastern scotland, eastern england, maybe the odd light shower around through the morning. through the day, it looks like eastern air in parts of england will stay rather cloudy and breezy and cool. further west, the best of the sunshine, and it's here from northern ireland down through wales and the south

west where we could make 13 or 1a celsius, otherwise, a lot cooler across northern and eastern areas. as we head through good friday night and into saturday morning, it'll stay quite breezy and cloudy across the eastern half of the country. clearer skies and lighter winds further north and west so here, we'll see a widespread frost versus lows of 3—5 celsius further east. 0ur area of high pressure still with us then as we head through saturday and, indeed, into sunday but it starts to retreat away and that's where we start to see the floodgates open to the arctic through sunday night into easter monday. saturday then, another dry day, thanks to high pressure. best of the sunshine across northern and western areas with lighter winds. more cloud though for central and eastern england, more of a breeze, so quite chilly here. temperatures reaching highs of around 12 or 13 degrees in the sunnier spots so not too bad — pretty much temperatures are what we should be looking at for early april. for easter sunday, it looks like we'll have another fine day but as our area of high pressure retreats away, it'll allow wetter and windier weather and colder weather to arrive across the north of the uk but further

south, england and wales dry with some sunshine but quite mild with highs of 1a or 15 degrees. then it's all change through sunday into easter monday. we open the floodgates to the arctic, weather front sinks southwards, lots of isobars on the charts, so it's going to be very windy. a cold and strong northerly wind feeding in plenty of hail, sleet and snow showers pretty much anywhere. there will be some sunshine in between but we could see some significant accumulations of snow over the hills across northern scotland. so with that cold arctic wind, it's going to feel much colder than what we expect at 4—8 degrees.

this is bbc news, the headlines: a series of disturbing videos have been obtained by the bbc which appear to show the killing of unarmed civilians in ethiopia's northern tigray region, by people wearing ethiopian army uniforms. ethiopia's government says it's open to independent investigations but added that social media posts and claims cannot be taken as evidence. george floyd's girlfriend has described how they both struggled with opioid addiction. her testimony came as the murder trial of former police officer derek chauvin entered its fourth day. he denies charges of murder and manslaughter. chauvin's defence team say mr floyd died because of ill—health and drug overuse. a british metropolitan police officer has been found guilty of belonging to a banned neo—nazi terror group. twenty two year—old benjamin hannam is the first serving officer, to be convicted of a terror offence after he joined far right extremist group national action, which was banned in 2016.

now on bbc news, brexitcast.